Middlemoor Criminal Justice Centre

Exeter

Client
Devon & Cornwall Police
Contractor
Value
£25.2m
Completion Date
February 2020

The Challenge

The main challenges relating to this project were optimising the design to meet budget and making sure the design of the custody cells were Ministry of Justice compliant.

The Solution

Early appointment formed an ‘integrated team’ newly formed with common agreed objectives were able to de-risk prior to any works commencing on site. This aided and protected final account predictability which contributed to completing on time and on budget.

Built to Ministry of Justice standards using the Yellow book design guide providing first-class accommodation for solicitors and partners has been incorporated in the design, including interview rooms and medical suites. The custody centre will use modern technology to monitor the health of vulnerable detainees and offers a virtual courts system. The linked-hub buildings provide modern office and meeting space for all operational police functions.

The Results

Completed on time and on budget. Willmott Dixon worked collaboratively with their Works Partner of the Year, Stephenson Group, to reduce the in-situ concrete frame programme by 12 weeks Exeter Police Station met all the requirements for Time, Cost and Quality achievements: defect free, on budget and handed over on time after being completed two weeks early. The project used 67% Mandated Suppliers and 82% Cat A suppliers, proving that building closer relationships builds trust and improves quality and service BREEAM Excellent certification accredited to design stage and is in UK’s top 10% sustainable buildings.

Apprentices and ex-defenders

78%

SME Spend

£6.3m

Added Value

Client Satisfaction

Client Testimonials

“In a crisis our police force has demonstrated an ability to be extraordinarily agile, and the early opening of the station is an example of that”

“There has been a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes to make this happen – mostly around IT systems, and I’d like to thank those who have put in a Herculean effort to make this happen as one part of our response to this serious public health crisis.”

Alison HernandezPolice and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly

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Contractor Performance | Commitments

Fair

99% of regular payments and payment periods did not exceed 30 days

Sustainability

The facility uses 22% less energy than a traditional building of the same size, generates 68kwh of electricity a year from solar panels and carbon generated from its construction has been offset

Safe

Zero RIDDORs

Legacy

Held 100 school children visits

1,600 students engaged at career events and workshops

2 ex-military personnel joined the construction industry

Aftercare

Zero defects at handover & aftercare

Tor School – Pupil Referral Unit

April 2, 2020/in Education: Secondary Block, Council, School/by Gabby Stevens

Tor School

Glastonbury, Somerset

Project Details

Client
Somerset County Council

Project Manager
Somerset County Council

Architect
NVB Architects

Contractor
Midas Construction Ltd

Value
£2.9m

Contract Period
47 weeks

Procurement Type
Competitive tender – 2 stage

Form of Contract
NEC3 Option A

Size
830m²

Apprentices
6

Project summary

Tor School is a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) in Glastonbury, one of the ﬁrst fully integrated PRUs in the UK, which brings together three streams of Somerset County Council’s educational facilities. The school offers alternative educational provision for vulnerable young people who struggle in a mainstream school environment and provides facilities for Key Stages 2, 3 and 4. The PRU includes a Learning Enhancement Centre with facilities for outreach staff. Designed with the needs of the young people in mind, the building’s layout enables direct access from each classroom to dedicated external spaces. The different year groups share specialist spaces, including a breakout room with low-level lighting.

Midas constructed this single-storey, 12 classroom educational building on a design and build contract. This well-insulated building features blockwork render on all elevations with a truss timber roof and robust internal ﬁttings designed to accommodate the specialist needs of the pupils. Midas completed groundworks including drainage and service connections, with internal works including ﬁrst ﬁx M&E, dry lining, plastering and decorations.

The client scored the project 100% in the customer satisfaction survey at practical completion and the site received a CCS Bronze 2018 National Site Award.

“We were previously a number of different centres that were brought together as one school and in February 2018 we moved into new premises. This is one of the first fully integrated PRUs in the country. As such we try to avoid labelling young people in simplistic ways and we put the needs of the child at the centre of the learning plan we develop.”

Tor School

Community Engagement

Career Opportunities

Six apprenticeships provided through the project

Key Challenges

The client had a restricted budget with which to meet their project requirements

Midas completed a best value review with the client early in the preconstruction process to offer a £566k cost reduction at Gateway 3, with £676k delivered at Gateway 4 including changing the render speciﬁcation, changing the external paving to tarmac and rationalising the footpaths. Midas saved the client £20k by recommending metal sofﬁts as an alternative product with an improved lifespan and by building for longevity by using hardwood doorframes and achieving an air tightness rating of 3.6m³/hm² (below the target of 5m³/hm²).

