London News Winter 2010
Read inside for Project News, People and more...
Contents Page
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Company News Project News CR News People News
P. 9
P. 10
P.11
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Work begins at the Watford Colosseum
Kier London Newsletter
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Kieran visits Stanburn First and Middle School
Foundation Stone laid at Northway and Fairway School
Hydrotherapy Pool at Riverside School
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Company News
Mickey retires after 51 years of service Plant Operative Michael ‘Mickey’ Cunningham is due to retire after a staggering 51 years of service with Kier.
A Message From Mark Pengelly Welcome to the Winter Edition of the Kier London News. During the first half of this year at the end of November we have secured £159.8m of work against our target of £250m. Major awards in November have been St Thomas Hospital Research Labs, Epsom Station, Barking Park, Whipps Cross Hospital, Queensland Road and Howick Place. It is through these sustained opportunities that we will be able to develop talented and professional people. Recent examples of this are Steve Bullen and Justin Willison both of whom received gold awards in this years CIOB Manager of the Year Awards. Congratulations to them both. On the 25th and 26th November we held our staff briefing, it was great to see so many of you. In total 486 people were invited and on the 25th we had 177 attendees and on the 26th there were 168 people. I would like to add my thanks that just under 71% of our people heard about the diversity of experience we hold in the 4 offices which now make up the Kier London business. Going forwards the Board and I will keep you updated on how we are developing our experience into the key sector excellence areas of commercial, residential, health, leisure, retail and infrastructure. It is thanks to all your hard work that we will be able to offer our clients an unrivalled service in the London area. As a business we will need to continue to meet the challenges ahead of us in the coming months to achieve sustainability and growth. I am confident that with our professional approach, attitude and sector experience we have the ability to meet the key focus for the business during the next 3 years. As a reminder these are:• • • • •
Zero accidents The integration of four offices into one business A minimum of 10% increase in turnover An increase in profitability Significantly increased levels of staff engagement
Finally I wish you and your families a very Happy Xmas and a peaceful New Year. Mark
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Mickey joined Kier on the 26th October 1959 and officially retired from the company on 27th August 2006 only to immediately start again on the 28th August 2006! Mickey worked on numerous projects over the years including Tesco Enfield. Malcolm Burton recalls a well known story from his time at the site. “Mickey was one of the Kier London team at Tesco Enfield. As with all retail projects nearing completion the working hours were extended and for the last 2 weeks the whole site including Kier London staff worked until 10.00pm at night. The day before handover we had achieved our completion and a decision was made to finish at 4.00pm in the afternoon so we could all get home early. Mickey decided at 3.50pm that he wanted to go up in a cherry picker to take in his last aerial view of the completed project. Nobody knew quite why he made this decision, the only thing on everybody else’s mind was to pack up and go home. Up to this point this had been a very reliable cherry picker but the inevitable happened and the cherry picker broke down with Mickey stuck in the basket 40ft up in the air. Guided by Mickey shouting down from the basket, attempts were made to restart the engine. Mickey’s catchphrase of “You don’t want to do like that” echoed down as we tried in vain to get the engine started. Eventually it became necessary to phone for a fitter to come and restart the engine. With Mickey stuck up in the air there was no option for some of the team to remain on site until he could be brought down. The shouted conversations taking place between those on the ground and Mickey are not for publication but needless to say they revolved around “What on earth possessed you to do that?” Eventually the fitter came and got the engine going Mickey was brought back down. Not everybody was pleased to see him as it was now 7.00pm and any intentions of going home early had been lost.
Mickey Cunningham and his wife at last year’s Dinner and Dance.
Here are some of the projects Mickey has worked on during his 51 years at Kier.
• Stanstead • Glaxo - Bury Green • Ealing Hospital • Stewarts Lane • Tottenham Court Rd • Grosvenor Street • Northern Line Sub- Station • Dalston Viaduct • Whitefield School • Barbican • Stag Brewery • Tesco, Enfield • Turnpike Lane • Waltham Point • Torrington Place • Eastcheap • Goodmayes Hospital • Thamesview School
Despite regular questioning Mickey is still not able to give a logical reason for his actions. Maybe now he is retiring he will finally come clean.” We would like to thank Mickey for his hard work and dedication to Kier and wish him all the best in his retirement.
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Company News A warm welcome to our new starters Andrew Lee Graduate QS MapleCross Reece Hollingsworth Graduate D&B Loughton Stuart Robertson Graduate D&B Maple Cross Isuru Ekanayake Graduate D&B Bromley Alex Weaver Trainee QS Maple Cross Callum Hughes Trainee Maple Cross Tom Grant Trainee Bromley Andrew Randall Trainee QS Loughton Jamie Pittman Trainee QS Loughton Mark Baker Area Surveyor Bromley
And best wishes to those who have retired Brian Martin Site Manager retired after 38 years service with Kier Wallis. Alan Taplin, Steel Fixer - Maple Cross retires after 38 years service Tony Edmunds, Gateman retires after Maple Cross 4 years service
In memory of Peter Barton I know that a lot of you are already aware, that Peter Barton passed away suddenly after being diagnosed with cancer in August. I am sure that you will agree that Peter will be sadly missed by us all at that Maple Cross office and sites. Peter was employed by William Moss and Kier for almost 43 years and has been at Maple Cross since Moss moved from Watford 22 years ago.
