GOLD: Steve Laughton MCIOB, project manager, ISG Construction
Wynyard C of E Primary School
Project: Wynyard C of E Primary School, Billingham, Teesside
Scope: Construction of 2,300 sq m two-storey school
Programme: 52 weeks
Client: ESFA/Church of England Trust
Contract: JCT D&B
Value: £5m
Land deal delays pushed the site start back to the middle of January on this school project, so Steve Laughton had to spend the winter months organising a major cut and fill on a sloping site, plus waterproofing and groundwater management.
By maintaining the land drains from previous site use and forming the attenuation swales within the bulk earthworks programme, he soon had a dry and workable site. Laughton also brought forward the sports field and landscaping in the programme to prevent the site becoming muck-bound.
Clever savings he identified included testing the cut formation of the access road which allowed a reduction in its stone fill buildup. He also sequenced the temporary works so he could reuse the crane mat and site access ramp to form the footpaths around the buildings.
With the original design creating an unnecessarily large void in the basement, Laughton took 12m out of the retaining wall by running it in a straight line. The materials savings generated from this paid for installing a floor slab, drainage and perimeter in the area, creating an additional internal space.
He delivered the school two weeks ahead of the contract programme, in line with the budget, and with zero defects.
SILVER: David Boyle, project manager, Morgan Sindall Construction
St Nicholas’ Primary School
Project: St Nicholas’ Primary School, Bearsden, Glasgow
Scope: Construction of 450-pupil school
Programme: 94 weeks
Client: East Dunbartonshire Council
Contract: Bespoke D&B for public-private joint venture
Value: £9m
On this replacement school project, David Boyle had to deal with a change in Scottish building control requirements, which caused a seven-week delay while he brokered an agreement for building warrants.
Once on site, his innovations included diverting the telecoms and electricity cables running under the site during school holidays to avoid disruption to the existing school.
Other finalists
Peter Adams MCIOB, Jerram Falkus Construction, Hounslow Town Primary School, London
Warren Hough MCIOB, ISG Construction, Beaver Road Primary School, Didsbury, Manchester
Matthew Lewis MCIOB, Kier Construction, Penygarn Primary School, Pontypool
Andy Lock MCIOB, BAM Construct UK, St Mary Magdalene C of E School, Greenwich Peninsula Campus, London
Adam Walker MCIOB, ISG Construction, Hunslet Moor Primary School, Leeds
Boyle avoided night working for the powerfloat finishing of the concrete floor slabs by using a new free-flowing, self-compacting concrete product, therefore eliminating the need for noise management in a residential area.
His quality management strategy incorporated 22 inspection and test plans covering each aspect of the works, the creation of a sample classroom to ensure early buy-in to the desired standards and an electronic snagging system for the immediate identification and reporting of snags direct to subcontractors.
This process resulted in just 37 non-conformance reports.
With works resequencing that recovered the seven-week deficit, Boyle handed over the project a week ahead of schedule.
Category presented by Will Mann, editor, Construction Manager magazine
