Name: Bill Ackers
Employer: Bovis Lend Lease
Project: Sir John Thursby Community College & Ridgewood Community High School, Burnley
Contract: PFI
Taking over this site from two previous construction managers, Bill Ackers immediately ran into major difficulties, with communication problems rife between the design and site teams. Bill met the challenge head-on. Relationships improved enormously after he ensured the attendance onsite of the architect every week to review new design issues and facilitate efficient close-out.
Given the non-existent snagging system, he immediately implemented one. He then fine-tuned it, ultimately deploying handheld computers to record snags and defects.
He tackled the notoriously problematic interfaces that the numerous subcontractors were struggling to cope with. He instigated design workshops to analyse and settle the interfaces between ventilation, acoustics, airtightness and plasterboarding. By resolving these issues at an early stage and continuously revisiting them, Bill got the building through its air test first time around.
Naturally, crises cropped up as the project progressed. The drylining subcontractor went bust halfway through the first fix. Bill had a replacement onsite within three weeks that took on the best of its predecessor’s workforce. He then accelerated the drylining to align it with the overall programme.
Bill’s value engineering delivered the programme as well as the budget. He lime-stabilised the soil, sourced alternatives for the overspecified tile grout and concrete, and had larger deliveries made to site and stored there.
He also managed the outward-facing sphere with impressive efficiency. He banned construction workers parking within 200m of the site. He undertook regular newsletter drops for residents. And he regularly performed noise checks to ensure lessons were not being disrupted.
Value: £33m