Welcome to the home of regular updates about Mackenzie Construction. Our team are at the heart of our success, and this newsletter aims to ensure we celebrate those achievements and keep you informed of everything you need to know.
AUTUMN/WINTER 2023
SAFE IN THE KNOWLEDGE / AUTUMN / WINTER 2023
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THE BUSINESS
PEOPLE
Regional Updates Glasgow Inverness Dundee Newcastle
Staff BBQ Partnering with Digital Construction Skills Young Persons Event Leadership & Training programme 2023 Golf Days New apprentices Q&A with Clair Ferguson (Senior Accounts Assistant) 10-Year Long Service Award Q&A with Michelle Connor (Office Admin) 35-Year Long Service Award
Smart Surface Update Crianlarich Case Study PARTNERSHIPS
UAV365 update Red Sky Partnership – Scott Meenagh Wooden Spoon Charity partnership Glasgow Warriors
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COMMUNITY WORK
Glen Ogil Stockingfield Bridge Crinan Community Fund Inverness Royal Academy Irvine Meadow FC
AUTUMN / WINTER 2023 / SAFE IN THE KNOWLEDGE
/F ORWARD
ANDY DALRYMPLE
2023 has seen the company continue to grow in size in terms of the amount of work we do, the extent of the country in which we work and the number of people within the business delivering projects for our clients and I would like to thank everyone for the part they have played in making 2023 another successful year. This growth reinforces the importance of us working together as “one team” in an environment where all feel safe and challenged such as to gain both enjoyment and satisfaction in our respective roles within the business. Thanks to all who took part in our recent health and wellbeing survey which has made clear areas which require some additional attention. 2024 will hence have a focus on enhancing engagement and consultation as we act on the feedback shared and ensure all feel respected and valued which starts with us all having a clear understanding of our business aims and objectives which hopefully the recently issued “Strategic Statement” helps clarify. The success of Mackenzie Construction has and always will be due to its people and as we face 2024, we need to continue working together as “one team” by helping and supporting each other and remaining true to the commitment to our people on which Mackenzie Construction has been built.
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/ THE BUSINESS Glasgow Scottish Water We are steadfast in advancing our program of works for Scottish Water, with a specific focus on water quality. Currently, we are working on and have secured over 90 contracts in Glasgow and West Central Scotland alone, with a collective value exceeding £30m. This achievement guarantees continuity of work for our devoted local Scottish Water teams well into the 2nd quarter of 2024. Our work varies from ongoing structural refurbishment to DSR and CWT. This includes concrete repairs, and strategic bypasses to allow essential work to be carried out on these assets.
The Beithir In collaboration with Scottish Canals and Make it Glasgow, we are working to create The Beithir. This 121-meter mythical serpent from Scottish folklore will form the centerpiece of the community artwork being installed on the site of the new active travel bridge in North Glasgow. The Lord Provost of Glasgow, Jacqueline McLaren, was recently invited to affix the first tile on the Beithir’s head, forming The City Crest.
As we move forward, we are about to embark on a program of temporary repairs to tanks for over 250 assets, with over 60% being in the central hub region. Returning Clients
Scottish Water Horizons Recent awards highlight our unmatched working relationship with Scottish Water Horizons. We persist in offering our comprehensive design and build service to ensure value and efficient service to the client. Our work includes sewer upgrades and SUDS schemes, in addition to clean water projects. Scottish Canals The summer season marks a shift in focus for Scottish Canals, transitioning from the lock gate installation to Sustrans Funded works on their historic network towpaths. An ambitious program has been undertaken to upgrade the towpaths along the canal network with funding provided through Sustrans. Works are presently progressing on the Forth, Clyde, and Union Canal where our resources are dedicated to vegetation clearance, cutting drainage lets into soft verges, repaving degraded sections of canal towpath, improving water pooling, and enhancing aesthetic appeal. This work will carry on consistently throughout 2023 and 2024, with new areas being identified and planned to meet the ambitions of Scottish Canals and Sustrans. 4
Green Action Trust We continue our work with Green Action Trust. After the successful completion of the Lionthorn open space in Falkirk, we have recently been awarded and have commenced work on an exciting environmental project at Glenmannor in Moodieburn. New Clients Reds 10 Following our ongoing success with Landmarc, we were invited to tender for a contract at Garelochhead for a company called Reds10, who provide state-of-the-art low carbon accommodation for the MOD. This contract involves demolition, drainage, and concrete foundation works in preparation for the units. Throughout the contract, we have emphasized our commitment to Net Zero by recycling all demolition and excavated material on site and reusing it within the works. Queens Cross Housing We have been successful in our bid for Regeneration work at Queens Cross Housing in North Glasgow, with an award value of £4.2m over 12 months. The Association has progressed with a project to undertake streetscaping in the Woodside area of Glasgow, which will commence in September of this year. Further information can be seen at www.woodsidemakingplaces.org.uk. AUTUMN / WINTER 2023 / SAFE IN THE KNOWLEDGE
REGIONAL UPDATES
Inverness
Dundee
We caught up with Mark Bramley, the Regional Director for Northern Scotland, to share an Inverness Regional Update for this quarter.
