Dave Barback is a confident, passionate, and dedicated Site Manager for Halsall.

Dave’s career first started in the military as a Royal Marine and now he brings a wealth of experience to our industry and his role. He joined us in July 2020 and now works on projects over £21m.

Here, Dave discusses his experience, expertise, and priorities as a site manager for Halsall.

First, let’s get to know you on a professional level:

1. What is your background?

I came from a military background. I served 38 years in total with 28 as a Royal Marine. I have had two spells working in agriculture, but for the last 5 years I have been in the construction industry.

2. Why did you decide to pursue this career?

Primarily I decided to move into the construction industry as I knew that I had many valuable transferable skills. I didn’t need to learn how to plan, resource or manage. I did need to learn more about the principles of construction. However, I had two advantages here, firstly service people are coachable and trainable, and secondly, committed, focused and willing to succeed. So all you need to do is feed the appetite.

My time at Halsall has been brilliant, at all levels there are people who will teach, guide and mentor you. I have worked with two brilliant Contracts Managers and two Project Managers who are without a doubt among the very best in our industry.

I also meet regularly on site with our Design Manager who has been excellent in showing me how elements should be done and how to check if they are right. I have really grown in confidence, and I know that I will always be supported by my team at Halsall.

3. How did you get into your current job role?

Whilst I was still serving in the Royal Marines, I decided to move into the construction industry. I knew I had a lot of transferable skills, particularly in the management of high-risk activities.

I was fortunate enough to have a work placement with a construction company and I was recruited as a logistics manager to assist the production team. As a team we were able to deliver the project on time and defect free.

This then led to a temporary position as an Assistant Site Manager. A permanent role followed with a variety of projects including education and research facilities and a listed building refurbishment. It was at this point that I was recruited to Halsall.

In my first year with Halsall I have been promoted to Site Manager, taken on more responsibilities, embedded in a fantastic and progressive team, and looking forward to the challenges and rewards in my current and future projects.

4. Please can you describe your role at Halsall? Describe a typical day for you.

A Site Manager requires excellent organisational skills and a good understanding of the information and processes that are required to construct any type of building.

The first part of my day will be ensuring that planned activity is taking place. I will have already ensured that materials and equipment are in place and checking that the people to do the task are on site and that they understand what they are doing, have the information they need and know what to do if they encounter a problem.

The next part of my day will be looking ahead at future activity. I will look at key points such as; when does it need to happen, who is going to do it, what materials and information do they need? I will then put this in place, which may require a pre-start meeting with the contractor, getting information from the design team, securing materials with our buyers and assisting our surveyors to put the contracts together

Between tasks I will problem solve. Sometimes there will be more information required, a change to design or material and I will coordinate this activity to maintain production. I am also responsible for accounting for what we have done. There is routine reporting on progress usually on a weekly basis but also quality inspections, energy use, safety, and environmental reporting.

5. What do you enjoy most about your job?

There are so many things I enjoy.

I loved being in the Royal Marines and wondered if there would be anything else that would motivate and reward in the same way. I found that in construction. In the services there is great human endeavour to achieve an end result that is not always tangible. In construction there is always a point where we can step back and proudly say “We built that” and Halsall always rewards their employees on the great work they do with their ‘Halsall Hero Value Awards’ initiative.

In my time as a Company Sergeant Major I took great pride in ensuring that my people felt like they were joining something fantastic – I get the same sense of belonging at Halsall.

Finally, I like building relationships. At Halsall, we have great partnerships with our customers and a growing number of preferred contractors who specifically look to work with us.

6. What tasks do you prioritise day to day?

The priority is always the current production activity. Making sure that what should be happening is taking place and if not, why not, and what can I do to influence this. Then it will be planning for the next tasks in sequence and coordinating contractors to maximise concurrent activity.

7. What’s your key strengths?

• Judgement to know what the priority is and what must be done, when.
• Presence on site so that people know who is responsible for management, information, and resources.
• Wilfulness to ensure that standards and deadlines are met, despite any challenges that are encountered. Courage to address problems, make decisions and see challenges through to a positive conclusion.
• I am very well trained and have a lot of experience. Construction allows me to exercise all that I have learned.

8. What’s the biggest challenge you have faced from the beginning of your journey with Halsall to now?

The biggest challenge I have enjoyed with Halsall is working with a smaller team and therefore having a greater responsibility.

I present myself as someone with huge confidence. However, I can be anxious about making the right decisions and achieving the right results. The two Contracts Managers I work with however, have been brilliant at coaching that confidence in me.

9. Have you learnt anything new since you started?

Every day is a school day in construction.

I have learnt new IT systems to support our work, more in-depth knowledge of timber frames and reinforced concrete structures and how new materials and techniques are coming into the industry.

Working on multi-stakeholder projects with our contractors, external authorities, customers, and end users has enabled to me to learn how to manage expectations.

10. What is your overall ambition and how can this role help towards this?

In the longer term, I aspire to be at the forefront of managing quality. I’m good at developing systems of work and managing information. I have seen the benefit of how we have a dedicated manager for Health, Safety and the Environment and the positive impact this has had on making our sites a safe place to work.

I have a vision to do the same for quality where we have practices and processes that will guarantee the result for both our contractors and our customers.

11. What advice would you give someone who is considering this type of career?

Invest in yourself.

I worked for free 1 day a week for an employer that gave me my start in construction. You also need to have an open mind. There are so many roles and opportunities in construction so don’t limit yourself on what you can do now. Have a focus on where you want to be.

Embrace the challenges, seek help when you need it and don’t keep good ideas to yourself.

Now let’s know more about you:

1. Who is your hero?

Mark Ormrod MBE, a triple amputee resulting from a mine strike in Afghanistan. He refuses to let his disability define him. He was a multi-gold medal winner at the Invictus Games, author, motivational speaker, charity fund raiser and a family man.

2. What is your biggest achievement?

On a professional level when I was running O Squadron 43 Commando, the largest sub-unit in the Royal Marines, I was responsible for two concurrent operations. One in nuclear security and one providing force protection in Iraq.

I’ve never had to work with such intensity and sustain it for so long (2 ½ years in total). However, the recognition I got from those I commanded, and the award of a Meritorious Service Medal made it for me.

3. What is a typical day like for you at home?

Saturdays tend to be just as busy as workdays. My youngest son has a farm apprenticeship but is too young to drive so I wake up at 5am to drive him in. I’m also in a boat crew rowing for Teignmouth for a couple of hours. I then head off to rugby to watch my older son play and finish with a dog walk, collect my son, have dinner and relax. That’s usually how it goes.

4. What’s your go to breakfast?

Strong coffee on the drive into work, porridge at 10am when the site team take a break.

For a treat at the weekend, it would be bacon and scrambled eggs from my son’s work.

5. What would you sing at a karaoke night?

I’d go for something over the top like ‘What’s New Pussycat’ by Tom Jones.

6. What 3 things you like to do in your spare time?

• Wild swimming. I am trying to swim in open water every week for a year.
• Going to the virtual pub with my friend who now lives in Canada.
• Watching rugby. I watch my son play now, who is twice the player I ever was.

7. Last but not least, please name 3 things make you happy:

• Sunday dinner – it’s the one time of the week when we are all in the same place at the same time and it’s just nice to catch up with everyone.
• Hiking out to a remote spot to swim.
• Giving back – I have had loads of help along life’s highway and one of the most pleasurable things you can do is to give back.