Category: Thought Leadership

Sports Management Magazine – Vol 18 issue 4 2014

As the UK obesity statistics soar, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is investing over £1 billion in the next few years to help people get fitter and healthier through a range of programmes designed to make access to sports facilities easier for everyone.

These investments are crucial in getting people more active as a report released by the Institute of Economic Affairs in August 2014 revealed that Britain’s obesity problem is more to do with lack of exercise than with eating too much, or eating the wrong things. So, with grants and funding available to schools, sports clubs, community groups and local authorities, this is a great opportunity for neighbourhoods all over the country to get new sports pitches and facilities in place and get people more active.

With the latest statistics showing that 64% of UK adults are overweight or obese, as are one in every ten children when starting primary school, it’s vital that schools and communities make the most of this opportunity.

Pitching It Right

Investing in new sports facilities has to be done right for two important reasons: firstly, so that this crucial funding is put to best use, and so that people can and will use them for years to come. To do it right you need to work with the best sports pitch providers you can and O’Brien Contractors is the first and only civil engineering firm in the UK able to offer turnkey solutions for a range of sports pitch installations.

The company can deliver projects ranging from stadiums and arenas through to sports tracks and football pitches, tailored to meet your individual needs. O’Brien’s team of experts has a proven track record of delivering design and build sports projects to a diverse range of exacting client specifications and all of the work is completed in-house with no outsourcing required, meaning you get better value for money and projects are always delivered on time and on budget.

The sports installations the company delivers include natural sports pitches, such as those used for rugby, football and cricket, and synthetic and MUGA (Multi-Use-Games-Area) pitches with surfaces suitable for just about every sport and user, from professional sports teams to schools and communities.

Recent projects that O’Brien has completed include the construction of a FIFA-compliant football pitch; an Olympic-standard athletics track complete with long jump, triple jump, high jump, pole vault and a 400m running track; a football club with 11 natural turf pitches, changing facilities, entrance road and car park; and a full size sand dressed synthetic grass Hockey pitch, installed upon an insitu rubber shock pad on an engineered base for Oswestry School.

“From my perspective, it was a delight to work with O’Brien Contractors and would not hesitate to recommend you to anyone. One of the reasons for choosing O’Brien was the fact that we were dealing with the top management from the start (Mick) and because you are the actual contractors rather than a middle man. The construction itself wasn’t straight forward due to a large cut and fill exercise, but the end result is spectacular and we are very pleased with the outcome. In addition, all of the subcontractors used for the specialist areas (floodlights, fencing, and pitch surface) were very reputable with no shortcuts in quality once the contract had been won. Overall, we are very pleased.”
Phil Bowd – Bursar at Oswestry School

Building Magazine – SME Profile 28/11/2014

SME profile: Midlands-based O’Brien Contractors has surpassed its pre-recession revenue peak

Fast-growing small contractor O’Brien Contractors is forecasting it will boost revenue by 40% in this financial year.

The firm expects to turn over £24.5m in 2014/15.

“It may seem like an overnight success, but to us it’s not felt like that,” says Peter O’Brien, managing director of O’Brien Contractors.

The Midlands-based firm has grown revenue 68% over five years to post revenue of £17.5m in its last financial year.

After contracting by 40% in just one year in the throes of the recession, in 2008-09, the firm has since recovered quickly and raced past its pre-recession revenue peak last year. These positive financials helped the family-owned firm win the Contractor of the Year under £300m turnover at the 2014 Building Awards.

But O’Brien (pictured inset) prefers to characterise the firm’s success as “methodical” rather than “overnight”.

“It has been strategic, planned and the culmination of years of improvement through hard work,” he says.

Reinvention

As the recession took hold, O’Brien embarked on a strategy to reinvent the business, turning it from a groundworks specialist to a principal contractor offering everything needed for a civil engineering project. It also upped investment in training and skills “rather than cutting it”, retained its directly-employed labour force and made a big marketing push to reach new clients, O’Brien explains.

Leamington Spa-based O’Brien was founded in 1958 by Tom O’Brien and is now owned by the second generation of the O’Brien family, brothers Peter and Mick O’Brien, with Stuart Chamberlain and Phil Griffiths becoming shareholding directors in 2012.

It operates across the Midlands, taking on jobs valued between £250,000 and £10m, and offers pre-construction services, design and build, sport pitch construction, traditional contracting and plant hire.

