Who: The University of Manchester

When: 2024 ongoing

What:

Whilst the University is undergoing various estate works, it is imperative to create decant space where key staff members and projects can be moved, whilst these key works are being undertaken.

RECOM’s work on this project is to manage and deliver these decant solutions for the University. This originally began with undertaking a feasibility study for potential decant spaces across the campus, including the assessment of vacant spaces, vacant buildings, and potential new-build temporary buildings.

This decant plan is imperative to the University’s long-term estates masterplan, and RECOM has developed the proprietary measures to assess, decant, and deliver this programme. When first starting this programme, each project was treated independently with no overall consideration of inter-project decision-making. RECOM has since developed the tools to allow easy assessment of inter-project decisions.

RECOM ‘s works also include engaging with users and consulting with them to better understand their decanting needs and then creating the space and overseeing this transition. This has included the refurbishment of existing vacant spaces on campus as well as the creation of a new temporary modular facility. RECOM have also engaged with users to safely move equipment to the decant facilities.

Key Features:

• Developing an understanding of the decant needs of the separate long-term maintenance projects.
• Combining these decant requirements to ascertain the total decant space, the ‘demand’ across the campus and how these are likely to change over time, we have created a propriety tool to achieve this, which also incorporates projected cash flow drawdown.
• Identify potential locations to create decant space, both in vacant spaces and new temporary accommodation.
• Overlay the projected supply, included the temporal implications of this (i.e. When each space can be made available or when each project needs decant space.)
• Utilise the proprietary tools developed to optimise the supply availability and, if identifying the need to create additional supply or reforecast the demand of individual projects (e.g. pushing back the start date or changing the delivery strategy).
• RECOM also oversees the creation of the identified supply spaces and the relocation of the building users into- and back out of- these spaces.