Category: News

Our Commitment to Protect and Enhance Biodiversity of the Site

We were committed to ensuring that the original biodiversity of this important site would be protected during our works and enhanced on completion. Additional landscaping, ponds, and other necessary works ensured that lost biodiversity units from the works were replaced during the extension of the cemetery.

As part of our commitment to the environment and our commitment to social value in the areas that we work, we gifted bird boxes, bat boxes and insect houses to our client for use in the new cemetery grounds.  The items were purchased from the National Trust, where timber products are made from FSC certified materials, and where money from every purchase goes back into looking after other important sites.

The new cemetery is located in an area that forms part of a ‘Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation (SLINC)’.  A site which was part of an important and well used and popular public open space, much loved and important to the local community.  Prior to and during our works we completely understood the importance of this stunning area for habitats in the form of plants, trees and wildlife and our part in the protection of it.

O’Brien have carried out numerous projects where the importance of protecting and improving the biodiversity of the project site has been a critical element of the works.  This gave our client Sandwell Council the confidence to award the contract for this very important and sensitive site in Rowley Regis, for the ‘New Canalside Cemetery’.

During the works O’Brien complied with all relevant legislation including:

• Wildlife and Countryside Act 1991
• Protection of Badgers Act 1992
• Conservation (Natural Habitats etc.) Regulations 1994
• Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996

To see details of our project at Rowley Regis, click this link! https://obriencontractors.co.uk/projects/rowley-regis-new-canalside-cemetery/

O’Brien are Sponsoring a Rugby Team at the Vets Fest Rugby Event for Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby, which is a grant-making charity, funding life changing projects across the UK & Ireland.

On Saturday the 08 October, over 700 players from across the UK will get together at Birmingham Moseley Rugby Club for the annual rugby Vet Fest.  This massive rugby event will help the charity raise much needed money, to continue their great work to raise funds to support disabled, disadvantaged and vulnerable children & young people.

To support this great charity and event, O’Brien Contractors have chosen to sponsor the Leicester and Staffordshire rugby team, just one of 35 teams of Vets Rugby men and women representing Wooden Spoon’s regions across the UK.

In 2021, 450 players from 15 teams, across 13 regions played in 37 matches at an event organised in memory of 13-year-old rugby fan Olly Stephens, who was tragically killed near his home in Reading in January 2021, with over £64,000 raised for vulnerable children and young people across the UK.

The largest part of the charity’s income is raised by local volunteers, with the aim that every penny volunteers raise is spent in their local communities.  In the last year, despite the difficult conditions, they supported 43 charitable projects helping over 100,000 vulnerable children and young people.

They need additional funds more than ever as there are more children that need their help.  In the last year Wooden Spoon was only able to fund one in four of the grant applications received due to the increased demand for support.

This year the focus is on supporting mental health projects. Here’s why:

• It is estimated that 1.5 million children and young people will need mental health support as a result of the pandemic (Centre of Mental Health, 2020).
• 374,000 children under 18 are currently on a waiting list for NHS mental health services.

For more information on the Wooden Spoon Charity, click on the link: About Us: Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby | Wooden Spoon.

To grab some of the remaining tickets, click on the link: Wooden Spoon Vets Fest 2022 | Wooden Spoon.

Date: Saturday 8th October 2022
Time: 10am till late
Venue: Birmingham Moseley Rugby Club

We are delighted to announce work is due to start to improve an existing access road and create a new route into the £800 million Fairham neighbourhood in Nottinghamshire.

The 606-acre site is in the process of becoming a whole new neighbourhood for Nottingham with 3,000 new homes, one million sq ft of employment space and 200 acres of open green space. The works are all part of £100 million of infrastructure improvements scheduled for Fairham.

Day and night-time works will start to increase from Monday 5th September 2022 with a completion in April 2023 in order to create a new access road and controlled junction for Fairham, along with improved access to the existing Park & Ride site.

Access to and from the Clifton South Park & Ride will be maintained at all times to keep traffic flowing while works to create new earthworks, carriageway and signalisation takes place. Construction traffic will be rerouted away from civilian traffic during the works.

We will be carrying out the work on behalf of Clowes Developments, the company behind the Fairham masterplan. Fairham is being brought forward in partnership with Homes England, the government’s housing accelerator.

https://fairhamlife.co.uk/access-works-for-800-million-fairham-neighbourhood-underway-this-autumn/

Connecting People to Places, Public Realm Works

O’Brien take our client’s vision, from design to reality!  We are experienced in creating public places for communities that are sustainable, environmentally and ecologically friendly, that also respect and acknowledge the surrounding area and the communities in which we work, for people to live, work, interact and enjoy.

With over 50 years of successfully delivering civil engineering and landscape solutions, O’Brien continues to work collaboratively with our clients to achieve high quality public realm spaces which are innovative and bespoke across a diverse range of sites, including universities, town centres, cemeteries, new town developments and public parks.

