People in construction

Amid back-slapping congratulations, an impromptu congratulatory speech from his Morgan Ashurst director, and even an off-the-cuff job offer from another contractor, David Wilson is enjoying the aftershock of having been awarded the title of Construction Manager of the Year. Several judges single him out to tell him he was their unanimous choice.

But even if that job offer is the first of many, it seems unlikely that certain aspects of Wilson's personality and professionalism will be changing. Throughout all the commotion, the 44-year-old responds to the demands on his attention with a smile, a joke and a promise to return later, politely prioritizing what happens to be the task in hand – our interview.

As he describes his achievements on York St John University's De Grey Court, it becomes clear that Wilson's personal warmth and people skills had a great deal to do with how he ran the project. Describing the no-blame culture within the team, he also talks about "the necessary evil" of email. "I say, always make a phone call, or pay someone a visit. And if you've got to break bad news, don't send an email then go to lunch – pick up the phone and talk to them!"

Wilson, a graduate of Ulster University, also stresses the effort he puts into building team relationships and a positive atmosphere. "Life's work is hard and can sometimes take over, so it's important that we have some good times along the way," he says, his accent a blend of his Northern Irish upbringing and his 20-plus years in Yorkshire.

De Grey Court, which consisted of a new-build teaching block and the refurbishment of two grade-II listed houses, no doubt generated its fair share of bad news. First, the client had a fixed budget of £9.344m, making it crystal clear that there could be no overspend. It meant that every item of extra expenditure had to be offset with cuts – and knock-on problems – elsewhere.

The technical complications were considerable, including an M&E spec of chilled beams and underfloor heating in the new building, and archaeology and underpinning in the refurbishment. But Wilson highlights the project's location and the resulting logistics challenge as the hardest nut to crack.

The site was surrounded by three major traffic routes, other campus buildings and a residential area. "The location on the busiest junction in York was a challenge in itself, as was trying to keep to a build sequence that let us get all the materials in and out." Then there were the 57 planning conditions to adhere to, Morgan Ashurst's commitment to using local suppliers and sub-contractors, and the immovable deadline of the start of the academic year.

But Wilson's biggest achievement was undoubtedly delivering the design quality that makes De Grey Court the proud recipient of an RIBA regional award. Under the design and build contract, London-based architect Rivington Street Studio was novated to Morgan Ashurst. As practice director Charles Thomson says, such a relationship can easily become dysfunctional if the indefinables that make up design quality end up at odds with the all-too-definable metrics of budget and programme.

But at De Grey Court, Wilson was responsible for putting quality top of the agenda. "We had our arguments and debates, but there was a very clear sense that they wanted to achieve a quality product, and David Wilson was at the head of that," says Thomson. "They understood our standards and were rigorous with their sub-contractors if things weren't going well. David was the lead man, very passionate and interested in the project, and endlessly pushing for design quality."

Wilson's passion for the project began during the tender stage, when he was put forward as Morgan Ashurst's project manager and drew up a strategy to cut £1m from the budget. According to Chris Richards, chair of the judging panel, it was his honesty about the problems ahead that impressed the client and won Morgan Ashurst the job. "He laid out all the logistical problems that would be encountered, and applied his knowledge of construction to solve them. This is an experienced client, and he says that De Grey Court is the best he's ever done."

The project is now a landmark in York, and a turning point in Wilson's professional life. "What does winning the award mean? It gives me the confidence that how I'm running projects must be going along the right lines," he says modestly. "It's about working together to find a solution for every problem."

Meet Sam During FCIOB, a development consultant, chartered environmentalist, student, ecologist and the CIOB's man in Sierra Leone – not to mention a strong contender for the title of the institute's busiest member. By day, During runs a development consultancy specialising in social housing projects in London, but he has enough strings to his bow for a small orchestra. Not least is his role as an international ambassador for the CIOB and as the founder of a new Sustainability Satellite Group within the CIOB'S London branch.

"When I go home in the evening, the first thing I do is switch on my laptop," he says. "Sometimes I think I've taken on too much – I sit back and think 'what am I doing? How can I balance all this?' But I enjoy it, and when you enjoy it, it doesn't feel like hard work."

During was born in Sierra Leone, a West African nation of about 5 million people that is still recovering from the civil war that ended in 2002. Though he left many years ago to study in the UK, he still takes an interest in his birthplace. "I've got huge experience in regeneration and I'd like to go back and do my bit," he explains.