Spotlight on Orkney
We were delighted to welcome Jason Bennett and Neil Davidson as Civils Foremen to our construction team, both having started with us in mid-August and adding some depth to the team we have operating from our Inverness Office. It was also great to see Andrzej Padykula rejoin us in early September as a Foreman in our structural refurbishment team, after a very short spell away working with a competitor! Best wishes for the future were passed on to Josh Ralston, a QS in our Commercial Team who had been primarily focussing on the work being managed by our Inverness Office, as he took a big leap “across the pond” to take up a job in Pheonix, Arizona. He joins his girlfriend over there who recently a started a new role as a QS with a consultancy business, so at least he’ll know someone stateside. Although we’ve only just entered Autumn, the disruption that weather can have on Highland projects has already hit us! Bill Henderson and Andrzej Padykula headed to Arinagour, Isle Of Coll in mid-September to undertake some preparatory work for a temporary bypass and structural refurbishment contract for Scottish Water. The visit should only have lasted for the day but threatened to be a three-day trip after forecast bad weather cancelled ferry sailings. Thankfully neither had forgotten their toothbrushes, so the stay – ultimately only one night – passed without too much incident. That said, we were fearful of asking them if they’d had to “go commando”! Lesson for everyone heading over there in the coming months – make sure you’re prepared.
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The MCL Dundee regional office delivers projects over a large area covering all the regions on the east side of the A9 of Scotland. The team also has the responsibility and challenge of delivering Scottish Water Treated Water Storage SPMA water quality improvement projects on the Orkney Islands. The team are committed to delivering these projects to a very high standard and on a tight programme. The sites can be very remote, very hard to get to and even more challenging to complete based on the unpredictable Island weather. As such, coordination with our trusted supply chain has been essential and we would like to raise a special thank you to the local suppliers such as OrkFab and Orkney Aggregates. Close coordination with Scottish Water has also been crucial for us to ensure the assets are upgraded to the required standard and the improvement works have a minimal effect on the network resilience of these remote island water supply networks.
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REGIONAL UPDATES
Newcastle Mark Brown, Structural Refurbishment General Manager at Mackenzie Construction has given us some insight on our Newcastle office, which at present serves all clients south of the border. Our Newcastle team attended the Northumbrian Water (NWL) Water Aid Race Day in September. The weather was fantastic, food was delicious and a great day was had by all. There was a mixed bag of luck in the races across the Mackenzie Construction team, but Robert Mckinnie managed some success by winning a raffle prize. The race day was a huge success with nearly £8500 being raised for Wateraid, allowing them to reach their £1m target for Madagascar. These funds will help change the lives of more than 560 people in Madagascar, helping them to a better life, with access to clean drinking water, effective sanitation and hygiene education. Our Newcastle team have recently put together a new squad of four; Connor Burnell (Foreman), Jason Iley (Ganger), Dale Helens (Operative) and Louis Breeds (Operative). This new squad will focus on working with Northumbrian Water. Mark and his team in the North East of England are delighted to be commencing the second phase of the ‘Direct Allocation Strategy’ with Severn Trent Waters Potable Tanks Team. This sees us being directly awarded a further 14No projects out with the other projects which are priced competitively. This programme gives us the opportunity to have true earlier contractor involvement; carrying out initial inspections with the client, agreeing on the scope and price, and proceeding with works to agreed timescales. It’s fantastic to be working collaboratively with Severn Trent Water in this way, the very fact that they are awarding us this type of work directly highlights to me the trust and confidence they have in our ability to meet their requirements.
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NET ZERO
We have continued to work with Scottish Water, Scottish Canals, Green Action Trust, and the Rural Access Committee of Kinross-shire (TRACKS) with their journey to net zero, identifying opportunities which could incorporate our sustainable, low-carbon surfacing alternative. Our clients have identified issues with their site and asset access roads across all regions which have deteriorated significantly over the years and are close to being completely unsuitable for safe vehicle and pedestrian access. Some of these routes are also popular with tourists and ramblers, so in order to meet the needs of local road users and open up access to all, we identified that the ageing road surfaces require re-designing and re-surfacing to be fit for purpose. On occasion, the original designs call for a robust make-up to allow for all vehicular traffic including HGV access to the Asset. The original concept design called for capping layer, granular fill, subbase and traditional asphalt surface. Site Surveys and knowledge of our product characteristics allowed us to incorporate existing consolidated substrata, we utilised our sustainable road surfacing product Smart Surface to enhance these access roads to create new safe access roads and walkways. These projects have a collective value of over £850K and called for over 100t of our alternative and eco-friendly product which helped our client save on average over 58% on carbon emissions and significantly lowered the cost of importing and exporting by up to 30%. Contracts have been carried out at Crianlarich in Stirlingshire, Bradan in South Ayrshire, Glasgow, and Perth and Kinross. This road and path surfacing solution has provided a durable and aesthetically pleasing finished surface which has an expected life span that meets or exceeds the original design option.
