Inside Sisk

In the city of Leiden, in the Netherlands, Sisk is building a revolutionary cancer treatment facility for global biopharmaceutical company, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). This will be BMS’ very first CAR-T cell therapy centre in Europe, providing innovative life-saving treatments for patients with cancer. 

On this episode of Inside Sisk we take a tour of the site, learn about the special spaces and methods of construction required for unique facility like this, and chat with some of the team about life on site and how it feels to be involved in such an important and impactful project. 

Guests include:

 ·      Anthony O Donovan, Senior Contracts Manager

·      Paul Minihan, Senior Site Manager

·      Con Evans, Site Engineer

·      Roisin Ferris, Engineer 

·      Patrick McIlwaine, Engineer

·      William DeWitt, Safety Supervisor 

In the year that Sisk celebrates its 165th anniversary, it is closing the doors on the headquarters it has occupied for over six decades, Wilton Works, and moving in to a brand new home. The new company HQ in Citywest, Co Dublin, is a “people environment”. Much thought has gone into bringing colleagues together, both for productivity and for play. Importance has been placed on the internal colours and textures and the external views that they see, and the comfort of the spaces they occupy. This is a place designed for people. 

Since its foundation in 1859, Sisk has understood that the success of the company relies entirely on the people working in it. The quality of their craftsmanship, the creativity and intelligence with which they solve problems, and the company culture that together, they create. And so the company has always placed an emphasis on care, on being a place where people feel valued and supported and where they can do their best work. 

In this episode of Inside Sisk, we take a tour of Sisk’s new home in Citywest and learn about how, as Sisk breaks new ground in a continually-evolving industry, its 165-yr old culture of care is more important now than ever. 

Featuring:

• Donal McCarthy, COO, Data Centres, Life Sciences, and Technology. 
• Steven McGee, COO Ireland and UK

In late 2022 the Irish government awarded Sisk the contract to build seven state-of-the-art Community Nursing Units (CNUs) across Ireland. CNUs are residential care facilities that provide full-time medical care for patients while also relieving pressure on acute hospitals, and, as such, they play a critical role in the country’s healthcare system. Moreover, these new facilities are being designed and built in a way that will create a home from home for residents, ensuring comfort and familiarity, and assisting in recovery.  

Sisk broke ground on all seven CNUs in December 2022 and in this episode of Inside Sisk, we learn about the unique challenges that this approach presented, how Modern Methods of Construction and cutting edge digital tools helped overcome these challenges and maximise efficiencies, and the positive impact that design can have on our health and recovery. We also take a tour of the CNU project site in Athlone, Co Westmeath. 

Featuring:

• James Moloney, Regional Director, Sisk Regional Building
• Cathal Dempsey, Contracts Manager, Athlone CNU 
• Dermot O‘Hagan, Director at JNP architects & CNU Project Architect

Standing on site at Sisk’s Isle of Man Ferry Terminal project in the UK city of Liverpool, it’s impossible to tell the unique challenges it has presented, because they are mostly underground. Beneath the surface lies centuries of maritime history – ancient docks, chambers, access gates, and many other structures and artefacts that have built up over hundreds of years of dockland activity. 

In this episode of Inside Sisk, we meet the team behind the project and discover how they have applied creativity, cutting edge technology, and years of experience to solve the unique problems they have faced, successfully building on a rich history and creating a new legacy. 

Featuring:

Jason Hurst, Project lead

Alex Belcher, Project Planner

Josh Hanson, Head of Digital Project Delivery, Sisk UK

Sophie Dick, Assistant Engineer

Data Centres have become a central part of modern life, enabling the cloud-based platforms and services we rely on for communication, collaboration, e-commerce, creativity and much more. 

As our reliance on the cloud grows, so does our need for data centres. In this episode of Inside Sisk, we learn about how Sisk is rapidly becoming a leader in the delivery of these vital pieces of infrastructure around Ireland and Europe, for some of the world’s biggest technology companies.

We visit Sisk’s data centre project in Malmo, Sweden and meet some of the onsite team. They talk about the technology and modern methods of construction at play, what makes this particular site and the way it is operated unique, and what it’s like to live and work in Sweden. 

