Lee reported to work Monday morning bright and early and full of gratitude following his few days away in Cornwall with an old friend. “Grateful for the trust bestowed on me and grateful for the experience itself.”
The trip reminded Lee of the power of connection, not just to the places, but the people we meet on our journey! This is reflected in our work ethos, some of the places we get to visit are historic, contemporary, unique and ordinary; it is the people that the team connect and engage with that matter most. This week was no exception to this.
Let’s dive in!
Monday — Staying cool
As temperatures reached new UK highs and the Government issued extreme heat warnings, with schools closing early and some workplaces adjusting hours, we too adapted by staying out of the sun and in the shade. A productive day catching up with those tasks that we all bump down the priority list but would like off the table by the close of the month.
We were putting the final touches to a bespoke awareness training programme to be delivered to bricklayers on Tuesday morning; a client Teams catch-up to further progress the Stage 2 ISO 9001 Quality Management System audit scheduled for early August; a meeting at HQ with a client to clarify CQMS responses; and a host of other admin and catch-up functions.
Tuesday — Training Day
Double day of training: Leon to MSA to deliver Day One of an SMSTS course and John Brooks delivering a trio of training sessions on site for our bricklaying client. Good reports of engagement from both camps.
Other duties included further development of a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) for a new project due to start in the next couple of weeks; more on this exciting, challenging project in the next few weeks. We also further developed a new health and safety policy for a client operating outside our normal sphere of construction; this required time for research into the specific aspects. The framework is the familiar Plan-Do-Check-Act; this is a proven model and our go-to!
We also had a team Teams catch-up to clarify some points on a safe system of works development project. Sometimes it is good to ditch the email trail and pick up the phone or reach for Teams! Absolutely more personal and a better connection all round.
Wednesday — Site Day
Out of their respective offices today for two of the team. A site compliance tour of a new education facility on the Isle of Wight and a day with the New Forest Fencing team visiting two projects in the planning phase. By visiting the projects pre-installation, we are better placed to assist in the development of the Safe System of Works for the projects having up-to-date information and witnessing how the sites operate. The day started with a site team briefing regarding staying safe in the elevated temperatures. The conversation that ensued was lively with strategies being discussed and agreed.
Stepping away from site duties, we held our weekly catch-up with Sinead and performed other client-facing duties by continuing with the development of various safe system of works documents.
Thursday — When does a building become art?
Another out-of-town site tour, this time to a unique timber building — well, more like a joinery project — in South Oxfordshire. This project requires our team to conduct a deep dive into site compliance and also provide added value by being involved with the bi-weekly progress meeting with the Contract Administrator and Architect, and assisting with the monthly project planning to ensure the project is more proactive and less reactive.
We also met a client over coffee to assist in closing out some detail required for their SafeContractor renewal due in a couple of weeks. Being ahead of the application is vital to ensure a smooth transition. The day was still active; we prepared the attendance certificates and data analysis following Tuesday’s site training and worked on some clients’ risk assessments and method statements.
Friday — Focus
The pace of the week continued into Friday, specific tasks to be completed:
- Finalise and issue of the CEMP for the new listed building project by midday – issued at 11:50 ✔️
- Final amendments to an accident investigation report for issue – issued by 13:00 ✔️
- Lunch of course! ✔️
- Final CQMS query responses – issued by 16:00 ✔️
Not only was this accomplished as planned; we also had the second team Teams chat regarding specific project development and the sharing of site intelligence gathered on Wednesday. We carried out a series of virtual CDM compliance catch-ups and the final site compliance tour of our own city’s theatre, the Mayflower.
Closing thought
We refer you back to the opening statement: places are important, for this is where the work takes place; for now, that work is carried out by people — passing strangers, some of whom we may never get to meet and have a discussion with again, while others are familiar faces. All have something valuable to contribute; we simply need to stop and engage. This is where the connections are forged; this is the value we gain from those exchanges, no matter how brief!
