PUTTING HIS HEART INTO IT
Leigh Mugford of James Dick Construction is passionate about the industry and making a difference
What is your position and what are your responsibilities?
My position is resource manager at James Dick Construction Ltd. I have a hybrid position based on my background. My responsibilities include lands management and ARA licensing as well as managing the quality control system for aggregates. I began my career by starting a quality department for an aggregate/hot mix paving and construction company. I had been fortunate enough to have been given opportunities to work in other parts of that business, so I got some underground construction, hot mix asphalt and estimating experience there. Since I have worked with companies that are vertically integrated (construction, hot mix asphalt as well as concrete and cement), I have been fortunate to work in many different pit and quarry operations from one end of the province to the other. I am always fascinated by the range of geology present across Ontario and how it can present different challenges for quality and operations.
What is it about your job that other people wish they got to do?
I think the variety of places you go to as well as the wide variety of people and departments you get to interact with is something that makes this attractive. Being able to help the sales and operations teams is rewarding and being able to use your experience to help a site go in a new direction or solve a problem is exciting. There is a research aspect to some projects that is exciting too – I think that is attractive. I have been volunteering on industry committees for over 25 years. Some of the most rewarding experiences I have had have been from working with OSSGA and the Canadian Standards Association. I definitely encourage people to participate and share their expertise to help the industry as it is both needed and can be a good experience.
What do you find most challenging in your work?
Looking for opportunities to help the company identify quality/efficiency/cost reduction and other improvement projects are challenges that over the years we’ve become used to looking for. Creating change can be difficult sometimes. The nature of the industry is such that investments in technology are large and making improvements in procedure may require people to change the way they have been used to doing something or adding technology or both. I often find quality improvements can require people to do extra steps or will cost in added tech. People tend to be resistant to change, especially when they personally may not see the end results. Having said that, it is a worthy endeavour when you can help bring about a positive change.
Describe your typical day on the job and how the work you do contributes to your company.
A typical day takes place in the field and in the office. It involves interacting with quality control and operations staff to see what is going on that day, looking at the data and providing any feedback I can. I may assist sales staff or a customer with a report or product knowledge and also, I would be engaged in the lands duties, whether through meetings with consultants or agencies or working in the office on moving projects forward. There are usually many projects on the go at the same time and they all need some attention to try to keep things going. Like anything else, if you leave something alone it will likely stop moving or stop doing what you have tried to get it to do. So you have to keep checking in, and that applies to quality as well as any other project.
How did you get interested in this this work?
While I was growing up my family had made a number of moves as my father was a manager in construction/asphalt/aggregates, so I had had a chance to see inside pits and quarries and got my start in this industry early. A couple of experiences include running a scale house for a quarry and asphalt plant as a first job before I had my driver’s licence, and my brother and I helped out at the Manitoulin Dolomite quarry with preblast and blasting day preparations while in high school. So as a result of those experiences and the ongoing home education one gets by listening in or being dragged out somewhere, I had some preparation. My choice to work in the industry came after I graduated, as I took an available opportunity to set up a quality control department while I was job searching for something in the chemical field.[RH1]
Detail your past or ongoing education and how it is relevant to your job.
I have always been interested in the sciences. I followed an educational route into chemical engineering/chemistry and environmental science at the University of Toronto first. I also took mineralogy there and examined the chemical composition of dolomite in a project using neutron activation in one course, so I guess I had the industry in mind. The mathematical background I received helps in many ways in my line of work as well. I also found that if you want to progress you never stop learning. I continued to take college and university courses as I worked full time, in aggregate and asphalt technology, quality control management and statistics, as well as managerial courses etc. I found there is a lot to learn on the job in this industry, but you should try to keep expanding your skills and abilities as you see fit.
Where do you see the industry going in the next few years?
There are many ways to look at that question. I have always thought this industry is slow to change in some ways, but we have people on the leading edge who help keep us thriving. We have smartphones and computer-controlled plants, but we are not too far from the Flintstones in some ways – and having a contrast makes things interesting.
I think we need to really try to keep educating the public about our industry and try to garner some favour wherever we can if we want to keep close to market sourcing of the best new resources possible. Sometimes even our own industry and the government agencies that are involved don’t seem to fully understand the critical nature of protecting/licensing the best quality materials and then allowing specifications for aggregate and concrete to evolve so that we can innovate and make the most of the resource. Those are a few of the challenges we need to keep working on.
As our society evolves our laws evolve, and this ever-changing environment often results in a shifting landscape for our industry to operate and even just exist. We try to get people to think of where that premium aggregate is going to come from 100 years or more out. I don’t think people will cease tearing down the old to build the new, so we need to help government and the public at large realize that protecting the resource and making it last is in our best interest close to home.
What advice would you give to others looking for a career in the aggregate industry?
I would say don’t just look for a job but do your homework and determine if you think you can make a difference and be passionate about it. General advice would be to think it through of course, but in hindsight, I have loved it and have nonetheless been frustrated about parts of my job at times in my career. Overall, I think you have to enjoy the battle of trying to improve things. I recently said to a technician at an aggregate sample pad, “C’mon, dig deep and put your heart into it! This isn’t just a job – it’s a lifestyle!” I was trying to be funny but sometimes you find your passion comes to the surface.
One key thing that makes people enjoy the career is that they care about something and want to make something happen. I would say I have found that in both the quality control side and the lands side for sure. I would add that I get a lot of satisfaction seeing a person coming through the quality department get good experience and knowledge then further their career in another area such as an operations or sales manager. I look forward to that and try to hire people with that in mind.