It’s been a few months since Steven Dunn, our Scotland Director joined us at Wallace Whittle. To get a deeper insight into his experiences and thoughts on his journey so far, we caught up with him over coffee at our favourite local spot in Edinburgh.  

We first caught up with Steven in our Edinburgh office to see how he is settling in and to discuss the projects that have significantly shaped his first 100 days. With major initiatives underway across Scotland and across various sectors, Steven highlighted the Monklands Replacement Project as particularly noteworthy. This project stands out not only for its internal task force within Wallace Whittle but also for the external collaboration involved and the overall importance of this state-of-the-art healthcare facility. 

The Monklands Replacement Project, one of our current healthcare endeavors, involves a significant team effort from multiple offices. Steven shared: 

“Without a doubt, Monklands Replacement Project is one of my project highlights, the level of collaboration involved across the Scottish and English businesses has been fantastic, and it’s a testament to the teams and the technical quality that has gone into it so far.”  

Recently, we reached a significant milestone on the Monklands Replacement Project with full planning approval granted by North Lanarkshire Council for the digital and Net Zero Hospital in Airdrie. The progress of Monklands has generated significant buzz, not only within our offices but across the industry as a whole. 

Culture & Ethos

Steven joined our existing team of Directors in the Scottish region, which includes Glasgow Director Barry McKeane, Edinburgh Director Stephen Osborne, and Aberdeen Director Andy Forbes. Based out of our Edinburgh office on Thistle Street in the heart of the New Town, Steven has quickly integrated into our vibrant company culture.  

At Wallace Whittle, we pride ourselves on fostering a welcoming and collaborative environment, and the ongoing growth across our regions has brought several fresh faces to our offices. Including new team members in sustainability, MEP disciplines, and even a few trainees and work experience participants. When asked about his transition to Wallace Whittle, Steven shared: 

“From Day One, I’ve been made to feel welcome, the whole team has been great to help get me settled in quickly, and that is not just in Edinburgh and Glasgow, it’s across the whole Scottish region. To the guys in Northern Ireland, to the team down in the newly opened Manchester and Birmingham office, it has just been a seamless transition, and it feels like I have been here more than 100 days” 

Collaboration is at the core of our company culture, with the welcoming of new faces into our team showcasing this as we work seamlessly across our eight offices in the UK. Our optimised systems and standardised approach allows our newer staff, and established team members alike, to collaborate effortlessly with clients and fellow colleagues. This interconnectivity not only strengthens relationships across disciplines and regions but also ensures that every team member, new and old, can contribute to our overarching success. 

Future Growth

With Steven joining the team in February, and with the addition of our recent expansions in Birmingham led by Darren Wright and Manchester led by Paul Dean, this signifies promising growth within the UK. With vast expertise shared amongst our directors covering numerous sectors and industries, Wallace Whittle’s future growth plans sound both promising and exciting. 

“I think growth plans across Wallace Whittle, certainly in the Scotland region, well-established business, we’ve got really good coverage across all sectors, and we definitely have plans to expand further, but we can’t give it all way now…” Steven shared. 

In addition to our significant geographical growth, our teams across offices are also continually expanding, encompassing MEP, sustainability, and head office staff. This ongoing growth not only enhances our capabilities but also strengthens our position in the market, ensuring that Wallace Whittle remains at the forefront of industry developments. 

Experience & Expertise

Steven brings extensive experience and market insight to our team of Directors in Scotland. In his previous role, he was instrumental in delivering projects across various sectors, such as commercial fit-outs & refurbishments, retail developments, data centers, and education. This background aligns perfectly with the key sectors that Wallace Whittle focuses on in Scotland. 

“I was brought on board by the existing directors to assist with the company’s growth plans. Wallace Whittle is a well-established brand with a distinguished network already, and I hope to complement that, support further growth, and help diversify our portfolio.” 

Within Wallace Whittle, Steven has joined our team of directors with a focus on developing the Central Belt in line with our strategic plans. His commitment to assembling a fresh team of industry leaders further aims to drive innovation and success within the region. 

Future of Wallace Whittle

As Wallace Whittle continues to expand throughout Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland, we are excited about the opportunities ahead, including team expansion and potential growth across regions. 

