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Our project to build a 150 metre long by up to 11 metre high retaining wall, in readiness for the VLR project in Dudley is progressing at a pace.

On a very exciting note, the borough geologist discovered that the original land surface was from the last Ice Age 15,000 years ago and also that lower surfaces were made up of White bentonite clay (Volcanic ash) layers!

The works are being carried out in preparation for the VLR (very light railway) track to be installed on one side of the wall, whilst a building will be constructed on the other side of the wall.  When we visited the site this week, the works had progressed at quite a pace since our last report.

O’Brien Contractors were awarded the enabling contract on the project in Dudley next to the zoo to construct the retaining wall and carry out associated bulk earthworks.

O’Brien are acting as Principal Contractor on the project which is being carried out over a 35 week programme and our works are due to be completed by the end of May.

Creative Solutions

The client was looking for a contractor who could deliver creative solutions to provide an affordable scheme in line with their programme. The client also required a company with a robust supply chain procurement.

Having traded for over 60 years we have developed our supply chain to provide our business with the service required to meet our commitments to our clients. With long term trading relationships with suppliers of construction materials, aggregates, concrete, muckaway and recycling companies, we are able to select the most suitable option for each specific contract and operation which may not always be based on price, factors such as quality and performance also need to be considered.

WELL DONE TO RON COWLEY!

Our first winner of 2020 for our ‘Employee Outstanding Contribution Award’ is Ron Cowley, who was nominated by two of our Project Managers.  Ron was awarded a certificate of recognition and a cheque for £500.

Project Manager Guy Baker and Stuart Hopkins commented, “We nominated Ron due to his no hassle approach whenever he is asked to do anything and he can always be depended upon.

O’Brien values the skills, experience and dedication of our site teams.

In recognition of this, we have for many years run the ‘Employee Outstanding Achievement Award’. The award goes to a member of one of our site teams each quarter to coincide with our quarterly newsletter.

Project Managers nominate the operative that they think has gone above and beyond for the previous quarter and the candidate with the most recommendations wins the award. In recognition of their outstanding contribution, the winner gets a £500 cheque and a certificate in recognition of their hard work.

Today the O’Brien Charitable Trust Committee has presented the first donation from the monies raised in 2020, to the fantastic Freddie’s Wish Charity https://freddieswish.org/.

The Freddie’s Wish charity was set up by founder Charlotte Jolliffe whose son, 13 month old Freddie, was sadly taken in a tragic car accident in December 2014.

“Charlotte said: “Not long after I said my last goodbyes, I desperately wanted to seek help from other people that felt this intense emotional and physical pain I was feeling, but no one seemed to be willing to help me.”

Freddie’s Wish was set up with the aim to educate healthcare professionals and wider society in the importance of offering proactive support to bereaved parents to help them through the darkest of times.

Freddie’s wish formed a partnership with Child Bereavement UK https://www.childbereavementuk.org/ and also signpost bereaved relatives towards support that may be relevant to their specific circumstances or provide support to the family directly.

Freddie’s wish are also partnered with MDD First Aid http://www.mddfirstaid.co.uk/ to help fund first aid courses for parents/carers to give them the knowledge and skills to potentially save their child’s life.

“Sadly, Freddie ultimately lost his brave battle but the CPR administered by his Dad at the scene of the accident gave us all time to say our goodbye’s to him. This proves that doing something in an emergency first aid situation is always better than doing nothing!”

Charlotte said of the O’Brien Charitable Trust Donation:

“Thank you so much for offering a donation of £2,500 towards Freddie’s Wish, this is so incredibly generous and would make a huge difference to the charity.

In terms of how we would spend the £2.5k donation, we would wish to allocate it all towards the continued provision of free paediatric first aid sessions for anyone who looks after a child (parents, other relatives, friends, childminders etc.)

This contribution will help us to continue to provide free paediatric first aid awareness sessions throughout Warwickshire in conjunction with MDD First Aid .

So far, we have trained 650 people with essential paediatric first aid skills and the knowledge to be able to save their child’s life should they need to.

We are already fully booked until April with 2 courses running per month.

This funding could fully cover 7 paediatric first aid awareness courses at £360 per course, that would equate to approximately another 140 people being trained with vital skills for life.”

O’Brien were delighted to present a cheque for £4,000 to the Helping Hands Community Project this morning, as we continue to disburse the £30,000 raised in 2019 to good causes.

The Helping Hands Project is one which gets right to the heart of the community in Warwickshire, who work tirelessly to help the homeless and those less fortunate. This is a charity we have supported in previous years and we are delighted to donate to this great cause again this year.

HELPING HANDS COMMUNITY PROJECT

We believe
There is always hope for a better future
Everyone has a unique purpose
It feels good to do good
We’re in this with you for the whole journey
These are complex issues

The Helping Hands charity is all about local people helping local people in need. The charity gives people the support and opportunities to feel better about themselves, be more active in the community and get back into work.

