Gold Medal Winner |
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Category: Residential Units 4 Storey and Over Name: Stephen Bradbury Company: Wates Construction Project: Thornwood Gardens , Phillimore Square , London Contract: JCT management |
Stephen Bradbury has achieved that most difficult of challenges: providing the commitment, resolve, realism, credibility and clear-sighted decision making needed to turn round a project in real difficulties.
Parachuted in six months after site start with the project already 10 weeks in delay, Stephen brilliantly managed his direct access to a hands-on customer. He built a relationship of mutual respect and understanding on the basis of no surprises and delivering on commitments.
With the customer stressing quality at this stage – the town houses had a typical price ticket of £13m apiece – he refashioned the site team to mirror and work with the design team, reverting to a more conventional site arrangement as the various packages went live.
Putting the design team at the heart of the development helped the construction team unite to tackle the project's substantial problems. The strong and positive dialogue that Stephen established early on with the designers and the supply chain was a theme of the project and ultimately brought it safely through.
Visible and approachable onsite, Stephen reinvigorated morale by quickly completing the installation of the heavily delayed transfer slab, a critical element in the programme. He made it his business to ensure everyone – and there were more than 600 operatives onsite and 40 managers – had the same project goals by holding weekly team meetings and encouraging active participation.
He also took much needed control of costs, producing a new budget to account for variations and the likely outturn cost with 20 months remaining, and held monthly meetings to report project expenditure against the forecast final accounts. The ensuing cost certainty – including another budget revision upwards to cope with more project enhancements and three package contractors going bust – brought settlement of the final account within eight weeks of completion.
Stephen also delivered exceptional handling of health and safety. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly scheme for praiseworthy/shameful observed site practices was particularly successful. And he created a highly effective marketing suite, designing, maintaining and redesigning PPE-free and superbly presented routes through the site for potential well-heeled purchasers.
All in all, an astonishing achievement.
