They say that variety is the spice of life and it’s true that at Morris & Spottiswood, we’ve certainly had the chance to work on a huge range of projects. Whether maintaining hygiene requirements in an operational hospital, managing the bustling corridors of an active school, or tackling logistics on a remote Scottish island, we have built our reputation on delivering exceptional results in the most challenging environments – as Paul Beaton, Development Director explains.
Healthcare: Prioritising Safety and Continuity
When working in live healthcare environments, the importance of protecting client care cannot be overstated. These settings must be carefully orchestrated in close collaboration with clinical teams to minimise patient disruption and shield critical services. For example, medical gas networks and vital power supplies must remain operational throughout retrofit works, requiring comprehensive contingency strategies. Understanding system dependencies and backup procedures is crucial for maintaining uninterrupted patient care.
Infection control procedures are also clearly vital in healthcare settings, and our process includes establishing fully segregated work areas with dedicated access routes and installation of negative pressure environments, to prevent contamination and protect both patients and construction workers while maintaining the integrity of clinical spaces.
Education: Balancing Progress with Learning
Educational facilities present unique challenges that require sensitivity to the academic calendar and daily timetables. Ideally, major construction phases should avoid examination periods and be scheduled to take place during school holidays. However, in those instances when work must continue during term time, we always try to confine activities to early morning windows or within carefully segregated zones with clear safety routes and comprehensive visual signage.
When it comes to planning for ongoing use of the building, understanding occupancy patterns is also crucial, particularly relating to energy consumption. Schools experience intense activity during term time followed by periods of near emptiness, so it’s important to design building controls and systems that can adapt to these changing patterns efficiently, ensuring energy performance and comfort levels remain optimal throughout different usage periods.
Retail: Protecting the Customer Experience
In retail applications, the customer’s shopping experience impacts directly on our client’s bottom-line, so protecting this dynamic during renovations is critical – particularly when stores are to remain fully operational while work is completed. Every aspect of the refurbishment must be carefully orchestrated, which can include specialised phasing plans that minimise disruption, comprehensive dust control measures, and techniques such as ‘skating’ gondolas – moving entire shelving units at once – to reduce merchandising disruption while maintaining the pleasant shopping atmosphere customers expect.
Customer safety is also paramount, and this requires clear separation between construction zones and customer areas through hoarding and barriers, with site managers acting as crucial bridges between retail teams and construction crews. Understanding retail-specific requirements such as maintaining clear fire exits, managing noise during trading hours, and ensuring all areas are clean and trading-ready each morning allows refurbishments to progress smoothly with minimal disruption to trading.
Remote Location Challenges: Logistics and Adaptability
We’ve also undertaken several projects in remote locations, such as on Scotland’s islands, and this requires an entirely different planning approach. With limited ferry services and competition for transportation space, materials scheduling becomes critical – deliveries must be planned well in advance and scope for weather-related delays must be built into the timeline. Availability of suitably skilled trades can also be a challenge, which involves close coordination with local subcontractors and accommodation planning for any workers brought in from elsewhere.
High winds and heavy rainfall can significantly impact operations, so we always look to develop flexible work programmes that allow teams to transition between internal and external tasks based on weather conditions. This adaptability ensures progress continues even when external work becomes impossible, maintaining project momentum and meeting delivery commitments.
Successfully navigating complex environments requires more than technical expertise – it demands careful planning, adaptive thinking, and unwavering commitment to collaboration. Whether transforming healthcare facilities while maintaining patient care standards, upgrading educational buildings during term time, or constructing new facilities in logistically challenging locations, the principles remain consistent: understand your environment, plan comprehensively, engage stakeholders early, and maintain flexibility throughout delivery.
Our approach proves that true excellence lies not just in capability, but in our ability to adapt, innovate, and deliver quality results regardless of environmental constraints.
For more information about Morris & Spottiswood, please visit: https://www.morrisandspottiswood.co.uk/