Name: Ian Russell MCIOB
Employer: Laing O'Rourke
Project: Royal Holloway University of London Student Accommodation Phase 2, Egham
Contract: JCT 98
A bowled-over client is a sure indication of a top-notch construction manager, so Royal Holloway College’s desire to clone Ian Russell and his team for all its future projects speaks volumes.
Ian’s performance on this project was undoubtedly stellar. Given what the client admits was a virtually impossible timescale of 52 weeks and a mere two-week mobilisation period. Ian gave clear leadership to develop the design and rapidly brought in the vital specialist subcontractors. And when his site start was almost immediately thwarted by the imposition of a tree protection order that halted work until specialists had reported, he pulled his team together to reverse the entire sequence of construction.
To help the programme, Ian instigated a change from timber door frames and architraves to an aluminium self-assembly system that allowed a door to be installed in half an hour and was more resistant to accidental damage. And his introduction of the Panablok composite product for the external cladding brought forward by six weeks the initial watertight dates.
Crucially, Ian led his ultimately successful charge towards timely completion without compromising quality. Early on, he constructed a number of sample areas, including a sample riser that allowed the client to involve its maintenance team in the design process, and a full sample room.
Far from being compromised, quality exceeded the client’s expectations. Those prefinished door frames with pre-hung doors made the project’s 59 flats (each of which consisted of eight ensuite bedrooms and a kitchen) look more like hotel-quality accommodation than student flats. And when Ian visited the bathroom pod manufacturer in Italy, he refused to accept the sample pod as good enough. The upshot was the delivery to the site of 466 superior-quality pods.
Through determination and leadership, Ian achieved the programme and delivered an even better product than the client expected while still sticking to budget. In doing so, he has advanced Laing O’Rourke’s reputation with the client – already riding high on phase 1 of this project – to an extraordinarily high level.