Meet Richard Laborn, Head of Civil and Transportation

Coming from a family of Caterpillar mechanics, Richard bucked the trend by becoming an engineer. In his 30-year career, he’s worked on a number of large-scale projects, including the Tati Nickel Activox project in Botswana and the Sishen South Mine development in South Africa. With a wealth of expertise and three decades of on-the-job experience, Richard knows that when it comes to engineering, it pays to sweat the small stuff. It’s not uncommon to hear him say “do it right the first time”. He’s also passionate about sharing his knowledge and developing Lithon’s junior engineers. We chatted with him to find out more about what engineering means to him. 

How did you join Lithon?

After working in Botswana and South Africa for 11 years, I was ready to give up the expat life. I came home to Namibia in 2010 and joined Aurecon, where I stayed for five years. I knew a few people at Lithon and when an opportunity came up in 2016, I joined the team – and became Technical Executive of Civil and Transportation in 2018. 

Can you share some career highlights?

I’ve been fortunate to work on several large projects from very early on in my career. When I finished my initial studies, I became assistant engineer on a 70 km tar road project in Northern Namibia, which ran for about two and a half years. I was ‘fresh off the conveyor belt’ and it was an incredible opportunity to learn. I moved to Botswana where I have spent 9 years as a design and site engineer. Later in my career, I worked as senior site engineer on a large refinery project in Botswana and thereafter on the Sishen South Mine development near Postmasburg. 

You’re passionate about sharing your knowledge with the next generation of engineers. Can you tell us a bit more about this?

In Namibia, it’s quite rare to be involved with very large projects. As I’ve had that opportunity myself, I want to share what I’ve learnt with the younger engineers and encourage them to aspire to larger projects and achievements. Engineering is beautiful in that you can see an end product, and say “I’ve done this.” It’s incredibly rewarding but it takes time and sacrifice to gain the knowledge and experience needed.

What advice would you give to young engineers starting out in their careers?

Every day is an opportunity to learn. Invest time in yourself, sit in on meetings, get your hands dirty on projects, and gain as much experience as you can – it’s invaluable. Learn to pay attention to detail that in turn helps develop problem identification and solving.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I spend about 60% of my time managing people, 20% on the technical stuff, and 20% on admin and finance. I try to do important work like calculations and designs early in the day when I’m at my freshest. I enjoy working at home in the mornings – it’s a comfy space where I can focus, and I often start my day at 4am. 

If you weren’t an engineer, you’d be a …?

When I was at school, I wanted to be a chef and I still have a passion for cooking. Given that I’m very detail-orientated, I think I might have enjoyed being a pilot too.

What’s something your colleagues may not know about you?

I’m not as hard as I seem. But I take the responsibility of being an engineer very seriously, and I try to instil that in the younger engineers too. When you’re building roads, airports, and other infrastructure, you have people’s lives in your hands and the projects are worth a lot of money, so you have to be hard out there. If something goes wrong, there are far-reaching effects (consequences). The bottom line is that if you put the title of engineer behind your name, you have to live up to it – and I feel the weight of that responsibility keenly.