Work Experience on a building site through the eyes of one of our students

Through my 2 days at the Berkhamsted site, I have learnt a lot, most notably I have gained further knowledge on how the industry works, what skills are needed and most importantly how to navigate a stressful and busy environment. The first day consisted of shadowing Mr Hale in which I met several people vital to the stability of the job. I was first introduced to Tony, who is the site manager. This job includes overseeing all things on the site to ensure they run smoothly. I also met Shaun who manages the finances between the contractors and the clients and is responsible for communicating any changes. Furthermore, I met Ash who the clients employ to ensure that the building runs smoothly and is responsible for communication between Beard and the clients. I learnt that this was one of the most important roles as there cannot be any miscommunication as it can lead to delays. There are also the architects, who can be employed by either the construction company, called a design and build or they can be employed by the clients such as the Berkhamsted site. There are 3 architects in this instance with 1 being the lead. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting the lead architect but ensured that I had spoken to both Alex and Ollie asking questions about the site and how the process usually works on their end. This proved very informative as I learnt a lot about Architecture as an industry and the process they have to follow. I then attended meetings which included a progress meeting, covering any RFI’s that have arisen during the week and then another meeting with the contractors, who also covered any RFI’s. After sitting in on the meeting, I realised that there is so much more to the construction of the buildings that I hadn’t realised and this proved very beneficial in giving me a wider perspective

On the second day, I followed 2 other site managers closely. This was also valuable as both site managers had to supervise their areas respectively, with one covering the external components of the building, such as the roof or brickwork. And the other supervising the internal components of the building. This day was less time consuming than the first one as it was less hands on, but issues had arisen during this time, and so I was able to see the processes involved in resolving these issues and how the 2 site managers had handled their issues respectively.