Name: Mark Elliott MCIOB
Employer: Wates Construction Ltd
Project: Dolphin House, Portsmouth
Contract: JCT 98
Brought in as the man who could build a £3m production unit in a mind-boggling 17 weeks – the promise that had clinched the contract in the first place – Mark Elliott had it all to do.
First, he demonstrated his clear leadership to gain the trust of the already established team, and channelled decision-making and discussion through himself.
Then, given the uniqueness of the building – a testing facility for submarine atmosphere control systems – Mark made a determined effort to understand the tenant’s needs and requirements. With the tenant’s existing premises next door to the site, he was able to engage with the directors informally to build relationships and gain the insights he wanted.
But the biggest driver of his success was his championing of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis to identify and manipulate the favourable and unfavourable factors that would shape the project goals.
Mark’s SWOT and risk register analysis inspired the installation of the cladding using a self-erecting tower crane rather than mobile cranes. The strategy allowed the roof to be completed in one and a half days and each wall in one day, and moved the roof programme ahead by three weeks.
SWOT also pointed Mark towards resequencing to start first-floor construction before the ground-floor production slab was poured, resulting in another three-week programme gain. Likewise, he started the high-level M&E installation earlier than programmed to avoid potential conflict with the partition subcontractor.
Even more importantly, Mark’s insistence on good site management procedures ensured that safety was not compromised despite the great pace. The project completed without a single reportable incident, accident or near-miss, considerably helped along by Mark’s promotion of harmony between subcontractors, reinforced by site inductions based on current activities and relevant toolbox talks.
He delivered this superfast project on time, with no accidents, to the highest standard and within budget. Not surprisingly, developer, tenant and employer are all well satisfied with the result.