‘High flying’ Steve Shaw is a senior associate director in our Mechanical and Electrical team, who likes to combine the building exploration skills of Indiana Jones with the aerobatic moves of Biggles. He has over 20 years’ experience in the mechanical and electrical consultancy field, which includes dilapidations and property pre-acquisition, pre-lease advice and reporting to financial institutions, landlords, managing agents and tenants across sectors including office, retail, industrial, hospitality and leisure.
We took five minutes to sit down with him and learn more about what he does:
How long have you been with HTC?
I joined HTC in August 2019 so I’ve just celebrated five busy years with the company.
What was your route into surveying? Did you always want to be a surveyor?
In short no. I began life as a building services engineer but I found that I was spending a lot of my time in meetings, often sitting alongside consultants and thought that what they did was very interesting. I decided to join them and started work at FHP where I met Stuart Funiciello (now partner at HTC) and in 2019 followed him to HTC when he moved.
What do you like most about working at HTC?
I like the company culture which is very welcoming and friendly. I also really enjoy the diversity of the work we do; one minute I’m doing project work, the next surveying work. Every day is really different and you get the opportunity to take a look inside some really amazing buildings such as museums, old places etc.
What does your day-to-day look like?
I think of the role of working in M&E as being like the AA where you need someone to come and check over your car before you buy it, except with buildings instead. When it comes to commercial properties, we check anything mechanical or electrical, such as boilers, electrics, or anything that could go wrong or damage the building.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge I have is a fear of heights, so inspecting things on roofs or high ledges isn’t my favourite part of the job. Ironically, I have a licence for a cherry picker!
What advice would you give someone wanting to become a surveyor?
Write everything down and take lots of pictures – don’t assume that you’ll remember everything because you won’t. Also: when entering any room, make sure you can open the door behind you again. This is a lesson learned the hard way!
Outside of work, how do you like to relax?
I like cycling, especially mountain biking. After a bit of a break recently, I’m getting back into it again, cycling when I can and training at the weekends and whenever I have time. As a family we love going to theme parks – my son is a bit of a roller coaster junkie (just like his dad). This is despite being scared of heights – I laugh all the way round!
What’s something people might not know about you?
I’ve got a private pilot’s licence. I used to fly a Cessna 172, although I haven’t been in the air for some years now. I’d love to fly again, but it’s an expensive and time-consuming hobby as you need to dedicate several hours a month to maintain a licence, so for the time being, flying is on the back burner.
What are your future goals in life?
I’ve set myself a challenge to cycle to whole of the south downs way, which is 100 miles and 1,000 feet of elevation over the route.
When it comes to commercial property, our M&E experts deliver unparalleled advice and solutions relating to complex issues such as insurance claims, disaster recovery and ongoing building issues. We also offer turnkey project services to ensure cost-effective and “right first time” delivery of complex mechanical, electrical and building fabric works for our clients. Our technical due diligence capabilities incorporate pre-acquisition, vendors, lettings and dilapidations reporting for commercial, retail and residential building owners.
You can see more information about our M&E projects by clicking here: https://htc.uk.com/consultancy/mechanical-electrical
