1. 94 JUNE 2015 www.hamag.co.uk
My Working Week
Enamul Goni is a Contracts Manager for housing association Metropolitan. He is currently overseeing the
delivery of a £29m regeneration programme at the 700-property Ashmole Estate, adjacent to the Oval
cricket ground in south London.
Responsible for ensuring building work is delivered on time, to budget and to the required standard,
another key part of Enamul’s role is making sure that the lines of communication are kept open with
everyone involved in the project, which is due for completion next year.
A good sport!
Monday
I arrived in the office this morning at about
8am to catch up on emails. After that, I
popped my head into the site office, took a
look at the properties currently being
refurbished and had a chat with residents I
met out and about. I like to maintain this
morning routine when possible – I think it’s
important to be connected to what’s
happening on the ground.
Ashmole transferred from the London
borough of Lambeth to Metropolitan in 2010.
We have approximately 1,200 residents living
on the estate who will benefit from a range of
improvements such as new kitchens and
bathrooms, building exterior makeovers,
landscaped green space, and new
recreational facilities.
I do a lot of walkabouts and have regular
meetings with our housing officers because
when you are working in people’s homes
(refurbishing in situ), you have to be able to
respond quickly to residents’ queries about
the work that’s being done, making sure
everything is going smoothly.
The regeneration programme, which started
in September 2011, is due to complete at the
end of next year, making my role especially
challenging because delays on site can have
potentially significant knock-on effects for
residents and the wider community, as well as
for my organisation, our contractors and their
sub-contractors. So when we do encounter
obstacles, I have to make sure we get back on
track as quickly as possible.
My management style is to try to achieve
balance between different parties and resolve
issues as effectively and professionally as
possible. You have to keep the lines of
communication open when you’re working
with so many different people and
organisations. It’s important to maintain good
working relationships, so I try to avoid
misunderstandings by making expectations
and responsibilities clear from the start.
1.

2. When making direct product enquiries please quote HA JUNE 2015 95
Today, the main engagement in my planner
was chairing an Ashmole project team
meeting, which is held every two months. It
serves as an opportunity for all of our internal
departments to update each other on the
project’s progress. Health and safety is a
focus this week so I also reviewed our risk
assessment and method statement –
something I do once a month.
Tuesday
Outside of Metropolitan, I’m in regular
contact with our employer’s agent at
Ashmole, our contractor, party wall surveyors,
CDMCs (health and safety coordinators),
quantity surveyors, the local council and
various residents groups both on the estate
and in the local area.
This morning I attended the monthly
contractor site meeting with our employer’s
agent and our contractor. At these meetings,
we go through how the delivery programme
is progressing: address any issues raised by
residents; review how many properties have
been finished; identify any potential delays
and how we can mitigate them; go through
costings; and discuss any safety issues that
may have arisen. The main aim of the meeting
for me is to make sure the project is on track.
I also use it as an opportunity to promote
good communication and coordination with
our contractor.
After the meeting, I finalised an action log –
one action for me was to sit down with our
quantity surveyor to discuss any variations to
the plan so they could be evaluated and
authorised.
On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I play
badminton for a local league team. I take
training pretty seriously, so I usually drink a
protein-rich mixture of egg whites, milk and
chocolate powder for lunch. It tastes
disgusting – which is why I add the chocolate
powder! As well as for training, I find it’s a
great way of preparing for the fasting I’ll be
doing during Ramadan.
Wednesday
This morning I had a meeting with one of my
colleagues from our Finance team and
showed her around the estate. She requested
the meeting because, although she does a lot
of office work involving Ashmole, she hadn’t
actually visited yet.
Unfortunately, the weather was horrible, and I
didn’t have an umbrella with me so we got
soaked! However, she said that she found the
tour useful, and that it gave her a better
understanding of the regeneration project
and how our departments work together.
Later on, I caught up on some admin –
responding to e-mails, reading and writing
reports, chasing up on enquiries – and looked
into a few other issues. Our contractor’s
resident liaison officer (RLO) has identified
some cases of hoarding at homes that are
due to be refurbished in the coming weeks. In
situ refurbishment work can last up to four
weeks per property, so we need to support
residents through the process. When we
identify people who may have vulnerabilities
or special needs, I work with our Housing
team to look at how we can adjust the
programme accordingly and provide the
necessary assistance.
Thursday
Today a new RLO started working with the
team, so I began the day by sitting down with
him, going through the regeneration
programme and explaining the
responsibilities of his role. Then we went out
and I took him around the estate. I want him
to get to know all of the residents and to
focus on making sure that any issues they
have are resolved as quickly as possible. I also
introduced him to the site officers and to our
contractor’s RLO.
In the afternoon, I wrote a report that will be
presented at the monthly project review
meeting evaluating overall performance, the
financial position of the project and how we
are meeting our organisational objectives.
Friday
I came in at 7:30am to get ready for a repairs-
focused walkabout at 9:30am. As wider
refurbishment work goes on, we need to take
care of small repairs issues which arise
around the estate. I met with about a dozen
colleagues in total – from Asset Management,
Housing, Repairs and Health & Safety – and
took them out on site.
I put together a map highlighting where
repairs need to be carried out, with pictures,
to make sure we are all on the same page. We
settled on timescales for repairs to be
addressed and arranged a follow up meeting
in two weeks. I’m looking forward to seeing
those issues resolved soon.
On Friday afternoons, I leave the office a little
earlier than usual to take my six-year-old
daughter to swimming lessons. Today I took
the opportunity to go for a swim too myself
and unwind a little after a productive week.
1. Ashmole's Sirinham Point
2. A refurbished kitchen
3. Enamul Goni
“You have to keep the lines of
communication open when you’re
working with so many different
people and organisations. It’s
important to maintain good working
relationships, so I try to avoid
misunderstandings by making
expectations and responsibilities
clear from the start.”
2.
3.