07.00 AM
My 10th alarm for the morning finally manages to wake me up. I make myself a quick breakfast and get ready for the day, before racing out the door at 7.45 for my commute into the city.
08:30 AM
I’m not a big fan of coffee, so I grab an energy drink from the café downstairs before heading into the office - some uni habits die hard after all! After greeting and chatting with my coworkers, I get started by noting any meetings for the day and planning out the tasks I need to complete. Today I have a site meeting to attend, along with a programme assessment and a consultant fee recommendation to complete.
I made sure to set up the programme assessment document the previous day, so I can have it ready in time for my 10.00 am meeting. I get this finalised and printed before heading out of the office with my site gear in tow. I make the 40-minute trip to the site of a school expansion project in West Auckland.
10.00 AM
I catch up with the PM before heading into the site office. This fortnightly meeting is an opportunity for the contractor to update the wider project team on construction progress and raise any issues that require input from the consultants.
10.45 AM
After the site meeting, I take the opportunity to walk through the building and assess its construction progress, taking lots of photos and notes as I go. I use the programme assessment document I prepared to compare the progress forecasted in the master programme to the actual construction progress. This helps me to determine if the project is ahead, behind, or on schedule. This is a great learning experience for me as a graduate, as I get to discuss the details of the construction process / protocols with the PM, and witness some of the day-today challenges on-site.
12.00 PM
The hardest decision of the day so far is choosing where to go for lunch! Luckily my colleagues have no shortage of great recommendations. I quickly drop my site gear off at the office and meet up with them at one of our go-to katsu restaurants. We catch each other up on our respective projects, office news, and weekend plans.
01.00 PM
Once I am back in the office, I go over the notes I took on site and finalise the programme assessment with a summary of progress, for review by the PM.
03.00 PM
I’ve been eyeing up the chocolate in our snack area for an hour now. Time for a quick snack break!
3.05 PM
I dive into my last task of the day, which consists of drafting up a consultant fee recommendation for the month. This is one of the many tasks we perform as project managers, to fulfil our role in monitoring and managing the costs of a project. I begin by assessing the value of each consultant’s invoice against their initial fee proposal, to determine if their claim is within budget. I then review their breakdown of the invoice to determine if the value of the claim reflects the work that was undertaken. Finally, I draft up a list of invoices for Johnstaff to recommend for payment by the client, and bring to the PM’s attention any invoices which I believe may need to be discussed / negotiated with the consultant.
04.00 PM
The team begins to wrap up for the day, as we have been invited out to dinner by one of the consultancy firms on our project! We head out for a couple of drinks before making our way to the restaurant.
05.30 PM
It’s my first time meeting a lot of the people here, which can be a little intimidating at first! My worries quickly fade though, as everyone I’m introduced to seems friendly and easy going. This is a great opportunity to start forming connections with others in the industry, and to get to know the people you’re collaborating with. After a couple rounds of food and drinks, we say our goodbyes and head home for the night.
09.30 PM
One of the best parts about a dinner out is the lack of work to do when you get home! I wind down with a warm drink and a good book before heading off to bed.
Thinking of experiencing life as a Johnstaff NZ Graduate? Sign up to Prosple New Zealand to receive job alerts for Johnstaff NZ.