Constructing Excellence North East 2022 Winners

People Development
Sponsored by Gleeds

Winner – Seymour Skills Academy

This is an organisation with a holistic approach to nurturing their people, allowing them to achieve their full potential with support and understanding. They are heavily investing in the upskilling and training of their employees whilst also helping to bridge the skills gap by creating not only strong alliances with other organisations but a totally inclusive industry with no bias or barriers. Overall, they have secured 85% of trainees into employment with a further 73% of students into employment on one of their recent access into construction programmes.

Sustainability
Sponsored by GSS Architecture

Winner – MGL Group

This organisation has contributed towards the net-zero ambitions of two local councils and helping to deliver on sustainability goals.
A creation of an innovative product which finds use for waste plastic, this ultimately leads to significant reduction from landfill and the ocean as well as carbon emissions. The polymers reduce oxidisation of the asphalt material, thus prolonging life expectancy as well as locally sourcing the materials to benefit the local economy.

Conservation & Regeneration

Winner – Mosedale Gillatt Architects, Churches Conservation Trust, Historic Property Restoration, Hall & Partners, Blackett Ord Conservation Engineers and TGA Consulting for 17Nineteen

The winning project this year is a wonderful example of a building brought back into use, through careful conservation with a keen eye on regeneration.

The project team delivered all elements of conservation, from archaeology and ecology, right through to using and promoting multiple heritage trades. A range of freestanding and fitted contemporary new interventions blend seamlessly into the background, leaving a light and uncluttered space. Community engagement initiatives ensured people were kept constantly up to date and offered Public Craft Skills workshops and schools engagement.

The final result is a Grade 1 listed building, removed from the Historic England ‘Heritage At Risk’ Register, and once again fulfilling an essential role as an amazing new community and cultural hub.

Health, Safety & Wellbeing

Winner – Costain, National Highways and Jacobs

This organisation has taken many strategies on board to ensure the safety of not just their employees but clients and key stakeholders have a voice and are taken care of. Their ethos surrounding people coming first in the business shows with their stop work philosophy, two stand down days where sites close for the full 24 hours, employment of a full time nurse, ½ relax and recharge for all site workers and a 24 hour helpline are all steps towards preventing harm as well as improving mental health.

The creation of a hazard site app and utilities tracker following the PAS128 guidelines has allowed workers to record and develop the project schedules ensuring all operational teams receive to ensure no accidents or risks are taken. Due to the work being executed safely this has resulted in only 16 accidents over 30 million work hours!

For the large scale of these projects there has only been one RIDDOR report due to the staff all being trained, 24 mental health first aiders.

We could say even more about the fantastic work they are doing for their employees.

Innovation
Sponsored by McGovern & Co

Winner – MGL Group

Aligning with the government’s target to slash emissions by 78% by 2035 and achieve net zero by 2050 the company is working collaboratively with their public sector clients to trial and develop products. With a focus on quality ensures cost-effective solutions which deliver the transformational and sustainable change our communities need.

Their creation of a new product to provide a long-term, cost-effective and sustainable solution is resulting in prolonging life expectancy, reduction of fossil fuel usage, re-use and reduction of materials.

in 2021 alone across their schemes they have saved over 534 tonnes in carbon. So you may have seen this company earlier as a winner and by now they will have guessed who they are!

Value

Winner – Hartlepool Borough Council, Seymour Civil Engineering and Classic Masonry for Elephant Rock

The project site is home to some of the rarest birds in Europe. In order to prevent any disturbance to these birds over winter, the programme was condensed by 3 months by utilising offsite manufacturing. This methodology allowed for the scheme to finish ahead of the original completion date and was only possible through extensive supply chain collaboration.

The team have worked with the adjacent museum with the ambition that the independent venues can be mutually beneficial to one another, this has resulted in increased footfall and reduced antisocial behaviour and general litter in the area, demonstrating that the space has been truly adopted by the community.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Winner – Tilbury Douglas Construction

Tilbury Douglas Construction has had an Inclusion focus for a number of years, recognising that people are the key to their business success, and that attracting, retaining and developing a diverse and skilled workforce is vital.

Through analysis of their working practices, they identified areas of improvement in their recruitment process and set up a working group to address this by reviewing the diversity of new applicants, and engaging with new initiatives to target under-represented groups.

In 2021 to modernise their ways of working and make their business more inclusive and attractive, flexible working was introduced as a standard working condition enabling them to support a better life-work balance for staff.

SME of the Year
Sponsored by Kier Construction

Winner – Black & White Engineering

They believe their people, their talent and continued progression make the organisation the success it is today. They invest in attracting new talent into the sector using a variety of programmes including PlanBEE and Government Kickstart, as well as nurturing their own up and coming talent, with each member of staff participating in leadership coaching. They have implemented an in house initiative ensuring employees make best use of their time, better communication and wellbeing. This has resulted in one of the highest employee retention rates in the industry.

They have managed to create a global, multi-disciplinary team across four global locations in a short time, with their sustainability and building physics team playing a pivotal role in their rapid growth, with the North East office the ecosystem and facilitator.

Strong relationships with supply chain partners, investing in and utilising first class technology tools and processes have enabled this organisation to deliver successful projects time and time again.

Special Award

Winner – Keith Moulder, Believe Housing

Winner – John Nielsen, CK21 Consultants

Keith – By promoting collaboration over adversity, they have supported all parts of the supply chain, enabling multifaceted teams to deliver outstanding schemes, supported by fair payments systems, continuation of labour and resources, and sharing of best practice all contributing to minimising future risks

They have championed a positive and proactive culture in industry for the benefits of everyone, and through a lifetime of mentoring, have ensured that the principles they have developed and worked by, will continue in the future.