Hand Up

The charity run a soup kitchen offering hot food and a listening ear. They like to give a hand up not just a handout through new skills, experience and qualifications.

House 2 Home Project

The volunteers for their ‘House 2 Home’ project support clients with goods, from fridges to furniture to recently homed and low-income families. People are referred to the charity by organisations like children’s centres, social services & domestic violence charities.

When people are re-homed, they are often given a place to stay but not all essentials like a fridge or bed. The generous community provides these goods that volunteers deliver to those who need it. This helps turn empty houses into homes!

Gateway Café

They run the Gateway Café where people can find a lovely welcome, and where they can enjoy coffee and cake to support the charity in helping people find a better future.

The Big Sleepout

The charity has organised the big sleep out for 5 years, with the latest taking place last month. ‘The Big Sleep Out’ helps the charity give the homeless and vulnerable adults in Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth the chance of a better future.

To find out more about the Helping Hands Project: https://www.helpinghandscharity.org.uk/our-story/

Helping Hands said of the donation:

“A HUGE thank you to O’Brien who have presented us with a cheque for £4,000 for the second year running following all their fantastic fundraising efforts throughout the year. Their support in helping us to make a difference to local people in need has been phenomenal.  Thank you

Today, the charitable trust were very pleased to be able to present Molly Olly’s Wishes with a cheque for £5,000 from the monies raised from our 2019 fundraising. This is a charity we have supported in previous years and we are really pleased to be able to present this money to them, to assist in continuing the great work that they do.

Molly Olly’s Wishes supports children with terminal or life threatening illnesses and their families to help with their emotional wellbeing. Granting individual wishes and donating therapeutic toys and books to both children directly and to hospitals throughout the UK.

Molly Olly’s Wishes was founded in 2011 by Rachel and Tim Ollerenshaw. Their daughter Molly Ollerenshaw was diagnosed aged 3 with a Wilms tumour and despite a long and brave 5 year fight, died in 2011.

They spent a large part of those years in and out of hospital and soon realised that many of the patients they met did not have the emotional or financial support that they had for Molly and her siblings. Molly wanted to help these children and so Molly Olly’s Wishes was born.

Molly’s mum Rachel said, “Thankyou to all the team at O’Brien Contractors Limited for their support. Your donation is very much appreciated and will help many children with life threatening illnesses”.

To find out more about Molly Olly’s Wishes: http://mollyollyshop.wpengine.com/mollys-story/

Our first event of the year for the O’Brien Charitable Trust is our annual ‘Golf Day’, which is a massively popular event!

A light hearted fun day out, starting with a nice breakfast bap before heading out onto the golf course to get down to the serious business of trying to win the competition (all in good spirits and the best possible taste of course)!

Buggies are available as well as the opportunity to stay over at the course hotel for the night after an evening of auction action, prize giving, food and dancing!

Where and When is it:

FRIDAY 10 JULY

The Warwickshire
Golf and Country Club
Leek Wootton
Warwick
CV35 7QT

Itinerary

10.30AM
Bacon Roll and Coffee on Arrival
Buggies Available Upon Request
Hotel Rooms Available Upon Request*
*(Booked with Hotel Direct)
2 Course Evening Meal
Auction of Promises
Raffle
Bar Open till Late

RSVP BY 31 MAY

So if you want to come along and join in the fun, don’t be shy, we welcome all to our charity events.  Come along and meet some of our lovely staff who will be organising / participating or both, on the day of the event.  We have individual tickets as well as package prices, so if you are interested please send an email enquiry to:

jamesbilson@obriencontractors.co.uk

stuarthopkins@obriencontractors.co.uk

danieltaylor@obriencontractors.co.uk

Take a look at some of last year’s photos below to get an idea of the fun we have at this event!

Wasps completed a hat-trick of Premiership wins at the Ricoh Arena after another brilliant game on Saturday, following the absolutely fantastic result against Saracens the week before and London Irish before that.

The five tries of the game were scored by Jack Willis, Jacob Umaga, Josh Bassett, Marcus Watson and Nizaam Carr.

The Wasps team on Saturday were made up of: Sopoaga; Watson, Fekitoa, Gopperth, Bassett; Umaga, Robson (capt); Harris, Cruse, Brookes, Matthews, Flament, Shields, Willis, Carr

Our Wasps Affiliation

O’Brien are an Affiliate Partner for Wasps Rugby Club to strengthen the association between its sports and civils work.  Our “Raise Your Game” campaign https://youtu.be/i2HgnxXMIC0 at the Wasps Stadium was designed to encompass and promote its experience and capabilities within both areas of sports and civils contracts and to continue to enlighten and encourage people to think of O’Brien Sports and O’Brien Contractors when they need assistance on any civils projects or a turnkey solution on sports and civils projects.”