Festive Season Rest Period Last day of work is Friday, 24th December 2010 and we return to work on Tuesday 4th January 2011 Enjoy your Break
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Kier London Newsletter
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Company News
Kier London receives prestigious LDSA Best Partnership Award
Senior project manager Joe Murphy, project manager Neil Dimond and design and build manager Edmond McCudden recently attended the London District Surveyor Association Awards. They accepted the award for Best Partnership on behalf of Kier in recognition for their high standards of construction and workmanship. The award was presented to them by Lord Jasper of Tring and Trevor McIntosh President of LDSA.
Gold at Northway and Fairway Kier London Project at Northway & Fairway Schools has recently passed the 200,000 hours RIDDOR free milestone. This achievement qualifies the site for a Kier London Gold Safety Award. To recognise this achievement Kier London provided a free breakfast from the on site canteen for all site operatives to thank them for their help in reaching this milestone and to encourage them to continue to maintain safety standards at the current level.
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Company News
Kier London Contract Awards October 2010 The Directors are pleased to announce Contract Awards of over £24m, for the month of October2010. The following contract awards have been made: Project
Client
Value
Description
Bakers Court, Bakers Rd, Uxbridge
Clerical Medical Investment Group Ltd
£22,166,482.00
Refurbishment of existing office building over existing bus garage.
Fetter Lane, London EC4A
Kirbi Real Estate Investments
£1,000,000.00
Refurbishment of existing office. Also includes rebuilding of linked structure. Total value of project: £22,000,000.00
105 Eaton Square London, SW1
Apple Market Ltd
£23,386.00
Refurbishment of a rooflight.
Ealing Hospital Uxbridge Road
Ealing Hospital NHS Trust
£128,044.55
Environmental upgrade of existing hospital building to comply with current regulations. Balance of contract award.
1-7 Howick Place Victoria, London
Howick Place Office
£229,761.00
Demolition and redevelopment of mixed use office and residential scheme. Value for demolition of link bridge received.
Aylwards First and Middle School
The London Borough of Harrow
£532,710.10
Extension and refurbishment to the existing school to create an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) unit for up to 12 children. Balance of contract award.
TOTAL
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Kier London Newsletter
£24,080,383.65
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Company News
Truly Considerate Contractor and Supply Chain partners On the 15th September 2010 the project team from 45 Park Lane presented a cheque for £2,801 to the nursing team at Evelina Children’s Hospital. The donation was in response to their charity appeal to help provide specialist care and equipment for the hospital’s young patients.
Concrete Restoration, EE Smith, Gallaghers, Gem UK, Globe, Guaranteed Asphalt Roofings, Hailsham, Jupiter, JWM, Levolux, Littlemans, MITIE, Saper Glass, Sitemasters, Szerelmey and Togher.
The money was raised as a result of the team scoring 36.5 points on a Considerate Constructor Scheme visit. This outstanding achievement was recognised by the board of Kier London, who rewarded the ten members of the Kier site team £35 each for a night out. However, instead of spending their reward in the local pub, the team decided to be truly considerate and donate their cash to the famous Hospital’s appeal. Using their £350 as starting point the site team challenged the key subcontractors on the project to make a minimum donation of £100 to the appeal. Using a range of persuasive techniques, including a regular email update to all potential sponsors, the team collectively raised an excellent £2,801. Special thanks must be extended to our generous supply chain partners who joined us to help raise this fantastic amount.
Broadfields School donates reward to the Anthony Nolan Trust During their Considerate Constructors visit Broadfields School site achieved 36 points which entitled the site team to £35 per head towards on a night out. The team of 16 made the unanimous decision to donate the sum of £560, to the Anthony Nolan Trust charity with respect to their colleague, Henry Scot-Simmonds. Construction director Indi Muttucumaru commented:
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“Your thoughtful gesture to donate your entitlement to the Anthony Nolan Trust charity is acknowledged and appreciated. Well done to you and your team in achieving 35 points.
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Project News
Kier Park, Uxbridge Completes Kier London has completed a combined office and warehouse unit which is now occupied by AGS Fourwinds, an international transportation company. This unit is the first of fourteen proposed on the Kier Park site in Uxbridge, owned by Kier Property. Kier London achieved completion on time, much to the satisfaction of the tenant and have also finished the process of constructing a new motorcycle test centre at Kier Park for the Driving Standards Agency (DSA). The DSA facility is one of 40 being constructed as part of a rollout programme across England, Scotland and Wales to provide off-road facilities for the practical motorcycle driving test, and is the first which Kier have undertaken. The project consists of an office building and an asphalt motorcycle manoeuvring area, measuring 125m x 40m, which must be ‘hydro-stripped’ to artificially age the wearing course ensuring that the road surface has adequate resistance to skidding from day one.
