Partner Article

Bdaily looks behind the scenes at Steel River Consultants with Director Graham Tyerman

Steel River Consultants advise on all matters relevant to the pre-construction and construction stages of a project; including all operational and risk aspects as well as the potential implications of non compliance.

Areas of expertise include construction design and management co-ordination (CDM-C); workplace audits and safe systems of work; contractors advice; health and safety policies; independent company audits; competency assessments, on site health and safety management.

What key challenges has your company recently faced?

During the initial start up phase of the business, we were confident of work streams within the various sectors that we had targeted. Combining this with the initial work load from my previous company set us on the right track, however there are a lot of companies who like your ideas in principal but will not commit to a new venture once you have gone out on your own. This results in a lot of door knocking and long periods of waiting.

What is your biggest achievement over the past 12 months?

It has always been the target to offer the industry a service which they have not been used to, i.e. actually adding value to projects and not just being a tick in the box company.

In the past twelve months we have secured a number of contracts with large utility companies and have established relationships with other companies such as Garrad Hassan who offer Environmental service but not safety, we are now able to offer a one stop service to larger organisations.

What is your biggest focus for the coming year?

The previous 12 months have been all about building a base for the company and ensuring we have enough cash flow.

We are now starting to put the building blocks in place to establish the company as a key player in the market place and are delighted to have attracted key people to the organisation such as Chris Dixon, who brings a wealth of experience from previous roles at prestigious organisations such as Turner and Townsend. This indicates that we must be doing things right and heading in the correct direction for us, as after all, good footballers don’t transfer to substandard teams!

If you had to choose one top piece of advice for someone just starting out in business, or currently operating within your industry sector, what would it be?

For the person who is just starting out, be patient; this is really hard especially when you know that you have a product or service, which in your view, is what the industry needs and would truly benefit from.

Can you share with us your view of the current landscape of business, in this region or generally and where your organisation sits within it?

The renewable sector is constantly changing with political will. At the beginning of the year we were lined up to do a number of solar projects, however with changes to the feed in tariff to restrict large scale solar farms, this resulted in the majority of the projects being cancelled.

The same thing is happening for onshore wind projects in the run up to 2013, this coupled with planning and grid issues makes for a fast changing market place. As a company you have to adapt and assist companies as best as you can, and give the client the confidence that when changes do happen you can handle both elements of additional workload or projects being placed on hold.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jonny Marshall .