Elaine Knutt, CM editor
The Silent State keeps quiet on project costs
The curtailment of the Building Schools for the Future programme highlighted confusion over what BSF schools actually cost. Gove told the House of Commons that they “cost three times what it costs to procure buildings in the commercial world and twice what as much to build as a school in Ireland”, a comment widely quoted. Paul Morrell, in more muted terms, told CM that only the BSF schools within the lowest quartile offered good value.
But exactly which schools cost twice as much as their Irish counterparts, and which had a “lowest quartile” price tag? Can we visit one of each? And do press and anecdotal reports that some schools cost over £2500 per sqm reflect reality?
Anyone looking for answers on Partnerships for Schools’ website will be frustrated: there’s no handy spreadsheet of schools, contractors and out-turn costs. When CM made enquiries, PfS pointed to a February 2009 NAO report quoting an average £1850 per sqm, and provided a list of schools by area but not price. Cross-referring a sample with cost information published online, it didn’t take long to find two that, on the face of it, cost £2300.
But whatever the overall picture, shouldn’t all figures, for PfS and other public sector procurers, be in the public domain? The government efficiency drive will pick up momentum faster if everyone works from the same public starting line. Plus, outside construction, the trend towards greater transparency is opening up data on other areas of public life, including Whitehall and the BBC.
Many will raise issues of commercial confidentiality. Others believe that as long as clients know the figures, that’s OK.
But for public sector projects, the tax-payer is the client – and he/she says it’s not OK. When the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST) surveyed 180 people earlier this year, 90% thought that greater cost disclosure would improve transparency and accountability. The projects that most concerned the public were the most visible in their lives: roads and railways, hospitals, power supplies housing….and schools.
Congratulations to all the finalists in this year’s Construction Manager of the Year Awards, who have all reached exceptional levels of achievement in their professional field. But it’s still disappointing to see that there isn’t a single woman finalist on the list. If you want to help change the situation, or at least not contribute to its continuation, please read this month’s excellent CPD article.
Elaine Knutt, editor
Feedback
Team effort on Sainsbury Laboratory overlooked
Steve Toon, Adams Kara Taylor
Your article “Sculpture garden” (CM June) was a well-written and interesting article, giving good insight into the excellent work Kier and its team are producing on the Sainsbury Laboratory in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden. However, it overlooked the considerable wider team effort that has been necessary to achieve the building.
From the inception of the design process, architect Stanton Williams developed its design with the critical assistance of Hannah Reed as project manager, Gardiner & Theobald as cost consultant, Arup as building services consultant and Adams Kara Taylor as structural engineer. Kier became a valued part of the team as design and build contractor post Stage D, with Whelan & Grant’s valued input a short while after.
But it should be highlighted that the use of void formers within numerous slab elements was the proposed design solution prior to the contractor’s involvement in the project. Following Kier’s apointment, we collectively refined the detail and dealt with various buildability issues. Similarly, the decision to form a monolithic concrete frame with no movement joints or thermal breaks was made by the design team in the design development stage, and the propping/de-propping sequence described was developed collectively between ourselves, Kier and Whelan & Grant.
In our industry, the interrelationship between members of the design/procure/construction team is easily and readily overlooked, which is at best unfortunate, and at worst wholly unfair.
We’re disappointed this CBC was not mentioned
David Cameron MCIOB, chairman, Duncan Cameron & Hutchinson
With reference to your article “Raising the bar” (CM July/August). This company was main contractor for the Centre for Disability Studies Essex and does not feature within the article, despite being a long-established Chartered Building Company. A very small amount of research would have revealed the identity of the main contractor for this very high profile building.
Construction Manager is the official magazine for members of the CIOB, so I am extremely disappointed that no attempt was made to acknowledge this company’s involvement as main contractor. The CIOB and CBC Scheme have been let down as regards beneficial publicity. I look forward to your comments.
The author of the article mentioned the project in passing without naming the contractor. We did some online research using Google, but unfortunately the name of your firm did not come up in the pages we looked at – Ed
Passivhaus achievement
Richard H Boyd, via website
It took us six years to build the Centre for Disability Studies. It was blocked at 13 potential sites, obstructed by the local planning authority, and we nearly lost our funding. Yet finally we did it as pictured in your magazine (CM, July/August). If a tiny charity of disabled people can build to Passivhaus standards, where’s the problem? Come and see us, we’re 600 metres from Rochford Station on the line to Southend.
Address energy waste
Ramsey Joseph, via website
The Passivhaus principle is commendable. However, on wider sustainability issues there is a distinct need for us to accept fundamental changes to familiar freedoms and standards of comfort. For example, the need to review design air changes per hour in homes and offices, outlawing excessive lighting in shops and public places, and the hugely costly conflict between heating and refrigeration in supermarkets.
Illustration by Tim Ellis
Vox pop
What would you target to deliver more for less?
There’s a real need for more product standardisation as designing and manufacturing bespoke items can cost two or three times the price of production line equivalents. In the UK a lack of standardisation affects all trades, for example, we are the only country in Europe that allows specialised ductwork to be hand-made rather than plasma-cut.
In Germany, designers simply consult a Ductwork Federation brochure and pick standard components from that. We still seem to have this view that you design your building, then make all the special elements to connect it all together. Most commercial clients just want something that’s good quality and value for money, they could be saving somewhere in the region of 40% on costs per project if they use more standardisation.
Nigel Bellamy, director, 8build
I think the amount the public purse is spending on all buildings should be published openly on websites. We have a school [exam results] performance table, the BBC is publishing salaries, so why not have a construction costs performance table? I know of civic office projects being built to provide very generous net-to-gross ratios, and therefore costing considerably more than they should. We ought to have total transparency, then we can all see who are the contractors delivering and architects designing very expensive buildings. On the other hand, if architects and contractors are building award-winning schools within reasonable budgets, they ought to be applauded.
James Pickard, director, Cartwright Pickard
A major focus for us at the moment is the intelligent sourcing of materials, products and services. We’re currently working on several international hotel projects trying to identify cheap local suppliers who can provide the same quality products as larger centralised suppliers. We have to be aware of copyright issues, but the reality is you can buy more cheaply if you are willing to look beyond existing supplier lists.
In uncertain economic times it’s key for companies to be able to plan ahead. I believe clients should be giving greater commitment in terms of future orders and repeat business. For example, a client could say, if I award you this job for this price I’ll guarantee you a place as a key supplier on my projects across Europe. Contractors can then better plan their resources and provide better value.
Paul Nash FCIOB, head of project management, Cyril Sweett
The industry needs to really understand the core requirements of customers and design and deliver buildings to meet those. We also need to understand and prioritise the elements of a design to increase value for money. Projects need planning far more efficiently with greater contractor involvement pre-construction to ensure construction details are better co-ordinated. The drive within the industry to minimise waste by 50% is an excellent one and all contractors should be looking to sign up to the Waste Resource Action Plan, not just those working in the public sector. Use of modular off-site design can also help minimise wasted material.
Mark Beard, managing director, Beard Construction
Transparent procurement processes, particularly in public sector projects, sharing benchmarked cost data and value engineering as an integrated team would drastically cut waste and allow clients to openly judge cost and benefit. In general, the industry can deliver more for less by working in an integrated, transparent manner throughout the construction process.
This will result in increased energy and innovation from an empowered construction team, which will benefit the client and massively outweigh any margin squeezed out by adversarial working.
Peter Jacobs FCIOB, operations director, Bovis Lend Lease
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