Timely Fit Out Kier London has completed the £6.2m fit out of Queen Mary University’s (QMU) new bio-medical research facility on time and within budget.
The new Heart Centre on QMU’s Charterhouse Campus will speed-up research from the scientist’s bench to the patient’s bedside to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. The project is funded by a grant awarded to Barts and The London NHS Trust and to QMU’s Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Work involved the fit out of a new build shell to form laboratories, offices, clinical trials areas installation of new Mechanical, Electrical and ICT services including the provision of fume extraction and medical gases.
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Project News
Kier Airports Kieran visits Stanburn First and Middle School awarded The children and teachers 35.5 CCS of Stanburn First and Middle
School enjoyed a farewell visit from Kieran to mark the completion of work to their school.
Site manager Gary Aboro gave a talk on safety around fireworks and Kieran presented a bunch of flowers to Head teacher of First school, Ann Drakeford. Gary was taken by surprise when he in return, was presented with a Thank you card and a paper weight.
Kier Airports have recently been awarded a score of 35.5 for the Local Projects Framework. The actual project visited was the central bus station project located in the central terminal area. The bus garage operates 24 hours, 7 days a week. 365 days a year. This area experiences 1400 TFL bus movements daily in addition to the National Express Coach service. The project consists of the full replacement of surface water aco drainage to replace the existing system which consisted of loose & damaged drain covers along its entire 75m length. The programme was executed in 2 phases lasting 12 days with minimal disruption to the bus service and most importantly of all the general public and airport staff.
Site Manager Gary Aboro and Kieran presenting flowers to Head teacher Ann Drakeford.
The first floor extension has been built using a steel frame structure bolted down to the existing roof planks with timber joist infills covered in plywood and an insulated single ply membrane over. The roof incorporates a number of roof lights and edge protection. The new walls are formed of ‘Metzec’ structure with ‘Sto Render’ finish on insulation’. The new extension has been constructed on two sides against the existing first floor to the school and new windows have been fitted to both the ground and first floor. A new lift and plant room completed the construction activities.
The design and refurbishment of an existing workshop and teaching spaces within an occupied building on Imperial College’s South Kensington Campus has been completed. The works were divided into three phases, with a contract duration of 18 months and an overall value of £13m.
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Project News
Foundation Stone paves the way at Northway and Fairway Schools The Mayor of Barnet, Councillor Anthony Finn, marked the opening of it’s latest school under the First Class Schools building programme with the unveiling of a foundation stone. The new school building which locates Northway Special School with Fairway Primary and Nursery School and the Surestart Children’s Centre under one roof is the seventh First Class Schools building project to be undertaken with construction partners Kier London. While both schools will continue to run as separate entities, they will make best use of the space by sharing many areas such as the library and a state of the art hydrotherapy pool. The wider community will also benefit from many of the building’s state-of-the-art facilities including the external games court, pool and three halls which can combine together to accommodate up to 600 people.
The building is being finished to a high environmentally sustainable standard using solar power, and a rain water harvesting system together with a green sedum roof to reduce water run off and increase biodiversity. Unveiling the foundation stone which marks the building being made watertight, the Mayor Cllr Anthony Finn said: “It’s been fascinating to see this building come together from such an ambitious project on paper. We want to give the children of Barnet the best education we can and this building is a shining example of this.” Cllr Andrew Harper, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for Education, Children and
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Mayor of Barnet, the Worshipful the Mayor, Councillor Anthony Finn and Kier London MD, Mark Pengelly with some of the pupils of Fairway and Northway Schools
Families, said: “Here in Barnet we are fortunate to be able to make a £100 million investment which has led to a number of schools being completely rebuilt as part of our First Class Schools Programme. “While we are committed to making every school a good school in Barnet, during these difficult financial times ahead we need to provide different ways to make this happen. Good schools are
The Fairway and Northway Team
not always about buildings, but the teachers, students and parents.” Indi Muttucumaru, divisional director for Kier London, said: “This topping out ceremony marks a very significant milestone in the construction of this site. In the current economic climate full of doom and gloom it’s particularly pleasing for me to celebrate what can be done when we have a client committed to excellence in the schools and community project.