John – Graduating in Civil Engineering from Newcastle University he went on to work at Cundall where he set a precedent of taking paternity leave for a number of years to bring up the kids while his wife returned to work. And of course he did keep his hand in with a bit of home working at this time too.

He went on to setting up his own company along with his work colleague in 2005 which has gone from strength to strength.

A member of the Constructing Excellence North East Board for many years was only one of the many boards he sat on. But when I say sat on, he contributed greatly to all the organisations he engaged. To name but a few more, he Chaired the Construction Industry Council in the region for the last 10 years whilst also sitting on the CIC National Council as Nations and Regions Champion. He also became the Regional Champion for BIM Regions

Modern Methods of Construction
Sponsored by Northumbrian Water Group

Winner – CoreHaus Ltd

The winning entry is transforming new build housing delivery, bringing it into the 21st century by utilising offsite construction methodology, the latest technology, and environmentally friendly materials.

The hybrid solutions maximise the benefits of multiple MMC categories, including small volumetric “podded” rooms including kitchens and bathrooms, panelized through wall products that include wiring, insulation, and lining; windows, doors, and M+E and format wall products including brick slips.

They are a social enterprise and passionate about generating social value in the areas which they operate, they do this by generating high quality jobs, training opportunities, collaboration with academic institutes, utilising local supply chains and reinvesting a portion of their future profits locally.

Residential Project of the Year
Sponsored by Muckle LLP

Winner – True North Construction, Gillian Maude, MawsonKerr, PYC, North East Electrical, CA Heat Pumps, Eco House and Made 2 Measure for Godwit House.

We were pleased to see some great submissions and the judges thought that every one shortlisted should be congratulated. However, after much discussion, one project came through as the winner. As with all submissions this year, the project has been challenged during covid times, material price rises and staffing challenges but despite this, the project team have delivered a project which exceeds expectations, showcasing an array of modern aspects. The building is designed with sustainability in mind and with the use of sustainable technologies. The result is a building with regional significance, worthy of the accolade of Residential Project of the Year.

Client of the Year
Sponsored by Faithful+Gould

Winner – Sunderland City Council
Highly Commended – National Highways

National Highways was nominated for Constructing Excellence Client of the Year due to their unique delivery mechanism on a project which saw all works packages individually procured by the client, as opposed to using a single managing contractor. This resulted in unparalleled collaborative success; driven, and wholeheartedly supported by the client, resulting in strong in-build and end-user safety performance – which were primary customer objectives. This procurement approach has now been replicated on other projects and showcased as best practice.

Sunderland City Council received nominations from two different organisations for a number of different projects for the same client.

The client leadership team have managed one of the most ambitious city masterplans in the UK. They have produced a set of masterplan documents and design guides to ensure quality is achieved, with multiple projects delivered by various contractors simultaneously. This activity has led to the completion of one million square feet of commercial development with investment from key stakeholder partners, one thousand new homes as well as beautiful parks and public spaces.

The other nomination spoke of a welcomed collaborative approach on a large infrastructure contract, managed through a hybrid team, enabling knowledge sharing to become a natural transition. This approach enabled quick decisions, avoiding the need for complicated governance arrangements. The success of this arrangement has resulted in the client adopting this approach on future projects.

Civils Project of the Year
Sponsored by CDM Recruitment

Highly Commended – Tilbury Douglas, National Highways, Pell Frischmann, Carnell, H W Martin, North East Earthworks, Bemac Construction and Tarmac for the A69 Hexham Bridge End Junction.

The projects attributes it’s success to exemplar collaboration and team integration with all parties forming a unique ‘Project Alliance’. New safer working practices were adopted reducing risk to workers and over 300,000 person hours were worked without and accidents or incidents. Lessons learnt from this project will now be the primary consideration during design stage for all future client projects.

Winner – Costain, National Highways and Jacobs for the A19 Testo’s Junction Improvement Scheme.

The Winner has embraced innovation, using ingenuity and technology to aid their planning and monitoring resulting in reduced disruption for the public, a significant reduction in carbon emissions and increased biodiverisyt. Despite the pandemic, with a focus on Health Safety and Wellbeing and local procurement and employment, the project was completed ahead of time and within budget.

Building Project of the Year
Sponsored by CDM Recruitment

Highly Commended – Bowmer+Kirkland, Sunderland City Council, Gleeds, Desco, Cundall, FaulknerBrowns Architects and Castle Building Services for City Hall Sunderland

The highly commended award goes to a project that has brought significant investment into the region, supporting regeneration and growth in the North East. The project has supported job creation and local procurement with £31m of local spend within a 30 mile radius of the site. The building’s environmental impact was integral to the design, and the embodied carbon is 20% lower than that of a typical building, with further carbon savings possible through careful maintenance. No reportable accidents were recorded over a two year period with approximately 450,000 hours worked on site and was awarded a rating of 5 stars by the Considerate Constructors Scheme.

Winner – BAM Construction, Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, GT3 Architects, Fairhurst, Desco and Identity Consult for The Regent, Redcar

A scheme which had much to live up to in the eyes of the local community. Many were opposed to the scheme therefore effective and continuous community engagement was essential. All workers on site, many locals themselves, were aware of the responsibility on their shoulders.

The technical challenges on this scheme were immense and required a project team with incredible expertise and vision to introduce innovative solutions and modelling activity for successful delivery of the project. Working in an inshore UK marine area and the environmental implications of a neighbouring Site of Special Scientific Interest required careful planning and management, whilst weather conditions presented a constant challenge. Despite all this, the scheme was completed two weeks early and has already won the hearts of the local community.

This is a truly remarkable project which deserves to be Building Project of the Year

Would you like to sponsor the Constructing Excellence North East 2023 Awards – contact leanne@cene.org.uk for further information!

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