Trial project:

Derby Silk Mill – Museum of Making: Case Study 3

The Museum of Making, extended & restored to life

Strategic Brief

The strategic brief was to create an inspirational new museum, revealing the whole building for the first time and re-introducing manufacturing to the site. It will celebrate Derby’s heritage of makers through the internationally, regionally and locally significant collections. It will create new co-working, maker and workshop spaces, with facilities for use by the makers of today and tomorrow. The project’s

overarching themes are STEAM-Powered (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths), driven by the significance of the site, the building and the collections it contains; combined with the context of Derby and needs and motivations of local people, communities, businesses, organisations.

Success Criteria

“We have chosen the IPI model to reflect our values. Co-production and human-centred approaches are integral to the success of this project:

• Staged completion of building zones including workshop spaces at an early stage to support the build of fit out and exhibition
• Active involvement of volunteers and stakeholders in co-producing the Museum of Making
• Advocacy for new and diverse audiences
• Integrated programme of commissions for artists and makers
• Co-production and human-centred ethos, including openness to prototyping and the ability to respond proactively to change of circumstances and needs.”

–Derby Museums

The specific success criteria are numerous, falling under these headings:

Building and Exhibition: 24 No. Funders’ requirements:

• Heritage and Exhibition: 21
• People Skills: 14
• Local community: 23

• Rolls Royce engine: the original intention was to complete the build and install a rig hoist system to install the engine. The risks and costs of doing this were found to be extremely high: instead, the engine was flown over from America three months early to be installed, and the new Civic Hall was built around it.
• A full-time archaeologist was on site with trowel pits in various locations, around which the construction team had to work. One resulting challenge: the planned gas main route had to be diverted through the workshop to avoid disturbance.
• Flood mitigation: newly installed flood measures such as polished concrete floors and cement particle board cladding, together with a new flood alert strategy, resulted in only one day being lost to the programme despite two occasions of flooding during construction.
• The client-led co-production approach required coordinating museum staff and volunteers throughout live construction as well as supporting the museum recant. The project was re-programmed to hand over the workshop as a first element to create usable space for makers/volunteers.
• Enhanced AV display equipment was introduced as an invaluable asset to the Museum’s management plans.
• Use of refurbished furniture, more in keeping with the building.

The Rolls Royce jet engine, back airborne in Derby

“It has involved Derby people in the making of the museum through our active volunteer co-production programme with over 36,000 hours contributed to the project prior to lockdown, which was adapted to create remote volunteering opportunities with virtual meet-ups to reduce isolation. The Museum of Making creates access to 100% of our significant collections, provides an anchor for the city’s vision as a ‘City of Making’ (estimated to provide a gross economic impact of over £4.2m annually) and over 140,000 visitors a year will support Derby’s COVID recovery and help create new jobs. STEAM learning opportunities for schools, communities and visitors will help to continue the legacy of Derby’s heritage of ideas and innovation.”

Turning to the sustainability and upkeep of the facility, Derby Museums did not have CAD management facilities. The alliance created a 3D model (see below) in Navisworks Freedom, enabling free access for Derby Museums to the model. By clicking on a specific element it hyperlinks to the O&M manual to give detailed information.

Pandemic – the ability to mobilise as a team when the lockdown happened and also think through a comprehensive approach to writing a proposal and prediction on cost/programme for the funders was a game-changer. We know from funders we were at least 6 months ahead of everyone else – and not everyone has had the success we have.

The alliance principles [Supportive, Teamwork, Ethical, Accountable and Makers] have been included in our order and subsequently in all the orders that have been placed by us. We believe that the STEAM acronym has been adhered to and has created a team spirit and relationship that is second to none, that any of us have experienced previously. We do however believe that the people involved in the project enable the principles to flourish and that careful consideration about who we engage with and who is involved in the project is the biggest contributor to the great relationship the project team has.

 I think that collaborative working is driven by a quality team and strong leadership.

This was quite an easy one for us to answer; the way the IPI model is setup up relies on collaborative planning and working. The fact that there is one cost plan and we all have equal responsibility for the project promotes synergy throughout the team. The only caveat we would add to the above is that there were sub-contractors that we have interacted with on site that still acted in the sense of a traditional contract. However, it would be difficult to mitigate this 100%.

 It was really hard sometimes and those who would claim not to have made mistakes are clearly too perfect for the rest of us! I think I remember Kevin Thomas and Louise Lado-Byrnes saying that good collaboration elsewhere is in spite of the process not because of it – I agree but on traditional projects it’s easy to be collaborative when things go well – it’s when they go wrong that IPI comes into its own.

 Unlike any other project I’ve ever done, I do feel like I’ve really built this one. I haven’t just designed it and helped it being built by someone else: I really feel like mentally I’ve built it. I’ve been involved in all the issues about subcontractors on site and costings and everything. It does feel much more like a group of people have come together and have created something collegially.

 There may be some confusion for those new to IPI as to how the Alliance Manager is not a Contract Administrator (or where the role is similar, where it is not) – possibly worth clarifying this in IPI literature to ensure bidders correctly put forward the most suitably qualified person and to explain how a ‘no Contract Administrator’ model contributes to a more collaborative environment.

However, the role should also address how decision making, quality and change control can still be rigorously monitored under IPI if there is no Contract Administrator. There were members of the team who were not sure exactly what the role of Alliance Manager was.

 I think the Alliance Cost Manager is a really difficult role in the early days when nobody is listening to reports of cost overrun. We knew this project was going to be over budget 18 months ago – as Scott and Shona were telling us that – but no-one was really taking notice at that time.

Exhibition space

Gallery

Background: Trial Projects programme

The Government Construction Strategy aims to change the relationship between clients and the entire supply chain within the industry. The trial projects perform a central role in delivering the Strategy’s sustainable reduction in costs and have been testing three new procurement models (Cost- Led Procurement; Integrated Project Insurance; Two Stage Open Book) that were proposed by industry and developed by a joint task group. Case study reports are therefore an output of monitoring the progress and outcomes of the trial projects.
They are produced at four stages: Kick-off Meeting; Brief/Term Engagement; Decision to Build; Build and Occupy. Other case study reports can be found at:
https://constructingexcellence.org.uk/cabinet-office- trial-projects/

Project contacts

For further information on Insurance Backed Alliancing under the IPI model or to introduce a potential trial project, please contact Martin Davis, IPI Mentor for the Cabinet Office, at [email protected] or Kevin Thomas at [email protected] or Louise Lado-Byrnes at louise.lado- [email protected]

Successful applicants who are accepted onto the Cabinet Office’s Trial Projects Delivery Programme will then have access to the latest versions of the Procurement documentation and system, Alliance Contract, Supplier Alliance Subcontract and IPI Policy.

29 January 2022