The firm primarily works in education, leisure, commercial, manufacturing and infrastructure.

O’Brien’s work as a principal contractor now makes up 30-40% of the firm’s turnover, according to O’Brien. This work is typically design and build infrastructure and public realm improvement jobs.

“We viewed the recession as an opportunity and planned for the subsequent upturn,” O’Brien says. “In a downturn, clients are less active, they are more receptive to changes in their supply chain as they are more focused on value.

“We found out what organisations didn’t like about their supply chains and we attained new clients that we have developed strong and long-term relationships with. In many ways, the recession was good for us.”

The firm now deliberately targets “larger value contracts” and is also an advocate of “early contractor involvement”.

“Long-term relationships bring trust and collaboration which is essential if project objectives are to be achieved,” O’Brien says.

Despite its diversification into principal contracting in recent years, traditional subcontracting remains 50-60% of the business, and its largest contracts remain in this area. These include an £11msubcontract on John Sisk & Son’s £200m coffee manufacturing centre for Nestle in Derbyshire and a £6m subcontract for Morgan Sindall’s 150,000ft2 Marks & Spencer store at Longbridge. Meanwhile, the firm’s specialist sport pitch construction division generates 10% of turnover.

Local investment

O’Brien has invested more than £4m in training, plant, equipment and technology in the past four years, according to O’Brien.

He says the firm carries out most of its work using directly employed workers, rather than subcontracted labour. “For us, it’s all about continual improvement,” he says. “To be a leader in your field, we believe you should focus on your core competencies and you need the best workforce.”

He’s bullish about prospects for the Midlands market, and particularly its manufacturing sector. He says: “The Midlands market is looking buoyant. There seems to be more confidence, we are securing more high-value contracts and receiving far more live jobs than tenders to price.”

O’Brien is not tempted to join the stampede of regional contractors to London. “We don’t need to go into London where we don’t have the relationships,” he says. “You need those local relationships to get the best service, the best procurement deals and innovation through suppliers. We want to be the best SME in the Midlands.”

It is an unavoidable fact that we are currently facing something of a skills shortfall in the construction industry, driven by a combination of the estimated 400,000 jobs lost during the recession coupled with a further 400,000 due to be lost to retirement in the next five years.

It has therefore never been more important to promote the construction industry as a viable and rewarding career and it is more important than ever that we demonstrate the value of working in this sector.
The industry suffers from a perception that working in construction means that you’re poorly paid and spending your days out in the howling wind and rain, when in reality well trained professionals can earn in excess of £100,000 a year.

This is a message that we need to get out there: that the construction industry can offer substantial benefits and that careers in construction are for highly skilled, intelligent people, who can earn big money.
It is apparent that we have to do more to spread this message to younger people at the grassroots level, demonstrating that careers in construction have a clear path to progression. Our core target group has always been school leavers, but the approach here could do with being refreshed, changing the image of construction from the ground-up.

Primarily, we need to utilise the existing young talent that we already have in the industry to prove first-hand that there are significant benefits and opportunities available throughout the sector. We need to understand what’s going to drive 17 and 18-year-olds and this can be more successfully achieved if we have a successful 22 year-old ex-apprentice standing in front of them who has already been through the process. They’re far more likely to take notice of someone like this than if we roll out a 60-year old managing director.

Secondly, we need to demonstrate that, once apprentices have been taken on, they’re being professionally developed rather than left to make the tea.

Every company has its own idiosyncrasies, however from our own experience if you take a young person and put them on-site with a surveyor for four days and on a college course for one day a week, in a few years’ time, they have vastly increased their knowledge and hands-on experience of the role and will also be earning around £20,000 more than they were previously.

Rather than trying to provide every apprentice with experience in every sector of the industry, we identify an individual’s strengths and evaluate where in the company they would best fit, helping them to develop in a specific discipline while nurturing their individual skills.

This isn’t a quick fix and it requires a commitment of some three to four years to truly make the most out of it, but at the end of this process, you will benefit from having a knowledgeable and confident professional who has been developed through your organisation.

This is, of course, more easily said than done, with many companies still recovering from the recession, when austerity led to scaled-down operations that left businesses without the structure or function to allow for the development and stewardship of apprentices. It needs to be made easier for businesses to take on apprentices through financial incentives such as government grants, although whether this is just pie in the sky thinking is another question.

