Name: Paul Richardson
Employer: Wates Interiors Ltd
Project: Telecom House, Brighton
Contract: JCT 98
Paul Richardson was under no illusions as to how badly his employer wanted this contract to be a success. An unsuccessful tender the year before for the client was seen as a major lost opportunity, and this job was a chance to put Wates in the running for a large project that was in the offing as well as a steady stream of other work.
But, just as the scheme got under way, the original project manager, who had been instrumental in winning the deal, resigned. Given the promotion of his dreams as the new project manager, Paul had, in effect, thrown himself in at the deep end.
With much of the design unfinished, the 16-week programme was hugely challenging and incorporated exceptionally tough sectional completion milestones, including the construction of three IT rooms and a comms room in three weeks, and the fit-out of 1,750 square metres of office in 13 weeks.
Paul put his critical path analysis skills to the test to prioritise the crucial design decisions the client needed to make. His inclusive and persuasive approach allowed the project to progress in a controlled manner even with the very late release of design information.
He further mitigated the risk by basing the procurement strategy around offering packages of work to trusted subcontractors prepared to accept and implement design changes – and 150 variations were ultimately issued – during the construction process.
Paul managed, delivered and met all the target dates. Always available, honest and straightforward, he never tried to cover up issues from the client. His proactive and driven approach solved issues fast without adding cost or time to the project and made a hugely favourable impression.
Paul’s total success on this job has raised Wates’ profile with the client so effectively that it has won that large project in the offing as well as a large number of other jobs.