Paul Naybour Personal Posts

Wow what a week, risk management, business development and designing a course for a new international client. It was lovely to run a workshop for Network Rail again. they really enjoyed the exercises. Especially tower build two. All smiles that they actualy came in under budget.

Progress continues with Parallel this we we got the course dates into the Google search results.

Tristan from Small Business SEO  is a real star. This is grabing lots of space in the search results, can’t wait to see what happens when we get this working on key words like PRINCE2. We have also re-launched our SEO blog http://www.smallbusinesssearchengineoptimisation.co.uk/, it looks really good.

It quite strange after almost two and a half years of almost full time work to the taking a week off. The intentions are good, I have set out of office on the e-mail and will tune of the iPhone for the week. Strating my own business has turned me into a full time workaholic. It quite motivational when you are not sure where the next pay cheque is coming from and the pipeline of work looks a bit empty. It’s going to be quite hard to actual stop for a week. I wonder if it’s like alcoholics trying to stop work, will I be able to resist charging up the phone and just checking on the e-mails. Our just running a few Google searches to check the website rankings. The odds are not looking very good, because we are going to visit Tristan for the holiday, and Tristan develops and looks after our website. Also I have some expenses that I need to claim before the end of the month, so that will be Monday working anyway.

Nevertheless it’s going to be interesting to spend a week without e-mail, facebook and twitter connectivity.

Project officially opened by the Mayor of London this February

The spectacular transformation of London’s Exhibition Road was marked with an official opening this February, following the implementation of a £29M project taking eight years of planning.

The completion of the mixed use pedestrian and vehicle zone along the major South West London thoroughfare Exhibition Road, saw construction management specialist Schal deliver this landmark project on time and on budget. The company has been a key player in the capital’s highest profile street regeneration this decade, project managing a development which has radically changed the appearance of the quarter and which will shape the experience of its many millions of visitors that will come each year.The reconceived space runs the entire half-a-mile length of Exhibition Road, from Hyde Park in the north to South Kensington Underground Station in the South, offering easy access to London landmarks including The Royal Albert Hall, The Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, V&A Museum and Imperial College, London.

The new, single-level road surface does away with kerb stones and traditional street clutter such as pedestrian barriers, instead delivering a single “shared” space, divided into pedestrian, mixed use and drivers’ zones. The three zones are tied together by a repeated bold diamond motif in granite, which runs the entire length and width of the project, creating a unique visual identity for the street. Tall, sleek street lighting masts have been designed to complement the grand buildings of Exhibition Road. Black cast iron drainage channel covers run along each side, about four metres out from the respective building lines. Beside the drainage channels, strips of ‘corduroy’ tactile warn blind and partially sighted people that they are moving into or out of vehicle free areas.In July 2011 the ambitious scheme won the “Placemaking” category in the New London Awards, before it had even been completed.

In winter 2003, following on from the very sucessful Kensington High Street scheme, the Royal Borough held competitions to seek out the best designer and project manager for the more ambitious Exhibition Road project. The architects Dixon Jones were appointed as designer and Schal, the project management division of TPS Consult (part of Carillion plc), as project manager, in the summer of 2004. Schal also had responsibility for cost management and planning supervision (CDMC) with the cost management being sub-contracted to consultant Davis Langdon.

“The object of the Exhibition Road project was to make a world class pedestrian friendly environment” says Schal’s senior project manager, Andrew Housam. “A single surface concept, in which pedestrians and vehicles can co-exist.”

Schal’s role included:

1. Supporting the client secure funding from Transport for London (TfL), the National Lottery and English Heritage.
   
2. Liaising with all stakeholders including designers, contractors and regulatory bodies to develop a strategy for the delivery of the project.
   
3. Developing a cost control system, that included electronic invoicing, which ensured the project remained within budget.
   
4. Developing and enforcing site safety procedures.
   
5. Mobilising and managing the start-up phase for the main works, including establishing site procedures.
   
6. Managing a two year highway project in the middle of a busy central London thoroughfare, including the alteration of a one-way system around South Kensington Underground Station.
   
7. Monitoring progress and avoiding time and cost over-runs.
   
8. Handing the project back to the client on completion, on time and operational for the Olympics (a key project goal).
   

“We were able to help the client achieve the funding,” says Housam. “In the early phases of the project the client built up good relationships with TfL who provided initial funding which led to the major support the project needed. Our reputation, from Trafalgar Square, and plans gave funders confidence that the project would be achieved within budget and on time.”

“The whole concept of the single surface road, although not entirely new, has been taken to a new level in terms of extent and use of materials, he continues. “Our role in managing the design process has ensured the design innovation has been rigorous and cost effective. We managed the risk with the use of contractor design elements.”

Schal’s innovations included a phased approach which simplified the project and reduced the risks. The company developed openness and co-operation among the team, using an NEC option D Target cost contract with a pre-construction services contract to successfully manage the risks.

The project involved input and co-ordination with a number of major complex organisations. Schal’s approach was that each organisation appoint a single point of contact (SPOC) for the project to co-ordinate their organisation’s input.

