How to build a lab from scratch

Even though such a massive project has its difficulties, this article discusses the benefits of alliance contracting

“Construction is a tough game,” asserts David Lowe commercial director at ductwork fabricator and contractor Senior Hargreaves. As the alliance contract for AstraZeneca’s Research Area (RA), Alderley Park, nears completion, David is convinced that partnership approaches truly work for the benefit of both client and contractor, “Alliances deliver quality buildings on time and within budget, avoiding an adversarial approach that erodes trust, destroys profit, increases costs, and benefits no one except the lawyers.”

The client-led consortium
As one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, AstraZeneca’s market-leading products undergo constant research and refinement to sustain clinical momentum. Retaining and attracting the top scientists is crucial. RA was conceived as a 21st Century facility with the best technical resources within a first class working environment.
The 20,000 square metre RA building has two wings dedicated to research in chemistry and bioscience. A common link between the wings houses reception, offices, meeting rooms, welfare facilities and so on. The buildings are highly serviced with many integrated electro mechanical systems. Concentrating initially on cancer and infection research, the facilities were designed to be flexible and support other forms of research without need for complex or costly changes.
AstraZeneca Engineering is the department that manages the delivery of new buildings and engineering facilities. For the RA project, this department became the main contractor, subcontracting the design and delivery of structural, service, fit-out and finishing to a selected group of specialist contractors. AstraZeneca Engineering has put the principles of Latham and Eagan into practice in alliance partnerships.
Planning and scoping the project began two years before the first enabling site works in January 2003. During this time, the team also identified, qualified and began negotiations with suitable alliance partners. Foundations were laid in May 2003 and the building was ready for occupation by August 2005.

Sharing risk and reward
A key objective of AstraZeneca was to create a virtual company and secure buy-in to the project vision from all contractors. In traditional contracts, where each package is won by tender, each contractor works to safeguard their own interest, sometimes relying on late specification variations to negotiate fees to make a profit. Here, a more cohesive approach was required, with greater cooperation in the sequencing of work, so the contract could be delivered on time and without dispute. This demanded a different form of contract and a change from the traditional culture.
For RA, contracts were negotiated with each package contractor based on a target cost. Each package was risk-assessed to determine the chance of cost variation over the contract period and from this a contingency set that became a component of a common ‘risk pot’. This could be accessed if unanticipated site problems occurred, but otherwise it formed a bonus fund for contractors at the end of the contract period.
The bonus fund could be maximised by good performance and management of risk. The contractors percentage share of the fund was determined by measuring against five key performance indicators: safety, quality, time, cost saving, and participation. This gave all the contractors an incentive to work together and seek efficiency savings, giving a real reason to buy-in to the project objectives and deliver in the key areas critical to the client.
Alliance partnerships cannot work unless there is a corresponding change in site culture. On traditional sites, the physical arrangements of cabins often work against this, with each trade having its own isolated cell and contractors having very little social contact.
AstraZeneca’s approach was to create a common open-plan office space so all contractors work under one roof. Team building exercises were also undertaken and social events organised to build trust and common purpose. Inclusiveness was part of the programme with tradesmen, technicians and project managers on site included in the events.

Technical innovation
Heating and ventilation is a crucial element in the RA building, for the comfort and protection of occupants and to meet process requirement. Air delivery via custom-built air handling units delivers filtered air, heated or cooled according to demand or season. Delivery and exhaust is mainly by standard sheet steel galvanised ductwork of round, flat oval or rectangular section, with small amounts of fire resistant and plastic ducting to meet special situations. Hargreaves programmed delivery to site to correspond precisely to schedule on a just-in-time basis.
Care has been taken to avoid discomfort due to harsh airflow and ensure that the pattern of air movement assists in containing any potential hazards. Critical processes are confined to fume cupboards, reducing the general ventilation need. The cupboards are a unique design that can be easily adapted to suit different purposes.
Where appropriate, exhaust air is filtered. Due to the nature of the facility, heat recovery is not generally employed, although the building is under the control of a comprehensive building management system so that energy is used efficiently.
Total heating and cooling loads are 4972kW and 2700kW respectively. Rates of air change vary according to the type of occupancy. Six air changes per hour (ACH) is typical of office areas in the core building and 15 ACH typical in the labs.

Delivery
RA is a £65 million project and one of the final pieces in AstraZeneca’s planned £1 billion investment programme between 1999 and 2006. The project is on course to be completed on time, to budget and within specification. Contractors will share a bonus from the ‘risk pot’ and the client will receive a world-class research building that is adaptable to future needs.
Senior Hargreaves commercial director, David Lowe explained, “This is win-win contracting at its best. The alliance partners have operated to a common agenda created by the client. There has been a spirit of openness and trust. The potential risks and rewards from the project have been shared and contractors have worked as a cohesive team with far higher motivation and less tension than usual with traditional contracts. Success is being measured in the delivery of a high quality building, on time and to budget. Even incidental measures, like levels of sickness and accidents, show a vast improvement over the norm.”

By Kevin Ainsworth, Ainsworth Maguire, Lancashire