Project Management

Project Management

 

Hardies have a long-established and experienced project management department that functions across multiple offices and across most sectors. Our team is headed up by Murray Warner, a partner in our Edinburgh office.

Our overarching priority is to strive to protect our clients’ interests whilst ensuring we add as much value to the overall process as we can. Ultimately, we achieve this through our extensive experience, technical skills, proactive attitude, people management, and relationship building. 

We can make the most impact on a project by being appointed from the very outset. This allows us to develop the project brief with the client and ensure that the client has fully considered all the options available to them and understand the implications of the construction process. We are able to assist in the selection of the design team most appropriate to the nature of the works which is a key foundation to moving forward successfully.

Hardies have developed a robust framework of processes and documents that allow us to deliver the highest level of service possible whilst at the same time we recognise that our Clients need a specific and tailored service for each and every project.

Our skills are reflected in achieving the balance between cost, time, quality, and flexibility in delivering the project to the Clients’ expectations and satisfaction.

Although our project management service will be tailored to the exact client needs, our general framework is based on the following elements:

Project Brief

It is fundamental to get the foundation right, and time spent ensuring the project brief is fully considered and understood is invaluable and saves extra costs and delays further on in the process. We pride ourselves on the correct choice of design consultants that are best suited to the specific project needs and will always recommend specific individuals who we know are able to deliver. 

Design Phase Management

Once the design team has been assembled, we would set about formalising the design process. Initial workshops reviewing and agreeing on the brief would be followed by diarised regular design team meetings and technical workshops that would be tailored to fit within the agreed master programme. Our aim during this phase is to closely monitor and steer the project team to meet the relevant deadlines such as lodging planning, building warrant, and producing tender documents, all within the cost and quality parameters agreed at the outset brief. 

Procurement & Tender

We offer expert advice around procurement whether private or public and are very experienced in all the procurement routes from traditional to management contracts. The tender and subsequent contract documents are essential for delivering a project on time and on budget and we spend a great deal of time and effort ensuring they are as robust as possible; this would include a design phase sign-off where we would check against the brief. We have to adopt a very ‘hands-on’ approach to ensure the documents are of the highest quality and properly reflect the clients’ requirements as well as the needs of the project. 

Construction Phase

Generally, we control the project team through the construction phase by leading and chairing all the meetings and collating and proactively closing out all issues and risks as soon as they become apparent. As well as ensuring we are complying with all the necessary technical documents our focus during this phase is to build a project team where participants are committed to the overall success of the project. Construction is all about people and we pride ourselves on building high-performing teams built on genuine people relationships.

Programme management is always at the forefront of our service and we will closely monitor and anticipate any programme concerns. We will always utilise a risk management plan which will tie in with the cost management to ensure the client always has a complete picture of the project at all times

Handover, Close Out & Defects

It is important that the team remain suitably motivated to ensure that the handover phase is properly resourced and the finished project is effectively handed over to the client or building user and we will ensure this phase is delivered effectively in accordance with our standard documentation so nothing is missed. 

We will actively manage the resolution of all defects by monitoring closely and holding quarterly defect review meetings. 

Communication and Reporting 

Generally, we will ensure a reporting format is implemented which best suits the client throughout the project from inception to completion and will feed into this any other consultant’s reports to provide a succinct and relevant report that can quickly identify all the key aspects of the project. 

Communication is essential for project success and we will set out the communication strategy in our Project Execution Plan which will be produced and discussed by the project team at the briefing stage. Thereafter we will ensure that all parties are complying with this plan to make sure communication is controlled and recorded. 

Attitude and Behaviors

Most importantly all of our project managers have a positive and proactive mindset. The project manager sets the tone for the overall project team and is instrumental in building a team with the correct focus, ensuring the project aims and goals are prioritised. We have always provided a ‘hands-on project management service, going over and above expectations and doing whatever may reasonably be required to ensure project success.

Murray Warner

Murray Warner BA MSc LLM MRICS MAPM MCIArb

Managing Partner and Head of Project Management

Contact: murray.warner@hardies.co.uk

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