Vadym Melnychuk: When building means moving the company forward

Person: Vadym Melnychuk

Position: Head of the construction and installation department

Structural subdivision: Construction and assembly area

Work experience in the company: 12 years

The trait I value most in people: Honesty

Favorite time of year: Summer

Superpower: Stubbornness, I know how to defend my own opinion

The biggest myth about the profession: Builders — “lower casta”. There is a stereotype about the lack of prestige of this job, like “you will go to work in construction”. Many people think that builders are untidy and sloppy. Yes, the construction site is not always in perfect order. We work in dust, with “grinder”, it's a really dirty job. However, despite this, the result is there, and it is obvious. Behind the dust and work mess is a huge amount of work that creates something durable and functional.

A song or film associated with daily work: «Premiah»

How would you explain to your child exactly what you do? I'm building. But if you explain to a child, it is probably best not with words, but with actions. I would show her, let her try to create something, feel how to build it – with your own hands. So it will be the most understandable and interesting for a child!

If you could switch roles for one day with anyone in VILIA, who would it be? It is difficult to say, because over the years of work I had to master many professions. I can work on any special equipment — crane, bulldozer, excavator, loader. So, in fact, I have already tried on many roles and have a comprehensive understanding of work processes.

Life philosophy is formed at work: «Work has taught me patience and perseverance: I have learned that to achieve the desired result, sometimes you need to make several attempts. Also, work developed in me the ability to make extraordinary decisions and generate creative ideas.

1. What does working at VILIA mean to you?

Overall, I started my construction career long before VILIA. Love for this business was instilled in me at the age of 16 at the enterprise “LOKACHI AGROBUD”, where I first got acquainted with construction. After my studies, I came to VILIA, where my first mentor was Mykhailo Vasyliovych Kovbasa.

Work here for me — is constant movement, development, new technology. I feel how our company is growing, and unlike new employees who may think it's always been, I see this tremendous growth and leap.

Now we have a lot of new equipment, and it's not just old equipment, but modern machines that are used by real professionals. It's cool to realize that we're all driving this great mechanism together. I also like that we have the opportunity to build and implement new projects, it gives great motivation and enthusiasm. And the management of the company, which always energizes us, also gives a great impetus to development

2. What qualities should «Specialist of the year» have in your field?

The main thing – is the desire to work. If a person really wants to work, nothing will stand in his way in achieving his goals. Well, important points – is a decent salary and working conditions. They create motivation and comfort, which also affects productivity and job satisfaction.

3. What was the most memorable moment or project of your career for you?

The beginning of the activity and any important changes are always memorable for me. I remember my start in Zvynyachy especially vividly. At that stage, Valentin Volodymyrovych Vavrynovych helped me a lot. It was thanks to our cooperation that I ended up on VILIA. Valentin Volodymyrovych was my example, taught humanity. I really appreciate his support, he is a very good and decent person. And, of course, any important changes in work are always memorable too.

4. What advice would you give to newcomers just joining the company?

Young people I always advise not to be afraid of anything. Speak your thoughts, share ideas and defend your position as much as possible. It is important to open yourself up and not be afraid to take the initiative. It's never too late to reach your potential and show what you are capable of.

5. What key changes have taken place in your work during this year, and how have they affected your professional development?

We actively started using modern materials: light structures, light wall and roofing materials, switched to sandwich panels. They started making industrial floors on their own. Now we are simultaneously working on several important objects: we are building an office at the flour mill complex in Lutsk, we are reconstructing the grain warehouse in Horynka for a workshop, and we have started work on a large object in Horodok.

6. What were the challenges facing you this year, and how did you deal with them? What did you learn from this experience?

In general, we have a difficult job, I do not single out any individual challenges. What can I say – is difficult when there is «torn work». What do I mean – if we make several objects at the same time – everything needs to be connected to each other, evenly provide objects with people and equipment. In such conditions, there are challenges. And of course, there are challenges related to war – personnel issue.

7. What are you most proud of this year in the context of your professional activity at VILIA? It can be a completed project, a solved problem, a new skill mastered, etc.

This year, I am most proud that we received permission to build a large facility in Horodok. After all, whether we work or not depended on it. Thanks to the coordinated work of the team, especially the perseverance of our estimating engineer Maria Novosad, we were able to achieve this goal. For me, this is a small victory that marks the start of a large-scale construction project.

8. Which of VILIA's values (professionalism, decency, systematicity, initiative, team approach, responsibility) was key for you in achieving this year's successes? Give an example of how you demonstrated it in your work.

Responsibility. I personally like this value very much: if I haven't done something, I will gnaw myself. And I see that colleagues share this principle. I would also call initiative. Sometimes we ourselves suffer from this, because we will get a job, but we have what we have.

And, of course, a team approach. We constantly communicate and cooperate with different departments, so coherence is critical. For example, we often interact with the elevator industry: when problems arise, we always support each other and are ready to insure. This is real command in my understanding.

In general, I believe that any success — is the result of the work of the entire team. No specialist or manager is worth anything without a team. We have the same: all we do is solely the merit of our boys and girls — foremen, foremen, builders, estimate engineer, designer, dispatcher, special equipment operators. Everyone makes their invaluable contribution, and this is what creates a common result.

9. What goals do you set for yourself for the coming year?

I set myself the goal of paying more attention to systematicity and planning in our work. We have a strong technical base and capacity, and I see great potential in using these resources as efficiently as possible. I strive to implement these approaches both in our structural division and to be guided by them in the company as a whole. Of course, life often makes its adjustments, but I am convinced that the desire for better planning is not just a desirable, but also a necessary step to increase our efficiency. It will definitely not be superfluous.

10. How do you see the future of your profession or industry as a whole?

I see the future of the construction industry as a whole with an emphasis on process mechanization. I think that technologies will develop rapidly, making many stages of construction more mechanized. However, it is important to understand that machines will not completely replace people. Even in the future, works such as bricklaying, pouring concrete or laying tiles will still require human labor. The question will rather be in the number of these people, that is, in optimization.

In addition, I would very much like the stereotype about the construction profession to be dispelled and its prestige to increase. I have already observed this positive trend, and I believe that it will only intensify. This will make it possible to attract more young and talented specialists to the industry.