There isn’t a simple one-size-fits-all solution that we can slot into place to solve the skills problem in construction, but with a more committed and focussed approach we should be able to go some way towards meeting the demands of a market that is back on the upswing.

Construction News Magazine – SME Spotlight 26/09/2014

Empowering staff and putting them at the heart of business strategy has transformed the fortunes of Midlands groundworks firm, O’Brien Contractors.

• Progress recognised
• Having a say
• Diverse operations
• In-cab computers
• Nestlé Factory
• Jaguar Land Rover

“I believe in an open working culture. As managing director, it’s important for all employees to feel they can come and speak to me at any time.”

This is the refreshing philosophy of Peter O’Brien, managing director of award-winning firm O’Brien Contractors, a second-generation family-run business with almost 60 years of experience in the civil engineering and groundworks sectors.

“Our investment in attracting and maintaining the right staff is second only to our professional experience in terms of our greatest strengths,” said Mr O’Brien. “This enables us to work creatively, to find unique solutions and deliver projects faster, more economically and to a higher standard than some other companies.”

It is this approach – a part of the wider O’Brien strategy – that has undoubtedly had a role to play in the company pulling out of the recessionary era with increasing confidence.

Progress recognised

This confidence and strong business approach has also seen O’Brien being recognised with a host of construction industry awards, including being named Tomorrow’s Company at the 2014 Construction News Awards.

This accolade is an indication of the growth at a company that now employs 120 full-time staff and has recently declared record profits of £1.46 million against a turnover of £17.5 million for 2014, with a projection for turnover of £25 million in 2015. This is a significant increase against 2009, when turnover had dropped to £11 million and profit to just £73,000.

Mr O’Brien is delighted with the results. “For a company such as ours, which is at the lower end of the turnover spectrum for this award, to have come out on top when we were competing against far larger organisations is a real boost and confirms the approach we are taking is clearly the right one.”

O’Brien’s decision to place its people at the heart of its business plan came during the depths of the downturn.

“There was a far wider selection of people in the market because of the economic situation, and we thought it was the best possible time to source quality people to move the business forward,” Mr O’Brien says.

“It meant a significant investment at a time when cashflow was tight. But we took the view that the economy had to pick up at some point, and when it did, we would have the armoury in place to take advantage.”

The firm’s people-focused commitment is clear with both time and spending on training having grown from £29,000 and 1,410 hours in 2012, to £39,000 and 1,900 hours this year.

“We only want to employ the very best and have put considerable time and efforts into training our employees,” says Mr O’Brien. “However we also recognise that our competitors will be on the look-out for talented, young and well-trained individuals for their own teams, so it’s vital that we recognise commitment and hard work with the right package of rewards and incentives.

“This is based on the ability of an individual, and what we believe they can bring to our business,” he says. “I don’t believe in having a pay structure that limits people.”

Having a say

O’Brien keeps a close eye on team morale, with ongoing quarterly staff meetings creating an open dialogue with employees and the company opting to broaden its shareholding, giving staff the opportunity to have a stake in what historically was a 100 per cent family-owned business.

“We want all the people who work for us – both our staff and our suppliers – to be passionate about our success, to feel that they are being listened to and having their opinions recognised, and that they are an integral part of the company,” he added.

That certainly seems to be happening; staff turnover is zero for office staff and just 11 per cent for site staff, while productivity – based on turnover per staff member – increased by eight per cent last year.

Diverse operations

Responding to increasing market demand, O’Brien has continued to strengthen and diversify its offering and now provides design, plant hire, sewerage, road construction, and maintenance services and increasingly works as a principal contractor.  This has led to the company’s appointment to a number of high profile projects in sectors including education, retail, industrial and commercial.

“In the last 12 months alone, we have undertaken 29 projects across the Midlands, including works for Jaguar Land Rover, Aston University, Wates , Kier  and Galliford Try and we have just been appointed as subcontractor by Morgan Sindall to work on St Modwen’s regeneration of Longbridge which is an incredibly high profile appointment.”

Alongside recognition and development, Mr O’Brien thinks that a core element of the company’s success is to make staff feel they are part of an organisation that is going places – and is on top of the latest innovations in the industry. The firm’s approach to plant management illustrates that.

“Technologically, we have the most advanced machinery in the country,” he says.

