Kell & Rigby chief executive officer James Kell talks to Kevin Gomez about the company his great grandfather co-founded a hundred years ago.

What are the reasons behind Kell & Rigby’s success?

A focus on our purpose which is very simple – to build well. Everything we do is aligned to that purpose – whether it’s training people or choosing subcontractors. One key aspect of this purpose is investing in our people which began in our first days back in 1910. We have an active training program for apprentices, cadets, middle and senior mangers. These are two things clients like to see; it helps us to win work.

What’s the most challenging project you’ve handled?

A recent one is Sydney Town Hall which required a major upgrade of the services. We had to dig six metres under the entire Sydney Town Hall building and create a new basement level. There were graves that needed to be exhumed as well as about 6,000m ³ of sandstone that needed to be dug up and removed from under the building. All this in the heart of Sydney city whilst holding up the 130-year-old building and making sure it didn’t crack!

How are things looking for Kell & Rigby over the few years?

We need to remain very frugal and careful as we have in similar economic environments before. We’ve got a flexible workforce and this helps. For example, our foreman may revert to their trade such as carpentry. However, as in the recession of 1990, we’ve recently had to resize the company.

Are there any plans to go public?

This company used to be owned by two families – the Rigbys and the Kells. The Rigbys sold out in the mid 80s and I am not averse to another family coming in, but at the moment it’s the Kells that own it. There are presently no plans to go public.

What’s your strategy for winning government tenders?

The government is like any other client in many ways. If you have a record of performing well then they’re likely to at least put you on their tender list. Sometimes their assessment criteria will take into account performance and you will have an increased chance of winning that project. We have the necessary accreditations and a history of successful project delivery. We recently acquired Brisland which is a very reputable firm specialising in government projects. Thus we find ourselves on more tender lists and winning more work.

What’s your education and work background?

As a teenager, I used to work at Kell & Rigby during the school holidays, removing nails from planks and sweeping the floors. On finishing high school, I did my apprenticeship in carpentry and also attended university part time studying for a Bachelor of Building. I then spent some time in Germany studying engineering. When I finished, I moved to China for several years to do some building work. Currently, Kell & Rigby procures some materials from China but we have no further plans to construct buildings over there.

What have you been able to bring to the company?

Primarily, an open-minded approach to construction. There are amazing things being done in Europe, America and Asia. Every large building company has a presence in China; so I was fortunate enough to be able to witness what these organisations were doing. It resulted in us implementing processes such as the scratch card system which is a positive method of improving safety.

Typically safety is about punishment. However, the scratch card method looks for people doing things right and rewards them with little Kell & Rigby scratch cards, which lead to cash prizes. Supervisors look for subcontractors working in a safe fashion – whether they are wearing the right PPE or have taken a step back and considered an alternative, safer approach. Any sign that people are working safely is an opportunity to award one of these cards. It’s proven to be very successful.

Kell & Rigby piloted this on the Apple store on Sydney’s George Street in 2007 and we’re rolling it out across our business now. We came across a Canadian mining contractor running this system and I don’t know of any other builders in Australia doing this. There’s a time for punishment but equally there’s a time for encouragement and reward. We believe this is far more balanced and effective way of working.