Mace sees itself as an innovator, a champion of best practice, and a supporter of industry change and improvement. One project on which these claims are tested on a regular basis is at 51 Lime Street in the heart of the City of London. Here Mace is working with British Land to convert the former Lloyds of London building to a 29 storey development, designed by Foster and Partners, into office accommodation with a public plaza at ground level incorporating retail outlets, restaurants and wine bars.
Construction in this area, which is densely populated by commercial buildings, is clearly challenging and brings with it potential issues for its neighbours, not least of which is the inevitable noise caused by the significant works undertaken underground and the delivery of materials which can involve up to twelve articulated lorries a day.
Choosing Sypol
With a clear policy of putting systems in place to carry out its business in the right way for clients and those affected by its operation, Mace called upon the expertise of Sypol to monitor the noise its operations caused, in order to ensure that these effects were monitored and managed effectively.
Iain Scorgie, Mace’s construction superintendent, comments:
"The work that was commissioned to Sypol was of a very specialist nature and only required in certain construction scenarios so it made sense to outsource it to professionals. Their consultants worked with us to understand the issues that we faced and to come up with workable, practical solutions that gave us the information we needed cost-effectively."
An integral part of the Mace team
By working in close collaboration, Mace and Sypol determined where all weather noise monitoring equipment should be placed on its own site and neighbouring facilities to gather relevant noise data. This data was then downloaded and provided electronically on a weekly basis to Mace together with recommendations from Sypol's consultants regarding any necessary actions that should be taken.
Armed with this information Iain Scorgie, was able to supply the information required by the Corporation of London as part of its Considerate Contractors Scheme for which Mace has been given a Gold Standard Award in recognition of its superlative performance.
From strength to strength
The information supplied to Mace by Sypol has also enabled Iain Scorgie and his team to identify the noise levels made by its various activities and therefore determine at what time of day it is most appropriate to undertake them in order to minimise the effect on its neighbours' businesses. This advice is also used as a vital part of the information imparted to site staff and visitors during their induction process. On occasion Mace has also been able to use the information from Sypol to prove that it was not in fact Mace that was causing specific cases of noise nuisance, which has helped it maintain good relationships with its neighbours and with the local authority.
Sypol has also undertaken vibration monitoring at Mace's Lime Street site. With a steel framed building of this type and a requirement for significant piling, the underground effects have been closely monitored to ensure that occupiers of buildings attached to number 51 below ground floor level are carefully considered when work is undertaken.