Artificial Surfaces


This article is the second in a series of six, prepared by David Rhodes of Traction Sports, that considers the procurement of synthetic and artificial facilities.


Here, he looks at project management considerations between client and contractor, and why a consultant might be an important addition to the project


Artificial Surfaces Project I


n my opinion, site conditions and site constraints are often overlooked and not considered in enough detail. I cannot stress enough that the success of a project which essentially involves digging a big hole in the ground is aligned to and significantly influenced by the conditions of the site. As a result, enabling work has to be done to understand the prevailing conditions and any potential pitfalls that may be found during the project works. This sort of information can affect planning applications and subsequent permissions granted, which can significantly affect project timetables and budgets. Sometimes, so called enabling works take place as a separate phase before the main project works, and would seek to remedy


104 I PC APRIL/MAY 2015


any services or findings on site that may influence the project and starting on site in general.


Obvious examples of this are service runs going through the main working area, such as gas, electric, data cabling or water mains, that will need diverting well before the project is due to start on site. To give you some idea of this, I have experience of one site where the enabling phase took nearly twelve months and the cost was in the order of £120,000. This was before we did anything to the site to develop the sports facilities.


It is not unusual for me to ask about services, only to be told there is no knowledge of anything running through the site.


Management Considerations


On a recent project, I quickly became aware of an outdoor swimming pool that had been buried some decades beforehand and backfilled with contaminated and inappropriate material to build on. As a result of finding this out, we could investigate the working area in more detail and at least ascertain allowances within budgets to make good this area to build on. A detailed understanding of any site is, therefore, a prerequisite of a successful build in my opinion. Similarly, access and egress to and from site for construction traffic is also a significant consideration, particularly in busy environments such as schools. Restrictions on deliveries are not uncommon and temporary track ways to protect haul routes are sometimes required, depending upon the


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