Joel Irvine has been part of the MR Systems family since February 2014. He has his B.S. from the University of South Carolina with a Major in Civil Engineering and Minor in Geography. Since working at MR, Joel has also received his Professional Engineer License from South Carolina. He has a love for the outdoors. As an avid biking enthusiast, he loves to put as many miles on his bike as he can. Here at MR Systems he is an integral part of the team and assists with installation, testing, and troubleshooting of fiber optics cable, Ethernet networks, and radio telemetry systems. He also performs installation of control panels, conduit systems, and wiring. In addition to all of that, he is proficient at most PLC and HMI Programming tasks utilizing standard PLC programming packages for Allen-Bradley and Modicon PLCs and for Rockwell RS-VIEW and Wonderware HMI packages. We were able to sit down with Joel to get his perspective on his career thus far at MR Systems.
How did you learn about MR Systems?
- I first learned about MR Systems from a mutual acquaintance of Tom Hopkins and myself. I researched the company and decided that it sounded like a great place to work.
How has MR Systems changed since you started working here?
- In the three years I’ve been here MR Systems has grown substantially. In addition to the Norcross, GA and Charlotte, NC offices, they’ve opened two new offices in Columbia, SC and Nashville, TN. Even more recently they have acquired more office space at Columbia location and they are working on expending the Norcross office to better fit the growing number of employees and projects.
How has MR Systems helped your career development?
- MR Systems has given me the opportunity to gain experience in the field and further my knowledge in engineering and what it means to be an engineer.
What is your proudest moment at MR Systems?
- MR Systems has given me the chance to obtain knowledge and experience over the past three years. They have been a motivator for obtaining my PE license in Control Systems. The day I received my approval paperwork and license number was the proudest moment thus far.
What was one of the most interesting or challenging projects you have worked on at MR Systems?
- The most interesting project I had was at Oconee Nuclear Station a couple months after I started here at MR Systems. Everything was designed in the shop to be universal, so all the panels were delivered to the jobsite with the idea that any logic they would want could be wired into the panel. Once the panels got onsite, I was able to then design everything in the field for the customer. Understanding the customer’s needs, I was able to get the logic of the system in line to meet their needs.
What advice do you have for future employees?
- Keep moving forward and don’t think that everything you learn in the field is all you need to know. There is a difference between knowing that something works and knowing why something works. Build your knowledgebase so that you can have a better understanding of problems you might not have come across yet and so you can be quicker in your troubleshooting when you do come across those problems.
