LOCATION:
Two contracts totalling £7m+ for the construction of a 'state of the art' aftercare facility and a vehicle showroom for the Jaguar Land Rover brands on behalf of Westover Group.
The second contract for the JLR showroom
Inside the workshop and service area at the aftercare facility
Westover made a £12m investment in the Christchurch site, developing the biggest aftercare facility of its type outside of JLR’s headquarters in Warwickshire together with a jointly-branded showroom to showcase the newest models from the UK’s largest vehicle manufacturer.
Aftercare Facility
- Preparation of the three-acre brownfield, former MOD, plot.
- Construction of vehicle workshops and offices.
- Construction of a service centre with 72 parking spaces, 29 service/MOT bays.
- Car wash and valeting facilities.
Showroom
- Dismantling of the existing showroom leaving a portion of the steel frame to connect with the new facility.
- Roof and wall cladding with rainscreen clad elevations and structural planar glass shop front opening.
- Internal refurbishment including ceramic tile floors in the showroom and client personalisation zones.
- Glazed ground floor offices and offices and welfare facilities on the mezzanine floor.
- External block paved areas complete with a customer drop-off facility and car showing areas.
JLR Aftercare Facility
Challenges
Budgetry constraints and deadlines.
Proximity to the River Stour and high groundwater.
Avoiding damage to the structural steel frame what was to remain during dismantling operation.
Solutions
We achieved a number of savings to time and budget through in-depth value engineering exercises, including:
Aftercare facility
- The vehicle lift cassettes were originally to be founded on piles, installed from the higher formation level. A £20k saving was achieving by reducing the amount of concrete waste and excavation needed before the cassettes could be installed. They were instead suspended in concrete and backfilled, before the suspended slab was installed over the whole ground floor.
- All concrete arisings from the demolition were crushed on site to 6F5 and spread for reuse as a pile mat, GF slab sub-base, and haul roads, with some also going under the formation. Significant cost savings were made as off-site crushing and disposal of concrete was eliminated, also achieving carbon savings.
Showroom
- Product change within the Kingspan range, which was of equal quality however provided an £80k cost saving.
- Specification change of the structural planar glass from Pilkington to Saint-bain, saving £18k.
- Employment of our direct workforce offered a more competitive price.
- Anhydrite flow screed recommended instead of a sand/cement screed, due to ease of use, lower cost, faster drying and pumpability. This offered a two week programme reduction.
- Use of gypseal spray plaster created a one week time saving by negateing the need for the screed to be fully dried out prior to tiling.
Outcome
Successful completion of the aftercare facility to Westover’s satisfaction led directly to the negotiation of the contract for the showroom refurbishment and extension.
The JLR showroom was a divisional and overall winner at our internal Right Works Awards, for the teams commitment to exceeding our customer’s expectations, innovative approach to value engineering and sustainabilty, and delivering a high quality end result on time and budget.
