Category: News

We have proudly supported Kier Construction and Sense with a garden makeover that Alan Titchmarsh would be proud of.

Our team helped carry out the transformation at Sense’s King’s Heath care accommodation, following the invitation by Kier Construction Central’s office to support them with one of their local community projects.

O’Brien’s work, included: level reduction, a base for slab area, new slabs (200 in total), scrub removal and the installation of ducting across the garden.

Kier Construction Central had previously completed individual, small-scale community support activities related to their construction projects, but realised by combining their efforts, they could have a greater impact if targeted in the right direction.

A garden refurbishment at a property owned by Sense in Kings Heath was identified as a suitable type and size. The property is the home of four adults who all have varying impairments, and require 24 hour care.

Adam Ewing, Project Manager, Kier Construction, said: “Our objective was to improve the whole outdoor experience of the garden, including: safety, access, aesthetic, sensory and maintenance aspects.”

The garden in its original state was very basic, run down, un-safe and not a suitable for the residents.

“The new garden will open the space up and provide residents and their visitors with a wonderful place to meet up, relax and enjoy being outdoors.”

Tony Mitchell, Operations Manager, O’Brien Contractors, said: “We didn’t hesitate to get involved when asked by Kier to support them. We are a family run business, built on a tradition of making a positive impact on the lives of people in and around our operations.

“Sense really does a fantastic job providing people who are deafblind, have sensory impairments or complex needs, with a more independent lifestyle and everyone involved felt that their contribution, however big or small, will really change people’s quality of life for the better.”

Adam Ewing, added: “O’Brien’s assistance was pivotal to the success of the project and their support throughout was a key factor. I would like to thank the team for all their help on behalf of Kier Construction Central.”

Our leading sports pitch construction division, O’Brien Sports, has secured a hockey pitch resurfacing project at Bridge Street Sports Centre in Leominster.

Appointed by Kier Construction, under the Scape National Minor Works Framework, our 8 week contract involves the careful removal of the existing sand filled synthetic grass pitch and enkaflex shockpad, in preparation for the installation.

The new playing surface will feature an International Hockey Federation (FIH) approved, sand dressed Domo Hockey Extreme surface placed upon a Domoflex 5010 prefabricated shockpad.

Prior to the resurfacing works, sub base tests will be conducted to ensure the levels are in accordance with the specification.

Steve Hillman, General Manager, O’Brien Sports, said: “We are pleased to be providing sports pitch services for Kier Construction, having previously worked with them on a number of civil engineering schemes across the Midlands.

Our works are taking place within a live setting, but we understand the importance of preplanning, in-terms of traffic management and health and safety, to ensure a safe environment, along with minimal disruption is provided to local residents and people using the facilities, at all times.”

O’Brien Sports delivers natural sports pitches used for rugby, football and cricket. It also supplies synthetic and multi-use games area pitches, with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user – from hockey clubs to school rugby and community football teams.

Recent projects, include: a 3G football pitch, multi-use games area (MUGA), polymeric sprint track and car park for Broxhill Sports Centre in Romford, a 3G multi-use sports pitch for Warden Park Academy in Cuckfield and a 3G football pitch for Christ’s College Finchley in London.

Staff from leading groundworks and civil engineering specialist, O’Brien Contractors, have shown their support to the Way Ahead Project in Leamington Spa by raising money and donating Christmas gift packs during their Christmas Jumper Day.

Part of the Salvation Army in Leamington Spa, the Way Ahead Project provide a Christmas meal and all year support for people who are homeless, having difficulty overcoming alcohol or drug addiction or struggling with mental health.

Peter O’Brien, Managing Director, O’Brien Contractors, said: “I’m very proud of the team for being supportive of these events that raise money for good causes. The Way Ahead Project provide fantastic support, helping some of the most vulnerable people in our local community turn their lives around.”

Since 2013, O’Brien Contractors has backed a number of local and national charities to the tune of £48,000, through sponsorship or organised events, including: Help for Heroes, British Blind Sport, ILEAP, Alzheimer’s Society, Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Cancer Research and the British Heart Foundation.

“Next year, we have ambitions plans to raise a whole lot more through organised events and I’m pleased to announce one of the charities we will get behind is Zoë’s Place, a baby hospice in Coventry.”

