18 August 2015

Costain has been Highly Commended at the Constructing Excellence Yorkshire & Humber Awards which recognise the best companies, collaborations and projects in the region.

A-one+, a joint venture between Costain, Colas and CH2M, was recognised for its social sustainability initiatives in Area 12 (Yorkshire and Humber) for Highways England, while the A160 Port of Immingham Improvements Project was noted for its skills in Building Information Modelling (BIM).

The Awards were held at the National Railway Museum in York. The Area 12 JV team was shortlisted for five submissions in four of the 13 awards categories; Leadership and People Development; Health and Safety; Sustainability; and Project of the Year (Two submissions). On the night, the JV team received Highly Commended certificates for two of those categories: Leadership and People Development, and Sustainability.

For Costain Major Projects, the A160 Port of Immingham Project was Highly Commended in the Building Information Modelling (BIM) Project of the Year Award category after the team achieved a high score in a Quantified Schedule Risk Assessment (QRSA) workshop, which detailed the Rosper Road Rail Bridge installation.

Commenting on Immingham’s commendation, Craig Snow, Costain Project Manager, said: “The A160 Project, as an Early Adopter of BIM, has made huge progress in this field and become industry leading in the approach and techniques used. It is excellent to receive the recognition for our work.”

The A-one+ JV team’s recognition at the regional Constructing Excellence Awards comes after it recently won Gold at the International Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Excellence Awards in London.

A-one+’s performance is measured each month by Highways England through its Collaborative Performance Framework. To ensure the team regularly meets the highest standards of safety, asset, value and sustainable solutions, A-one+ set up Integrated Working Groups (IWGs).

Chaired by Brian Dunn, the IWG Sustainability team for Area 12 has worked hard to reach out to local communities to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects (STEM) and WISE (Women In Science, Technology and Engineering), setting up a STEM Ambassador Group which organises regular events at schools and colleges throughout the region.

“These awards recognise the efforts of our STEM Ambassador Group. Since March of this year, our Ambassadors have attended eight separate events in schools, universities and ICE career fairs in our region, reaching out to an incredible 812 young people along the way,” said Brian.

Brian’s team comprises STEM Ambassadors Amy Parker and Michelle Gregg; Tim Haskell, Horticultural and Environment Manager; SHE Advisors Heidi Wood and Helen Marsden; John Skipper, Specialist Assets Manager; and Rachel Naylor, Costain Area Commercial Manager. 

Roger Wantling, Highways England’s Area 12 Service Delivery Team Leader, commended everyone involved.

He said: “It was a privilege for me to be there to see the team being recognised for all their hard work across such a diverse range of projects. On a more personal note, it was great to see such a blend of representatives from A-one+ representing Area 12. As well as Andrew Sharp and Brian, Amy, Rachel, Michelle, John, Tim, Heidi and Helen are a credit to the team and show how much strength in depth we have across all disciplines.”

For more information about the Constructing Excellence Awards Yorkshire and Humber, please click here.