Managing the construction or refurbishment of a new leisure building is an involved process, and it’s Alliance Leisure’s task to ensure that projects run smoothly, and are delivered on time and on budget. Project manager Graham Bryant of Savernake Property Consultants (retained by Alliance) explains

What is your role in Alliance Leisure’s development process?
We’re retained by Alliance to work on all their projects. Sometimes we come in at the very early stages of site investigations in our role as CDM (Construction, Design and Management Regulations) Coordinators to ensure any necessary risk assessments and method statements for the works are prepared and implemented. We also then manage the CDM process through the design and construction stages, which covers all aspects of Health and Safety.

But essentially our core work starts with preparing the building contracts for all parties, and then managing the whole building process through to completion.

Where does the process begin?
A key element at the front end is to make sure the JCT building contract is properly drafted, signed by all parties and in place before work starts on site. This contract will contain the contractors proposals for the works as well as the contract sum analysis. It’s highly important that the client not only understands what they are going to get, but how much its going to cost.

We also deal with any collateral warranties which ensure that Alliance’s clients have a legal route back to the main contractor, designers and in some cases, subcontractors. Alliance signs a direct contract with the main contractor, but their clients also need to have a route to these suppliers in the unlikely event that Alliance was no longer there.

How is the process managed?
We’re the Employer’s Agent, and we’re there to administer the contract.
Prior to works commencing on site we hold a pre-start meeting with all parties concerned, so we can agree processes, start and completion dates, and any practical issues. We’ll minute those meetings and distribute these to relevant parties.

Through construction we hold monthly progress meetings, and usually attend site fortnightly for a more informal inspection, to discuss any practical issues and ensure the contractor is abiding by the requirements of the specification, assessing whether works are on programme and checking on the quality of works undertaken.

How do you handle requested changes to the project?
It’s our job to manage such changes as well as to ensure effective cost control. If the client wants extra work done we’ll look at the building quotes to make sure the prices are appropriate and then liaise with the client as to the effect on the overall project cost should they wish to continue. At any one time in the project we’ll know what the exact costs are through the use of a formulated spreadsheet used to record all costs associated with the project, so there’s never a chance that costs will suddenly or unexpectedly overrun.

What are your other duties?
We’re responsible for managing the appropriate payments to builders, which typically happens on a monthly basis, as well as agreeing the final account.

Towards completion, we increase our site presence to once a week, and at completion we manage all the snagging, which is a vital part of the quality control process. This involves looking in minute detail for any defects. People will walk into a newly refurbished centre and say ‘wow’ because they see the general change that’s been made, while we’re looking at those unnoticed things such as scuffed suspended ceiling tiles, less than perfect mastic work, for instance. We adopt the same attitude to snagging as if we were paying for the work personally at our own home.

Is that the end of the process?
No, after completion Alliance normally operates a defects liability period of 12 months through the building contract. If any problems arise they are reported to us by Alliance’s client and we then liaise with the contractor to rectify them, which they’re contractually bound to do free of charge.