BRITISH CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY AWARDS ANNOUNCED

The British Construction Industry Awards for 2002 were presented in London on October 23, 2002. SSOE Inc., local architect/engineer, was part of the team that won the "Building Award" for Honda's new European automotive plant in Swindon, United Kingdom.

The British Construction Industry Awards has recognized all-round excellence in design, procurement, construction and delivery on time and budget since 1988. The 12 strong judging panel was made up of leading British architects, engineers and contractors. After studying 153 entries in detail, they awarded winners in six categories: Small Projects Award, Building Award, Civil Engineering Award, Major Projects Award, Best Practice Award and International Award.

Honda was chosen from 60 construction projects for the Building Award and the judges noted, "The ‘one team one goal' culture of openness and transparency at Honda's new Swindon plant and the company's refusal to accept the status quo, has been rewarded with a cost-effective building."

Honda views this award as recognition of a huge team effort involving all parts of the supply chain. It is also recognition of the significant advancement in construction performance as compared to a decade earlier, when the first Swindon Plant was completed.
In fact Honda's own post project review measured a 40% financial improvement and a 25% improvement in energy efficiency. Team members are: owner (Honda), the American designers (SSOE) and the Canadian construction managers (Vanbots). Vanbots helped to manage almost 100 trade contract packages, the majority of which were UK based.

Paul Roberts, Senior Manager who had construction and installation responsibility for the Project within Honda commented: "Honda sought to establish an integrated team approach at all stages of the project. Indeed Honda was aware that the only way the project would be successful is if everyone bought into the "one team one goal" philosophy. The management of the project was structured to provide both flexibility to the Client and a "non-adversarial" climate. There were innovative and proactive methods used to achieve this "team culture" which ranged from the use of fair contracts with "early warning" procedures to the use of smart boards at meetings to ensure high visibility and no hidden agendas."

Keith Gillam (Chairman and CEO of Vanbots) said: "The project ethos comprised a culture of openness and transparency in which problems and issues were not held back but rather they were managed in a pro-active manner as soon as they became visible. Risks were placed with the organization best able to manage the risk. There was effective communication at all levels."
Tony Damon (CEO of SSOE, USA) stated: "What sets Honda apart is their understanding of what it takes to build a true project team (i.e. have a vision; select the right team; involve the team in the planning (strategy); receive commitment from the team members; communicate the vision and goals to all involved (drive it down); treat the team members professionally and fairly."

SSOE, Inc. is a full service architectural and engineering design firm based in Toledo, Ohio with offices located in Troy, Michigan; Nashville, Tennessee; and Bothell, Washington. SSOE is ISO 9001 certified and the Automotive Branch has received Ford's Q-1 Quality Rating. Please visit our web site at www.ssoe.com.



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