21st June 2017
Huge Result For OHMG As Manager Wins Top Award
A senior OHMG staff member has been judged as Ireland’s Construction Manager for 2017.
Nick Oldfield, 59, who was in charge of the £35m redevelopment of the National Stadium at Windsor Park, Belfast, was awarded one of the industry’s highest accolades at a special reception in Dublin.
He was judged the Construction Manager of the Year (CMYA) in Ireland by the Chartered Institute of Building, the world’s largest and most influential professional body for construction management and leadership.
Nick, who spent three years on the Windsor Park project said:
“I am immensely proud. I was absolutely delighted to win my category, but never imagined that I’d ever get the top award.”
“It’s only presented once every two years, and an awful lot of people are in the running to get it. It couldn’t believe it when they called out my name. It was incredible, just amazing.”
Edward O’Hare and Seanie O’Hare were among those short listed – Edward for his work on John Bell House in Belfast, a landmark building which was transformed into high end student accommodation, and Seanie for his key role in the building of the stunning Wellcome-Wolfson Centre for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University.
Previous CMYA winners in Ireland involved the management of projects that included the Dundrum Shopping Centre, St Mel’s Cathedral, Longford, and the Convention Centre in Dublin.
OHMG has already won several awards for its work on the Windsor Park redevelopment, but for the man centrally involved in the project, this was one which gave him the most satisfaction.
His wife Lisa was among those who sat at the OHMG table in the Conrad Hotel for the presentation ceremony.
Nick who is currently in charge of building new student accommodation by OHMG at the University of Surrey, added:
“It is such a prestigious award. There was no advance warning. It came as such a shock.”
A spokesperson for CIOB said:
“The very high level of management expertise in Ireland give assessors, and adjudicators an extremely difficult job, and year on year, the standard of entry continues to rise.”
There were four separate categories covering projects ranging from Euro8m, Euro8-13m, Euro14-24m and Euro25m.
Apart from one company, OHMG was the only Northern Ireland based firm to feature in the winning and shortlisted entries. Seanie and Edward O’Hare were shortlisted in the Euro14m-24m category.
This manager was involved in the delivery of a world class winning facility. He had a focus and professional approach to this very technically challenging and complex project. This included the management of a very diverse supply chain, whilst also managing the many trials and constraints of the site location. The project build included periods of live interfaces with the local community and the public as work commenced.
The winner’s professional management and leadership ability was used to attain a collaborative and problem solving approach throughout the stages of the project. It was a key factor in meeting the varied client demands, managing cost control and keeping to programme. It was also evident that his ability to plan, organise and manage this complex project under extreme and demanding circumstances was outstanding.
The Gold Medal in this category is awarded to Nick Oldfield of O’Hare & McGovern Ltd for the Redevelopment of IFA National Football Stadium at Windsor Park in Belfast
http://www.constructionmanagermagazine.com/news/ohare-mcgovern-manager-scoops-irish-cmya-national-/
