WEEK 1
DAY 1: INTRODUCTION & ONBOARDING
To start my day, I was welcomed by Office Manager Rachel Palmer, who gave me an informative tour of the building and introduced me to the rest of the team. Following my onboarding, which included an overview of MESH’s computer system and what I would need on a typical day, Assistant Cost Consultant Daniel Parker gave me a tutorial on CAD measure. I used my new knowledge to measure the partitions, wall finishes, and glazing for CBS News’ new studio for Director, Martyn Stokes, before supporting Assistant Cost Consultant, William Elrick, with a comp check for Haven Health.
DAY 2: LEARNING THE BASICS
I spent the next couple of days diving into the fundamentals of Quantity Surveying. I initially shadowed my new colleagues, before utilising what I had learned to measure Third-space Whiteley’s basement, a state-of-the-art gym & spa. I used my second day to absorb as much information as possible about measurement techniques and cost estimation methods.
DAY 3: GETTING HANDS-ON
As the week progressed, I began to take on more hands-on tasks. For example, I continued to measure Third-space Whiteley’s basement, and started on the first floor of the gym & spa area. Will then explained how to export the measures I had completed to an excel spreadsheet. I spent the rest of my day carrying out measures and improving on the skills that I had been taught.
DAY 4: PROBLEM SOLVING
There were inevitable challenges to overcome throughout my first week, whether it was resolving problems in measurements or addressing unexpected issues within my own work. However, these were great opportunities to learn, and Will helped me to find solutions and gain valuable insights in the process. I ended my first week by joining Martyn and some of my other colleagues for lunch.
WEEK 2
DAY 5: CLIENT INTERACTIONS
My second week started with site visits, where I met both clients and contractors. My first site visit was to a VFX studio located in Brick Lane, where I engaged in the completion meeting for the project. This was to finalise the client’s needs in a process called “snagging”. It was rewarding to apply what I had learned in a practical setting and see how it tied into projects.
DAY 6: CLIENT INTERACTIONS
Martyn and I visited 62-64 Cavendish, a private healthcare building. We walked around site to discuss any potential issues and how to resolve them. We then spoke to the contractors about the works being conducted to understand the project’s progress. Throughout the afternoon, I supported Cost Consultant Justin Law with a “spot the difference” exercise for a project he was working on. This consisted of comparing tender drawings to new contractor drawings to identify changes, before then exporting it into an excel spreadsheet.
DAY 7: CLIENT INTERACTIONS
I started my day by continuing the spot the difference task before accompanying Managing Director Tim Molden to a progress meeting for 1-7 Harley Street. This meeting was to discuss progression and what has been achieved so far, we also had a walk around site to visualise works being carried out.
DAY 8: FURTHER LEARNING
Throughout the day, I finalised the comparisons task and completed a comp check on Veale Wasbrough Vizards LLP for Will. I concluded my day by supporting Director Zoe Curnow, who tasked me with a comp check trying to identify any mathematical errors. This developed my understanding, as it included percentage of amounts, which I had to calculate.
DAY 9: REFLECTION
As my two weeks at MESH came to a close, I took some time to reflect on my experiences and identify areas of improvement for me to pursue a career in Quantity Surveying, such as refining my technical skills or identifying issues and problem solve accordingly. Overall, my experience at MESH has been incredibly enriching. I have gained valuable knowledge and developed a strong understanding of what it means to be a Quantity Surveyor.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to work alongside the MESH team, who were very welcoming, willing to give me helpful advice, and teach me about the business.
