WMCCE 2011: Excellent project delivery perfect tonic for hospital job

BALFOUR Beatty’s work on phase two of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham ensured it was a joint project of the year winner at this year’s West Midlands Centre for Constructing Excellence Awards.

Birmingham’s first new hospital for 70 years is a world-class teaching, training and research facility but the construction of the new building has also set a quality benchmark for the regional and national construction industry.

One of the biggest challenges on the four-year, £582m project in Selly Oak was managing the complex build on a live hospital site.

Balfour Beatty’s planning and seamless co-ordination of works ensured there was no disruption to the hospital’s activities, a feat which was praised by the WMCCE Awards judging panel which included TheBusinessDesks.com’s West Midlands editor Marc Reeves.

Clear communication and a good health and safety record were also cited as project successes.

An extensive site team undertook 14m man-hours across the lifetime of the project without any serious accidents.

Balfour Beatty demonstrated the benefits of excellent communication between site teams and used seminars to share project aims and milestones as well as using sessions to boost morale.

WMCCE executive director Phil Wilson said: “This was one of the largest, most complex new builds in the region for many years.

“In providing a world-class facility, it leaves a legacy for Birmingham and demonstrated Balfour Beatty and its supply chain’s ability to work while being sensitive to a live hospital environment.

“Importantly, this project has an excellent health and safety record and was completed on time and within budget.”