Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog

I started last week on the South Bank Tower in London with Mace Group. Normally as PET students we work with a principal contractor that will actually do some construction themselves. Not so with Mace. As a construction management contractor, they are the principal contractor but all works are sub-contracted. With staged tendering throughout the project this means the client gets the best deal (theoretically).

What does this mean for me?

Will I get enough experience to get through CPR? Well I believed so before the attachment and I still do so now one week in. The post I have assumed is Assistant Construction Engineer. The Construction Engineer and I are responsible for all temporary works on the site, and also all Mace sites south of the River Thames including the Tate Modern extension. My principle focus is the Tower, but as with all sites there are lots of problems that need temporary works input.

Some background to the site.

CIT Group purchased the South Bank Tower in a joint venture with Jadwa Investment (a Saudi investment company) in June 2010. Since then KPF were contracted as the Architect and Adams Kara Taylor as the Design Engineers.

Works include a 12 storey extension on the existing brutalist designed 30 storey reinforced concrete tower block built in the 1970s by John Laing Construction Limited.  This will be mixed office and residential space.  Apartments start from £900,00 for 1 bedroom.  The podium building (with commercial space) at the base of the Tower will have a 3 storey extension.  There is a new basement, as well as a link span between the podium and the Tower.

Towards the middle of next month J Coffey (sub-contractor for the core reconfiguration) will complete all works up to level 30. This will allow PC Harrington to setup their slip forming rig, and hopefully start slipping at the start of April.

The designers (Adams Kara Taylor) have not designed for any temporary states during construction. They only ‘do’ the finished article and check temporary works plans as satisfactory. So, on my plate I have the erection of Tower Crane 4 (TC4) on level 42 to plan once the slip is complete, tying Tower Crane 1 (TC1) to the core at levels 28 and then 34, the temporary works on the basement (that is remarkably like Ex Cofferdam), core alterations to the podium buildings to consider, the foundation plan for tower crane 3, and the grillage design for a crane on top of Lambeth Met Police Station.

So in conclusion:

I understand this is a different approach I am taking to Phase 2, as I am not directly managing a task, but there is plenty of opportunity for me to do this later in my 10 months. Right now I am learning; the complexity of the project, the real engineering language that civilians use, applying my understanding of engineering and attempting to do so in a time efficient manner.