NIKKI HASLEM, 36, is a foreman for Oakdene Properties, which owns, lets and manages an extensive Merseyside property portfolio. Ms Haslem joined Oakdene after switching from a career in financial services, and as a foreman she now uses her previously acquired people management, customer service and project management skills fully.
This is her working day on Wednesday, August 8, 2007.
6.00am: Rise and shine. I have breakfast as I'm not sure if I will get time for lunch. My six-year-old daughter Olivia is dressed and fed.
7.30am: I drop Olivia at my parents’ who will take her to school. My working day starts.
8.15am: I arrive at the office, Faversham House. I get updated on site schedules, specifications and deadlines from my line manager. Every site has an allocation of materials and I am responsible for making sure we stick to budget by negotiating with suppliers. Then I keep the accounts department happy by doing the paperwork. One of the sites has damp. I have tenants lined up to move in so the pressure is on. I arrange for equipment to be delivered to the site later that morning. I leave the office.
9.45am: I head to Liverpool. On the way I see an articulated lorry. I glance up and notice a woman behind the wheel – I smile – why not? My contractors are located at various sites. I run up to seven sites a week, covering rebuilds to re-wiring. As well as ensuring we hit deadlines, maintain our service standards and meet health and safety requirements, I also manage the needs of tenants.
10.10am: I arrive at the site with damp. I allocate the team of tradesmen with individual responsibilities to sort the problem and ensure we meet deadlines.
10.45am: I arrive at my second site, a four-bedroom detached house, check on progress and run through the schedule of works with the men. I take 10 minutes to tie up paperwork in the car and make some calls to order further materials.
11.55am: A contractor at another site calls. A leak has occurred; it needs seeing to immediately. I arrange for one of our in-house plumbers to attend ASAP.
12 noon: I head back to assess progression at the site with damp. En route, I get a call to advise me a neighbour at one of our sites is complaining about our vehicles and a skip in the street.
12.50pm: I re-route and arrive to find an aggressive neighbour. He tells me his children cannot now play in the street outside their property. I switch from being site foreman to customer service manager. I promise the skip will be removed immediately once full, and we will do our best to park away from his property. He's happy. I stay longer to help speed up the clearance process and do a spot of plastering to finish off.
3.00pm: I now arrive at the site with damp. My line manager calls for an update. Work is behind schedule. I organise for the contractors to work late. I head to the site with the leak.
3.45pm: Looks like it's not a straight-forward leak and the plumber is coming back tomorrow – I will arrange to meet him to find out more details.
4.00pm: Back to the office where I complete today's incident reports and receive a call saying the skip is full outside the upset neigh- bour's house, so true to my word I arrange a pick-up for tomorrow.
5.30pm: Time for home, family head on, what's in the fridge?
6.00pm: Remember Olivia needs picking up from her friend’s at 6.30pm; there goes the glass of wine I was dreaming about.
7.30pm: Time to study for my National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (Nebosh) exam. Early morning tomorrow, so won't be a late night.
