Name: Stephen Bannon
Employer: Taylor Woodrow
Project: Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 Passenger Transfers Building
Contract: Professional services agreement
The soft skills can be the hardest of all for construction managers to master, but they were key to the success of this project. Stephen Bannon’s exemplary management of relationships and ability to integrate a highly diverse mix of stakeholders and team members delivered these Terminal 5 enabling works £200,000 below budget, nine days early and to a quality that exceeded client expectations.
Appointed sole project manager for clients BAA and Heathrow as well as acting as Taylor Woodrow’s project leader, Stephen integrated a team formed of many companies and operations; at its peak the project had 50 stakeholders. His determination to take personal ownership and accountability and put the needs of the project ahead of any company objectives inspired the entire team.
He set targets for all key trades, actively monitoring performance and making the results transparent, which added to the peer pressure to perform. Weekly last-planner meetings analysed the previous week’s targets to identify and remedy barriers to success and reasons for failure.
Stephen encouraged collaborative working, co-locating the production teams and aligning them with the non-construction teams, such as air operations, flight connections, specialist systems, maintenance and stand allocation. Regular consultation, weekly communication meetings and a programme of site tours ensured everyone felt involved in the overall delivery of the project.
The resulting confidence and understanding helped Stephen win rarely granted dispensations in the extremely busy and restricted live airside environment. Road closures and use of the aircraft apron, taxiways and internal pier space for storage and working areas were all granted and proved crucial to the project’s success.
With an extremely challenging budget and timetable, Stephen kept tight control of innovation. He encouraged suppliers and design teams to put forward cost-effective solutions and to query the design for quality, time and cost benefits. Value-engineering triumphs included a redesign of the pit and ducting to the perimeter to save £50,000, and changing the transfer facility parapet from balustrade and glass to concrete, which saved over £100,000.
This was the most demanding and challenging project Stephen has ever led. He delivered on the promises he made to the clients, and exceeded their expectations at every level.