O’Brien looks forward to the remainder of this year’s season supporting Wasps.

https://youtu.be/d1plYJFiJXc

Building Alteration and Upgrading Works for New Tank Farm Installation

Our multi million pound contract at the Barry Callebaut factory, Banbury is progressing at a pace.  The works which are to allow the client to increase their production by circa 20%,  started in November 2019, with major alteration works on the new ‘Tank Farm Building’ completed.  The works on this building have been carried out to ensure that the building is ready for the new product tanks to be installed within the building.

Our works on this building have included:

• Piling installation in the floor of the building to take the load imposed from the new product tanks to be installed
• Concrete reinstatement – reinstate around piles
• New resin floor installation
• White walling to stop any contamination of the product
• Installation of new steels – these were installed to strengthen the building, and for crane beams
• Painting and decoration of the building
• Brick up old roller shutter doors openings

Tank Farm Delivery Yard Construction

We have also constructed a new yard around the side and the rear of the ‘Tank Farm Building’ which was previously a landscaped area.  The new side access and new yard will allow deliveries to the rear of the building.  Our works have included:

• Reduced dig around the side and to the rear
• Muck shift
• Installation of all drainage and ducting for the building
• Install Hauraton channels and kerbs
• Install concrete bases for canopy for the delivery area to the rear
• Stone up
• Concrete bays for the vehicle delivery area.

Future works to the yard area for the ‘Tank Farm’ include the installation of 3 no doc levellers at low level, installation of all new doors and windows for the doc levellers and installation of a building for the janitors, and installation of steel for the canopy.

Building Extension and Construction Works

Our works will be continuing on site until late 2020 with further works including building extension works, internal access roads and construction of a brand new 40m x 13m stand alone Utilities / Energy Centre.

Live Manufacturing Environment

All works are being carried out within a live manufacturing environment with a busy delivery and loading operation on the site.  O’Brien have a carefully controlled regime and works phasing to ensure that manufacturing and deliveries on site are uninterrupted.  Health and Safety standards are stringent to reflect both O’Brien and Barry Callebaut’s standards.

150 Year Old – World Leading of Manufacturer of High Quality Chocolate and Cocoa Products

Barry Callebaut is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, and has been dedicated to this business for more than 150 years. The company operates out of more than 40 countries, runs about 60 production facilities, employs a global workforce of more than 12,000 people.

One in Four Chocolate & Cocoa Products Around the World Contain Barry Callebaut Products

With average sales of 2,139,758 tonnes of chocolate and cocoa products (2018/19), their products are present in one out of four of all chocolate and cocoa products consumed around the world.

The works are taking place under a 12 month programme of works.

Work to extend the West Midlands tram network to Dudley has begun and Yasmin Bodalbhai the Central News reporter came to our site on 30 January 2020, to see how works were progressing. The works which are being carried out for Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council are in preparation for the proposed construction of the Very Light Railway Innovation Centre to allow for the future alignment of the Metro Line.

https://twitter.com/InsideOBrien/status/1222797509501890560?s=20

The Midland Metro, which currently connects Birmingham and Wolverhampton, is expected to carry passengers to Dudley and Brierley Hill by 2023.  The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) said the tram line will “transform Dudley”, with council leader Pat Harley saying it “promises an exciting future” for the town. The new tram network will run from Dudley to Wednesbury, incorporating 17 stops.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said the success of town centres like Dudley will “hinge on transport links”.  “It is great to see work progressing on the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro line, helping to better connect the borough of Dudley with the wider West Midlands,” he said.

The tram extension in Birmingham opened from Grand Central station to the city’s library in December, and a busy city-centre underpass was closed to extend the line towards Edgbaston.

The first phase of the project is to construct a £4.3m wall at Castle Hill.

O’Brien Contractors have been awarded an enabling contract on the project in Dudley next to the zoo and our works involve the construction of a 150 metre long retaining wall which will be up to 11 metres high and will also involve associated bulk earthworks.

O’Brien will be acting as Principal Contractor on the project which will be carried out over a 35 week programme.

The client was looking for a contractor who could deliver creative solutions to provide an affordable scheme in line with their programme.  The client also required a company with a robust supply chain procurement.

Having traded for over 60 years we have developed our supply chain to provide our business with the service required to meet our commitments to our clients. With long term trading relationships with suppliers of construction materials, aggregates, concrete, muckaway and recycling companies, we are able to select the most suitable option for each specific contract and operation which may not always be based on price, factors such as quality and performance also need to be considered.

O’Brien Contractors are very passionate about giving new generations of construction workers the opportunity to spend time with us, to see what the construction industry is all about in a practical sense whilst they study.  Some of our work experience candidates haven’t made a final decision on what they want to do and work experience gives them a better idea about the work involved in various areas of the civil engineering and construction industry and gives them a better idea of the direction in which they want to go with their future career path.

We  operate an apprentice training scheme and we are happy to discuss our scheme with those who are dedicated, passionate and have a keen interest in growing and developing themselves within our company.  On average we provide 2 apprenticeship placements each year to support the next generation of construction specialists.

In 2019 we had 4 students who took part in work experience placements and we look forward to welcoming more during 2020.