 Featuring:

·      Padraig  Mullen, Project Lead

·      Ros O’ Flynn, Contracts Manager 

·      Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Director, Ireland and Europe 

·      Frank Power, Site Agent

·      Niamh Conlon, Fit  Out Manager 

·      Wayne O’Malley, Section Foreman 

The Irish Glass Bottle site is one of Dublin’s most high-profile projects and is widely considered to be central to the evolution of Ireland’s capital city. Located near Dublin Port, Glass Bottle is a 15 hectare former industrial site that is currently being transformed in to a place for thousands of people to live, work, and socialise in the community. 

Sisk is currently constructing Phase 1 of this iconic project, which includes almost 600 homes, both private and Social & Affordable. In this episode of Inside Sisk, we meet some of the members of the Sisk onsite team and learn about what’s being built today to help shape the city of tomorrow.

Featuring:

·      Fergus Beirne, Contracts Manager 

·      Ciara Sinden, Senior Document Controller

·      Dave Carroll, Senior Engineer

·      Arkadiusz Niedoja (Eric), working with Sisk via Way2Work Ireland 

·      Mick Murphy, Site Manager  

About Series 3 of Inside Sisk

 In this series we are taking you on a tour of some of Sisk’s landmark projects across Ireland, the UK, and mainland Europe. We meet the people behind these projects and discover how their work is Creating Places for Future Generations. We’ll also learn how John Sisk and Son is breaking new ground in the construction industry and leading the way when it comes to technology, people, culture, and sustainability. 

One of the most rewarding aspects of working in the construction industry is the opportunity to work on big-ticket, flagship projects that not only have an impact on those who build them, but that also serve the current and future generations of people that will work, live, play, or pray in those structures.

 In this episode of Inside Sisk, we take a tour of Ireland’s largest sports stadium, Croke Park, in the company of the man who led its redevelopment into a world-class 82,000 seater stadium. Paul Carmody spent twelve years of his 46-year career with Sisk on this project and he shares the highs and challenges of the experience, and what he learned from it both professionally and personally.

 We will also hear again from three previous guests from the series and learn about the projects that have had a significant impact on them, during their time with Sisk:  Sisk Site Manager Paul Minihan; Lindsay Griffin, Senior Proposals Manager; and John Dennehy, Regional Commercial Director, Sisk UK. 

One of the most exciting aspects of the modern construction industry is the phenomenal level of innovation that is infusing all parts of the business. This change is not just having an impact on projects, but on people too. Roles are changing and growing, people managers are having to lead in a whole new way, and relationships with clients are quickly evolving.

 During times of change, the opportunities for personal, professional, and commercial development abound. On this episode of Inside Sisk, we meet two guests who outline how their sectors are innovating through digital technologies and modern methods of construction, the opportunities and challenges it presents to them and their teams, and how they are helping to bring clients on the journey: Jennifer McCullagh, Head of Facilities Management at Sensori fm – a company that is part of the wider Sisk group; and Jody Coleman, Commercial Director at Sisk Rail. 

In this episode of Inside Sisk, we learn about the company's rapid expansion across Europe and the UK, some of the flagship projects that are being built, and the valuable opportunities and experience that Sisk team members can gain by working directly on the Sisk’s international growth.

 Our guests are Paul Minihan, Sisk Site Manager, who has been working in Europe for over four years; and John Dennehy, Regional Commercial Director for Sisk UK South, who joined Sisk’s early UK operations over 37 years ago. 

A feature of several Sisk projects is the significant level of digital technology and new building techniques at play. Building Information Modelling (BIM), Digital Twins, and Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) are just some of the innovations driving forward the modernisation of the industry. 

 On this episode of Inside Sisk, we examine how these technologies work, the impact they are having on time, cost and sustainability, and how they are elevating the role of the human in the construction industry.

 Our guests on this episode are:

 Viktoria Roy, Senior BIM engineer

Charlie Corcoran, IT Enterprise Architect

James Crosse, Senior Design manager