Before
Smart Surface and the local Community (CSR) A plot holder within the Mansewood Allotments reached out to Mackenzie Construction for assistance with upgrading certain sections of the access footpath within the allotment site. The main goal for the upgrade was to have disabled access to most of the plots and to improve 156m of footpath within the allotment to allow easier access for all. Smart Surface was incorporated into the network of access paths around the allotment, the project was a huge success and achieved the objective of improving access with a low-carbon sustainable approach. A commitment to the local community forms a key part of Mackenzie Construction’s ethos and this opportunity allowed the team to give back. During the construction process, some of the allotment’s produce was offered to the site team which has inspired them to consider ways in which they can cultivate some produce of their own. We have carried out several ‘Lunch and Learn’ events, presentations, and roadshows with Scottish Water, where we demonstrated the benefits of Smart Surface. This has resulted in Mackenzie Construction being asked to be an active partner working with Scottish Water’s Net Zero Working Group. Scottish Water has now moved towards formalising Smart Surface as a viable option at the contract scoping stage and is pushing their design staff to consider this solution for all access roads, temporary and enabling works moving forward. Scottish Water’s Carbon Calculator has been modified to include Smart Surface in pre-contract justification for its use. Scottish Water West, North and East Regional Hub Lunch and Learn afternoons. We have received enquiries from across the UK from potential Clients such as SSE Highlands TP&E (Sustrans) and Brighton Hove and Albion County Council. Our product has been specified in the Rural Access Committee of Kinross-shire (TRACKS) technical tender documents and we have been recently shortlisted for the prestigious Vibe Awards.
After
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CASE STUDY
Crianlarich Case Study
Solution The Original design called for a robust make up to allow for all vehicular traffic including HGV tanker access to Asset. The original concept design called for capping layer, granular fill , sub base and traditional asphalt surface.
Client: Scottish Water Project Value: £350k Location: Crianlarich Timeframe: February to May 2023 Background Our client, Scottish Water, identified issues to their sites access road in Crianlarich which had deteriorated significantly over the years and was close to being completely unsuitable for vehicle access. The route is also popular with tourists so in order to meet the need of local road users and open up access to the SW site, we identified that the aging road surface required re-designing and re-surfacing to be fit for purpose. Challenge The site had very poor ground conditions with deep layers of peat underfoot. Scottish Water Operations faced challenges of multiple external drivers and stakeholders to get access to their Asset. We worked closely with Scottish Water DV2 ID, Transport Scotland, National Parks and the Crown Office to ensure that all necessary permissions were in place prior to the installation. Peat layers of up to 2m had to be considered when engineering the sustainable solution.
Together with the reconfiguration of the proposed layout to incorporate existing consolidated sub strata, we utilised our sustainable road surfacing product Smart Surface to enhance the majority of the access road to create a new route off the A82. This project required 15 t of our alternative and eco-friendly product which helped our client save over 50% on carbon emissions and significant costs. This road surfacing solution has provided a durable and aesthetically pleasing finished surface which has an expected life span that meets or exceeds the original design option. Smart Surface allowed this site to keep exportation of materials to the site at a minimum and importation of recycled material was significantly decreased.
Summary of Total Embodied Carbon on Original design compared to Smart Surface Area (m2)
Excavate to formation; 0.5m to 1.0m depth; cut into hillside and build up banking to form access (KG)
Build up banking with crusher run and create level platform; 0.5 to 1.0m depth (KG)
Type 1 – 150mm Type 1 layer only (KG)
100mm Asphalt Pavement (KG)
Total Carbon Orginal Design (KG)
Smart Surface (existing soil treated to 150mm minor recycled type 1 addition depth) (KG)
Smart Surface Embodied CO2 Saving
Carbon Saving %
910
290
2856
2483
8454
14083
6073
8,010kg
58%
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After
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/ PARTNERSHIPS Red Sky partnership – Scott Meenagh At Mackenzie Construction, our people are at the heart of our success. As part of our commitment to our people we are delighted that Scott Meenagh has agreed to continue working as part of our team, as our People Ambassador. GB Para Nordic Skier, Scott, has been working with us since 2019 to support staff engagement and personal development across the entire Mackenzie Construction team.
UAV365 update Our partnership with UAV365 provides our clients with industry-leading digital surveying and data capture services. This partnership further enhances our structural refurbishment capabilities and reaffirms our commitment to building our reputation as one of the UK’s leading contractors for structural refurbishment. UAV365 provide drone-based data solutions across the UK surveying, inspecting, and monitoring with aerial and internal drone platforms. Using the latest Unmanned Aerial Vehicle equipment to create high-quality 3D models and imagery. This equipment can access hazardous and inaccessible environments, making UAV365 the perfect partner for Mackenzie Construction to help support their Surveying and Inspection services and collect data from both above and below-ground environments. As part of our ongoing partnership, UAV365 have now delivered enhanced detailed digital surveying and data-capturing services on Gatharmlock Tower. The UAV365 team were able to gather detailed primary data collection on all structural components of the tower.
