Page 23 - W M Donald Newsletter - Edition Twelve

TRADES AWARDS
Graham Bias – Site Manager of the Year
Congratulations to Graham Bias on winning Site Manager of the Year at the Trades Awards 2021 in October.
Graham is an excellent example of the career progression that is open to W M Donald team members. Graham has worked his way up from labourer on a sewer squad, to Site Engineer and, eventually, Site Manager; all within the space of five years.
Since 2020, Graham has been Site Manager on two of the biggest housing developments in Aberdeen: Grandhome and Countesswells. His primary role is to manage and co-ordinate civil engineering works on these complex and high-profile sites. This means Graham manages the works teams and the materials on site to ensure works are completed in line with the plan agreed with the client.
The judges were particularly impressed with Graham’s focus on the importance of teamwork, and the recognition that this extends to close collaboration with the client’s manager on site was well as the W M Donald team:
‘My aim is to build a relationship with the client site manager as quickly as possible. It’s important to understand the pressures and challenges each site manager is facing. This is a great help when having to address challenging situations.
Graham Bias
Graham received several messages of support from W M Donald’s clients to support his nomination:
‘Graham has been an integral part of the support that W M Donald provides to the Grandhome Trust.
I have always found it a pleasure working with him, he has a friendly and approachable manner. Graham is constantly supportive, professional and knowledgeable in his field, especially with any technical or site-related queries I had.
He is very diligent and has always been proactive with a teamwork ethic in his interaction with me.’
Gordon Rendall, Senior Project Manager, Turner & Townsend (on behalf of The Grandhome Trust)
The last word goes to Austen Brooks, one of W M Donald’s Contract Managers:
‘What I really admire about Graham is that, even though he met great resistance and pressure from both the workforce and the client at the start, he continued to do his best.
Over the last few years Graham has managed to turn some of his harshest critics into his greatest supporters. He is now looked upon as one of W M Donald’s most proficient managers.’
Congratulations also go to Aaron Brebner who was shortlisted in the ‘Rising Star’ category. Aaron has recently achieved a Grade A in his HNC Civil Engineering qualification. This result has provided Aaron with the springboard and confidence to pursue his goal of studying for an honours degree in Civil Engineering which he is aiming to complete by July 2024.
Aaron Brebner
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