The Civils Side of Life

Since the down turn in the housing markets we have only been coasting along, working on design & build projects and local council works. This is not work to be turned down as it has so far kept the company turning over enough money to limit the number of redundancies and kept us out on site.

To try and improve our ability to win new contracts and to bring a much-improved system of work we set about implementing quality management procedures. Back in April 2009 we got ourselves accredited for ISO 9001 Quality Management System. This system allows us to work through a contract using a standard set of forms, allowing us to keep track of most events and developments. With us all working to the same system it also means that any time the management on site is changed, due to holidays or scheduling needs, the new person can quickly see the history of the contract and continue from where it was left.

Of course there has been some grumbling about ‘more paperwork‘ and ‘inefficient procedures‘, however we were already using the majority of the forms within our previous record keeping practices. All the QA system has changed is that our procedures are now set out more clearly with key areas of responsibility highlighted.

Since gaining the ISO 9001 accreditation we have pushed forward. We are now working towards getting accredited under ISO 14001 Environmental Management. We hope this will bring a better understanding of the environmental impacts we have on site and improve our environmental performance.

This has added a few more form to our list contract forms and highlighted a number of key legal requirements when it comes to how we as a company interact with the environment, both on site and at our head office.

We have also taken the opportunity to implement our procedures for OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health & Safety. This phase of our works collates all the required permits and method statements to enable us to work safely whether it is on site or within our own offices.

With a little extra work and attention to detail from each of us we hope to open up opportunities for plenty more work in the future.

Having been a little unsure as to where my next contract would be based it seems that I have been settled up in Crewe until further notice.

We are working on the behalf of the local council to help regenerate one of Crewe’s main high streets. The purpose of this contract is to replace all the existing footpaths and kerblines with a patchwork mix of granite paving slabs. The kerblines are mostly being replaced to match the existing lines and levels, with a small exception design to standardise the road width along the street. The granite paving slabs are a little more difficult to place.

With most block paving you work with 1 or 2 block sizes and can get yourself into a rhythm, whichever pattern you are laying. With the granite slabs specified we have 4 colours (proportioned 35%, 30%, 20% & 15%), 2 widths and 4 lengths of slab. These must be placed ‘randomly‘ to create the required blend of paving. This of course has given us a slight headache to sort. Given that the granite has been quarried in China we have a tight wastage policy and each slab counts.

Due to the site being on a public highway we have to keep a close eye on our works with little more than a few cones separating us from Joe Public. Work can be awkward at times, even though the footpath is closed with big red signs at both ends we still get people wandering around us, past cutting equipment and heavy plant. This will only get worse as we progress past shop fronts that we must maintain access to at all times.

Some tidying up of the street furniture, painting the lighting columns and adding some fancy brackets, will help the new benches, cycle stands and bins fit in nicely. Due to Crewe’s railway history we are also placing some decorative nameplates into the footpath. These have been designed with name of steam locomotives previous stationed at Crewe and cost a sizable chunk each.

When all the footpath works have been completed we shall be resurfacing the road to provide a fresh new look to a currently tired looking street.

This time last month I had just started a most enjoyable 2 week break in Brittany, France with my family. With my Aunt & Uncle having the enviable job of spending several months each year as reps for holiday camp, we got to spend our time in the Yelloh! Village Camping in Bénodet – Le Port de Plaisance.

Bénodet is situated on the mouth of the river Odet, with a large sweeping beach. With a strong sense of tradition this town is everything you can imagine about Brittany. We spent many an evening strolling along the river into the town, soaking in the relaxed and friendly surroundings. It was impossible not to unwind and let yourself forget all the deadlines and hectic lifestyle that we take as the norm in our daily work lives.

Although we had a couple of days of changable weather we were lucky enough to have the majority of our break basking in glorious sunshine and clear blue skies. Yes, one of us forgot to apply the correct dosage of sun cream but to save any embarrasment I shall not be naming him, he knows who he is.

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Before I went away for my holiday in France, I had noticed the release of WordPress 2.8 . Being the kind of geek that likes to keep all his software up-to-date and running the latest version, I knew this was a job for me to tackle as soon as I returned home. Somehow I was able to find time during the seemingly endless laundry and holiday clutter to upgrade my blog.

I know WordPress is very simple to self install on the initial setup and I am also aware that the upgrade, although simple in itself, can throw up some issues if you don’t keep track of what you do. This in mind I made sure I had backups of all my data and read through all the upgrade guides. Within 30 minutes everything was completed and looking rather swish, another upgrade completed without incident.

Well, not quite…

When I tried to log in to my admin panel the following day I was greeted by a “500 Internal Server Error“. Initial I thought my host was just having a tough time and I should be patient, after nearly a day of the same thing I reached out to the World in search of a cure. It quickly became apparent that mine was not a lone case. Thankfully after finding the ‘official’ support thread I was able to track down a rather useful post by Glenn Reffin over at the Redcentaur Blog that helped me both troubleshoot and fix my own blog and regain access to my admin panel.

As with all things computers you should always keep a safe copy of your data and be prepared to do a little research when things do go fully to plan. Stay clam, try not to blame everyone else around you! With WordPress specifically, disable your plugins and themes should you have a problem and activate them one-by-one to determine if any are causing conflicts.

If your lucky everything will go smoothly and you’ll never have to troubleshoot a thing.