Trust us to deliver your project on time and on budget
Howard Civil Engineering is one of the North's leading civil engineering companies, specialising in delivering quality civil engineering projects across the north of England. With a strong focus on safety, innovation, experience, and consistency, we pride ourselves on building strong, trustworthy relationships that are made to last. As a family-owned business, our deeply rooted family values are integral to our business ethos, and this is reflected in our relationships with our stakeholders.
Our services are categorised into four skilled disciplines: S278 and Infrastructure, Civil Engineering and Groundworks, Reinforced Concrete Structures, and Roads and Sewers. In addition to these disciplines, we offer additional services such as value engineering and innovation, aligned with a forward-thinking collaborative approach that prioritises quality results.
Our Approach
At Howard Civil Engineering, we pride ourselves on our meticulous planning and attention to detail throughout all areas of a project. We use leading sector-related software to produce phasing plans, contract programmes, and weekly progress reports, alongside the expertise of our highly-experienced team to ensure positive results for ourselves and our stakeholders.
Our safety culture revolves around the underlying principle of ensuring our workforce gets home safely. We have an in-house, full-time health and safety manager who routinely measures our health and safety performance and compares it to annual targets set by the board. Monthly site health and safety inspections result in scores that are reported in our monthly project league table.
Our Values
We believe that fiscal value is extremely important to both ourselves and our stakeholders. Our operations are formed from first principles; our highly experienced team is equipped with the latest estimating software, and we work on a time and resource basis to accurately establish our clients' best value in terms of cost, method, and duration.
Consistency is the key to successful delivery. We achieve this through our robust quality management system, which has been developed and evolved over many years and is audited and accredited under ISO9001. Each contract undergoes a monthly quality audit on our own company-designed app, and the score forms part of our monthly project league table.
Our People
Our clients' success is based on the quality of our people, and we recognise that the standard of what we do is only as good as our team. We place huge importance on continued personal development and training to ensure every member of our team can realise their full potential. Each manager undertakes a formal appraisal where a development plan for both the company and the individual is discussed and implemented, and we believe this approach is integral to maintaining high-quality performance.
Overview of Reviews
The reviews are predominantly negative, with customers expressing dissatisfaction with the company's work quality, staff behavior, and management.
Poor Work Quality and Materials
Several reviewers mentioned the company's poor work quality, with one reviewer stating that the company uses "cheap materials" and that the work is done quickly but poorly. Another reviewer mentioned that the company's work on a specific project, Greengates, was chaotic and resulted in months of delays.
Unprofessional Staff Behavior
Reviewers also complained about the behavior of the company's staff, including a driver who was driving recklessly and shouting abuse at another driver. Another reviewer mentioned that the staff are "ready to leave" and that the supervisors are not useful.
Poor Management and Treatment of Employees
Several reviewers mentioned that the company has poor management and treats its employees poorly. One reviewer stated that they were not given a contract and were dismissed without reason. Another reviewer mentioned that the company does not support its employees and does not treat them with respect.
Payment Issues
One reviewer mentioned that they did not receive payment for their work, and had to chase the company for weeks to get paid.
Excellent Service and Professionalism
On the other hand, several reviewers praised the company's professionalism, reliability, and trustworthiness. They mentioned that the company has excellent staff, is easy to work with, and pays invoices quickly.
