Build June (2016)

Build Magazine 58 Building very closely to the O2 Arena and the Blackwall tunnel transport hub necessitated close liaison with the O2 Arena’s site-team and TFL, to avoid infringing on their services. Giv- en East London’s history as a site of river-travel and as the energy hub of London, we had to locate and work around a vast concrete dry- dock and Thames-wall wire strains, and work collaboratively with the Environmental Agency to approach the existing ground contamination from electricity, diesel and oil deposits. A specific learning from building near the O2 is that it’s wonderful to have a neighbour who knows exactly what they’re doing and when, so you can pre-plan effectively. We had to di- vert the O2 Arena’s services but with our usual conscientious approach to the project and the O2’s helpful site-team, this all went smoothly. I’ve laid out the basis of particular challenges that construction can present, and how a certain mind-set can help to build further expertise. Looking at how this translates into particular project-management styles we have found particular success with “Lean Construction”, which was introduced during a particularly challenging time-frame. In practice, Lean Construction embraces collaborative planning processes via regular workshops, gathering the right people togeth- er, identifying which resources (both human and material) are required for each job, in what order, and for how long, and making sure there is a constant line of communication and an understanding of the broader project time- line and aims. Ultimately, it brings the discipline and order of a factory onto the construction site, to deliver better value to clients and end-users. I highly recommend this approach, and Grove has invested in these philosophies, having proven its worth and we are rolling this process out and training up the broader team in these methods. Overall, construction presents multiple challenges, however there are a number of strategies I can recommend to overcome and benefit from these, which the Arora Group – and Grove Development – champions. Firstly, working closely with stakeholders to best service the end-user; secondly, drawing links and learnings from broader projects to under- stand how to approach specific requirements; and finally, ensuring ongoing collaboration and team-work to align goals and drive success. Intercontinental London – The O2