Name: Lee Hutchinson ICIOB
Employer: John Sisk & Son Ltd
Project: Telstar House, Paddington
Contract: Design & build
Lee Hutchinson took the lead role on a major contract for the first time with this contract and found what life is really like for the top construction managers.
Just six months into the works onsite, the client pre-let the entire building to a tenant that wanted its own team to start work on a £12m fit-out prior to completion of the original base build. Lee’s firm grasp of the replanning issues and consequences, and ability to find a way forward, proved crucial in accommodating the tenant’s wishes.
Having championed a spirit of openness, honesty and trust between all parties, Lee reaped the dividend. He underpinned the accelerated programme by striking new deals within a fortnight with all the consultants, specialists and subcontractors, thus ensuring that project momentum did not stall.
Lee changed methodologies, sequencing and logistics to meet the client’s wish for sectional completion dates and the handover of some areas four months early. And when the tenant fit-out ran late, he incorporated the ensuring multitude of changes without becoming confrontational. By striving for harmony and focus, he kept the project on track to meet or better every key milestone and sectional completion date despite revisions being made on 11 separate occasions.
Not only did Lee bond the team to overcome each new challenge, he successfully managed the financial risk. He closely controlled the design of each package through regular meetings and offsite visits, appointed specialists early, created samples of every element and empowered the design team to deliver a high-quality project. The result was the seamless assembly of building components, and nearly all the original design contingency budget remained unused at practical completion.
Lee resisted the temptation to value-engineer the project without regard for the design intent, and pushed for innovative solutions that improved budget, programme and buildability without compromising the design. His solutions included grout-filling double-height, double-tube structural columns to avoid the need for fire protection or internal cladding, casting floor slabs between structural beams to increase floor-to-ceiling heights, and prefabricating handrails on the steel decking edge to remove the need for edge protection scaffold.
Through enthusiasm, determination and leadership, Lee overcame the substantial challenges on this project to deliver early, under budget and the highest design standards.