Awards 2018 – Collaboration

Winner – Kensington Aldridge Academy, Client Education & Skills Funding Agency, Application by Mace

Client – ESFA
Submitting organisation – Mace
Contractor – Portakabin
Surveyor – Clark Contracts
Project Manager – Mace

This is a special award for this year where the panel wanted to specifically recognise the efforts of one particular client and project team who managed to obtain through adversity true collaboration between all relevant stakeholders, even those who traditionally can make life interesting for us!

On June 14th 2017, the tragic Grenfell events unfolded with international media coverage. Very close to the tower, a secondary school had to shut immediately, with no indication of when it could be reopened.

Unbelievably on September 18th 2017, 960 pupils and 100 staff attended a new temporary school delivered in record time.

Some of the statistics speak for themselves:

  1. 9 Weeks from site set up to occupation
  2. 7500m2 of accommodation delivered
  3. 210 off site modules delivered to site
  4. UKPN: Installation of substation which typically takes 11 months but in this case took 23 days from mobilisation to energising
  5. 3,500m² tarmac works completed
  6. Thames Water: took 18 days from order placed to completion
  7. 42,600 estimated man hours
  8. A typical framework period of 17 weeks was reduced to 3 days!

This achievement required enormous work and dedication from the ESFA who led, drove and challenged numerous stakeholders such as the Police, MoD, Portakabin, London Borough Hammersmith and Fulham, Transport for London, Wormwood Scrubs Charity Commission and Pony Club and Old oak Planning team, to ensure all worked together to deliver the school. The judges said it was a fantastic example of collaboration and what can be achieved with the right people, the right approach and the necessary political support in times of crisis.