This constrained site contained a party wall and was bounded by commercial and residential properties, including a live ambulance station to the south and an adjacent Learning Difﬁculties Day Centre that remained open throughout the project.

The team secured the site with Heras fencing, hoarding, signage and gate control, and liaised regularly with the client team and key stakeholders of the Day Centre. To manage the restricted space, Midas negotiated use of an adjacent unpaved area between the site and the ambulance station, used for ambulance parking. Midas created a hard-standing area shared between the ambulance service and the site team during the project, providing them with a ﬁnished car park at completion of works. Midas maintained open communication with their staff holding regular update meetings to maintain this amicable relationship.

The site contained hazardous underground and overhead live services including a high voltage (HV) cable that served half of Glastonbury. The project also included creation of a substation requiring rerouting of existing services and removal of redundant services.

To manage the signiﬁcant risk to operatives and the public presented by the live services, Midas commissioned a Utility Report and ground scans to provide an overlay of the site footprint and services. The team completed additional service locating procedures prior to breaking ground, with a subsurface scan of the entire site. Midas ensured operatives completed works under a permit to dig system, using site service drawings and hand-held locating equipment. The team coordinated with utility providers for solutions to mitigate the risk and made subcontractors aware of the risk through site inductions and Toolbox Talks. For diversion of the high voltage (HV) cable, the Midas Design Team, electrical engineer and services engineer, in collaboration with Western Power Distribution (WPD), designed and agreed a solution for a service diversion of the HV and low voltage (LV) cables. Midas established clear isolation zones around the buried services, using full barrier protection, with a strict no-dig rule implemented within these areas. Once WPD completed service diversions, Midas backﬁlled trenches to support and protect the services and reinstated protective barriers to fully segregate these areas from general construction activity. The team identiﬁed the location of diverted services using timber posts and Rhino Blocks.
Midas undertook detailed site investigations to mitigate project risks and amended the substructure design as a result. Whilst this increased the project duration between Gateway 2 and Gateway 3 it provided more time certainty for the construction phase

Project Takeaways

Our Successes

Midas came onto this project at RIBA Stage 1. The Midas Design Team used a Hazard Elimination and Management Schedule (HEMS) to identify, manage or resolve risks on the project. One of the major risks identiﬁed was the presence of live services that presented a signiﬁcant risk to operatives and the public. Midas commissioned a Utility Report, stored in the Common Data Environment using 4Projects, and commissioned ground scans to provide an overlay of the site footprint and services. Midas, as the Principal Designer, reviewed solution drawings constantly; once all stakeholders concurred the best and safest solution, works proceeded as per the agreed design.
There was a low risk of ﬂooding on the site. To manage the relatively high water table, Midas designed and constructed the building with a piled foundation solution.
The project involved unknown volumes of spoil removal with works including excavation of attenuation tanks and drainage. Midas put contingencies in place to manage this, including a provisional sum for the cost of removals to avoid any additional costs for the client. Midas monitored the volumes excavated, checked and agreed volumes and costs with the client, and reused excavated materials on site where possible.

Our Learnings

Wessex Water initially declined our request to connect the new building to the existing sewer system, due to the position of a drainage ditch at the rear of the site. To address this Midas negotiated and agreed with the neighbouring properties to use a tractor on their adjacent land. The site team cleared the ditch and conﬁrmed it was not in use as drainage. Midas issued a report to Wessex Water and secured subsequent agreement to connect to the sewer.

Added Value

Of the total ﬁrms employed on this project, 96.2% were SMEs with 100% of the project value spent with local companies. The site employed 90% local labour, including advertising jobs through local employment vehicles that led to two full time placements.
The team remained on site for two weeks after practical completion to assist with the handover process, resolve any outstanding snagging issues during the building’s initial use and for client services. The Midas team maintained constant communication with the Head Teacher during this period to resolve any issues and ensure a smooth handover.

