Swanlinbar woman making waves in construction industry

A young Swanlinbar woman is making waves in the construction industry - winning awards and helping to inform national policy in relation to Covid-19 restrictions for the sector.

Aoife Gilheany has been named Health & Safety Champion of the Year by Sonica, a leading construction company, at its inaugural ‘Uncompromising Excellence’ Employee Awards.

The daughter of John and Grainne Gilheany, Aoife is now living in Fairview in Dublin. She scooped the prestigious award in recognition for commitment and diligence to health and safety throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

She has been working as the company’s health and safety manager for just over two years now and is also a member of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) Safety Committee, which is currently engaging with Government during the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of getting construction workers back to work safely.

Aoife said that the risks posed by Covid, and efforts to keep it out of the workplace and prevent clusters, have made people better appreciate the importance of health and safety.

“It [Covid] has been a challenge. When we broke up in March, as an industry, we were all trying to figure out what to do and what was the best way to approach it. Everyone’s main goal was to get back on site.

“When we returned in May, there was zero backlash from subcontractors and clients. Everyone was willing to do whatever they needed to do to get back into work.

“Towards the end of last year, I was nominated onto the CIF Safety Committee and, being part of that, you are at the heart of all decisions for the industry. We meet on a weekly basis - trying to come up with ways to ensure that we are operating in the safest possible way and I just finished a call there now to make sure that we do get back to work at the end of January, start of February,” revealed Aoife.

The Celt is curious about what attracted Aoife to such a male dominated industry. She explained her career route wasn’t exactly mapped out that way. On graduating from Ballinamore Community School, Aoife completed an Environmental Health degree in Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT).

“It would have covered food inspections, noise monitoring, occupational health, there’s building regulations as well. So the course would have been geared towards environmental health officers (EHOs). Then, the other side would have been the building side and the health and safety elements,” Aoife explains.

Her first position was with Smurfit Kappa in Kells. “I had a vague idea of what construction was like growing up on a farm at home and I kinda just got a flavour for it there and the manager there [in Smurfit] helped grow my interest in it and encouraged me to get out into the construction world as opposed to the factory setting,” continues Aoife who enjoys the “relaxed environment” on construction sites and meeting familiar faces on different projects.

“It’s a very community based industry so it’s quite enjoyable,” says Aoife who finds herself split between the office and construction sites with a team of health and safety officers working underneath her.

Before joining Sonica as H&S manager, Aoife was working as a health and safety officer with various companies on construction projects and building sites. How did she find being a female in a largely male dominated environment?

“I personally have never had any negative issues or moments. It has always been an encouraging environment.

“The industry is split between the younger apprentices and the older guys who have been there for years. Both are very accepting of you. Coming in as a newbie and quite young, they are very willing to help you understand their tasks and their terminology. They very much want to build a relationship with you. They know it’s in their best interest to work with you. I have never had a negative situation on site because of being a girl.”

Aoife is “thrilled” and “honoured” with her award, particularly since it was determined by votes from her peers and colleagues.

“It was a surprise. We are a growing department. I started off as a team of one and have a team of three safety officers with me at the moment. It’s an exciting time as the company grows, getting to grow our department and move more into the managerial side - not just on site but also with my own team as well,” she said.

The virtual awards were held in response to a stellar year of growth for Sonica and to celebrate and recognise team members who were instrumental in helping the business to flourish in what has been a challenging year.

Founded in 2013, Sonica is an award-winning fitout company with over 50 employees and offices in Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Berlin. The company also offers facilities and property services through its subsidiary company Preempt.

The awards were overseen by a committee with employees voting for their team members across 13 different categories including employee of the year, project team of the year, outstanding service, team player and brand champion.

Aoife and her team were also recently shortlisted for a national fit out construction award in the Excellence in Safety category.

Congratulating his team on a job well done, Donnacha Neary, Sonica MD said: “This year it was more important than ever to recognise and celebrate our team’s achievements and pursuit of excellence.

“Throughout, our team has pulled out all the stops, kept up the energy and got the work done. Due to their dedication and commitment, we’ve now entered an exciting new chapter for Sonica where we are scaling rapidly, and not only growing but flourishing on a national and international basis.”

Sonica, previously named the Deloitte Best Managed company awards, will formally open its new Skerries headquarters, First Landings, in the coming weeks with space for over 300 workers. Dubbed the ‘office of the future’, First Landings will operate a revolutionary model whereby new overseas clients can base themselves as they set up an initial Irish operation, while Sonica will source, design and prepare a permanent location for each firm.

Existing and new clients will also be given access to the high-spec workspace if they want to provide remote options for workers who might ordinarily commute across the city.