Mace and Mitie

As reported by Construction News, the consultancy and construction company has filed a case against Mitie in relation to their work in 2017 as the mechanical and ventilation system subcontractor at the Primark megastore in Birmingham.
The claim being made for £5m relates to alleged installation and testing defects across 132 dampers. The issues identified include:

• 81 dampers that were not tested in the correct direction
• 80 dampers that cannot be verified as in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions
• 29 not rated to the correct duration of protection
• 19 dampers which may need deactivation installed in inaccessible areas
• 62 dampers located on protected escaped routes were not smoke rated

In addition to this, the incorrect fixing to breakaway joints was used on at least 88, but likely all, of the 132 dampers, and five dampers were not even installed.
In making the claim, Mace has said it will require “wholesale remedial works” to fix the damper problems, a process that can only be done in line with the Primark store’s “operational restrictions”. 
Mace has accused Mitie of failing “to provide the required operation and maintenance (O&M) documentation concerning the fire dampers”, with their O&M documentation only referring to “one of the three types of damper used on the project. This was the least used damper in the building, with only four of those dampers having been identified on site.”
They also claimed the record had no schedule of the types of fire dampers used and neither were Mace provided with as-built drawings of where the fire dampers were located or how they could be accessed. 
In putting forward their case, Mace have said that the level of skill and care in the work provided by Mitie was not in line with either acceptable industry standards or with building regulations. A collateral warranty was also in place for the dampers in which Mitie would undertake liability for reasonable costs of their repair, renewal, or reinstatement.
The claim filed by Mace is in relation to only the work completed by Mitie on the dampers in spite of “other issues that have been in dispute between the parties”.
Mitie have not commented on the case and are still to file their defence to the claim, with no date set for the hearing as yet.