星空传媒

The dockyard, a naval base for more than 300 years, had lain idle since 1984. After three months of pre-construction work, Try arrived on site in September 2001. Extensive ground surveys had to be carried out to determine the state of the ground, the condition of the wooden piles holding up the existing structure, and the quality of the frame itself. Among the objects discovered were cannon balls and air raid shelters.

The ground survey showed that the small amount of toxic pollution in the ground could be redeemed on site and that the piles were in good condition. This was particularly important, as replacing them could have sent the cost of the project spiralling out of control, as Trevor Goff, co-owner of the project for the client Dockside Developments, explains. "When we signed the contract, no-one knew what the condition of the frame would be or the original piles, which had been dug in 1887. Luckily they were okay. It could have been very expensive to replace them, as they were 18 metres deep."

Once the condition of the building and foundations had been assessed, Shepherd then had to figure out how to maintain the facade in its original condition, something the planners and English Heritage were very keen on, and construct another building inside to house the shopping centre. He also had to incorporate the client's wish list, while keeping the subcontractors to the guaranteed maximum price.

Shepherd rates these three things as the biggest challenges on the project. The frame is a Grade II* listed building, built in 1847 in Woolwich and re-erected in Chatham in 1887. It was designed by Fox Henderson Engineers, which also designed the Crystal Palace. With such a famous history, close consultation with the planners and English Heritage at all stages was essential.

"English Heritage and the planners wishes were incorporated at the design stage," says Shepherd, "so we didn't have to keep revising it every time we sent the designs to them to be approved. We met the planners twice a week. There were 30 listing and planning conditions to meet, so we had to work very closely with them at all stages, and consult with them on everything from glazing to floor tiles."

Keeping to the 星空传媒 Regulations with modern standards of insulation was also a constant pressure, says Shepherd. "We wanted to put double-glazing on the frame, but English Heritage wasn't keen on it because it wanted the cladding to be as sympathetic as possible to the original. So we had to think again, and used single-glazing but improved the insulation in other areas of the building to increase the U-value to comply with the 星空传媒 Regulations. We also left gaps in the glazing and put in drip trays to catch any condensation that formed."

Meeting the client's wish list was the next challenge, says Shepherd. Try had agreed a guaranteed maximum price contract with Dockside but had a number of features in mind that weren't part of the original contract, so any savings it could make on the specification would be used to improve the scheme and tick off items on the list. So far, Try has made savings of more than 拢1m, which has let it increase the scope of the mechanical and electrical services (拢350,000), enhance the external works and shopfronts (拢250,000 and 拢500,000) and add a CCTV control centre (拢50,000).

Try set up a design team, which included the client, at an early stage to consider every aspect of the design to see where money could be saved. One place was on the blockwork used on the partition walls between tenant units. Instead of using blocks, Try replaced them with Jumbostud metal frames with plasterboard on either side. There was little price difference between the blocks and the frames, but because the Jumbostud was much lighter, the steel frame could be lighter and as a result the foundations shallower.

"We are working very hard so we can save enough money to incorporate the client's final wish, a food court and management suite. I'm confident we'll save enough to include them," says Shepherd.

He cites the final challenge as getting cost certainty from the subcontractors. With Try committed to a GMP, it desperately needed the same guarantees from its subbies. "There was the potential for it to go horribly wrong once we got on site. There were many areas that could have thrown up surprises, such as the conditions of the original piles. So we got the key subcontractors on board early to work up the design and adopted a partnering approach with the firms to maintain our cost certainty."

This included the scaffolding contractor, as well as the main trades. "Scaffolding is something that can run the cost away very easily," says Shepherd. "We sat down with our scaffolding contractor, JDC, very early on and worked out a programme."

that sort of teamwork doesn鈥檛 always work but this time it has

Groundwork contractor

Maintaining close control over the day-to-day working of the site was part of controlling the cost, says Shepherd. "We've committed a lot of management resources to the site, so any problems could be dealt with promptly, on day one or two, instead of becoming a bigger problem and impacting on the programme. Each site manager was responsible for an area of production, with a focus on keeping us on programme.

"The management of Try doesn't carry out any works, so it's up to us to support the contractors as best we can with logistics, good planning and anything else that will help them do their job. It is essential that we build up a relationship of trust, but as we had worked with most of these before, that wasn't difficult."

Establishing that trust and building up a spirit of teamwork on the project was vital for its success. And those who have worked with Shepherd agree that he has been instrumental in creating that.

"This project has been a pleasure to work on," says Bob Read, site agent for groundworks contractor Brett Construction. "Everyone has co-operated with each other and worked as a team, and that comes from Guy. He'd rather have things work like that than any other way. He's a very calm character, but he's self-assured and knows what he's after. He seems to be able to get people to do what he wants.

"That sort of teamwork attitude doesn't always work, but on this project it has. All the trades have interacted, not just sent requests to the main contractor, which means everyone is fighting their own corner. We've been allowed to talk to the other subcontractors, which has released a lot of stress. We can plan ahead and work out where we needed to be and whose way we need to be out of. And we have daily discussions with the site managers so we're always in touch with what is going on. This is definitely a project worth having our name against."

Senior site managers on the project, Chris McCarthy and Julian Read, agree there has been a good spirit. "Its been good fun," says Read. "The team spirit has been invaluable, it has made everything so much easier. We've had regular meetings with the subcontractors, which has helped. Guy is very enthusiastic and proactive, which gives the subbies confidence that the job can be done."

McCarthy agrees. "Guy is fine to work with, but everything has to be done right. He is very security and safety conscious, but that's as it should be. And we've only had one three-day accident in 120,000 man-hours, so it's paid off."

Dockside's Trevor Goff agrees that Shepherd has imbued the whole construction team with his positive attitude. "I've found Guy very approachable and helpful, and he also thinks laterally. He doesn't take the oft-trodden route. So far he has fed this down to the rest of the team and the project has been very enjoyable. On the whole he is quite a calm and jovial character.

"This project has been a breath of fresh air so far. The team has been very pro-active and non-confrontational. There has been an excellent spirit of teamwork, and I would put it down to the personalities on site. They are all very pleasant characters."

Try has another six months to go on the project, with practical completion, ready for client fit-out, in March 2003. Shepherd is confident the programme will be met. "The biggest challenge is getting the centre open as soon as possible so the client can begin to get revenue from it, so we are looking at beginning phased handovers as soon as possible. We are on programme, so I don't see too many difficulties with that."