The charity Christmas Jumper Day raised just over £150 and 22 gift boxes were donated.

If you would like to donate to the Way Ahead Project, visit: www.justgiving.com/Wayaheadproject

We have been appointed to work on the revamp of KKR and Quadrant Estates’ Gallagher Retail Park in Wednesbury.

Appointed by principal contractor, RG Group, we will deliver a host of ground works at the popular retail park near Junction 9 of the M6 – including: reconfiguration of existing retail units, construction of new retail and food units, together with the refurbishment of the car parking areas. The expansion is also anticipated to generate more than 200 new jobs for the local area.

Tony Mitchell, Operations Manager, O’Brien Contractors, said: “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to partner, once again with RG Group on such an important project for the local region.

Our experience of working on active developments will come to the fore with this project as two thirds of the retail park remains open for business. We will also be working to a tight programme of works, including working across multiple areas and multiple phases, as well as organised scheduled deliveries to ensure minimum disruption to shoppers on the busy weekends leading up to Christmas, and a safe passage to and from home for pupils from the adjacent school is provided.” added Tony.

Established in 1958, we are a second generation, family-run business that has gone from strength to strength and expanded into a range of new sectors.

From commercial units and Olympic-standard sports facilities, hospitals, universities, highways and commercial housing developments, our extensive experience consistently leads to the delivery of class-leading solutions.

Key projects and customers include: the regeneration of Longbridge town centre; groundworks and infrastructure works for Morgan Sindall and the Primark Retail Distribution Centre; foundations, drainage and underground services with Sir Robert McAlpine.

For more information, please contact Neil Nickolds, Marketing Manager on 01926 319 724 or email neilnickolds@obriencontractors.co.uk

We have secured a second contract with Readie Construction at Bericote Properties’ Four Ashes Park scheme near Wolverhampton.

The new £126.3 million 50,000 square metre manufacturing facility is being developed for Gestamp, an international group dedicated to the design, development and manufacture of metal automotive components, and will enable the company to create a more efficient and competitive, customer focused factory for clients in the region, namely BMW, Honda, JLR, Nissan-Renault and Toyota.

Appointed by principal contractor, Readie Construction, we have secured a contract for the installation of three 6m deep factory pits, capping beam, office floor slab, associated internal and external drainage, service trenches and external works.

Peter O’Brien, Managing Director, O’Brien Contractors, said: “We are very pleased to have been awarded another subcontract by Readie Construction. We have an excellent track record of delivering civil engineering services across the Midlands and as with all our schemes, our team will approach the project in a flexible manner, offering cost and efficiency savings to ensure we deliver the best results for our client.”

Established in 1958, O’Brien Contractors is a second generation, family-run business that has gone from strength to strength and expanded into a range of new sectors.

Its portfolio of civil engineering projects, include: Regeneration of Longbridge Town Centre in Birmingham, Beacon Barracks SFA housing scheme in Stafford, Primark Distribution Centre in Kettering, New Cross Hospital’s new Accident and Emergency Centre in Wolverhampton and University of Birmingham’s campus expansion in Birmingham.

The new plant will be fitted out with new state-of-the-art stamping equipment and is designed to safeguard the 800 jobs at Gestamp’s current Cannock plant.

If your boss gave you the choice of travelling a minimum 5 hour round trip in the car, or to make that journey in 5 seconds at the click of a button, what would you choose?

Well, for engineering surveyor, Gareth Price and his team at civil engineering and groundworks specialist, O’Brien Contractors, that choice has become a reality, thanks to director, Mick O’Brien, whose investment in 3D machine control and Trimble Connected Community software, has dramatically reshaped the business.

In order to understand how the solution works, Finning News took up the offer from SITECH UK and Ireland’s Zoë Adnitt, to visit Mick at a new sports pitch project in Romford and then travel to O’Brien’s head office in Leamington Spa, all in one very long day.

The project itself involved the creation of a brand new 3G sports pitch and a multi-use games area (MUGA), constructed next to an existing sports centre. With very tight tolerances required to meet the exacting standards for the pitch, before the job was secured, the surveying team carried out an in house survey, modeled the whole project in 3D and then monitored it throughout the earthworks programme, as Mick explained:

“Having proven the benefits of machine control on previous sports pitch projects, we have now gone to the lengths of setting up a new specialist division for this type of work.