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Project News
The adventure begins at Kilburn Grange Park The Kilburn Grange Park adventure playground and play centre opened on the 29th May. The opening day event was packed with fun activities such as treasure hunting, free running with Parkour Generations, and roof seeding with big catapults, which gave the local youngsters their first opportunity to be adventurous and to start exploring their new facilities. England and Arsenal Ladies star Rachel Yankey helped open a new adventure playground. The new playground was built with money from the government’s £225m Play Pathfinder scheme,
Transforming the Watford Colosseum The £5m rebuilding and renovation programme which has now been launched by the Maple Cross office will transform The Colosseum, a Grade II listed building that has played host to leading names from the world of music and popular entertainment since the Thirties. Now the ever-popular venue is taking a break until next summer, while Kier carries out a major renewal and improvement programme. Top of the bill will be a dazzling two-storey glass-fronted foyer, housing a new box office, café, restaurant and customer lift; a refurbished auditorium with new retractable, loose and fixed seating for up to 1400, plus new sound and lighting systems. The Colosseum’s small hall will also be completely refurbished with new flooring and a bar area while sympathetically retaining its original features. The improvements are being funded by Watford Borough Council and managed by HQ Theatres to ensure the Colosseum remains centre stage as a world-class venue.
Arsenal Ladies star Rachel Yankey opens adventure ground
with Camden Council receiving £2.7m to create 29 new or enhanced play areas across the borough. Councillor Heather Johnson, Town Hall cabinet member for children, schools and families, said: “The playground looks spectacular and is full of exciting-looking equipment that will test children’s balance and increase their confidence. “Letting children use their imaginations in play is a great way to inspire young minds and I am delighted to be here to celebrate the launch of this great facility.”
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Watford Mayor Dorothy Thornhill with, from left, Kier London operations director Norman Elliott, project manager Neil Dimond, HQ Theatres chief executive Derek Nicholls, and Colosseum director Giles Ballisat.
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Project News
Barking Hospital partial occupation milestone Barking Hospital Redevelopment is a refurbishment and extension of the existing facility to create an enlarged hospital. The internal works have involved the remodelling of ground and first floor facilities and layouts, with ground and first floor extensions to the East, West and centre sections and an extension of the South West corner. The external works include extending and creating new car parks and landscaping. In May 2010 the site team handed over the sexual health and HIV wards back to the primary care trust (NHS) for partial occupation before practical completion of the remainder of the building and external works.
Thamesview School completion Thamesview is a new build school part of the Kent BSF Project and this £21m project is a joint venture between Kier London and Kier Eastern. During construction the site team were awarded the Considerate Construction Scheme (CCS) Gold Award and a site safety award for no RIDDOR reportable accidents. Project manager Chris Martin also won the Quarterly Leadership Award. The new school building was constructed on the playing field of the existing school which remained fully operational for the duration of the main works.
The handover was successful and these services are now operating from the new wards.
The main entrance to the school
A finished waiting area.
The site team worked closely with the client’s team to ensure a smooth handover and as a result still have a strong partnering relationship beneficial to both sides. Both Kier London’s site team and the client’s team are now concentrating their efforts on finishing the remaining departments for practical completion in September.
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The new school was handed over in June 2010 and Project Manager Chris Martin concluded: “Our Client is delighted with the finished school, which reflects well on everyone involved throughout the project. “On behalf of the Kier Team at Thamesview School, we would like to thank you for working with us to achieve this marvellous success.” Following the completion of the new school main works the school was then decanted to the new building. Second phase works include the demolition of an old school building and construction of a new sports pitch and car park. During these works we are still fully committed to the Construction Skills/Client KPI’s. So far this has involved taking on numerous work experience students, organising on site training for contractors and staff working alongside with
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Project News “For nearly one year I have been on site working with the team at Kier. I have had the opportunity to help build my new school and been shown different aspects of the trade I have never thought of. My aspirations were to be a bricklayer but now I want to be a surveyor. I hope I can continue to work with Kier in the future.” Lewis Gibbons Year 10, Young Apprentice (YA) in construction .
continued.. the Construction Skills Project Co-ordinator and the Vocational Centre which is part of Thamesview School. We currently have 2 students who work alongside the Kier Site team and the contractors Supervisors. As part of their course they have to spend 1 day a week working on site. Official client satisfaction comments received from Thamesview included the following: “Over the last two years we have had the privilege of working with Kier both in the world of construction and other vocational areas. This has been on site with work placements, in classrooms with teaching expertise and in the offices. I can honestly say that without their help and support many of the students on vocational courses at Thamesview Vocational centre would not have had opportunity and experience to complete their courses to a high level. We serve not only Thamesview School but the whole of Gravesham who have also shared in our experience.
“The hands on experience and support we get has been outstanding. People at Kier are never too busy to answer questions or help us with our work. Why can’t everybody be like this?” Georgia Bradford completed the Young Apprentice in Construction programme followed by an Advanced Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment. These words from the young students speak volumes about the help and support we have received. Once again thank you from both the students and the staff at Thamesview School and Vocational Centre. The heart space is the central reception area of the school
The links we have made with Kier are sustainable as we both realise that the future of the construction industry at both trade and professional levels cannot succeed and improve without such links and support”. Students themselves recognise this by the comments: “The help and support given to us by the Kier team has been so valuable. Without the support of the staff and management I would not now be going to university to continue on my construction career.” Bernice Waghorn Year 13, Advanced Diplomas in Construction and the Built Environment.