Mackenzie Construction was first introduced to, and inspired by, Scott in 2019 when he was a speaker at our Foreman Training Course. His presentation aimed to empower and equip our team with the appropriate tools and techniques to coach and mentor our young people. Since Scott began working with Mackenzie Construction, we’ve collaborated on a wide variety of staff engagement activities from encouraging individuals and teams at meetings to supporting our drive for talent development and team wellbeing. He has led sessions on topics such as ‘Dealing with change’, ‘Growth mindset’ and ‘Achieving your personal best’, as well as making visits to our sites to understand our work and get to know our people on an individual level. The collaboration has given Mackenzie Construction a fantastic platform to address staff wellbeing, open up meaningful conversations with its teams and inform development planning. Most recently, Scott has been attending the final session of a management and training programme and shared his thoughts and reflections after listening to each of the Managers share their presentations. Scott will be catching up with each of the Managers over the remainder of 2023 to see how their plans for developing and growing their respective teams are progressing.
The level of detail that UAV365 provide Mackenzie Construction and our clients is remarkable. “ It is invaluable the level of detail UAV365 provide to us through their ability to create a 3D Model. UAV365 inspections negate the need for an equipped survey team to enter and review hazardous areas, resulting in capturing detailed data that supports our clients and allows for more efficient site maintenance.” Mark Brown / Structural Refurbishment General Manager SAFE IN THE KNOWLEDGE / AUTUMN / WINTER 2023
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PARTNERSHIPS
Wooden Spoon charity partnership We are proud to have Wooden Spoon as our chosen charity for this year and are committed to giving back and supporting a local charity close to our hearts. The Wooden Spoon Charity is an organisation that makes a huge difference in the lives of children and young people throughout the UK. Wooden Spoon’s vision is through the power of rugby, every child and young person has access to the best life opportunities, no matter what their background. Wooden Spoon boasts three Scottish bases covering the central belt, Aberdeen and Inverness, Wooden Spoon is committed to supporting a diverse range of community projects in Scotland and has granted more than £4 million to over 100 life-changing initiatives.
Our Health and Wellbeing Committee Chairperson, Alison Irwin shared:
“ When choosing our annual charity, it is an important and difficult decision for the business, with so many well-deserved organisations in need of support. This year, we are delighted to be supporting Wooden Spoon, a cause that offers support throughout all the areas we are working and we’re really looking forward to getting everyone together and raising money for some brilliant causes.”
We held our annual Mackenzie Charity Golf Day at Cowglen Golf Club in early September, where we were overwhelmed by the generosity of our staff and supply chain. We were able to present a cheque of over £3000 to Al Kellock, Chairman of the Wooden Spoon for the funds we have raised so far for the charity. Mackenzie Construction completed a cycle challenge in aid of the Wooden Spoon Charity. We cycled 503 miles between our four offices, Newcastle, Dundee Inverness & Glasgow, raising a total of £1006. We also had the privilege of having three Glasgow Warriors players n attendance. Huge thank you to Ruaraidh Hart, Duncan Munn and Logan Jarvie for visiting our Head Office in Glasgow and adding some miles to our total. The challenge was a huge success, and we want to thank everyone who participated.
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AUTUMN / WINTER 2023 / SAFE IN THE KNOWLEDGE
PARTNERSHIPS
Glasgow Warriors Mackenzie Construction has proudly sponsored Glasgow Warriors since 2018 and are delighted to be supporting them through this season as their Official Civil Engineering Sponsor. We are very proud of the longstanding relationship we have with the Warriors and over the years have worked together to bring light to many important topics, from mental health to young apprenticeships. The Warriors are also a big part of the culture at Mackenzie Construction, taking part in many of our team challenges, health and wellbeing activities and awarding prizes to our ‘Mackenzie Warriors’.
“ The energy, passion and commitment Glasgow Warriors demonstrate, as well as an unwavering focus on giving back to the local community, make the Glasgow Warriors and Mackenzie Construction a perfect match.”
