Name: Sarah Payne
Employer: BAM Construction
Project: Environment Centre Phase 3, Lancaster University
Contract: JCT 98
Six months into this project, it was all looking rosy for Sarah Payne. She had successfully controlled costs while achieving the client’s aspirations on a tight budget and work was progressing ahead of schedule. But she really showed her mettle in overcoming the disaster that then struck, when an innovative product being developed offsite for the envelope structure failed.
It dealt a grievous blow to the programme. But the measure of Sarah’s achievement is the leadership she demonstrated to maintain the motivation of the professional team in the most demoralising of circumstances.
After analysing the implications of the product failure, Sarah undertook an in-depth reprogramming exercise, rescheduling activities so that progress could be made on the internal fit-out – and completed to a high standard – while rectification works were carried out on the envelope structure. Her strategy ultimately delivered the project well ahead of the anticipated delay to the programme.
Sarah was also the focal point of an extensive value-engineering exercise, bringing in the expertise of the supply chain and consultants. Her initiatives included fabricating offsite to benefit the site programme, changing the roof to a lightweight construction, using mass pad foundations that needed less reinforcement and earthwork support, and adopting precast floors rather than insitu concrete.
By taking a critical co-ordination role with regular user/client meetings, she enabled the contract to run smoothly on a difficult location in the middle of a campus and adjacent to a preschool, main library and sports centre. All the buildings remained live throughout the project and close liaison was required to minimise its impact, which included linking service connections into existing systems.
Despite the limitations of the budget, and the disaster of that envelope structure failure, Sarah successfully met the client’s aspirations for a high-quality internal finish and striking external appearance. The client now intends to use the facility as its benchmark for all new developments.