Project Apple seeks to create a research and development (R&D) centre of excellence for the global pharmaceutical company UCB, relocating its UK-based Early Discovery facilities from Slough to Windlesham. We were brought in to develop and manage the programme of the full M&E package, including Design, Procurement, Construction, and Commissioning phases.

Meeting challenging deadlines as a team

Planning the specifics

Our client was dealing with a high level of detailed answers required by the end client. The project had various buildings with different priorities, and ultimately, a tight Practical Completion date.

There were also complex logistics sequences to consider and a range of interfaces that needed effective management given the multiple buildings being worked on simultaneously with varied scope, and dependent systems between them.

Identifying early issues

We started by giving some visibility to the preconstruction phase by developing detailed Design and Procurement programmes, which then highlighted  the need for an ambitious Design progress/performance to be able to procure the equipment given the limitations provoked by external factors like Brexit and COVID-19.

To gain buy-in for these programmes across the team, we organised and ran a series of workshops with the relevant responsible stakeholders to ensure the programme reflected their methodologies. Our weekly engagement and site presence contributed to developing relationships with the client and end client, leaving no space for doubts.

We also ensured our programme was fully integrated with the clients’ master programme, including a number of 3rd parties. Achieving an integrated programme provided confidence in the robustness of the critical path for the end client.

Providing the needed answers

The detailed preconstruction programme we developed, with associated prescriptive reporting, contributed greatly to the client/end-client engagement and re-prioritised the overall sequence of the job, giving the needed visibility and highlighting the current programme issues and their impact.

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