Category: News

Leading groundworks and civil engineering contractor, O’Brien, has won the first of the priority schools at Whitmore Park, Coventry.

A ‘ground breaking’ ceremony was held to celebrate the start of construction on a new £4.89m building for Whitmore Park School on Halford Lane – the first school to be delivered under the £2.4bn Priority School Building Programme(PSBP).

The new 3,336 sq m primary education facility forms part of the first batch of Priority Schools in the Midlands, the £36m contract for which was awarded to Wates Construction by the Department for Education (DfE) in January this year.

The event saw the Education Funding Agency (EFA) Chief Executive, Peter Lauener and Councillor David Kershaw join Wates and staff and students from Whitmore Park to mark the start of the building works.

The move on site is a major step forward in the government’s PSBP that will see the rebuild of 261 schools across the UK. The successful applicants to the programme were announced in July 2012 and the programme has been centrally procured by the EFA on behalf of the DfE.

The work at Whitmore Park School will include the rebuild of four primary schools, one secondary school and a broad spectrum special school*, totalling 3,687 pupil places.
Peter O’Brien, Managing Director of O’Brien Contractors Ltd, said “We are extremely pleased to be working alongside Wates on the first of the priority schools building programme. We look forward to working with Wates on this prestigious contract.”

Phil Harrison, Managing Director for Wates Construction, Midlands and North, commented: “The start of construction at Whitmore Park is the beginning of a new phase in the delivery of the government’s flagship Priority School Building Programme. The building works are intended to deliver much-needed new facilities in Coventry and we have and will continue to keep very close consultation with both the EFA and Coventry City Council to ensure these essential works serve to positively impact the educational experience for the city’s teachers and young people.”
Peter Lauener, Chief Executive of the Education Funding Agency, said: “I am delighted to be able to join students and staff at Whitmore Park at the start of construction works for the first school to be rebuilt as part of the Priority School Building Programme. This promises to be an exciting phase in the school’s development.

“We are making excellent progress with this programme, with building works starting across the country in the coming weeks and months as we overhaul the schools with the greatest need and help ensure young people can learn in buildings that are up to scratch.”

Councillor David Kershaw, Coventry City Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said the work is a significant milestone. “It is wonderful that this significant investment in school buildings will mean that more Coventry children and young people will benefit from the facilities and opportunities of a new school,” he said.

“The City Council is a key partner in these developments and has a strong track record of working effectively with Wates Construction. Our six schools that are part of the Priority School Building Programme are in urgent need of new buildings and provides an opportunity to provide excellent learning environments for the pupils and staff in these schools.”

* Schools included in the Coventry Priority School Building Programme are:

– Whitmore Park Primary
– St Thomas More Primary
– Wyken Croft Primary
– Richard Lee Primary
– Ernsford Grange Secondary
– Alice Stevens Special School

Leading civil engineering and groundworks contractor, O’Brien, will be working alongside Wilmott Dixon on the construction of the AT7 Centre, Coventry.

The AT7 centre’s new facilities will include a health suite with a sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, changing rooms, and a new entrance foyer.

O’Brien’s work will include the construction of a swimming pool, learner pool and associated car parks with drainage. The specialist works will require O’Brien to call on their extensive skills and knowledge of the leisure market.

O’Brien is extremely pleased to be working alongside Wilmott Dixon in a continuation of their contract at Warwick University and as an extension of their successful ongoing relationship.

The contract commences in June and will run for a duration of 40 weeks.

O’Brien Contractors provides best-practice, cost-effective design and build services for sports facilities and, in a contract worth £400K, has been chosen to deliver a new hockey pitch at Oswestry School.

The 15-week project, which commences on 22 April 2013, will see construction of a 6,300m² sand-dressed synthetic grass hockey pitch and includes earth modelling, fencing and floodlighting.

Founded in 1407, Oswestry School is one of the oldest non-denominational schools in England and is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school for pupils between the ages of 4 and 18.

Steve Hillman, General Manager at O’Brien Contractors, will be jointly managing the project and said: “This is a great opportunity for O’Brien to work with the prestigious Oswestry School and we are delighted to have been successful in winning this project.”

“As a company, we are committed to providing excellent service and are looking forward to working with Oswestry to upgrade their sporting facilities with the addition of a first-class hockey pitch.”

As part of its commitment to continual improvement, leading civil engineering and groundworks contractor, O’Brien, has achieved a 20% increase in its client satisfaction rating in just one year. The increase has seen customer satisfaction go from 72% in 2012 to 92% in 2013. In recognition the company has been awarded the Diamond Standard for Customer Service from BenchmarQ, a division of QMS International.

