The clients perspective

“Schemes are never over budget. Quality is never compromised.” So confidently declares Marcus Boret, the man responsible for delivering between 500,000 to 1,000,000 square feet of office blocks and parks a year, on the firm’s website. So there is quite some pressure on the project teams working on Akeler schemes.

One of the firm’s current schemes is building a new 22,000m2 HQ for BP in Aberdeen. For this scheme, Akeler has pledged to use energy efficient technologies, including a displacement air conditioning system that will halve the building’s heating cost.

Although the client uses external project managers, rather worryingly for the profession Akeler normally dispenses with external QS firms, unless the client needs the advice. Here Boret runs through how their firm works with the industry.

QS News – How much are you planning to build this year?

MB – This year it could be over a million square feet – we have got 1.4m in planning. We tend to spend £100-145 per square foot so it will equate to £150m.

How do you organise the supply chain?

MB – We have a proven supply chain; they know us and they know our product. We need a speedy response to the market.

We expect contractors to deliver a net area and we will sue them if they are short of that

We tend to bring in contractors and negotiate. First of all we do due diligence with an engineering firm on the ground risk and the infrastructure, get the architect to do a feasibility study on density, mix ratios etc. After that we bring in the rest of the team – we set the price not a penny more not a penny less and the contractors will open up their books.

What contracts do you use?

MB – Design & Build. It’s our own form. We expect contractors to take on board responsibility. We expect them to deliver a net area and we will sue them if they are short of that.

Our track record is completing on time – four jobs out of 48 I have worked on have completed over time, all were on cost. At least two of those (overrunning jobs) were down to bad performance by contractors. The most successful contractors are the ones that understand and manage design teams.

How do you learn from scheme to scheme?

MB – At the end of every job we run a workshop. I get each team member to write down three goods and three bads of the project. I compile them and we discuss them at the workshop without attributing what people have written. I give them a copy of what everyone said at the end. It’s received very well.

Do you use external QSs/PMs?

It would surprise your readers but we look at every drawing on every job

MB – We do not really have a QS, unless we need to take early cost advice during RIBA design stages B, C or D.

We use two PMs: APS Project Management and AYH. They offer wider services than just project management and QSing. We very much go for the likes of those companies with good technical backgrounds. This leaves us, the client, to negotiate – no-one negotiates like the client. It’s our skin after all. Some of our key consultants, such as Connell Mott MacDonald and Rykba, are often the ones working out costs of new solutions. We also have a database of costs ourselves.

What do you expect from your team?

MB – To be honourable. If there is any problem, flag it up on day one. We are hands on, we get involved in every job. It would surprise your readers but we look at every drawing on every job. We might not read it to the nth degree, but the intention of our in-house team of PMs is to look at these strategically. We are getting feedback from occupiers, who are telling us “this is the way we are using offices”.

How do you decide on contractors?

MB – A lot of it is on resource capability, about getting the right people. Unless you get the right people you will not get the right set up. I like dealing with the big private contractors such as Bowner & Kirlkland as you can get through to the chairman if you have to when there’s a problem, or to congratulate him or her if a job goes well. It’s very much a people environment.