Category: News

The trust has for the third year, since it was set up by the O’Brien staff in 2017 reached it’s target!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED 

The Charitable Trust has now reached it’s 2019 target after a year of fundraising organised by the O’Brien Trust committee that is made up of staff members who give their time and dedication to reach that magic £15,000 target, so we can get another £15,000 from the O’Brien Directors once we reach that target, enabling us to give £30,000 to good causes.

WHAT WE DID TO REACH OUR TARGET

It has been a year of hard work to organising the various events.  The year kicked off in July with the Charity Golf Day which is always so competitive!  Our wonderful Charity Ball in the Great Hall at Warwick Castle where everyone dazzled us with their beautiful outfits.  We also had lots of smaller events, such as a Bake Sale organised by one of the staff, Movember, Christmas Jumper Day, the sale of homemade Christmas cake, and our Gold Bar Raffle.  We have had auctions at our events and outside of the events as well, it has been a busy year!

WE COULDN’T DO IT WITH OUT YOU!

Of course without the people who support us each year, we could not achieve these fantastic results and meet our targets.  Our suppliers, people who sponsor our events, those that purchase tickets to attend the events, people who donate the auction items, those that share our posts to help sell our tickets and get those bids in for the auction items, we could not do it without you, so: A GREAT BIG, HUGE, MASSIVE THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU!

WHERE WILL THE MONEY GO!

In the new year we will be distributing the 2019 money that has been raised to our selected charitable organisations and we will keep you posted about where the money has gone and information on those organisations, so keep an eye out for information on that!

2020 EVENTS

We will also be announcing our events for 2020 in the New Year, which are currently being discussed. We hope that you are able to be as generous and supportive of the trust in the New Year and we look forward to seeing you at next years events!

Our annual Christmas Jumper and Charity Shoe Box Day has arrived!

So who are the naughty people not wearing a jumper!

Mmm, take a look at the rogues in the gallery of photos to find out!  On the plus side they paid their money for charity (£5 entry fee for the office staff) all money goes to the O’Brien Charitable Trust.

Lots of lovely jumpers around the office and a few head and beard trimmings as well!

The staff also bring in shoe boxes filled with goodies and necessities for the homeless, vulnerable and lonely for ‘Coventry Cyrenians Charity’, who distribute the boxes on Christmas day and provide a Christmas meal for those less fortunate.

Continuous Investment

O’Brien Contractors have made our latest investment in technology with Trimble’s new in-field visualisation system, SiteVision. Thanks to KOREC, we have been very fortunate to have the first unit in the country outside the beta testing group. We feel this new technology is going to be of great benefit to us with a wide range of on-site applications. Realising the potential of new technology and investing early in such systems has given us a proven strategic advantage in terms of quality, programme and cost.

Providing Our Clients’ and Prospective Client’s with a Vision! 

SiteVision gives us the ability to communicate Designs with our Clients (contracted or prospective), stakeholders, management and operatives by visualising a design in real time, in the real world rather than pondering over paper drawings or reviewing 3D models on a computer.

Improved Safety on Buried Services

It also enables us to highlight any existing buried services prior to breaking ground, helping us to improve the safety of our operatives. As well as promoting safety, it enables us to understand the possible implications and interaction our works will have with existing services and avoid any potential issues or clashes before we commence.

O’Brien and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Experiencing the Benefits of Site Vision

The benefits of SiteVision have already been capitalised on in our new job in Dudley, facilitating the enabling works for the Dudley Very Light Railway Innovation Centre. SiteVision enabled us to easily communicate the design to directors, engineers and operatives alike, making visualising the site much easier than it would be using traditional methods. As well as this, SiteVision enabled visual validation of the works being carried out by our 3D Machine Controlled (3DMC) plant. Due to the same 3D model and coordinate system being used in both the 3DMC machines and SiteVision, it was very straightforward to compare exactly where the machine operators had constructed elements on site in comparison to where they should be according to the design.

All in all we feel our new SiteVision will be a valuable asset to the company, and are confident there will be many new and interesting opportunities it will assist us on in the future.

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

In recognition of this, we have for many years run the ‘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.

WELL DONE TO OUR 2019 WINNERS!

