On Thursday 3rd November BCM Construction Ltd proudly celebrated their 25 year anniversary at the fabulous Vinopolis arches in London.
The evening was attended by over 150 employees and guests who enjoyed the performance of London-based close up table magician Gareth Kalyan and experienced the Vinopolis wine tasting. During the evening BCM held a charity raffle raising £1145.00 for the Wooden Spoon Children’s Charity.
The evening was concluded with a speech from Hugh McGarry – Managing Director:
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“First of all may I thank you all for supporting BCM Construction in celebrating 25 years of existence. During the last 25 years BCM have been involved in the general building and construction industry. Over the past few years we have concentrated our efforts on the rail environment, first working with British Rail back in 1985, continuing through with Railtrack and more recently with Network Rail and its approved contractors. So what does one reflect on after 25 years:- |
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The past:
So let us start with the past, some of you will remember what working life was like in 1985, others of you will be too young to have the experience.
Well let me start by telling you that it was tough back then, welfare and PPE was of a very basic nature, nothing like the standards of today.
If it rained you got wet, if it was cold you shivered, if it got very hot in the summer you were likely to get dehydrated and possibly sun burnt, if you wanted air conditioning you opened the window or door, if you wanted heating you closed the window and door or put on a coat that was known as the donkey jacket, that’s if you were lucky enough to own one.
The majority of work was done manually, there was very little considerations given to risk assessments.
Mechanical and electrical tools were not as user friendly and not as readily available.
The shovel, the pick, the fork and the Jack hammer were king. The procedure for cable scanning and buried services searches were in an early stage of development.
During busy periods you were expected to work all hours of the day especially over possession weekends. The rules and regulations on hidden hours and travelling time initiative were non-existent.
If you did not turn up for work you did not get paid, it did not matter whether you were sick or injured through work.
There was very little consideration for the environment and the carbon footprint was unheard off. All waste materials went to landfill and spillages went unreported.
I could go on and on about how it was, however there were also the good times and we of an elderly disposition can look back with some fond memories of jobs well done.
Thankfully the safety of the industry continued to improve over the years and has moved on to a safer working practice and I believe and hope that BCM are at the forefront of this enhanced safety culture.
Again those of you who are old enough will remember the advances in communications. The CB radio and the typing machine were all the rage at the time. Then along came the mobile phone and the fax machine; however I’m not sure that the first editions of these phones were of a very mobile nature.
On the early models, the mouth and ear piece was attached, by a cord to a battery, which was about the same size and weight, as that of a modern car battery.
These were quickly followed by a more modern version similar to, and as heavy, as an Engineering brick. They were not much good for putting in a gentleman’s top pocket but they could be very, very, effective in a ladies handbag.
The typing machine, personal secretaries and typing pool were made redundant, we now have modern phones, computers and the e-mail, and we are competent to control these ourselves.
The present:
BCM Construction will continue to place major emphasis on its policies for Health, Safety, Quality and the Environment; these are aliened to the requirements of Network Rail and Statutory Regulations, and are the foundation stones of our business.
May I take this opportunity to thank all our staff who are working so diligently and have done so over the years in contributing to the success of BCM Construction.
May I also thank our supply chain partners, who have supported us over the years and long may they continue to do so, and last but not least may I thank our clients who willingly put their trust in BCM to deliver safely, a quality Job, environmentally friendly, on time and on budget.
We hope to continue with these great relationships and to strengthen our working ties in the coming years.
So on behalf of the Directors of BCM I thank you all most sincerely for your support.
The future:
So as we look forward to the future and the next 25 years, what can we achieve?
It is worth stating that we at BCM are passionate about our business and with the energy, ability and commitment of our staff we look forward to the future with enthusiasm.
We must continue to grow the business to safeguard the future of our share holders and employees and we must encourage them to gain experience, wealth and knowledge and to enjoy the fruits of their labours.
We must do our upmost to ensure that our working environment is a safe place for all, for our employees, our supply chain partners, our clients and the general public.
We must ensure that all our people and those working on our sites go home safely every day.
We must continue to use innovation and best practice, we must spend time on training and mentoring and we must make available the best and most suitable plant and materials for our people and our projects.
We must make every effort to protect the environment by reducing our carbon footprint. We must conserve energy, safeguard nature, make less demand on fossil fuel and recycle more of our waste.
In essence we must look after our people and make the construction industry and in particular the railway industry a better place for our children and those who come after us”.
