Commonly, consultants are hired to assess the feasibility of a remediation technique for a specific site and design a solution. Only then are contractors appointed. But there are strong arguments in favour of appointing contractors from the outset of the design stage, and to designate them as project leaders. An example of this approach is the team that’s been hired to sort out St Michael’s golf course in Widnes. Remediation contractor Land & Water is leading the project working in partnership with consultants Babtie and academic experts in permeable barriers (PRB) at Queen’s University Belfast.
Land & Water’s Simon Bamford believes that contractor-led projects are becoming more common, mainly because contractors tend to focus on “buildability”, treatment efficacy and the need to focus on schedule. Bamford doesn’t believe that contractors are capable of replacing contractors – “clearly, consultants have the technical knowledge” – but having previously worked as both a consultant and as client procuring engineering services he believes contractor-led projects are a good idea. “I’ve seen it from all sides and contractors are often better at driving a programme as well as assessing the buildability and/or efficiency,” he told CIM. |
