April 7, 2026
This Week's Trench
Episode 01
What It Actually Takes to Keep Australia Connected
It's Saturday afternoon. Ski is in a trench. Not wrapping up — still working. Phone in hand, jackhammer behind him, rock face in front. That's Chris "Ski" Skehan, Director of The Big Picture Group and Comms Supervisor.
This is Episode 01 of This Week's Trench — a new Friday series where Ski films a short, unscripted video from wherever the work is. What the week looked like, what went wrong, what got done. No office. No script. Just the trench.
The week that tried to break them
A digger operator walked off. Hoses blew. A bolt snapped off the jackhammer. Diesel hit $3 a litre. The crew — Ski, Ronnie, and Dave — dug 400 metres for the entire week in rock country near a quarry. Their normal daily target is 300–400 metres. Then it hailed.
Ski's response? No dramatics. Just a foreman talking plainly.
What went wrong this week
Digger operator walked off site
Hoses blew mid-dig
Bolt snapped off the jackhammer
Diesel hit $3 a litre
Rock country near a quarry — 400m for the week
It hailed
"The only thing I can control is my attitude. Control the controllable."
— Chris "Ski" Skehan, Comms Supervisor, The Big Picture Group
That's not a motivational quote. It's an operational framework — and it's the standard TBP holds itself to, trench after trench.
New to the fleet
The same week, The Big Picture Group Comms fleet welcomed a new machine — and she didn't arrive stock standard.
New fleet addition
CASE TR310B — Tuned, Ready, Working
Tuned from 74hp to around 85–90hp by Engage Ag in Toowoomba before she hit a single site. Fitted with a dozer blade and levelling bar, she reinstates while the rest of the fleet digs.
Better equipment. Same crew. Better results.
Ski introduced her on the socials — watch the video:
Why this series exists
Most people who rely on telecommunications infrastructure never see what it takes to build it.
This Week's Trench is a window into that work — every Friday, straight from wherever the trench is that week.
For project owners evaluating civil and telecommunications contractors, it's evidence of how a crew behaves when things go wrong. Which is ultimately the only question that matters.
Looking for a comms + civil crew?
Built for the work others find too hard or too remote.
The Big Picture Group provides experienced comms and civil teams for telecommunications infrastructure projects across regional and remote Australia — trenching, fibre installation, conduit laying, and reinstatement. We work with tier 1 contractors, network builders, and project owners who need reliable crews that show up, stay present, and get it done.
Our crew comes with their own fleet — trencher, excavator, compact track loader, vacuum truck — maintained, operated, and ready to mobilise. Whether it's a subcontract package, wet hire with operators, or a full crew deployment, we're built for it.
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