The Competitive Contractor

Today, we take on a topic that many people are reluctant to – Business Improvement. The challenges faced by the industry and economy have put a lot of pressure on businesses, and one way to deal with it is to look at processes and simplify how we do them. 

I can see the industry's reluctance to make things better, not because the pressure is not there but because there's hesitation to invest time and resources to make things better for the business and the people. Hence, joining me in episode 40 is Chris Cleary, a Business Transformation Specialist at Vative, who will shed some light on why such improvements are necessary. 

Chris started his career in the Australian manufacturing and resources sector and had roles in engineering, manufacturing, senior leadership and business improvement arenas. He is an enthusiastic Business Improvement Lean Six Sigma Black Belt with almost 40 years of experience mentoring teams and creating cultural change within organisations. 

Passionate about delivering purposeful training and education from the Front line to the Executive Suite, aligned with enabling practical change and results, Chris strongly advocates personal engagement with individuals to create cultural change within organisations collectively. 

Join us as we tackle critical things we need to do to thrive. 

Useful links:

Vative: https://vative.com.au/

Follow Chris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-cleary-a6ba7a24/

About Shivendra & Co: www.shivendra.com 

The Jobs and Skills Summit held last month, brought Australians together to work constructively on the challenges and opportunities facing the Australian labour market and economy. Jon Davies, the CEO of the Australian Constructors Association represented the construction industry and businesses at the summit and had the opportunity to raise topics at the forum. 

In addressing the participants, Jon highlighted challenges facing the industry and solutions that with the support of the government, make the construction industry more sustainable. 

In this podcast, Jon provides us with an update from the Job and Skills Summit and also shares his thoughts on the challenges. 

Can we look to the future with optimism? Listen to find out.

Jon Davies was appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Constructors Association on 1 July 2020, after leading the Queensland Major Contractors Association for two years. He has over 30 years of construction industry experience supporting the successful commercial delivery of projects in Australia, the Middle East, the UK and Asia.

Jon is a passionate advocate for change. He is driven by a desire to ensure that every level of the industry is sustainable, resilient to boom and bust cycles and able to deliver the infrastructure society needs in a collaborative and efficient manner.

Useful Links:

Outcomes of the Jobs and Skills Summit: https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/inline-files/Jobs-and-Skills-Summit-Outcomes-Document.pdf

Address by Jon at the Summit: https://youtu.be/yrYCPgAJxKs

Follow Jon Davies: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceoofaca/

More about ACA: https://www.constructors.com.au/

About Shivendra & Co: www.shivendra.com

The construction industry has to break through a steel ceiling to become a great and sustainable industry.

What is the steel ceiling? How is it keeping construction businesses and the construction industry from a future that at the moment exists in our imagination?

Joining me in Episode 38 is Peter Wilkinson, the founder and director of SamWilko Advisory, where he works with small-to-medium-sized enterprises, mid-tier, corporate businesses, and government in the Transport, Construction and Consulting Services sectors. He is the author of “The Steel Ceiling: Achieving Sustainable Growth in Engineering and Construction”. With over thirty years of experience, he has worked in the infrastructure, mining, defence, utilities and property industries, both locally and internationally.

Peter is passionate about the industry and is gifting the industry with his knowledge and insights through a new book "The Steel Ceiling". Published by Wiley, this book looks at historical data to predict what's around the corner for the construction industry. This is a must-read for those determined to build successful and sustainable engineering and construction businesses. 

Useful Links:

Sam Wilko Advisory: https://samwilkoadvisory.com/

Order the Steel Ceiling: https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-steel-ceiling-peter-wilkinson/book/9781119910442.html

Follow Peter on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samwilkoadvisory/

More about Shivendra & Co: www.shivendra.com

Reach me: [email protected]

This is an episode you don’t want to miss.

The pain is real, and the facts reveal it. 35% of civil contractors in NSW lost money on projects in FY21 and many more continue to operate on wafer-thin margins. And while the infrastructure boom might be keeping many of us busy, is it constructing or damaging an industry vital for the country’s future?

Join David Castledine in this episode as we speak on policy meeting practice. We hear the effort behind the scenes to address the challenges faced by civil contractors, have more women join the industry as well as various approaches to ensure the voice of the industry is heard by decision-makers.

David is Chief Executive Officer of the Civil Contractors Federation (New South Wales). Since joining he has instigated and overseen a significant restructure of the organisation, with consequent significant increases in Member services and advocacy representation.

Links:

CCF NSW: https://www.ccfnsw.com/

Dozen Dos: https://www.ccfnsw.com/News/NewsBlog/ArticleType/ArticleView/ArticleID/240

For more details about this episode or the Competitive Contractor Podcast, visit www.shivendra.com or drop us a line at [email protected]

Ever wondered how, we as leaders of the construction industry can leave a legacy and contribute to the vision of making the construction industry more advanced, more productive and safer?

Well, one thing is for certain - it can be done and it is becoming increasingly easy to do that.

How you may wonder?

What if I said that an opportunity provided to a young high school student many years ago today has led to an Australian start-up that could change how projects are planned.

And that’s just the start of the story.

