The University of Edinburgh, Operational Estates Programme, Edinburgh
Sector
Infrastructure
Value
Confidential
Status
In progress
Background
The university had previous experience of the Scape frameworks, providing a proven OJEU compliant and successful route to market. Established relationships with the local Perfect Circle team, using Scape Group's Built Environment Consultancy Services (BECS) framework offered the client a direct and overarching structure through which to appoint highly capable teams.
Perfect Circle is providing a wide range of trusted professional services across the University of Edinburgh’s entire estate. This has been achieved with procurement efficiency using Option G contracts.
Following successful completion of several commissions, the continuance of a longer-term contracting arrangement has allowed the client team to rapidly commission term services across a variety of disciplines and projects. Commissions have covered all RIBA stages; including estate operations, small works and capital programme design functions, across all disciplines of the framework core services.
Requirements
Perfect Circle is currently supporting the management of an estate that includes:
- 550 buildings
- 155 core buildings over 567,000m2
- Occupation by 37,500 students plus 15,000 staff
- The estate has an ongoing focus to increase facilities, with a planned response to heightened demand for student places.
Challenges
The university has a focus to move towards a carbon neutral estate by 2030. At a strategic level, Perfect Circle provides teams of experienced individuals who support on funding applications within the low carbon and energy sectors.
At a tactical level, Perfect Circle is supporting this with the deployment of energy trackers to generate inputs to the funding application.
Outcomes
A multi-service contracting arrangement allows the university to achieve project and estate outcomes through:
- Rapid commissioning and quick response to service requests
- Consistent team using built-up knowledge of the estate
- Early engagement of a local team with capacity to meet numerous service requirements
Other strategies include:
- Energy surveys and metering consolidation
- Drafting of the university’s energy strategy to meet its carbon neutral target of 2030
- Leading bids for funding from the Sustainable Campus Fund and Scottish Funding Council.
The benefits were the project secured interest fee loans that were match funded on a 50/50 basis and could be deployed quickly into projects with noted paybacks.
Social value:
In order to drive strong corporate social responsibility, the client integrated team:
- Has delivered CPD events
- Is working with schools and colleges, for example: Royals High and Drummond High School in Edinburgh; supporting a STEM programme that is equivalent to an NVQ Level 1
- Forth Valley College: STEM workshops for the students including supporting those studying architectural technology and engineering courses
- Is working with charities, for example: The Yard, Fife, supporting children and young adults with learning difficulties
Economic:
- The local office employs a flexible team supporting the Universities Operational Estates Programme, who all live within eight miles of the university campus
Environmental
- The team has been instrumental in creating the 2.5mw solar field solution at Easter Bush campus. This will generate 3% of the overall estate energy requirements, within a 10-year payback
- Produced an energy strategy for the university that is being developed into practical solutions and projects to achieve zero carbon by 2030 targets and deliver the university’s first carbon zero project by 2024
Kevin Laing is an excellent liaison, managing our business need to embed resources. Routine update meetings with progress dashboard are very good.
Grant Ferguson, director of estate operations at the University of Edinburgh
