Site Managers Recognised As Regional Champions For Building High Quality Homes

Local house-builders Paddy Feeney, John McHenry, Stephen McKeaveney and Jim Porter have been revealed as regional champions for Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man in NHBC’s 33rd annual Pride in the Job Awards, which rewards individual site managers who build high quality homes.

The NHBC (National House- Building Council) Pride in the Job Awards are the most sought after accolades in the industry. The four site managers were recognised at a ceremony held at the Culloden Hotel in Belfast, with Paddy Feeney of Lagan Homes Antrim Ltd winning the Medium Builder category for his Bushforde Meadows site in Antrim, John McHenry of McHenry Bros (Ireland) Ltd winning the Single Home category for his White Park Road site in Ballycastle, Stephen McKeaveney of McAleer & Rushe Ltd awarded the Multistorey Builder category for his Redwoods apartments site in Belfast, and Jim Porter receiving the Small Builder category for his Breton Hall site in Lisburn. David Little, NHBC Regional Director, said: “Site managers are pivotal to the success of any project and rewarding and recognising site managers through Pride in the Job is one of the most important things we do at NHBC. “The competition has driven up standards in new home construction right across the UK for over three decades. The field of competition is huge, so winning is the definitive mark of success.” Stephen McKeaveney said: “Winning this award is a great privilege, and has given me an insight into a part of construction I have little experience in. I look forward to being involved with more residential projects in future.” Jim Porter added: “Winning this award is recognition of the job I do and the team I work with I get great job satisfaction when a house is completed.” Along with the champions from eight other UK regions, the four regional champions now progresses to Pride in the Job’s Supreme Gala in London in January 2014 where the nation’s Supreme Winners will be announced. Pride in the Job is the only UKwide award scheme to recognise the contribution a site manager makes to a development. It is one of the most celebrated awards in the industry, marking out recipients as exceptional performers in UK house-building. It has helped drive up the standard of new UK homes, producing a better end product for homeowners. At Regional level and above, Pride in the Job recognises site managers working for NHBC registered builders in five specific categories:

• Large builder – a site manager for a company with an annual output of 1,001 homes or more per year

• Medium builder – a site manager for a company with an annual output of between 51 and 1,000 homes per year

• Small builder – a site manager for a company with an annual output of between 2 and 50 homes per year

• Multi-storey builder – a site manager in any of the above categories working on multioccupancy homes of five or more storeys

National winners at the January 2013 Gala Dinner will have won a Quality Award, a Seal of Excellence and a Regional title on their run to the final. The NHBC is the leading warranty and insurance provider and standards setter for UK house-building for new and newly converted homes. As a non-profit distributing company, it reinvests all income in achieving its primary aim; improving quality in housebuilding to protect homeowners.

Pride in the Job is the only UKwide competition dedicated to recognising site managers who achieve the highest standards in house-building. It has been instrumental in driving up the quality of new homes for 32 years. A Pride in the Job award is the highest industry accolade a site manager can receive. It represents success for the site manager, his team and associated trades as well providing a reputational boost for the building company. Most importantly, homeowners who buy a Pride in the Job awardwinning home benefit from a high quality product. Pride in the Job awards are won by individual site managers. Site managers are automatically entered into the competition if they are working on a site registered for NHBC warranty. The competition is completely free and there are no entry forms to complete. All site managers, whether they work for a large or small company have an equal opportunity to win an award. New build, refurbishments and housing association sites are all eligible. NHBC regularly review Pride in the Job to ensure it reflects today’s industry. The following changes apply to this year’s competition: A single home category is included for the first time The minimum number of registered plots for the main categories is reduced from 3 to 2 The multi-storey category is now for buildings of 5 or more storeys A comprehensive individual evaluation system has been introduced for all winners and nominees for constructive feedback for future success.