Subs return only 1st step

(CNS): The return of three sub-contractors to the two school projects is just the first step towards getting them back on track and getting the once hundreds of workers back on site. It could take several weeks to get the full complement of people back to the John Gray Campus and the Clifton Hunter site, contractors have said, in the wake of the Education Ministry’s announcement that the work has recommenced. The ministry told CNS that Precision Roofing, IE Caribbean and Caribbean Mechanical will have staff on the site from 7:00am Wednesday morning, but admits it will take some time before the projects are back to full capacity. (Left Alan Roffey returns to the John Gray Campus)

Alan Roffey of Caribbean Mechanical said that around twenty to thirty people would be returning to work over the next few days and there would be a gradual ramping up of staff at both of the worksites, but it would be several weeks before the hundreds of construction workers once employed by the school project would all be back on the job. “It is a gradual process as there are a great number of things that need to be dealt with as we work towards returning to full capacity and re-employing all of the workers,” he added.

The minister said today was an important first step towards the full recommencement of the new schools projects. Education Minster Rolston Anglin told CNS via email that there were a number of problems created by the abandonment by the original contractor, Tom Jones International, in November of last year, but the ministry had worked hard to find a solution to the problem created by the dispute.

“Since the contractor abandoned the school’s projects, much work has gone on behind the scenes by the ministry’s Project Management team, led by David Benoit. The role of the project management team has been to fully investigate the best options for how we should proceed, to get the work completed in a timely manner, while protecting the interests of the government and the people of the Cayman Islands,” he said.

He explained that today’s announcement focuses on the first phase of work  that the project team has identified as urgent, to prevent deterioration and preserve warranties in an effort to mitigate costs going forward.  When the general contractor demobilized, it removed key construction equipment and directed the sub-contractors to also remove materials, tools and equipment from the project sites. 

“In the normal course of recommencing work, necessary equipment and materials must be redelivered to support construction activities,” the ministry explained, adding that during the day on Tuesday sub-contractors worked on returning equipment in order to allow work crews to begin early Wednesday morning.

The former site supervisors from the project’s architect have now been placed on each project and three sub-contractors have returned. The work on roofing installations will be handled by Precision Roofing, works related to exterior wall systems will be performed by IE Caribbean, and Caribbean Mechanical will be executing the mechanical and electrical works needed.  The ministry explained that this initial work would be followed by a full-scale recommencement of the projects under the supervision of a construction manager, who will be responsible for the day-to-day construction activities at both sites. The ministry said opportunities for qualified companies to bid to provide those construction management services would be offered soon.

While a general contractor would normally engage in both construction work as well as overall supervision of sub-contractors, a construction management firm will simply be expected to manage the pool of sub-contractors working on the two sites and liaise with the government’s own project manager.