Top construction managers honoured

Top construction managers honoured at this year's CMYA awards for mastery of technical complexity.

This year's CMYA awards were well spread through the industry, but to John Roper of Sir Robert McAlpine went the honour of being named Construction Manager of the Year for the quality, finish and economy of the Paul O'Gorman Building at Newcastle University.

His McAlpine contracting colleague Brian Peckham was named gold medal winner in the projects over GBP45 million class for the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff.

Both men won praise from the judges for the calibre of their leadership and exemplary conduct of the projects for which they were responsible.

Mr Roper's award was presented by the CIOB President Allan McMullen, who congratulated him and all the finalists present at the Grosvenor House celebration dinner as among the elite managers of the construction process.

The Paul O'Gorman building has become a centre of excellence in construction as well as United Kingdom research into the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Built at a cost of around GBP8.5 million, it was opened in February this year by football legend and cancer survivor Sir Bobby Robson.

The centre is now home to more than 120 scientists from the Northern Institute for Cancer Research.

Chris Blythe, CIOB chief executive, commented: "John Roper's work on the successful bid was so impressive that his employer and the client gave him the job of building it".

"His total dedication to the project resulted in a world class building that exudes quality at every level".

"Winning a medal and being named Construction Manager of the Year is a major achievement.

John now joins the industry's elite - an outstanding group of construction managers who have previously won the title." John Lambert, divisional director for capital development at Newcastle University, agreeing that John Roper's award was thoroughly deserved, said the high quality outcome of this important research centre was based on his management of a technically complex project, delivered on programme and to a high standard of finish".

"John Roper's connection with the project, part funded by the DTI's Science Research Investment Fund and the Wellcome Trust, began as leader of Sir Robert McAlpine's bid team".

"Notwithstanding the fact that the McAlpine tender was by no means the lowest, John Roper's approach to the job persuaded the client that his ideas and expertise promised the best way forward".

"The obstacle to an award at that stage was cost".

"During the second-stage tender development process, however, by a series of value engineering exercises, McAlpine was able to bring its lump sum tender within the tight constraints of the University's budget, offering a cost reduction of more than 10 per cent on the original bid".

"Having been appointed to deliver the job as well as plan it, John employed a variety of planning techniques including detailed resource monitoring to ensure that work kept on track".

"The judges' report says: "Employing his own direct workforce of bricklayers, joiners, concreters, partition fixers and others also gave close control over the programme and allowed him to monitor efficiency in great detail and carry out cost/value exercises - an approach subsequently adopted by all McAlpine sites in the region".

"He built in quality by introducing holding points in the construction of the zero-defects areas for detailed surveillance to take place, completing any remedial work before continuing".

"Elsewhere, regular inspections of work in progress kept standards high, with final snagging well in advance of final completion".

Millennium Centre built 'inside out'.

As the judges said, the Wales Millennium Centre offered a massive design challenge to any construction manager.

Two attempts to appoint a contractor ended in failure before Brian Peckham, winner of the CMYA 2005 gold medal in the over GBP45 million category, joined the Sir Robert McAlpine team to manage the ultimately successful bid.

The design and build contract was awarded in December 2001 with the Percy Thomas Parnership as architects and Arup as the structural and services engineer.

The Millennium Centre was officially opened by The Queen 33 months later.

Roger Spence, the WMC project director and client's representative throughout the development of this multi-disciplined project, described it as construction from the inside out.

The key was to separate design of the structure from design of the acoustic and architectural enclosures, allowing design of the inner work to proceed while the structural frame was started and finished on time.

Two of the most difficult technical problems presented by the architect's design were the tapering layers of Welsh slate for the facades, reflecting the unique cliff formations on the nearly coast, and setting a l5 m high brick wall at an angle of two degrees.

Other challenging features were the stainless steel enclosed theatre and the inscription over the curved and inclined main facade, where storey height lettering through the walls lets the building's internal lighting spell out a line of poetry at night".

"Brian co-located the architects and the major sub-contractor designers with the project team onsite, helping to build a very strong team".

"He took a rope access qualification so he could get onto the most difficult areas of the roof to support his engineers in the inspection process, and put a great deal of effort into co-ordinating the building's complex M and E equipment - 'like three-dimensional knitting', he says".

The judges' verdict on a once-in-a-lifetime project: "He overcame a series of complex technical difficulties en route while staying true to the architect's vision, and brought in the Wales Millennium Centre to critical acclaim, on time and with an exemplary safety record".

"That the aspirations of so many other parties have been met in a great testament to his leadership".

Full information on all the award winners and judges' reports on the winning projects is available on the Construction Manager of the Year web site, http://www.cmya.co.uk.

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