The Project
An inspection of Derbyshire’s custody suites in April 2018 by HMICFRS identified the number of potential ligature points as the key urgent issue to address. The project sought to address this along with general refurbishment of the suite. The works comprised:
- Replacement anti-ligature home office compliant sanitaryware and lighting.
- Construction of service risers to house the new electronics which control the flush mechanisms and service valves.
- Redecoration with anti-pick paint system.
- Replacement suspended ceilings with secure anti vandal, anti-ligature ceiling.
- Replacement M & E systems, including heating and ventilation, lighting and CCTV.
- Replacement flat roof covering with high performance felt system with 30 year guarantee and improved levels of thermal insulation to reduce carbon emissions and heating bills.
In addition, the flat and pitched roof coverings to the plant room were also replaced.
The Challenge
The original concept was to carry out the custody suite refurbishment works as one package and the roofing works as a further separate contract. This approach, however, resulted in programming delays which adversely impacted on Police operations and was an expensive solution from a health and safety perspective.
The Solution
In order to achieve better value for money and minimise the operational impact of the works Make put forward the concept of combining both projects in to one contract. This approach helped reduce costs by reducing contractor overheads and preliminaries. A further added benefit was a reduction in the professional fees associated with project delivery, as the combined project value reduced due to the preliminaries savings meant the professional fees also reduced. Although modest, a saving of £5,000 was achieved in professional fees approaching the project in this way.
A further benefit of combining the 2 projects into one was the time saving achieved and the associated reduction in time the custody suite had to be shut. The roofing project was planned at 8 weeks duration and the refurbishment project 12 weeks. By running the projects concurrently 8 weeks were saved on total project duration. At the project specific preliminaries rate of circa £2,200 per week this saved the combined project almost £17,600.
Having one contractor act as Principal Contractor under the CDM Regulations and manage both aspects of the refurbishment work also streamlined the project approach and delivery, saving time for the Assets Team in the delivery phase and de-risking the entire project from a health and safety perspective.
The Outcome
The refurbished custody suite met the rigorous Home Office construction standards for custody suites.
Make as Lead Designer had to manage and coordinate the input of the key Mechanical and Electrical Design Consultants, in this case EP Consulting. M + E intervention was a significant part of the works package and had to be managed effectively to ensure it was delivered seamlessly with the building works element. There was extensive design liaison with EP and regular coordination meetings both pre and post contract award with the design team and the key contractors and sub-contractors. Site progress meetings were held every 2 weeks to support this need for enhanced coordination and twice weekly joint site visits were made to ensure effective coordination.
