ABSTRACT
Your site supervisor is the ‘man at the sharp end’. He is out there on site every day, up to the ears in ‘muck and bullets’, the visible face of your company. Never forget, the site is where the money is spent and the financial returns are generated. It is also the place where most of the problems arise and have to be resolved, often on the hoof. During my own brief military career, I reached the dizzy rank of corpo-
ral. In other words, I was a ‘supervisor’, in my case a very poor one. That experience taught me how hard it is to get a body of reluctant ‘heroes’ to do as they should, and all for a few extra bob a week. As a result, I acquired a healthy respect for supervisors and the tough job they have to do. Thank heavens, after years of being a lone voice in this respect, more and more companies are asking me to help their supervisors by providing ‘commercial awareness’ training. This is a welcome indication that the industry is finally beginning to give my friends, the supervisors, the respect and support they deserve. We should take positive steps to get the supervisor on board at the
beginning of every job, involving him in the pre-planning, discussing the key objectives and strategy. Having done that, we should keep him involved at every stage, including regular team meetings at which everybody plays a part. Such a policy avoids the typical ‘I thought Fred was handling it’ syndrome. Why exclude from team meetings the one man who really knows what’s going on out there at the workface? And yet this is often the case. Hardly the way to inspire enthusiasm. As for site records, the diary, delay notices, photographs, do we explain
at the start of the job exactly why these records are important for our protection, and the possible disaster which may follow if we neglect
me that I’m the first guy who ever asked to look at his diary, even in a major company. So why should he bother when nobody else shows interest? It is absolutely essential to check all site records on a regular basis. This can be done using the check lists (Appendices 1 and 2), and/or by including the check within the subbie’s QA audit. Once a supervisor feels he is part of the full team, and sees that man-
agers are taking an active interest in his records, there is invariably an improvement in their quality and regularity. Not because of the fear factor, but because all human beings respond to interest and encouragement. I can think of numerous jobs where a supervisor’s diary, aided by
regular checks and discussion, won the day in a fiercely contended claim at the end. So come on, chaps – let’s get everyone on board from the start!
