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Building services provider completes first civil engineering contract

National building services provider EIC has recently completed its first major civil engineering contract. The new building fabric team delivered a 128-space car park for multi national IT solutions provider SCC in Birmingham?

Under the leadership of civil engineering expert Gordon Gibson, and project managed by new appointment John Lynch, the £140,000 scheme involved the laying of a new car park in grasscrete, and construction of a new security lodge. The team recommended the use of recycled stone aggregate as it is considered more environmentally friendly than traditional materials, yet is still hardwearing and cost-competitive. Soil and grass were also incorporated into the foundation bed to enable natural drainage and meet standards set by the local water authority.

The civil works scheme marks a departure for EIC which was originally established as a mechanical and electrical engineering contractor. Over the last year the firm has expanded its remit to provide a one-stop-shop building services solution for clients and has recruited an 11-strong contracting management team which includes civil engineers and quantity surveyors to complement its M&E specialists.

Building on core mechanical and electrical expertise, the midlands-based company can now provide a one-stop-shop building services solution for clients offering everything from design and installation to planned and reactive maintenance. Thanks to its network of nine regional offices from Scotland to Cornwall, EIC can provide a comprehensive service for both local and national firms, wherever they are located.

Ian Lyall, joint managing director of EIC, said: "The development of our building fabric team has been an integral part of the EIC evolution over the last 12 months. We have almost 40 years' experience in delivering high quality M&E contracts to a wide range of blue chip firms but wanted to offer our clients even more choice, with the same high quality level of service."

"In 2009 we decided the time was right to extend our remit and wanted to build on our expertise by bringing in the right people in order to be able to offer both building fabric and building maintenance services. The successful handover of the SCC car park not only demonstrates our capacity to deliver a contract which people might not have traditionally associated with EIC, but has also enabled us to build a relationship with a valuable new client."

Richard Seal, property director for SCC, added: "As a leading provider of IT solutions we recognised in EIC a similar ethos of taking on new challenges and surpassing expectations. We knew of EIC's reputation for quality and delivery in the building services industry and were happy to invite them to tender for this contract. Following an impressive pitch, we retained EIC to undertake these improvement works and I am pleased to say they met their commitment to deliver an innovative solution both on time and on budget."

Pipe Center's modular engineering facility and contractor EIC South West are collaborating to deliver modular engineering solutions for a number of projects in the region. The teams have designed, constructed and commenced delivery of bespoke modules from Pipe Center's 2800 m2 factory in Worcester for projects that include school, college and office buildings.

Annette Murphy, modularisation engineering at Pipe Center Modular Engineering, says, 'We are delighted to have been chosen to work with EIC on these high-profile projects. We have collaborated with its team from the outset and have developed the design for the bespoke modules using sophisticated design and product-linked manufacturing software.'

'Off-site modular engineering helps to achieve tight construction timescales and provides cost certainty. In addition, this approach reduces the health-and-safety risks associated with installation of services on site.'

Chris Trew, design-and-build co-ordinator with EIC says, 'This is the first time we've commissioned modular engineering in the region. The approach was ideal for these projects, as trying to provide a traditional installation within the building constraints would have been time consuming and problematic. Working with Pipe Center's modular team, we have built a fully co-ordinated system which can only add to EIC's innovative concepts and project approach.'

New training facility for 2014 athletes

EIC has completed work on a £2m mechanical and electrical engineering contract for a new athletics training facility in Glasgow. The newly refurbished Scotstoun Stadium was officially opened by HRH Princess Anne on January 14th 2010.

EIC's Scottish division delivered the nine-month project to main contractor Barr Construction and Glasgow Council. The Scotstoun Stadium is the redevelopment of an old athletics track adjacent to the Scotstoun leisure centre and is set to become a valuable addition to the city's sporting facilities.

Among those expected to make use of the new facility are athletes training for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Preparations for the 2014 event involve the refurbishment of a number of existing venues to give local sports men and women access to world class facilities ahead of the games.

Commissioned by Glasgow City Council, the development features grandstand seating for up to 5,000 people, grass and all weather pitches, a 400m outdoor running track, 100m indoor running track, fitness suites and cafe area. EIC delivered the heating and ventilation, internal lighting, floodlighting, CCTV and fire alarm systems and plant works for the whole site.

Ian Lyall, managing director of EIC, said the team was delighted to have secured the contract for such a high profile scheme. He said: "There is genuine pride among the team working on this contract who felt they were contributing something important for local athletes, youngsters, and the city as a whole, as this stadium will be used as a training facility in the run up to the 2014 games."

