City centre retail and leisure destination, Liverpool ONE, has appointed leading mechanical and electrical services company, George Birchall Service, as its retained M&E contractor
Following a competitive tendering process, family run Birchall was selected for the high-profile contract which is valued at £3 million over a three year period.
The contract covers full M&E support across the entire Liverpool ONE estate which consists of 29 buildings including: anchor retailers John Lewis and Debenhams, a 14-screen Odeon Cinema and a series of high-street and exclusive brand name retail outlets
In addition it also covers a series of brand name restaurants, the 1,900-space underground car park operated by Q Park, the 17-storey, 326 apartment One Park West residential development and the extensive public realm areas including the five-acre Chavasse Park.
Chris Grundy, Operations Director at Liverpool ONE explained; “The appointment of Birchall has provided the opportunity to make major improvements to the daily operations of what is a complex and demanding estate.
“It is the most significant upgrade to the estates management systems since Liverpool ONE’s original development. This new partnership will make a real difference.
“Birchall has demonstrated how they will implement new systems and new ways of working which will help make the running of the M&E services much more efficient. We welcome their appointment and look forward to developing a long-lasting collaboration between us.”
Central to the new approach from Birchall is the introduction of a new Computer Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) system developed by specialist facilities management software company FSi.
The system, called Concept Evolution, is entirely web based and is described as the ‘new breed’ of CAFM interfaces. Its use will provide Liverpool ONE’s estates team with a single, ‘real-time’ view of facilities and maintenance activities, schedules and contracts.
The system enables the Liverpool ONE estate management team to improve repairs response times, asset verification and continue to develop a more thorough asset condition survey report. Each asset has its own unique number, which is monitored for performance and legislation certification.
John Wright, Director from George Birchall Service added: “We are very excited to embark on the new challenge of providing hard engineering services to Liverpool ONE; it is great opportunity and will allow us to develop a close working relationship with the on-site management team. Birchall are really looking forward to making a difference and providing a first class service to our clients. This is a fantastic development which is well known throughout the entire country and we are very proud to be a part of both the Liverpool ONE development in the heart of the city of Liverpool.’
All existing affected staff at Liverpool ONE will be retained under a TUPE arrangement. The new contract with Birchall will run until 2019.
