Dirt-boss
As you can imagine with any contracting company, one of the busiest jobs is that of contracts manager. I got to sit down and have a chat with Wayne Naylor who is contracts manager with Collins earthworks. He started with the company over six years ago. He started life in demolition and then moved into construction and then worked on the health and safety side of things.
He started with Collins as a site supervisor and worked his way up. I asked him to expand on his biggest job with the firm to date. “Our biggest job was the East Midlands Gateway contract. We had to move six million cubes of material which took us three years to complete on time and under budget. We had on average over sixty machines at work every day on the contract, it included three Volvo 750 excavators, a large grouping of Volvo A60 & A40 dumpers, also Cat dozers and graders. We had to construct twelve industrial plateaus so that very large buildings could be constructed. That job was very satisfying and brought a smile to my face” commented Wayne.
Other contracts he has been involved with include moving a million cube to build an Amazon facility and the Pontefract relief road. One he is looking forward to is the Grantham by-pass which will be starting shortly. It should take about thirty weeks to complete the dual carriage way. He is also looking forward to the arrival of their new Volvo 950 excavator, it will be the first in the UK and it will be used for a groundworks contract in Leeds later in the year. I ask Wayne to describe the hardest part of his job. “Dealing with people. We have over three hundred staff. I have to try and keep everyone happy at the same time. My policy has always been more carrot than stick. I find that dealing with people is also the nicest part of my job. I deal with the managing director right across to the fella making the tea in the canteen. The people here in Collins is like a family to me, everyone is approachable. We have over ten jobs on the go at the moment which means plenty of travel and meeting loads of different people, it’s a great job”.
All the machines are washed down when they return 
Collins also provide tipper trucks
Training and the last word
Collins is a company that really does have many strings to the bow. Next up I sit down Lois Fisher who is the training manager. She started out with the company in the office doing clerical work and then started to work in the office of their own training facility. The training facility is based in Kirkby-in-Ashfield. She currently runs the training centre which includes taking all the bookings and ensuring the accounts are in order. She is involved in ensuring that their own purpose-built school offers the highest standards of training for the courses they offer such as, Plant operators’ tickets for digger, dozer and dumper.
They also provide slinger and health & safety courses. They work to different accreditations which includes CPCS and NPORS. The courses vary in time depending on what ticket you require. The artic dumper for example lasts three days which involves theory and practical applications. There has been some uncertainty with regards grandfathers’ rights to operators’ cards, but Lois adds some clarity to the situation by stating that we should have a clear and full understating of what is required in the next few months. They currently employ two full time qualified assessors and they also have a pool of sub-contracting assessors to call in for when the school gets busy. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to sit down and have a chat with the founder of the business, David Collins.
As you can imagine he is a very busy man, but he did find the time to drop a quick email with a few of his thoughts. “Our commitment to customer service and doing the best job we can for our customers has been the driving force behind the business for many years. Striving to understand our clients’ needs, priorities and maintaining an open and honest relationship with them, not just during the delivery stage but also after completion. This will ensure that they feel fully supported and satisfied by a committed and professional team. Our success is not just down to myself, but because I surround myself with the right people for the appropriate jobs, from site operatives and departmental managers right through to my fellow Directors. Our aim for the future is to carry on continually improving as we have done over the last few years, this is a method that is working so far.” he stated. It was a great experience to see what goes on behind the scenes with a contractor that has the family and personal touch.