KPI’s & Statistics

Contract	Gateway 2 Planning	Gateway 3 Contract Agreement	Variation
Cost	£2,949,492	£2,901,181	-£48,311 (-0.3%)
Time	34 weeks	38 weeks	4 weeks (11.8%)

KPI Graphs

Apprentices 6
Graduates 1
Average AIR 0
Average CCS score 40.5
Waste diverted from landfill 92.1%
Cost/m2 £3,502m²
Cost/m2 excl abnormals £2,347m²

Yeovil Innovation Centre

April 2, 2020/in Civic and Community Block, Brick, Council, Industrial, Office, Roads, Steel/by Gabby Stevens

Yeovil Innovation Centre

Yeovil, Somerset

Project Details

Client
South Somerset District Council

Project Manager
NPS South West Limited

Architect
NPS South West Limited

Contractor
Midas Construction Ltd

Value
£1.5m

Contract Period
40 weeks

Procurement Type
Competitive tender – 2 stage

Form of Contract
NEC3 Option A

Size
1,044m²

Project summary

The Yeovil Innovation Centre is an evolving business community designed for small businesses and entrepreneurs that require high quality, low-cost and flexible work spaces with room for growth. Supported by funding from the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, Midas constructed this two-storey extension for client South Somerset District Council to expand the capacity and update resources at this multi-office facility.Located on Lufton Trading Estate to the east of Yeovil’s town centre, the Innovation Centre provides reception and meeting areas for tenants and entrepreneurs looking for the flexibility of short term leases. This extension offers over 1,000m² office accommodation across two floors. The structure is strip footing foundations supporting a portal steel frame, with a block and beam ground floor and precast first floor and roof, and raised access flooring installed to both floors. It benefits from brise soleil solar shading, with internal plasterboard finish that allows for future reconfiguration of the ground floor to meet the changing needs of tenants. Midas’ works included a lift, shell and core finish to the first floor, a single ply roof and landscaping. The project received a score of 96% in the customer satisfaction survey at practical completion.

“The perfect location to nurture and grow your business.”

Yeovil Innovation Centre

Community Engagement

Career Development

8 Apprentices through the project

Key Challenges

Meeting the client’s design expectations within their budget

Budget: Early in the programme Midas’ market intelligence and cost benchmarking works identified a challenge, with the client’s design requirements exceeding their budget allowance. Midas’ commercial team worked closely with the client’s designers and our supply chain partners to deliver £550,000 of value engineering – including changing the structural frame, amending the window and natural ventilation configuration, amending hollow clay pot and lintel solution, and rationalising roof and gutter design – to make the project viable whilst achieving the client’s vision.

The Innovation Centre remained open and occupied throughout the works

Occupied building: Prior to commencement, Midas established a secure construction site perimeter to segregate live works from the Centre, and erected full perimeter Heras fencing with solid hoarding to the front elevation and post and rail fencing to pedestrian routes. Midas liaised with the client in advance of works and completed noisy works at agreed times. The team implemented acoustic protection measures including forming two baffle bunds from soils excavated on site. The team restricted and segregated noisy works, managed the movement of plant, and situated cement mixers on the opposite side of the site from neighbours. The team held regular consultation meetings to update neighbours on the project; allowing one to one discussions and providing advance notice of noisy works to Centre staff. The team monitored noise, dust and vibration levels through the works and across the site. Contractors completed cutting works in designated areas and made sparing use of damping down to manage dust whilst restricting the site’s water use.

The project involved connection of the extension to an operational building with live services

Live services: The project included demolition works to form a link opening to the existing structure, and service and utilities connections between the original building and the extension. Midas engaged early with the Centre’s management team and planned works in consultation with them. Thanks to the good relations with the client, the site team developed a mutually agreed programme. This ensured Midas could complete demolition, connection and security works during daylight hours, allowing time to address any potential issues. Midas installed a lockable partition early in the programme to segregate works and mitigate disturbance from noise or dust. The team then installed temporary works prior to commencing demolition to support the structural integrity of the façade whilst forming the structural opening. Midas brought new services to the edge of the extension and existing services to the connection point in the original building, before completing service connections overnight. This simplified the connection process, ensured services were not in use during works and prevented disturbance of the Centre staff.

