Meet Woodsy: Ambition without knowledge is like a ship on dry land - BPM’s edge on site!
BPM is stoked to have expanded our capabilities with a familiar face.
Say hello to Dan Woods - who is now onboard as a Project Manager, bringing his Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) in Carpentry and Site management with him!
That gives BPM our 3rd Dan, otherwise known as Sandan, but you can just call him Woodsy.
Here’s what that means for you as the client…
Firstly, to understand the benefit you need to know the key to any successful construction project is the preliminary scoping - that’s identifying key risks, likely challenges and understanding the client’s end goal.
Secondly – with BPM it means you’ve got the equivalent of a black belt team behind your project, and Woodsy is on the mat deploying an extra block to ensure a practical approach to your project planning, implementation & management - by way of preventing error or omissions at crucial stages.
If you look at the big picture - it’s a bit like having your very own Mr. Miyagi guiding your movements… an LBP does a similar thing for you as our client - by reviewing a project and the design holistically from a buildability point of view. Anticipating any issues before they crop up in a physical manifestation, saving the client (you) unnecessary stress and delay.
Woodsy spends a lot of his time scheduling contractors, creating and maintaining client budgets and project forecasting to make sure everything runs smoothly so you can relax.
Fear does not exist in this dojo! You can thank the original Daniel-san Bradley for that later on.
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Having worked with Woodsy on various Canterbury projects since 2017, we were delighted when he showed interest in jumping the fence to join the BPM team this year.
Woodsy brings with him a wealth of knowledge having left school to join the trades, working with large organisations such as Fulton Hogan and Cassidy’s on significant civil and commercial construction projects. More recently, he’s utilised his experience in running his own construction company.
In The Karate Kid, there’s that famous line - never put passion before principles. Even if you win, you will lose.
At BPM we believe you can have both passion and practical expertise. Lucky for us, Woodsy demonstrates that daily to his clients, contractors and suppliers, getting (good) sh*t done. His knowledge of the construction coalface and managing client expectations is already proving his worth to our clients and tight-knit team.
The powerful combo of a Project Manager and Licensed Building Practitioner
A hidden cost for commercial construction projects is the cost of compliance. NZ’s Building Code has layers of compliance, which takes experience to overcome and budget appropriately for within a project. The necessary paperwork trail and wrangling compliance requirements through all the checks and balances required by local council can add as much as 10% to a project’s cost.
Understanding the compliance process well can assist in the identification of immediate go / no-go scenarios and allow adept project managers to process the required paperwork more quickly. It’s in our client’s best interest to be experts in this area!
When it comes to planning, safety and ensuring quality, a project manager with a deep understanding of New Zealand’s Building Code as a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) is invaluable.
You trust the quality of what you know, not the quantity.
(Yes, that’s another Karate Kid quote, sorry not sorry)
An LBP is someone who has been assessed as competent to carry out restricted building work (work that is essential to the structure or weather-tightness of a building).
Basically - the LBP scheme was established to maintain high standards of building design, ensuring construction practices are always being followed and adherence to NZ’s Building Code is being enforced.
Woodsy’s broad skillset as a project manager and longstanding LBP in Carpentry and Site Management ensures he saves our clients time by immediately understanding what will and won’t be feasible, and the compliance hoops required to progress certain project elements.
Our sensei’s “on the tools” background means he has a solid understanding of programming and methodology on-site. It’s also helpful when budgeting and forecasting cash flow for a project, as he can identify risks early on in the project lifecycle and provide more accurate budget estimates.
The ability to provide more detailed insights (based on his practical experience) can mean the difference between a project done well, on time and on budget, or one that struggles to meet key milestones and expectations.
Whilst we’ve never seen him crane kick a school bully – we can vouch that he goes the extra mile for his clients, by painting them a realistic picture of what machinery might be needed for a specific project element, what might need to be shut down to integrate that element into a project, the knock-on impacts of certain decisions and much more.
Striking with our South Island expertise
Wax on, wax off isn’t just a memorable scene but a pretty good metaphor for how we approach everything inside and outside of the workplace. Finding value in the process, as well as the meaningful outcomes you achieve, right?
