Page 25 - Hive 28 March 2019

EXCELLENCE THROUGH OUR PEOPLE, PROCESS AND PERFORMANCE

SOUTH
Harrow

The London business continues to focus on the
completion of two significant projects; The Glebe
and Centre Point.

It is important that we learn lessons from these two contracts and thoroughly
prepare ourselves for 1 Palace Street to ensure that the project receives solid
investment in knowledge and shared expertise. The most significant issue is
quality, namely our control process to ensure we are ‘right first time’. This is
a key issue as we are generally man-marked by a client that demands very
high standards through resident engineers (clerk of works). The result is a
necessity to build projects twice, as we are let down by sub-contractors who
lack a ‘right first time’ approach. This situation may have been evident over
many years but is now particularly unforgiving.

I believe that these high end residential projects represent a masterclass 23
in engineering. The perception is that they are simple, but my first-hand
experience suggests otherwise. They consist of cooled environments, high
rise, NR25 rooms, 230mm ceiling voids, integrated lighting, temp control,
window and blind control, remote billing, complex cause and effects and to
top it all off – swimming pools! This combination stretches the very best of
our engineering brains on site.

Going forward it is time for consolidation: to complete Centre Point and The
Glebe, be well organised on Palace Street commencing Q1 2019, then focus
on the right client, the right sector and reinvent ourselves and believe in our
abilities putting to use valuable lessons learnt. We will be focussing on new
clients in an effort to do more with fewer customers, creating a repeat work
culture where clients want us. Our behaviours have to be firm to protect our
entitlements but be such that our clients know that we do a great job and
endorse such with references and come back for more.
My thanks go out to all those with the tenacity to stick at challenging projects
and to see them through to the end. These tough projects will enhance our
skill sets and once complete we will be stronger and ready for tomorrow’s
challenge. Finally, we are talking to new clients and exploring new sectors,
also talking to a few past clients including Berkeley Homes. It is noted that
three schemes we have supported recently have been shelved, namely Luton
Street, Lewisham Gateway and Royal Albert Hall. This is a concerning trend
and is most likely a result of cash liquidity and market confidence. We are
targeting Courtauld Connects on the Strand with Sir Robert McApline which
is a submitted tender in early stages of customer contemplation. This project
is certainly different to the current residential sector work which is live today
and would be a key contributor to our budget for 2019”.

Gary Heitmann
Managing Director, & Midlands
Lorne Stewart Engineering