Gold Medal Winner |
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Category: Projects over £50m Name: John Crawley Company: Skanska Project: Palestra, London Contract: JCT 1998 D&B |
Innovative management was the hallmark of John Crawley's leadership of this landmark office block. A thoroughly modern manager for whom buildability is just part of the package, John brought his considerable influence to bear on this project on many different levels.
One of his key impacts was to convince the client not to shelve the project altogether in the face of an uncompromising commercial office market in London . John persuaded the client to extend the programme and make the most of the predicted market upturn by completing in mid-2006 rather than early 2005.
John took the lead in fixing market-rate costs until mid-2006, reducing the client's financial risk. He also demonstrated that the later date would secure price, programme and the project team he had assembled. It turned out to be a spot-on call, with the client ultimately reaping sizeable rewards from its anti-cyclical development.
As well as a great relationship with the client (the customer satisfaction score was 68/70), John built an open and honest construction team that “forgot” their individual employers in favour of a non-adversarial approach to problem solving. Key suppliers were co-located in an open plan office, and site worker facilities were the equal of the management team's.
Baseline and labour costs (as well as site waste reduction) were improved by offsite prefabricated systems, such as toilet pods, storey-height service risers, and pipe ranges built to fit the onsite hoist size. John also introduced K Guard leading-edge protection. Attached to the beam, it offered immediate protection as the steel went up, was ready for the slab pours, and did not get in the way of the panellised cladding installation.
And with a large housing estate as a neighbour – a recipe for continual disruption if residents' views were not properly considered – John did not delegate liaison, but personally took charge. He contacted the residents association before starting onsite and throughout the project offered monthly presentations of upcoming key activities.
Unfazed by the technically complex elements that had never been built before – the huge steel moment frame, and the unique entrance pod, for example – John dealt deftly with every project risk. His single-minded focus on finishing on time, on budget and to a stunning level of quality achieved everything he and the client wanted, including an additional £6m fit-out of two storeys within the construction period.