“So in practical terms, our first aim with any project is to try and ensure that no material leaves site, eliminating the need and cost of truck movements. This is achieved by recycling good quality soils and designing in features like earth bunds to use material that would normally be classified as inert waste.

“Our challenge throughout this process is that we have to stick as closely to our design as possible, but you never truly know what you will unearth or how materials will compact, until you actually start doing the job.

“This is why you have to be on top of a project from day one. Typically before GPS enabled 3D machine control, we would have had to send a member of our team down to site on a very regular basis, which is a costly exercise when a round trip is 5 hours. This was the reason that prior to our investment in this technology, we tendered for jobs much closer to our base in Leamington Spa.

“This was obviously quite restrictive to our growth, especially in the more specialist sports pitch market. So by using two-way communication through the Trimble technology using the GPS network, the machines are able to tell us what they have been doing and we can see the daily progress onsite at the touch of a button.

“Equally, we can see the all important levels being achieved and therefore continually update our calculations around material movements, settlement and compaction. This means that Gareth, our engineering surveyor, can make relevant adjustments to the 3D model from his desk, delivering changes to the individual machines onsite, at the touch of a button, via the Trimble Connected Community.

“So what would be a round trip of at least 5 hours to our latest Romford project to upload a file from a memory stick or complete a survey using older techniques, is a 5 second file click and drag process, which is then sent through the cloud.

“In commercial terms, this approach has totally changed our capabilities and more importantly for the customer, changed the way a project is delivered. Our customers get a 3D design matching high quality finish, reduced truck movements, which pleases the local residents and a faster job, at a fixed competitive price.

“It really is a win win for both parties and a transformational journey from regional to national contractor for our business, I honestly don’t know how we could run a profitable job without it.”

So if you’ve got an earthworks project you’re looking to start, click here to talk to us about how we can help you generate cost and efficiency savings.

Staff from leading groundworks and civil engineering specialist, O’Brien Contractors, have strapped on their hiking boots to raise money for wounded service men and women.

Led by managing director, Peter O’Brien, the 25-strong team hiked across the Malvern Hills raising just over £6,500 for the charity Help for Heroes.

The Malvern Hills Challenge is a team or individual walk in the Malvern Hills with a choice of routes: 15km ‘Long Walk’ & 7km ‘Short Walk’, with both taking in Black Hill, Pinnacle Hill, Jubilee Hill and the Worcestershire Beacon, before descending at Sugarloaf Hill towards the finishing line in Rose Bank Gardens.

Peter O’Brien, Managing Director, O’Brien Contractors, said: “Each year staff undertake fundraising events to generate money for local charities. Last year we took on the Wolf Run Challenge, a demanding 10k muddy assault course near Leamington and our fundraising generated just over £2,115 for the Alzheimer’s Society. The year before, we raised £2,026 for Cystic Fibrosis Trust and British Heart Foundation by entering the London Nightrider, an exciting moonlit 100km cycle ride through the capital city. This year, we wanted to go one better and felt the Help for Heroes Malvern Hills Challenge would help us realise our goal.”

Peter has also been impressed by the backing of the team on and off the Malvern Hills, saying: “We’ve had fantastic support from our supply chain partners, friends and family, who have donated very generously. In the office and onsite, the staff I’ve spoken to feel very proud of their efforts and they should be.”

After recovering from the hike, staff have now turned their attentions to next year with plans to raise even more money for good causes.

If you would like to donate to Team O’Brien’s Help for Heroes Malvern Hills Challenge 2016 JustGiving webpage, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/malvern-hills-challenge

We have once again agreed to sponsor two local primary schools as part of the Warwickshire Road Safety Club. Membership of The Club is available to all primary schools in Warwickshire and is organised by Warwickshire County Council’s Road Safety Team.

The importance of road safety was highlighted by the Department for Transport’s latest research, released in June 2016, which found there were 22,137 people seriously injured in reported road traffic accidents across the UK in 2015, with 1,910 being children aged 15 or younger.

