Business South June 2021

60 | On Grade Drainage and Excavation Adapting to change paves the way Kelly Deeks CONTRACTING “Some of our subcontractors have been with us since the beginning, and they perform the way we want them to perform.” We Provide concrete kerbs, channels and footpaths for • Road reconstructions • Subdivisions • Maintenance works • Driveways • Residential gardens Phone: 027 433 0531 | Office: 03 344 1597 | Fax: 03 344 1578 | Email: info@kerbandchannel.net.nz | PO Box 16-591, Hornby, Christchurch 8441 Proud to support On Grade Drainage P lenty of work and plenty of competition in the drainage industry has Canter- bury’s On Grade Drainage and Excava- tion organised and prepared to adapt, acting quickly, embracing change, delivering quality work in suitable time frames, and achieving results everyone can be proud of. “This is certainly a better market than we thought it would be straight after Covid, and adjusting the company around that has been interesting,” says On Grade owner-operator Kent Blackler. “As an owner-operated firm, we like to take things on board straight away and take things in our stride.” On Grade acted quickly before New Zealand went into lockdown, making a new business plan and communicating this first to the team, so they knew what would be required to get through, and then to local councils, so they knew On Grade had a plan in place for meet- ing its health and safety obligations and could complete emergency work during lockdown. “We provided improved mobile wash and sanitisation stations and protection equip- ment, we put our team into bubbles, and we made sure they kept their tracing up to standard,” Kent says. “All of our guys took it on really well, it was amazing.” On Grade prides itself on its quick re- sponses, not just to projects and emergency situations but also to embracing new technol- ogy that is going to make its operation more efficient, more accurate, and more productive. On Grade has recently commissioned a superior GPS rover system for site survey and set out. “That technology is getting more and more impressive and a lot more accurate than anything we’ve seen in the past 25 years. We’re embracing that big time, and the new plant we’re starting to purchase is coming out with a lot of that technology built in.” While On Grade works alongside a number of loyal and trusted subcontractors, who are considered part of the team, Kent and co-di- rector Beau Broadhurst are always looking at improving efficiencies and have now set up a new traffic management division to reduce reliance and handle traffic management from in-house. “There are some areas we don’t want to look at,” Kent says. “Some of our subcontractors have been with us since the beginning, and they perform the way we want them to perform. We value our people, and that includes our loyal subcontractors.” Kent and Beau strive to be good bosses, both of them having worked hard while making their way through the ranks, and often being on the receiving end of broken promis- es. “When we started On Grade, we decided we were never going to break promises. We’re going to look after our staff, and try to provide the safest environment we can for them, and just get into it.”