Tamdown sponsors and completes Housebuilder Challenge 2023
All fifteen members of our Tamdown Trekkers team completed the Housebuilder Challenge on Friday through the epic and challenging terrain of Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park.
They took on the devils kitchen, a steep scree slope, huge bolder fields, damp moorland and much more – all while supporting each other to keep going and stay safe.
Everyone pushed themselves and helped the Youth Adventure Trust raise nearly £85,000 from the event, to support vulnerable young people build their own resilience.
As sponsors of the event, we helped ensure that all funds raised went to the charity and as an added extra this year we also provided finish-line drinks to all the 30+ teams who took part in the challenge.
Which after such a long and challenging hike was very welcomed by all the participants!
Welcoming our newest Apprentices to the business
We are always looking to encourage the next generation of workers into our industry, and last week we welcomed our newest group of apprentices into the business.
All apprentices will gain valuable experience from our expert teams, while also achieving a formal qualification through their college-based learning while on day-release.
Our new starters are joining on a variety of apprenticeships including; Engineering, Groundworks, H&S Administration and Quantity Surveying.
Rob Kendal, Tamdown Managing Director commented:
“I am thrilled to be welcoming our newest apprentices at Tamdown and to be able to offer such a range of apprenticeships. On their first day I and other members of the team met with them to welcome them and explain more about the various areas of the business and their new roles. All our teams look forward to working with them as they start their career journey.”
Meet Gary Ross, Site Manager at Tamdown
Meet Gary Ross who is a Site Manager with Tamdown and his focus on both his own and his team’s development, support our purpose of ‘Building Bright Futures’.
Before joining Tamdown, he worked for various Groundworks businesses; he started on the tools and then worked as a digger and dumper driver before he became an Assistant Supervisor and then moved into his first Site Manager role around 2013.
When Gary joined us around two years ago in 2021, he was looking for a business where he could continue to develop and where the team who worked with him could also grow.
In those two short years with Tamdown he has been supported to complete the NVQ Level 3 SMSTS (Site Management Safety Training Scheme), get his forklift ticket, and complete first aid renewals. He is now working through his Level 6 Diploma in Construction Management.
Gary explains more about his role:
“I’ve always been an early bird, so I get to site and make a start on the paperwork for the day before the 7:30am briefing with the team.
At the briefing, we run through the tasks for the day and safety briefings. I am absolutely committed to Tamdown’s regular message that the most important thing every day is to make sure everyone works safely and goes home safe at the end of the day.
I enjoy the best of both worlds of being out on-site with the team but also managing the site and working with our office and the customer’s teams.
The walk-rounds I do to check in with the team are a favourite part of the day as I get to see the site progressing, talk to my team, and ensure we are delivering against all the plans and drawings we have been provided.
I am really proud of the team for our win of the NHBC Pride in the Job awards in 2022 and the compliments we have had from others on our delivery – these recognitions make the hard work worthwhile.”
Volunteering at village primary school
Last week some of our Construction Team spent time volunteering at St Mary’s Primary School in Hatfield Broad Oak.
The school has just 53 children on the register meaning funding from the local authority is minimal, and they are heavily dependent on support from the local community. As a small community school, they are able to provide a caring and nurturing environment for children with complex needs. However, like many village schools, the budget they have is always spread thin, which means simple groundwork, redecoration and repairs are often only completed when donations and volunteers come forward.
It was a very busy couple of days with two classrooms to completely redecorate, a pond area to clear and bring up to date with levelling work and a path, as well as various other fixes.
Well done to the team for volunteering to help the school with these tasks; the teachers and volunteers were extremely grateful for all our hard work.
Ruth Baugh, Headteacher said:
“Thank you so much for the works carried out – the classrooms look bright, clean and airy ready for the children to return to school, and the pond area has been transformed! A completely overrun space the children were unable to enter due to safety issues will now be used everyday by the children and staff to enhance our curriculum and outdoor provision.
We are so thrilled, and would never have managed it without your help!
Thank you to all the workers and to Tamdown for your time, efforts and energy.”
Work experience turns apprentice placement for Ronny
We recently welcomed Ronny Trivett, a Year 11 student, to complete his work experience with us at Tamdown on our Beaulieu site in Chelmsford, Essex.
Ronny worked with our Site Manager Andy Orme and shadowed and assisted our Site Operatives across the development on various tasks, including kerbing and property footings.
Following his work experience, where he proved himself to be a willing and hard worker, we are pleased to have been able to offer Ronny a role as an apprentice; now he has finished school. He will be joining the Tamdown Team in September as well as studying Level 2 Groundworks at college as part of his apprenticeship course.
Ronny told us:
“I really enjoyed my work experience on-site with Tamdown; it helped me understand what working in construction was like and the sort of tasks it involved. I’m really glad I’ve been offered a job as an apprentice operative now, and I am looking forward to getting back on site and learning more.”
Meet John Wilson, Site Manager at Tamdown
Meet John Wilson one of our Site Managers, his development since joining the business is another great example of how, with the right commitment from the individual, supported by our development opportunities, we are ‘Building Bright Futures’ for our people.
John has been part of the Tamdown team since 2012 when one of his friends recommended Tamdown as an employer. Prior to this, he worked in construction since leaving education, including for another Groundworks company and on his own as a contractor.
