In the world of critical infrastructure, where bespoke flood gates must withstand the forces of both inland and tidal flood events for decades, there is a fine line between ‘perfect engineering’ and profitable delivery.
We sat down with Qualter Hall’s new Chief Operating Officer, Graham Carr. Drawing on almost 40 years of service with the business, Graham has an extensive operational understanding that spans core operations and competencies, key markets and a diverse client base.
In this interview, we explore the ‘Right First Time’ philosophy, integrating MEICA (Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Control, and Automation) with extensive in-house manufacturing, the challenge of balancing innovation and budgets, and why the next generation of engineers is the company's most vital long-term project.
You’ve spent the bulk of your career as a Technical Director, focused on the "how" of engineering. Now, as COO, you’re responsible for a new remit. How has that shift changed your perspective?
As Technical Director and now COO, I have moved from direct responsibility for Project management, engineering and site services to overseeing all operational functions, including finance, HR, sales, and production.
The role of an engineer has evolved over my 45-year career, and now requires balancing technical skill with complex commercial, legal, environmental and safety requirements. Today, I’m focused on strategic growth, workforce succession, and operational resilience. My priority is ensuring we deliver safe, on-budget projects by streamlining our processes and investing in our workforce; our people are our greatest asset.
Your projects involve incredibly long design and planning phases. How do you manage the profitability of a project when so much work happens before construction even begins?
We are an integrated engineering solutions provider with no standard product, so we spend a great deal of time developing innovative, cost-effective solutions at the tender stage of projects. This is followed up with detailed estimates, which go into significant costing detail. Being a turnkey provider with both internal MEICA and manufacturing capability, we can ‘value engineer’ requirements to suit our core skills whilst designing out risks at this early stage. Our USP is our ‘one stop shop’ which integrates all aspects of the works and reduces risk for both Qualter Hall and the client. The quality we build in at the design and manufacture stage does increase initial costs, but is recovered over the life of the project.
You’ve mentioned the challenge of balancing innovation and profitability. How do you decide when to take the plunge with new technology versus sticking to tried-and-tested methods?
Engineers in general are perfectionists and will seek optimum solutions. However, we live in a competitive world so this has to be tempered with cost effectiveness. In the water control sector, clients prioritise quality along with price, so the majority of bids have a scoring criteria incorporating both, enabling us to balance innovation and price without losing a competitive edge. Flood defences must have a very high level of operational availability with inbuilt redundancy, to give clients confidence in the asset’s safety and reliably, with back-up support available from the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) in the event of unforeseen issues.
We have to carefully balance the use of tried and trusted technology with newer innovations. We operate in several sectors so we’re not limited to just one way of doing things; we can integrate the best equipment to build a smart, reliable and proven system. On critical works, clearly no one wants to be a ‘guineapig’ so new technology is often introduced with existing, tried and trusted technology as a backup.
The development of remote access systems has been particularly revolutionary in the sector, and can offer major benefits to OEM support in the event of on-site operational issues. However, this is dependent on a client’s remote security protocols.
Numerous new flood defence assets have been installed in the UK in the last 20 years, but it is now expected that the short-term focus is on upgrades to existing infrastructure. We’re inspecting existing assets and working out new ways to integrate new technology and methodologies to extend operational lifecycle. This has benefits for the client’s capital expenditure budget and the environment, in the face of increasingly stringent sustainability directives. As part of our recent works in the Thames Estuary, we carried out various projects on the Thames, Barking and Tilbury barriers upgrading mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems which will ultimately extend their operational life.
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Qualter Hall handles both heavy steel fabrication and complex MEICA systems under one roof (a turnkey solution). How is that integration beneficial to your clients and supply chain?
From my perspective, managing the entire integrated system under one roof is the only way we can guarantee a ‘Right First Time’ approach to mitigate risk. This removes the need to sub-contract key aspects of a complex moving structure, which can add significant risk for clients in terms of quality, programme, construction cost and future operational downtime. On-site is the worst place to find any error, and rectification at that point is costly and time-critical when compared to factory work.
We project manage and integrate the whole process: manufacture components and structures, assemble mechanical, electrical and hydraulic components, then programme and test to full operational requirements prior to equipment leaving our site. For the client, they have one point of contact, one contract and one company accountable for the cost, programme and quality. Once on-site, we support installation and commissioning with the same approach, using the same personnel who designed and tested the equipment in the factory, to ensure the client gets a reliable, operational, compliant asset.
In the specialist field of MEICA and heavy fabrication, the skills gap is a constant challenge. How do you view the role of apprenticeships and team development?
Sourcing high-quality personnel is a major challenge, and succession planning is vital to ensure we retain our highly-experienced, specialist team into the future. Flood defence works are highly complex and involve a constant learning curve, so experience is critical to success. Our loyal workforce is our core competitive advantage; some of our employees have been with us for decades, and we invest in developing our team and supporting young people into the profession. We employ apprentices across the business and support them to gain technical qualifications up to degree level. We welcome their fresh perspectives on new technologies and methodologies while they learn key skills from more experienced peers.
How does this play into your succession strategy?
Succession planning for us is about ensuring that when personnel leave the business, we have others ready to seamlessly step into those roles. We have a constant recruitment drive to reinforce our current skilled workforce, and one of my goals as COO is to create a culture where our senior staff feel a sense of pride in passing on their expertise. We want our apprentices to see a clear career path from the shop floor or design office into senior management. In fact, three existing directors started at junior levels within the business, and we actively promote from within where possible.
When a structure that Qualter Hall has contributed to is tested by a major storm surge in twenty years' time, what do you want the engineers of that era to think about your work?
I want them to see high-quality design and manufacturing work which has stood the test of time and the elements. They would see that Qualter Hall, the client and any design consultants involved considered functionality, redundancy and reliability to provide future-proof equipment.
I want the engineers of the future to share my passion, take pride in their work and be proud to represent our industry. Engineering is not an exact science; it offers a constant challenge where you never stop learning.
This article appeared in Issue 12 of Flood Industry magazine, May/June 2026. You can view it here.