CASE STUDY LORD ASHCROFT BUILDING
Prefab pipework installed on the roof
Chilled water buffer vessel
before fitting the flooring. This saved waiting until the building was watertight and, as it transpired, the glazing contractor got into financial difficulties so the team would have had to wait even longer.
PREFAB PIPES
There was a noticeable spirit of ‘can do’ on the project, which proved extremely valuable when the schedule started to slip due to hold ups with the shell construction. Imtech suggested fabricating three plant rooms and the roof pipework offsite at its own premises in nearby Swavesey to claw back some time. This also meant that the ground floor area set aside for the plant room could remain open for use as a materials delivery point and lorry access to the site for longer, further improving the workflow. The fact that they had been using detailed 3D drawings through the project meant it was relatively straightforward to switch to offsite fabrication.
‘Our philosophy now is that you need to have a reason NOT to do prefab,’ says contracts director Paul Carless. ‘We were able to considerably reduce on-site time and minimise hot works on site. Our 3D model was also able to prove the solution before installation, which gave everyone confidence in this approach.’
were solved because the team was solution driven.
Building trust Again the fully integrated planning model used by Imtech meant they could more easily co-ordinate the programme and workflow with their main contractor colleagues. ‘You can’t do this on every project because it
comes down to the personalities involved,’ says project manager Dan Wardley-Smith. ‘We’d like to do it more, though – it makes life so much easier for everyone.’ Wardley-Smith also completely reworked his programme in collaboration with his opposite number at VolkerFitzpatrick and managed to claw back three months by re-sequencing events and the overall critical path of works. ‘Volker asked if we could speed things
The fact that they had been using detailed 3D drawings through the project meant it was relatively straightforward to switch to offsite fabrication
42 CIBSE Journal February 2013
up for them and when you are in a positive relationship you will look to do what you can. So, the two of us took ourselves away for a few days and went through everything in detail,’ says Wardley-Smith. ‘Trust is a big issue in our industry. If you are going to work in collaboration you have to accept that people will make mistakes. Rather than trying to turn that to your advantage you work for the common good and get the project back on track.’ At the same time, the team also took the decision to switch from standard pipework to a carbon steel press fit system, which not only cut the fitting time in half, but also improved safety. ‘Press fit pipework enabled us to complete a floor in four weeks rather than the standard eight,’ adds Wardley-Smith. ‘We now try to use it on every project, but some clients still resist despite the manufacturers offering 25-year warranties.’ The revised work schedule meant the team could start putting services into the floor voids
Soft landings All parties signed up to using the BSRIA roles and responsibilities of design and engineering format, which was extended through the defects liability stage and on into ‘soft landings’, although the latter was not a formal agreement. ‘The client did consider a formal soft landings process, but realised they didn’t need it,’ says Wardley-Smith. ‘We already offer a 12-month free maintenance service and tend to work on past handover as a matter of course to minimise defects!’ Another challenge was to integrate the new
BeMS control systems with the campus-wide BeMS already in use and so Imtech provided a data point next to the existing head end with the appropriate software written in-house. This was helpful for the university’s FM
team who were already regularly involved in the project simply due to the fact they were on site running the other two buildings. The FM team also provided feedback on material and equipment choice from its ‘users’ perspective via regular feedback meetings. It is clear the relationships up and down the
supply chain worked well on this project, but nobody was naïve enough to assume that the financial side would be radically different as a result. Avoiding the likely delay was a good outcome for everyone, particularly the client, but Imtech still had to wait in line to receive its full payment after final accounts were presented. ‘Money is always going to be an issue – that
will never change,’ says Wardley. ‘However, if you have a good relationship then you know you will be paid in the end and people will be fair.
‘Being part of a big organisation can give
some clients the perception that we can afford to wait for our money, but we have the same demands to pay our overheads, labour, suppliers and subcontractors – we have the same cash flow issues as any other business.’ Wardley is doubtful that any of the plans
for modernising cash flow in the construction industry will materialise in the short term. So some things may never change, but achieving better co-operation and co-ordination between contractor, consultant, main contractor and client is clearly possible, as the Anglia Ruskin project demonstrated – and that model has positive outcomes for all. CJ
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