We very much look forward to continuing this relationship for the remainder of 2023 and beyond. “ The energy, passion and commitment Glasgow Warriors demonstrate, as well as an unwavering focus on giving back to the local community, make the Glasgow Warriors and Mackenzie Construction a perfect match. We have a clear focus on innovation and an ethos of continuous improvement to create long-lasting sustainability for the future of our business, our community and to affect positive change in our industry. Both Warriors and Mackenzie have values that are aligned and place people at the heart of what we do. We are grateful to be part of the Warriors family and it has been a pleasure to watch the relationship develop and grow over the years. We are excited to continue this relationship as we work together to add value to the local community.” Andy Dalrymple / Managing Director
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/ PEOPLE
Staff BBQ At the end of July, we held our Summer BBQ at our head office in Glasgow. This year we opened the invite to allow families of our staff to join. The day began with a presentation of our Mackenzie Warriors in the meeting room, followed by a BBQ, music and games outside. We were lucky to have Zander Fagerson in attendance, an honorary Mackenzie Warrior and the key feature of our new mural in the kitchen. He shared some inside stories from his time with Glasgow Warriors and we opened up the room to a Q&A with him. Zander presented each of our Mackenzie Warriors with a Warrior’s shirt before we all headed by his mural in the kitchen for him to sign. We want to recognise all our Mackenzie Warriors who received their Glasgow Warriors shirts for all of their hard work and commitment. Julie Ward, who has been with Mackenzie Construction for 25 years was awarded a True Mackenzie Warrior for the tireless work she has undertaken in sourcing, maintaining and recording the training needs of Mackenzie Construction over the years. Luke Summone was presented with a Mackenzie Warrior Commitment to Service Award for his sheer 12
determination and zeal to succeed. He is ambitious, a team player, encourages others to succeed and is always willing to take on new tasks to gain new knowledge. Our final Mackenzie Warrior award went to Billy Love, who joined Mackenzie Construction back in 2005, working as a Foreman for 18 years and has now retired. We want to thank Billy for all of his hard work and wish him a long and happy retirement. Scott Meenagh, our People Ambassador was also present on the day and was recognised as an honorary Mackenzie Warrior. We are forever grateful for his work with our young people at various workshops as it led to the development of our own Young Person’s Committee. Scott was able to share his experience with Mackenzie Construction and talk about his upcoming training plans. The BBQ portion of the day with the games was a true success, we had a bungee run, a conversion challenge and the team from Glasgow Warriors brought along their passing challenge. Many questionable attempts at all the challenges by Mackenzie staff and Glasgow Warriors made it a fun day for all, even if just to watch.
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PEOPLE
Partnering with Digital Construction Skills For Excel Training Mackenzie Construction recently partnered with Digital Construction Skills to deliver Excel Training, with a focus on the new Trainees, Site and Contract Engineers. We are passionate about ensuring our wider team is comfortable and confident in using technology and where required have the opportunity to build on these skills for their own personal development.
Mackenzie Construction is highly committed to both training and digitalisation and we are grateful for our partnership with Digital Construction Skills who provide their expertise to our team. These Excel training sessions were received very well with our team gaining invaluable knowledge to help them be more digitally successful in their careers.
The first session that we carried out was a beginner course for all new Trainees in mid-September. This was an all-day event and allowed all our Trainees to get a good introduction to Excel as well as a good experience to spend the day in training with their peers, building both skills and relationships.
Saffron Grant, Director, at Digital Construction Skills, said of the training courses,
On Monday 9th October and Tuesday 10th October, an intermediate-level course was carried out with two different batches of Site and Contracts Engineers who required some additional Excel training. The objective of this training was to ensure that all Site and Contracts Engineers are proficient in Excel skills to be able to support the processes they carry out on any working day.
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“ It is fantastic to see Mackenzie Construction empowering their teams to work more efficiently and develop digital skills that will lay the foundations for further digital enablement. Excel skills are an important part of so many everyday processes from admin through to design and setting out. It is a pleasure working with Mackenzie’s delegates as they are always so friendly and receptive to learning new skills that will help them in the workplace.”
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PEOPLE
Young Person Events at Mackenzie Construction Mackenzie Construction has long been invested in the development and growth of young talent and is committed to training and promotion from within. An important part of the development of our young people is ensuring they feel valued, heard and engaged within the business. We organised a social event for our young people to spend time together, in which any Mackenzie Construction employee who is 28 and under could attend. The event involved our young people spending an evening at Top Golf in Glasgow on Friday 20th October. They received a welcome drink on arrival and enjoyed a buffet of burgers, chicken and fries while playing golf.
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We believe it is important for our employees to spend time with each other outside of a working environment to form strong working and networking relationships - but more importantly, life-long friendships. Many of our older employees have been friends since joining the business many years ago and we want to create opportunities, such as young person events, for our current young people to create and grow these same relationships.
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PEOPLE
Leadership & Training programme Mackenzie Construction’s various Heads of Department recently undertook a Management and Leadership Programme that ran as six one-day sessions. The final session, which was attended by all the Directors, included each Manager sharing a presentation on their personal reflections from the course, along with their plans on how best to grow and develop their respective teams. Mackenzie Construction’s People Ambassador, Scott Meenagh, attended the final session and shared his thoughts and reflections after listening to each of the Managers share their presentations. Scott will be catching up with each of the Managers over the remainder of 2023 to see how their plans for developing and growing their respective teams are progressing. All the Directors, who were in attendance, were immensely impressed with the individual presentations. These presentations reflected a strategy of specialists in their respective fields working together as “one team” to achieve the shared aim of successfully delivering projects on behalf of our clients. The day concluded with Scott presenting Training Certificates to all in attendance, including Mackenzie Construction’s longest-serving employee, Valuations Manager, Sharon Wylie.
