Established in 1983, civil engineering and road maintenance contractor JH Civil Engineering provides a range of high-quality services across industry, public utilities, and local authorities throughout Scotland. A strong presence in all 32 local Scottish councils reflects the reach of this multi-award-winning company, which has been named Civil Engineering Contractor of the Year 2026 – Lanarkshire in this year’s Scottish Enterprise Awards, marking its second consecutive recognition in the programme. Conor Higgins, the company’s director, was on hand for more.
Committed to improving Scottish infrastructure, JH Civil Engineering has spent more than four decades delivering essential services to the people of Scotland, guided by a strong family ethos and a focus on bringing excellence and measurable enhancements to local communities. Founded by John Higgins, the company’s key differentiator has always been its staff, teams who grew up together, worked alongside each other, and passed on that knowledge and invaluable experience to the current generation of JH contractors.
“The staff at JH Civil Engineering are the most important element of our success. From apprentices to directors, we all share an equal role and responsibility in improving the organisation going forward; and it is our staff that should share the full commendations attributed to this award.”
Building and preserving a culture where team members can thrive is what Conor is proudest of in his role as the company’s director, and he shared more on how JH Civil Engineering has achieved this: “We drive a strong internal training policy, which has allowed strong staff retention for over four decades. At point of hire, all employee training, certifications, and qualifications are also logged on our internal quality management software, which details the provider, date of renewal, and employee development paths.”
This ensures that all of the staff who are employed are adequately trained for the tasks they are expected to complete, as well as that their qualifications are up to date, and can be easily programmed in for necessary renewals and upskilling as required. An internal auditor is responsible for managing this, and will regularly review staff training and organise courses for them well in advance of their training expiring. In this industry, lapsed training is not uncommon, but JH Civil Engineering has found a way to combat it.
Moreover, Conor continued: “We have also increased the skills of our workforce through major investments in staff career development, which has directly increased our capabilities in resourcing multiple contracts efficiently and effectively. Since the implementation of our investment plan in 2020, we have increased the number of staff qualified to operate large plant by roughly 25%, which has directly allowed us to resource cold milling and paving schemes in conjunction with other civil engineering works.”
Results from across the period since this was introduced have been some of the most successful in JH Civil Engineering’s illustrious history, and repeat business has seen significant growth over the last seven years or so. This has caused the team to look at ways they might expand, with doing business in England being at the top of the list, but the company remains more committed than ever to engineering excellence.
As it works towards its unchanged goal of improving local infrastructure whilst maintaining a customer-focused approach and high standards, these in line with its industry recognised ISO 14001, ISO 9001, LANTRA, and Constructionline certifications, JH Civil Engineering also continues to improve the way it approaches its day-to-day work and delivers its services. A great example of this has been the introduction of an in-house traffic management team over the past few years. This has played a huge role in driving efficiency.
Conor explained: “This addition has allowed us to fully internalise the traffic management used on our projects from the design phase through to implementation, a feature not available to the majority of our competitors. As a result, we can now implement traffic management on-site without delay, and any necessary adjustments to plans can be done so promptly by our team.” With its work able to be carried out even faster and more safely, JH Civil Engineering is further positioning itself as Scotland’s go-to civil engineer contractor.
Whilst this remains incredibly impressive and a key thing that sets JH Civil Engineering apart from its contemporaries, it is a development that is now more than three years old, meaning it is largely old news in an industry that moves so fast. Luckily, it is far from the only way in which Conor and his team are moving the needle, something seen further in the way this multiple-award-winning civil engineering contractor is continuously working towards the Net Zero Target, introduced by the government to reduce greenhouse gases.
The aim here is for at least a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (compared to 1990 levels) by 2050. There is still a way to go, but JH Civil Engineering has made important strides by introducing site-wide recycling initiatives and doing everything it can to reduce the carbon emissions produced by its work. Exploring these steps in more detail, Conor told us: “We have subjected our principal business activities to rigorous testing, and those aspects of the business having a significant impact on the environment are now incorporated within an environmental aspect register.” However, this is just the start.
JH Civil Engineering’s introduction of an environmental management system acts as a guide for managing and controlling all of its operational activities, allowing the team to take proactive steps to minimise their environmental impact. The level of environmental impact is measured according to both the severity and the likelihood of occurrence, with risk being judged according to relevant local, national, and international legislation.
Conor continued: “Having reviewed our internal operations, objectives and targets have been established for activities deemed to have significant environmental impact. Quarterly KPIs have been established to measure and monitor performance against reduced energy use, reduced CO2 emissions, reduced waste to landfill, increased recycling, and secondary use of materials.” By focusing on these areas, JH Civil Engineering is taking small but hugely important steps towards a brighter future for the industry and our planet.
By blending a steadfast commitment to environmental policies with a dedication to developing its team members, JH Civil Engineering has once again positioned itself as a fitting recipient for a title in the annual Scottish Enterprise Awards. More on the services of the back-to-back winner twice named Civil Engineering Contractor of the Year – Lanarkshire can be found by visiting the company using the web address linked below.
Contact Details
Contact: Conor Higgins
Company: JH Civil Engineering
Web Address: http://jhcivilengineering.co.uk/