O’Brien’s Director Mike O’Brien will be visiting Our Lady & St Teresa’s this week to find out how road safety education can benefit the local community. Mr O’Brien, said: “O’Briens is a successful, family run business, with a culture of supporting our local community and charitable initiatives. Having seen the excellent work the Warwickshire Road Safety Club do in teaching young pupils how to stay safe on the roads, we were only too happy to sponsor the schools for a second year.” Mr O’ Brien and his brothers all attended the school on Windmill Hill.

The schools will run a series of road safety initiatives throughout the year including the Kerb Safe pedestrian training for 6 – 7 year olds.

Cubbington Primary School will also benefit from the sponsorship again this year.

Eleni Jenks, Assistant Headteacher of Cubbington CE Primary School, said: “The Road Safety Club is a great way to engage with our pupils and get them thinking about road safety. Through the scheme, they learn vital skills that will help prevent accidents and equip them with lifelong skills. We really appreciate the support provided by O’Briens.”

We have generously lent our support to British Blind Sport by sponsoring its 2017 youth swimming gala.

British Blind Sport is a charity based in Leamington that helps visually impaired, blind and partially sighted people participate in sport.

Fundraising Manager Ian Carr said, “The youth swimming gala is one of British Blind Sport’s flagship events that’s been in our calendar for a number of years. Last year’s event was one of the most successful we’ve staged as we welcomed over 50 visually impaired kids from all over the country to take part in 35 races throughout the afternoon. For a number of children – especially those attending mainstream schools – it is the first time they are able to swim competitively against other children with visual impairments. It’s not all about the competition though, the open and friendly nature of the day means that the children and parents make friends and have a thoroughly enjoyable and unforgettable day that often acts as a springboard to continue swimming competitively or as a hobby.”

Some of the feedback from last year, included:

• “It’s fantastic to have an event that kids can compete in. To see all the children enjoying themselves is brilliant. I wish there were more events like this.” – Lucy, mother of a participant
• “Best gala I’ve been to; it was full of atmosphere.” – Kian Saville, participant
• “It’s the first time we’ve been, but we will definitely come again. It’s brilliant!” – Cornel, mother of a participant

Mick O’Brien, Director of O’Brien Sports added, “British Blind Sport is an important organisation, making a really big difference to blind and partially sighted people. “

“Sports participation can help children: build their confidence, develop new friendships, practise their social skills, but most importantly, provide them with an opportunity to have fun taking part in an activity they are good at.”

“We are very happy to continue our involvement with British Blind Sport and wish all the competitors a fun and enjoyable swimming gala.”

“We are incredibly grateful for the support O’Brien’s continue to show us here at BBS and the sponsorship of this event will allow us to provide a great sporting opportunity for numerous visually impaired children.” Ian added.

If you would like to make a donation to the British Blind Sport you can do so easily at www.britishblindsport.org.uk/fundraising/donate

We have had our carbon footprint verified by TÜV UK Ltd to the ISO 14064-3:2006 standard across our operations.

Verification to ISO 14064, is one of the most effective ways to measure, quantify and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The audit showed that, when normalised against turnover (£17m in 2014 and £28m in 2015), we had significantly reduced our usage of resources year-on-year and continually exceeded target.

In order to achieve our emissions reduction goal, we developed a strategy based on:

• Investing and upgrading and operating the most efficient plant and technology available.
• Providing staff with training on how to improve their driving to reduce fuel consumption.
• Investing an average of £140k per year on upgrading its fleet of vehicles to ensure that they are the most efficient and low-emission models available.
• Offering shuttle buses to promote vehicle pooling for staff working on our construction sites.

Vicki O’Brien, O’Brien Contractors, said: “We are very much committed to minimising the impact of our activities on the environment and all stakeholders, in order to operate a business that is safe, sustainable and socially responsible. Verifying our footprint to an International standard will serve as a benchmark against to help us achieve our goal of continuously reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.”

Our commitment to environmental improvement also saw us become the first to achieve ISO 14001 certification among our core rivals in the civil engineering sector.

Our processes and procedures have also been audited and validated to ISO 9001 for quality and OHSAS 18001, CHAS, Achilles BuildingConfidence (5-star rating) and Achilles RISQS for health and safety.

Vicki added: “By raising our standards, we have been able to operate more akin with our clients, and target major projects with greater contract values, or strategic divisions, placing greater focus on delivery and quality, not just price.”