“i think we’re well established in Scotland, we’re evolving and expanding down south in England with established offices now in Manchester and Birmingham, we’re expanding into new regions, and hopefully we’ll continue that theme for many years to come!” 

Our recent expansions in Birmingham and Manchester highlight our dedication to providing innovative solutions and exceptional service nationwide. With a current team of over 30 staff members in central England, we look forward to the opportunities ahead as we expand our team and strengthen our presence, making a positive impact across the UK. 

Our initiatives for staff also show promising results, with record attendance at our recent academy sessions. This growth will continue as we onboard new staff at all levels, ensuring we maintain a strong and capable team ready to meet the demands of our expanding operation that provide a high quality of service.

At Wallace Whittle, we pride ourselves on Quality of Product and Quality of Service.

Our Building Information Modelling (BIM) verification, is just one of the many ways we re-assure our clients that we have the in-house expertise to deliver BIM Stage 2 projects, in compliance with the RIBA stages and industry standards.

We have had another successful BIM Stage 2 Verification Audit, conducted by BSI (British Standards Institution), for our 8th year in a row!

The audit, conducted on Wednesday, May 15th, and Thursday, May 16th, 2024, has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to quality assurance, standardisation and the implementation of BIM processes. This audit is a crucial evaluation of an organisation’s ability to adhere to industry standards and deliver high-quality products and services through the virtual construction process.

The audit covered multiple projects within Wallace Whittle, ensuring compliance with BIM processes and the effectiveness of our BIM Standards. Our experienced digital engineers utilise BIM from the early concept stages of projects, to visualise design intentions and make informed decisions. We use an in-house suite of standards, in conjunction with powerful BIM authoring software, to build our design within a 3D environment which we are then able to share with our design partners to provide the process with an efficient means of communicating information.

Our ability to work in this manner allows our design to be passed on to the construction phase, adding value & support to such things as offsite project management, reducing abortive time on site and avoiding re-design resulting in waste materials.

Our experience integrating data into our models at the design phase provides our clients with the option to develop progressive operational data which assists with future aspects of the project, providing a full audit trail which lays the foundations for digital building asset management.

The auditor’s attention to detail was thorough over the two days. Throughout the audit evidence was reviewed to verify the implementation of our BIM processes across various projects. The feedback received regarding our BIM Standards was overwhelmingly positive, reflecting the dedication and hard work put in by the team. 

The Auditor noted that during the assessment it was clear that working processes were well managed and aligned with local processes and the applicable standards, and some of the key positive elements observed during the assessment were: 

1. The BIM processes reviewed across the organisation are in line with the business strategy.
   
2. The retention and accessibility of records which were reviewed and accessible for the remote assessment must be commended.
   
3. The dedication of staff is seen during this assessment.
   
4. There were no non-conformances highlighted during this assessment 

Paul Hargreaves, Associate Director & Academy Manager, Paul Underhill, Associate BIM Technician and Andrew Masson, Senior BIM Technician, played crucial roles during the audit, which was overseen by our Quality and Standardisation Manage & Associate Director, Raymond Kelly. Their expertise in navigating through our systems and processes, and ease of guiding the auditor to the required evidence were instrumental in the successful outcome. 

“It was really pleasing to see that when our systems are put under scrutiny by an external auditor, we, as a business, can prove that we are delivering our projects to the ISO 19650 industry standard.  This is a reflection of the hard work of all the staff day in, day out across the offices.”  Paul Underhill and Andrew Masson 

As a result of the audit, Wallace Whittle has achieved re-verification of its BIM Stage 2 for another year. 

This achievement is a testament to everyone within the Wallace Whittle team, it demonstrates our dedication to maintaining high standards, delivering quality products and services, and a consistent approach to applying BIM processes. 

Raymond Kelly our Quality and Standardisation Manager shared “Achieving BIM Re-Verification following the 2-day Audit by BSI once again demonstrates our commitment and indeed supports our commitment to continually focus on delivering quality of product, quality of service, standardisation and consistency across all projects and aspects of the business.” 

This is the 8th year running we’ve received this verification with no non-confomaties, further demonstrating our commitment to ongoing excellence and our will to continue to push the boundaries of quality within the construction industry.