He added: "EIC has a longstanding relationship with Barr Construction in Scotland which has remained strong because of our ability to build and maintain relationships and our capacity to provide a consistently high quality of service on each and every project. This contract gives EIC the chance to show we are ahead of the game when
it comes to our expertise and we have capability to deliver a world-beating service for our clients."

Based in Warwickshire, EIC has a network of regional centres around the UK which enables it to deliver services on both a national and local level. Renowned for its mechanical and electrical installation expertise and its specialist test and maintenance division, EIC is increasingly being retained by a growing number of clients for mechanical, electrical, building fabric maintenance (MEBF).

Compressing a five-week mechanical and electrical installation project into just seven days required a crew of 34 electricians and 14 engineers working onsite around the clock. EIC completed the full M&E requirement for the store working alongside a variety of other trades to deliver the store ahead of the first shoppers arriving.

Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, in conjunction with Johnson Construction, completed the external shell in 24 hours to enable the mechanical and electrical first fix. The first task for EIC was to provide a temporary generator for the groundworks and subsequent construction of the building on day one, December 2nd, and power to the contractors' site cabins.

The full EIC team then arrived on site on Sunday, December 6th and were finished by Sunday 13th ready for the first customers on December 14th. The electrical crew installed the containment, fire alarm, lighting installation, small power, mains distribution and externals such as car park lighting and the gantry sign, while the mechanical experts installed the air handling unit, LPHW pipe work/boiler plant, split AC systems to the sales floor and back of house areas, sanitary ware, above ground drainage and external services.

Nigel Le Marechal, EIC joint managing director, has worked with Tesco for more than 15 years and was delighted to have been able to deliver on this critically important scheme. He said: "When the call came in we didn't hesitate to accept the challenge and immediately mobilised the Fast Track Team to ensure we could deliver a quality project within this incredibly slim time frame. Only a week earlier we had finished a similar scheme at Newton Hill, Stonehaven, so we were able to put into practice the same expertise and standards employed on that project, albeit in seven days rather than five weeks."

"This was a once in a lifetime project for the team who worked alongside the other trades through the night to make sure the job was done. By close of play on the Tuesday evening, less than 72 hours after we arrived on site, the sales floor was illuminated, this was quite a feat of achievement. Everyone involved really pulled out all the stops, working incredibly hard, and we are extremely proud of the part we played in this project."

The construction of the Workington store has been hailed as record breaking for all concerned. Daniel Frith, Tesco Development Manager, was said: "This is the first time we have ever built a store in such a short time.

"At this time of year our customers are busy enough without a three-hour journey just to get to the supermarket. Many of our own staff have been badly affected by flooding so the temporary store will help them too."

"EIC and Yorkon have been part of an outstanding construction team. This project is a really exceptional achievement in such a short space of time."

To see a video of the rapid building installation, click here.

Building services specialist EIC has won a hat trick of new mechanical and electrical installation projects worth in excess of £1m. The Warwickshire-based firm has secured three new contracts for its Midlands M&E team over the coming months, with clients in three different sectors.

Demonstrating the versatility of the EIC team and the diversity of the company's client base, the latest contracts cover the health, education and research sectors. The largest of the three is a £550,000 contract for Kier Moss, at the extraordinary circular Diamond Light Source facility in Oxfordshire.

The 179m-diameter machine acts as a series of super-microscopes, enabling scientists to study objects to incredible detail on a molecular and atomic level. A new external laboratory is being constructed as an extension to the existing main building and EIC is responsible for the full M&E service installation to the new lab.

The second project is a £434,000 scheme at Aston University in conjunction with main contractor O'Brien Construction which began in September and is due for completion in April 2010. EIC will undertake the first phase infrastructure upgrade works including the installation of mains cold water, fire hydrant mains, district heating, and various alterations to existing services. Coordination of the works to minimise disruption to users will be key to the success of this project.

The Midlands team is also undertaking a third contract at Nuffield Hospital in Cambridge. The three-month project, due to finish in December, will see the upgrading of heating and hot water plant in the existing hospital building. Key for EIC engineers will be to minimise the impact of the works upon the staff and patients who will occupy the building throughout.

Ian Lyall, joint managing director of EIC, said: "EIC has almost 40 years experience of the design and installation of mechanical and electrical services and in that time has built a client base which spans a range of sectors. The current market demands that firms take a broad view and spread their risk. We have been able to do that simply by building upon existing client relationships across different industries, allowing us to respond to dips in one area with a concerted push in another.

"We have also responded to the downturn by working with our customers to make the most of their spend, cutting cost where necessary, and by focusing on developing longer term relationships and maintaining the level of service they expect of us, and their clients expect from them.

"We have increased our offering to provide a more comprehensive, through-the-line service to our clients. Contractors who can work with their customers in this way are better placed to ride the economic storm."