Having boots on the ground with local project managers in regions like Christchurch is incredibly useful for BPM. On-site visits and really immersing ourselves in the local process, local knowledge of contractors and suppliers, iwis and more - is invaluable to the smooth management of our South Island-based projects.
Despite being a small country, Aotearoa’s cities operate in quite distinct ways when it comes to commercial construction. Christchurch is very relationship-focused and relies on in-person contact, not online forms and Chat Bot help requests.
Don’t get us wrong – we’re firm believers in the adoption of technology in the construction industry because by transitioning from traditional & archaic methods, we can do epic things and really help ourselves achieve more and improve well-being across the board… And whilst technology can and should replace a heap of repetitive admin, it can’t replace a good old-fashioned yarn with a real person, eh! Enter – Woodsy! Or any of our team, really.
BPM has a great reputation across the South Island region, and to support this, it is imperative that our project managers are out and about on-site at projects, chatting to contractors and hosting onsite client meetings.
Successful local projects often rely on who you know. With our little black book of contractors and suppliers, work is streamlined through the strength of our professional relationships.
Call us old school in that regard. That, and our taste in movies.
The importance of great communication and building trust
Strong communication skills and the ability to build trusted relationships are key to many roles and industries, but the high-stakes nature of commercial construction means these skills are mandatory. BPM has always sought these attributes in its team members, and it’s a huge part of what has helped us to collaborate on larger projects and steadily grow our client base.
We asked Woodsy for his take on communication and trust in the construction industry. When it comes to communication, he acknowledged this is an attribute that is hard to teach and needs to be learned on the job.
To further milk our use of The Karate Kid - “No such thing as a bad student, only bad teacher” rings true – which is kind of why within BPM we all take on the role of teacher and student. We never stop learning or sharing what we’ve learned.
Active listening and prompt reactions are important when it comes to project management communication. Whether that’s internally or the wider network. Picking up the phone can fast-track your response time to a particular issue and allow you to get better quality of information.
Rather than slow a project down by missing out on context or tone - physical conversation can also serve to drive the desired result better than the written word at times.
Trust is the backbone of the construction industry - fast turnarounds and significant budgets mean that all parties need to trust that the design solution is optimal, materials will be delivered when agreed, and contractors and subbies are available when they say they can be.
Trust is needed throughout the construction process - clients, contractors, project managers, architects, suppliers and so on, and it is something that is earned over time, as successful projects are completed.
With strong relationships and high levels of trust, great partnerships are created.
So, why the move to BPM?
Woodsy is no stranger to the BPM team, having worked alongside us for years on the construction side of multiple projects.
He was keen to build up his expertise by supporting on the client facing end of project management. Having developed a trusted relationship with our team over the years, he knew we were expanding and it felt right to reach out to and explore client-side opportunities.
Another big part of what attracted Woodsy to BPM was our award-winning health and wellbeing programme, values and culture. Which, not to toot our own horn – but toot toot. We are pretty cool. And humble.
Focusing on mental health and well-being is relatively unique in the commercial construction sector. It’s traditionally a high-risk / reward type environment, but at BPM we ensure that health and well-being is considered for the entire team working on whatever project we are tackling.
Having had a long-standing relationship with us, he knew that BPM wasn’t just paying lip service to our health and wellbeing commitment but making a company-wide commitment to our people and the people they work with by extension. We stand by our values and live them every day.
And trust us – sometimes we don’t want to go to the gym or make a better choice at lunch or do the hard thing. But as Daniel-san Bradley says - by doing hard things, we can do hard things. We encourage each other to do better and make the best choices for ourselves, the team and you!
Arigatou gozaimashita.
Top tips from Woodsy on how to progress as a Project Manager:
Have an open mind - be willing to learn, be a sponge and chat with the entire project team to improve your understanding of construction more broadly. A broader understanding of the project steps and elements enables you to solve problems more quickly and accurately.
It’s also important to understand your communication style as you’ll be the point of contact for everyone on a project - from the local council to architects to the drainlaying team. You’ll touch every aspect of the project from design to creating budgets and managing client relationships. It’s not as straightforward as driving round in a ute drinking coffee and having chats all day!