Fit-out & refurb over £15m

Gold

Name
Paul Harding
Company
Bovis Lend Lease
Project
Fit-out of 25,000m² of office space. McGraw Hill, Canary Wharf
Contract
£27m, Construction Management, 39 weeks

Although not part of Bovis’s original bidding team, Paul Harding brought a fresh impetus to this project, recommending a modified electronic system of document control and transfer, and producing detailed flowcharts to show each step of the processes. It was successfully used to manage 1,400 potential changes proposed by the client.

It soon became clear to Harding that planting tropical trees in the seventh-floor atrium would endanger the whole construction programme. He had to use all his forethought and ingenuity to locate suitable trees (in Florida), shipping them to a Belgian nursery for six months’ acclimatisation before hoisting them into their final position through external cladding panels that had to be removed for the purpose.

Described as a design of flair and colour, the fit-out has been a great success. Harding devoted considerable attention to detail and quality, developing many small mock-ups to test buildability and quality, and building the first office area ahead of programme as a quality sample.

One contractor in particular experienced great difficulty in achieving the quality threshold, and needed multiple attempts to meet it. Although the ensuing delays damaged the programme and Harding had to bring in acceleration measures, he still achieved practical completion on the due date.

At the start of the project, Harding fine-tuned package procurement so that each was tendered on a single-stage, lump-sum basis. Doing it this way allowed him to buy almost all the packages below budget and return considerable sums to the client.

On the back of a Bovis safety initiative he made subtle changes to the health and safety philosophy on site, engaging everyone from operatives to managers. He also helped develop a successful podium hop-up — a mini-scaffold tower giving workers safe access to high levels without the use of steps or make-shift aids.

Harding led by example, communicating freely at all levels so that parties bought into collective decisions. The result is an excellent project and a very satisfied client.

Silver

Name
Peter Keogh
Company
Sir Robert McAlpine
Project
Refurb of 70s office block and listed building. Dundas House, Edinburgh
Contract
£21m, Construction Management, 115 weeks

Involved with the client’s development projects for more than 10 years, Peter Keogh was an obvious choice to lead the team for the complete refurbishment of two very different buildings in a world heritage site.

Despite the size of the site, working areas were tight, requiring careful planning and close control of layouts, operatives’ routes, materials storage and on-time deliveries. Trade co-ordination was particularly important, especially when providing modern office space within a 2.7m floor-to-ceiling height. Communication and power cables were run in the 60mm raised floor void, while lighting and ventilation were provided by multi-service chilled beams. Incorporating all the ceiling services within beams 300mm deep by 700mm wide proved very successful.

Keogh located the mechanical, electrical and ceiling contractors in the same design office to help co-ordinate information – an idea that worked so well that other trades adopted it. Better general communication was achieved by the use of an integrated electronic data management system.

Careful management of the budget was essential during preconstruction. Each proposed design change was reviewed in detail and its effect weighed against the budget and the programme. Keogh’s successful cost management was the main reason why the final account could be agreed within two months of practical completion.

Keogh also gave health and safety a high priority, consulting, listening and leading rather than dictating and proscribing. Only two reportable accidents were recorded from more than 2,000 site inductions.

The client was hugely impressed: “Peter was the glue that joined the numerous parts of our team to achieve optimum performance. He also provided drive and enthusiasm and his leadership qualities were crucial to success. It required a great deal of commitment, attention to detail and pure bloody-minded determination.”

Commended

Neale Brydon Bovis Lend Lease, Bob Catchpole Bovis Lend Lease, Roy Conway Amec, Philip Hilton Mace, Peter Radley-Martin Kier London, Richard Pike Laing O’Rourke Midlands, Ben Wood Mace