Name: Edward Challis
Employer: Morgan Ashurst
Project: Shipbuilding Facility Hall B2 Extension, Portsmouth Naval Dockyard
Contract: NEC 3
Edward Challis is one of the new breed of construction managers who can successfully instil a partnering culture on a project for a client organisation that has only ever previously procured using the traditional but potentially adversarial approach.
And that soft skills supremacy is only part of the story. Ed also delivered the undoubtedly hard benefits of completing early and below budget despite a tight site in an exposed coastal position, atrocious weather and a bespoke product.
But the real key was Ed’s able management of a complex team of individuals with far more construction experience than he himself possessed. He aligned the whole team on the project goals by leading workshops, and developing and implementing a project charter that dovetailed understanding and effort. He ensured the team consistently performed as a team, challenging any withdrawal from collaboration when times got tough and reinforcing buy-in through straight and honest conversations.
His passion, skills and drive, allied to an ability to get stuck into the detail yet take a more strategic view when required, won over the professionals on the team, most of whom had many more years’ experience than him.
He made the most of modular construction and offsite fabrication to reduce programme and safety risk. He pre-assembled the roof trusses at ground level, complete with associated M&E services. And by adding extra pile foundations, he reduced the number of expensive electric drives required for the factory’s 23m by 30m mega-door.
Ed’s delivery of this scheme two weeks ahead of programme – and £250,000 below the project budget – generated an extra £2m for the client. Delighted by the time, the budget and the quality, the client and Morgan Ashurst are now both using Ed’s project as a model of best practice.