Established in the year 1995, project and construction management, architecture, and M&E design firm AMS Ltd began as a small team of people in an Edinburgh office on a mission to create innovative design and build practices that were more client-focused than those that dominated the market at the time. To date, the AMS team remains a small one and is still based in the Scottish capital, yet its approach has helped accomplish numerous large-scale projects which have benefited clients across the globe. Much of this success is owed to the leadership of its managing director, Stephen Martin [pictured], who combined his personal experience with consultancy in order to craft better and more client-centric solutions.
Of course, in these circumstances, business leaders will know that the application of any innovative ideas is the key to success, and it begs the question as to how Martin and his team were able to bring their plans to market to such positive effect. Fortunately, as the business celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2020, the man himself was more than willing to share the story behind the success of his business.
Speaking to The Parliamentary Review, Martin explained that the key to making the AMS vision work was to implement a plan which fosters a relationship between design and build processes and remedy what he saw as a clear discord between contractors, consultants and architects.
He said: “Having been on the client-side for a number of years in the late 1980s, we understood the frustrations of traditional methods of consultancy. There is a disconnect between contractors, consultants and architects, while teams become blinkered to other parts of the project.
“No one takes responsibility and ultimately it can end up costing the client more money. By taking charge of the project and creating a relationship between the design and build processes, AMS not only presents clients with a clearer through-line but a plan that incentivises contractors to work more effectively and efficiently.”
The key to the AMS approach, Martin explained, is to start with the client and listen to their own vision of the project, before developing the project brief and bringing forward to them the AMS concept solutions to help them understand the scale of what can be realistically achieved. From there, Martin’s firm takes care of the entire project to ensure it is delivered to client expectation.
“In doing this”, Martin added, “we create a consultant-project management bias where project and construction management are rolled into one. This is the difference between traditional consultancy and what we could call smart consultancy.”
A crucial element of AMS’ design and build approach is the ability to take on potentially mammoth tasks in time-sensitive circumstances. While many companies view such projects as too great a risk or end up haemorrhaging the time and money of the client, Martin and his team feel that these are opportunities to prove where their business can be most effective.
Recalling one such project, Martin said: “Our first undertaking of this kind came in 1997 when BT Cellnet hired us to build 12 new switch sites across the UK. The roll-out was a success, coming in on time and reportedly saving the client £6.5 million. As a result, they have continued to call upon our services.”
Martin added: “Our most challenging project of this ilk ran between 2008 and 2013. In the wake of tightening international security, we worked in conjunction with CSC’s technical solutions for the roll-out of a new network of visa application centres across Europe and the Middle East. In Cairo, for example, we turned around a brand-new centre within 12 weeks while being sensitive to the local staff’s requirements, thus establishing our expertise on foreign soil. During this process we invented the VAC-in-the-box system, which was integral to us winning the NCA Best International Project award with CSC.”
Even since the demanding CSC project, AMS do not shy away from assignments of such scale and played an integral part in the integration of ININ into Genesys.
Looking back on the Genesys project, Martin said: “Between 2015 and 2017 we were brought in to assist with the integration of ININ into Genesys. Across eight European countries, we designed and built bespoke offices inclusive of the electrical and mechanical engineering design and spatial planning using our unique approach. The new European headquarters for Genesys also had to facilitate engineering labs, computer rooms and Genesys University spaces as well as all associated back office requirements.”
As AMS’ reputation grew for reliably delivering ambitious projects to a tight schedule without causing disruption to client operations, the company was even parachuted in to take over from Carillion at the Queen Alexandra Hospital after the multinational business collapsed in 2018. Carillion’s liquidation had left behind a string of incomplete projects within an NHS hospital which was still trying to operate at full capacity.
Martin elaborated: “Our priority here was to pick up these incomplete tasks immediately, without causing any further disturbance to the staff. Within 12 months we had already completed approximately 135 of these outstanding projects. Indeed, the client commented that we seemed to have achieved more in eight months than Carillion had in three years.”
As the list of successes for the new AMS approach grows ever longer, Martin becomes more convinced that his firm’s methods will eventually become the traditional market norm and hopes that in the future, a greater number of small businesses across the UK will be able to put their innovative streak to the test and lead Britain’s economy and institutions forward.
“We do question how much longer it will be before our methods become the new traditional. We hope that future small businesses will be given the opportunity to prove the worth of their ingenuity, not just for the good of their economy but for clients, the institutions they build and the generations that will depend upon them.”
