In 1978 Alan Mack ran away to the Middle East. Since graduating (CIOB past-president John Bale was one of his tutors), he circled in the rising management thermal current until a three-bed semi in Durham loomed in his sights. "It frightened the hell out of me," he says, and subsequently spent two years procuring projects in Saudi Arabia and five years as general manager of a small firm in Jedda.

His penchant for the unbeaten track led him to the Scottish Parliament, and what a job to cap your career. Mack is to be admired. The job, famously spiralling up, up and away in cost and sharply dividing the Scottish Parliament, the city of Edinburgh and the nation as a whole, represents the pinnacle of his career as a project-oriented manager. The design process, the politics, the public exposure, the difficult client and the stunning result when it finally comes to an end all make it hard to picture where he'll go next. Maybe that three-bed semi is starting to look attractive.

Building by example
SKANSKA is leading the way at London's Swiss Re by not only allowing a UCATT convener on site, but paying his wages, setting him up in an office and giving him a high-profile and fully backed-up role in the project.

Oh yes, and while he's at it he actively recruits for UCATT.

While a lot of main contractors will find this hard to swallow, it's proving to be an enlightened strategy. Suddenly management and labour are pulling together to achieve the most sacred goals in the industry: skills, health and safety and site welfare. Worker involvement in improving performance in these areas is not only recommended by the Strategic Forum, but also makes eminently good sense.

Source

Construction Manager