Silver Medal Winner |
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Category: Projects £7-10m Name: Christopher Odei Company: Wallis Project: Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London Contract: JCT 1998 with contractor's design |
A phased refurb of an occupied seven-storey building presents a construction manager with a bigger fistful of failure points than usual. The health and safety risks are considerable, and there are multiple must-be-hit deadlines rather than the big bang of a single practical completion date.
But Chris Odei managed this challenge with style. Not only did his excellent performance persuade the client to progressively award Wallis all four phases of this project, but it also went a long way to winning the contractor the £10m deal to redevelop another of the client's campuses.
During the extensive asbestos removal, demolition and M&E work – all of which had the potential to seriously disrupt the project – Chris was the key figure in driving construction forward. His hard work and dedication, combined with excellent teamwork and sterling communication, allowed him to hit all the key dates and keep the rest of the campus fully operational.
Despite the limited scope for value engineering, Chris achieved impressive results by promoting the use of a flat-pack air-handling unit that could be delivered to roof level via the site hoist. This decision made a crane lift and road closure superfluous, and the resulting savings were given back to the client.
Chris addressed material and workmanship standards long before site installation. He made a point of assessing the specification through mock-ups, samples and factory visits, which gained early client agreement and set quality benchmarks.
The internal finishes for three new lift cars, ironmongery, lab benching, windows, doors and service set-outs all benefited from this quality regime, which was bolstered by site quality checks and accurate sign-offs. The strength of his sustained focus on standards is evident from the fact that he achieved the scaffold strike date for each elevation (all the external windows were replaced) on time.
A satisfied project team and a delighted client insisting on Chris being appointed project manager for another £10m campus contract are adequate testimony to the strength of his performance on this scheme.