Colin Robinson

Awarded it in recognition of his willingness to tackle any task on site. Although he works as a machine driver, he is willing to help out with any task on site, nothing is too much trouble!

John Reilly

Described as one of the most dependable and skilful employees at O’Brien’s, who can be relied onto make some of the trickier finishing works look simple!

Paul Owen 

Stuart Hopkins – Project Manager commented, “Paul is an integral part of any project team he works on, he is always one of the first on the job each morning and his work and safety when operating large excavators around our workforce is exemplary”.

Pat Kelly

Project Manager Rob Gallagher commented, “Pat is a great team player, whether he is working on his own or sharing his outstanding knowledge of groundworks with others.

The boys in the office have done us proud once again, raising an amazing £1,800 for the O’Brien Charitable Trust in the Movember Challenge.

Dan Taylor, John Maxwell and James O’Brien grew those top lip warmers for the whole of November (in the freezing weather we have had, they were likely glad of the extra warmth)!

With Peter O’Brien pledging additional money for the winner, we decided to put the vote to the public and let them decide who the winner would be and after a 24 hour vote, the public decided that John Maxwell was the voted King of the Moustache this year, (although they are all winners in our eyes).

John raised £1,130 which is a fantastic amount of money!

Thank you to everyone who sponsored our worthy contestants and got behind one of our last fundraisers of the year, in our quest to raise that magic £15,000.

Just in case you don’t know, if the staff raise £15,000 between January and the end of December, the O’Brien Directors match that amount so we have £30,000 to distribute in January to our chosen Charities for 2019.

We really appreciate all the support and sponsors, not just for this event, but all of our events throughout the year.

WATCH OUT FOR OUR CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY POST ON 13 DECEMBER!

O’Brien has been awarded a second contract by Urban Splash at the new Port Loop Development in Birmingham.

Following on from the success of our phase one works, we have now been awarded works on the second phase.  Works on the first phase of the project was for foundations, drainage and landscaping works for 40 new 2 and 3 storey homes, including canalside housing, along with the construction of roads and pavements.  On the second phase works we will be proving foundations, drainage, landscaping, roads and pavements for a further 28 2 and 3 storey homes.

O’Brien looks forward to continuing working with Urban Splash to create a state-of-the-art new development project.

Circled by a kilometre of historic canal, Port Loop is a brand new community with an urban island at its heart. Just 15 minutes’ walk from the city centre, this is Birmingham’s most exciting new place to live.

The Port Loop masterplan includes a range of spacious modern homes, communal gardens, a new swimming pool and leisure centre, traffic-free green streets, a vibrant community hub and central Birmingham’s first new public green spaces in over a decade. Over 1.5km of new tow paths will also help to make it part of a better connected city. A place for couples, singletons, families and all generations, it’s a brand new neighbourhood, built from the ground up.

Urban Splash said: “The future neighbourhood of Port Loop will be both liveable and loveable. We are creating an environment that helps us look after ourselves, with homes that suit our changing ways of life in a place that embraces multi-generational living.

O’Brien have secured a multi million pound contract at the Barry Callebaut factory, Banbury.

O’Brien have been engaged as Principal Contractor for major civils works at the Barry Callebaut chocolate manufacturing site. The project consists of extending and refurbishing an existing chocolate factory to increase production by circa 20%.

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.  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.

Following on from our successful enabling package that we carried out on site earlier this year and a lengthy tender and discussion process we have secured the contract to carry out this major project at the Banbury site.

Works on the project include the construction of a brand new 40m x 13m stand alone Utilies / Energy Centre, as well as major alterations, building extensions and upgrading works to other buildings on the site.  We will also be constructing a new concrete tanker yard and internal access roads as part of the works.

The works are taking place in a live food manufacturing environment with a busy delivery and loading operation, therefore the works are being carefully phased with a control regime to reflect our client’s standards for work within the production facilities on site.

The works have now commenced on site where works will take place over the next 12 months.

CHARITY BALL – WARWICK CASTLE

An amazing night at our sell out charity ball at the beautiful Warwick Castle.

Our suppliers, sponsors and guests were all so generous, making the event a fantastic, fun filled event with over 150 guests, who enjoyed all of the fabulous entertainment on offer as well as a delicious meal in the amazing Great Hall.

