Horley Primary School
Surrey
Project Details
Client
Surrey County Council
Project Manager
Hampshire County Council
Architect
Hampshire County Council
Contractor
Miller
Value
£4.3m
Contract Period
46.3 weeks (reduced from 53.6 at Gateway 2)
Procurement Type
Develop & Construct (2 Stage Open Book)
Form of Contract
NEC 3
Size
£1344 sqm
Project Brief
Horley Primary School is one of many schools procured within the Education Basic Needs Programme as part of the Property Services Cluster initiative, which includes ten school projects delivered by Miller Construction for Surrey County Council on Tranche 2 (phase 2 of a larger programme):
- In excess of £600,000 benefits identified at Contract Formation – Gateway 3.
- 13% saving on construction programme (7 weeks) achieved through design review.
- £233/sqm savings through standardisation and alternative specification.
Key Challenges
Transfer of knowledge from Tranche 1(a previous phase of the programme), significantly assisted the collaborative 2 stage open book procurement to improve on the procedures and processes.
Having created a Cluster Delivery Team (CDT) with the other contractors on Tranche 1, we were able to utilise the knowledge gained from taking the lead. Design management strategy was to integrate with the client design teams at the earliest opportunity, to identify key stakeholder requirements and maximise opportunity for standardisation and value engineering through our supply chain engagement.
Collaborative Engagement prior to Planning Application.
Meetings with Miller consultants, client and Planning Authority led to alternative positioning and design of building, to secure a timely planning consent whilst also achieving significant cost savings.
Early Engagement with Designers, Sub Contractors and Product supply Chain.
Value engineering sessions with designers and subcontractor led to alternative substructure and ground floor solution to address nature of ground conditions, and simplification of roof levels and Parapet design.
Project Takeaways
Our Learnings
- Supply Chain Benefits – Early engagement of the supply chain has positively influenced outcomes, maximising overall efficiencies for cost, time and quality delivery. Miller Construction has utilised the early activities of the CDT to improve supply chain and cashable efficiencies.
- Collaborative Engagement prior to Planning Application – A collaborative process takes time, but through engagement prior to RIBA Stage D, we secured a time saving in the planning application decision making process by approx 4 weeks (there is a statutory period of 8 weeks for the planning application). Miller Construction worked with our design team, Capita, to take the scheme back an RIBA workstage to Stage B in order to address buildability issues and produce a more cost effective building
- Our Employment and Skill plan enabled employment training, apprentices and community engagement across a programme of works, providing continuity of employment across several projects.
- A collaborative team with long term relationships across a programme of works also helps with many other wider objectives.
KPI’s & Statistics
| Contract | Gateway 2 Formation | Gateway 2 Final Account | Variation |
| Cost | £4.3m | £4.3m | |
| Time | 53.6 weeks | 46.3 weeks | 7.3 weeks |
Contact: Steve Cresswell, Miller Construction
Email: steve.cresswell@miller.co.uk
