PRIDE IN THE JOB 2008 08/06/07
NHBC's Pride in the Job competition has the primary purpose of seeking out and rewarding the very best site managers in the UK. It stands alone as one of the most prestigious competitions in the house-building industry. Over the years, the competition has become synonymous with quality new homes and as a result has become a recognised seal of approval for new homebuyers everywhere.
Originally started in 1980, the Pride in the Job competition was established to improve quality and raise the standard of service to home-buyers by focussing on the day-to-day operation of the building site and the work of the site manager. 28 years on, these principles and many of the original rules of the competition remain today, including the rigorous selection procedure which takes place all year round.
Over 18,000 site managers working on NHBC registered sites are entered into the competition and to win an award, they must demonstrate consistently good working practices, from their management skills, to how they motivate their teams to produce the highest quality new homes.
How do builders enter Pride in the Job?
There are no entry forms for Pride in the Job. Every registered builder who builds more than three units per year is automatically eligible for the competition. Judging begins in July and continues throughout the year with every eligible NHBC registered site manager considered for an award. The judges are looking for evidence of consistency, leadership, technical expertise, interpretation, safety control and commitment to excellence.
Pride in the Job categories:
Small builder category
A site manager employed by a company, which may be part of a group of companies with an annual output of between 3 to 50 homes per year.
Medium builder category
A site manager employed by a company, which may be part of a group of companies with an annual output of between 51 and 1,000 homes per year.
Large builder category
A site manager employed by a company, which may be part of a group of companies with an annual output of 1,001 homes or more per year.
Multistorey builder category
Any site manager working on a multistorey project. This category recognises a different set of skills from housing site management, where it is difficult to compare the two. Multistorey is defined as a structure above three storeys. No distinction is made between steel frame, timber frame, concrete frame and traditional build.
How many stages does the competition have?
The competition is divided into four winning stages:
Quality Awards
Quality Awards are announced in June and are given to around 400 site managers responsible for new build, conversion or housing association sites across the UK. These winners then go through to the next stage of the competition.
Seal of Excellence Awards
At this stage the competition is regionally based. There are around 130 Seal of Excellence Awards presented across the UK. Each region's share is in proportion to the number of homes built in that region last year. The announcement and presentation of the Awards is made at a series of PIJ lunches held throughout the UK in the autumn.
Regional Awards
At the same time as the Seal of Excellence Awards are presented, the Regional winners are announced. From the list of Seal of Excellence winners in each region, one Regional winner is selected in each of the three builder categories, small to medium, large and multistorey. These winners then become the candidates for the Supreme Awards.
Supreme Awards
The UK Supreme Award winners for each of the three categories are announced at a prestigious national ceremony held in London. These winners are the overall UK winners of the Pride in the Job competition.
Special Awards
At the discretion of NHBC there may be additional Special Awards to reflect unique achievements in on-site management.
What it takes to be a winner:
Judging begins in July each year and continues for the next 12 months, enabling NHBC inspectors to fully assess a site managers' work over an extended period of time.
To ensure all sites are judged to the same criteria, a PIJ marking sheet is used, which covers 38 site-management activities. Your NHBC Building Inspector will be happy to discuss the judging criteria with you, in the meantime here are some examples of what the judges are looking for:
Consistency
Consistently high standards of site management shown through quality workmanship across all trades on site
Leadership
Excellent leadership skills, reflected by a high level of morale and motivation of
the site team
Technical expertise
The ability to knowledgeably and skilfully resolve any issues on site, for example, problematic ground conditions or access difficulties
Interpretation
The ability to skilfully interpret drawings and specifications and successfully turn the designer's intention into reality
Health and Safety
Efficient health and safety controls in place and evidence that the welfare of all employees on site is considered
The `X factor'
The competition is intense and NHBC judges admit they have to see something quite special to nominate a site manager for an award. From the standard of workmanship, to the welfare of staff, a site manager must get involved with every aspect on site and work to continually to raise the standard.
