More than 30 years after joining the industry, new HVCA vice president Patrick Churchard remains as passionate as ever about buildings and the partnerships that deliver best value to clients
PATRICK Churchard is a passionate believer in the power of partnering. The MJN Colston managing director and newly-elected vice president of the HVCA believes the industry's widely publicised, high profile failures prove the only way to deliver complex, major structures is by forming integrated multi-disciplinary teams.

'Partnering doesn't always have to be formal,' he says. 'You don't need to put a label on it. It is a cultural thing. If you don't have the right people with the right attitude on board from the start you are going to struggle.'

He believes this message is getting through to clients who are starting to look for better value and improvements in project delivery that integrated teams can offer.

MJN Colston, which is part of the Staveley Engineering Services Group, is providing building services for Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium having recently completed work at the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff - both projects that progressed far more smoothly than certain similar projects which need no further publicity!

At the Welsh Assembly, which was opened by the Queen earlier this year, MJN Colston was part of the Strategic Alliance Partnering (SAP) team co-ordinated by Taylor Woodrow Construction (TWC). This integrated teamwork approach is blazing a trail for culture change across the sector and Patrick believes its results speak for itself.

The brainchild of TWC's director of building services Charles Lever, SAP has been noted in political circles as a positive force for change in an industry famed for its adversarial approach, inability to deliver projects on time or to budget.

MJN Colston is one of the three first tier m&e partners along with NG Bailey and Rotary which, together with TWC, have formed a single management structure that is able to bid for and manage projects as a single entity.



Black holes

This approach already delivers more than £3 million annual saving across its projects by avoiding duplication on site with a huge reduction in the number of resources, disputes, delays and variations. Project overheads have been significantly reduced by streamlining the management and removing 'black holes' where time and cost would disappear with the 'traditional' approach.

'Normally the principal contractor would expect to spend 3% of the value of a building services contract simply on managing the work,' says Patrick. 'On SAP projects that cost has come down to 0.3%. On a £10m job that means we have saved the client £300,000 by cutting out the duplication.

'We do not have some sort of cosy relationship, The SAP still has to be competitive when tendering for projects but more people on the professional client side are listening and getting the message about overall savings.'

The damaging culture of Chinese Whispers is outlawed on SAP projects as the principle of 'open book' management is practiced. The partners sit together in settling the tenders. All of the parties know each others' costs, overheads and margins and they maintain open lines of communication.

'At the Assembly building our client loved the fact he could walk through our office and talk to our team, without offending any main contractor/sub contractor protocol, and he knew everyone by name,' says Patrick. 'Any problems could then be discussed on an open and personal basis and get sorted out.'

This relationship-led form of working produces benefits right down the line, according to Patrick.

'There are still people out there who think it's macho to be adversarial but they are a dying breed,' he says. 'On SAP projects if there is a problem, we pick up the phone, sort it out and move on. We've told our people they are not to start writing letters, at least until they have had a discussion.

'I would much rather work with people who want to get things done and if they see something they don't like on site they will just get on the phone to me and we will sort it out. That way we have half a chance of delivering their building on time.'

He believes the alliance with Taylor Woodrow is representative of a changing world. 'We enjoy similar, but perhaps less formal arrangements, with a number of other contractor clients,' he explains.



Enthusiastic

Patrick has one of the most impressive CVs in the industry. He has held senior positions with industry-leading firms such as Sir Robert McAlpine, Crown House Engineering, Taylor Woodrow and Ellis Mechanical Services.

He has been managing director of MJN Colston since 1998.

'I have always been enthusiastic about buildings,' he says. 'I never tire of that feeling of satisfaction when you can stand back and look at what your team has achieved and the legacy you have created.

'Architects usually get the attention because of what the completed structure looks like but many of them say to me that what we do is better because we bring it to life.'

He has been involved with m&e project management for more than 30 years with some impressive jobs under his belt including the Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, which represented £45 million worth of building services and required the co-ordination of more than 800 operatives on site.

