RCC Women Recognised in Top 100 Women

December 16, 2021

Two RCC team members make this year’s Top 100 Women

Our Design Manager, Angela and Contracts Administrator, Sinead, have been announced in this year’s Top 100 Women.

Each year, the brightest shining stars in Top 100 Women get nominated for their hard work and contribution to the construction industry.

This year, Angela and Sinead from RCC were selected for their dedication to delivering sustainable infrastructure outcomes in a male-dominated industry, as well as their unique ability to empower their female counterparts in the field.

Sharing Top 100 Women’s philosophy of supporting women to build lifelong careers in the construction sector, we couldn’t be prouder that two of our talented women are recognised for 2021.

Congratulations on this well-deserved commendation ladies.

Here’s what being in the Top 100 Women for 2021 means to Angela and Sinead:

About top 100 women

Founded by Tamika Smith in 2017, Top 100 Women recognises the heralding of females within the construction industry. The organisation supports women entering this field and gives them the support they need to build long and meaningful careers.

With a key focus on implementing real change, Top 100 Women aims to eliminate the obstacles women face in the broader construction sector. Transcending geographical boarders, this online platform connects women from far and wide, providing them with career development and industry support.

The People Behind The WHR Project

September 24, 2020

Our Wyong Hospital Redevelopment Team Is Targeting More Than Built Outcomes.

Successful projects are as much about the positive community impacts of delivery, as they are about the completion of fit for purpose facilities. Partnering with the Central Coast community and industry organisations allows us to create local supplier, training and employment opportunities, and ultimately generate social and economic outcomes which extend far beyond building completion.

With the Wyong Hospital Redevelopment building structure now complete, we are looking forward to being able to handover this important facility for the community, and reflecting on the contribution of the hundreds of people behind the project.

MORE ABOUT THE WYONG HOSPITAL REDEVELOPMENT

When it reaches completion, the new Clinical Services Building will provide the local Central Coast community with a new Emergency Department, additional operating theatres, and ICU/HDU capacity, mental health expansion, additional inpatient beds for medical and acute services, clinical and non-clinical support services and parking.

For more information about the Wyong & Gosford Hospitals Redevelopment visit the NSW Governments Project Website.

The project is due for completion in 2021.

Meet Tamara Jonson

May 26, 2020

RCC’s Group Head of Workplace Health and Safety

Tamara brings 20 + years’ experience working in high risk industries including mining, tunnelling, civil infrastructure, rail and construction to the role. We are proud to welcome Tamara, who shares our belief that positive safety outcomes are as important as productivity and quality in delivering successful projects and advancing our industry.

Educating and empowering every member of our extended team to take care of one another and go home safe to their loved ones each day forms the foundation of our safety culture.

Tamara says she chose a career in safety after seeing, at a young age, the profound and long-term impact workplace accidents can have on people’s lives and the important difference a proactive, accountable and positive safety culture can have;

“As a child I spent my holidays and weekends travelling with my dad to mines and construction sites, where he was running a cultural change program. At the age of about 10, I sat in a session with him one day and saw these miners sitting in a crib shed crying about a workmate and friend they had lost in a workplace fatality. It really impacted me, and I made a commitment to myself that this was something I wanted to work to prevent happening in the future.”

She says that connecting with people at project level, providing coaching and support to improve communication, planning and leadership, while also having an opportunity to serve them by uniting everyone to provide a safe and supportive work environment, is why she loves what she does.

“I have worked for various contractors and always found myself drawn to working for a business whose core values were based on genuine care for people; I have found that at Richard Crookes Constructions. This business allows you to be part of a family business, where you can make genuine change, with the opportunity and diversity that comes from a large contractor. From the minute I met the team I knew they genuinely care about their people as a family.

For me, a positive safety culture exists when we set high standards and expectations, communicate those standards at every level and then hold each other accountable for maintaining them.

Ultimately, it’s about ensuring that every RCC site is a safe, welcoming and productive environment. Maintaining a best-practice safety culture in line with industry advancements in technology, social responsibility, innovation and sustainability is key to achieving best-for-project results for all stakeholders.”

