Paul Sorgiovanni
What are your roles and responsibilities in BMD Group?
I am a Operations Manager in BMD constructions in South Australia, heading the water, wastewater, and utilities team. I am responsible for a team of engineers, project engineers, site engineers, and graduate engineers, where we manage the work scope and deliver it.
What are some challenges in the construction industry and how do you overcome them?
The most recent challenge is the shortage of skilled laborers in construction companies across South Australia. As of October last year, infrastructure projects, including small capital projects, faced a shortage of about 200,000 skilled laborers across the industry. In 2023, the labor demand is expected to increase by 42,000.
Our approach to solving that is having graduate or apprenticeship programs, where we employ inexperienced undergraduates from university placements and start training them under our senior leaders in the field from an earlier age. We put them in training programs through our systems and experience in the business and give them a chance to give back to the industry.
“Our approach to solving that is having graduate or apprenticeship programs, where we employ inexperienced undergraduates from university placements and start training them under our senior leaders in the field from an earlier age”
Another issue we are facing in the industry is procurement, lead times, and logistics of materials after the COVID-19 pandemic. Lead times on materials, quarry materials, and precast concrete materials are seeing a huge strain in the industry, blowing out the lead time on manufacturing and products and leading to an escalation in the pricing of products. Through this escalation, there were labor wage increases as we tried to deliver the materials to customers.
Would you like to talk about any upcoming technology that you are optimistic about in the construction industry?
We are looking forward to a high level of software and program upgrades that will find inefficiencies in pricing projects and be more detailed in our survey submissions. We are adopting more software in our machinery, like GPS, and designing software like Trimble. We are also always looking for innovation or updating our current software so we are up to date with the market.
What does a typical day look like for you? What do you usually encounter and how do you handle them?
As a senior manager, I have to write reports and am responsible for making my teams cohesive while maintaining positive morale and culture. My day-to-day activities are narrowed down to people management and being my team's support mechanism, which is the pinnacle of business. I have to be ready for the knee-jerk curveballs in business and be armed to provide positive solutions to keep everyone moving in their roles.
My daily activities consist of working on tenders, pricing jobs, and dealing with clients and change management. However, the key role is to be a support mechanism for fellow team members and be solution focused so I can give them the tools they need to facilitate their roles and responsibilities.
What advice would you give to budding professionals in the industry?
There is always a certain professionalism that comes with the role, so you have to love and enjoy what you do. Being in a positive environment and surrounding yourself with positive people will stimulate good culture and morale. Being successful in this industry is all about having the right people in the business and promoting relationships with fellow team members.