Turnkey Solution

By offering a complete turnkey solution, O’Brien can add value and deliver cost, quality, and program certainty to clients across work packages which include, hard and soft landscaping, roads, paving, drainage requirements, utilities installation and diversions, lighting, fencing and bulk earthworks.

Collaboration

We work across all sectors of the built environment with a broad range of stakeholders from clients, consultants, planners, local authorities, architects, highways departments, utility providers, and ecology, environmental and archaeological specialists. Working collaboratively is central to the successful delivery of our schemes.

Public Interface

Our projects require the need for us to interface with members of the public, sometimes in very sensitive environments. We establish clear lines of communication and liaise with all stakeholders before and during the delivery of our projects to keep them fully informed of planned activities and on going operations. This is done via letter drops or using Social Media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Early Contractor Involvement Benefits

 Early contractor involvement enables O’Brien Contractors to add value through increased input on design and construction decisions. Working collaboratively with the client and the design team throughout all stages of a project allows us to provide clients with early access to project information and helps forge a trusted relationship. Not only will early engagement save time, but it also allows for the mitigation of risk, improves project performance, ensures cost effectiveness, and enables delivery which is right first time.

Recent public realm projects include (please see links to projects below):

• Wixam’s Bedford Wixams, Greenway and Town Park, Public Realm Works, Bedford
• Port Loop, Birmingham – Urban Splash Port Loop Development, Birmingham, Phase 3b
• New Canalside Cemetery, Rowley Regis – New Canalside Cemetery, Rowley Regis
• Shire Lodge Cemetery Extension, Corby – Shire Lodge Cemetery Extension
• University of Birmingham – New Library External Works and Route to the Vale – https://obriencontractors.co.uk/projects/university-of-birmingham/

 

Highways and Infrastructure Works

From construction of new roads and road junctions, traffic roundabouts, realignment of highways Section 278 and 38 works, utilities work, new signage, lighting, drainage and temporary traffic management, O’Brien have the expertise and experience to carry out all elements of highways and infrastructure works. We deliver a full spectrum of civil engineering and groundworks across a range of different sized infrastructure and highways projects, from smaller developments to major highways works.

O’Brien are experts at carrying out infrastructure works on sites being prepared for further development, including industrial and commercial, housing developments and manufacturing sites.  We carry out all bulk earthworks, road construction, car parks, footpath, cycleways, highways bridges and roundabout construction, Section 278 and 38 works.  We undertake all drainage works including Section 104 works and utility installation works.

Public Interface

Where our projects involve interface with members of the public, including in very sensitive environments, we liaise and notify members of the public and residents prior to and during our projects.  We provide information to keep them fully informed of activities, with open lines of communication at all times

Collaboration:

We work collaboratively with consultants, local authorities, highways agencies, planners, architects, and utility providers, as well as ecology, environmental and archaeological specialists, to achieve the contract objectives and goals of the client and other stakeholders.

Technology: 

As a company, we have been at the forefront of Machine Control since its early adoption in the UK in the 90’s and have assisted the major manufacturers Trimble and Topcon with developing their systems for market and continue to do so to this day. Realising the potential and investing into such systems early has left us at the leading edge of this technology here in the UK.

We are currently rolling out Easy BOP Construction Management Software across the business for efficient, timely and paperless information for our head office, site, and transport department.

Early Contractor Involvement Benefits

 The most effective way for O’Brien Contractors to work with our clients, to deliver as much value as possible is through Early Contractor Involvement. By being a part of the initial design, specification, and programming process, we ensure that projects are scoped, de-risked and costed effectively and by using our senior management team as consultants where necessary, we can provide operational and commercial advice on feasibility studies.  Our extensive knowledge and experience mean that we can solve problems that arise and propose alternatives that can make jobs safer, quicker and more cost effective without affecting the quality of the end product.

Recent projects include:

• Bicester Road, Oxfordshire: Oxford Road, Bicester – Section 278 Works
• West Longbridge: West Longbridge Development, Regeneration Scheme
• Wykham Park Farm Development: Wykham Park Farm – Highways Infrastructure Works

O’Brien’s intrepid golfing enthusiasts, Ben, Wayne, Martin and Guy supported SDC’s Golden Anniversary charity golf day last month at Wellingborough Golf Club.  Alas they didn’t win any competitions or prizes on the day, but had a great time joining an enthusiastic group of golfers, all helping to raise money for charity.

SDC’s Board of Directors decided to raise money for good causes for their 50th anniversary year, and decided that given the business was founded on collaboration and integrity, with a passion for supporting local communities at its core, decided on a year’s worth of unique events leading up to September 2022 to raise £110,000 for good causes.

Congratulations to SDC on a fabulous event!  Cheques for £5,000 were presented by SDC to two great charities at the event, detailed below.

• FACES (Family and Children’s Early-help Services) is a well established local independent charity offering practical and emotional support to families under stress.

• Headway promote understanding of all aspects of brain injury and provide information, support and services to survivors, their families and carers.

 

Carl Corry one of our Site Managers has just completed a 285 mile bike ride over 4 days, taking in beautiful English and French countryside whilst raising money for the Royal British Legion.