2023 Golf Days This year we have had the pleasure of attending a number of golf days. Many of our keen golfers were out and about at various golf days over the summer. These golf days are a great way for us to engage with our partners and colleagues and strengthen our relationships. We attended WaterAid Scotland’s Charity Golf Day at Fairmont, St Andrews, where a total of £22k was raised. Robbie Maclean held up the fort for Mackenzie Construction and thoroughly enjoyed the day. WaterAid UK works tirelessly to provide clean water and toilets to communities worldwide, and we are very proud to support their work. We also attended CECA Scotland’s Annual Golf Day at Bruntsfield Links Golf Club in Edinburgh. Gavin Chesney captained our team alongside Hans Cook, Kevin Kneeshaw and Steven Rankin from Landmarc. Whilst we didn’t take home the trophy, Gavin secured a prize for Nearest the Pin on the 16th hole. With 72 golfers representing 16 CECA member companies, the day was a huge success and very enjoyable for all. We also had our very own annual Mackenzie Construction golf day which was held at Cowglen Golf Club. Any proceeds raised went towards our 2023 nominated charity, Wooden Spoon, of which our total is currently sitting at over £3,000 so a massive thank you to all who have supported.
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PEOPLE
New apprentices Mackenzie Construction is proud to welcome an intake of apprentices each year. The 2023 intake consists of six new trainee engineers and one new trainee estimator who have joined the Mackenzie Construction family. We have long supported young people through apprenticeships with many of our senior team having started out with Mackenzie Construction from school and working up to management and director-level positions. The combination of on-site learning and college-based learning, along with supportive mentoring from people of all levels across the business is a massive benefit for our apprentices. Each apprentice has been assigned to a team where they will further develop their knowledge and skills across various civil engineering disciplines and structural refurbishment techniques as well as being exposed to the various sectors in which Mackenzie Construction operate.
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In 2022, Mackenzie Construction launched a Young Person’s Committee, allowing each new apprentice the support of a younger colleague who can offer peer advice as they were recently in that same position and can offer insights into the role. Wishing a warm welcome to our trainee engineers; Zak Ward, Scott Prior, Connor Cullen, Logan Lambert, Robbie Caldwell and Kieran Gibson, and our trainee estimator, Ross MacNicol. We look forward to supporting our new apprentices on their journey with Mackenzie Construction. Managing Director, Andy Dalrymple, shared: “ Mackenzie Construction has long been invested in the development and growth of young talent and is committed to training and promotion from within. Our new trainees are just at the beginning of their journey with Mackenzie Construction, and we are so excited to watch them develop and grow both personally and in their careers”.
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PEOPLE
to learn about the subcontract payment process, this was an area that really interested me and I still enjoy processing the payments all these years later. We’ve seen lots of changes in the department, from adapting to home working to being back in the office full-time. Changing our processes and systems etc, we’ve gone through a lot of change over the last ten years. Most recently I’ve been learning Payroll which has been something a bit different.
Q&A with Clair Ferguson (Senior Accounts Assistant) 10-Year Long Service Award When did you start at Mackenzie Construction? I first started at Mackenzie Construction in September 2013 as a receptionist. I was only part-time covering the afternoon shift. As front of house, it was a great way to get to know everyone and I really settled into the company well. This was for the first year or so, then I was offered a position in accounts in the mornings to help with filing. I enjoyed the split role but when the offer to move into accounts full time opened, I thought it would be a good opportunity to try something different. How did you first become aware of Mackenzie Construction and what led you to apply? I think the job was advertised online and I recognised the area of the head office so thought it’d be worth applying for. I’d only just moved to Glasgow that summer from Dunoon and didn’t really know my way about the city yet, the fact that it was close to my home was a huge benefit. I got a call from the admin manager asking if I’d come in for an interview, which went well, and I left with a good feeling. I’d applied for a few similar jobs and (much like busses) 3 came along at once… but I was drawn to Mackenzie. How has your career developed over the course of your time at Mackenzie Construction? I started in reception as part of the admin team before switching over to accounts. I started in accounts with basic filing of plant and material sheets, then progressed to other areas of the purchase ledger with processing/ matching/paying invoices. One of my colleagues was going off on maternity leave so I then had the opportunity SAFE IN THE KNOWLEDGE / AUTUMN / WINTER 2023
