Denaploy have
recently produced the O&M manuals for five major educational developments
in East Anglia for a leading provider for the education sector
who have designed and delivered over £900m worth of government projects in the
last ten years.
Samuel Ward
Academy, Coplestone High School, Orminster Endeavour Academy and Stowmarket
High School were all successful applicants for the government’s Priority School
Building Programme, a project designed to address the needs of community
state-funded schools in most need of urgent repair. All four schools have
benefitted from a new 3-storey building and new playing fields.
We have also been
working on the manuals for a new 1700 place 6th form college in
Bury, complete with 300-space car park, cricket pitch MUGA pitch.
Standards for
Schools
The School
Premises (England) Regulations 2012 stipulate that all maintained schools and
academies must provide a certain standard of accommodation. This legislation
covers general provision of facilities, energy use and sustainability. It also
sets out minimum standards for systems of heating, lighting and ventilation
systems, and acoustics.
The Equality Act
2010 requires all schools to promote equality for disabled children, by
improving access to buildings and services. Consequently, schools to make new
provisions to accommodate a greater variety of students. As with all public buildings, the control of
asbestos, fire safety, and security remain a key concern.
Denaploy O&Ms
Where do we come in? Manuals are an important part of
handover. While documentation may be seen by some as a simple box-ticking
exercise, a poor handover can have a huge impact on client satisfaction.
Here are just a few ways a high-quality O&M can benefit
contractor and client, immediately and in the long run:
1. Expediency
A leading priority for work on schools is that the project is carried out as
quickly as possible so as to cause the least disruption, so it is important to
have a minimum number of snags. Our collation process begins as early as
possible in the project. All sub-contractor info is gathered on a project specific site accessible to all parties, and we will provide an easy-to-follow progress
tracking system.
2. Maintenance
O&Ms provide essential maintenance and health & safety info for the
user of the building. In a school this could be Estate Staff, a Business
Manager, Headteacher or Caretaker. Our finished product is highly usable, and
can be navigated quickly and easily. We can even offer manual training on
request.
3. Further Building Work
Even a brand-new school building will be subject to wear and
tear. When this time comes for refurbishment, demolition or rebuilding, it is
important that contractor and client can effectively assess the hazards and
risks associated with the work. The better the existing documentation, the
easier the construction phase is for everyone involved.