New positions

The whole life cost consultant

When Ed Bartlett replied to an ad for a building surveyor with construction experience and an interest in buildings over their lifetimes, he couldn’t have guessed what a good move that was. Back in 1996, Building Performance Group, his new employers, were at the cutting edge of whole life costing and considered rather ‘out there’. Now, at 31, after two years at BPG, two years at research group BRE and two years with Atkins Faithful and Gould, Bartlett is number two in Cyril Sweett’s whole life costing team. It’s the rise and rise of PFI which has made whole life costing so vital. And now it’s even creeping into other parts of construction, such as social housing. It’s not as simple as estimating, with the cost of replacing/ repainting/ upgrading things thrown in, says Bartlett: “We call it modelling as opposed to doing an estimate. You look at the sensitivities of various data, then change things to see what the impact is.” It’s highly iterative.” Name
Ed Bartlett
Title
Whole life cost consultant
Company
Cyril Sweett
Job description
Evaluates how long a particular combination of building components will last together

The design manager

John Eynon, already a RIBA member, recently became an MCIOB. Why did he go through that hassle? “I wanted to show the guys at Wates that I could, and I suppose to meet them half way.” Eynon, who joined the firm almost two years ago from an on-site design manager role at Carillion, is part of Wates’ drive to become more integrated. His role is to link the designers and the construction team. Eynon’s involvement is mostly at tender stage, then in a supporting role to an on-site design manager once the job is underway. Having worked in many roles as an architect, including private practice and resident architect, Eynon loves the immediacy of construction. But the real buzz is getting a breakthrough idea across: “Now and then the penny drops and they appreciate why something can’t be done or how it can be done and it makes a difference to the tender or the job on site.” Name
John Eynon
Title
Design manager
Company
Wates
Job description
Links designers and the construction team to provide clients with a more integrated service

The workforce development manager

Four years ago Charlie Law, then a construction manager, had a good idea. Instead of HBG’s direct labour being attached to just one project, why not move them round several sites to get more out of them? His regional manager liked it, and Law was appointed workforce manager. Since then HBG has slashed in half the amount of agency labour it uses, while maintaining the same number of direct employees at around 300. Training has become an important part of the role, including looking after HBG’s NVQ centres. And there are three other workforce managers working under him. A few months ago, Law became environmental manager too. “One of the reasons they chose me was because of my practical background," he explains. “They wanted to move environmental management on from a procedures manual and start putting it into practice.” He is now looking now at individual projects, testing out things to find out what works so that he can then take things on to other site management teams. Name
Charlie Law
Title
Workforce manager/environmental manager
Company
HBG
Job description
Distributes and trains direct workforce/finds on-site ways of improving environmental performance

The technical adviser to PFI

Mark Pillans uses his construction know-how to make sure there are no nasty surprises in store for PFI funders. That means checking a bid thoroughly to ensure everything’s covered (“due dilligence”) and monitoring the job on site. He heads up a team in Cyril Sweett’s City office. It’s a varied job. One day he might be sitting in meetings with bankers. The next he’s on site checking that the employer’s agent has certified a project correctly. Having worked as project manager for a contractor (MJ Gleeson), Pillans knows what to look out for. “One of the classics is materials on site,” he says. “They try to claim for materials on site and you say ‘show me where they are’ and they’re not there.” Organisational skills and commercial awareness are also key. Which is where Pillans’ MSc in construction project management and time with project management firm MPM Adams (later Capita) comes in. Name
Mark Pillans
Title
Technical adviser to PFI funders
Company
Currie & Brown
Job description
Provides the technical and construction brainpower for PFI funders

The knowledge manager

Arup is a UK leader in knowledge management. As group knowledge manager Tony Sheehan explains: “For a business like Arup, where pretty much all we sell is our knowledge, it’s vital.” Sheehan, an Arup employee for 16 years, started managing knowledge four years ago, having gained an MBA. He had worked as a materials adviser for years, and came to appreciate the importance of getting to the right information. His role began with an audit of how the business worked, then onto developing and implementing ways of getting information from people’s heads to the client. His time now is split between process – checking existing systems, bedding in new ones – and strategy, which he says is the exciting bit. An understanding of how the business works is crucial to his role, says Sheehan. Other useful traits are curiosity and creativity, to keep coming up with different ways to do things. Name
Tony Sheehan
Title
Group Knowledge manager
Company
Arup
Job description
Tracks down expertise around the group and spreads it to other parts

The Supply chain manager

Supply chain management came from manufacturing. And so did Lee Taylor. Mace recruited him five years ago from a firm which made ceiling, floor and insulation systems. A typical week for Taylor could include meetings with new and potential suppliers, visits to site, and checking bids to make sure procedures have been followed. For example, a project must use the firm’s framework trade contractors – 200 of them across 40 trades – unless the work is outside their scope. The most important bit of Taylor’s job, he says, is measurement and making sure he feeds it back as quickly as possible. Suppliers are scored monthly on 15 KPIs and at the end of each package on seven KPIs. You need good communication skills, flexibility and patience. Why patience? “People don’t like change,” says Taylor. “If you come with a new idea or system you have to be willing to work with it.” Name
Lee Taylor
Title
Supply chain manager
Company
Mace
Job description
Manages processes involving framework contractors and other suppliers