Spec Finish

Feature www.thefis.org 21 manages the process quickly, basically the minimum increase in a programme will be three months at the end. The project has got to finish early and up to PC standards before you can submit stage 3 and then get stage 3 approved within three months. “There is a lot of good stuff in the Building Safety Act such as the need for the ‘Golden Thread’ which will bring together documentation we should always have had at practical completion, i.e., what we have built, how we have built it and drawings that support it”. A different approach Peter explained that with the supply chain he has always taken a different approach to most other developers. He said: “We work on a collaborative approach and bring in specialist contractors early in the process. Recently we had a specialist contractor already advising us on a project that we hadn’t even submitted for planning. They are providing detailed design drawings for us tomake sure our cost plan works. We will slowly work our way through the industry doing this so by the time we get to needing a lump sum, we will have 80%of our work bid before themain contractor has to fix”. Peter continued by saying: “Our preference would be to use Construction Management, which is how Broadgate was built. Most funds are very nervous of this as they see it as too open-ended and risky. “Changes to contracts and construction amounts post-handing over to a main contractor on a fixed price are a concern. We make a big effort to prevent those sorts of shenanigans. The contract is ours we don’t like main contractors manipulating it. In my opinion, most main contractors put more effort into managing the contract rather than managing the build”. Focusing on the future Peter explained that sustainability is very important to developers and they have ‘taken the bull by the horns’ and there are huge changes about to happen. Peter said: “We are working on a big project south of the river. This is a mix of office and residential and is just under £1b. This is totally driven by the carbon agenda. It is believed we will be able to run the buildings with very little external energy with most of the heating and cooling coming from ground source and air source heat pumps. We do need electricity, albeit green electricity is relatively easily available. All the tenants and agents are demanding it”. Peter continued: “This is great for a new build and very easy as we can include all the latest technology into it. Refurbishment of a building however, in my opinion, is an issue and is much more difficult to upgrade. I believe there is going to be a split in the market of A grade plus buildings and second tier older buildings, which will have lower values. Peter concluded: “Without a doubt there is a big demand for new, low energy and low carbon buildings”. Message of hope As part of the discussion, Peter said: “I would love everyone in this room to learn one word and that is ‘No’. The single biggest problem I have as a developer is when I have an argument with the main contractor as they are trying to do something I don’t agree with, however, they know a specialist will say: ‘Yes, I will do that’ albeit it is against their interest. It appears the specialist feels they are given little choice but to respond as the main contractor wishes because if they say: ‘No’ then somebody else will say: ‘Yes’. However, as mentioned everyone should learn to start to say: ‘No’. There are things specialists are being asked to do which are simply not acceptable”. Peter continued by saying: “There are still good projects and clients out there. A specialist can and should talk to a client about any challenges and concerns they are facing on a project and I believe a good client will listen. In the past, I have had specialists come to me and discuss their challenges and concerns. On more than one occasion they have discussed with me that they have not been paid retentions. There are things that can be done and one solution is to embarrass the main contractors into paying the retentions. On one occasion, to support the specialist and attempt to resolve this, I threatened to contact Building magazine. The retention payment was paid pretty quickly, which was the right outcome. Peter concluded: “As developers, we need your help to make this happen”. www.liptonrogers.com SpecFinish asked Andy Measom, Managing Director at Measom Dryline, for a comment regarding Peter Rogers different approach as Measom Dryline worked with Peter on the Broadgate project. Andy said: “We need more people to think differently and lead from the top, few are brave enough to think like Peter Rogers and his team did when Stanhope operated on projects like Broadgate - it was a better way. “So much focus is put on tender values in this day and age. Just a few enlightened clients look at the out-turn cost and genuinely understand productivity. Main contractors measure productivity on money spent which doesn’t reflect labour productivity at all. We as specialists need to focus on giving the industry different measures than the cheapest price and more clients need to study the out-turn cost and package growth. “We have to move away from project- to-project relationships and look at continuous improvement over time. The current industry input sector is about 30% productive compared to 20 years ago. There is too much of “Just make a soft start” or start something you can’t finish, incomplete design leading to package growth, or “the more men call”. All of which lead to low productivity. Andy concluded by saying: “As Peter said at the FIS AGM, we need to be brave enough to say ‘No’ and we need clients like Peter who attempt to understand us”. www.measom.co.uk