Costain Parkway – laying the stepping stones to project and divisional success
The Newbury Town Centre “Parkway” redevelopment was a complex, £150 million retail led project, comprising an underground carpark, two storeys of large retail units and 180 residential properties above, in two landmark towers.
DSA was introduced by Chris Tyerman, Costain Building Division Deputy Managing Director, to run a project wide team development programme, based on its Collaborate Start2Finish™ process.
The process started early in 2009, ran until mid 2011 and included:
- Resolving conflicts which were hampering progress. This required Costain’s client to restructure its team and approach to managing the project.
DSA coach, Paul Fox, helped facilitate this transition - The need to persuade one party – with assurances from Chris Tyerman – to remain engaged in the process
- The establishment, by Project Director David Woodhouse, of intermediate project principles’ and core management team meetings to reinforce the Team’s plan and sustain intensity and momentum
Remarkable result
The retail centre opened in October 2011, the start of the traditional Christmas sales period. The success of the construction project and subsequent commercial settlement, led by David Taylor, Commercial Director, were important ingredients in delivering service excellence and a commensurate commercial return.
Without question, having the whole team in a room, away from site, on a regular basis, over a two year period and taken through a well-structured and rigorous process enabled us to get multi-faceted ideas on the table, many of which led to unexpected and robust solutions.
DSA really brought the best from key suppliers and stakeholders and created an absolutely fantastic team spirit. I still have the team photo on my wall and I fondly remember most of the players. Early, significant conflicts were overcome during the coaching, allowing us to get a project – which was key to the success of the division – completed.
I have adopted the DSA process a number of times and am in discussion with Dave about taking it to my new employer, to be implemented on a £300m development in London.
David Woodhouse, Costain Project Director