Patrick believes his overseas experience - he worked in Africa and the Middle East - was invaluable as it gave him a broad perspective and a better appreciation of the role played by all professionals within a project team.

'In situations where you are faced with considerable cultural differences, you have to pull together more,' he recalls. 'In the Middle East they expect delivery on time and it's all about 'face', but if you do a good job they will ask you to work on the next project.'

A chartered engineer and member of the CIBSE, Patrick is a long-term supporter of various industry groups including the CIBSE Patrons and the HVCA/ECA Joint Major Contractors' Group. This summer he took up his duties as vice-president of the HVCA.

'This kind of work is very important,' he says. 'The HVCA has its finger on the pulse and we have the ear of government on the major changes facing our industry.'



Retentions

One of the industry's biggest areas of political concern is retentions, which continue to starve contractors of vital cash flow and harm their profitability.

'It is a totally outmoded concept,' says Patrick. 'Why do we need it? No other industry would stand for it. When you buy a car you pay the full price, you don't say I'll hang on to 10% while I see if I'm happy with it.

'The HVCA, through its membership of the SEC Group, is engaged in a campaign for change. Government could take a lead on this and set an example as the biggest clients in the country by outlawing retentions on their projects. I'm glad to see that Defence Estates has taken this on board but it would be good to see them removed from all upcoming 2012 Olympics projects too.'

However, with or without retentions, MJN Colston seems to be in rude health under Patrick's leadership following a major restructure of the Staveley Group in 2005 when the four trading divisions became separate limited companies.

In July last year, MJN Colston - which can trace its origins back to Marryat and Place (formed in 1890) and the Colston Electrical Company (formed in 1926) and acquired by Staveley Industries in 1967 - and its sister company EI-WHS came under new ownership. It became part of the newly- formed Staveley Engineering Services.

MJN Colston now operates out of offices in Croydon, Bristol, Bridgend and Exeter. It has a directly-employed workforce of 230, many of whom have spent their whole working lives with the firm. It had a turnover of £68m in 2005.

The company can handle projects up to £20m in size but its typical range is between £5m and £10m. As well as the Emirates Stadium, where MJN is installing services plant for heating, chilled water, hot and cold water services, soil and pumped rainwater drainage, it has taken lead roles at the Eden Project, the refurbishment of the Royal Albert Hall and recently completed a major new structure for the Royal Festival Hall.

However, it also handles 'jobbing' assignments, according to Patrick who points out the company has had people on site at the BBC for 30 years.



Directly employed

The issues of direct employment and career development are key for the company, which takes on between six and 10 apprentices every year.

'We are proud of having a large group of directly employed craftsmen,' says Patrick. 'We do use agency labour but only from tried and tested sources. We prefer companies with a professional approach, those who understand the need for managing industrial relations and those who are willing to invest in training.

'A sign of the times is that we now have an apprentice on our books who came to us through an agency.'

He believes the industry has become better at providing career paths for young entrants and says the challenge is to encourage them to move right through the ranks to project manager level.

The industry is modernising on a number of levels which should make it more attractive to potential recruits, according to Patrick, who sees a growing role for techniques like off-site fabrication. MJN Colston recently installed £2.2m-worth of services in just 20 days on one project thanks to widespread use of off-site techniques and using only one installation team.

'I often think we are stuck in a time warp using specifications developed 40 years ago,' he says. 'If we use more prefabrication we can introduce new methods that improve our delivery. The big savings from off-site are not in components but in time. Similarly, the use of newer or innovative materials will improve on-site productivity.'

Breathing life into buildings will never be an easy job, he agrees, but Patrick sees enough improvements taking place to suggest it is changing for the better. The industry's trials and tribulations take up more column inches than its successes, but that has more to do with the publishing industry, he believes.

'We are having some singular successes,' he argues. 'Project delivery will become more efficient because more people are waking up to the benefits of partnering and now feel more inclined to trust their fellow team members.'