Without giving much more away, I am delighted to have Patrick Munsey from Aivia Group with me today. Patrick Munsey is a partner at Aivia Group, a professional services and consultancy firm that provides the capture, processing, and analysis of geospatial data, primarily derived from drones. They specialise in photogrammetry and reality modelling for aerial mapping and asset inspection applications across a wide range of industries.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-munsey/

Website: https://www.aiviagroup.com/

Shortage of resources, larger and more complex projects while costs of materials rise is keeping leaders of construction companies awake at night.

Is it possible to do business and be successful in the current climate? This is the question many current leaders and owners of construction companies are trying to answer. 

Chris Pearce joins us in Episode 35 of the Competitive Contractor podcast. Chris is the former President and CEO of Toll Global Logistics, where he spent 16 years in various roles, including Divisional General Manager and General Manager. Chris now operates two businesses: EV20 Consulting Group and Jorson Technologies. He is also an advisor to executives of several large organisations. 

In this podcast, Chris shares the following:

1. Ways construction companies can create nearly 30% additional capacity

2. Opportunities for cost savings that are usually ignored

3. A prediction on traits of successful construction companies in 2025

4. How Drive Lynx is approaching the ConTech revolution with the community in mind

Relevant Links that are mentioned in the podcast: 

Drive Lynx Software: https://ev20group.com/drive-lynx-construction-management-software/

EV20 website: https://ev20group.com/

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ev20-group/

To book a demo of the Drive Lynx software: https://info.shivendra.com/apply51605320

Throughout 2020 and 2021, the COVID 19 pandemic has given prominence to ongoing issues in the construction sector as contractors struggle with issues like supply chain delays and rising costs.

It's clear a new approach is needed. A new approach to leadership, a new approach to investments, a new approach to collaboration and most certainly a new approach to engaging with our teams.

We know from past discussions, digital technology solutions can reduce the risk and be the difference between success and failure in today's uncertain construction market.

To discuss these challenges and to challenge our thinking, I am joined in this episode by Tony Simonsson, Chief Operating Officer at Payapps. For your information, Payapps is a cloud-based technology to simplify the progress claims in construction in the construction supply chain. In this podcast, Tony speaks about the role technology plays in promoting trust and collaboration. He also discusses how important courageous leadership and a no complaint attitude are for success in 2022.

Projects are getting larger and more complex. Budgets, delivery timelines and requirements are tighter than ever before. For the industry to be sustainable, what do you think clients and the construction industry need to do differently going forwards? What is the role of innovation and what can clients and contractors do to encourage more collaboration, between and within their teams?

In this episode, we tap into the experience of Damian Ennis. Damian is a round-peg, who goes in search of square-holes - “nothing of worth, ever came from your comfort zone”.

As an Architect in the infrastructure space (particularly in mega projects), or an organised Irishman, Damian is used to being someone who has an ‘outside skillset’ when solving problems. With experience spanning over $41BN of projects (and growing), Damian brings with him lessons and insightful stories right from where it all happens.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/damian-ennis/ 

For this week's episode of The Competitive Contractor, we invited Alastair Blenkin to discuss his passion with technology as well as the positive and transformational change it's having on the Construction industry.

There was a time not so long ago when we would not associate the construction industry with technology, and even if organisations wanted to adopt technology, there weren’t too many options to consider. The story is very different today, there are technology tools for everything and construction has progressed through a tech makeover overnight it appears. And in doing so, the industry now has the challenge of choosing the right technology and from what I hear from business leaders - it is no easy decision.

Alastair is the Founder & CEO of ProcurePro, a digital procurement & contract management platform for the Construction industry to this podcast. ProcurePro is fast becoming one to watch in the Australian and global Construction-Tech landscape.

Their innovative technology is a game-changer for Commercial Managers, Project Managers and Contract Administrators, providing visibility, controls and efficiencies by digitising the commercial aspects of construction.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastairblenkin/

https://procurepro.co/ 

Episode 31 (#1 of Season 4) of the Competitive Contractor podcast discusses the impact and changes technology is having on the Australian construction industry. The adoption of technology within the construction industry is growing traction at a rapid rate across both tier 1 and 2 organisations, government entities and smaller construction companies. Undeniably, technology and digital intervention have proven to assist in productivity, time to market and accuracy within companies. This podcast discusses just how much technology has already changed the way construction companies operate and how much the government is pushing for further change and what this will do to the construction industry as we know it today.

Steve Appleby:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenappleby/

https://melbim.com.au/index.php/home/steve-appleby/

https://iimbe.io/our-people/

Steven Appleby Managing Director at IIMBE. Steve is a founding member of MeIBIM and is a  member of the Victorian Digital Asset Strategy steering committee and New Zealand’s BIM Acceleration Committee.

Steve brings 18 years of diverse project experience across Australia, SE Asia, New Zealand and the UK to IIMBE’s clients that leverages the power of BIM and Digital Engineering to deliver a raft of benefits to individual clients and broader industry alike.

IIMBE is a company founded by three experienced BIM, Digital Engineering and Information Management experts one of which is Steve. IIMBE provides developers with a one-stop shop to ensure there is a consistent approach to managing and using data from multiple partners on large builds.

Each of the directors has been implementing and working in BIM since 2003. Their vision is to deliver a better way of working for our clients while unlocking the benefits of Digital Delivery for the industry.