How long have you worked for Summers-Inman?
I joined Summers-Inman in 2010.
How did you get into your current role?
I first joined Summers-Inman as a senior quantity surveyor, and over the years I gained further experience and knowledge across a variety of sectors by consistently delivering across a wide range of projects. I was then promoted through the business and became a partner in 2018.
You are a Board Director, based in the London office, can you tell us a bit more about your role?
I love that my role is incredibly varied. I provide technical input and oversight for many of our projects across the region and offer support to both our local staff in London as well as to staff in our national offices. I actively seek out learning opportunities for our junior members of staff and I’m also a RICS Counsellor for the APC.
One of my objectives is to continually align our deliverables and outcomes to Summers-Inman’s business plan, where our ambition is to excel at delivering professional construction and property consultancy services, coupled with providing an enjoyable working environment with an opportunity for our people to develop and flourish.
What type of projects do you work on?
Since I joined Summers-Inman I’ve worked on projects across most sectors including education, healthcare, residential, commercial, retail and leisure. I have a passion for projects in the healthcare sector, as the outcomes of these projects are always about improved patient care. Many of our healthcare projects have involved the refurbishment of imaging systems such as MRI’s and CT scanners in incredibly busy hospital environments.
What would you say is the most important aspect of your role?
I want all of our people to enjoy coming to work, myself included, and my aim is to create an environment where people can develop their skills and become professionally qualified in their area of interest. My objective is for Summers-Inman to deliver a professional service which links to our strategic objectives.
From your own experience, what would you say are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the industry today?
I think a key challenge seen by many organisations today is the commercial pressure due to inflation and the availability of good quality, experienced people.
I believe that one of the greatest opportunities is the use of modern technology, where innovative ideas and approaches will continue to improve the performance of the construction industry. Technology has the potential to improve the way in which we run programmes and provide value for money for our clients around both quality and design. A good example of this is BIM (Building Information Modelling), the largest emerging technology in the industry. I would note that the benefits of improved technology can only be realised with great people.
What advice would you give anyone wanting to get into the industry?
I would say it is important to have a strategy in mind to support your career development, because you’re more likely to achieve your goals this way. I also think it’s important to align yourself to good people who are willing to nurture and develop your skill set and share their knowledge with you.
The opportunities in the industry are great and being proactive will lead to a rewarding career.
What’s it like working for Summers-Inman?
The workload is always incredibly varied, so it never feels like two days are the same. Staff are given full responsibility to manage their workload so that they can act with autonomy and have a stronger sense of ownership in their day-to-day work.
Importantly, there are many ways to grow professionally at Summers-Inman. We are fully committed to supporting our staff through their individual continued professional development plans. I enjoy the fact that one day I am on a construction site discussing detailed design issues with specialist trades and the next day I might be in the office talking to our clients about their project progress.
And finally, what would career plan B have been?
I would have quite liked to have been a barrister.
