Teesside University BIOS project featured in ‘Constructing Certainty’ whitepaper
Our Wates Construction business has been featured in the Centre for Construction Best Practice’s (CCBP’s) recently launched whitepaper, ‘Constructing Certainty’.
The report highlights the need to bring delivery expertise into projects earlier, reduce fragmentation across the supply chain, and place greater focus on outcomes. Using real-world data from public sector construction projects, it tests at scale whether Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) genuinely improves delivery.
As a member of the CCBP’s Industry Advisory Group, we are proud to have contributed to this important research. This includes featuring our work on Teesside University’s BIOS facility within the report. Delivered through an ECI approach, this pioneering science, health, and medical facility demonstrates how early collaboration between client, contractor, and supply chain can drive better decisions from the outset.
‘Constructing Certainty’ provides clear, data-driven insight into the value of ECI across public sector projects, reinforcing what many in the sector have long recognised: that early collaboration leads to improved cost certainty, stronger programme performance and better overall value.
At Wates, we believe that building certainty starts long before construction begins. It’s about building strong partnerships, working openly and bringing the right expertise together early to reduce risk and deliver lasting value. This report marks an important step forward in creating a more collaborative and outcomes-focused industry.
“Public sector clients have the responsibility of managing taxpayers’ money wisely, and that includes managing risk effectively. ECI offers an opportunity to identify and mitigate risks before they crystallise into additional costs or delays during delivery.
“Through open-book methods, independent cost checks, competitive sourcing and transparent decision-making, clients can demonstrate that public funds are being managed responsibly.
“In my view, ECI brings greater certainty to all parties and shifts the dial from a process that can be inherently adversarial to one built on lasting, trust-based relationships.”
Pat Fitzgerald
Group Commercial Director, Wates Group
Teesside University Bios Central Laboratories
High-quality, state-of-the-art new science facility at the heart of the Middlesbrough campus for Teesside University.
Supporting the University’s thriving School of Health & Life Sciences, the new building houses four floors of cutting-edge lab space for subjects including anatomy, imaging, microbiology, chemistry, earth sciences and food science.