Frankham were appointed to develop the design and specification, and subsequently manage and administer the contract for the replacement of all the low voltage distribution boards within the Grade I listed foreign office building at King Charles Street.

RIBA 0 to 1, Inception

At the outset of the project, the total number of distribution boards, and their condition was not fully understood.

We undertook detailed surveys to record the number, condition, type and location of all boards to allow the full scope of the requirement to be identified, as well as identify the associated constraints

RIBA 2 to 4, Design

During the design stages we put a lot effort into collaborating with the representatives for the Building Users to understand their operational requirements and how the work needed to be phased in order to mitigate the risk of any supply interruptions. This included understanding key events that would prevent works being undertaken or operatives on site, and areas where enhanced security access would be required, in order that this could all be captured and included in the documents for the Contractors to price.

RIBA 5, Construction

As Lead Consultant and Contract Administrator on this project, we instigated a formal Change Control process to help ensure that potential Variations were identified, considered and approved prior to instruction. The earlier the warning the greater the opportunity for the Client to reject the change, mitigate any potential overspend or explore alternative solutions.

These robust procedures ensure that any matters materially affecting out-turn costs are identified as soon as they become apparent. Only the Contract Administrator will have the authority to issue Instructions and Variations which will only be carried out in writing following completion of the change control process.

The project was delivered following our ISO9001 quality management system and RICS Contract Administration guidance, which included regular monthly progress meetings where programme, budget, project risk register and technical matter will be discussed, actioned and minutes recorded and distributed.

A project start up meeting was held upon appointment of the Contractor, during which we ran through the engineering proposals for the scheme and make sure that the contractor fully understood the methodology and any risk or special construction techniques, testing and commissioning that need to be carefully considered and planned for the works.

We regularly reviewed progress on site and compliance with our specifications, Building Control, Planning, and any other legislation that must be complied with, working closely with the local conservation officer.

Weekly site inspections recorded progress against programme, number of staff on site, quality of workmanship and compliance with the Contract Documents and Installation Drawings.

We always seek the Contractor’s assurance that a “Zero Snags” policy will be adopted. We do not leave “snagging” until the end of a contract.

Any works not in accordance with the Contract were required to be made good before a Practical Completion Certificate is issued.

RIBA 6/7, Handover & Use

We ensured that the Contractors’ programme clearly sets out the planned commissioning period and reviewed their commissioning plan at an early stage of the project to allow the processed to be agreed in a timely manner.

Once the Contractor had completed commissioning and testing, they sent a copy of all test certificates to us for review. We then attended site on agreed dates (suiting the phasing) to witness test results on a number of points that we selected without the Contractors prior knowledge to ensure all results are genuine and investigate any anomalies identified in our review of the test certificates.

During handover we reviewed the production of the O&M manuals ensuring effective hand-over and that effective familiarisation was being provided to the FM team, and that the engineering services are being satisfactorily commissioned and set to work, all in collaboration with the Client and Stakeholders.

Client:
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

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Services:
Mechanical and Electrical Engineering