Alex Vuletich

5:45 AM

My alarm goes off commencing the day, I make myself breakfast which is high in carbs and protein to fuel myself for the fast-paced day ahead. I flick through the news briefly while eating and having my morning coffee to catch up on global events and ensure I’m out the door no later than 6:20 AM

7:00 AM

I arrive on-site by 7:00 am, first thing I have is a briefing with my Site Engineer and Structures Foreman on what tasks are critical for the day. Here I am discussing which columns require completion, and which are ready for inspection.

7:30 AM

By 7:30 am site works commence, I am out on-site checking reinforcement to ensure it is being constructed as per the drawings. If there are defects, I pass on what needs to be rectified to the appropriate trade, such as steel fixer, form worker or plumber. Here I am inspecting the thickness of concrete slab reinforcement to make sure there is enough “cover”, meaning concrete covering the steel.

9:30 AM

By this time my first inspection is complete, I report status updates to my site engineer who then carries out his necessary tasks. I then get a chance to go through my emails and close out any urgent tasks. I also get the opportunity to correspond with the relevant consultant such as architects, structural engineers or hydraulic engineers who give advice on specific details that need to be addressed from the inspection. Most of the time they simply confirm that what we are constructing is as per the design, happy days!

12:00 PM

After a fast-paced morning out on-site and in the office, the whole team assembles to get together and have a team lunch. Everyone discusses how things are going on-site and on a normal day it feels like I turn up to site, blink and it is suddenly mid-day.

1:00 PM

Just after lunch, an Engineers meeting is held to ensure the structure is progressing as planned. We all examine and mark up the drawings to ensure we are always a few weeks ahead with the planning of intricate details. In this photo two Site Engineers and I get our heads around a complex “downturn wall” detail, making sure we are factoring in all the precise measurements to make sure the reinforcement can be assembled correctly.

3:00 PM

Once our Engineer’s meeting has been completed, everyone is on the same page and across the details for the next few days, I head back out onto the site to close out any remaining issues or defects. Towards the end of the day, most concrete pours have already commenced, and trades are winding up, meaning it’s a good chance to catch up and discuss programme and productivity over the next few days.

4:00 PM

From 4 pm on it’s a chance to catch up on any remaining paperwork, finish off any report writing and input data into our structures trackers on excel. These tasks will take me through until home time!