Project Takeaways

Our Successes

Upon review of the original design specification, Midas identified that the ties to secure the steel frame to the Porotherm structural block were unsuitable. Midas raised a technical query and provided an advance warning to the architect, requesting a replacement and utilising more traditional brick ties as a solution.
Midas requested the precast concrete stairs be delivered with pre-cut pockets on the horizontal treads, so that the team could fit scaffolding bars directly into them when placing the sections on site. Midas then used these upright bars to connect handrails, providing a time-effective safety solution that avoided noisy cutting works on site and simplified the scaffolding required.

Our Learnings

The site experienced several weeks of high winds, followed by weeks of extreme unseasonal snow during February and March 2018. The inclement weather hit as the team were preparing to install precast concrete planks and the block and beam using a crane. Midas successfully mitigated the impact of the weather and delivered the project on time.

Value Added

Midas used a combination of best practice and added value solutions to deliver over £530k (35.5%) of client savings at practical completion Gateway 4. Midas worked with the client to complete a significant redesign of the superstructure at tender stage, including a reduction in floor area, to deliver £500k of savings. The team retained 1,800 tonnes of excavated soil on site, using it to form two acoustic baffle bunds and reusing the materials for base and landscaping for a saving of £22k.
The project supported the local economy with 96.2% of the total firms employed being SMEs, of which 40.7% were based within 30 miles of the site.
The team developed a Skills Plan for Yeovil college students, including a series of specific site visits and interactive events. The site employed apprentices from Yeovil College and supported two work experience placements through the site. The trainee site manager was a former Royal Marine, who Midas supported into a new career in construction. The team also developed local employment skills by advertising four jobs through local employment vehicles; delivering seven training plans, three supervisor training plans, one leadership and management training plan for subcontractors; and delivering four advanced health and safety training plans for subcontractors.

KPI’s & Statistics

Contract	Gateway 2 Planning	Gateway 3 Contract Agreement	Variation
Cost	£2,117,646	£1,474,292	-£545,854 (-30.4%)
Time	42 weeks	36 weeks	-6 weeks (-14.3%)

Apprentices: 8
Average AIR: 0
Average CCS score: 41
Waste diverted from landfill: 99.2%
Cost/m2: £1,574m²
Cost/m2: excl abnormals £1,453m²
Cost/m2: Industry average £ m

Loddiswell Primary School

April 2, 2020/in Education: Primary Block, Brick, Council, Industrial, Office, Roads, Steel/by Gabby Stevens

Loddiswell Primary School

Loddiswell, Devon

Project Details

Client
Devon County Council

Project Manager
NPS South West Limited

Architect
NPS South West Limited

Contractor
Midas Construction Ltd

Value £2.4m

Contract Period
37 weeks

Procurement Type
Competitive tender – 2 stage

Form of Contract
NEC3 Option A

Size 890m²

Apprentices
3

Project summary

Situated in rural village surroundings, Loddiswell Primary School provides a welcoming and inclusive learning environment. The school is a 150-place, one form-entry single storey building with capacity to expand as the school grows. The school provides four classrooms, complete with interactive whiteboards and modern ICT equipment, a library, school hall and extensive outside space including a multi-use games area and playgrounds.

The building is timber frame with Structural Insulated Panels with a sectional roof, supported by glulam beams. The finished building features a 14kw PV array, larch weatherboarding and rubble stone walling, with an access road and car parking.Externally, Midas completed landscaping works and created a swale planted with wetland wildflowers as part of the Sustainable Urban Drainage Strategy, to help manage drainage, prevent flooding or run off, increase biodiversity and provide a source of natural interest for the pupils.The project scored 88% in the customer satisfaction survey at practical completion and received a CCS 2019 Bronze National Site Award.

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“Our aim is to provide the best possible learning environment for all of the children in a caring supportive atmosphere.”

Louise Nicholls - Head of School

Community Engagement

Career Opportunities

Three apprenticeships provided through the project

Key Challenges

The village of Loddiswell is off the gas grid, meaning the building could not benefit from low carbon gas grids and hydrogen solutions, and had no direct access to the cheapest heating options

To address the power supply Midas installed air-source heat pumps, with a 14kw PV array on the roof. The building includes wind-catchers to increase natural ventilation, designed through the Building Physics strategy to meet requirements for natural ventilation, solar shading and natural daylight.

The building needed to be made watertight as early in the programme as possible, to ensure the client-design timber frame retained its integrity

Midas implemented Structural Insulated Panel (SIPS) construction. This off site construction method is then fitted at the premises, enabling the team to make the building watertight sooner and resulting in a positive impact on the programme whilst also reducing waste, noise, dust and air pollution on site.

