Name: Paul Nightingale ICIOB
Employer: Wates Construction
Project: Bluebird House Adolescent Secure Unit, Calmore, Southampton
Contract: Procure 21 and NEC 2
Joining this project four months into its construction phase as lead production manager, Paul Nightingale was promoted to project manager nine months later after a difficult period during which both project director and project manager had left. He took over a project that was three weeks behind schedule and gave it the drive and direction to ensure a successful completion.
It was the strength of Paul’s relationship building that was pivotal to delivering a facility where there could be no possibility of self-harming to a demanding but ultimately satisfied client.
He won the support of the team by bringing them all together to assess the position, setting out his ideas on how the project could be completed, and inviting their suggestions. He insisted on opening up what had been troubled lines of communication between production and survey staff to put the financial management on a sure basis.
He also spent a considerable amount of time with the subcontractors to ensure they fully understood the stringent design requirements. He held regular progress meetings with them, encouraging their input.
And he immediately brought the users of this unusual facility into the construction process. Doing so allowed him to accommodate all their requirements within the original contract value and forged an excellent bond.
Likewise, Paul established good contacts with the consultants, and encouraged timely discussion of potential problems. This proved instrumental in allowing him to overcome last-minute issues such as changes to specified materials.
By driving forward the load-bearing masonry and roofworks, Paul made the valuable gain of extending the drying-out time for the more specialist finishes during the exceptionally wet weather unforeseen by the programme.
Despite his arrival on the project at a time when the design was substantially complete, Paul made several well-judged innovations. When a potential ligature point was identified on the ensuite shower room doors when locked open, it was Paul who proposed the design that resolved all self-harm issues (and which has subsequently been adopted as standard by the client).