Work Experience (17-21 Feb)

I am very thankful to be given the opportunity of going to BAM constructions to undergo five days of work experience. It was very enlightening and enriching as I get to know more about the insights of a construction company.

On the first day of work placement, I first went to the office opposite to the construction site to meet up with Gill Rogers who is the site administrator to go through some administrative things. I was then brough to the construction site, which is the old site for Jesus College. I first went through induction with Martin, who is a very nice guy, and then I was brought around the site to take a look at what’s going on. The induction was mostly about safety and wellbeing of construction workers while talking a little bit about the aims and goals for the whole project. I was then shown around the site which has recently been demolished and is basically nothing but a big hole right now. Martin taught me through how everything will be built in the next year and showing me some basic structures. He also showed me the designs and outline of the whole building which will serve as a 68-room student accommodation, lecture theatre, library and digital hub. I then met Alec, who is the Lead Project manager. He asked me what I am hoping to study in University, and when I gave him Civil Engineering as the answer, he patted me on my shoulder and told me that it’s a good choice. He then went on to talk about how he joined BAM and became a project manager. Not surprisingly, he too studied civil engineering. He told me that whatever I do, it is important that I follow my own will, and study engineering of course. He said that engineering is good because almost everything is related to engineering, for example, construction. He also told me how he has gone from being an office person to becoming a lead project manager. His words are certainly of use and wise. During the last working hour, I went to the office and completed a module regarding site managers. It took me around an hour to complete but the knowledge that I have gained is certainly important for my future career choices.

On the second day of work placement. I came back to be astonished by how much progress has been made after the day before. Basic structure of the columns has been formed and more holes have been dug to fit in the components of the base structure. I am amazed by how much things have changed after I left. Afterwards, John, another project manager, took me down to the working site once again. He told me about how things are going to be constructed and knocked down. After asking some questions regarding why the structures won’t fall apart and why more short supporting columns are needed when the long ones are being taken apart. I then asked about his position and how he became project manager. He told me that he started off as a graduate site manager and worked his way up to a project manager. He taught me that everything has to start from the bottom and that even though at first, I might be the one does all the “housekeeping” things, gradually, someone else will be doing it but that’s fine because we’ll be working as a team and completing what is to be done by who. He said, although there might not be much to do here at the site as I cannot give any commands or instructions, I will be able to learn all these life lessons that won’t be learnt anywhere else, and to be frank, I totally agree with him as I have been told a lot of useful reminders, wise words and also learnt how to communicate and work around people that I am not familiar or know well, apart from just observing how they work and how the site has been progressing. At the end, I did another module of the test out of the 4 modules, which is about Estimators and Surveyors.

On the third day of work placement. I once again came back to find out that a lot more progress has been made. More columns have been constructed and concrete has been poured into the molds. This might sound familiar, but I am really amused by the growth of the site, from just a big hole in the ground to columns of the basement, it is just magical and cool. I was then given a copy of the progress report by John so that I could take the chance to look at the format of progress reports. There are a lot of information in the report that could be made use of, for example: Progress Overview, Design Progress, Statutory Approvals and etc. It also helped me look more into the job of a project manager as I was also given the chance to learn different terms in the construction industry such as BREEAM, RFI and more. Also, I was given the chance to shadow one of the site managers Joe. I was able to see what a site manager usually does. For instance, Joe was told to talk about the site to some inspectors and the client as well, I realized it is actually a difficult task as they would have to deal with the client’s or inspectors’ mood and tell them what they are looking for around the site. Also, the team has found wells lying at the site. This has shown me how construction and archaeology are both closely related as I have been told this before during my trip to Durham with the school, but I wasn’t so convinced at that time as archaeology is a term that I am not quite familiar with. This has been a great chance for me to understand the whole process of building and construction and what kind of people project managers have to work with. At the end of the day, I once again went up to the office to complete a module. The module I was working with is about design. It made me realize that safety is not just about drawing stuff but also going to the site to make sure that everything is according to plan and to find out any unexpected changes.

On the fourth day of work placement. More progress had been done as I arrived at the site. The fact that I am so excited to see the progress has made me proven to myself that building things are my cup of tea. As I went into the office, John was talking to some people from G-core, which is responsible for boring holes. I was then told that the reason why they had a mini meeting was due to the fact that G-core didn’t have their machine ready yesterday and promised them to start on Monday instead. Using this as an example, John told me about the skills when dealing with these types of situation. He told me that it is fine for things like these to happen, even if they start late, we still need them to end on time. I realized that in doing everything, we should focus more on the deadline instead of when to start. As long as G-core finishes their task by then, he said they’ll be happy with whatever they do, as such events in the future won’t be postponed or cancelled, which in this case cannot be. Other than that, I have been in the office looking ar BREEAM, which is used to grade the sustainability of any types of construction such as building a community, new buildings and infrastructures. The fact that BREEAM is the first guide to sustainability is quite amusing. However, BREEAM and convenience would have quite the conflict. For example, under BREEAM standards, frames nowadays should use timber frames instead of steel frames. However, this would give rise to more severe fires, it would be less future proof. Also, it contributed to the green trend where everything should be built with greenery, but it is difficult to introduce that to some buildings. Moreover, using sustainable methods may cause the time for completion of a project to be higher. It may cause extra issues to the public as roads have to be blocked in order to carry out the construction. I had to complete another module at the end of the day regarding Engineering. I was able to know more about different engineering positions.

On the last day of work placement. I was able to go on top of Jesus College, on the roof of it with Martin to take an overview of the whole project site and figure out something regarding the crane. I was lucky to be able to look at Oxford from there although it wasn’t really high up. I am also amazed by how the site has progressed throughout the mere 5 days I have been here. After going back to the office, Alec the project manager gave me a pep talk on the industry. He told me that working at a construction site is not just working dirty or filthy, but also a ton of reports and behind-the-scenes progress had to be made. He taught me through the daily rundown of being a project manager again. As today is the last day, there really isn’t much for me to do at the office. I was very thankful to have been able to be a part of the team for one week. Every one was very nice and kind to me. They never looked bothered when I ask questions or when I do silly things from time to time. The fact that they are nice enough to let me in their crowded office has spoken for itself. In addition, it is an honor that I was able to be a part of the whole Jesus College Project as the project would be a new addition to Oxford by next year.