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Category: Projects £15-25m Name: Kevin Bate MCIOB Company: Carillion Project: Fal & Lyhner Buildings, Truro Contract: JCT 1998 D&B |
Kevin Bate won this contract by an effective championing of a unique concrete composite panel for the envelope, despite the client's specification of a conventional cavity wall.
Having already researched the Thermomass concrete panel system for three years, Kevin was convinced it was the best choice for this striking project. In preparation for the bid, he developed a strong partnership with a local precaster, who delivered a sample panel for his presentation.
His innovative approach was decisive. The system offered the material benefits of robust construction, high thermal mass and low U-value, high acoustic properties and a concrete density that is extremely water-repellent.
Although more expensive to procure than a cavity wall, the composite panels generated substantial savings and benefits. It dispensed with scaffold, was cheap to install (a three-man gang could erect 100 square metres of finished wall a day), provided instant edge protection when erected, and allowed precast slots for window fixings.
But given site possession just three days after contract award and an ambitious 64-week programme, Kevin knew the precaster would struggle to produce enough panels in time. So he became the driving force in the supplier extending its factory (raising the roof, recladding the envelope, constructing four new hydraulic tilting tables) to accommodate the project's needs.
As well as driving this critical element of the project, Kevin was responsible for variations in method that cut programme and costs. Balancing cut and fill to keep excavated material onsite, dispensing with retaining walls by plan engineering of the car park areas, introducing a modified sustainable urban drainage system, and using offsite refinished doorsets were just some of his successes.
With the client relying on completion before its September intake (and no contingency plan to put the many students elsewhere on campus), Kevin regularly interrogated the programme. He produced a detailed room by room bar chart for the last six months of the project to identify possible delays. As a result, he achieved phased handovers to suit staff and student occupation.
Delivered by a dedicated site team and innovative construction manager, this top-quality project met the very tight timescale and stayed within the client's original budget.