In 2008, after meeting the president of Sierra Leone in London, he was invited to visit the country where he struck up a relationship with the Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone. He has been advising the university on securing CIOB accreditation for its civil engineering degrees, and is representing the institute in forging links with the Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers.

During also hopes to make a physical contribution to the reconstruction of the country. He is leading design development of a new town project proposed by a group of Sierra Leoneans living in England, working under the name International Development Enterprise Associates, or IDEA (UK). Last October, During saw a presentation about the Mape project, which includes commercial buildings, a school and hospital, plus a resort aimed at tourists. "Each person [involved] has a huge amount of experience. They could easily have said 'we don't care about Sierra Leone, we're comfortable here' but they decided to go back and see what they can do. I was very impressed, and said 'I'd like to get involved'." During is now coordinating architects, engineers and environmental consultants on plans for the US $40m project.

He is particularly hopeful that he can make a contribution to restoring the ecology of Sierra Leone – he is studying for a PhD in ecological building practices in sub-Saharan Africa, at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. "Construction is to blame for a large amount of damage to ecosystems," he says. "We see a nice piece of land, all we want to do is develop it. We're affecting water quality, we drive species from their habitats and we bring noise and pollution. I've been thinking about how we can develop sensitively, and work with nature to achieve a good project."

He visited the Mape site with ecologists to see which trees could be kept. "The landscape will be designed to fit with the ecology. This is the sort of thing builders and designers often didn't think about in the past, but we should always think of it before we start building."

During's doctorate will add to the string of letters after his name. He is so committed to studying that even a recent heart operation hasn't slowed him down. "I have a very inquisitive mind, I like research… Anything that comes up as the topic of the day, I want to know about it."

He first became interested in the environment while working for Metropolitan Housing Trust, and acted as sustainability champion on the £450m Clapham Park regeneration project. When the CIOB began to offer the Chartered Environmentalist qualification, he was one of the first to attain it. Now members applying for the qualification might meet him on the interview panel.

During hopes to complete his doctorate by the time of the Olympics. "I've always wanted to be Dr During, it's got a nice ring to it," he smiles. Afterwards, he says, he may be ready to slow down – but then he mentions the market for sustainability expertise in tropical environments…

Meet Barbara Entwistle ICIOB, a one-woman recruitment fair for the construction industry. When she's not climbing around building sites in the north-west for roof window specialist Velux, she is lecturing undergraduates on daylighting, doing demonstrations in schools, mentoring younger women in construction via the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology, or coming up with even more ways to spread the word at committee meetings for the CIOB Lancashire and Cumbria region.

"I believe if you're chartered, you should educate, inspire and inform the next generation," she explains. "If everybody who is chartered gave up one hour a year and went to local schools and colleges, that would make a massive improvement. We can't expect anyone else to push this industry if we don't do it at our own level."

Entwistle, 51, is an incorporated member of the CIOB, and hopes to become chartered soon. Though she's been working in construction for many years, including 14 at Velux, she only came to studying in her forties after a chance encounter with a lecturer from the University of Bolton. "I was delivering a seminar for Velux, and he said 'Barbara, next time you're in Bolton, come and see me about doing something for the students'. And I said, 'I really should do something myself.' So I went in for a cup of tea, and I enrolled 48 hours later. I didn't leave for six years."

Entwistle first took a degree in building studies, then the university offered her the chance to do a masters in construction management – one of the best things she's ever done, she says. "There's something great about studying later in life, you've seen a bit of life and you can be more analytical. It was extremely hard work and very fulfilling."

She's now a visiting lecturer at Bolton and several other universities, and aims to complete a PhD on the regeneration of Manchester. It sounds like an exhausting programme, but Entwistle seems to have boundless energy. She's been a qualified cricket umpire since 1986 and a Lady Mayoress of Blackburn, which involved speaking at more than 400 events and becoming "an authority on giant radishes and chrysanthemums".

At the beginning of May she undertook her most high profile engagement to date, sharing the stage with architect George Clarke at the Grand Designs Live show, of which Velux is a sponsor.

