Family, fences, and the daily hustle

A week in the life of Barakat Contractors Limited AKA Barakat Fencing

“Many hands make light work,” and that is the idea we have from running our fencing business week in and week out. We have a lot of struggles in different areas, including managing the old generation vs new generation dynamic of running the business.

Dale and Carl are the owners of the business and are also a father-son duo. They get along extremely well due to Dale being very patient and having a placid nature, and Carl, with his problem-solving can-do attitude – but they still have their differences at times when trying to keep things running.

Dale’s partner, Lisa, and Carl’s wife, Emma, also work in the business and are vital to keeping the business running efficiently. Although at times Emma would say that working together in the office can present its own challenges – especially still being able to talk to each other come dinner each night.

“For both Dale and Carl, their phones are nonstop – averaging anywhere from 30 to 50 phone calls a day”

With all the dynamics that we have, it is very important that everyone is on the same page, as we all are key in making this business work.

Average week for Barakat Fencing

To prepare for the following week, Dale, Carl and Lisa sit down together (or over the phone if Carl is working on site), planning the following week(s) depending on job durations. Friday is often planning time so that everyone knows their jobs for the following week – although this often changes with staff absences, or inclement weather, over the weekend. It is the basis for Dale and Carl to be able to go into the weekend knowing that all staff and jobs are ready. This planning time also helps with notifying clients, client inductions, booking concrete, material fabrication, accommodation if required, preparing safety packs, and sorting job requirements that are needed for the following week.

Come Monday, often plans have changed – mainly due to staff absences or client delays – so it can be hectic first thing. But from time to time, it goes to plan and the week starts smoothly.

For Dale, every morning starts with an early morning walk down the farm to clear his head for the day. He takes this time to write notes of things to tick off and prepare for organising the staff in the yard, who start arriving around 6.30am. Dale does a lot of roles put together, but often he is on the road meeting with clients, quoting, ordering materials, organising, and doing accounts. Being out of the office and on the road creates catch-up time in the office. Dale often works weekends in the office when it’s quieter and his phone is not interrupting his workflow.

Carl is still physically on the tools – problem solving, quality checking and running a crew/job wherever he is needed. Carl is spending more time in the office quoting higher-spec jobs, problem solving and drafting the drawings of gates, out-of-the-ordinary steel posts, etc. to keep our fabrication guys ahead of the work.

For both Dale and Carl, their phones are nonstop – averaging anywhere from 30 to 50 phone calls a day – from managing staff, clients, machinery maintenance, product orders, suppliers/reps, among other things. This takes a large amount of their time and a lot of follow-up, as every phone call often requires an action.

Our foremen are given jobs ahead of time – a few days out – so they can be loaded up and ready to go. But for them, it is often managing the staff under them and making sure they are on track for concrete bookings, client requirements, and checking in with Dale or Carl to make sure the job is being built to spec.

The following are some key areas we at Barakat Fencing have in place to help our week run as smoothly as possible:

Logistics – sourcing materials and getting materials, gear, and machinery onsite.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, efficient logistics play a crucial role in the success of our operation. One of the fundamental aspects of logistics is sourcing materials, fencing gear, and machinery effectively between jobs in a timely manner.

Our yard is well stocked with materials, and we also have two full-time staff working in the workshop fabricating. We have tried to make our business as self-sufficient as possible, so we are not relying on other suppliers or contractors. We have multiple machinery assets – trucks, diggers, loaders, tractors with rammers, vehicles, trailers – including our own Portaloo. These are a key part of running a successful operation and make organising easier when we don’t have to outsource and rely on other parties for completing our work.

Staff management and wellbeing – managing crews, absences, recruitment

We employ 25 staff, including three Project Managers, six Foremen, two Technicians, two Fabricators, and 11 staff ranging in ability levels, and three casual staff members. Dale and Carl (Directors/Project Managers) are also actively working in the business. We have been fortunate to have most of our Project Managers, Foremen and Technicians with us for 20-plus years, and they are a huge part of Barakat Fencing’s success.

Having several staff at times can be challenging – trying to make sure we can keep them happy and make sure we are looking after their well-being. Having a larger number of staff gives us the flexibility to be able to rotate staff when absences and sickness happen, although this is still challenging when dealing with commercial clients and ensuring staff are compliant and trained for their site.

