QS News Awards 2005

Best Training Initiative

Alpesh Patel (pictured) offers coaching to APC students in-house or through public coaching events. Through his firm APC Coach he works on everything from knowledge transfer of the APC process to transfer of QSing skills and techniques. His students have a pass rate of 95%.

Bruce Shaw Partnership

The firm says people are its most important asset and acts on this by implementing a programme of continuous learning and development. A training team ensures that each member of staff achieves their full potential. Bruce Shaw offers a full range training, from CPD lectures, to a mentoring scheme, to management and IT.

Chartered Surveyors Training Trust

The trust was set up in 1984 to provide opportunities for young people who would otherwise not have had the chance to pursue a career as a surveyor. Since then it has helped an average of 25 people a year to access a surveying career. It places school leavers in firms such as AYH, Davis Langdon and EC Harris.

Faithful & Gould

An APC pass rate of 90% for the past three years testifies to the strength of F&G’s training approach. It starts with ensuring that staff taking on the role of APC supervisor are fully equipped and work to a common set of standards.

Turner & Townsend

The QS company bases its training and development programme, up and running for five years, on a number of key principles. These include a two-stage induction process supported by a “buddy” role and core training programme. There is also an APC training programme and a graduate rotation plan.

Best Innovation

David Weight, associate at Currie & Brown, has come up with three impressive innovations. “Live Options” is a computer programme that integrates geometric and knowledge-based engineering and energy programmes. It generates quantities based according to needs and standards, which may come from a design brief or discussions with designers. He is also working on tax reform and multi-purpose surfing reefs.

Faithful & Gould

F&G have developed the concept of Whole Life Value in order to marry the move towards best value in construction procurement with the focus on whole life costs, quality and wider social, environmental and sustainability issues.

Gardiner & Theobald

Clients of G&T are benefiting from a new tool that improves their ability to define their project requirements and values. It assesses the risk issues arising from the specific objectives as well as those pertaining to construction projects.

Staffordshire County Council and Thomas Vale Construction

These two bodies teamed up two years ago to procure a range of projects including an Early Years Sure Start Programme, sport facilities, classroom facilities, children’s centres and the refurbishment of care homes. The partnership prides itself in following Egan principles to the letter.

Turner & Townsend

T&T’s cost database Inttegra (pictured) was designed to work seamlessly with other in-house systems to increase the accuracy of estimates and improve both response time and quality of work. It has been used to develop bespoke benchmarking modules for clients such as Nationwide and Anglian Water.

Best Strategic Construction Adviser

The London-based company provides strategic management and construction consultancy at all stages in the property life cycle. For example, it has devised unique procurement systems for both National Grid Transco and British Nuclear Group.

CR Management

This provider of indepen-dent audit services to architects, contractors and clients makes every effort to help its customers avoid adjudication. Some of its past successes include saving an architect £250,000 by proving that a sub-consultant’s claim was incorrect.

Evolution Improving Performance

Evolution IP helps clients optimise their approach to procurement, construction and maintenance. The service it offers involves training, promoting sustainability, developing collaborative design as well as establishing contractual arrangements.

Faithful & Gould

“Invest in the right projects, not in doing the wrong projects really well” is F&G’s strategic construction motto.

The firm prides itself on helping clients maximise their property assets.

The approach allows them to visualise the effects of different strategies using final rankings.

John Rowan & Partners

John Rowan specialises in housing, retail, hotel and leisure projects. Its strategic construction service centres on getting involved in projects from the outset. The firm advised InterContinental Hotel Group on the refurbishment of its estate, achieving a 10% saving per room.