Tunneller of, er, love

Okay, hot shot. What’s the most considerate thing you’ve ever done? Be honest.

While driving home from work a few weeks ago I accidentally hit a cat crossing the road. I stopped and the cat, although badly wounded, wasn’t dead but clearly in a lot of pain. So I battered it with a club hammer.

Hopefully you were a little more restrained when dealing with the village residents?

We consulted with villagers who would be affected some months before the project started. They were all invited to ‘drop in’ sessions held in the village hall where the scheme was explained and they could ask questions. We also planned all logistics to ensure minimum impact on the residents.

What was the biggest challenge on the job?

Carting away all the surplus excavated material and importing thousands of tonnes of aggregates to the trenches without using huge lorries and causing damage and disruption associated with the traditional method of open cut trenches. All materials were delivered to a compound on the edge of the village, from there it was transferred into dumpers and taken directly to the trench. One section of the scheme was particularly deep, so to avoid disrupting the open cut excavation and interrupting and diverting utilities, we drove a timbered heading [form of tunnel construction] by hand - think The Great Escape but bigger!

Anything you could have improved on?

The profit margin.

Something else must have gone wrong?

No, it really was a near-perfect job!

Surely the villagers gave you a little bit of stick?

No, they were really very good to us - no shortage of tea and biscuits brought out to the lads.

We drove a timbered heading by hand. Think ‘the great escape’ but bigger...

Andy Leaver

This all sounds very good, but a lot of contractors don’t really care abut the disruption they cause, do they?

We are the face of our client, Thames Water in this case, and if we perform poorly then it reflects badly on them. We have to care to ensure we maintain our excellent reputation otherwise the tender invitations would start to dry up!

This industry considerate? Don’t make me choke on my bourbons.

I think it is a lot more considerate than it is given credit for. Communication is the key to improvement.

So how do you feel about scooping this award?

Very proud that the lads’ efforts have finally been recognised.

Some people keep their awards in the toilet. Where’s yours?

Behind my desk.

Will you be entering next year?

Certainly.