Name: Anthony Joubert
Employer: Camerons Ltd
Project: Liberation Place & Liberation Station, Jersey
Contract: JCT 98
French national Anthony Joubert exploited his European expertise with huge success on this project. He not only managed the rare feat of chairing project team meetings in two different languages, but the even more admirable feat of generating the £3.5m of budget savings demanded by the client by seeking out specialist solutions.
To encourage clever thinking from the subcontractors, Anthony firmly embedded partnering ethics in the project methods and formed excellent relationships with consultants as well as the client and the two users (both of which were government departments with a high political and public profile). Their collaboration helped him to engineer value through a range of initiatives.
For example, Anthony spent £10,000 on a ground-penetrating radar survey that showed he could use augured piles in those areas of the site that did not incorporate the sea wall and wharves. The move saved £250,000 and six weeks of programme time, and mitigated the risk of rig standing time.
By redesigning the steel frame as a sway structure, Anthony was able to take the insitu concrete cores off the critical path and build them as lightweight structures. And the replacement of the original concept of piled concrete slab paving with free-draining blocks proved sustainable as well as economical.
Even bigger gains were achieved through Anthony’s decision to use – and fully integrate into the team – French subcontractors and suppliers for major packages during a very busy period of construction on the island that stretched local labour resources. The strategy delivered significant commercial benefits, such as the use of a lightweight European cladding and scaffolding system that was significantly cheaper than a locally procured traditional system.
Anthony even incorporated £1.8m of variations – including a major upgrade of the facade – within the original contract completion date. Thanks to the co-operation of the whole team, a resequencing of the programme and the client’s agreement to pay for extra resources, he eliminated delay.
In his first construction manager job, Anthony showed a determination to give the client what it wanted with the minimum of fuss, an enviable ability to deal with people at all levels, and a natural instinct for risk management. His innovative strategies and partnering approach produced two high-quality buildings on time and to budget to the financial benefit of all parties.