Annika Clarke

5.00 am

Wake up - I am not an early bird so I try to sleep in for as long as possible. Get ready for the day and head straight to site. Catch up with the team about what our plans are for the day and anything that needs to be organised, e.g. what is most critical? I write all this down in my diary so I have a list for the day.

6.00 AM

Prestart – always have a tea in my hand. This is a great time for the crew to do some safety shares and bring up anything they have issues with or how we can improve and make our tasks easier / more efficient. 

7.00 AM

Read through my emails and send through yesterday’s daily progress report. I then make sure I get any dayworks sheets signed off for the previous day as we have 24 hours to claim any variations. I like to head out to see the work site and make sure we haven’t had any changes or incidents overnight that we don’t know about like heavy rain. 
Once settled in, I start ticking off items on my list. Most of the time this can be:

• Getting on top of QA/QC documentation
• Procurement and freight organisation
• Advising site supervisors of the scope details
• Detailing out the methodology for executing the works
• Tracking any variations and cost controlling
• Liaising with the Client to ensure they are happy with our work and sometimes raisings any design issues, execution issues or safety issues that needs to be addressed
• Planning and mapping out upcoming tasks

10.00 AM

I usually need a break from my laptop by this point so I head out to the site to catchup with the crew to see how they are going and if they need my assistance with anything. Sometimes I might have an inspection with the Client which has to be done before we can continue with the next stage. This photo is where we had to get a concrete pre-pour inspection before we got the concrete delivered and poured.

2.00 PM

This is my lunchtime which I really look forward to, depending on what camp has to offer. It is often some curry and rice or whatever was leftover from dinner the night before. 

5.30 PM

Debrief – all the crew comes back from site and we talk about how the day went, making sure all injuries and incidents have been reported for the day, and all work areas are closed and made safe before we leave.

6.00 PM
Drive back to camp and jump straight in the shower. Spend a little bit of time on my phone Facetiming my family and friends, then head to the mess for dinner. This was one of the better nights!

I like to pack my lunch for tomorrow now so it saves me time in the morning.

7.00 PM

Brush my teeth and watch an episode of something. Lately it has been Modern Family. 

8.00 PM

I am pretty exhausted by this time, so much that I can’t keep my eyes open any longer. So I set my alarm and go to sleep.

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