Welcome to a new episode of I'm The Gaffer
If you've ever wondered whether ISO 9001 is worth the bureaucracy — or written off quality as box-ticking that lives in a filing cabinet — this conversation will change how you look at your bottom line.
In this episode, Lorna Hagan joins Gavin Coyle to unpack why quality is profit, not paperwork. Lorna is a civil engineer and chartered quality professional with 20+ years on main contractor sites — from Crossrail and nuclear decommissioning to three-bed semis — and the founder of Construct Tuition, where she trains and consults construction businesses to get it right first time. She was previously head of quality for a tier one contractor overseeing £250 million a year of civil engineering projects.
You'll learn:
- The Get It Right Initiative research: 21% of construction turnover is wasted in error — against a 5% tier one margin — and why most of that loss lands on SME subcontractors
- The "spirit of 9001": what a plumbing contractor with five vans should be asking on the drive home every night
- What implementing ISO 9001/14001/45001 actually costs (ballpark ~€20k for the full suite) — and the Local Enterprise Office / Invest NI grants that can offset it
- Why written processes are what let you scale, take a holiday, or sell — "without those, YOU are the risk in the business"
- The "Saturday morning jobs" and Magic Man: the unrecorded process waste quietly eating your margin
- How targeted training cut £5,000-a-time concrete NCRs by 75% — and saved £155,000 in six months
- Post-Grenfell accountability: why "he won't see it from my house" doesn't wash anymore
Episode Highlights / Timestamps
- 00:54 Welcome: why quality is integral to a successful organization
- 02:28 Getting started: "I wasn't smart enough to be a vet" — Crossrail, nuclear, 20 years with main contractors
- 05:52 Devil's advocate: do I really need 9001 with 20 guys and a handbook?
- 11:58 The economics: gap analysis, integrated audits, ~€20k, and grant support
- 16:34 Scalability: written processes or YOU are the risk in the business
- 18:15 The Get It Right Initiative: 21% of turnover wasted vs 5% margin
- 23:33 "You'll not see it from my house" — the sayings that are gone
- 27:05 Saturday morning jobs: the mistakes that never make a sheet
- 29:46 Concrete NCRs at £5k each — training that cut them 75%
- 39:37 Imposter syndrome at the top of Canary Wharf — "don't doubt yourself again"
- 42:46 A passion for representing women in construction
- 45:00 Where to find Lorna
Connect with Lorna Hagan
About Coyle Group
Coyle Group provides safety outsourcing and managed services for high-impact projects across wind, utilities, power generation, engineering, and construction.
With over 25 years of experience, 100+ safety professionals, and more than 1 million safety hours completed, Coyle Group helps organisations deliver projects safely and compliantly.
Learn more:
https://coyle-group.com/
About the Podcast
I'm The Gaffer, hosted by Gavin Coyle, features conversations with industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and subject matter experts covering construction, engineering, leadership, business growth, safety, procurement, project delivery, and workplace culture.
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