As a family business, our values and RCC’s legacy is important to every member of our team. As a proud Australian business, we also have a sense of responsibility to our staff, clients, project and community partners. The foundations of our business and the passion of our people is centred on delivering projects we are proud of and leaving the next generation of construction professionals with a safer, more inclusive, innovative and sustainable industry.

Stage 1B of Inverell Hospital

April 28, 2020

The RCC Hunter New England team is incredibly proud to have been awarded the next stage of the Inverell Hospital Redevelopment.

In uncertain times where there is much reflection on the importance of our health care facilities and workers, we are celebrating the role we are able to play in delivering quality facilities for our hospital staff to keep our communities healthy and well. For the members of the RCC team, whose family and friends rely on this local hospital, there is a shared sense of pride in the contribution their work will make to their community, now and for future generations.

For RCC, working on critical projects which support the delivery of essential services in our local communities is an important part of what we do. We take pride in our work and the impact it has, particularly in regional and remote areas. As they approach the completion of the first stage of the Inverell Hospital upgrade, the team say their involvement in this project means so much to them and their families, beyond the opportunity to be employed to do what they love each day.

THE INVERELL HOSPITAL PROJECT

Stage 1a (RCC Completed 2019)

The project involves the alteration and refurbishment of the Inverell Hospital, essentially doubling the existing space and improving flexibility for staff. Facilities include:

Emergency Department including emergency care for children and mental health-related presentations
Inpatient Unit, with paediatric, maternity and birthing facilities and general adult services including palliative care
Medical Imaging space including identified future expansion zone
Operating Theatres
Central Sterilising Unit
Day Surgery Unit (increasing from 1 space up to 6)
Renal Dialysis unit
Refurbishment of main entry & admissions area
Mortuary

This Stage (1B)

This stage specifically entails the decanting of staff and patients from the existing hospital floorspace into the newly completed Stage 1a building, as well as the demolition, refurbishment and upgrade of the existing Inverell Hospital building into a Community Health Centre. This facility will provide additional community services for chronic disease, allied health, oral health and women and paediatric services, as well as office and education spaces.
This stage will also include new external carparking, services upgrades and CT scanner fit out.

THE PASSIONATE TEAM DELIVERING INVERELL HOSPITAL

Beyond the physical building, the completed Inverell Hospital facility will have a long-lasting legacy for the local Inverell community and those in the surrounding areas. We asked a few of our team to share what the project means to them:

Meet Gabby – She Loves Her Job

December 20, 2019

In celebration of being awarded the 10th Best Place to Work in Australia by Great Place to Work, RCC has interviewed 10 employees who love their job. We’re honoured to have such passionate employees who jumped at the opportunity to share what they do, and why they love it.

Meet Gabby McGinness. Gabby is a Contracts Administrator based in the ACT. Since joining RCC, just 18 months ago, Gabby has grown to love her job for the mentors, and for her potential to develop and progress with the company.

“After starting with RCC a year and a half ago in the CA role, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with Bob Anthony and Dave Archbold who have both been long serving RCC employees – over 20 years. They have been great mentors by always demonstrating the company values and showing me the RCC way.”

As a young cadet, Gabby says she was fortunate enough to receive invaluable mentorship from another female CA she describes as ‘strong, capable and determined’. After working hard to progress to a similar role, Gabby has now been a CA for four years – undoubtedly emulating the same hardworking attitude as her first female mentor.

“I’m working towards Senior CA at the moment, but long term I’d like to be a Contracts Manager. I’d love to manage all the head contract administration and take on more client liaison. The role also appeals to me because of the opportunity to manage and mentor a team in the same way I have been mentored.”

Gabby says that the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion with staff of various ages and levels of experience creates a positive culture and an environment where personal development and mentorship are accessible opportunities for everyone.

“There’s many times that I’ve been the only female on a project site, but I still get treated the same and have the same opportunities as my male counterparts.”

Belonging to a close-knit family herself, Gabby loves her job for the familial bond she’s formed with her team, and says site is a home away from home for her.

“My upbringing has taught me that there’s nothing more important than family, and that’s who you go above and beyond for.