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Project News
Repton Street - The Official Opening On Thursday 29th June 2010 guests enjoyed the official opening of Lascar Wharf and Guinea Point, two new apartment blocks at Repton Street, London, E14. This event was hosted jointly between Kier London and our client Newlon Housing Trust and was attended by the residents who now live in this new complex.
is provided courtesy of NIBE exhaust air heat pumps which recover warm air from both the kitchens and bathrooms in order to generate heat.
The opening event was held on the 9th floor roof terrace and started with a warm welcome by Mike Hinch (Newlon Chief Executive) followed by speeches conducted by Ruth Cadby (Newlon Resident Board Member) and Keith Bishop (Kier London Divisional Director).
The Repton Street Development
The building overlooks the Grand Union Canal and is within 1 mile of Limehouse Station with views of Canary Wharf. The canal bank to the front of the building has been redeveloped to provide external amenity space for residents and the community centre. (l-r) Keith Bishop (Director - Kier London), Mark Pengelly (MD - Kier London), Ruth Cadby (Resident Board Member – Newlon), Mike Hinch (Chief Executive - Newlon)
Mark Pengelly (Kier London MD) then joined Ruth Cadby in the unveiling of the new Foundation Name Plaque for the building.
Special focus was placed on the Community Hall on the lower ground level of the building by hiring a children’s entertainer and face painter for the day to entertain the residents’ children while their parents enjoyed the reception upstairs on the roof.
The Repton Street project comprised the design and construction of 86 apartments for part sale and rent along with a community centre for Newlon Housing Trust. It is the fifth residential development that Kier London has completed for Newlon Housing Trust. The building has a selection of metal walkway balconies and corner balconies as well as concrete inset balconies and terraces complete with timber sliding screens and glass balustrades. Internally the one, two, three and four bedroom flats have fully fitted kitchens including built-in appliances and bathrooms along with carpet, laminate and vinyl floor finishes. Central heating and hot water
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The children’s entertainer with some of the younger residents’ of Repton Street
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Project News
Dane Court - A school for the Future Dane Court is the second school in Broadstairs to be handed over by Kier following the successful completion of St George’s Grammar School last year by Kier Southern. Dane Court Grammar School is a mixed, selective, grammar school in Broadstairs, Kent with 1200 pupils. Under the Kent BSF framework Kier London undertook a £19m modernisation of the school to provide much improved academic space. The new teaching facilities have been completed now, leaving just the demolition of the redundant schoolbuildings prior to final landscape and handover. The new teaching block was designed to support the Client’s vision for flexible ICT rich environments that maximise the use of natural daylight and ventilation and provide an inspiring learning zone for the future. The new spaces provide bright and modern teaching
environments. Dane Court remained in occupation throughout the works requiring considerable planning with regard to phasing of works, the maintenance of services and facilities and staff and pupil engagement on the scheme. This was achieved through our adoption of an open and consultative approach in working with the School and Kent County Council. The project has been designed to achieve a BREEAM very good rating.
Impressive Milestone at Whitmore High Kier London’s Whitmore high school project has reached an impressive milestone by achieving in excess of 500,000 RIDDOR free hours worked on site. This achievement qualifies the site for a Kier London Gold Safety Award. The number of personnel on site peaked at 190 which comprised both male and female staff and trade operatives. A number of safety initiatives were run throughout the project with the Safety Observation scheme raising over £1000 for charity in addition to breakfast vouchers being presented for good practice and safe behaviour. The Project is on programme for completion in December 2010.
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CR News
Corporate Responsibility update Kier London has had an outstanding year and captured more than £91,000 in Corporate Responsibility (CR) contributions for 2009/2010, a £70,000 increase on last year. The rise is partly due to Kier London growing in size, and site teams having greater awareness of the CR process and its benefits to our business. Over the next year, we aim to visit more sites to encourage the recording and sharing of CR activities such as the ones below.
Nolan Trust, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Raleigh International, and The British Forces Foundation.
Market Place Our supply chain partners and sub-contractors have been involved in many fundraising activities and events. Whitmore High School raised £1000 from proceeds from the Safety Observation Reporting Scheme, while the project team at The Royal Free Hospital donated £750 to the children’s ward.
Community We have hosted numerous site visits and work placements at Thamesview and Dane Court Schools. The Barnet and Harrow Schools projects have given many young children the opportunity to meet Kieran at safety assemblies. As part of our commitment to the community, we have donated prizes to Northway and Fairway schools for fundraising events, hosted the Tower Hamlets Job Ready training scheme and the Barking & Dagenham Insight into Management programme. We have also made donations to Buckden Junior football team, Barking & Dagenham Construction Skills Challenge, Oakview School for their hydrotherapy pool appeal and to 13-yr old Stuart Lee, to enable him to compete in a national Karate competition.
