Harvey Group has been delivering mechanical and electrical services to its clients for over 35 years now. Building Ireland found out more about a company with a glowing reputation from its Commercial Director Ryan McLernon.
The company core business is the design, development, installation, commissioning and maintenance of mechanical and electrical building services.
Whether partnering or acting as lead contractor, Harvey Group cover projects in their entirety from original concept to completion, handover and maintenance. They work across Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom and have an impressive portfolio of mechanical and electrical contracts across several sectors, including education & student accommodation, healthcare, aviation, commercial & office, public/government authority and leisure.
Harvey Group also provide an efficient and competitive 24-hour a day, 365 days per year response maintenance service should emergencies or breakdowns occur.
“We have over 120 staff including our renewables arm – Solmatix” explained Ryan McLernon, who joined the firm as a QS and has made his way through the ranks with recently being promoted to Commercial Director.
“We pride ourselves on successfully completing some of the most challenging projects. Over 80% of our turnover is Design & Build and we prefer to engage the processes from an early stage”.
Independent British Standard certifications for Quality, Health & Safety and Environmental Management Systems have been in place since 1993 with Investors in people following in 2000 – reflecting the company’s commitment to their greatest asset – its workforce.
Currently, turnover levels between the M&E disciplines are virtually equal. Much of Harvey Group’s forecasted £25 – 30 million annual turnover is secured through customer referral and negotiated repeat contracts on a combined M&E install and maintain basis.
From a sustainability perspective, they have embraced and actively promote the minimisation of energy consumption and associated carbon emissions in the systems they design develop, install, commission and maintain.
This ensures that clients can take balanced decisions on a building’s life cycle, rather than the traditional pure capital cost basis.
With Solmatix expanding into the Republic of Ireland and the UK, they can offer design advice on Photovoltaics, Biomass and Battery Storage for Consultants or Clients at feasibility and concept stages.
“Northern Ireland has been and continues to be a difficult region for the construction industry. We are committed to maintaining our presence in Northern Ireland and look forward to a level of stability in the market here.
“Our current projects include a £13million D&B Contract at Luton Airport and securing a place on the Gatwick Airport Framework. In Northern Ireland, we are fortunate to be involved in several of the new City Quays developments currently in the early stages of Construction with the new North Foreshore Film studios nearby.
“Some of our high-profile clients include O’Hare McGovern, McLaughlin & Harvey, Gilbert Ash, Farrans, Graham and Martin & Hamilton”.
If you ask Ryan what he believes it is that separates the Harvey Group from its competitors and he’ll tell you it comes down to two things – Flexibility & Quality.
“I think it’s our flexibility and our desire to maintain quality – that’s what it comes down to,” he said. “We really enjoy early contract engagement with clients to get the best quality and the best price for them.”
Quality is of the utmost importance and at Harvey Group they make sure of it day in and day out, operating an Integrated Management System comprising ISO9001:2008, ISO14001:2004, OHSAS18001:2007 & ISO50001:2011.
For design, installation and commissioning quality procedures, Harvey Group have developed their own process for incorporating British Standards, BSRIA Guidelines and other industry standards. For BIM, they have compiled their own BIM Policy, mirroring all relevant British Standards and achieved PAS 1192-2:2013 accreditation.
In June, Brian Harvey, the Managing Director and founder of Harvey Group PLC was awarded the Overall Achievement Award in Northern Ireland’s Plumbing & Heating Awards 2016, followed by a Commendation from the President of CIBSE for the company’s contribution to the industry and CIBSE.
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, January 2017, Vol 3 No 1