We recruit staff from time to time, but most have come to us directly or through word of mouth from existing staff. Recruiting staff can be a challenge, as fencing is often associated with just the rural sector. Security fencing is a big part of our business, and we often have to train staff in this area. It also involves a lot more compliance when working on these sites.

We have an open-door policy for our staff and find that with the four of us (Dale, Carl, Lisa and Emma), this works for our staff to communicate with whom they feel most comfortable talking to. It also helps to build strong relationships with them.

Health and safety – site plans, H&S management, toolbox talks, incident/near miss reporting

Dealing with a number of commercial clients over the years, we have learnt a lot and had to implement a range of different systems to make sure we are compliant. We have built strong relationships with our clients, and this, in turn, has also helped us implement systems that future clients have required from us.

“Dale started this business with his father, and there was a lot less paperwork back then compared to what he manages now”

Lisa and Emma deal with a lot of the health and safety for the business, and are often looking at ways to help our staff understand their obligations and ensure that they are looking after themselves. We hold monthly meetings with all staff, and this is where we do a lot of reporting, check-ins, and cover key points for health and safety management.

Our health and safety systems are still paper-based rather than app-based, as we believe there are some key benefits to having a paper trail and having staff actively reviewing documents rather than on their phones doing ‘tick-box compliance’. This, in turn, has helped us maintain good filing systems so we can track and locate information when required.

We’ve learnt to be adaptable over the years, with clients requiring health and safety done their way – which is why having someone with strong technology skills has been a must for our business. For many of our commercial clients, there are online portals that require individual accounts for each staff member. These portals are used for a range of purposes – from inductions and health & safety documents, to invoicing and account management.

Operations/Admin – payroll, paperwork, quotes/estimates

Being a multi-generational company, it takes time to make changes, and in the past two years, Barakat Fencing has undergone a lot of administrative changes, by adopting online platforms to speed up processes and ensure nothing gets missed.

Dale started this business with his father, and there was a lot less paperwork back then compared to what he manages now. Dale still does not operate a computer, so we have strong manual systems and follow up in place to make sure nothing gets missed. When the power goes down, Dale always says, “Well, my computer is still working.”

Carl works a lot from his phone for emailing and dealing with clients, but there have been some changes this year. Emma (Carl’s wife) has placed a computer on his desk so he can start utilising it and learning how the online platforms work – she says he’s more than capable!

We’ve used several different platforms over the years – Cashbook, Ace Payroll, MYOB, Xero – for accounting. Now, we’ve consolidated everything into one package: Xero. Emma manages all these areas and has found her computer skills invaluable in adapting and making the most of the software.

We run Word templates for our quotes, as this is the best way to manage the formatting for the two guys (Carl and Dale) doing the quotes. We also have spreadsheets for their workings and pricing sheets made specifically for the different quotes they do – still manually, with a calculator! This system has all the workings so that if someone like Lisa or Emma were to pick up their quote, they can quickly determine what’s required for ordering, or make minor client-requested changes efficiently.

Life after work

Work/Life balance is always a challenge when owning your own business, and this is an area that is a constant juggle for Dale and Carl.

Having the office based at Dale’s property can be a challenge, as it often means staff and clients turn up at all hours – at times, there’s not much privacy outside of work hours for Dale. For Dale and his partner Lisa, their beach house in Whitianga is a retreat where they spend as many weekends as possible – and can stay longer since they’re able to work from there. It’s a place where Dale can relax and go out fishing, which is a big hobby of his.

“We have an open-door policy for our staff and find that with the four of us (Dale, Carl, Lisa and Emma), this works for our staff to communicate with whom they feel most comfortable talking to”

Carl makes sure there’s time for life outside of work. He has many hobbies, but a big part of making this happen was moving his wife Emma and their three kids out to their hill-country farm, about a 30-minute drive from the yard. It’s where they can spend their time with the family in what they call ‘their piece of paradise’. While the farm is leased out because the fencing business is busy, they still get to enjoy the benefits of farm life on weekends – something both Carl and Emma love sharing with their kids.

Our long-standing staff also do a range of hobbies and often enjoy doing them with other Barakat Fencing team members, as many are friends outside of work. A big hobby among our staff is deer and duck shooting, and we often joke that we need to shut down for the months of April/May!

Barakat Fencing has been a multi-generational business, and Carl and Emma have the next generation coming through – their eldest son, aged 11, often helps out during the holidays.

Written by Emma Barakat