True to form, the 2022 calendar year ended on a celebratory note for Mitchell McDermott when – for the third successive year – they collected the prestigious Project Management Firm of the Year accolade at the annual Irish Construction Industry Awards.
The cream of the Irish construction industry gathered at The Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin 4 on Wednesday, December 7th last, as the winners of the 2022 ICI Awards were announced. As has become customary, Mitchell McDermott took to the winner’s podium once more after the industry-leading construction consultancy retained the much-coveted Project Management Firm of the Year Award for a third consecutive year.
Ronan Tynan, Director and Head of Project Management, was naturally thrilled with the result, with the 2020 and 2021 winners completing a three-in-a-row run of success, and quickly dedicated the latest award to the outstanding efforts of the entire Mitchell McDermott team:
“It’s real recognition and we are absolutely delighted to win this again,” he told Building Ireland. “It was great to end the year on such a high and this award recognises the dedication of our whole team – they are the real winners.
“The fact that we’ve been fortunate to be awarded it three years in a row proves that it’s not just a coincidence. We’re both proud and humbled to be named as Project Management Firm of the Year and we feel it’s a reflection of what we do and the approach we take on all the projects we work on.”
From a small initial team starting out in 2015 working alongside founders Paul Mitchell and Anthony McDermott, Mitchell McDermott has grown into an industry-leading construction consultancy that empowers ambitious companies to build better. Today, their team of 65 industry professionals provide Project Management, Cost Management, Technical Due Diligence, Funder Advisory and other specialist consultancy services across all sectors of the construction industry to some of Ireland’s, and indeed the world’s, largest and most ambitious companies.
Mitchell McDermott is known for their high standards, expert knowledge, and big ideas, attracting top clients who trust them with their most complex and business-critical projects. Clients from across the industry partner with Mitchell McDermott because they invariably bring fresh perspectives, innovation and a keen attention to detail to deliver ever more exciting, practical and sustainable spaces – efficiently and within deadline.
With two outstanding projects presented – namely the large residential scheme Hamilton Gardens and Staycity Tivoli Aparthotel in Dublin – Mitchell McDermott were always going to be strong contenders for the award. Nevertheless, even though they are no strangers to major industry recognition, Ronan believes no award should be taken lightly:
“In such a fast—paced industry, it’s important to take stock of what you are doing and to reflect on your achievements. This award is further recognition of what we do and what we have achieved – the high standards we consistently deliver on a daily basis as a team.”
Since its inception eight years ago, Mitchell McDermott’s company vison has been to become the consultant of choice in the construction industry. They use data and technology to help clients build better, faster and smarter, and are continually revolutionising Project and Cost Management in the industry by leveraging historical data to inform better decision making, and by investing in highly trained people to provide clients with a best-in-class service.
As well as taking home the Project Management Firm of the Year Award at the 2022 ICI Awards, Mitchell McDermott were also shortlisted in two other categories at this year’s awards – Consultancy of the Year and Large Residential Project of the Year for Hamilton Gardens. At the 2021 ICI Awards, the spectacular restoration project Zanzibar Locke was named Tourism & Hospitality Project of the Year, a joint win for Mitchell McDermott with Bennett Construction. Other recent award nominations include Google’s Block I, shortlisted for the Fit Out Project of the Year Award at the 2021 Fit Out Awards, and Sandvik for Office Fit Out of the Year in 2022.
None of these achievements would be possible without the hard work, expertise and dedication of the whole Mitchell McDermott team. People are at the heart of the business and it is they who make Mitchell McDermott a thriving and dynamic company. Ronan commented “Our people are by far and away Mitchell McDermott’s most valuable asset.”
“We pride ourselves on being a place of learning and development, and have structured learning programmes with training modules for each level of experience in Cost Management and Project Management. There is clear career framework for everybody in the company, with mentorship, support and training to guide our younger colleagues on the path to chartership. By focusing on our own internal learning and development, that is how you deliver for your clients. Equally important is providing opportunities for learning by working on challenging projects in various locations in Ireland and Europe, provided with support and encouragement.
“We adopt an open door / open mind approach and encourage questions and interaction. It’s all about sharing data and sharing with clients … looking at different and better ways of doing things all the time.”
Mitchell McDermott were awarded the Investors in Diversity Bronze mark in November 2021 from the Irish Centre for Diversity. In October 2021, they were certified as a Great Place to Work, and in March of last year were ranked first in Ireland’s Best Workplaces 2022 in the Small Firms category (20–100 employees). This qualified them for Best Workplaces Europe in the Medium category (50 – 499 employees), where Mitchell McDermott were duly ranked 28th best place to work in all of Europe!
In keeping with their status as one of Ireland’s Best Workplaces, staff retention numbers at Mitchell McDermott are extremely high. “It can’t only be about continuously working – work life balance is so important” Ronan reasons. “Our workplace culture has continued to evolve in a very positive way, with numerous employee-led working groups focussing on different areas such as Wellbeing, Structured Learning, Sport, Social and CSR, amongst others. Our contribution to charities is very important to us as a company and we support numerous charities. Since 2020, we have held our annual Charity Cycle in aid of Women’s Aid and ISPCC Childline, which is a fantastic event for both our people and the charities.”
Between completed and ongoing projects across their range of services, in just over eight years Mitchell McDermott have been involved in over 28,000 new residential units, more than six million sq ft of office space, over 400 megawatts of data centres, over 6,500 hotel keys, 11,000 student beds and in excess of 1,200 healthcare beds. The company has clients throughout Ireland, the UK, Europe, Asia, US and other regions from around the world.
In addition to projects mentioned in the residential, hospitality and commercial sectors, they are involved in numerous other sectors including student accommodation, pharma, industrial and logistics, data centre, retail and healthcare projects, many of them landmark buildings for esteemed clients.
As Ireland’s premier award-wining construction consultancy, Mitchell McDermott are in a strong position going into 2023 with involvement in diverse sectors, but Ronan is aware that there’s no room for complacency in any business model: “2023 will again present its challenges for the industry, from the well documented inflationary pressures, energy / labour costs, and interest rates, these will continue to cause concern. However, as we noted in our 2022 Q4 Material Cost Price Update, we are seeing a stabilisation across material prices which will provide some comfort, albeit still above pre-Ukraine war prices.
“What has emerged is the early engagement with supply chain, and procurement of long lead equipment – this has been starting earlier than ever – and is helping to achieve programme certainty once strict project controls are established. In the Data Centre sector, demand for long lead equipment has continued to increase with procurement now commencing long in advance of contract signing.
“As we head into 2023, following the ICI Awards Project Management of the Year Award 2022 we are energised and look forward to continuing servicing our clients’ needs and extend our work portfolio and target markets. Our teams will continue to provide the same high-quality levels of service to our clients.”
Mitchell McDermott,
72 Leeson Street Upper,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.
Tel: 01 5310370
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, April 2023, Vol 9 No 4
