About T Squared
An independent company, with our contracting activities as our core business, we are focussed on deriving and delivering innovative ways of working.
Our keenly honed short lines of decision-making enable fast introduction of any change in the ways we operate which we believe will produce benefits to customers and staff alike.
Our personnel are carefully selected to ensure their characteristics can follow through our belief that each and every person needs to be the best they can be.
From Laboratory and Cleanroom Design to Build, and Management to Maintenance, we can take care of as much or as little of the project as you require.
Cleanroom Build
The art of delivering high-tech Cleanrooms and Laboratory projects is one which is not learned overnight. At T Squared we have perfected this art so that the majority of our cleanroom construction projects are completed ahead of the agreed programme completion date.
You only have to watch a few episodes of "Grand Designs" to realise that there are a lot of pitfalls in translating the Architect's drawings into a finished building. As Kevin McCloud would testify it is the human factor that gets in the way when things go wrong.
Cleanroom Design
Bad design is a bad starting point for any project. At its worst this might be a design that just doesn't work but often it is a design with poor buildability. A very common example of this is the design of plantrooms where often there is no thought given to future changes when big plant items need to be taken out or replaced.
On Cleanroom and high tech laboratory projects the risks are so great that the designer and the builder need to be the same body with a track record in getting things right.
Please take a look at our Cleanroom Design section for further information.
Clients
The biggest problem in trying to deliver a project is a client who wants to make changes on a regular basis. This is worse when the people asking for the changes are not in direct contact with the contractor - other departments other than the facilities personnel.
With traditional procurement routes the contractor has no allegiance to the client and will try and maximise profits on each and every job that they carry out. A client who constantly wants to change things is manna from heaven for contractors who will negotiate additional costs, extended programmes with additional prelims and compensation for site delays. The best example of this is the Holyrood Scottish Parliament building where changes were made by committees to the point where the project managers had no chance to control costs or timescales.
T Squared works on a design and build basis but works in the main with repeat business clients. Repeat business does not come from clients who feel that they have been abused so how do you deal with changes?
- Change Control procedures are in place from day 1
- Clients are informed right away on how the proposed changes will affect the costs and the programme
- Client's are offered advice from T Squared on alternative options which will reduce the impact on the project
Sub-Contractors
Although T Squared has substantial in-house capabilities many of the work packages are carried out by sub-contractors managed by T Squared Project Managers. The success of our delivery is dependent upon these sub-contractors providing quality installations on time and to our exacting H & S standards.
T Squared has a loyal squad of sub-contractors who are happy to compete against each other to work for T Squared because we pay them promptly. Cash flow is the biggest issue for small companies and the Experian credit check rating for T Squared shows that "(T Squared) always pays its bills on time".
Programme - critical path
The critical path on any programme shows the latest dates for individual tasks beyond which programme slippage will occur. Leaving things until the last minute in theory is OK but in practice there are so many things that can prevent the action being taken timeously.
At T Squared our policy is more of a "do it now" strategy. Consider the following as an argument for staying ahead of the game: -
- Getting behind the critical path means delaying the project or opting for a poorer quality product to get back on track - either way bad news for the client
- Leaving things to the last minute leaves you with only one option - risky if that one option is a supplier or sub-contractor who is suddenly too busy
- Being ahead of the game leaves you with options on which suppliers and sub-contractors that can be used and leaves you with time up your sleeves for whatever pitfalls might be ahead
Control of Cleanroom Build
T Squared stays in control by regularly reviewing progress in line with programme making changes as is necessary and keeping the client informed of any possible threats to the critical path that might need their input.
In the construction industry the general perception is that projects always finish late. At T Squared we are much more likely to complete early - good habits are just as easy to form as bad ones.