Guests enjoyed the hilarious game of Bums & Heads, and whilst our guests enjoyed a slap up three course meal and drinks, they were entertained by the Castle’s feuding Knights battling it out, which was absolutely fabulous and exciting to watch.  This was followed by our silent auction where we had some exciting and very generous donations and very generous bids, followed by the live band so guests could  dance the night away.

We had donations of some fabulous auction items at this year’s ball to bid on, raising over £2,000 which included:

1. Signed England Rugby Shirt – Kindly Donated by Ben Lewitt at Green Room Sports
2. Framed James Hakell Signed Help for Heroes Shirt – Kindly Donated by Look Who’s Talking
3. Signed Aston Villa Shirt – Kindly Donated by Aston Villa Football Club
4. Half Day Jaguar Land Rover Experience – Kindly Donated by Jaguar Land Rover
5. Hamper Basket – Kindly Donated by O’Brien Contractors Ltd
6. Champagne – Kindly Donated by MGP
7. Four Tickets to Warwick Castle – Kindly Donated by Warwick Castle
8. Two Tickets to The Arts Theatre London – Kindly Donated by Lizzie Scott
9. Japan World Rugby Signed Ball – Kindly Donated by Ben Lewitt at Green Room Sports

CHARITY GOLF DAY – WARWICKSHIRE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB

Another absolutely brilliant day of fun at our annual Charity Golf Day, where despite the weather everyone had a fabulous time and helped the Charitable Trust raise lots of money to help reach our magic goal of £15,000 by December 2019.

A MASSIVE THANK YOU!!

To suppliers, Warwickshire Golf and Country Club, and all other attendees and everyone else who supported the event in any way. Without the support of all the wonderful people that attend, take part in the auctions, donate items etc, we couldn’t raise as much as we do!
THE WINNERS WERE!!! Construction Skills team who won all three categories: The team event, the individual and runner up event.

O’Brien Contractors have been awarded an enabling contract on the project in Dudley next to the zoo.  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.

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

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.

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.

WASP’S AFFILIATE PARTNER MEMBERSHIP FOR THE SECOND YEAR RUNNING

In September 2019 O’Brien Contractors signed up for the Affiliate Partner Membership for the second year running. This gives O’Brien exposure on Ricoh Arena’s new giant 188-square-metre LED screen and around the stadium on Wasps matchdays, as well as exclusive ticket offers for staff and access to hospitality packages along with pitch side branding.

Stephen Vaughan, Chief Executive at Wasps, said: “Having O’Brien join our Affiliate Partner scheme is fantastic news and adds to our growing list of local and national businesses wanting to use Wasps as a vehicle for their customer or staff engagement for the 2019/20 season.

“O’Brien Contractors are highly-regarded within the development and construction industry and we look forward to welcoming them throughout the new campaign.”

O’Brien Contractors are a multi-award-winning civil engineering contractor with over 60 years of experience in the UK construction sector.

The business has been a part of the Midlands development and construction industry since 1958 when the company was founded by Tom O’Brien, the father of current Directors, Peter and Mick O’Brien.

Peter O’Brien, Managing Director at O’Brien Contractors, added: “Having enjoyed our first season as a Premiership partner of Wasps Rugby, it was a straightforward decision by O’Brien to not only renew their premiership partnership for another 12 months but to increase support with the unique opportunity of a dining table in the boardroom for all matchdays.

“Our association with Wasps has had a marked effect on the O’Brien businesses through the excellent media coverage. The opportunity to entertain our guests and meet with other like-minded business leaders in the boardroom whilst watching top-flight rugby was an opportunity we had to seize.

“O’Brien’s strategy of providing turnkey solutions for their clients with proven consistency continues to be a great success. Delivery of projects to the highest of standards for clients through jointly-developed budgets minimises their exposure to commercial and programme-related risks. Our policy of nurturing in-house, homegrown talented employees, provides the experience and enthusiasm that sets O’Brien Contractors apart from other construction businesses.

“The Wasps sponsorship is the most significant taken out by O’Brien Contractors and gains them great exposure through the huge LED screen and public association with Wasps Rugby. It is a great form of branding which, when coupled with the long-established sustainable business planning by O’Brien Contractors, highlights the great opportunities for both businesses to work together for the future.’’