Case Studies

Irish Rail

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Building Surveying Team

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Public

Transport

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Building Surveying and Consultancy Services

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Overview of service

Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) commissioned ORS to undertake detailed surveys of 111 IÉ occupied residential properties that consisted of level crossing cottages and station houses. The work included a building fabric condition survey, a measured survey, an electrical inspection in accordance with ET101 installation requirements and a Building Energy Rating (BER) inspection. Provision of a report per property on completion of onsite surveys, which included preparing itemised cost budget plans for each location.

The reports submitted to IÉ outlined the overall condition of the cottages, identifying and assessing the elemental condition and risk per aspects of the properties. The reports provided recommendations to mitigate any identified risk and defect remediation and outlined associated costs.

At a portfolio level, the information collated on a per cottage basis over the multiple survey aspects provided IÉ with a basis to form a strategy for maintaining and managing this building portfolio into the future.

Several factors allowed this sizeable portfolio of properties to be appropriately resourced over a large geographical area while keeping the programme on track. The previous experience of the ORS Building Surveying Team, together with the depth of multidisciplinary services provided by ORS and the high level of suitably qualified and experienced personnel contributed to the project’s success.

Project challenges

Multidisciplinary approach

The condition of the level crossing cottages and station houses varied considerably across the network. These variations required multiple levels of defect analysis on aged and dilapidated properties and the provision of advice on recommended remedial works. The ORS team added value to the client by utilising resources and experience from the firm’s in-house Civil and Structural Engineering Team. This resulted in quick and expert remedial advice and recommendations where it required.

Given that there were multiple surveys per property, the overall volume of individual surveys collectively was in excess of 500, which presented a challenge. Coordinating multidisciplinary specialists was vital to ensuring that ORS delivered on the programme and effectively managed time on and off-site. ORS’s highly qualified and experienced sub-consultant network complements our service offering. These sub-consultants are tried and tested on multiple projects of this scale, which means that the overall project team worked cohesively.

A communication strategy was also agreed upon between IÉ and ORS, in conjunction with weekly project meetings with the client representation, which also proved key for the successful delivery of the project.