Name: Phil Heavey ACIOB
Employer: Wates Construction
Project: Sunrise Senior Living Beaconsfield
Contract: JCT 2005
Having already successfully delivered two of the 18 care homes built by Wates by this client, Phil Heavey should have felt a touch of complacency about this one. He didn’t.
Why? Well, first there was the attention-concentrating fact that the client believes that a little competition keeps its builders keen and so employs a number of main contractors across the UK. The client also expects each project to be an improvement on the last, whether that’s in programme, budget or quality, or indeed all three.
But most of all, even before works commenced, Phil knew that this project, located in the same town as the client’s HQ, was expected to be its benchmark and flagship. All previous expectations were reset higher and right from the start the project was a flat-out race rather than a walk in the park.
And then, with construction works well under way, the client introduced a new interior design concept. Phil bent over backwards to introduce as much of the new scheme as practicable without endangering the completion date. Efficient and friendly, he offered a hands-on approach and knowledge of detail that shone through.
The US fit-out subcontractor (a sister company of the client) then requested Phil to bring completion forward by a week, so it could return to the US in time for Thanksgiving. Phil got his team together, motivating and focusing them to complete early and accommodate the request.
He went out of his way to ensure the structural engineer, who was new to the design team, understood the complex co-ordination issues. And his patient negotiations with the council enabled a drainage solution to be agreed after ground conditions made the planned SUDS scheme unworkable.
The client was keen to ensure the site was well received by the community. Phil embraced the external ethos, and won glowing reports from the Considerate Constructors Scheme and local residents. He eliminated potential parking issues in the residential setting by securing parking spaces at a local rugby club and providing a free minibus to site.
Value: £11.8m