Akhil James

5.15 AM

Wake up time! Morning shower and get ready to drive off to the train station.

6.45 AM

Walk through the office door, greet the team and look through my list of activities that are happening today. Most of the days include a concrete pour in an area I’m looking after, so prepare the relevant pre-pour Inspection and Test Plan paperwork, get my PPE on and head off to the site. Relevant formwork certificates and ITP signatures are collected prior to commencing the concrete pour around 7.30 am.

7.45 AM

As the concrete pour commences, I like to catch up with my area foreman to run through activities for the day, drawings for an upcoming concrete pour and the status of outstanding RFIs we are chasing up. I will take notes of any issues raised in terms of safety, programme or buildability to be raised for discussion with the design consultants and my managers.

During the pour, we are normally installing formwork in one area and tying reo in another. I walk and inspect these areas for a morning status update to be included in our programme.

I will take site progress photos around the job and head back to the project office.

10.00 AM

Now I log in to my email and action any outstanding tasks. This may involve sending updated drawings to relevant trades or raising RFI’s based on potential issues on site. I believe a good RFI includes as much information from existing site conditions as possible, so I create digital mark-ups with supporting photos that are sent to relevant parties from whom we are seeking additional information or design clarification.

10.45 AM

With the immediate tasks to complete now actioned, I go through reinforcement schedules uploaded to a shared drive by our steel supplier. This is cross-checked with the structural drawings to ensure all reinforcement components documented by our structural designer has been scheduled, in some instances it’s not and I return the schedules with comments to be revised and resubmitted.

12.00 PM

I head back to the site and observe how the works are going. This normally involves answering any questions or queries the steel fixer has about the areas they’re tying steel, then we agree on a time for the third party engineer inspection.

12.30 PM

Time for Lunch! Carrot juice, chicken salad and a box of fruit keep me going for the rest of the day. This time mainly involves around catching up on sports highlights and any trending news around the world and of course eating!

1.00 PM

Another check of emails then jumping into a meeting with SPE, CM, GF for any potential issues (resourcing, time, safety) encountered on site and agree on a resolution.

2.30 PM

Head back to the site for a final internal inspection of the area that had reinforcement tied. Raise any defects for the steel fixer to close out in preparation for the third party engineer inspection.

3.30 PM

Time for third party engineer inspection of area tied. We cross-check the design drawings with what’s been completed on-site, sometimes the design doesn’t work on-site, so I would’ve raised an RFI in the previous day for rectification detail. This is then reviewed on site and signed off. If the third-party engineer picks up any additional defects, it is noted down for steel fixer to amend in response to the Site Inspection Report (SIR).

I then take the status and final walk of my work fronts. Progress photos for the afternoon as well as photos of rectified defects are taken for record-keeping purposes.

5.00 PM

Back to the office, the defect closeout report is compiled and sent across to the third party engineer for formal sign off for tomorrow’s concrete pour.

I’m responsible for sending out the daily builder’s brief, so I contact the General Foremen, Foremen and Site Managers to compile a comprehensive document that lists activities happening around the entire job tomorrow. This includes combining exclusion zone mark-ups and registers and as well as adding information on a key activity happening tomorrow i.e. Crane climb or Hoist service which may impede some sub-contractors works the next day. Finally, rapidly changing Covid-19 updates are included and the Builder’s brief is sent out to all trades for discussion in tomorrow morning’s prestart with their workers.

5.30 PM to 6.00 PM

Anywhere, between 5.30 pm to 6.00 pm, I call it a day and pack up. Normally use the time on the train to unwind and listen to music or read a book.

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