The survey carried out by BenchmarQ has seen O’Brien awarded an overall score of 92 out of 100 across a number of services and categories:

• Marketing: 83%
• Staff Performance: 95%
• Service: 91%

For many of the questions, O’Brien’s customers awarded them the highest level of four (excellent) – showing that the company’s determination to improve all aspects of their work and relationships has paid dividends.

O’Brien Contractors’ Managing Director, Peter O’Brien said: “Customer satisfaction and continual improvement is at the core of everything we do. It is embedded throughout the company and at the forefront of all our employees’ minds.”

“We will always strive to offer the best quality, knowledge and skills and this award recognises the commitment we have made to that work ethic; and to working more collaboratively with our clients. All of us at O’Brien are very proud of our achievement.”

The customer feedback that helped O’Brien achieve this prestigious award includes:

 Staff Performance: 95%

• “Excellent.”
• “They’re very friendly.”
• “They’re very professional. They have good project management, good skills and a good work force.”

 Service: 91%

• “They’re very proactive.”
• “Definitely a four.”

 Price: 91%

“A four, as they won a competitive tender for a £2.5 million pound construction job.”

“They compare favourably.”

 Overall

“They’re easy to deal with and they do exactly what needs to be done.”

O’Brien Contractors were contracted by St Finbarr’s to deliver a 3G sports pitch at St Finbarr’s Sports and Social Club, Coventry.

The new pitch was developed after recognising that more accessible training areas were needed, the report by Coventry City Council showed the current area could not cope with the level of sport being played, older pitches were of a poor standard and St Finbarr’s 3G would be a welcomed addition to the local area and community.

O’Brien’s 8 week contract involved; earthworks, drainage, sub base, fencing, lighting and surfacing for the sports club. The new pitch had a Desso IDNA 3G laid and a central dividing curtain to allow for multiple 5-aside games to be played.

The feedback on the project has been positive with Leisure Leagues naming it as: “The best 3G pitch in Coventry”.

Steve Hillman, General Manager – Sports Division at O’Brien Contractors, said: “This has been a great opportunity for O’Brien to show off its sport pitch capabilities. The new 3G pitch looks great, the project was a major success, coming in on time and within budget. St Finbarr’s is extremely pleased with the finished result”.

In its highest valued-project to date, O’Brien Contractors has been sub-contracted by new customer, John Sisk and Sons, to deliver services for Nestlé UK’s £200 million extension to its NESCAFÉ factory in Tutbury, Derbyshire.

The Tutbury extension is currently the Nestle group’s largest construction project worldwide and for the first time will bring together all of Nestlé’s coffee production, including freeze dried, spray dried and pod technology, on one 30-acre site.

The 61-week project, which commences on 07 January 2013, will create 300 new jobs in the local area and involve the construction of 13 buildings and associated car parks. O’Brien Contractors will deliver substructures, foundations, drainage, storm water management systems, formation of access roads, ground remediation, foul and storm drainage, landscaping, service yards, floors and dock levellers.

Andy Foster, Project Manager at O’Brien Contractors, said: “This is a great opportunity for O’Brien to work with Nestlé, which is the area’s largest employer, on the extension of their NESCAFÉ factory.”

“As a company, we are committed to minimising this project’s impact on the local community and will be using ground solutions that prevent excessive movement of materials off site. This multi-million pound contract is a fantastic start to 2013 for O’Brien Contractors and we are delighted to have developed a collaborative relationship with Sisk and look forward to working with them to deliver a successful project for Nestlé.”

Midlands groundworks and civil engineering company O’Brien Contractors secured £1.8 million worth of contracts in October.

The latest contract wins for Midlands based O’Brien Contractors have been announced which include the construction of a new leisure facility with Britannia Construction, the construction of new healthcare facilities with A&H Construction and a double contract win in the education sector with Interserve.

O’Brien Contractors have been appointed by Britannia Construction to construct a new leisure facility in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. The new £8 million cinema and theatre complex will be built on a former recycling centre and will boast 6 screens along with other facilities such as restaurants and bars. The works are due to start shortly and will be completed by Spring 2013 providing over 200 jobs to the area.

Separately, O’Brien Contractors have begun works on a project being led by A&H Construction to construct new state of the art healthcare facilities in Telford. The £4 million new build project will provide the local community of Telford with a brand new medical practice and will enable the staff to deliver improved services to 12,500 registered patients.

October also saw a double contract win for O’Brien with long standing client Interserve where they have been appointed to work alongside the client on projects at Christ Church Primary School and Crocketts Primary School.
The contracts for the education sector will include foundations, storm water attenuation tanks, external works, landscaping and drainage works. Both Interserve contracts began at the end of October and will be completed in 14 weeks.

