Name: David McEwan
Employer: City Building (Glasgow)
Project: St Fillans Primary School, Glasgow
Contract: JCT 1998
“It was almost like watching royalty,” commented one observer of the esteem accorded to David McEwan by the head, staff and pupils at the official opening of this school.
And David’s achievement was indeed majestic, with an outstanding technical performance. The client, aghast at the bids submitted in a competitive tender, asked City Building (Glasgow), the council’s former direct labour force, to undertake the project on a best value basis.
David was therefore constrained by the tightest of budgets − 8% under the lowest competitive bid − that made extensive value engineering a priority. And he did so while maintaining the integrity of the design, such as the beautiful roof, whose 13 different planes required the co-ordination of 14 different trades.
But the real stand-out theme of his project leadership was a superb interpersonal technique, which turned a disaster waiting to happen into a triumph. The technical challenges included a strained budget, an extremely tight site, a more complex building than the contractor was used to. It was the first three-storey school to be built in the city for 30 years, and strict planning controls also demanded a slate roof with rooflights and extensive natural ventilation terminations over two distinct levels.
But it was the relationship challenges that were utterly daunting. After a fire at the old school several years before, the children were being bussed to a mothballed school three miles away. The school governors and staff were frustrated at the displacement, and parents were even unhappier at the long-drawn out failure to rebuild.
But at the parents meeting called immediately after the award of the contract, David’s calmness and willingness to discuss and solve the problems allayed concerns and won trust. Throughout the course of the project, he negotiated the issues with skill, tact and an exceptional ability to communicate. He even set up a stand at parents evenings to provide information on the progress of construction.
Committed, engaging, enthusiastic and helpful, David did not avoid the difficult decisions, but still kept users’ trust through his direct and constructive communications. As one parent said, he behaved as though his own children went to the school.
Value: £7.1m