"Our seminar is called 'Don't Move, Improve', and I'll be talking to the audience about what they can achieve by using natural daylight and all the things they need to consider. We live in a society that watches copious DIY programmes, and people think it's cheaper to do it themselves, but they're embarking on very ambitious projects with little experience. We get people who don't know the difference between a rafter and a purlin – one supports the roof, the other supports the house. A lady in Glossop said 'you told me I could cut through a rafter'. I said, 'you can, but that's a purlin'."

Entwistle's appearance will be a way of demonstrating that women can be just as knowledgeable about construction as men, though she's keen to encourage new entrants to the industry whatever their background or gender. "I'd like girls to get jobs in the industry not because they're girls but because they're the right person for the job. These days if you have ten QS jobs, you'll get three women apply and seven men. If we could get that to five and five by the time I finish working, that would be fantastic. Then no one would bat an eyelid about a woman onsite."

Meet Gordon Browne MCIOB, a senior lecturer in construction at Southampton Solent University, a veteran of disaster response, a promoter of sustainable building technologies for East Africa, and an expert at traumatising his contacts by leaving messages saying "Gordon Brown" called. "When he was Chancellor, everyone used to ask if I was phoning about their tax returns. But these days, it's all quips about my expenses!"

At 55, Browne is in a second career as a lecturer, but he spent his first two decades in construction combining site manager roles for UK contractors with short-term charity projects overseas. His skills helped build the infrastructure for a refugee camp in Ethiopia, and later took him to Rwanda and Kosovo. At the same time, he was a committee member and chair of the Thames Valley Centre.

When family commitments called time on his globetrotting career (his wife's death meant raising his daughter as a single dad), Browne compensated by training the next generation to work in the humanitarian sector, running weekend courses for students and graduates for charities Red-R and Engineers Without Borders. "It's 'engineers' in the broad sense – we train architects and construction managers as well," he says.

EWB places about 40 students a year in development projects, with many going on to longer placements. Former students pop into his email inbox from around the world. "Some go on to work for an aid agency, some might work for the overseas office of a British firm, and some will take up careers with a UK company – but they'll be better for the experience. When I hear from them, I like to think I'm the one who may have influenced them."

For 20 years, Browne has been an advocate of sustainable non-fired earth blocks, and has used his expertise as a trustee of the Good Earth Trust, a British-run charity active in East Africa. The interlocking blocks are made of subsoil, water and a little cement, compressed on site by a hand-operated "ram" or press. It's a simple, affordable, low carbon product to rebuild homes, economies and lives.

Because the blocks are unfired, they do not contribute to the ugly deforestation around many African villages, where people use timber to fire brick kilns. Building walls also requires less mortar – and less costly, imported cement.

The charity had looked to securing certified status under the Clean Development Mechanism – companies needing to offset their carbon emissions could have bought carbon credits from the trust, providing it with a steady income. However, since the Copenhagen summit, the price of carbon has plummeted, making the costs involved in the accreditation process uneconomic.

So in the medium term, Browne would be delighted if a UK construction company was to "adopt" the trust, supporting it financially or with seconded personnel.

Now that his daughter is older, Browne has been able to visit the Good Earth Trust projects. But mostly, his involvement with overseas development is through the enthusiasm he inspires in his students. At Southampton Solent, he teaches a module on sustainability and innovation, which led one student to propose a new stabiliser for the blocks based on caustic soda, and another to devise a way to improve ground insulation in temporary shelters in cold climates.

He says he is "not an academic, I'm a practical person with roots in site engineering and construction management." But by taking that practicality to the world's disaster areas and then back into the classroom, he's quietly having a significant impact.

www.goodearthtrust.org.uk

Friday afternoon in the site office of Wates' East Surrey College in Redhill, and the company's deputy chairman is paying one of his regular calls. James Wates and his team take a walk around the nearly-completed project - the design-and-build facility features a top-lit atrium ringed by generous walkways, giving onto teaching spaces with windows wide enough for everyone to see what's going on.

It's the kind of project that can raise the quality of life for everyone who spends time there. But it's also the kind of project the industry will be delivering rather fewer of in the coming years, as the public spending tap is turned off with a firm twist of the coalition wrist. Unless, that is, the construction industry can communicate that prioritising capital spend on construction will help build the stronger society and more prosperous economy the government wants. That investment in construction sends ripples of training opportunities into the local community, and has a domino effect on employment and tax revenue, from the professional services sector to product manufacturing. To a government staring down the barrel of a £156bn deficit, it's a tough message to get across.

