Gold Medal Winner |
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Category: Projects £7-10m Name: Paul Jaffray MCIOB Company: HBG Construction Project: John Wheatley College, Glasgow Contract: ECC 2nd edition |
Paul Jaffray believes in co-operation rather than confrontation whatever the form of contract. On this state-of-the-art project, which encompassed a large ETFE roof and a slew of energy-saving technologies, he gave a model demonstration of the modern construction manager's role in bringing together and inspiring the project team in its widest sense.
At the heart of Paul's success was his inclusion of the client in all aspects of the construction process. He gave unimpeded site access to the project's many funding bodies, and ensured that what they saw on their visits were good site practices and programme control.
Paul's provision of technical solutions as problems arose built the client's confidence in his ability to deliver. For example, the independent clerk of works informed him that the edges of the proposed bison slabs for the precast floors were prone to chipping when slung into place and would require extensive post-installation repair. Paul immediately discussed the issue with the slab manufacturer, who agreed to cast in lifting points to avoid the use of underslings, which kept damage to a minimum.
This sort of extensive involvement in difficult design problems helped cement Paul's relationship with the novated London-based design team, which was unfamiliar with construction processes in Scotland. Likewise, he held detailed discussions with the subcontractors at every construction stage to ensure they fully understood what was required of them. Involved in HBG's mentoring scheme, he also allocated the positions of site manager and M&E manager to younger members of staff.
With the people aspect successfully sorted, Paul tackled the construction issues that arose with confidence and the eager assistance of the whole team. Paul had the complex steelwork support for the ETFE ( ethylene tetraflurorethylene) roof test-erected in Germany after its manufacture there to ensure this critical-path structure would present no problems onsite.
Paul also instigated value-engineering exercises to save the client's budget. The most notable success was to change the car park formation to minimise the expensive disposal of offsite material, using the savings to fund client changes later in the project.
All this, plus the extensive use of innovative sustainable systems, such as rainwater recycling, solar panels and a biomass boiler, produced a building that respected the budget and oozed quality, and ultimately left a client highly impressed with both HBG and Paul.
