Experience

RACECOURSE DATA TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED

• United Kingdom
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Electrical Service Engineer

  • Dec 2016 - Present

  Repair and manufacture of racecourse (horse racing) information systems used by bookmakers e.g electronic LED signs, and associated hardware which consists of laptop, battery pack and power supply system / DC to DC converter and networking equipment. Building of custom hardware & electronics to support on site bookmakers where no power source or network connections are available. I have also been involved in embedded systems design both software (C / C++) at firmware level on 8051 and Atmel AVR architecture microcontrollers and building relevant electronics. This has mainly been for test equipment for the field engineers so they can support customers better. My current project is an in house designed LED digital sign board - design of the driver electronics and writing the firmware to control the LED matrix panels. The sign would get it's data from a RS232 serial port and USB.



City of Bradford MDC

• ISP Service Operations Engineer

  • Oct 2015 - Oct 2016

  Was working for the council as a contractor via computacenter but then employed directly. I was mainly doing 2nd line IT support on the council's IT help desk and a few other roles such as deployments and hardware refresh projects. This was a fixed term position to cover project work which mainly involved upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 which 90% of the time required a hardware refresh due to outdated PC base units and laptops. The council shortly after moved to a VMware / citrix based system with the clients running Linux which proved to be unreliable and caused much more issues than a traditional Windows 7 client / Windows server 2008 system. I was required to support this during my additional fixed term contract.



Computacenter

• United Kingdom
• Information Technology & Services
• 700 & Above Employee

• Customer Engineer

  • Mar 2014 - Oct 2015

  I was taking part in a major security and software upgrade for a local authority working exclusively for Computacenter. This involved installing service packs and patches / updates where applicable and ensuring system security software e.g disk encryption was working correctly. Upgrading of memory and rebuilds of desktops / laptops where needed and installation of software. Provided first line support of the authority's desktops and laptops via remote access software e.g Landesk and over the phone.Since August 2014 I had been rolling out new desktops and laptops across the council in a major hardware refresh project and providing BAU desktop services to hardware level. The project involved replacement of around 2000 out of date computers with laptops so workers could work more flexibly. I was the team lead in a team of 3 engineers which involves managing workloads, priority jobs and working with other departments to ensure items are procured and installed to the end user within given timescales. Most recent project was to ensure the council is fully compliant with central government security requirements by upgrading all machines that connect to other government services and systems to Windows 7 and resolving software migration / compatibility issues.



Adrian Smith - Self Employed

• EPOS, IT and Consumer Electronics Engineer

  • Feb 2013 - Mar 2014

  Provided technical courier services for a national service and distribution company. Duties, along with delivery and collection of faulty equipment were installation and set up of pinpads, bar code scanners, thin client systems & other EPOS equipment. This was typically in high street stores, banks and other retail outlets on industrial parks. Customers included most major banks, B&Q, Argos, M&S, Morrisons & Sainsburys.Also involved in the roll-out of Windows 7 as an upgrade from Windows XP at HSBC bank offices, branches and datacentres. This involved replacing the XP machine(s) with one running Windows 7 then using USMT and other custom software tools to transfer data and settings over to the new machine. The old machine was then removed and sent for re-imaging to Windows 7 so it can be re-issued to another member of staff. I also performed swap outs & setup of faulty equipment on HSBC sites that do not have on-site IT such as smaller offices and bank branches. I also carried out the swap out and installation of printers, PC's and monitors or fit parts as specified in the job schedule. This was mainly in banks and other financial institutions along with work for VOSA (MOT test stations) plus the occasional domestic customer. Work sometimes required the installation and transfer of customer software and data when defective equipment is replaced or new is installed. Software problems were typically resolved on site. As a side line I perform basic component level repairs (where parts available) of consumer electronic goods e.g DVD recorders, laptops & PC's, Freeview / Freesat recorders, flat screen TV's etc. I perform this work at home evenings and weekends or when not working during the week.



