Marc Burton has been named overall winner of the 2021 Construction Manager of the Year Awards in the UK, organised by the Chartered Institute of Building, for his role building a functioning 180-bed hospital wing in just 25 days on the island of Jersey.
Burton, who is employed by Garenne Construction, beat 76 other finalists in 10 categories to win the title for his work on the Jersey General Hospital – Nightingale Wing.
In addition to winning the Construction Manager of the Year Award, Burton was also bestowed an MBE in the 2021 honours list for his work on the hospital.
Upon receiving his award, Burton said: “It’s brilliant – I’m a bit lost for words! I was here when the 2008 winner won 13 years ago. I want to say thank you to the co-directors at Garenne and to all the guys on the project. The whole process is about the individuals, but we all know there’s a team that sits behind everything we do. Jersey’s got such great industry so I’m so glad to represent it and the UK.”
While many Nightingale hospitals were being constructed around the country, Burton’s team faced a unique challenge – no company on the island was big enough alone to cover a specific trade task. This meant that Burton had to find innovative ways of helping competing suppliers to work collaboratively.
Five floor-laying companies had to work together to install the vinyl in 24 hours, and it was a similar story for carpenters, service contractors and many other aspects of the development.
Burton was able to rapidly shrink design time – placing key orders within the first 72 hours – by reproducing the work done on the Manchester Nightingale by parent company Garenne Construction Group.
Utilising his local knowledge, he also secured the perfect site owned by an old client of his, concluding the deal in less than an hour.
The project won Garenne Construction Group the Integration and Collaborative Working Award at the 2021 Constructing Excellence Awards, and has given local trades in Jersey the confidence to work together on future large projects.
Caroline Gumble, chief executive of CIOB, said: “Our Construction Manager of the Year competition has always been about highlighting the very best of leadership and talent in our sector. Every year I’m impressed by those who make it to the finals but I’m particularly delighted this year that a long-standing member of the Institute and long-time champion of the industry has been recognised for his achievements.
“Many congratulations to Marc Burton. He is a truly worthy winner, someone who leads by example and understands the impact of his work, making a huge positive difference in the industry and in the community.”
For more on Burton’s work on the Jersey General Hospital – Nightingale Wing, and other award winners, click here.
