This year’s Sir Ian Dixon scholars are looking for answers on sustainability and customer satisfaction

By winning the 2005 Sir Ian Dixon Scholarship, two young high-achievers have given their careers a boost while promising to help the industry get to grips with two of the most important issues today – sustainability and client satisfaction.

Tom Merry, a 24-year-old graduate of Loughborough University, is assistant design manager at Taylor Woodrow. Using surveys and interviews, he’ll be researching practices of sustainable construction in the UK with a focus on how developers meet the needs of clients. It’s a much-discussed topic but he’s planning to add something new in the form of a checklist that bid teams can use to ensure they’re hitting the right note.

“UK construction must take into account the needs of developers and their clients as well as the environmental impact of the built environment,” he said.

Andrew Anderson, also 24 and an assistant contracts manager with London firm Killby & Gayford, is tackling customer satisfaction. While the research on what clients want is still current, he feels the question of how contractors achieve that needs a fresh look since the reform agendas of the 1990s. He aims to interview at least 10 contractors to learn their views of performance improvement techniques such as KPIs.

Both scholars will have to present a 10,000-word paper on their research next September. Both admitted it will add to their workload but claimed they were ready.

“There’s no denying there will be a lot of extra work,” said Anderson, “but you’ve got to be passionate if you want to achieve something.”

Merry and Anderson won their scholarships after writing papers on their topics and presenting them to a panel.

CIOB director Saleem Akram said: “I am delighted that this year the Sir Ian Dixon Scholars will be focusing on the high-profile themes of sustainability and customer satisfaction. These are key areas the CIOB has embraced as it strives to raise standards within the industry. It is of fundamental importance that we promote and inspire professionals to drive research in such important areas. I eagerly await the outcomes of their research.”

Source

Construction Manager

Postscript

Founded in 1998, the Sir Ian Dixon Scholarship is awarded by the CIOB in conjunction with the Worshipful Company of Constructors, and offers an annual scholarship of £2000. The winning students undertake a 12-month study of a construction management topic. The candidate must be under 26 years old, a member of the CIOB (ICIOB or higher) and normally a graduate of a CIOB accredited course. The CIOB and the Worshipful Company of Constructors are also working in partnership with the University of Reading in providing a scholarship for one of its post-graduate students every year. This year’s scholar, Sonia Gurjao, is preparing a report on women in the construction industry the process of selecting next year’s is about to begin.