A Day in the Life - Callum Martin
Callum is a UK-based Quantity Surveyor who is currently working on a major station upgrade on the London Underground.
Tell us about some of the projects you have worked on?
I spent the first 5 years of my career working for a contractor on the High Speed 2 rail project and managed to get my MRICS accreditation during this time. My experience covers a variety of construction processes necessary for infrastructure projects.
Have you worked for Systech in different regions?
Not as yet, I have a future goal of moving to Australia with Systech.
What is your typical day?
My typical day consists of prioritising tasks to meet my client’s needs whilst following the monthly commercial cycle. I also spend a large portion of my time liaising with subcontractors and agreeing variations or compensation events.
What are the interesting aspects of your work?
Meeting a variety of different people and working alongside them to understand how I can adopt processes they use to improve myself, whilst also sharing some of the knowledge I have gained throughout my career.
How has working for Systech helped you achieve your career goals?
I’ve always had the goal of working abroad since I became a quantity surveyor and Systech will enable me to do this with their spread of global offices.
What has been your greatest achievement working for Systech?
My greatest achievement is when I was sent to deliver a workshop on NEC contracts to a company in Glasgow and Edinburgh as I got to use all the knowledge I had learned over my career.
Tell us about a project where you have learnt a key lesson
On the High Speed 2 project I learnt the importance of adapting to different subcontractors and clients to create an efficient working partnership. I also learnt how setting clear expectations at the start of a project can lead to less conflict and create win-win scenarios for both parties.
