Robbie Collings

5.30 AM

My second alarm has just gone off so I start moving through the morning ritual of shower, breakfast, pack my lunch, grab my work boots and laptop then hit the road. 

6.30 AM

I roll in through the main entrance with all the construction signs on it and make my way to the carpark. I grab my work ID so I can access the security point and move through the turnstiles to our office shed. I start the morning off by making a coffee, sitting down at my computer and have a browse on websites such as urban developer and inside construction to see what’s happening in the industry. I’ll also have a quick look at my aconex notifications, which is the project’s web-based collaboration platform for project information and process management.

7.00 AM

It’s a couple of minutes till 7 am so the team and I walk into the subcontractor lunch shed’s where we hold the daily 7 am pre-starts. The site manager or supervisors communicate the subcontractor’s daily activities, talk through any changes in the traffic management plans, provide the daily weather conditions, reiterate the safety protocols and any other relevant information for the day.

7.30 AM

I start preparing myself for the morning site walk by grabbing my hard-hat, safety glasses and clipboard with the drawings attached. I sign onto the daily ground penetration permits so I can access the exclusion zones where the piling subcontractor is boring holes for piers. On a weekly basis, I also review and sign onto the subcontractor Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS). This is to ensure I am competent to be undertaking my job in a high-risk work area and that the trades are complying with their safety protocols.

8.00 AM

I head straight to the piling zone since I am looking after this works package. I cross-reference my drawings with the piers that have been bored, socketed into rock and cleaned to prepare for sign-off prior to the concrete pour. I take a few photos for record-keeping purposes and then I’ll have a light-hearted chat with the subcontractors before we go over the forecasted productivity and sequencing of works for the day.

9.00 AM

I get back to my desk and open up my excel tracking sheet and start inputting the piers productivity data from the previous day. I made sure my tracking spreadsheet is all automated so I can just enter a number against the day and pier location, which then feeds into my summary graph. I print the graph off and pin it on the tracking wall so the senior project engineer, site managers, supervisors and project manager can compare the productivity against the programme.

10.00 AM

Coffee break time! I’ll give the dartboard a couple of shots while I wait for the coffee machine to finish and then it’s back to my desk.

10.30 AM

Time to head back on-site to meet the civil subcontractor at the piling zone, we undertake a visual inspection of the pier holes with the geotechnical engineer prior to any concrete being poured.

The concrete truck arrives, so I ask for the concrete docket to check the batch time and cross-reference the mix with the approved mix design.

I walk over to the concrete testers ute as he starts preparing the slump test and cylinders for the 7day, 14day and 28day compressive strength tests. I complete my quality assurance checks by ensuring the slump is within the required parameters prior to the piers being poured.

12.00 PM

We sit down for lunch as a team and switch off from work for half an hour, we’ll have some laughs and end the meals with some shots of the mini basketball setup or throw some more darts.

1.00 PM

The next couple of hours are spent undertaking inspections with the engineering consultants, having client safety walks, chasing the project’s Environmental Sustainable Design (ESD) documentation and collaborating on aconex with the consultants and subcontractors.

3.00 PM

I grab the camera and walk the site to take the daily progress photos, these photos are essential for site diaries and referring back to a specific day to see what works had been completed.

4.00 PM

I take the chance to ask the senior project engineer questions in regard to the roofing package I am looking after. We go through the drawings, specifications and schedules to see if we need to capture any other items in the scope of works.

5.15 PM

Time to start wrapping up for the day, I’ll answer any last minute emails before I shut the laptop down and then hop on route to the gym.

5.45 PM

I love to sweat it up after work, so I’ll stretch up and get ready to train. I believe it’s the perfect way to reduce any stress and it makes me completely relaxed for a solid night’s sleep.

7.30 PM

It’s butter chicken night! I’m absolutely starving, so I gulp down a protein shake as I start cutting up the chicken and preparing the dish. I try to complete all the mini chores while dinner is cooking, such as the washing, ironing and preparing for tomorrow.

8.30 PM – 9.30 PM

I’ll spend an hour winding down with either Brooklyn 99 or Friends on the television as I’m on my laptop looking up different construction terms or principles that I don’t quite understand. Then its bedtime and I’m keen to do it all again the next day!