Workplace Many more staff have used the Corporate Responsibility request form procedure to ask for sponsorship directly from the company and of the 35 applications received last year all were approved and completed totalling more than £21,000. We raised and donated money to Breast Cancer Research, The Teenage Cancer Trust, The Chartered Surveyors Trust, Help for Heroes, Marie Curie Cancer Care, The British Heart Foundation, Whizz Kidz, Jack’s P.A.C.K, Bowel Cancer UK, The Multiple Sclerosis Society, The Anthony
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Kieran with a young patient at the Royal Free Hospital
We have also been able to support our clients by making donations to their own charities such as Queensland Road donating £500 to Newlon Housing Association’s Outreach Service.
Environment As part of our commitment to the environment we supported Epping Forest Centenary Trust as our nominated charity last year. Kier London also provided sponsorship for the Integrated Habitats Design Competition (IHDC). The IHDC was devised with the objective of stimulating holistic designs for the built environment that give full consideration to biodiversity, integrating habitats and being sensitive to the water cycle and the wider environment as well as addressing human needs and comforts. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has taken part in an event or activity in the past year and encourage everyone at Kier to keep up the good work and get involved.
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CR News
Kier raises £2,264.90 for Northway and Fairway Schools Back in June, Northway Special Needs School asked us for a donation towards the play equipment for the children that attend it, and after some discussion we agreed that we would assist them with a fundraising car boot sale. We agreed that it could be held in the site car park, and the date was set as 4th August 2010. The main organisation was down to the school but the Kier London site team designed and had printed posters, so that all the children could
take one home and display them. We agreed to provide 2 gate men for the day, as well as canteen staff and of course the bacon and sausages for the rolls! It was suggested that a raffle would be an additional great fundraiser on the day, so we asked our sub-contractors on site for a donation, and we were overwhelmed by the response. We had donations of a 32” flat screen LG TV, a £250 John Lewis voucher, 3 Laptop computers, Tea for 2 at the Ritz and much more. The Car Boot Sale was not as popular as we would have hoped on the day but head teacher Lesley Burgess was delighted to have made some money. The canteen took over £100 which was donated to the school. And the school’s cake
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stall had a lot left over, so our canteen lady sold them to the site guys during the following week and gave the money to the school which was an additional £30. We decided that we should split the donations between both schools, and Northway held their raffle on the last day of term. It was a huge success. John Gribbin and I attended the end of year celebration assembly, where we were entertained by the children and were asked to host the raffle draw. We were delighted that a teacher at the school won first prize - The flat screen TV. Fairway School decided to hold their raffle on the 5th November, and raised an amazing £705! The main prize of a Samsung mini laptop was won by a delighted 9yr old. She stated that it was the best prize she had ever won, in her Thank You letter to the Kier site team. The head teacher of Northway School, Leslie Burgess, informed us that the first raffle made £1,157,90 and the car boot £402, making a grand total of £2,264.90! Jackie Rorke
Special Thanks to LX Engineering, J.J. Sweeney Ltd, 5K Design & Build Ltd, Darby, Linsell Construction Ltd, Astins, Sterling Building Systems Ltd, Sibcas Limited, and Service Point for their prize donations.
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CR News
Jeans for Genes Friday 1st October was Jeans for Genes day. Staff at the Kier London offices raised over £60 by wearing their jeans to work and making a donation of £1. Jeans for Genes is a major fundraiser event for the Children’s Medical Research Institute. One in twenty children are born with some form of genetic fault such as leukaemia, muscular dystrophy, genetic defects and many other disorders. The scientists at the Children’s Medical Research Institute are working to try to prevent these diseases before they occur in our children, or where that is not possible to develop better treatments.
Lighting up Debden FATHER Christmas and his elves helped to light up Debden Broadway this year. The official Christmas lights switch-on took place on December 3, with entertainment from Santa and Frosty the Snowman, before the lights were turned on.
Kier London donated £200 to this years event.
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Cake bake at Colindale School A coffee morning was held by the children and teachers of Colindale Primary School for the Macmillan Cancer Support charity on the 24th of September. Site Administrator Delceta Brown and the site team made cakes for the event and collected £43.00 from site staff which was donated to the school.
Talking Engineering at Ellen Wilkinson School Blessing Gwena, Lisa Perkins and I were invited to give a talk to the pupils of Ellen Wilkinson School in June. The talk entitled ‘A Career in Civil Engineering’ and activity workshop that we devised to involve the students went down a storm, along with the goodie bags which included ICE publications that we gave away on the day. Dear Osa
the school behalf of May I, onGovernors, thank e e th es for th and r your ladi you and talk Kier gave ou t en ll y. exce da er st ye students e girls wer ous sited, the vi When I vi ought. It was ob th th bo in d te deep very exci the they werebject matter and ven in the su they had been gientist, problem Even I, a non-sci to solve. terested! became in tyeat twen gr This was ry education – a tu n ce t ith the firs g nership w true part rs of our Learninwe to ac tr con for which e tr n Ce Resource hopes. have high ks to you. Our than ill Ann Lead
(L-R) Blessing Gwena, Lisa Perkins and Osa Enabulele arriving at Ellen Wilkinson School
The head of sixth form at the school was so impressed with our visit that he asked if we would be happy to give another talk in September to the incoming sixth form. After our visit, our contact at the school Ann Leadill, expressed her appreciation at our efforts. Osa Enabulele
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CR News
Pretty in Pink!
