Association for Project Management (APM) Recognises Outstanding Achievements at 2020 Awards ? Including Covid-19 Response Projects

The winners of the Association for Project Management (APM) Awards have been announced at a live virtual awards ceremony which took place on Monday 16 November 2020. The APM Awards, sponsored by RPC UK Ltd, recognise the very best within the project profession, from aspiring young project managers to complex and transformational projects and programmes, both in the UK and internationally.

This year APM recognised COVID-19 response projects including the Outstanding Achievement award which was awarded to Standing Joint Commander (UK) Lieutenant-General Tyrone Urch CBE in recognition for his role in commanding the COVID Support Force during construction of the NHS Nightingale Hospitals.

On accepting his award, Lt Gen Urch said: "It has been a challenging project, there's no doubt about it, it was a crisis that touched the entirety of the UK. It was complicated but nothing beyond the armed forces and being able to deliver it, and our military men and women did some amazing work on the ground.

Bringing 36 years of experience in the army, and project delivery training has, in a programmatic sense genuinely delivered success. It's a great honour and a privilege to receive the recognition, but I receive it on behalf of all the amazing men and women in the Royal Navy, the British Army and in the RAF."

Babcock was awarded The Mike Nichols Award for Inspiration for Ventilator Challenge UK (Zephyr Plus). The award celebrates the legacy of Mike Nichols, founder of the Nichols Group.

Babcock was asked by the UK government to help design, procure and assemble ventilators in the fight against COVID-19. The project team stepped up to the challenge, working relentlessly for 87 days straight to deliver outcomes no one believed were achievable. Within five days, a working prototype was in place, and by day seven, they presented the working concept with proposed delivery schedule of 10,000 units by the end of June.

Andrew Howard, Senior Project Manager at Babcock said: "I am very proud to be part of the team winning this award. It shines a light on the collective efforts of those who, having no prior medical knowledge, worked so very hard to innovate, design and build a working ventilator in what seemed like an impossibly short timescale. It was a real privilege to work alongside the whole team, all of which made huge personal sacrifices to do the right thing, and this award recognises their achievements."

Heathrow Airport won the Overall Project of the Year and Technology Project of the Year. Heathrow deployed a ?bespoke set of anti-drone systems', designed to block unmanned aerial vehicles from entering its airspace following a string of recent attempts. Designed by UK-based firm Operational Solutions, the system detects and tracks drones in surrounding airspace, with the ability to locate the drone pilot and show their location, using technology from multiple manufacturers. The fast and accurate detention of drones keeps passengers and staff safe and minimises delays.

APM award winners also included:

• Transformation Project of the Year- Allianz Insurance PLC/ Allianz Mechanical Engineering Services (MECS) Project
• Social Project of the Year- Cayman Islands Government/ COVID-19 Field Hospital
• Engineering, Construction and Infrastructure Project of the Year - Defence, Equipment & Support / Ministry of Defence/ Delivery of HMS Prince of Wales and completion of the QEC Programme
• Innovation in Projects Award? Arup/ Collaborative, Lean and Integrated Project Delivery of a World-class Innovation Centre
• Programme of the Year? HMRC/ COVID-19 Programme
• Shell Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) Award - Sellafield Ltd
• Contribution to the Profession Award: Company - Rolls-Royce PLC
• Contribution to the Profession Award: Consultancy - PA Consulting

Debbie Dore, chief executive of APM, said: "Our awards are all about celebrating the outstanding successes and achievements of the project profession, made all the more significant by the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. I would like to congratulate all of this year's award winners and finalists, they are a true reflection on the growing talent within the profession."

Ends

Visit www.apm.org.uk/apm-awards/ for full list of award winners.