The civil engineering industry relies on a diverse team of skilled workers to bring projects from blueprint to reality. Among these professionals, the role of the general operative is crucial yet often understated. General operatives are the backbone of the construction site, performing a variety of essential tasks that support the smooth and efficient progress of our projects. Their responsibilities can vary from site preparation and maintenance to assisting specialised tradespeople, handling machinery and ensuring that safety protocols are upheld.

General operative, Rico Edey, working for Barhale within the IOS alliance, epitomises our Barhale values by helping to keep our projects on schedule, reduce hazards and enable other site personnel to focus on their specialised skills. He talks to our comms department about his role and how he started at Barhale, along with his progress and what he sees for his future.

Background and experience

Rico started his journey in 2021, undertaking a groundworker apprenticeship for two years at Milton Keynes College and started working for Anglian Water at the age of 17. With early starts and often physically demanding tasks, he mainly works on deep excavations, frames and slabbing work, concrete laying, painting drains and hand digging and any other general construction site tasks.

Teamwork

Rico details that it is essential to be able to work with others if you want to be successful as a general operative: “You need to be good at working in a team as you are always within a gang and have to communicate well in addition to  having great listening skills too.”

Tools of the trade and health and safety

In terms of new technologies that Rico has seen during his time in Barhale is the Human Form Recognition (HFR) on diggers which provides an added extra layer of safety. “If you get too close to a digger it will make you aware so you have to be careful when getting close to machinery.” Working on a construction site can be challenging. There are pressures to get the job done on time but also keep safe on site, particularly with lots of machinery and people. Rico states, “it is really important to have good communication and robust housekeeping. Keeping the site clean and tidy helps to keep the team and visitors safe.” Furthermore, Rico acknowledges that using tools in the correct way is something important that he has learnt while on site and not something he would have fully had experience with, if not for the job or through tradition classroom-based training.

Career growth and goals

Rico has been progressing well within Barhale and his line manager, Stuart King, senior site agent, eastern region reiterates: “When Rico started, he was quite nervous but very eager to learn. Over the years, he has gained experience, learning to overcome the difficulties of the work in front of him and solve the problems by working to the method statements. He can be set most tasks and is able to complete them with little help. There is a lot to learn within the civils environment and Rico is an excellent candidate to eventually progress through the ranks.  He is a valuable team member and well liked within the Barhale IOS alliance. Going forward, I am planning on Rico completing his dumper training which will give him the opportunity to work in different gangs and on larger schemes.”

Rico himself reflects on his long-term future plans: “The next step would be to become a skilled operative and then a black hat supervisor. I would like to go higher and be responsible for my own jobs,” he muses. A great ambition and one that is achieved through organic growth from gaining experience and showing how good a worker you are.

Recommendations

Rico admits working in this industry can give you some job security but advises for anyone thinking of entering the industry as a general operative to get some formal learning before getting experience on the job as it really helps.

As civil engineering projects continue to evolve with modern technology demanding higher standards, the contribution of skilled general operatives will remain critical, ensuring that each project not only meets expectations, but also paves the way for a sustainable future. We wish Rico all the best as he continues his journey with Barhale.