The People Behind the Projects
🔹 Interviewed by: Chris Watling
🔹 Guest: Samantha G. , Associate, @RPS
In every successful project, there’s more than just a strategy—there’s a story. The People Behind the Projects shines a light on the individuals whose work powers progress, innovation, and impact.
This week, we sat down with Samantha to learn more about his journey, understand her thoughts on certain topics, and discuss talking points for the wider industry.
The main trends we are seeing at the minute is all to do with building safety and the Building Safety Act. I feel this is providing the industry with opportunities to learn following the tragedy of Grenfell. This is a big opportunity for the industry to work together to provide robust solutions to technical challenges and bring the industry in line. This will ensure that everyone involved within the design process understands their responsibility on any type of Construction project.
2. What’s something work-related you’re proud of?
We are currently working on a couple of HRB projects. Being part of the journey to rectify the issues found within these buildings has been a privilege to be part of. But I’m proud of all the projects I’ve worked on, and the end results always speak volumes for the hard work we put in as a Team.
3. Who decides where the design responsibility sits and, is this agreed before the start of a project?
This depends on the type of project, but this is generally defined by the Contractor and agreed with the wider team. The Contractor would produce a Design Responsibility Matrix, which we would comment on if we saw that some of the responsibilities didn’t sit with the right people. Having something formally written down, helps all parties understand where the responsibility lies and doesn’t lead to confusion down the line.
4. How do you manage client expectations, especially with design limitations or budget constraints?
Frequent communication and active engagement. Whilst it may be frustrating for Clients to have to consider budget as part of the design of a project, we will always present more cost-effective alternatives that may better suit their budgetary requirements. We always find that Clients who are bought along on the journey have a better appreciation of why decisions have been made which ultimately leads to better relationships.
5. How do you stay updated with new materials, technologies, or building codes?
I find that the NBS website is a good place to source new materials. With manufacturers more engaged in uploading information to that platform, it makes it a great one-stop shop. We also like to actively engage with manufacturers to get to grips with what new technologies are being developed and how these can be applied to our projects. We find that regular in-person meetings are a great way to do this. In-house at RPS, we host CPD’s that bring people’s knowledge up to date with new building codes, as well as breakout meetings in the office to discuss new legislation. Building Safety Act is one of those big topics at the moment.
🙌 Let’s Celebrate the People Behind the Projects
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