Daniel Cox MCIOB, construction director at Stansmore Builders, shares a project where pre-construction planning made for efficient outcomes
A recent commercial development at Admiralty Park, Holton Heath in Dorset highlighted how early sequencing and delivery decisions can significantly influence construction efficiency before work begins on site.
Area B forms part of the wider Admiralty Park business park, which occupies part of the former Royal Naval Cordite Factory site and has been progressively redeveloped by Birchmere Limited into a mixed commercial estate providing industrial, office and business accommodation. The Area B scheme comprises nine new-build commercial units intended for B2, B8 and Class E(g) use. The development consists of three single-storey steel portal frame buildings providing approximately 594m² of commercial floor space, with a construction value in excess of £1.9m. Practical completion is currently programmed for October 2026, and the units will be retained by Birchmere Limited within its investment portfolio to provide flexible accommodation for local businesses.
The project involved steel portal frame construction with a masonry envelope on a constrained site where infrastructure works, frame erection and follow-on trades all needed to operate within limited space. During pre-construction reviews, it became clear that if the sequencing strategy was not addressed early, external works and groundwork operations risked becoming fragmented once the steel frame programme commenced.
To reduce this risk, the team introduced stub steel sections fixed to the holding down bolt locations and projecting above the substructure. This allowed the main portal frame to later connect via splice joints while enabling drainage, service ducting, formation levels and wider groundwork operations to progress earlier in the programme before superstructure activities restricted site access.
The stub steel strategy was the single most significant delivery intervention on the project. It enabled substantial elements of the drainage infrastructure, service ducting, formation levels and external works to be completed ahead of the main steel frame erection sequence. As a result, the principal groundworks contractor, MCB Civil Engineering, was able to deliver a significant proportion of site infrastructure before main building operations commenced, reducing programme interface risk, improving delivery efficiency and minimising preliminary costs through later mobilisation of the main construction team.
The project also demonstrated the benefits of integrating delivery input into package coordination at an early stage. Rather than treating the steel frame and roof cladding as separate work stages, both elements were combined into a single subcontract package. This enabled the steelwork and roofing design to develop in closer coordination, reducing the interface pressures that can emerge between separate subcontractors and design responsibilities.
One result of this approach was the revision of the original curved primary steelwork proposal intended to create a barrelled roof profile. Instead, a cranked portal frame arrangement using varying bracket depths was developed to achieve the required roof geometry. The revised solution maintained the intended architectural appearance while simplifying fabrication, erection and overall site delivery.
The project team also reviewed the original dividing wall strategy between the commercial units. The initial proposal for masonry separating walls was replaced with a lightweight metal frame system incorporating security mesh. This removed the requirement for associated internal strip foundations while reducing masonry quantities, scaffold requirements and internal logistics constraints during later construction stages. In total, six originally proposed masonry compartment walls were replaced. The revised approach also reduced internal coordination between trades and generated a measurable commercial saving for the client.
Individually, none of these decisions fundamentally changed the project. Collectively, however, they improved sequencing, reduced operational disruption and strengthened programme resilience before construction pressures became embedded within the live build environment.
The project reinforced a wider issue often encountered across construction: many onsite problems originate much earlier in the design and pre-construction process. While buildability is frequently considered in terms of technical feasibility, projects also need to function operationally once construction begins. Labour flow, trade interaction, access, information release and sequencing strategy can all influence how efficiently a project progresses.
Where these factors are not considered early enough, the consequences are familiar across the industry: trade stacking, disrupted workflow, remobilisation, damaged completed works and increasing programme pressure. In many cases, this is not due to a lack of technical competence, but because practical construction methodology and sequencing considerations have not been integrated into decision-making early enough.
The project demonstrated how relatively straightforward adjustments during pre-construction can help protect programme certainty, improve workflow efficiency and support stronger commercial and quality outcomes throughout delivery. In many cases, the most valuable delivery input is not about changing the design intent, but about ensuring it can be delivered effectively within real site conditions and programme constraints.
