Name: Tony Grindrod MCIOB
Employer: BAM Construction
Project: Alan Turing Building AMPPS Faculty, University of Manchester
Contract: JCT 98
A lesser man would have put his head in his hands and wept. But not Tony Grindrod.
Tony had pushed hard to co-locate the client and design team with the construction team, undertaken a hefty value-engineering exercise and successfully fed in expertise from the supply chain and trade consultants. In short, he’d steered the project safely and increasingly comfortably through its early months before the bolt from the blue struck.
That bolt was the sustainability-conscious client’s decision that it wanted the scheme to incorporate 1,100 photovoltaic solar panels. It meant a redesign of the exposed steel frame to accommodate them rather than hosting the solar shading (which was still required) and a complete rethink of the build strategy.
Fortunately for the project, change management is Tony’s forte. He never lost his focus on the critical end date, which could not be delayed because of the linked decant of the surrounding buildings. He dragged the project back onto schedule through detailed planning and sequencing, and an ability to energise the designers and suppliers.
Through every stage of this project, Tony demonstrated a proactive and team-based approach. He introduced the idea that every member of the team was the customer of the others and insisted on non-stop communication across the team. He made no assumptions, assigning an owner to every action and reviewing it daily so no-one was able to hide from their responsibilities.
Dedicated to client satisfaction, Tony kept the client constantly informed of build progress through notification, winning HBG a silver Considerate Constructors award in the process. Aware that sustainability was a key client ambition, he drove suppliers and designers to consider greater use of sustainable solutions and materials. Notable successes included reducing the comfort cooling required by focusing design time on the solar shading performance of the glazing, incorporating heat recuperation in the M&E, and setting up a single energy centre for both the new-build and existing buildings.
The result was an undoubted success for all parties: a first-class building with a striking exterior and high-quality internal finishes, completed on time and within budget.