Team player

You won a Best Individual Contribution award from the client, Six Continents. How did that feel?
It came as a complete surprise, because I wasn't aware of the awards. It was a privilege to be invited to the Six Continents dinner. To win the award was that much more satisfying. I haven't done it on my own, it's a team game. But I have had to nurture and develop the team here: two young and one older manager, and train them in my philosophy to be fair and create a team spirit.

We have come up against some pretty hairy situations, and I feel we have been rewarded for out efforts. I didn't realise how much the client appreciated what we had done here.

Have your employers treated you any differently?
The chairman of Stradform, Ken Haines, was elated and he's not someone who shows how he feels a great deal. He gave me a watercolour painting of the Royal Hotel when it was first built in the 1860s.

How did your family feel about you winning the award?
My son, Nick, has a degree in construction management, so he gave me a bit of stick about it, but that's just the way we talk to each other. My mum, who is 87, was delighted. Unfortunately, my wife isn't here to see it.

What's the first thing you do when you get onto site in the morning?
I sign in, go through the mail, and then pick up from where I left off the day before.

What's the most common problem you encounter?
The site is divided into two buildings — one 100-year-old four storey building and one seven storey 150-year-old building. Getting the information to flow between the two sites is a constant challenge.

What's the most rewarding thing about your job?
Finding a satisfactory method of resolving problems and seeing the whole project come together.

if you want someone to do you a favour and you have treated them badly, they’ll treat you badly. It’s not about being soft, it’s about being fair

What's the worst thing about your job?
Being at the beck and call of everyone. Managing time is very important. Its no good me sitting in my office pushing paper if there's people sitting on their posteriors on site because they need me to solve a problem. There is also a lot of running up and down stairs in this particular job. I get very tired by the end of the day.

When does the day end for you?
It varies. I usually lock up at about 7pm. I use the end of the day to catch up on paperwork and clients often visit the site at that time too.

What project are you working on next?
I'm moving down the road to another hotel refit for the Weatherspoons Group. It's a £4.5m project with a listed facade. We are keeping the upper floors but ripping out the rest. I'll be moving onto it before the end of the year, but I still expect to have some input on this job until the fit-outs are complete in January.

What's your tip for aspiring site managers?
Be open and honest and don't have any hidden agendas. Be approachable to everyone, from the top to the bottom, it makes communication easier. You need to have good working relationships with all levels, because if you want someone to do you a favour and you have treated them badly, they'll treat you badly. It's not about being soft, it's about being fair.

When did "being fair" work for you?
It always has. It's my character to be this way. I have seen people running sites by bawling and shouting and when things go wrong, it goes right over people's heads. When things go wrong I bawl and shout, but it has an affect because I don't do it all the time. So when I need someone to bail me out, I get a positive response.

When have you really needed a favour?
There have been times when I have been trying to meet a programme and deliveries have turned up late, because you can't control suppliers, I have asked people to work late or at the weekend to get the work done on time. You can't force people to work overtime but I've never had anyone decline, subcontractors or direct labour.