The winning entry in the Plumbing Renovation 2018 competition used a model developed by Sweco

The Plumbing Renovation 2018 competition was won by housing co-operative Untuvaisentie 2. The renovation project comprised traditional plumbing renovation carried out with modern methods. The winner was announced 29 January 2019 at the Korjausrakentaminen trade fair for repair construction professionals.

The winning project was implemented using the Kumppanuus Varma (‘secure partnership’) model developed by Sweco. The name of the model refers to a co-operative procurement method where the price of a contract project is fixed. What makes Sweco’s model exceptional is that the company invited tenders and selected a contractor based on project planning, and the implementation planning was carried out jointly by the company, the designers and the contractor. The contractor’s expertise in materials and installation methods, among others, were used in the planning. In addition to the procurement method, the jury paid attention to the renovation being carried out as a group renovation together with the identical neighbouring buildings, which made the procurements more cost-efficient.

“Both thorough pre-planning and the final planning carried out together with the contractor ensure that the agreement and the price are fixed, in the true sense of the word. This form of procurement suits extensive and structurally similar worksites. Our partnership model proved its excellence in the group renovation project at Untuvaisentie,” says Kim Karves from Sweco.

According to the jury, the leadership in the project was particularly professional, and the board of the housing co-operative was largely involved in the planning, preparation of decision-making and the communications with the apartment owners. Sweco was in charge of the project management, planning and supervision of the project. Sweco also appointed a communications manager for the project, who was in charge of the communications starting from the project planning stage.

In the comprehensive plumbing renovation of housing co-operative Untuvaisentie 2, the sanitary facilities, water and sewage systems with all related fixtures, some of the electrical and data communications systems and the ventilation system were all renovated. The shared facilities were also refurbished. Despite the project’s scale, its price went 10 per cent below the budgeted price, and the project fell into the lower section in the price range of comparable plumbing renovations.

The Plumbing Renovation of the Year competition is organised by the Finnish Association of Property Industry Board Professionals (AKHA), the HVAC Association of Finland (SuLVI), the Finnish Association of HPAC Technical Contractors (LVI-TU), the Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries (RT) and the Finnish Association Of Consulting Firms (SKOL).

At Sweco, the person responsible for the main planning was Jussi Jaakola, and the person responsible for project management was Kaisu Lindqvist.