MTX Contracts were awarded the £12million contract as part of the UK Government’s ‘Project Speed’
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was welcomed to MTX’s latest scheme at the site of Hereford County Hospital, where the MTX team were hard at work constructing 3 fast-track wards.
Granted a £12 million contract to carry out this essential work as part of the Government’s ‘Project Speed’ initiative, the on-site build will give the NHS 72 valuable extra hospital beds.
What is Project Speed?
Project Speed is the name for the UK Government’s Infrastructure Delivery Taskforce; a UK Government initiative which was launched in the summer of 2020 to speed up and improve the delivery of important infrastructure. Quite simply, and as the PM himself put it, the initiative aims to help Britain ‘to build better, to build greener, to build faster’.
For the NHS, this meant a huge capital investment of £3billion to support the delivery of infrastructure that was desperately needed to keep the healthcare system running smoothly and to improve services.
The scheme has been described as “the most radical reforms of our planning system since the end of the second world war”.
How will project speeds goals be achieved?
To achieve their goals of a better infrastructure, the Infrastructure Delivery Taskforce is making radical changes to Government policies and strategies that previously slowed down the delivery of infrastructure. This will reduce the overall time taken to deliver projects.
Fast-tracking construction doesn’t mean quality slipping. One of the task forces goals is to ensure projects are finished to the highest quality, and that they are carried out ethically.
Which sectors will see benefits?
There are a number of sectors that will benefit from Project Speed.
- The Healthcare Sector – the NHS will benefit massively from the project as resources are driven to build new hospitals, improve existing facilities, direct change where it is needed and increase A&E capacity. This will help the sector to deliver responsive, dedicated care
- The Education Sector – the project will fast-track investment in the education sector. This includes schools and further education facilities.
As well as these sectors benefitting from the project, the environment is a huge focus. Ethical construction is a key part of this project.
How MTX delivers better, greener, faster construction
MTX use an innovative offsite construction system and other fast-track methods, which brilliantly support the better, greener, faster ethos introduced with this scheme.
The methods used during the new ward scheme at Hereford County Hospital aim to reduce construction time by an impressive 50%. This reduction in time means the NHS can use their new facilities and reap the benefits of extra bed space months earlier than if traditional construction methods were used.
So how do MTX meet the Better, Greener, Faster specifications of Project Speed with their MMC (Modern Methods of Construction)?
Better
MTX use off-site construction techniques which limits any disruption to day-to-day business on live sites.
- It is an engineered solution
- There is less disruptive vehicle movement
- They have safer construction sites
- They minimise disruption to operational sites
- They have an exceptional factory quality control process
Greener
MTX’s buildings are already designed with ethical construction in mind.
- Increases recycling opportunities for waste materials
- Reduces waste from construction activities by up to 60%
- Improved the energy performance of building
- Reduces carbon emissions created during construction
Faster
Less time is wasted by using off-site construction, there is no need to wait for demolition to be completed or groundworks to be put in place.
- Reduces construction time by up to 50%
- Constructs sub-structure and super structure in parallel
- Utilise pre-manufactured MEP services
- Utilise off-site finishes
Why hospitals and organisations should get involved
The amount of red-tape involved in construction can mean that some essential, important projects have previously not gone ahead. Project Speed has removed a lot of this red tape and made many of these projects possible, without compromising on ethical aspects.
The project has made is much easier for public sectors and companies to create partnerships with construction firms, whilst also making the projects more cost-effective.
Find out more details about Project Speed
We’d love to talk to you about how we can help you use Project Speed to fast-track your ethical construction projects. Feel free to get in touch to find out more.