Name: Howard Sissons
Employer: Wates Construction
Project: Augustine House, Christ Church University, Canterbury
Contract: JCT 1998
Howard Sissons leveraged the relationships and knowledge he has built up over a lifetime in construction to pull off this demanding project.
Logistics were challenging. There was a car dealer on one side of the site, a police station on the other, as well as an A road, a day centre, housing and a car park. There was also only one site entrance, shared with the garage, for a peak construction workforce of 250.
T
eam harmony was clearly crucial and Howard gave the lead. His cheerful approach drove team dynamics. He also had the advantage of a trusted group of subcontractors, most of whom had worked for him for years and knew exactly what to expect. His relationship with the client and the consultants was equally good.
He identified milestones throughout the project with the subcontractors. The milestones were displayed on posters around the site, updated monthly, the achievements acknowledged and the next milestones set.
Howard constructed a fit-out matrix that set out each trade’s work on a weekly basis. He then chaired weekly progress meetings of all the trades to sign off the matrix activities. This forum, combined with the short-term programme focus, drove the progress that allowed the project to be handed over on time.
And when Howard realised that the user was concerned about the time implications of its re-cant after practical completion, he integrated the user’s furniture delivery and installation programme into his finishing works. It saved the user six valuable weeks on the overall delivery programme.
Value: £25.5m