“Our bulldozers and excavators have Trimble GPS technology. If, for example, a client changes the levels on a job it’s communicated to our engineering manager, who then emails the information directly to the operator’s in-cab computer. The operator will then change the scope of what is being worked on to reflect the new design.

“The Trimble software also allows us to calculate cut and fill levels, and even alter the design, to end up with nil balances so that we don’t take anything off site.”

In-cab computers

Besides individual jobs, the contractor uses the software to drive operating efficiency improvements over the medium to long-term. Information from the in-cab computers – including where the machine has been working and what it’s done during the day – is sent directly back to the office, says Mr O’Brien. “We review that data and analyse our performance so we can be more efficient. We are making savings on fuel, wear and tear, operator performance, everything.”

He says that the end result of this is that O’Brien’s clients benefit.

“It’s an important selling point for us in tender interviews. Ultimately, delivering for the client is the most important part of what’s needed to achieve success as a business. With this technology, we can advise clients on how to complete a job quickly, efficiently and cost effectively, ultimately saving them money.”

He is pleased at how staff have welcomed the new technology. “They relish the ability to move their careers forward with it,” he says. “Initially, excavator drivers were not that well-versed with computer technology.

“So as a trial, we approached a driver with 30 years’ experience we knew didn’t feel that comfortable using technology. We felt if we could get him ‘over the fence’, then it should be easier for the rest. The technology has proved very simple for him to use, and that has given others the confidence.”

With all of these strands coming together to put O’Brien on a sure footing, the contractor is starting to eye up new frontiers and is carving out a niche with a turnkey offering for sport pitch construction, a market which the firm initially moved into three years ago and which is likely to generate revenues of £2.5m to £3m this year.

This is alongside the land bank that the firm – which is now NHBC-registered – started building four years ago. Mr O’Brien says he would like to do “maybe 15-20 residential units” a year, which would mean carrying out the whole build and in turn means developing new skills. “We plan to bring in those skills shortly,” he says.

He doesn’t expect to make any acquisitions: “I don’t think they are necessary; we feel we have the right approach – that clients like working with us – and so with that strategy, we can grow our business organically.”

Construction News Magazine – SME Spotlight 16/08/2013

The business was established by my father, Tom O’Brien in 1958. I became Managing Director in 1980, aged just 24 and since then the business has grown substantially, with our largest contract now in the region of £8m.

O’Brien Contractors offers a wide range of services, from design and build through to plant hire, in sectors such as healthcare, education and residential. We work collaboratively on projects with our suppliers and a loyal range of clients, including JLR, the National Trust and Aston University. We’ve also delivered numerous contracts involving railway stations, commercial units and Olympic-standard sports facilities.

In 2009, after 50 years as a specialist contractor providing drainage and groundworks, our business started to feel the pinch of the recession. When turnover and profit reduced by £3.3m and £330k, respectively, my Board and I set about developing challenging but realistic objectives to turn things around by the end of 2013. These objectives have enabled the business to see unimaginable growth: Principal Contractor contracts accounting for 40% of sales and £900k worth of secured sports pitch contracts, are just a few of our successes.

The diversification strategy that we developed took considerable planning and analysis with close to £1m of company money being invested in it. But it paid off and 2013 has seen us achieve record-breaking levels of turnover. With an order book of £10m already secure for the coming year our outlook for 2014 looks even brighter, with turnover set to increase by 33% to £18m.

I am most proud of the fact that it allowed us to safeguard the careers of our 97 members of staff; 23 of whom have joined us recently as a result of our growth.

If I was to highlight one area to credit with our success, it would be customer satisfaction. We’ve all worked tirelessly to improve the service to our clients and are now seeing more contracts come through referrals from previous clients, while repeat business has increased from 60% in 2009 to 85% in 2012. .

Although our client base has grown from 35 to 50, I believe today’s market is a challenging place to be. I would encourage other companies to look at core competencies, use the capabilities and resources you already have within your business. Develop your staff, use in-house skills and create your own USP, this has been an invaluable strategy for us.

Over the years this business has seen many ups and downs, with the recent economic downturn being one of the toughest. However, I believe today’s team is the strongest we have ever had and having diversified to reach new markets, we have put ourselves in a very secure position. Never one to rest on our laurels, we will keep listening to our clients to continually improve and aim ever higher.

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.”