Positioning for growth – by Phil Middleton, Head of Survey & Robotics

Phil Middleton Ashtead Technology’s Head of Survey & Robotics joined the company in May 2022 to further strengthen existing capability across Ashtead Technology’s core markets and drive forward our ambitious growth strategy. Here, he discusses his thoughts since joining the company and how through continued investment in our survey & robotics rental fleet and our people, we remain at the forefront of what we do to support our customers globally.

Now six months in to the role, discuss your time with Ashtead Technology so far.

Having worked in the subsea technology sector for many years now, I have always been aware of the expertise within Ashtead Technology and the extensive availability of quality equipment the company has to offer customers. Now as an employee, I have been blown away by the breadth and depth of capability throughout the business and the company’s unwavering commitment to quality and service excellence, which is interwoven into everything the company does, and stands for.

Ashtead Technology is on an ambitious growth journey and it is great to be part of a business that has the expertise, talent, resources and buying power to lead the way in the sector and make a real difference to our customers.  

What are the biggest challenges in the market and how is Ashtead Technology addressing these?

In all the customer conversations I’ve had, the main challenges are equipment shortages, the lack of competent and skilled personnel and supply chain constraints which all  have  the  potential  to  negatively  affect  the timely, safe and efficient delivery of our customers ‘projects.

Ashtead Technology is addressing the equipment availability shortages through ongoing investment in our subsea equipment rental fleet which has in excess of 17,000 assets. Early engagement with both customers and our suppliers is key to ensuring we have visibility of their short, medium, and longer-term requirements enabling us to plan ahead and secure the availability of equipment.

We also take a proactive approach to training our people so we have a highly competent and available workforce to support the mobilisation of mission critical equipment. Mentorship and on-the-job training are fundamental to the career development journey of our employees. This ensures that essential expertise is nurtured within the business and passed on to the next generation of talent enabling them to excel and thrive in a fast-growing environment and deliver for our customers. Should we feel there is a competency gap, we provide our employees with practical training from the OEM so our global pool of technicians have an expert understanding of our entire fleet of subsea equipment.

This commitment to technical excellence is also evidenced by our local community involvement in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) initiatives, where are broad knowledge and expertise is shared with local schools, colleges and universities.

Furthermore we provide equipment awareness training to our key customers which provides a high level understanding of our equipment, ensuring mobilisations and offshore operations run smoothly.

What’s next for Ashtead Technology in the survey and robotics field?

As a progressive and pioneering business, we continually aim to offer the broadest and most technologically advanced subsea equipment from leading manufacturers.

Ongoing investment is essential, and we have committed to further capital expenditure for 2023 and beyond to ensure that our portfolio of technologies continues to meet our customers‘ current and future operational challenges.