Services Update
1st Oct 2010
Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the construction industry and the economy generally, Gentle Consulting is still managing to develop its business and has recently strengthened its Project Management and Cost Consultancy divisions with new talent. Gentle has also firmly established two new specialist services which draw on management expertise and experience:
Occupation Management - management of relocation activities and design/procurement of FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) to enable transition of staff and facilities in a seamless fashion.
This service was recently carried out for the University of Southampton's new multi-million pound purpose built laboratory, teaching and office facility which included the decant of around 300 staff and associated specialist equipment within 40 separate departments into the new 10,000m2 building together with the provision of an extensive Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment (FF&E) package. The Gentle team worked closely with the building users, University stakeholders, package contractors/suppliers and the main design/construction team to ensure this complex project was successfully delivered to meet the needs of all parties.
PM+ - provision of integrated cost management and enhanced project management service for delivering refurbishment and upgrade (e.g. long term maintenance, roll-out programmes).
Again, this service was recently carried out for the University of Southampton with Gentle Consulting preparing a delivery strategy with cost plan for the long term maintenance programme associated with the halls of residence property portfolio (36 projects). A two stage approach was developed, with stage 1 being the review of the initial schedule and recommendations for a detailed and dynamic overall strategic individual project programme, with budget cost plans for each. Stage 2 involved the implementation of procurement, delivery, project management and cost control. Both stages were driven by student reoccupation and were delivered on time to facilitate the start of the new academic year.
From start to finish, Gentle provided a diligent yet refreshingly agile approach. The project was completed on time and to budget.
