Name: Ben Stevenson MCIOB
Employer: Kier Build
Project: One Reading Central, Reading
Contract: JCT 2005
Ben Stevenson faced a fiendish set of challenges. He had to complete Reading’s biggest ever office development during a period of financial turbulence that threatened project funding and wiped out the groundworks, dryliner and precast subcontractors.
The technical challenges too were immense. A main live sewer diversion was needed to move forward on the enabling works, and railway oversail rights were required for the tower cranes. Even more critical was the top-down construction methodology of a slipformed concrete frame.
Ben’s sleeves-up approach was just right. He actively led the sewer diversion, sinking sheet piles around the site and creating an innovative voided platform for servicing the subsequent site set-up.
He also championed the slipform central core construction to derisk and accelerate the programme, first obtaining a clear understanding of what was required through an exhaustive series of supplier visits and interviews. He accommodated Network Rail’s onerous requirements within the programme through early planning and fine relationship building.
And the energy and commitment he displayed vibrated through the team. Strategic planning meetings and daily co-ordination briefings promoted a culture of subcontractor collaboration. Ben’s open and honest dealings proved to the client that claims consciousness and cost cutting are not necessarily a way of life with a design and build contract.
He built credibility by communicating regularly and concisely, even where it might have worked to his disadvantage. His value management included such specification upgrades as metal rather than mineral fibre ceiling tiles, longer-life car park finishes and board insulation rather than sprayed compound.
Value: £47.8m