Interview with David BlackbournDigitalisation Manager, Magnet Technology, Oxford

David Blackbourn has achieved a PhD in Computational Physics and has worked in the IT Department of Magnet Technology for 5 years, as a software engineer, data analyst and acting digitalisation manager.

David Blackbourn

I am responsible for the creation and maintenance of our local data analytics environment in Power BI, including the connection to data sources, extract / transform / load processing of raw data and provisioning of user-facing data sets.

I also lead our local digitalisation community and support the empowerment of colleagues via citizen development tools, chiefly Power BI, PowerApps and Power Automate.

As a member of the Digitalisation Team I am also involved in major Smart Factory projects to achieve an Industry 4.0 standard and help drive the business strategy in these areas.

The collaborative and varied nature of the factory: I can frequently interact with the research and manufacturing teams; find my varied background helpful in communicating with other departments; and can expand my knowledge and experience in many areas.

My days contain a mix of: strategic planning and alignment with other areas of the business, both local and beyond; creation and maintenance of data sources and sets to ensure availability for end user reporting; supporting colleagues with use of data for visualisation and analytics; development of digital tools myself to satisfy business requirements; engagement with business to promote and advance use and understanding of digitalisation and digital solutions.

Engagement, alignment and prioritisation. The business faces many challenges and has numerous opportunities for growth and the challenges we face are: engaging with business colleagues to determine these; aligning across departments and business hierarchies to ensure opportunities support holistic business goals; and effectively assessing possibilities in order to choose the most valuable projects to work on.

Having our customers also be our colleagues means that we can see the solutions we develop in action, observe the change in culture and work processes that we endorse, and know both the benefit they provide and how much they are appreciated. There’s also the satisfaction of contributing to a critical healthcare service and knowing the ultimate goal of what you do is to help improve or even save lives.

MT is a site where you get all the benefits of working closely with colleagues as part of a familiar team, while also being part of a larger organisation that has a significant global impact. Having all departments on site, and a culture of collaboration, means that work days are always varied, challenging and rewarding.

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