Procure Partnerships Framework Contractor Partner City Build have successfully completed a programme of refurbishment works to the Force Control Room at the Police’s headquarters facility in Hutton, Lancashire. These areas had not been upgraded for over 20 years so required extensive Mechanical and Electrical services, partitions, suspended ceilings, flooring, doors, windows, IT and furniture.
The project was secured via the Procure Partnerships North West Framework.
The site remained fully operational throughout the works. The Force Control Room was located off a live corridor so special care was taken to protect police staff from the works through careful segregation and robust procedures for mitigating dust and noise, with loud works limited to before and after the usual working day. The installation of new IT and data points involved close liaison with the Police’s IT department and their nominated electrical contractor.
A key driver of the project was that it needed to be entirely defect-free at handover as snagging works would be almost impossible, due to the Force Control Room being operational 24-hours a day, and including sensitive, high tech ICT equipment. City Build worked closely and collaboratively with the Police’s IT department and electrical subcontractor, E Thompson, at pre-contract stage to develop a methodology to ensure the highest quality of IT installation at handover. Pre-handover snagging in the final two weeks meant the project was handed over to the highest quality and defect-free.
City Build also focused on Social Value created in accordance with Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioners Social Value Policy and Lancashire Constabulary’s four Priorities of Policing.
Social Value commitments included:
– All supply chain partners committed to employees being paid a minimum of the Living Wage throughout the duration of the contract.
– A target for 90% of project costs to be spent with SMEs, and 85% spend with SMEs located within 15 miles of the project was achieved. The electrical contractor, Thompson Building Services Engineers, is based 6 miles away in Preston, and employ local staff as well as an apprentice scheme. At least 1 apprentice Electrician worked on the Force Control Room at any time.
– Delivery of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 materials at the same time, to reduce the number of deliveries to site. The phase 2 materials were stored in the interim period prior to commencement. With the Police’s permission City Build retained fridges and sofas which the police asked to be discarded during the strip-out phase, refurbished them and sold them on, donating the money received to the North West Police Benevolent Fund, which provides support and care to Police officers in need.
Like many ongoing projects at this time, City Build faced many challenges due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. The milestones for this project changed many times during the contract period as a result, with works being put on temporary hold by the Client in early 2021 during the national lockdown. However, works were still delivered within a reasonable time frame and to the highest standard.
The original tender value was £1,052,997, however City Build engaged with the client prior to construction and successfully value engineered the scheme to reduce the contract value by £170k. The value engineering was achieved through condition inspections on site and a deep analysis of the specification with the design team. City Build worked closely with their supply chain regarding innovation, allowable design changes, proposed alternative materials and methods of construction, for example looking to see if any of the existing furniture and equipment could be reused or recycled.
Andrew Field, Business Manager, City Build, Commented: “City Build has enjoyed working collaboratively with Lancashire Constabulary over the last two years, providing refreshed Estates Office and Force Control Room facilities at Hutton HQ through the Procure Partnerships Framework. Together with our recent work for Greater Manchester Police, and past projects for North Wales Police, Cheshire Constabulary, Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue, and the NHS, we have developed considerable experience in the successful delivery and handover of ‘blue light’ projects on time, to budget, safely and defect free. We look forward to continuing our association with the Police in future years”.
Natalie Palframan, Key Account Manager, Procure Partnerships Framework, Commented: We’re really excited to see this project come to completion at such a high standard. We work with our contractor partners to ensure high quality is delivered on every project through the framework, so we’re particularly pleased to see City Build achieve zero defects on this project for Lancashire Police.”
Click Here To Download a Procure Partnerships Framework User Guide
Twitter
Linkedin
Faye Dolan, an esteemed professional and Framework Director at Procure Partnerships, boasts a rich and diverse career spanning seven years in the construction industry. Faye’s journey within Procure Partnerships began in 2018 as a Key Account Manager, initially overseeing the North West region and later extending her purview to the entire North.
