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Category: Projects £10-15m Name: Sabah Abed MCIOB Company: Willmott Dixon Project: Morrisons, Diss, Norfolk Contract: JCT 1998 private edition with quantities |
To make a project of this size and complexity work, you have to take ownership. In short, you have to care, which is how Sabah Abed managed to successfully comply with 10 sectional handover deadlines, hold the budget and progress major construction works literally feet away from customers paying for their shopping.
More than most construction projects, a live retail environment requires fantastic teamwork, with large numbers of people prepared to work around the clock. Sabah built superb relationships and provided the clear leadership required for success.
He made sure his team understood and shared the project priorities. And that meant no drop in standards of cleanliness and orderliness at any time – dusty shelves and blocked access points risked irate customers, lost supermarket business and a very unhappy client.
He imbued the site team and key subcontractors with a sense of complete ownership of the programme, despite their lack of sole command of the working areas (each area was just a temporary working zone, with elements of the store being moved overnight so trading could begin from a new location the following morning). He made it clear that any problem, whatever the cause, required a shared solution.
With the store remaining live throughout the fast and unforgiving nine-month project, and attracting around 10,000 customers a day, Sabah's long-term planning and co-ordination with retail managers were pivotal to success. He understood in minute detail every aspect of the programme and repeatedly resequenced every trade so there were never any quiet periods and the site ran at maximum productivity.
Sabah regularly met the store managers several times a day to discuss plans and works and ensure there would be no disruption to the business. He installed solid melamine screens to prevent dust ingress, covered all food aisles in plastic sheeting and undertook additional cleaning at night. He also made sure temporary works (such as hoardings) as well as permanent finishes and materials were of a high standard, and that any problems were dealt with immediately.
By leading from the front and taking ultimate responsibility for everything the team did, Sabah successfully achieved all project targets. It was a display of outstanding teamwork and an immense credit to the construction industry.
