10 Aug “Spotlight” on Paul Crame

Paul joined MiCiM early 2021 and has been working internationally on the Campus project in Dublin. Paul is an extremely experienced project manager with a good understanding of CSA and MEP aspects in construction. Paul possesses great leadership abilities and thrives when working under pressure, we finally managed to speak with him about his career, experience, and his time with MiCiM.

Tell us a bit about your career and what you’re bringing to your role:

I have worked within the DC industry for the last 14 years now with this taking me to the likes of Iceland, France, The Netherlands, Ireland, and home in the United Kingdom constructing DC’s. I bring a wealth of experience and knowledge from a trade background with understanding the construction and implementation of each DC.

You have a highly pressurised career – what would you say are the key strengths you bring to a team?

I am strong but very fair with my own Team, Contractors & Clients when it comes to completing the day/day site activities and making decisions. A great strength of mine is programme and coordination of site works from execution and completion.

What are the main challenges in the Mission Critical sector?

Currently the main challenges in this sector and with all sectors are the spiralling costs of materials and labour. We are seeing the same issue with the quality of labour on sites coming through and working within this sector and others, there is a clear lack of young keen tradesman wanting to learn within the sector.

What kind of skills does one need to have to enable a career in the Mission Critical sector that spans for 14 years?

Working within the DC sector, you require to have a good knowledge of not just one element of its build but try to have knowledge of most elements. What knowledge you don’t have of those elements don’t be afraid to ask questions of those who do. Everyday is a school day.

Over the course of your career, what would you say was your most challenging project?

One of the most challenging projects to date that I have project managed, would be carrying out a DC build project in Iceland. The DC consisted of modular form, with the DC being fabricated and built within the UK (Newcastle) this included the data hall and all critical plant. Packaged and shipped to Keflavik Iceland. Once the ship docked in Iceland and off loaded, all parts shipped to site. The good work then commenced of unpacking and constructing within the customer facility. This was a 12-week DC on site construction up to completion, IST and handover to client snag free.

Is there any cutting-edge technology which you are excited about, which will be at the forefront of the industry in the next few years?

I am keen to find out how Hydrogen fuel cells could be a replacement for diesel back up and a lot more. Hydrogen could be a big game change within the DC sector going forward and getting us to carbon neutral by 2030.

Are there any skill/formulae/tech you learned in your formative years you still utilise today?

People management is one of the biggest skills one can have. If you can work collaboratively with not only each client, design teams, engineers but the construction trades themselves you can achieve higher health and safety, better working atmosphere and a higher quality of standards.

As you are always heavily involved in the final push to complete a project, what are your coping mechanisms to deal with the pressurised environment you live in?

I like to set out the expected standards at the start of each project with all involved in the build as this helps with the end phase to completion and handover. Completing benchmarks with contractors and the level of expected quality, this also needs to be passed to the operatives completing the tasks. I feel this helps all cope with the final phase of project completion.

What is it that you enjoy about working with the MiCiM team?

The first day of joining MiCiM I knew this was the place for me and to progress my professional career within the DC sector. MiCiM have a great working relationship with their staff, clients, and trades. We have a great team out in Ireland Dublin with some fantastic relationships between staff, client, and trade contractors that will continue well into the future.

After a busy working week, what do you do in your down time?

Once I finish my working day on site during the summer (light nights) I enjoy a round of golf with work colleagues or just the walk on the course by myself as this helps release the days stresses. While at home on weekends I spend my time with the wife and kids going out for day trips around the Northeast, also enjoy a game of golf with friends. Just getting back in to cycling so let’s see how that’s goes.