Our Partnering experience has ranged from major retail stores to government Parliament Buildings and educational establishments for Universities and departments throughout Ireland. We have and are still partnering with both clients and their design teams and numerous sub-contractors throughout the industry.
O’Hare & McGovern have recently completed a £12.7m student accommodation village for Queen’s University, Belfast and in fact we have successfully negotiated Phase 2 valued at £14.1m. The original project was tendered in the conventional manner and the lowest tender O’Hare & McGovern Ltd was appointed. The client then proposed a partnering agreement, which included the design team and all major sub-contractors and suppliers. All parties readily agreed to participate and after a two-day seminar, partnering champions where chosen to represent the client, builder and design team to guide the project to completion.
Sainsbury’s, Quays Shopping & Leisure Centre
Our success in the ability of have working arrangements with clients led to the Partnering arrangement with Sainsbury’s Supermarket to complete the 50,000 sq ft store at the Quays Shopping and Leisure Complex, Newry.
The overall contract included fit-out and was valued at £11.9m. It was completed ahead of programme in just 28 weeks. This was achieved through a partnering process with the client, which included the entire design team and a large proportion of the supply chain. The contract was based upon the NEC form of contract and was carried out on an open book basis. In hindsight, all parties agreed that a win/win scenario was achieved using this process.
The successful arrangement in Sainsbury’s was carried throughout the complete development of 200,000 sq ft Quays Shopping Centre.
St Genevieve’s School, Belfast (PPP)
One more example of Partnering has been when O’Hare & McGovern, as part of the Belfast Educational Services team, have completed a £12.7m, 1000 pupil St Genevieve’s School in 18 months. This is one of the six pathfinder schools in Northern Ireland. Our Partners are the Bank of Scotland and Interserve FM Group who are involved in a PPP project throughout Great Britain.
The Partnering arrangement reduced the risk for the Main Contractor, developed trust throughout the team, and succeeded in achieving the nuclear objectives of:
- A high quality building delivered on budget and on time
- Cost savings due to contractors input at design stage
- The building of successful team for future projects
- Improved relationship with local community
In general, we believe partnering can be beneficial and can help to achieve:
- A fair return for all
- Improved buildability resulting in cost savings for the client
- The enhancement of Company Profiles and Reputations
- Continuous improvement by review and feedback with the ultimate goal of zero defects
- A pleasant experience for all participants
- The client received a quality product to programmes and to budget
- The building of a successful team for future projects
- Improved relations with the local community
- Improved working relationships due to the adoption of Partnering principals throughout.
