Tuesday
On most Tuesdays, I set my alarm for 6 am because it is site day! The construction site that I am working on is 2.5 hours away by train from where I live, totalling 5-hours of commute time in a day. During the long train ride, I make the most of my time by either catching up on some work, reading, or taking a quick nap. Site days are always exciting because I get to see the ongoing construction work, meet with subcontractors, and carry out my weekly environmental site inspections. It’s like watching a complex LEGO set come together, week after week! In the evenings, I either have dinner with friends in the city or go to the gym. Afterwards, I dedicate my time to prep for class (as I still work for UNSW in my spare time).
Wednesday
This is when we have our weekly project-specific meetings, which bring together various teams from procurement, commercial, design, environmental, and community. These meetings provide me with the opportunity to stay updated on project developments, get a four-week outlook of the ongoing work, share any new sustainability initiatives or updates with the entire project team, and ask any questions that I might have.
There are various sustainability requirements from the client that we need to comply with as contractors, and one of them focuses on project legacy and initiatives. Working in sustainability means that I need to develop and implement these initiatives, which could be material, design, or community related. Given that it requires collaboration across different teams (not just the environmental team), I frequently organise workshops or meetings to explore ideas that are in the early stages and determine their feasibility. The next step involves confirming with the client whether these initiatives can earn us points (that is how we keep track of our progress). Once approved, we can move forward with the implementation and tracking of the initiative. It is always rewarding to witness ideas on paper and proposals come to life!
After work, I grab a bite, commute to uni for class, and if I'm not completely drained from the day, I hit the gym.