Royal Charter Award for Excellence in Construction

2016 Award Winner Announced:-

During the storms of early February 2014, the railway line between Exeter and Plymouth was washed into the sea at Dawlish.  This is the only rail line connecting South Devon and Cornwall to the rest of the country, and the loss represented a serious economic threat to the region.  Network Rail staff were at the site within minutes of the first reports of damage, and in some cases assisted the emergency services in evacuating homes.  In the longer term, significant numbers of staff subsequently relocated to a temporary base in Dawlish for weeks or months.  Their task was to reinstate the rail service and repair not only the main breach, but also the many other points of damage along the seafront line.  In addition to the main breach, Network Rail’s integrated plan ensured the completion of works to the station, the sea wall, the signalling and the public walkway.  The fact that COBRA took a close interest in the progress indicates how serious the situation was.

Pictured: Dr Mike Gallop (left), Graeme Monteith The Master of The Worshipful Company of Constructors and Robbie Burns (right)

Some weeks after work commenced, a landslip was identified further along the track, with around 20,000 tonnes of earth balanced precariously above the line – the biggest single landslip in the history of this railway.  Despite this the line was completed and reopened on the morning of April 4th, 52 days after the initial damage.  The Prime Minister was amongst hundreds who celebrated this moment at the station.  The works had required 500 tonnes of steel and 5,000 tonnes of cement at the main breach.  The repairs cost around £15M for the main breach plus another £20M for other works.

2014 Award Winner Announced:-

A proactive initiative aimed at improving the image of the construction industry throughout the United Kingdom has been awarded a Royal Charter Award for Excellence in Construction by the Worshipful Company of Constructors.

The Considerate Constructors Scheme, which was launched in 1997, has been awarded the prestigious accolade for demonstrating outstanding performance within the construction industry.

Building sites and construction organisations of all types and size register with the Scheme to demonstrate their commitment to considerate practice. Members of the Scheme agree to adhere to the Code of Considerate Practice and have their performance monitored, and today over 74,000 sites have signed up.

The Olympic Park, Crossrail, The Shard, Media City in Manchester and the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes Village in Scotland are just a few of the most recent well-known UK sites to have signed up to the Scheme since 1997.

This is only the second Royal Charter Award for Excellence awarded by the Worshipful Company of Constructors, with the first awarded in 2012 to Howard Shipley, Delivery Director of the Olympic project.

Commenting on being awarded the Royal Charter Award, Edward Hardy, Chief Executive of the Scheme said:

This is a fantastic accolade which we're very proud of. The industry has demonstrated unwavering support for the Scheme, even through the recent recession. Ever increasing registration numbers show that sites and companies gain tangible benefit from being registered including better relations with surrounding communities and having a recognised hallmark for their commitment to high standards.

Alan Longhurst, Master of the Worshipful Company of Constructors, commented:

The Considerate Constructors Scheme has made an outstanding contribution towards developing communities, improving site welfare and protecting the environment for the many hundreds of sites that have signed up to the Scheme.

The Scheme has become integral to the UK construction industry and a recognised champion for the promotion of best practice across sites and companies of all sizes. They are a credit to the industry.

2012 Award Winner Announced:-

Howard Shiplee CBE FCIOB

This years dinner saw the initial award of the Company’s Royal Charter Legacy Award for Excellence in Construction to Howard Shiplee who was also our key note speaker.

Howard Shiplee is the Director of Construction at the Olympic Delivery Authority for the 2012 Summer Olympics games to be held in London. As part of his this job, he developed, lead and managed various construction contracts, budgets and timelines for all permanent and temporary venues for the Olympics. He is also responsible for helping construction inspections, workmanship standards and best practice on site. Howard Shiplee was awarded a CBE in the New Years Honours.

Royal Charter Award for Excellence in Construction

For the next award in Feburary 2014 the closing date for receipt of submissions by the Clerk is the 1st June 2013.

At the Constructors’ Banquet on 14th April at Merchant Taylors’ Hall, The Master, on behalf of HRH The Duke of Gloucester, announced the launch of “The Worshipful Company of Constructors’ Royal Charter Award for Excellence in Construction”. This award is part of the Constructors’ Charter Legacy Project which sets out to celebrate in an on-going way the award of our first Royal Charter on 8th February 2010.

The Award is to be given in honour and recognition of excellence in construction. Recipients of the award are to be nominated by members of the Company. The purpose of this communication is to
seek such nominations.

In recognition of the fact that our members are drawn from all the professions operating in the construction industry, the Royal Charter Award is similarly broadly targeted. The Award could relate
to excellence:

1. Of an individual over a lifetime’s work.
2. Of an individual structure or project.
3. In training or education.
4. In law or other professions that support the construction industry.

Thus the Award could be made to an individual, a project, or a firm. It is envisaged that the Award will be made on a bi- annual basis, with the proviso that it will only be awarded if true excellence is
there to be recognised.

Nominations for the award will be short-listed by a panel of members of the Company. The final selection will be made by the Assessment Panel under the chairmanship of Sir Michael Latham, together with the current Master and other eminent members of the construction professions from outside our Company.

It is expected that the recipient of the first Worshipful Company of Constructors Royal Charter Award for Excellence will be announced at the end of November 2011, with the presentation of the Award being made at our Livery & Awards Dinner on 15th February 2012 at Vintners’ Hall.

The Award itself will take the form of a framed certificate.

Members who wish to make a nomination in relation to The Worshipful Company of Constructors’ Royal Charter Award for Excellence in Construction should download the Application Form and Rules below and forward it to:

Mr K Tyrrell
Clerk, The Worshipful Company of Constructors
5 Delft Close
Locks Heath
Southampton SO31 7TQ
constructorsclerk@yahoo.co.uk

A maximum of three sides of A4 paper (non-returnable), including any photographs, may be submitted in support of the application.

The closing date for receipt of submissions by the Clerk is the 1st June 2013.

The submission shall be made electronically in a form acceptable to the Clerk.

Download Documents

Nomination Form

Nomination Rules