PPR Solutions - Self Employed Contractor

• Repair Engineer

  • May 2011 - Feb 2013

  January 2013 - February 2013: I was involved in a project with PPR Solutions upgrading fujifilm photo printing stations in stores of a major supermarket chain. This involved the replacement of chip & pin devices and software upgrades to the unit.December 2012 - January 2013: working for a major high street bank via PPR Solutions doing audits of all IT hardware in the bank's branches. This work was carried out as it indicated where system and equipment upgrades were needed in preparation for a new hardware roll-out in early 2013. I also identified Cisco networking kit to determine if it needed to be replaced / reconfigured / upgraded as the bank was upgrading to fibre broadband from ADSL, This was a 1 month contract but could result in more work for the bank in the new year.May 2011 - November 2012: Was working for PPR Solutions as a contractor doing laptop & PC repairs for Comet PLC in their central repair centre. Mostly involving insurance work i.e damaged equipment for quote and subsequent repair or disposal. Some warranty repairs on Toshiba and Samsung laptops. Refurbishment of store return PC's and Laptops so they can be resold as B grade etc.As of November 2011 I started to get involved with Apple equipment and together with a couple of other engineers I repaired most Imacs sent in for repair both customer equipment and store returns. This expanded my knowledge into the Apple world as well as PC's.



FGS Services (UK) LTD

• Workshop engineer / customer support

  • Aug 2008 - Apr 2011

  Worked in a computer repair shop where I repaired computers, laptops, monitors, games consoles and televisions to board or component level repair. Also involved in the sales of new equipment and customer support etc. Responsible for shop stock and sourcing of spare parts / ordering new computers etc. I left the company when it ran into financial difficulties and they were no longer able to pay my wages. Worked in a computer repair shop where I repaired computers, laptops, monitors, games consoles and televisions to board or component level repair. Also involved in the sales of new equipment and customer support etc. Responsible for shop stock and sourcing of spare parts / ordering new computers etc. I left the company when it ran into financial difficulties and they were no longer able to pay my wages.



ICM

• United Kingdom
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 400 - 500 Employee

• Workshop engineer

  • Mar 2002 - May 2008

  employed as a bench service technician where I repaired laser printers for approximately a year then moved on to monitor repairs for around 2 years then on to single phase UPS repairs & PC / server repairs which continued till I left the company. This was due to Phoenix IT taking over of ICM; Phoenix wanted to centralise all repairs at their repair centre in Northampton. There were only two positions available for those that wanted to relocate, the rest of us (around 20 engineers) were made redundant.



Videss LTD

• Workshop & field engineer

  • Jul 1997 - Mar 2002

  I was employed as the workshop engineer where I repaired computer monitors, PCs, servers and laser printers to component level. I have also worked on large servers configuring RAID arrays and setting up the system hardware. I have done some field service work where I repaired PCs and printers on site, monitors were done in the workshop. I was also responsible for sourcing and ordering electronic components and parts. Internal restructuring resulted in less repair work and I was moved to an admin position monitoring servers to ensure backups were done and system health and performance was satisfactory for Videss's CFM customers. I left the company when the opportunity came up to work for ICM.



Baron Systems LTD

• Bench repair technician

  • Jul 1996 - Apr 1997

  This position required me to repair laptops, computers, printers and monitors to component level. Day to day running of a repair centre workshop environment & upkeep of the engineering stores. I left Baron Systems as the company was in difficulties and the opportunity came up to work for Videss LTD which offered better job prospects and security. This position required me to repair laptops, computers, printers and monitors to component level. Day to day running of a repair centre workshop environment & upkeep of the engineering stores. I left Baron Systems as the company was in difficulties and the opportunity came up to work for Videss LTD which offered better job prospects and security.



Yorkshire Cable Company

• Service Technician

  • Oct 1993 - Jul 1996

  Employed as a service technician which involved the repair of faults on the telephone and cable TV network. This was mainly in customer's homes but also involved splicing of damaged cables and replacement of faulty circuit cards in the roadside boxes. I left the company due to internal restructuring and wanted a career change. Looking back now 20 years later this probably was a mistake. Employed as a service technician which involved the repair of faults on the telephone and cable TV network. This was mainly in customer's homes but also involved splicing of damaged cables and replacement of faulty circuit cards in the roadside boxes. I left the company due to internal restructuring and wanted a career change. Looking back now 20 years later this probably was a mistake.