“The client is appreciative that we finished the project on time and within budget and recognises that our advice, management, programme and cost control was a significant factor in achieving that outcome,” continues Schal Project Manager Wayne Solman. “As well as being within budget the works costs compares favourably with the initial estimate produced in 2004, well before the budget was set or the design developed.”

As well as radically improving the street-space, Solman believes the project has given businesses and organisations on Exhibition Road an incentive to refurbish their own frontages. “Since completion, a significant number of museums, residential properties and shops have carried out facade improvements,” he says. “The whole road is looking remarkably bright and new. The street improvements have given the whole area a lift and clearly demonstrates the significant mutiplier effect of urban infra stucture investment.”

The completion of works was marked with an opening event
on 8^th December, followed by an official opening attended by Mayor of London Boris Johnson this February. Mayor Johnson said: “Like the many other improvements we are making to London’s great outdoors it is projects like these that are not just creating fantastic new places to enjoy but which are supporting and delivering many jobs across the capital.”

Schal has been responsible for many similar projects, including the World Squares project in 2002, which saw this £20m project cover the environmental enhancement and consequent traffic management of Trafalgar Square and the surrounding area, and was intended to be the first implementation phase of Fosters and Partners World Squares for All Masterplan.

1^st March 2012 – Arras People, the project management recruitment specialists, are 10 years old in 2012 and to mark the occasion they have launched “Ten in Ten: A Celebration of Project Management” Prize Draws. For each and every month over the next 10 months, Arras People are giving the project management community an opportunity to win some great prizes.

Each month a Ten in Ten prize draw will feature an Arras People sponsor – chosen because of their links to the project management industry and Arras People over the last ten years. Those taking part include the Association for Project Management (APM), Gower Publishing, PMI UK, PMI Synergy, APMG, TCC Training & Consultancy, Parallel Project Training, DSDM Consortium and Management Concepts. Prizes include book bundles worth over £600, training courses, conference tickets and gadgets.

Each visitor to the Ten in Ten web pages at Arras People has the opportunity to take part in the Prize Draw by completing a short 2 minute survey before being entered into the grand draw. Some months include runner up prizes too.

Ten in Ten is all part of Arras People’s year-long goal to celebrate its 10 years as the leader in project management recruitment by giving back to the larger project management community. Anyone within the PPM community are invited to join in the birthday celebrations at http://www.arraspeople.co.uk/free-project-management-presents-each-month/.

terry.winstanley@arraspeople.co.uk

http://www.arraspeople.co.uk

As everyone knows our family is mad about horses. For three years now we have been trying to train our family pet Lily the Pink to be the worlds best dressage and show jumping pony. However while she will try her best she really just likes to go out on a nice hack. Not that we are not making progress, every week she get better, it’s just that is is such slow progress. As you can see below pink loves to jump, its just that it look at all dangerous then she won’t do it. In her mind dangerous is any filler that she has not seen before. She tend to slow down about three meters out so that she can inspect the jump before doing it. All very safe but not the winning attitude. So I think that we have decided that she is never going to be a prize winning show jumper.

As for flat work she will go nicely on the bit, but her preference is a good gallop in the country. So although we can do some good work after we are warmed up then in reallity I can see us ever reaching a professional standard.

However she has some really plus points, such as not one day out of work in three years, dead easy to look after, safe to hack in groups of on your own, a very safe in traffic and even with a 11 year old ridding.

Recently we have made some real progress with private lessons by Michelle who offers riding lessons in stroud. These have been really fun and enjoyable, even if they do make me ace.

Dear Three

I am writing to complain about the renewal of my contract for my mobile phone and a replacement refurbished hand set that fails shortly after delivery. I believe this transaction did not meet the requirements of the Sale of Goods Act 1982 for the following reason

1)    The person on the phone miss-represented himself as an employee of Three when in fact he worked for Pones For You direct. This misrepresentation came about because you had supplied them with information about my account. As a result of this misrepresentation I agreed to extend my contract I would not have done this had the person explained that they were from Phones For You Direct. As a result I believe my contract with you is invalid.

2)    The offer made on the phone included 2 years free insurance for the refurbished phone, which would cover replacement of faulty phones. I accepted the contract on this basis however this free insurance was not included in my contract. As it transpires that the insurance only covers lost or stolen phone.  I did not accept any offer excluding repair insurance; therefore I believe my contract with you in invalid.

3)    The refurbished phone has failed after only 35 days. I was informed that refurbished phones were new but had just been returned by customers who did not want them. This is clearly untrue and there for I do not believe these phones are of merchantable quality. Hence you should replace the phone with one that is fit for purpose.

I have tried to contact you over the past few weeks without satisfactory outcome. If within 28 day I don’t receive a satisfactory reply to this letter I will.

1)    Stop my direct debit for this phone

2)    Refer my complaint to Otelo

3)    Start proceeding in the small claims court

Jane Naybour

After 25^th years of happy marriage we a really looking forward to our 25^th wedding anniversary. The invitations have been sent, the band is booked and food has been ordered. All planned for the 15^th October everyone is looking forward to a very exiting day.