My skills have all been developed through my experience with the company, and in the future, I’d like to push myself to gain qualifications in accounts and have a better understanding across more areas. What are your highlights from the last ten years at Mackenzie Construction? A highlight has been the social work events such as the Christmas night out/fundraiser etc… there are lots of stories there but none that should be on the record. I’d also say a highlight of my career would be adapting through Covid. Not only did we get through the challenges of working from home but also changing how we worked as a department. From the day we went into lockdown, we went from printing every invoice to being completely paperless, we were also paying suppliers/subcontractors by cheque so it really made things more efficient to switch to BACS payments, and overall we all pulled together to keep our department running proficiently. Did you have a mentor when you first started at Mackenzie Construction? No, I’ve not had a specific mentor. When I first started, Mackenzie Construction had a family feel where you could approach anyone for some guidance. I’ve had a few different managers over the years, and each has taught me different things. What is your favourite thing about working for Mackenzie Construction? I’ve been given the opportunity to learn new skills, I also helped with the implementation of a new ERP system when we moved over to Coins. I’ve trained various new starts as the department has expanded and get to work with lots of wonderful people. 17
PEOPLE
Q&A with Michelle Connor (Office Admin) 35-Year Long Service Award When did you start at Mackenzie Construction? I started on 5th September 1988 as an Office Junior. How did you first become aware of Mackenzie Construction and what led you to apply? I had never heard of the Company – I just saw an advert in the Evening Times job section and applied for it How has your career developed over the course of your time at Mackenzie Construction? Yes – I started as an Office Junior – this involved filing, making tea/coffee and then progressed to the Estimating Department where I worked for roughly 20 years. This involved booking in Tenders, sending out enquiries to obtain prices for the Tenders, typing in the Bills of Quantities for the Estimators to use when compiling their prices. In 2020 I moved over to the Admin Department. What are your highlights from the last 35 years at Mackenzie Construction? Basically just enjoying working here and being able to make a career out of being here. Did you have a mentor when you first started at Mackenzie Construction? Yes – Sharon Scotland Wylie helped me when I first started. What is your favourite thing about working for Mackenzie Construction? It is a very friendly company to work for – very family orientated – my two sons also now work here as Trainee Engineers – they started in 2022.
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/ COMMUNITY Glen Ogil A recent successful project for Mackenzie Construction saw the SW Energy team ask our team to look at repairing approx. 100m of a 15”CI raw water main that feeds a hydro station near the village of Tannadice approximately 4 miles from the Glen Ogil Estate. The embankment where the water main was located had collapsed as a result of a blocked dam with a weir wall on the Glen Ogil estate that was causing water to back up along the river. At some point the weight of water became too great and caused the weir wall to collapse, creating a huge surge of water discharging uncontrolled and a large 5m deep area of erosion on the embankment. The collapse of the dam, the erosion of the embankment and the water main were all down a steep gradient that was covered in peat and within a heavily forested area. The project required Mackenzie Construction to clear some areas of trees and vegetation to create a floating access road in the peat. It was crucial for us that we liaised closely with Arboriculturists and Ecologists to work out what trees were required to be moved and to look for any nesting birds. The sensitive nature of this site also meant engaging heavily with SEPA, NatureScot and ecologists to make sure that all wildlife was considered and looked after, with proper management plans put in place. On the site, we had many protected species to deal with from otters and cubs, kingfishers, wild cats, bats, pine martin, brown trout and freshwater mussels. The project was finalised by demolishing the remaining weir and dam, restoring the hillside drainage system and reinstating the eroded embankment with a variety of imported stones. It was a requirement that the project was to be started by the first week in February and completed by the end of July to allow for the pheasant chicks to be released on the estate ahead of the shooting season. Mackenzie Construction completed the project before the site deadline with the handover to Scottish Water and the Glen Ogil Estate completed on Tuesday 25th July. The completion of this project came with very positive feedback from Scottish Water and Glen Ogil Estate.
Before
After
“ Working in partnership with Scottish Water we were able to quickly assess the potential impacts of the remedial works required. We then developed a plan on how the project could be delivered considering its location, ecology and the needs of the Glen Ogil estate. There were a few challenges but thanks to the endeavours of Sean, Graham and the rest of the site team, the estate has been left with a solution that blends into the natural local habitat without any negative influence on its operations.” Gary Porter / Contracts Manager
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Stockingfield Bridge
Crinan Community Fund
During the development of Stockingfield Bridge, Mackenzie Construction worked for Balfour Beatty by assisting with the groundworks. The £14m active travel bridge that connects Ruchill, Maryhill and Gilshochill over the Forth & Clyde Canal was officially opened in December 2022. The development of the foot and cycle bridge represents significant travel improvements for those communities throughout Glasgow.
As the second year of the planned winter works programme on the Crinan Canal draws to a close, we were delighted to open a community fund to help make a difference in the community which has been our second home for the last six months.
