Can anyone believe how quickly this year has gone over?
It really does feel as though January was a couple of weeks back... but now we’re here!
2023 is straight up ahead of us and we are marching straight towards it.
No matter the industry, it’s great to look back over your year and the progress you made both in your business and within yourself.
In today’s blog, we will be looking at the progress the business has made and the projects that follow us along the way.
However, stay tuned to look back over the year for our team and the progress they have made this year.
2022: Our projects.
Throughout the year, the team have picked up a range of complex jobs which required more attention and precision to be able to execute it to our high standards.
One of those projects was the 'Stephenson' building in Newcastle City Centre for Newcastle University.
Image from Newcastle University.
This was actually SCH’s first project of the year, and it was a tricky one to start with... but this is what we thrive on.
This engineer led project, which weighed in at about 788te, appeared normal to the eye, with a five-storey column and beam structure to be manufactured and installed. The building was designed using both steel and timber to create a hybrid structure.
SCH knew form the beginning that the site location was the main challenge. We had to analyse the route into the city centre to ensure there were no issues with transportation and unloading the twenty tonne loads
The building as located on the side of a main and very busy round-about that connected Newcastle through public transport links.
It became increasingly difficult to transport the steel and equipment onto the site with both the traffic on the road and the general public. However, the team managed the troublesome deliveries throughout quieter times in the day, where they were able to manoeuvre the steel onto site quickly through precision in the team.
The new building will be revolutionary for the students of Newcastle and will honour the history of Newcastle's engineering background. Since the 1940s, it’s been the home to more than 25,000 engineering students. Now with the new build, high-quality and practical training can be delivered for the students at Newcastle University.
The Stephenson building is still underway, however when the building is finished, it will be of monumental importance for Newcastle University students.
Another monumental project we managed this year was Fuji Film at Billingham.
SCH delivered many independent structures and numerous types of steelwork packages. This type of build is what SCH is made for.
Fabrication and installation of structural buildings, walkways, access platforms, steel stairs and internal works to create floors and to strengthen an existing build so it can be used for another purpose or department.
During this project SCH were awarded the Willmott Dixon “North Partner of the Year” award and were shortlisted for the “National Partner of the Year” award.
SCH have been awarded Darlington Heritage and North Shields interchange on the back of their achievements at FUJI Film and the Hitachi project.
Everyday had it complications.
Fujifilm remained a live site throughout the build. SCH had to take into consideration the Fujifilm staff and operations. As the project progressed and as further trades were introduced to the site, there were more issues to work around.
Having a full-time site management team for the last 18 months made life much easier for the project to progress. It was much easier to talk to our client and attend discussions face to face ensuring any known difficult obstacles were addressed and a sensible solution could be agreed there and then.
And finally, another project for special mention is... Durham Bus Station.
Durham Bus Station was SCH’s 10th project in Durham City Centre, adding to our projects such as Aykley Heads and Durham Sixth Form Centre.
We had the pleasure to build something which had been needed for many years previous to this. This made it exciting to both win and build this.
A lot of our team have used the old bus station over the last 30 years, as well as the county. We would all agree that it has desperately needed an upgrade from the 1960’s building which stood previously.
The work will provide an improved transport service for the city of Durham and its surrounding areas, allowing people to more comfortably travel in and around the city.
As mentioned previously, SCH has helped build 10 projects in the centre of Durham City over the last few years and will be able to tell the next generation of kids that we helped to improve the facilities in Durham City centre.
The team did many more projects, however, these are just some of the projects which made this year so strong for SCH and the team.
It has been a great yet tough year for steel manufactures and erectors alike, with unstable markets and unprecedented events.
In our next blog, we will be looking back at the year for our team and how we have grown with their strength.
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Thank you for looking back at 2022 with us!