Constructing Excellence - Awards

Dec 11 2006 By The Journal

Constructing Excellence in the North East will hold its third annual awards in 2007, celebrating the successes of those tasked with building the future landscape of our region.

These regional awards have proved so successful in the previous two years; the North East's pioneering efforts are being duplicated by Constructing Excellence centres across the UK.

The winners of the regional awards will not only receive North-East recognition at the ceremony at the Newcastle Marriott Gosforth Park Hotel, they will also be put on a national platform through entry to the national Constructing Excellence in the Built Environment Awards later in the year.

The 2006 awards were a complete sell-out, with almost 500 people from the industry meeting at the Newcastle Marriott Gosforth Park Hotel in March. Due to the massive interest, Constructing Excellence had to strive to accommodate more people than had originally been expected and booking early for the 2007 ceremony is strongly recommended.

Winners this year included Northern Edge (Innovation), North Tyneside Partnering Agreement (Best Practice), Mowlem - now Carillion (Sustainability) and Frank Haslam Milan (Respect for People).

This year, Constructing Excellence have reviewed the awards categories and some exciting new categories have been included.

AWARDS CATEGORIES 2007

Integration & Collaborative Working
Judges will be looking for examples of procurement, systematic project management, collaboration up and down the supply chain, integrated logistics, as well as evidence of improvement flowing from the intervention.

The Legacy Award - Sustainability
Nominations are required of examples of the systematic and sustained application of the principles of sustainable construction and/or sustainable development that deliver a sustainable legacy.

Sustainability covers a very wide range of issues - the remediation of land, reducing energy of water consumption, bio-diversity, encouraging economic regeneration and local employment, ensuring staff are well protected, minimising the impact construction activities have on neighbours. What judges are looking for here is the continuous attention to sustainability issues across an organisation, embracing a number of projects and/or interventions.

Innovation
This category highlights innovation in finding technical or environmental solutions, overcoming problems within a project or process. Entries could include use of IT/ICT for a problem found while constructing a building or structure.

Examples of entries could include a scheme to develop new skills within the industry or the active promotion of innovation within the industry, research and development in academia or in industry, or evidence of the practical application of innovation and resulting improvement.

Health & Safety (CDM)
This award will be given to the project where CDM duties have been best demonstrated and complied with; namely the systematic and effective management of hazards associated with a project. In order to be successful in this award the judges will be looking for evidence that best practice has been utilised in producing a scheme where buildability, future maintenance and final demolition have been fully considered.

Leadership & People Development
Judges will be looking for improvements resulting from leadership, training interventions, or an enlightened client. Entries should show respect to the workforce and communities, while simultaneously winning respect from them through workforce development, skills and training, benchmarking, equality and diversity, health and safety and working environment.

Project Leadership
Entrants must describe what is distinctive about the individual's project leadership for this category, detailing the actual and budget project cost and delivery date.

Any member of the team can nominate a project leader for this category. The project leader may have any role within the project. Evidence from more than one project can be included.

Achiever's Award
This award is in recognition of outstanding performance or influence by an individual or organisation who is truly inspirational in the opinion of the sector peer group. The nominee must have shown exemplary actions that have changed the behaviour and performance of others and delivered disproportionate benefits for, and left a legacy in, the outputs of the built environment sector.

The award winner will naturally show all the hallmarks of Eganesque behaviour, be sustainable and show a wholehearted embracing of the Rethinking Construction principles - but adopted and adapted to make a real difference within the sphere of the applicants' own operation, influence and community.

Catriona Lingwood, director, Constructing Excellence in the North East, said: "Our first two regional awards have proven massively successful, not only for those who took part in the North East, but also as a pioneer for Constructing Excellence nationally.

"The turnout in 2006 was huge and we hope to be able to achieve similar success in 2007, once again celebrating the achievements of the North East's construction industry."

• Please contact Catriona Lingwood for this year's awards application pack at awards@constructingexcellence-ne.org.uk , or call 0191 374 6470, or write to Constructing Excellence in the North East, c/o NECC Head Office, Aykley Heads Business Centre, Aykley Heads, Durham, DH1 5TS.

• Awards applications are due in by Wednesday January 31, 2007.

• The Constructing Excellence in the North East Awards Dinner will be held on Friday March 16, 2007, at Newcastle Marriott Gosforth Park Hotel. Tickets are £65 with tables of 10 & 12 available.