Mackenzie Construction has continued working on the Stockingfield Bridge project alongside Scottish Canals, local Glasgow artist Nichol Wheatly and Glasgow-based sculpture fabrication company, Scott Associates Sculpture, to bring a large piece of artwork resembling a Beithir to life on site. The 121-metre mystical serpent made from reclaimed material, the Beithir, will form the centrepiece of the artwork. Mackenzie Construction is also working with Community Interest Company, Make It Glasgow who will be installing mosaic tiling to the Beithir, along with eight other community artwork projects. Make It Glasgow has been engaging with the local community including schools and youth groups and has been helping the community develop personnel mosaics that have been installed on-site. Each project has a strong local connection having been designed with input from local residents. They range from pieces that showcase the area’s industrial past, to community-designed ceramic mosaics.
The winter engineering programme is a key project in Scottish Canals’ Asset Management Strategy, with the Crinan Canal receiving significant investment as part of Scottish Canals capital programme across Scotland’s canals for 2022-23. The community fund comprises an allocation of workdays from the Mackenzie Construction team to deliver benefits locally, supported by a small monetary fund to support other community initiatives. The first call for applications was a resounding success with applications submitted by many fantastic local organisations and initiatives. Following a review of applications, we have donated to 7 local organisations and committed to improvement works for a further 11. We will be working closely with Scottish Canals to report on the progress of these works and will be sharing further updates in due course.
On August 20th, Scottish Canals is hosting a Stockingfield Bridge Summer Fun Day in celebration of the newly installed community artworks at the award-winning site. This is a free event and is open from 12pm-3pm, with visitors being encouraged to bring a picnic to enjoy alongside the entertainment. We encourage those attending the Summer Fun Day to pay a visit to Make it Glasgow to find out how to play your part in tile-making for the site at Stockingfield Bridge.
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Inverness Royal Academy Mackenzie Construction was proud to support a pupil from Inverness Royal Academy through the sponsorship of an Outward Bound course that ran from 15th to 19th May 2023.
“ I know I can do things now that I didn’t think I could”. Pupil 2
Outward Bound is an outdoor education charity that designs programmes for select groups of young people to help them build resilience, develop confidence, and learn personal and employability skills to prepare them for the world outside of school. The Inverness Academy Course was developed for 16 young people who were particularly vulnerable, and focused on building confidence, helping them re-engage with their education and on skills for life and work. Mackenzie Construction has long been invested in the development and growth of young talent. We were delighted to be able to support a young person and to hear the positive impact the course had on the pupils. We know our young people are the future and we want to allow them the best possible opportunities for them to develop and grow their careers. Morven Neil, Depute Rector at Inverness Royal Academy said, “ We had some major breakthroughs on this trip for some of our young people. These were pupils that were not fully engaging with school or had attendance issues, and in some cases were at risk of falling out from mainstream education. Two pupils in the group impressed Outward Bound staff so much that they were awarded ‘Golden Tickets’. These are genuinely very rarely handed out and to have two from this group is absolutely incredible. These pupils were invited, free of charge, to attend a course over the summer. They have both come back to school with ambitions of becoming outdoor instructors and outdoor business owners.”
“ This trip has 100% boosted my confidence and I’m feeling proud of myself of what I have done so far”. Pupil 1
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COMMUNITY
Irvine Meadow FC Mackenzie Construction is proud to support a number of community initiatives across Scotland as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. The focus of this strategy is to support organisations that focus on talent development and opening up opportunities for individuals across the communities in which we work. With our commitment to supporting community causes, we have renewed our sponsorship of Irvine Meadow Football Club, becoming their official community sponsor. Irvine Meadow FC is a non-profit community interest club in the West of Scotland. Seven years ago, the club chose to look beyond its core focus in football and now has major involvement in the local community supporting 20 different clubs all with different members, aims and objectives. This move first saw the creation of Irvine Meadow Youth which encompasses a number of different youth teams offering the opportunity for those aged 5-17 to get involved in football. The youth teams pride themselves on both coach and player development and engage with the broader community to give opportunities to all and provide a pathway for talent.
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Off the pitch, the Irvine Meadow Community Club was created to support non-football-related community groups including a social club and supporters’ group to build further links with the community through a programme of local events, allowing attendees to foster friendships and improve wellbeing. To support the club in its ongoing commitment to build community links and further develop these initiatives, Mackenzie Construction is proud to sponsor Irvine Meadow FC as its official Community Sponsor and we wish the club every success in continuing to build upon this excellent work. Brian Lamb, General and Commercial Manager at Irvine Meadows said of the support, “ Mackenzie Construction has played a huge role over previous years in getting the club and its facilities to what they are today and without the support from the business we wouldn’t have been granted our SFA license. Their continued support will help to strengthen the club and how we support the local community here in Irvine.”
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“ At Mackenzie Construction we are always looking for opportunities to support causes in our local community that are making a significant impact on individuals. We have supported Irvine Meadow FC for a number of years and are proud to be increasing this level of support and formalising our status as Community Sponsor.” Andy Dalrymple / Managing Director
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G L ASG O W / D UN D EE / I N V ER N ES S
mackenzieconstruction.com
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