GOING FOR A FEE — YOUR OWN BUILDERS
| Pages | 6-8 |
| Date | 01 October 1980 |
| Published date | 01 October 1980 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057147 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
GOING FOR
A FEE
-
YOUR
OWN
BUILDERS
IN 1978 the National Economic
Development Office published a
major survey on "Construction for
industrial recovery". The summary
said:" "Much of British industry is
hampered by poor buildings which
are unsuitable for modern production
methods. Many factories are old. Yet
others are built to low quality stan-
dards.
Such unsuitable buildings hold
down productivity and increase
operating costs".
The message was clear. New build-
ings can and do contribute to
increased productivity. This was
borne out in the survey which stated,
"One of the main results of the survey
has been to show the beneficial, but
unanticipated, consequences many
firms have noted from investments in
building".
This is highlighted by a study of
Bovis Construction, its approach to
the construction of industrial build-
ings and the clients who benefit from
them. Bovis, well-known as the com-
pany that never tenders, has
pioneered and operated exclusively
under a fee system of contract for over
50 years. Under this system, Bovis
becomes the client's Building
Department, taking on the responsi-
bility for the planning, management,
co-ordination and control of a project
and undertakes the construction of
the basic building trades-work,
namely foundations, structural frame
and cladding resulting in perhaps 30
per cent of the contract value, and
sublets 70 per cent against competi-
tive bids for the finishing trades and
mechanical and electrical services.
Under the Bovis management con-
tract, all work is sublet against com-
petitive bids, and Bovis is paid a fee
Catherine Meredith
reporting
on
the
contract that buys
you a Bovis bargain
for accepting full responsibility in the
planning, management, co-ordination
and control of the project.
The following projects illustrate
how the fee system has been applied
successfully on industrial projects.
John Player Horizon Project
THE award-winning John Player's
Horizon project at Nottingham was
the first factory unit to be built in the
U.K. under management contract.
Basically, John Player required a
cigarette factory which would provide
the best possible working environ-
ment for their 2,250 employees -
working in two shifts -and at the same
time would provide a high degree of
flexibility which would enable them to
incorporate the most modern man-
ufacturing plant available and allow
the installation of new manufacturing
systems at future dates.
Several considerations had to be
taken into account, such as high noise
levels of equipment, special air condi-
tioning plant to keep the tobacco at
the correct humidity during process
operations, extremely heavy floor
loadings and a design layout which
would prevent bottle necks at both
delivery and despatch points.
Bovis Construction was appointed
managing contractor for the Horizon
project in early 1969 and immediately
became involved in the initial plan-
ning stages. Throughout the entire
contract Bovis was responsible for
exercising the tightest possible man-
agement and control over construc-
tion work, all of which was put out to
competitive tender. Under the man-
agement fee system, Bovis was able to
participate fully with both the client
and Arup associates, who were the
architects, engineers and quantity
surveyors for the project, in the
development of the design, prog-
ramme, tendering and costing
activities.
Work commenced on site in
August, 1969. The £7.5 million pro-
ject took only 31 months to reach
hand-over stage from initial planning.
Actual construction time was just 24
months, which according to authorita-
tive estimates represents a saving of
around 18 months over traditional
tendering procedures - reflecting a
considerable saving in inflation and
funding costs, and resulting in the ear-
liest possible return on capital emp-
6 INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT + DATA SYSTEMS
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