When I joined RCC, I noticed this company has that same feeling within the project team and different business sectors. I think it is great that The Crookes family promote that family company mentality and invite everyone in the company to be a part of it.”

With her sights set on a prosperous career in the construction industry, it’s talented individuals like Gabby that make RCC’s team culture a supportive one. We’re proud to have a workplace that allows for progression, growth and fulfillment, but it’s our RCC family members who ultimately make this possible.

MORE ABOUT THE ANU SA8 PROJECT

The SA8 student accommodation project for the Australian National University (ANU) involves the design and construction of 1031 student accommodation beds with single occupant rooms in 8 buildings across 5-8 storeys. Designs for both SA6 and SA8 buildings are based on student surveys, emphasizing the importance of communal spaces and encouraging greater interaction between students, their families and the campus community. Having delivered the SA6 Bruce Hall Redevelopment project for ANU in 2017, RCC was honoured to be selected as the university’s construction partner to deliver the current SA8 development.

MORE ABOUT OUR 10TH BEST PLACE TO WORK STATUS

The Great Place to Work assessment is a feedback-based study obtained from a confidential survey of our 700+ employees. It involves an independent audit across areas like hiring and integration, health and wellness, as well as workplace culture.
2018 was the first year RCC entered the assessment and we were thrilled to be awarded 17th Best Place to Work. Within a year, we rolled out a number of new initiatives to better the experiences of our people. To be recognised as the 10th Best Place to Work this year is a credit to our continued commitment to ensuring that everyone at RCC genuinely looks forward to coming to work each day.

Learn more about Great Place To Work Australia and their 50 Best Places To Work Study.

Community Feedback on RCC Safety & Values

October 8, 2018

At RCC, the safety of staff and the community is our highest priority. It is embedded in our culture and our behaviours. We are extremely proud to have received community feedback acknowledging our commitment to safety and company values.…

“We live opposite UTS and every day we watch the work that you guys are doing building on the new UTS building on Broadway. Working for many years in an organisation where the safety goal was zero, safety was drilled into me! Watching your site, the evidence is there that you value safety through the way the building materials are organised and how the workers move around. We moved into the area just before demolition began so we have been with you guys from the start!

We googled you today and we both watched your corporate video to find out about who you are, and we agree that RCC is walking your talk and living your values! We got to thinking there is no point in simply saying that to each other and that we should tell you too…so thus am sending this email to say well done for all the good work; we see the Crookes family values are shining through. All the best for the rest of the build”

Eimer & Michael

Want to know more about RCC and our Values?

Want to know what it’s like to be part of the RCC family? Find out from our best assets, our people…

RCC Values

Operational throughout NSW and the ACT, RCC is a private, family owned construction company that has been delivering projects as promised; on-time and budget, safely and to the highest quality since 1976.

We value our heritage as a family business and we’re proud of our family values. Launched in early 2014, our values were the result of a companywide survey undertaken by our personnel to determine what we believed to be the most important attributes of our company and our people. RCC takes pride in these values; they reflect the culture, character and the vision of our company and help guide our individual and collective behaviours.

To find out more about our company values and who we are check out our website: richardcrookes.com.au

More on the UTS Central Building 2 Project

The UTS Central Project includes the redevelopment of Building 2 and the extension of Building 1 (UTS Tower) podium to redefine the main entrance to UTS. This unique project will likely become a landmark building and offer students an urban precinct which will include new teaching spaces, a library, learning commons, research space and a retail area.
This development is a significant component of the broader UTS City Campus Master Plan and will create additional connections within the campus and further enhance the student experience.

Key Features include:

Twisting Cantilevered Tower
Green Roof Space and winter gardens
Super Lab
Double Helix Access Stairs
Numerous Atriums and Void Spaces
Curved Double Glazed Façade

This development is being delivered in a live environment in the middle of an operational University Campus and within a busy retail, residential and transport hub within Ultimo.

Soil Turned on Park Sydney

August 14, 2018

The first soil has been turned on one of Sydney’s largest urban renewal projects, Park Sydney, marking the beginning of another journey with Greenland Australia!

