Connecting people through process

Meet Paul Fullwood, our HSE Manager

Paul has recently joined the Alder team and brings fresh enthusiasm and passion for safe work practices, systems and compliance.  Passion for compliance? Enthusiasm for systems? Not usually something to get really excited about, but Paul is not your usual HSE Manager.

Paul has a passion for people and bettering their workplace experience through growth, development, training, technology and learning. It just so happens that safety, systems and compliance is where his expertise lies.

Let’s learn a bit more about Paul…

 

How did your career in construction start?

When I was around 11 years old, my father, two brothers and I built a wooden dinghy out of Oregon pine over our school holidays… so I guess that is where my building career started.

 

What drew you to all things health and safety?

Being a bookworm from early childhood, I have always enjoyed acquiring knowledge, so the area of compliance ticks my left brain.  Plus I was the whimpy, uncoordinated kid in the family, so I was never going to be an athlete.  However, for me H&S is all about connecting people with processes in way that improves production, so helping to make sense of the how and why provides balance for me.

 

What has been one of your favourite projects and why?

Building my Taj Mahal of chicken coops… it was a thing of beauty for me and the chickens. Two-storey, double walled, fully vermin-proofed, insulated and all from 100% recycled materials. Happy to provide pics and plans for anyone remotely interested!

 

What do you feel is the biggest challenge in the construction industry at the moment?

There are some big challenges in our industry right now….

1) Construction has become de-skilled of craftsman and people who have knowledge, skills and passion for building.  2) There is a minefield of regulation and compliance duties to navigate.

However, I believe that if we build pride in our workforce, this creates willingness to learn new skills, enthusiasm to take on tough tasks and provides a real sense of achievement when teams make it through the project.

So I suppose I am saying keeping people invested in this industry is a big challenge.

 

How do you spend your time outside of work?

You wouldn’t bee-lieve it but beekeeping!