But there couldn't be a more qualified messenger than Wates. As well as his role as CIOB president, he's also chairman of the UK Contractors Group, and vice chairman of the CBI Construction Council. As the newly appointed chairman of CITB-Construction Skills, taking over from Sir Michael Latham, he has a direct influence on the skills and training agenda that is so close to the industry's heart (and the government's policy agenda). With all this time spent round committee tables, he estimates that he splits his time between Wates and the wider industry on a 50:50 ratio. In other words, there's no one in a better position to pull the levers that can influence change in the industry, or voice what it's saying to the outside world.

Improving efficiency

One key message he'll be taking to government is that of "quid pro quid" - if it provides a construction-friendly economy, the industry can provide further efficiency gains. It's a familiar cry, echoing through the Latham Report, Egan report and the Movement for Innovation. But never has it been made during such an economic impasse, when his prediction that a further 10-15% could be cut (from projects where contractors have design responsibility) will surely win a keen audience.

In this battle and all the others Wates will face, he will draw authority from his position on the board of one of the industry's most successful contractors. The family-run business has been steering a successful course through choppy economic waters, announcing solid results for 2009 with only a 7% dip in turnover. In recent months, it has reached 33rd place in the Sunday Times Profit Track table of 100 companies with fastest-growing profits, was named as Contractor of the Year in the Building Awards, and achieved a Platinum Award in the 2009 Corporate Responsibility Index.

Back to his roots

Wates is the great-grandson of the founder, sitting on the board with his four cousins (each of his uncles had two sons). The fifth generation is already waiting in the wings - Wates' 16 year-old-son is looking forward to summer work experience on site after sitting his GCSEs, and there's also a younger son aged 12. "None of us have ever been pushed to go into the business," he says. "We've all been round pegs in round holes, and keen not to push the next generation."

He read Estate Management at the Polytechnic of Central London. But he never graduated, leaving a year early to work for the family business as a management trainee - a decision he now says he regrets. Maybe so, but its also clear - from his encouraging comments to the brickwork and joinery students he meets on the tour of the college, and disparaging comments about Labour's target of 50% of young people entering higher education - that he particularly values the industry for providing career paths for people like him: capable and hard-working, but more attracted by the world of work than academia.

Making a difference

Wates, 50, was born with only one arm, a disability he says "has never been a hindrance or an impediment". He tells the story of how, as a baby learning to crawl, doctors fitted a prosthetic arm. "But my mother threw it away because she realised it was immobilising me. My parents never wrapped me in cotton wool." And it certainly didn't stop him becoming a keen rugby player, or developing his skills in one-handed golf. In fact, his competitive spirit is legendary in the construction industry, and much-mentioned by people who know him. Asked to confirm it, he smiles laconically and says "yeah" in a tone that suggests "try me".

To the people he will be meeting in his multiple roles, one imagines that the disability adds to his personal impact: if he can get over that, what else can he get over? And perhaps his experience of having a visible difference will bring added commitment to an issue that he says will span his portfolio - improving the industry's diversity. He points to last summer's report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission as a watershed moment, shining an uncompromising light on the industry and showing it to be as pale and male-dominated as the new coalition cabinet.

"The EHRC report showed that we're getting something very wrong, and if we don't get it right, there will be problems. There are not enough women in the industry and not enough black, Asian and ethnic minorities. Maybe it doesn't appeal, maybe we don't attract them, but there's a whole skill base out there we're not getting," he says. "The challenge is continually raising awareness of the issue. Eighteen month ago, I don't think I was aware myself." But he's caught up quickly - the UKCG has already set up a working party on equality and diversity to share best practice among employers.

Badge of professionalism

As CIOB president - "a huge honour I'm very proud to be taking on" - he's looking forward to promoting chartership as the badge of professionalism in the industry, rightfully ranked alongside the surveyors, architects and engineers. But, after two overseas presidents in succession, he's aware that the UK regions might be feeling disconnected. "Whilst not overlooking the overseas agenda, I see a possibility of being able to connect with the regions. I can fit that around the business - if I'm going to Wates' northeastern division, I can visit the local branch, or attend a function up there." Then he pauses. "If I'm invited to any!"

A full version of this interview appears at www.construction-manager.co.uk/features/messenger.