His first Tamdown role was as a General Construction Operative and during his early years with us he got his dumper ticket, roller ticket, and others as he had opportunities to learn more skills on-site.
In 2016 while working on one of our longest-running sites in Chelmsford, he was promoted to Site Supervisor and then Site Manager. Alongside and since this, he has taken part in our SEMP programme dedicated to the development of our Site Leaders, an ILM course and an NVQ Level 3 SMSTS (Site Management Safety Training Scheme).
As a Site Manager, he is responsible for all delivery on-site as well as overseeing anything from 20-60 members of the site team at any one time.
John commented about his role:
“It’s always busy which I like, the days start with a briefing to the team to ensure everyone is clear on the plan for the day and their duties, this can also include briefings on a variety of subjects, WISE, H&S updates, and toolbox talks.
There is the admin to sort out, ensuring we have all the dig and other permits we need, our reports are up to date, ensuring machine checks are done, and all required paperwork is complete.
I work closely with our customer’s team on-site updating on progress, regular programme meetings to ensure we meet their requirements, and traffic management meetings. I also host and show their Directors around the site.
Another key part of the day is walking the site to check in with the teams, see how all areas are progressing and ensure all safety measures are being followed and maintained.
I’ve had opportunities to develop ever since I joined Tamdown, through courses but also through learning on the job.
I enjoy that things are always changing and that I am key to managing that and dealing with those changes on my site.”
‘Roots for Foundations’ Tree planting – 579 trees planted April to June 2023
For every foundation that we complete on our customer’s sites, we continue to sponsor the planting of a tree.
With 579 foundations completed in the second quarter of the year on our sites, the same number of trees will now be planted – every tree is counting towards a brand new forest.
The Future Forest Company, which we are supporting through our ‘Roots for Foundations’ campaign, aims to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, restore biodiversity and fight climate change.
By planting new trees, we are contributing towards this goal.
You can even see the location of our new trees at the what3words address: lads.puns.missions
Meet Cleve Geisha, Senior Quantity Surveyor at Tamdown
‘Building Bright Futures’ for our people is an essential part of our success at Tamdown.
A great example of this people development is Cleve Geisha who joined Tamdown as a Post-Graduate in 2012 and is now a Senior Quantity Surveyor.
Cleve started with us 11 years ago and, during his Graduate programme, worked on-site following six years of previous experience as an operative, and in our buying, estimating, and commercial teams.
He then completed three years in the Estimating team between 2013 and 2015 before taking a short time away from the business for a few months to work closer to home when his daughter was born.
Cleve returned in 2016 due to the flexibility we could then offer to work from home a couple of days a week, meaning he could still see his young family more, but also rejoin Tamdown where he wanted to be – work-life balance is so important and we strive to help all our people achieve this.
On his return, Cleve joined the Commercial team as a Quantity Surveyor and in 2022 was promoted to Senior Quantity Surveyor. He now oversees and supports two of our up-and-coming QS’s sharing his knowledge and experience as they develop their own skills.
Cleve commented about his role:
“My weeks are very diverse – a week of each month we complete our valuations which means I am visiting sites and finalising the data and information with the construction team to measure; the progress of works, spend on materials, plant and labour, plus other factors to inform the month’s valuation.
Other weeks I am continuously monitoring budgets and costs on contracts, procuring subcontractors, reviewing material costs and changes, ensuring payments are received as scheduled, preparing internal reports and comparing live works to our original bid documents.
I work closely with our Contracts Managers and Site Managers as well as our customers to ensure the best possible relations and results.
I like being part of the delivery team and seeing a site through from start to finish – seeing an empty field, turn into a busy construction site, and then ultimately into a community where people live.
The balancing act of having happy customers through our quality delivery and ensuring Tamdown’s margins on each job is always the key goal, and I thrive on making this happen.
With an average of 5 projects at a time to oversee, I enjoy the variety this brings, as while one site is in the early months, another may be coming close to completion and final accounts – so no site or day is the same.”
Volunteering to support a local community center
Our Estimating team recently spent the day at First Stop Centre to help with a variety of tasks including:
- Packing and giving out food
- Window cleaning
- Gardening and weeding to tidy up the area around the centre
- Edging paths
- Planting shrubs and plants
Based in Braintree, the centre is a grassroots project that offers real and immediate help to members of the community who are struggling with problems, and want to improve the quality of their lives.
The centre serves as a location for delivering services such as: counselling, anger management groups, educational lessons, benefits advice, a community fridge and much more.
Well done to the team for getting out into the community and helping this worthy cause.
Tamdown Behavioural Safety Programme
At Tamdown we have launched a bespoke Behavioural Safety Programme to help our people stay safe and support safe working environments for all our customers, contractors, and partners.
The behaviour-based programme is designed to influence employee actions towards safer outcomes, ideally by preventing an accident or injury before it occurs. These sessions for all our people will help us to further promote safety, eliminate hazards, and prevent injuries.
As well as briefings from our leadership team and Health & Safety representatives, we have commissioned the support of Justin Manley of Titanium Talks, who has worked in the sector for over 20 years, but sadly suffered life-changing injuries after an accident at work. The story he shares describes both organisational and personal failings; it adds a real-life example and significant impact.
Kieron from our team commented:
“The session really got me thinking about behaviour at work and in all aspects of life. I drove home afterwards analysing the risks around me… It really hits home and makes you think.”