NEW BUILD / REFURB 15M - 25M

GOLD

A guaranteed maximum price, a fast-track programme and a complex building would challenge any construction manager, but Steven Roome not only took on this high-risk project with enthusiasm, he made it a huge success.

Determined to establish client confidence early on, Roome led the interviews and tender responses and quickly became the prime motivator in ensuring the project would be delivered on time and to budget.

Roome had just 74 weeks from arriving on site to completion. Late delivery was unacceptable given the client’s determination to relocate to the new facility from two sites in September 2005 in time for the new academic year. In completing the programme on time, Roome’s role in planning and willingness to accept new methods, ideas and opinions proved crucial.

He saved time using a variety of methods, including raising the ground floor level to reduce the amount of excavation and risk of contamination; implementing the Elliott pile-breaking method; applying a tanking membrane to the retaining wall shutters to allow earlier backfill. Roome also used stronger concrete for the decking of floors three, six and nine so they could take access platforms to erect the steel for the next levels; started the internal drylining early by protecting the walls with polythene and temporary drainage; and prefabricated the service risers, corridor runs and plant rooms.

Through it all, Roome achieved non-confrontational project relationships by aiming primarily to deliver the college’s aspirations rather than the contract specification. While recognising the programme and budget risk presented by changes to specification during construction, he considered, costed and, whenever possible, accommodated them all.

Roome’s project planning, cost reporting, subcontractor information and co-ordination were of the highest order, and he created a site team that was highly motivated and keen to deliver.

Roome and his team successfully negotiated all the risks to deliver a stunning building that included myriad room functions, including operating theatres, dentistry, dance studios, gyms, shops and hairdressers.

SILVER

Right from the off, when his tender presentation so impressed the client that it demanded reassurance he would actually be managing the project from start to finish and was not just there to win the deal, Jason Taylor made his mark on this landmark project.

Taylor’s positive leadership motivated his close-knit team, most of whom had moved over from his previous job. He allowed team members to help set their own objectives as well as the team’s – which encouraged them to “buy in” to the project. His management of programming and planning established key dates for issuing information and achieving the programme, despite the complexity of the bespoke elements, in particular the innovative translucent glazed facades and slate-clad precast concrete panels.

Taylor remained proactive throughout the contract, and built excellent relationships with the client and design team, which was no small feat in a project of such complexity and duration. To resolve delays on site caused by design problems, he proposed incorporating the fit-out within the contract, completely changing the sequence of erection to buy time for the complicated structure and envelope.

His robust planning and workshop approach absorbed the delays and achieved a mutually agreeable revised completion date with no conflict between the parties.

Taylor left his mark on everything: innovation, buildability, sustainability, value engineering and as-built performance requirements. The gallery flooring is a case in point. Realising the original design did not meet the future-proof specification, Taylor ensured it would not fail by segregating the underfloor heating slabs into smaller elements so they could absorb floor movement, and instigating compression tests to arrive at the best solution for raising loadability from 15kN to 40kN per square metre, as required by the fit-out team.

By combining passion, energy and enthusiasm with professional and management skills, Taylor made an enormous difference in successfully realising this unique, complex and challenging project.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Paul Bacon (Laing O’Rourke) for Aston University Business School, Birmingham; Warren Glaister ICIOB (Bovis Lend Lease) for South Range, Kings College, London; Colin Howell MCIOB (Taylor Woodrow Construction) for the Oval, London; Michael Kelly (HBG Construction [South East]), for AMS House, Frimley; Nicholas Mann MCIOB (Kier Eastern) for Diagnostic Treatment Centre, Hinchingbrooke Hospital; Kevin Mulligan (ISG InteriorExterior) for Nomura Project Tardis, London EC1; Ian Rigby ICIOB (Wilson Bowden Developments) for Regent Court, Leamington Spa; Michael Woodage (Britannia Construction) for Gloucestershire Police
HQ, Gloucester.