SPECIALIST AWARDS
MPG are very proud to have been shortlisted in this year’s Construction News Specialists’ Awards for our delivery of extensive external envelope installations at Balfour Beatty’s Pinderfields Hospital project in Wakefield. Our place in the shortlist reflects MPG’s commitment to quality, excellence in design detailing and adherence to programme on projects. MPG’s role was to design, supply and install the external envelope for the new hospital building, which comprises the Adult-In-Patient block (AIP), the Hot-Block (containing the theatres, MRI and radiography units) and the central atrium and welfare facilities. This has been a challenging but very successful project for both Balfour Beatty and MPG, having worked well together in a spirit of collaboration and swift problem-solving.
MPG is noted by our main contractor customers as having established a level of competence and expertise far wider than expected of companies in our fields of operation. Arriving at this position has required the greatest determination, enthusiasm and commitment from our senior management team, our project teams and our support staff. An example of one customer’s reaction to MPG’s evolution into a leading specialist contractor is given below:
“Over the course of successive projects in which we have been involved with MPG, they have progressively developed and expanded their ability to take full ownership of tasks that cross traditional trade borders and provide solutions to complex interfaces. This continual improvement delivers real benefits to projects and MPG has 'key player' status within the team.”Tim Hare, Project Director, Sir Robert McAlpine (Bishops Square, New Street Square, Gresham Street)
Our eagerness to rise to customers’ challenges has been the driver of our business growth over the years, enabling us to meet the difficult challenges of projects such as Pinderfields Hospital. A variety of facade finishes were used on the scheme, including Western Red Cedar rain-screen, Sto insulated render, Trespa rain-screen and Aluminium rain-screen. Over both buildings, there are some 29,000 m2 of Metsec framing, 20,000 m2 of insulated render, 1,500 windows, 15 curtain wall screens, and 1,800 m2 of Trespa cladding. Also, MPG procured and installed a variety of galvanised steel plant room doors, roller shutters and aluminium door sets, including the main entrance revolving doors. In all, MPG installed in excess of 200 door sets.
The detailed management of interfaces between our own and others’ activities was a key task for MPG. For example, we had design responsibility on the project, entailing co-ordination of design activities between product suppliers, as well as providing detailed design based on the high-level design by BDP, the main Architect. We developed the envelope design so that it met the acoustic and thermal properties required by the specification. There were numerous design and scope variations on the project and Balfour Beatty noted how pleased they were with MPG’s ability to respond rapidly to change. The key reason for MPG’s ability to manage the detailed design very well was our proactive engagement with Balfour Beatty and our willingness to take the lead whenever changes to details became known.
The Pinderfield Hospital project is one of the many major schemes of which MPG is justly proud. We are delighted that our customer is so pleased with the outcome and that they have shown such enthusiasm for working with us throughout the project, a spirit that we very much mirrored. We were proud to enter the Specialists’ Awards in recognition of such a successful project and of MPG’s evolution into a leading specialist contractor.
