Page 11 - W M Donald Newsletter - Edition Thirteen

SUMMER 2022
Mike Brodziak: Drainage Services Operations Manager
Mike Brodziak has been Operations Manager of
W M Donald’s Drainage Services Division since November 2021. Mike is in his second spell with W M Donald having rejoined in January 2021:
‘Since arriving in Scotland from Poland, I have spent fourteen years working in the drainage sector. For the majority of that time I have worked ‘on the tools’. I have worked on most of the technical challenges that can be faced in drainage. However, in my new position, I have had to learn a whole new set of business skills such as management, finance and selling.’
Mike has taken on board the frustrations he experienced when ‘on the tools’ to make the Drainage Services Division more efficient and effective:
‘When I was ‘on the tools’ we would sometimes have to wait for 30-45 minutes before we
could start our work in the morning. This was frustrating and a poor use of resources. Now
I am Manager, I always come in to work for 6.30am. This is 30 minutes before the arrival of the teams. I do this to ensure all the jobs have been allocated and administrative tasks completed when they arrive. There is no waiting around.’
According to Mike, the biggest challenge he has been given to date is taking W M Donald Drainage Services into new markets outside its established Aberdeen activities:
‘I am currently focussing on winning work in Inverness and Dundee. This is a completely new scenario for me. I have never done anything like it before: selling, marketing, strategy. It is a huge learning curve.
We are establishing a new Drainage Services team in Inverness. Our work in Inverness is led by Billy Taylor and we currently have a jetter and CCTV van in place. I am hoping to have
a tanker permanently in the area in the near future.’
In addition to geographical expansion, Mike has a clear approach to winning new work from existing customers:
‘My philosophy is that every blockage has
a cause. This means that if you can show the client the root cause of the problem and describe the required solution there is a substantial opportunity for further work. I spend a lot of time creating detailed survey reports for clients. The report is critical to winning further business.’
Despite only being in position for nine months, Mike has made a huge impression on the W M Donald Leadership Team. They have nominated Mike for the ‘Above and Beyond’ category at the Trades Awards 2022.
Mike is undoubtedly W M Donald’s most avid Lech Poznan fan. Despite there being a distance of 822 miles between Aberdeen and Poznan, Mike holds a Lech Poznan season ticket and flies back for several games each campaign to support the ‘Kolejorz’ (Railwaymen).
For those disillusioned with Aberdeen FC,
Lech Poznan may be the team to follow. They have just won the PKO Ekstraklasa (the Polish Premier League) beating local rivals Warta Poznan 2-1 to clinch the title. In his spare time, Mike is a Chelsea fan.
DID YOU KNOW?
‘Lech’ is the legendary founder of the Polish nation. Poland is known as ‘Lechistan’ in several languages including Turkish.
Between January 1573 and 1764, the Polish King was elected. The first three elected kings were French, Hungarian and Swedish.
11
PROJECT AWARDS OF INTEREST Cloverhill, Murcar, Bridge of Don
W M Donald has been contracted by Bancon Homes to provide all the infrastructure works on an Aberdeen City Council housing project at Cloverhill, Bridge of Don. The works are split into phases, and the project is expected to take between three and five years to complete.
The contract is worth in the region of £27m to W M Donald. This is the highest contract value in a single award ever won by W M Donald.
Cloverhill will deliver 536 council homes with a mixture of flats, cottage flats, and two, three and four bedroom houses. It is believed to
be the largest single social housing contract ever undertaken in Aberdeen. Other amenities include sports pitches, community facilities and retail space.
The works include a 130m long metal plate culvert which is awaiting approval by SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency). The culvert will be built from 10mm-thick steel sections; three sections will combine to make a semi-circle. The structure is very heavy
and strong to ensure it is capable of bearing significant weight.
As well as a waste water pumping station,
the project requires three SuDS ponds. Each pond has a control chamber. The chamber incorporates penstocks, weir walls and Hydro- Brakes.
Works started on site at the end of February.
Councillor Jenny Laing (Aberdeen City Council leader) and Councillor Ryan Houghton cut turf at the new Cloverhill housing site.
(Image: Aberdeen City Council)