Name: Colin Campbell
Employer: Sir Robert McAlpine
Project: 1 New York Street, Manchester
Contract: JCT 1998
By practising what he preached to his colleagues – to view the issues from the client’s perspective – Colin Campbell gave a superb display of how to deliver.
He completed six weeks ahead of schedule, allowing the client to leverage market conditions, giving tenants early fit-out access and eliminating the contractor’s risk of damages. He took a net £500K out of the budget without compromising the design integrity or quality. And the stunning finish thrilled the client, whose first new build this was.
Colin dealt with all challenges in a positive and non-adversarial way. When the adjoining freehold changed hands before oversail rights had been agreed, and what had been an amicable relationship turned sour overnight, Colin retrieved the situation with diplomacy, tact and aplomb. He resolved the issues with assurance and composure to protect the budget and the programme.
He struck the right balance between confidence and assertiveness, and deployed immense technical skill. He suggested innovative logistics solutions for the challenging access conditions by amending the foundation and frame design. He insisted on installing 5,000sqm of unitised curtain walling to gain logistical traction as well as prefabricated quality. And he redesigned and rebuilt one of the hoists to bring in the 852 integrated chilled beams through the roof rather than the side of the building, reducing the risk of damage.
Colin’s hands-on management style was open and honest, fostering a coherent site team. His relationships with the subcontractors were of long standing, and site morale was high, underpinned by trust and respect.
Value: £25.5m