Name: Richard White MCIOB
Employer: Wates Construction
Project: Slough Schools PFI Project, Beechwood and Arbour Vale Schools
For Richard White, this PFI to replace three separate schools with three new-builds on two of the original sites was one enormous juggling act.
First, he had to manage that trickiest and most time-consuming of tasks: aligning the contractor’s proposals with the original cost plan while meeting the aspirations of the client and the design team through an arduous series of careful negotiations.
That done, Richard needed a management team substantial enough to undertake the design, procurement and construction of a project with a £45m build cost and an 81-week site programme. The project team swelled during the course of the scheme from 4 to 30, and Richard’s careful supervision was needed to ensure the sometimes conflicting interests of the package managers were properly resolved and to maintain a team approach to the project as a whole.
He then had to manage a very large group of subcontractors. At the peak of construction work, there were more than 300 operatives onsite, and Richard devoted considerable effort to managing the finishes so as to minimise snagging at handover.
He regularly met the three school heads to ensure the smooth running of works inside the grounds of the existing schools. It also brought the heads into the design review process and gave them the chance to put their mark on the schools in terms of colours and finishes, thereby winning their buy-in and building relationships.
Richard took no single approach to managing his staff. Coaching, negotiation, direction and humour all served his turn and got the very best out of the varied team to deliver the schools on time and to budget.