The First Lift: Redefining Performance in the Construction Sector

Mike Shipton: Aubrey, it’s great to sit down with you. We’ve been talking internally about the “Buildsafe Way” for a long time, but your arrival has really catalysed a new initiative we’re calling ‘First Lift.’ Before we dive into the program’s mechanics, I want to touch on your background. You’ve come from a world that is a far cry from a traditional construction site – 16 years in high-performance sport and working for New Zealand Health, including time with the New Zealand All Blacks and the Waikato Chiefs. How does a background in elite rugby inform a role in a construction services business?

Aubrey Stothers: It’s a unique segue, Mike. My journey began in sports and recreation management (following on from completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports and Recreation and Strategic Management). This led to a nine-year stint in the Super Rugby system and in reconditioning programs for the All Blacks. In that world, you learn very quickly that performance isn’t just about what happens on the field; it’s about the “one percenters” off it. However, I also spent years as a Health Improvement Officer and among trades myself- working in both the cabinetmaker and boilermaker industries.

When I looked at Buildsafe, I saw a company that already valued the individual but needed a structured way to build capacity. The challenge was: how do I take the high-performance habits of an elite athlete and translate them into a 5:45 am toolbox talk for a scaffolding crew? It’s about mobilising the body and the mind before they start the heavy lifting.

Mike: You mentioned “building capacity.” That’s a term we use a lot now. For those outside the business or for a new recruit looking at a scaffolding safety checklist, what does building capacity actually look like on the ground?

Aubrey: It’s about the “whole person.” We realised that if a team member is doing well outside of work- if they are well-balanced and healthy – they excel on-site. Building capacity means providing the edge protection installation advice and hard skills needed for the job, but it also means addressing the “soft skills” that are often missing in a modern, casual workforce.

We’re talking about communication, teamwork, and financial literacy. Many of our guys didn’t grow up playing team sports where you learn that “I’ve got your back” mentality. We’re building that culture here. If we develop their ability to manage relationships or their finances, they become more resilient. That resilience leads to greater job commitment, which directly improves our retention, and the quality of our onsite work improves due to a more skilled, engaged, trained and committed workforce. 

Mike: Let’s talk about the mechanics of the First Lift program. It’s a 12-week pilot currently running in three of our Queensland branches. How is it structured, and what are the specific milestones for the participants?

Aubrey: We’ve selected three trucks from each branch – nine participants in total per branch. This includes a Leading Hand, a “Second” who is looking to step up, and a beginner. It’s a 30-minute toolbox session, once a week for 12 weeks. We progress through skill sets like a scaffolding “step-up.”

By the end of the 12 weeks, we want to offer them more than just a paycheck. We want them to have their basic scaffolding certification, their truck license, or their forklift ticket. We’re also teaching them the technical side of the business—using iPads for digital reporting and safety audits. We are effectively moulding these individuals the Buildsafe way, accelerating their learning so they can “power up” their own trucks sooner.

Mike: You’ve mentioned that this is a holistic model. I know you’ve based some of this on a New Zealand health model involving four pillars. Can you explain how that fits into a scaffolding hire business?

Aubrey: That was a major drawcard for me. The model puts the individual in the centre of four corners: physical wellbeing, spiritual wellbeing, mental health, and community. We aren’t just teaching them how to install scaffolding or safety guides (although this is front and centre of everything we are doing); we’re also talking about nutrition and mental health.

For instance, we’re integrating financial literacy. Our teams can make great money at Buildsafe, and we want to help them make the right choices with that money so they have long-term security. When a worker feels that the company actually cares about their family and their future, the “buy-in” is total.

Mike: We’re three weeks into the “Captain’s Run” of this pilot. I’ll be honest, Aubrey – 5:45 am is a tough time to motivate anyone. What has the feedback been like from the crews? Are they actually engaging with this at such an early hour?

Aubrey: (Laughs) The first week was a bit of a shock for them. This high-energy guy turns up talking a “foreign language” while they’re still rubbing sleep from their eyes. But by week three, the lightbulbs are turning on. There’s a lot of gratitude coming back. They’re saying, “I’ve worked for a lot of companies, and I’ve never had anyone invest in me like this.”

They are starting to see the pathway. They realise that if they jump in, there is a structured route to becoming a Leading Hand. We’re moving from organic, ad-hoc growth to a repeatable, programmatic system. They receive three SMS messages a week from us: one for motivation, one reinforcing the week’s key lesson, and a “Gratitude Friday” text just to thank them for the long hours they put in. It’s about making them feel part of the Buildsafe brotherhood and sisterhood.

Mike: One of the things that impressed me when we first spoke was your goal for the next 18 months. You aren’t just looking at this as a small internal project. What is the “Big Audacious Goal” for First Lift?

Aubrey: I want us to be sitting at national conferences in 18 months, talking about how we’ve revolutionised construction and height safety training. The goal is to take the learnings from this QLD pilot, refine the “best practice,” and then roll it out across Victoria and New South Wales.

We want to build a sustainable model with a version of me—a “People and Culture Coach”—in every branch. We’ll identify candidates in our system who can deliver this training. We’re benchmarking this as the industry standard for how you treat and grow a construction workforce.

Mike: While the pilot is focused on these specific crews, I know you’ve also started something called Buildsafe Boost. How are you ensuring that the rest of our 500-strong workforce doesn’t miss out on this culture shift?

Aubrey: That happened organically. We realised we couldn’t just focus on the nine guys in the pilot and leave everyone else behind. So, once a week, I visit the branches for a “Buildsafe Boost” session – a 10-minute “highlights” version of the First Lift content for the whole branch.

We’re also mentoring the branch supervisors. A lot of our leaders are natural-born leaders who worked their way up from the tools, but they haven’t necessarily been exposed to different academic leadership styles. I’m helping them become better communicators and more organised leaders. We’re even coming up with a “Buildsafe Chant” and using drums to bring that high-performance energy to the toolbox. We’re getting unification across the whole system.

Mike: Aubrey, your passion for this is infectious. In closing, what is it that really drives you to get out there in the dark every morning to build up these crews?

Aubrey: It’s about building better people, Mike. If we help them become better communicators and equip them with more hard skills, they will have greater financial security. They become better fathers, better mothers, and better members of the community. Effectively, we are building better communities the Buildsafe way. I feel incredibly privileged to lead this, and I’m excited to see where we can take this team.

Mike: Well, Aubrey, we’re lucky to have you. We’ll be checking back in with you in a few weeks to see how the first cohort is progressing. Keep beating that drum.