Kier stars at White Lion Centre The Barnsbury Youth Hub formally known as the White Lion project recently hosted a Stakeholder Meeting. This was an opportunity to invite, local youths to view the site and it progress. It was also a good opportunity for us to see what they wanted out of the youth centre and compare the new plans with what they had before.
Friday the 29th October was “Wear it Pink Day” for the Breast Cancer Campaign. Kier London staff across all the offices raised more than £100 for Breast Cancer Support.
Goodmayes Hospital Sports Day Kier London recently took part in the North East London Foundation Trust’s (NELFT) annual Sports Day for the second year. The day draws together various departments from the Trust’s many facilities across the four boroughs in which the Trust provides its services. Sporting activities on the day included the ‘Goodmayes mile’, table tennis, aerobics and boule, however the Kier team decide to pitch their skills in the rounders tournament, and the five a side football contest and finally, as if it wasn’t enough, the ‘tug of war’ to round off the day.
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The idea of the day was to create a video featuring the hub which could be used to inform local youths about the new Centre. To achieve this, members of the site team were asked to star in the video taking questions from the stakeholders. We presented them with drawings and samples of the new youth centre and walked them around the site to give them a ‘feel’ of the new space. The main feedback we gained from the youths was how much more open and spacious the rooms were now and they seemed pleased with this. Further positive feedback was shown for the modernisation of the Youth Centre which includes the new IT suites, digital media rooms and music rooms being installed. Staff and youths alike were genuinely positive and excited about the transformation and could not wait to get back into the space.
Callum Fitzpatrick
Kier London Newsletter
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CR News
Thank You to Alan Taplin
Lee Rogers goes Ape Lee Rogers recieved £50 towards his participation in the annual 7km Great Gorilla Run dressed as a gorilla. Lee raised £283.
A big thank you to all of you who took the time to go and see Alan Taplin’s wood carving demonstration in the Maple Cross office. I think that everyone who saw his carvings thought his work was fantastic and he has a real skill.
Staff from Maple Cross raised £110 and Alan kindly donated £96, so a total of £206 will be going towards the Marie Curie Research Fund which I am sure they will be very grateful for. Joanne Raniga
Pool of learning at Riverside School Working around children is challenging but this is especially the case at Riverside School in Orpington, Kent. Riverside is a school for children aged between 4 – 19yrs with profound learning difficulties. As part of the London Borough of Bromley’s investment in the school, Kier London is constructing a new £600,000 hydrotherapy pool. The new facility will include an audio and visual sensory theatre to help the children learn and carry out their physiotherapy exercises. For the school’s sixth form the new project is also providing a learning experience as they are undertaking fortnightly visits to site and preparing their own project newsletter – Hydro News. Site Manager, James Friel, finds it all very rewarding. “The children love the visits. We dress them up in their own PPE and they get really excited about the work and as the project has progressed they have got more and more interested in what they see.” James was the star of the pupils’ first newsletter when he was in the hot seat for their Q&A session where he received questions on everything from ‘what car do you drive?’ through to ‘when will the new pool be ready and how much will it cost?’
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Kier London Newsletter
Pupils and teachers from Riverside School
Winter 10
People News
Congratulations to.... Joe Mason (Assistant Site Manager) achieved a BSc (Hons) in Design & Construction Management from the University of Greenwich. William Dunne (Assistant Site Manager) achieved a BSc (Hons) in Design & Construction Management from the University of Greenwich. Jon Weatherley (Assistant Quantity Surveyor) achieved a BSc (Hons) in Construction Business Management from the University of Greenwich. Estimator Tracey Edwards, based at Maple Cross, who has completed her Level 3 BTEC National Certificate in Construction with the double grade Distinction. Tracey achieved a distinction grade in all 12 of the modules which included Health & Safety, Construction & the Environment, Technology & Design, Planning, Estimating, Surveying and Property Law.
Carol Simmonds is expanding her role to business improvement and responsible business manager to support the business growth and to meet the expectations of our clients and the board of Kier London. For business improvement Carol will provide a central role in taking forward quality and performance and individual business projects agreed by the Board. To demonstrate our approach as a responsible business Carol will work with key business functions to move forward our approach to sustainability. Carol joined Kier in 2003. During her 27 year career she has held the positions of bonus surveyor, estimator, quantity surveyor, building surveyor, project manager, contractor manager and for the last 7 years partnering and service improvement manager. Her wealth of organisational and change management experience has been gained within private and public organisation representing both client and contracting organisations.
