Name: Eamon Laverty MCIOB
Employer: O'Hare & McGovern
Project: The McClay Library, Queen's University, Belfast
Contract: JCT 1998
No client wants a building delivered late; for this client, though, ‘catastrophic’ was its description of the consequences. Given the unforgivingly rigid deadline of academic terms and the harsh truths of funding milestones, it was no exaggeration. If Eamon Laverty overshot practical completion by even a day, then the project would have to be delayed by a year.
Yet that unthinkable outcome suddenly seemed uncomfortably close when groundwater started to pour unexpectedly into the basement excavations for this building. With the resulting programme slippage
threatening the entire scheme, Eamon reappraised the design strategy. His suggestion of relocating the M&E plant so that much of the basement construction could be omitted saved the day. Not only did it mitigate the risk of further ground water problems, it produced substantial cost savings. And by resequencing and bringing in more resources, Eamon dragged the build back on programme.
Delighted by the opportunity presented by size and complexity of the building, Eamon used his construction knowledge to innovate on a grand scale to achieve buildability and budget. He changed the structure design from concrete to steel. He recycled the excavation spoil as pipe bedding. He relocated the greywater tank to allow for early installation.
But pride of place in the innovation programme must go to his construction of a temporary access bridge for the transfer of the client’s business-critical computer server. It allowed the sensitive equipment to be moved to its new location with minimum risk and without delay to the construction works. As a result, not a single minute of computer or construction downtime was incurred.
Value: £32.5m