London Institute of Medical Sciences

Project summary

Client
Briggs & Forrester

Project
London Institute of Medical Sciences

Timeline
2021 – 2022

Value
£25m

Project story

In 2017 the Medical Research Council and Imperial College London announced a joint project to build a new home for the MRC LMS on the former Cyclotron site. The brief for the new building was to create 12,000sqm of advanced research facilities in an environment which will provide a new home for the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences and promote collaboration between all building users.  

Briggs & Forrester Engineering Services were awarded the Design & Build contract to deliver the Mechanical & Electrical fitout works on the new eight storey building in Hammersmith. The building will feature highly complex and technically demanding M&E services to support level 2 laboratories, in-vitro imaging areas and core biotechnology services facilities. 

Services Provided

Planning &
Scheduling
Reporting
Change
Management
Forensic
Analysis

12,040m2
area

8
Floors

4
levels of Plantrooms

3000+
Activities

150+
Handover Interfaces

The opportunity

  • Briggs & Forrester Engineering Services required a detailed NEC compliant schedule for the pre-construction & construction phases of the project
  • The schedule needed to effectively communicate the plan of works whilst keeping track of weekly progress, changes, issues & delays
  • It also needed to include the full scope of design, procurement, installation, testing, commissioning as well as a robust sequence for Home Office Validation
  • Key interfaces needed to be incorporated and managed between various builder’s work and MEP activities
  • The client was also open to exploring innovative solutions to help plan and actively manage the works

The solution

  • CMR delivered a planning & scheduling solution that went beyond the expected quality, providing NEC contract planning, 4D planning and 360° reality capture expertise
  • We initially developed a resource loaded clause 31 followed by the management of all subsequent clause 32 updates and submissions of impact programmes to support claims
  • Our 4D planning support ensured works were realistically planned and coordinated between trades for critical and complex plantrooms. Outputs including day-by-day snapshots and animations used at 4D workshops allowed the site team to review and discuss the sequencing of activities such as plant deliveries, material storage areas and phasing of services install
  • Due to tight deadlines and fast-paced nature of the project CMR also implemented 360° reality capture to improve the workflow of monitoring and reporting on site progress and allow comparison of site progress over time. The solution enabled the team to virtually walk all areas of the site – akin to Google Streetview but for a construction site!

  • "CMR's commercial nous and NEC contract planning expertise is second to none, and their proficiency in scheduling & 4D planning tools such as Asta and Synchro enabled active management and clear communication of the programme.

    I have been impressed by Roheels ability to handle some difficult situations calmly and professionally, even with the toughest challenges his remit prevails. This natural skill of his has been noticed by the project team and client.

    CMR are a valuable asset to our team!"
    Brendan Pedley / Lead Project Manager Briggs & Forrester

The impact

  • Briggs & Forrester met their contractual obligations for the regular submission of clause 32 programmes
  • Weekly updates allowed the team to keep a close eye on progress and potential delays
  • The Completion Date was protected as the impact of changes and delays were dealt with appropriately
  • 4D planning helped mitigate a 6-week delay to the critical path and also generated a greater confidence in the programme for complex areas
  • Progress reports were evidenced with indisputable 360° reality captures which helped eliminate ambiguity around progress claimed and drivers for delay

For more info contact

Roheel Babla

Senior Consultant