Chatan Patel

Chatan never envisioned a career in construction; in fact, he studied visual 3D/2D art and design. But a huge opportunity, working as a logistics site supervisor on a major aviation project, sucked Chatan in. After several years’ experience in logistics, Chatan became involved with Mace through a sub-contractor package. He joined the company in 2011 and is now a logistics manager.

What's it like to work at Mace?

Mace is incredibly welcoming and there is a huge sense of team spirit here. I’ve had management roles on several different projects, many of which have been incredibly challenging, which keeps my job exciting and varied. Navigating challenges has also helped me to get promoted to logistics manager and I now work in highly specialised environments.

I manage the logistics team, liaise with trade contractors to ensure they respond to the logistical requirements, and ensure that deliveries are well managed and safely loaded and unloaded. I also ensure the team is working to good health and safety standards and manage the fire and emergency procedure process. I have completed Mace’s ‘train the trainer’ course in behavioural management so I can now present the course to others. It's given me the opportunity to help others grow and develop.

What do you enjoy most about your current role at Mace?

Working within a team and meeting new people on site. There are so many different people involved in a project - from clients, to managers and site operatives. Building relationships with everyone is a great way to get the best results out of each other. That way we can really focus on safety standards, quality and helping to create a better working environment for everyone.

What has been your proudest achievement at Mace?

Winning the Sword of Honour and the British Safety Council Five Star award on two different projects. The Sword of Honour award recognises best practise in occupational health and safety performance as well as an organisation's commitment to exemplar standards. Winning it was a great way to demonstrate our commitment to a safety culture on the project and celebrate the hard work of the entire project team.

What skills do you need to be good at your job?

You must be helpful and you need to be good at communication. You must know how to engage with people no matter what roles or responsibilities they have – it’s so important to build strong relationships from the start and be a good listener. It's also important to seek out constructive feedback, learn from it and action it so that you can perform better; not just as an individual but as a team.

What advice would you give to someone looking to get into what you do?

Get site experience, at any level, be it general operative, handyman, forklift driver or supervisor. Then specialise in logistics by either taking an NVQ in site logistics or the Site Manager Safety Training Scheme, or both. I would then say, start on small projects to gain experience in the role before moving onto bigger projects.

What do you hope you will be doing in the next 5-10 years?

After gaining experience as a site manager, I would like to become a contracts manager overlooking a number of projects and making sure the site management teams are meeting and exceeding client expectations.

What might someone be surprised to know about you?

I'm very passionate about playing football. I’ve played for several teams since I was 12, earning over 100 trophies and medals along the way. I've been taking part in national five-a-side football competitons around the UK for the past 15 years and have been lucky enough to play at several stadiums including; The Emirates, Villa Park, Wembley Stadium and Craven Cottage. If I hadn’t got into construction, I would definitely have been a football coach!