Name: Gordon Gray
Employer: Mace Ltd
Project: The Drake Project, Reading
Contract: Construction management
The client presented Gordon Gray with a stiff challenge on this project. Along with the usual budget and programme imperatives, the requirements included an innovative approach to the building design, a focus on energy efficiency, and a fierce health and safety culture that set a zero-lost-time accident rate as the only acceptable target.
Gordon had to meet all these goals in the complete internal demolition of a landmark building and removal of all existing M&E plant, reconstructing the space for open-plan offices with new M&E equipment and a passive chilled beam cooling system.
The various components of the professional team met for the very first time on the first day of their simultaneous appointment, and had only a high-level feasibility study undertaken the year before as a reference point. Gordon had to put huge effort into welding a team of strangers together and making a reality of buildability, design and sequencing.
The site was an out-of-town facility-bare industrial park in a town far enough from London to present transport difficulties but near enough to feel a strong drag from the capital’s imminent Olympics construction programme. Gordon therefore worked hard to make the project an attractive one for subcontractors. Site workers had access to changing rooms and lockers, as well as a high-quality open-all-hours catering operation, and site opening hours were very flexible.
And to put the client’s strict safety stance into operation onsite, Gordon rolled out a full-on safety regime. As well as implementing standard Mace systems, he selected subcontractors on the basis of their safety record, championed a behavioural safety culture, sponsored site initiatives to keep safety on top of the project agenda, ran competitions and a safety league, and handed out prizes and awards. The project was handed over without a single lost-time incident.
Gordon achieved budget and schedule despite having to develop an immature design and keep on top of a protracted procurement route that always pressured the programme. A comprehensive success.