A day in the life of David Conway

David Conway’s role at Jet is one that carries significant responsibility. Of course, with that comes challenges and hard work, but both are rewarded when building your career at the company. 

As the Two-Metre Operations Manager, David is tasked with ensuring that every job involving these state-of-the-art machines goes smoothly. The Wirtgen equipment that Jet uses is industry-leading, reducing CO2 emissions and offering performance tracking too. 

“A lot of our jobs happen overnight when everybody else is fast asleep! That means that when I get in, one of my first tasks is to check how everything has gone the previous night. Speaking to the guys doing the hard work around the country is important, but I’m careful about when I call in case they’re resting. They work hard and it’s vital they get time to re-charge before getting back to work.”  

How do you come to work in an industry like this one, then? For David, it was inspiration from a friend: “I live locally to Evesham and everybody has spotted one of Jet’s iconic purple trucks and tippers at some point round here. 

“I was looking for a career where I could challenge myself and then a job in sales at Jet came up! That role then developed into Operations Support and I gradually worked my way up to where I am now.” 

Jet’s two-metre machines and their highly skilled operators are used on a variety of projects; ranging from motorways to demolition work. In fact, Jet is often called the extra ‘emergency service’ on the roads you may not know about. Often, the team are called upon last minute as part of the process to fix damaged roads.  

“People often don’t realise the role that we play and there’s a lot that goes into it that people may not be aware of. If a road gets damaged by a car fire, for example, it’s my job to quickly find a team to get the job done, so the road surface can be replaced. That whole process can happen in between someone driving home from work and then commuting back again the next morning!” 

The challenge of quickly finding solutions is what gets David out of bed every day. “I love it,” he says. One recent project particularly stands out to him and it’s one that’s been hitting the headlines recently too. “Two of my planers were out working on a major project on the M4. It was a big collaboration with various partners and I’ll admit that I was a little nervous about it. However, once night one was out of the way I knew it was going to go smoothly. That’s a good feeling.” 

David’s been at Jet for five years now – an impressive achievement. He says a number of factors are keeping him at the company and make him excited for his future there. “It’s the culture for me. We actually care about people and you can see that with the support we offer for mental health and the fact that you’re listened to here. I love chatting to the teams on the road and I know that, sometimes, a conversation can be all you need. Somebody at the end of the phone to listen to you.”  

Every day is unique for David at Jet. That’s what he loves. Whether he’s managing operations from the office or out and about on the road, there’s always variety. Find out more about the state-of-the-art equipment he looks after here and perhaps you’ll be chatting to him and the team very soon for your project…