Having previously partnered with Greenland Australia to successfully deliver the Leichhardt Green and Lucent (North Sydney) residential projects, RCC is thrilled to work with Greenland again on the Park Sydney project in Erskineville. This will no doubt be a significant landmark for Sydney’s inner West and we look forward to transforming this former industrial site into a vibrant residential community.

“Richards Crookes Constructions was the obvious choice… They’ve delivered an impressive portfolio of projects, including several of our own… We’ve been really impressed with their high level of detail and commitment to meeting construction deadlines on budget.”

Sherwood Luo – Managing Director
Greenland Australia

This 6.9-hectare masterplanned residential community will eventually feature 9 blocks ranging from 2 to 8 storeys over 5 stages. The development will provide homes for more than 3000 Sydneysiders and feature a 7,446m² public park and major retail amenity, including a supermarket, and specialty shops.

Stage 1 includes the delivery of approximately 330 apartments across 2 buildings, a fresh food precinct, eat street, medical centre and a childcare centre. Stage 1 completion is expected in 2020.

“…we pride ourselves on repeat work from our clients. We look forward to building on our long and productive working relationship with Greenland Australia.”

Jamie Crookes – Managing Director
Richard Crookes Constructions

Women’s Forum – ‘because of her, we can’

July 5, 2018

‘Because of her, we can’ – the NAIDOC Week 2018 theme was the inspiration behind July’s RCC Women’s Forum.

We were lucky enough to be able to explore the theme of ‘Because of her, we can’ through the words of Sandra Gadd and the modern native bush tucker cuisine of Jo-Ann from Goanna Hut.
We all then enjoyed a training session with Vanessa from Learning Circle Co, who took us through an interactive course on identifying and chasing career goals and building our personal brand.

Our series of Women in Construction Forums provide employees with a chance to share knowledge, learn and develop… over lunch (of course)! It’s also an important way for us to acknowledge the contribution and achievements of our staff and thank them for their dedication!

Building Breakfast Point

June 21, 2018

RCC and the Rose Property Group joined forces more than 13 years ago to develop a former gasworks site into a thriving Sydney suburb.

RCC is proud of our strong residential experience and the thousands of homes we have provided for Australians to live and create memories in. Today, we are celebrating our collaborative partnership and the friendship we have developed in the making of the Breakfast Point community with a short video.

Hear from the RCC project team and our client, Rose Property Group about the special magic in all 20 stages and 1300 apartments!

Womens Forum Series

October 16, 2017

RCC’s first Women’s Forum, based on the topic of ‘resilience’, featured a keynote speech from a strong and inspirational Australian philanthropist, Susan Alberti. Female staff came together from across NSW and ACT to listen, discuss, network and of course… lunch.

The RCC Women’s Forum Series is designed to provide our female staff with the opportunity to network, share knowledge and access personal and professional development in a supportive, relaxed and fun environment. RCC understands the need to support our staff and the wider industry to ensure women in construction have access to a level playing field and can be professionally and personally successful.

Laura Durkan, Head of Human Resources, says she feels the Women’s Forum Series is a critical element in delivering on RCC’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. “We are grateful to have an incredible cohort of women working for RCC. This is an opportunity for us to show them how valued their input into the day-to-day and long term strategic operations of our business is”

RCC’s commitment to diversity is about more than fairness and retaining our fantastic staff; we believe that diversity breeds innovation and drives the growth of a stronger RCC and construction industry.

Laura says the decision to choose ‘resilience’ as the theme for the first Womens Forum was inspired by “the stories of some of RCC’s strongest female leaders and the fierce dedication, self-belief and mental toughness which has supported them throughout their careers. We wanted to give the women in our business an opportunity to share their personal and industry experience and find strength in that shared knowledge and support network”. The key note speech, workshops and presentations on the day inspired a robust discussion around the current state of ‘women in construction’ and will inform the organisations action plan to work toward a diverse and inclusive industry.

We sincerely thank Susan Alberti who joined us on the day to share her incredible story. Her journey and resilience under testing circumstances is inspirational and speaks to her guts and determination.
As the Women’s Forum was structured as a lunch and learn event, the day would not have been complete without the addition of a delicious lunch, supplied by the skillful Little Jones Food Co.

Tag: women in construction