Managing Director, Peter O’Brien, said:
“These recent contract wins are a clear representation of the diverse range of projects that we work on. It is particularly encouraging to win not only repeat business but to also welcome new client A&H Construction to our growing client portfolio.”

O’Brien Contractors, a leading civil engineering and groundworks contractor, has been awarded the prestigious Achilles BuildingConfidence accreditation.

The Midlands-based contractor successfully reached the standards set out by Achilles UK for the BuildingConfidence accreditation following a recent on-site audit by industry-leading auditors.

Achilles developed BuildingConfidence as a supplier pre-qualification and accreditation service for the UK construction industry and it has quickly become recognised as the standard for supplier excellence. Its aim is to create sustainable procurement opportunities for business and reduce risk in the supply chain throughout the industry, and is already considered an invaluable tool by many industry-leading clients.

This impressive accolade demonstrates O’Brien’s commitment and vision for the company’s planned growth and management development strategy.

O’Brien’s Managing Director, Peter O’Brien, said: “This award is recognition of O’Brien’s excellence through high performance. Throughout the business we ensure that all of our processes and procedures work, not only for us but for our clients too. We aim to create long-term relationships with clients by offering them a seamless service across the board. We make sure that we deliver the best possible product to our clients, on time and within budget; essentially offering the smartest approach to construction.”

O’Brien is now part of an impressive supply chain offering clients the best in construction knowledge and skills.

Achilles clients include: Lend Lease, Kier Construction, Balfour Beatty, Shepherd, British Land, Skanska, McClaren Construction, John Sisk, Tarmac, Costain, Wolseley, Laing O’Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine and Davis Langdon.

At last sport is high on the nation’s agenda with London 2012 approaching and everyone is talking about the provision of facilities.

Those who are in the business of managing sports facilities understand the need to procure the very best service providers. It is essential to receive first class design, quality and construction techniques that create a finished product which is ultimately easier to manage. To do this you need the right team on board.

Civil Roots

O’Brien Contractors Ltd has its roots in civil engineering, and with that comes a range of expertise and hi-tech techniques which are perfectly aligned to the business of producing quality and cost effective sports pitches for clients.

Ground Modelling

O’Brien Contractors Ltd offers a full range of technical services. By using ground modelling and laser levelling, O’Brien can help businesses save time and money on a project as well as reducing the carbon footprint of a development.

Aston University

O’Brien Contractors Ltd were brought on board at Aston University to design and build a five-a-side, all-weather, third generation synthetic sports pitch.

The project consisted of the site clearance and reduce level dig of a derelict and unused car park. The underside of the playing surface was made up of an underground finn drainage system covered with a free draining sub-base granular fill material. On top of this, O’Brien laid the latest Desso PS60 third generation synthetic sports surface. The pitch was surrounded by a five metre high welded mesh fence with lighting supplied by eight metre high tubular columns and associated CCTV surveillance equipment.

The project was delivered on time and to budget and by using the latest ground modelling techniques O’Brien was able to help the University to reuse the substrate already present on the development to correct the unsuitable profile of the site.

Excellent Feedback

O’Brien’s project manager, Stuart Chamberlain, said: “The feedback on this project has been excellent, with students and staff praising the natural feel of the playing surface along with its low maintenance requirements.”

Garry East, Director of Estates and Facilities, Aston University , said: “We were extremely impressed with O’Brien generally and with their on-site team specifically. They were a first class, responsive and helpful contractor, who dealt with matters first and discussed implications later. They at all times worked diligently, on time and within budget and were always willing to go that ‘extra mile’.

“The resulting sports pitch has been received very well by our Sports and Recreation Department, and the students that are using the facility – with positive comments regarding the feel and the way the surface plays.

“We would not hesitate to work with them again should the opportunity arise.”

Leading midlands civil engineering and groundworks contractor, O’Brien, has been appointed as Principal Contractor on a “Design and Build” contract for the construction of a synthetic “Mondo” 6 lane 400m IAAF and UK Athletics track with associated field facilities at Eastwood School, Leigh-on- Sea in Essex. The project also includes a full size FIFA compliant football pitch on the infield.

The construction involves reduced level excavation, “cut and fill” to formation with the disposal of 15000m3 of residual spoil being disposed off site, including associated drainage sub base build up and macadam civil works and the installation of long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault and circle for throwing events. The infield will be top soiled and seeded and marked accordingly.

The project is being overseen by a dedicated management team who have ensured that our own in house resources have been implemented and deployed to meet planned and programmed requirements and liaise with the clients on regular basis to ensure the clients wishes and expectations are being met and fulfilled.

This team is supported by the Head Office staff that is able to procure our specialised subcontractor for the Macadam works to meet the fine tolerances that are required on this project.

The project to date has been carried out to the satisfaction of the customer who has high expectations for this prestige project.