The site was in proximity to new houses, with a large population of children, with access only available via narrow roads through the existing housing estate

To manage the constrained access Midas restricted delivery vehicle size and scheduled deliveries to avoid rush hour and early mornings, directing site traffic to circumvent the village, and closely managed vehicle movements and timing to avoid disruption. The team reduced site movements by completing a cut and fill exercise, retaining 1,100m³ of excavated materials for the sports pitch and landscaping. The site team monitored the cleanliness of the access road, preempting the need for a road sweeper where necessary, and formed a tarmac car park within the site at the start of the project. Contractors used on-site parking to keep the residential roads clear and the vehicle controller monitored contractor parking to mitigate disturbance to the neighbours.

Project Takeaways

Our Success

The client requested several changes near the end of the project. Midas collaborated with them, the consultants and representatives from the school to adjust the programme to accommodate these works and still complete on the agreed date. Midas liaised frequently with these stakeholders to maintain a positive working relationship and accommodate the client’s requests.
The site team undertook extensive pre-start planning and consultation with NPS South West and the design team. The clients required the project to receive planning permission prior to them completing purchase of the land; Midas liaised with stakeholders at the preconstruction stage to collaboratively support the planning, in line with the philosophy of the SCF Framework, developing the design to maximise efficiency within the budget through an integrated team. Midas developed the cost plan and risk register with the client team to ensure a collaborative approach.
Midas invited representatives from the school to attend regular site meetings, keeping them informed on the progress of works. The team completed a sample room early in the programme, to use as a quality standard for subcontractors, to allow the client and end users to view the planned final standard and décor of the rooms

Our Learnings

The site experienced severe inclement weather during the winter and spring of 2017/18. To accommodate this, Midas liaised with the client and the school as a team to agree a solution. Midas completed works to the sports pitch, play area and gazebo at the end of the project during the school summer holidays, an adjustment that suited the school and enabled works to progress whilst mitigating the impact of the weather on the programme.

Value Added

Midas delivered over £90k (3.7%) of savings to the client by project completion Gateway 4, with a combination of best practice and added value reviews including: saving £15k through programme mitigation; and saving £56k through early contribution to the risk register and managing potential issues.
The project worked to the Employment Skills Plan, providing seven work placements for persons aged 16 or over; supported seven curriculum activities; advertised four jobs through local employment vehicles; supported three NVQ starters through subcontractors; completed seven training plans for subcontractors and supervisor training for one subcontractor; and provided advanced health and safety training for 21 subcontractors. The site provided four of the work experience placements through the ‘Step In Step Up’ careers campaign and subsequently made an offer of employment, with the candidate accepting a job with the site team.
The site employed 100% SMEs, with 61% of firms based within 30 miles of the project

KPI’s & Statistics

Contract	Gateway 2 Planning	Gateway 3 Contract Agreement	Variation
Cost	£2,238,653	£2,420,067	-£40,300 (8.1%)
Time	37 weeks	37 weeks	0 weeks

KPI Graphs

Apprentices 3
Average AIR 0
Average CCS score 41
Waste diverted from landfill 41%
Cost/m2 £2,793m²
Cost/m2 excl abnormals £1,948m²
Cost/m2 Industry average £ m

Contact:

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Ashmole Primary School

March 4, 2020/in London Education: Primary School/by Gabby Stevens

Ashmole Primary School

Client
ESFA
Contractor
Value
£7.5m
Completion Date
November 2018

Project Background

A new-build 2FE school to provide a permanent new home for Ashmole Primary School. The school created 420 places for pupils aged four to 11 and provides teaching space for KS1 and KS2 along with offices, a sports hall, a community room and a canteen.

The Challenge

The school was built on a land-filled site with debris built up from previous excavations in the local area. The ground was found to contain asbestos and obstructions. The risk was quantified and a management strategy was put in place to remove the asbestos and obstructions from the site. This put significant pressure on the project programme.

The Solution

The use of SIPs achieved a 10 week programme saving during the pre-construction phase and a five week programme saving during the construction phase of the project. This has led to SIPs being used on subsequent SCF and Morgan Sindall projects. The frame, including the roof, floor and walls, was installed in 13 weeks, which is a significant saving compared to traditional construction methods.