Project manager Emrah Coskun for becoming a chartered member of the Institution of Civil Engineers this spring. Â Emrah joined Kier London in October 1999 and has gone through the Kier group graduate training scheme. Having signed off his training agreement 4 years ago, he has managed to juggle work and family in preparations for his Chartered Professional Review by working on his reports during late evenings and weekends. Emrah is delighted to receive the recognition of chartered status as Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and thanks his wife and family for the understanding and support shown throughout. Â Emrah based his report and presentation on Kings Yard Primary Substation; the first building to be constructed on the Olympic Park. The building has recently won the RIBA Architectural Excellence award and was also short listed for the ICE London Civil Engineering Infrastructure Awards.
Winter 10
Kier London Newsletter
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People News
NHBC Pride in the Job Awards
Construction Manager of the Year Awards
Kier London site manager, Kevin Knight has been chosen as one of the National HouseBuilding Council (NHBC) Pride in the Job Quality Award Winner for 2010.
The 2010 Construction Manager of the Year Awards dinner was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. This prestigious annual event hosted by Denise van Outen, has been dubbed the Oscars of the construction industry.
These awards are given to site managers who develop the highest quality new homes across the UK. Over the past 30 years, Pride in the Job has become synonymous with quality and a hallmark that those homes are built to the highest standard.
We are very proud to announce that Kier Group took home 4 Awards, 2 Gold and 2 Silver, of which both the GOLD medals were awarded to Kier London. Our Gold Award Winners Are: Justin Willison For: 265-267 Tottenham Court Road (Value £16.2m) Category: New Build/Refurbishment Projects £14m - £20m
Steve Bullen For: The UK Supreme Court (Value £29.5m) Category: New Build/Refurbishment Projects £26m - £40m
This is great recognition for the hard work put in by the Kier Site Team who worked on the 26m multi-storey Watford Key Worker Accommodation project. NHBC Chief Executive, Imtiaz Farookhi, presented the Quaility Award and said: “Winning a Quality Award sets these site managers apart and I congratulate them all for winning this prestigious award.”
Congratulations to everyone involved in both project for making Julian and Steve’s achievements possible.
Contracts manager Nigel Phillips, based at Loughton has gained a distinction in MSc Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies, which concentrates on a wide range of current environmental issues and is administered by the Centre for Alternative Technology. The gaining of this qualification will enable Kier London to provide an expertise in sustainable, low carbon and energy efficient construction techniques that are now starting to emerge in mainstream construction.
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Kier London Newsletter
Winter 10
People News
Reflections of a Kingfisher As many of you will know at the Loughton office, if the opportunity arises and reasonable weather coincides with my workload I will go walking over the Roding Valley Meadows, Essex Wildlife Trusts reserve opposite the office. The River Roding meanders through fields, recreation grounds and public spaces alike and hosts an incredible array of wildlife. It is a good way to ‘get away from it all’ although I do tend to get a few phone calls whilst I am out. Having your mobile go off on vibrate in your shirt pocket whilst trying to get a shot of Hornets entering their nest is not recommended! – Thanks for that one Malcolm Burton. Although I rarely go anywhere without my camera my hobby is definitely firstly spotting and watching the wildlife but a big bonus is coming away with a good image to capture the moment with. The camera I use is a Sony DSLR Alpha700 and for the photographers amongst us, I have a number of lenses which are a 16-105mm f3.55.6 wide angle, 100mm f2.8 macro and my favourite 70300mm f4.5-5.6 telephoto. I am currently looking at a 70-400mm telephoto and a 1.4x teleconverter but need the Kier shares to go up a bit more first! Ever since we moved into the Loughton office, some 5 years ago, I have been trying to get a decent shot of the Kingfishers, which a number of us have seen on a fairly regular basis. I have numerous sightings under my belt and also quite a number of blurred and distant images of this ‘exotic’ but very fast little bird. So you can imagine my excitement when I rounded a bend in the river and not only saw a young male
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Kingfisher but one that was sitting on a large rock in the middle of the River Roding in full sunlight! I took a few distant shots trying not to disturb it and slowly moved closer and closer. It had to be the best lunch break I have ever had! I posted one of my Kingfisher shots to the BBC’s ‘Autumn Watch’ Flickr site where some 40,000 images have been posted since September. It was therefore a nice surprise to have my image of the Kingfisher chosen as one of a dozen shots for the 6th October 2010 ‘BBC Autumn Watch Unsprung’ programme and even more so when that week’s special guest, Charlie HamiltonJames, a renowned Kingfisher expert and author of Tales of the Halcyon River amongst others chose my image as one of his favourites. To date around the River Roding I have photographed some 70+ species of birds, plus many butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies. All my images are available to view on Flickr.com under SteveRJ, please feel free to have a look at the rest of my photostream (subject to mailmarshal of course!). You really don’t have to go abroad to see incredible wildlife moments and I would recommend starting by feeding the birds and other wildlife in your gardens on a regular basis. Steve Jellet
Kier London Newsletter
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London News Winter 2010