National Apprenticeship Week 2022 – A Day in the life

Supporting Apprenticeships

Galliford Try were appointed through the Southern Construction Framework in November 2020 to deliver the modernisation of sports facilities at North Herts College’s Hitchin campus for use by students and the local community.

The works comprise:

demolition of the existing sports hall and squash courts and the
provision of a new multi-purpose sports hall with associated external works.
The new sports building is a 4-court badminton size sports hall, changing rooms, gym and reception.
A new 3G artificial grass pitch with perimeter fencing and flood lights.

How it started

Dillon Hemington came to Galliford Try through shared apprenticeship scheme, CoTrain, following a lifelong interest in construction and working as a carpenter alongside his Level 3 studies. After a successful interview and having impressed with his practical knowledge, Dillon started on site with the North Herts College team. He spends four days a week on site with one day free to study towards his Level 4 Construction Site Supervisor at Southbank University.

Dillon is supported by mentor Marcus Young, who came through Galliford Try’s trainee programme himself eight years ago, shadowing him on site as well as attending important meetings with the client and supply chain. Most recently, he has been getting to grips with the design process with their Design Manager, helping him source product samples to show the client and spending time with different supply chain to learn about the various trades.

Dillion is an important member of the team, who enjoys celebrating both work and personal achievements together, most recently with Dillon passing his driving test!

“It has been an enjoyable experience and getting to know the site team has been great! I am glad I chose this opportunity.”

Dillon Hemington

A Day in the life: Dillon Hemington

6.00am Start…

If I am lucky my Mum will appear at the door with an early morning cup of tea to get me going for the day. A quick shower and a bit of toast is quickly followed by defrosting the car windscreen and warming up the car for the 40-minute drive to Hitchin. I recently passed my driving test so up until then was relying on our Project Manager, Ralph Mills for a lift to work.

7:30am arrive at site…

I arrive at site and get settled in with another cup of tea. I chat with the team and once the workforce are ready for their site inductions I am well prepared and raring to go. I explain the project to any new workers, check CSCS cards, induct them into the safety and quality culture of Galliford Try and set them off to work.

I have my own company laptop and mobile phone so quickly check for important messages and emails from colleagues before setting up the electronic site daily diary for completion throughout the day.

Head out onto site…

I then head out to check who is here and to make sure they are working in line with their Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS). I make a point of stopping to say morning to the workforce; something I learnt from a recent visit to another Galliford Try site. Whilst on site I am always checking for any Health, Safety and Environmental issues as well as checking for quality as the work progresses. I undertake formal quality checks with the Site Manager and record the findings. I have also recently started to undertake the weekly site safety inspections.

10:00am break

The workers tend to stop for a break so that is also time for me to return to the site office for another cup of tea and a quick sandwich. If we are lucky Ralph’s wife (Susan) may have made a lovely cake which we share out.

Mid morning – Lunch

The time between the mid-morning tea and lunch is filled with more site walks and meetings. I am involved with and contribute to a number of meetings, the subject of which varies depending on the day of the week. During the early stages of the project I attended many pre-start and pre-order meetings with the Aligned Supply Chain, but now there are more progress meetings.

Lunch

I always look forward to lunch which gives us all time to eat and have a chat about the weekend or home life. Our Site Manager Marcus Young has recently got a puppy (Lottie), so we have to look through hundreds of photos of her on a daily basis!!

Afternoon

The afternoons are used for planning activities for the following day, checking safety information for the new contractors and inputting my thoughts into the programme. I make a point of taking a lot of progress photos to supplement the daily diary. I complete that at the end of the day and upload it onto the system. Of course, the afternoon would not be complete without more tea!!

End of the Day

I end each day collecting the walkie-talkies, checking for important emails and messages, actioning the findings of my day on site and checking that the site is left in a safe manner before we lock up and I head off home to Mums home cooked meal. Two nights per week I head off the football training after which I am well and truly exhausted.

Although this is a typical day of my life, no two days are ever the same on a building site, so I have learnt to be flexible and prioritise the daily tasks to help the project and those around me.

North Herts 3