Carl  decided to undertake the ride after his friend Danny who was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan wanted to raise money for the British Legion.  Carl’s longest bike ride prior to the event was 45 miles the week before! Carl and Danny were among a group of 7 friends undertaking the ‘Pedal to Paris’ bike ride together as a team.

Carl said, “I truly enjoyed the event and met a lot of people who received funds off the RBL due to mental issues and injuries”.

Well done to Carl and all his friends on a fantastic achievement.  If you would like to make a donation to Carl’s fundraising page, please click the link below thank you:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/carl-corry

 

 

O’Brien Contractors has been awarded the RoSPA Gold Medal Award, which is our 9th consecutive RoSPA Gold Award and our 5th Gold Medal, so we are over the moon!

The internationally-renowned RoSPA Health and Safety Awards, are the longest-running industry awards scheme in the UK and has been awarded to us in recognition of our practices and achievements, in helping staff and clients and stakeholders get home safely at the end of the working day.

The RoSPA Awards scheme, which receives entries from organisations around the world, recognises achievement in health and safety  management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.

Managing Director, Peter O’Brien, said:

“We are delighted to have been recognised with a RoSPA Gold Award for the last 9 years, with a Gold Medal Award again for the 5th year running.  As a company we are dedicated to making sure that all of our sites are safe both for everyone working on them and for members of the public, Receiving this award again is testament to how hard we all work to achieve that.”

O’Brien Contractors is committed to providing safe and healthy working environments for all of our staff.  O’Brien  provides ongoing training, information, supervision and advice so that all of our employees are competent to work safely and are committed to providing the resources necessary to support this provision.

Our industry-leading standards have also been recognised with many other occupational health and safety accreditations ranging from ISO45001 to CHAS Gold, Achilles Building Confidence and RISQS.

O’Brien turn sports facility visions to reality, getting projects off paper and out of the ground!

Our experienced Sports, Civils and Construction teams provide a turnkey solution for all projects, from conception, design and planning through to completion, with a proven track record of delivering a diverse range of design and build projects, to exacting client aspirations, providing value engineering to reduce cost, and provide environmental solutions.

From unused former landfill or undeveloped land being turned into first class sports venues, to providing new and refurbished school pitches.  We work sympathetically to the surrounding environment, including live environments, protection and enhancement of ecological areas and having respect for the communities in which we work.

The contracts that we deliver include synthetic and natural pitches, such as those used for rugby, football, hockey, tennis, Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) pitches, as well as athletic tracks, with a range of surfaces to suit all uses, from schools to professional sports teams and public community facilities.

Providing outstanding single and multi-pitch projects, including construction of sports academies, clubhouses, car parks, civil engineering and construction works, including car parks, all drainage and utility arrangements landscaping and more!

Our clients include football clubs, rugby clubs, sports clubs, schools and residential land development companies.

We are SAPCA approved for MUGA, Synthetic and Natural Turf Pitch Construction, FIH (International Hockey Federation) accredited for Hockey Pitch Construction, as well as ISO9001, 14001 and 45001, CHAS and Achilles Building Confidence accredited.  We also have a 9^th Consecutive RoSPA Gold Award winner for health and safety! 

Examples of site wide solutions for brand new sports facilities:

Aston Villa FC  – Completed Project

http://Aston Villa New Training Ground, Bodymoor Heath (obriencontractors.co.uk)

Old Saltleians RFC – Current Project

https://obriencontractors.co.uk/projects/old-saltleians-rfc-new-rugby-grounds-and-clubhouse-development/

Early Contractor Involvement Benefits

 The most effective way for O’Brien Contractors to work with our clients, to deliver as much value as possible is through Early Contractor Involvement. By being a part of the initial design, specification and programming process, we ensure your project is scoped, de-risked and costed effectively and using our senior management team as consultants where necessary, we also provide operational and commercial advice on feasibility studies.

 

Projects completed / current in the last 12 months:

• Old Salts RFC – brand new site consisting of 7 Rugby Pitches, Car Park, Clubhouse – in progress
• Bromsgrove School – car park extension, road, netball / tennis courts 3G hockey pitch – in progress
• Joseph Chamberlain School – MUGA pitch, Car Park and Welfare/Changing room facility – in progress
• Aston Villa – new site, new academy building, multiple pitch formations, car park, all services – completed
• Solihull School – Playing fields, car park, access road, groundsman building – completed
• Western Park – new development community facilities– 8 rugby / football pitches, bowls green, fencing, footpaths and lighting – completed

It’s employee award time again!

Ashley Tobin has been awarded our quarterly ‘Outstanding Employee Award’ for the second quarter 2022, for his hard work on his project sites.

Project Manager Guy Baker nominated Ashley and said “I would like to nominate Ashley, “he is reliable, trustworthy and very experienced in what he does. He works hard, gives it his all and always gets the job done”.  Well done to Ashley!

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 on site, the winner gets a £500 cheque and a certificate .