Fortem & Hull City Council - Better Together

A good contract stays in the drawer

It’s that partnership that has made the project such a success. Ben Hansen commented: "The contract has partnership built in. The long-term nature encourages partnership and as both parties are on a level footing it enables both parties to have a stake in the success of the project.” Ben went on to say that “This is a model contract, which I’d like to replicate in other areas.” Julian Wright agreed that this is a model contract but went further. He said: “Put the contract to one side for a moment and this is about the people involved. Every person on this contract regardless of if that’s from Hull City Council, Fortem or their supply chain partners all want to work together and is asking how they can help” he explained. “This attitude goes all the way to the top of every organisation involved, everyone is trying to create a better service for the residents, working together with shared goals as one team.”

One Team  

How have residents received the project? “Resident feedback, is that they are very satisfied with the work. They have also commented that they are able to speak to whoever is in front of them and it feels like talking to one team, it really feels like a very solid partnership.” Ben reported. “There is no client / contractor divide”. Julian explained from Fortem’s point of view “There’s a complete joint approach, we go and visit residents together and as a result of our residents engagement compliments outweigh the complaints”. Julian continued “I’m not saying we get it right all the time but where we have a complaint, there’s no finger pointing, we resolve it as a team, and we learn from it. It’s fair to say that residents are at the heart of everything we do, and our number one priority is the customer experience”.

Julian talked about the quality of the work that Fortem has provided for Hull, commenting “I can’t tell you how proud I feel when we complete the work and walk away from these properties. I’m so proud of the team and our contractors, leaving the properties in a state of repair that keeps the tenants warm, safe, and secure for the next 25 years.” Ben added “During the lifetime of the partnership, it’s fair to say there have been some tricky non-traditional properties that have been improved. Properties loved by the tenants which were technically difficult. Properties that were potential demolition jobs have now found another 25 years of use through works completed by the partnership. Throughout the project we have all worked to drive costs down and the quality up.” Ben continued “We’ve always been in the business of creating places for people to raise families and grow old. It’s driven from a health and wellbeing position. Nowhere is this more evident than creating energy efficient homes, so people are warm, happy and healthy.” Julian added “That’s something you can walk away from and be happy with. We always strive for improvement”. Ben commented that, “The contract stays in the background, everyone involved is asking, what is the right thing to do? This works because Fortem is listening and provide an agile and immediate response.” Julian shared that this is because ‘our subcontractors are very responsive, it’s a culture instilled deep within the team and wider partnerships”.

Collaborative Approach

“It’s not just about Fortem and Hull City Council, it’s about the contractors and residence and everybody involved working together having a relationship. I’m so lucky that that Hull have the same attitude and want to work in partnership.” Julian said. Ben added “It’s a very joint effort, even going to talk to the elected members together to discuss the schemes. Some of the people involved in this project are our best people.” Julian stated, “There are hundreds of little things that everyone does, we’ve only really spoken about the big things but it’s all the little things that everyone just does that makes this work. I can’t speak highly enough of everyone involved.”

Final thoughts

Ben said that throughout the contract, “The values and behaviours align across all the companies involved.” Julian responded with “Everyone cares, if they don’t, I don’t want them on this job”.