NHBC Awards Scotland

Determination pays off for Mark

NHBC Myreside Street After years of dedication to building first class homes, Mark Gordon is thrilled to be bringing home the prize that he’s worked so hard for: the NHBC Award.

He told Premier Construction that “Winning the award has been my biggest achievement to date. At times it’s been challenging, but I found it allowed me to showcase all of my skills at the highest level.”

Site Manager Mark won the award for his work on the large housing development for Bellway Homes in Myreside Street, Carntyne. Mark said that the site had posed some new and interesting challenges as the construction work involved some specialist building techniques which are now rarely used, as well as brand new requirements to ensure that the houses met varying needs, necessitating installation of wet rooms, and hoists.

Mark Gordon, Site Manager NHBC Myreside Street

Mark Gordon, Site Manager

When asked what he thought had made this particular project stand out to the NHBC inspectors, Mark’s response showed his personal commitment to the job and his eagerness to driving the team forward to produce the best possible quality. He said: “I brought lots of different subcontractors on board and had to get them to get together, a bit like bringing together the different members of a new football team. It required really good management, and I had meetings with lots of the workers to get their feedback and encourage them to push their work just that bit further, and I suggested some new ideas.”

John Watson, Assistant Site Manager, NHBC  Myrside Street

John Watson, Assistant Site Manager

Perfect Finishing Solutions completed all of the stonework on this project.

The team were described as “delighted” with the win, and Mark was explained how pleased he was with them, saying “They really got on board, starting to push each other and suggest new ideas. They began to talk about how good it was to work on the site and how tidy and organised it was. It was great to see them come to work each day from different companies ready to get to work on our houses and use their craftsmanship, to the highest standard”

Paul McGlone, Site Operative/Storeman, NHBC Myrside Street

Paul McGlone, Site Operative/Storeman

He gave particular mention to his personal team, commending Assistant Manager John Watson, Forklift Driver Sandy Buchannan and Site Labourer Paul McGlone for their input throughout.

While it is clear that Mark is very keen to see the personal development of his team, he also bears the customer in mind at every stage of the build, and has worked as Customer Care Manager for a short time with Henry Boot & Bellway. “I enjoy the satisfaction of building new homes, where people can build a family history. Houses aren’t just bricks and mortar: they are childhood memories, where generations will grow up.”

Sandy Buchanan, Forklift Driver, NHBC Myrside Street

Sandy Buchanan, Forklift Driver

Mark Gordon has been in the construction industry for twenty-five years, starting out as a plasterer and then working his way up the ranks at Henry Boot Homes, then moving as an Assistant Manager with Cala Homes, before coming to work with Bellway in 2004 as a Site Manager. Since then he has been hungry for an NHBC award, but said “we’ve just been pipped to the post each time before”, which made this year’s success all the sweeter.NHBC Myreside Street

From here on all of Mark’s efforts will be put into getting into the top ten in the next NHBC awards, already planning to work out exactly what he can improve on in his next project in time to produce an even more outstanding quality of home. This would be an enormous achievement, but Mark relishes the challenge: “I like when you arrive on a site for the first time, wondering how everything will look once it’s complete,” He said. “I like the sense of achievement you get when the whole development is finally constructed. It’s not everyone who can say they have been rewarded with such a job.”

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