Wood Life Sciences has been honoured with the Construction Industry Project Excellence (CIPE) Award by theConstruction Users Roundtable (CURT) for 2025, recognising our outstanding capital project delivery.
Wood’s GSK Rockville Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCM) programme stood out for its excellence in managing over 50 concurrent projects annually within a live biopharmaceutical manufacturing environment. These projects ranged from utility upgrades and facility modifications to process improvements and equipment replacements—all executed while maintaining uninterrupted Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) operations and regulatory compliance.
Demonstrating our commitment to safety
In 2024, the EPCM programme achieved zero lost time injuries (LTIs) across 43,069 construction hours, with only four minor first-aid incidents. This performance reflects Wood’s strong culture of hazard awareness and proactive incident prevention. The team recorded 184 safety observations, including Harm Elimination and Recognition Tracker (HEART) cards, audits, and near-miss reports, reinforcing safe behaviours across all contractors.
A key factor in this success was the seamless integration of Wood’s construction management team into GSK’s safety systems. Personnel were fully trained on site-specific protocols, enabling consistent enforcement of standards, high-hazard planning, and streamlined permitting processes. The programme maintained an Adjusted Incident Rate Frequency (AIRF) of 0.0, supported by leading indicators such as 116 HEART cards and 68 focused audits.
Ensuring EPCM project delivery excellence
The programme delivered 100% compliance with Approved for Use (AUC) milestones across all projects in 2024, preserving production uptime and minimising operational disruption. By integrating P6 for master schedule coordination, the team maintained visibility into constraints and critical path activities, enabling agile responses to changing conditions.
With 98% of projects performed on plan and all delivered within budget, the embedded delivery model—with 10–15 EPCM professionals onsite—facilitated early alignment, faster decision-making, and continuous stakeholder engagement. Lean construction methods, collaborative scheduling, and real-time progress tracking ensured risks were identified and mitigated early.
Driving cost efficiency and quality management
Despite executing 43% of projects that were unplanned additions to the capital portfolio, the programme remained within budget. Robust cost controls, standardised Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) coding, and improved forecasting tools provided financial visibility and ensured budget adherence.
Strategic procurement practices led to $650K in direct savings across 155 contracts, while value engineering contributed an additional $1M in savings. Quality was embedded throughout the project lifecycle, resulting in zero GMP-impacting deviations and no rejected turnover packages. Standardised turnover templates and punch list tracking streamlined documentation and accelerated qualification readiness.
Innovative tools such as PowerBI dashboards, ProCore for document control and custom staffing resource tools enhanced visibility, collaboration and resource management across the portfolio.
Wood’s GSK Rockville EPCM programme exemplifies how integrated, quality-focused project delivery can thrive in complex GMP environments. Through innovation, agility and a commitment to excellence in safety, scheduling, cost control and quality, the team delivered measurable value and earned this industry-wide recognition. The CIPE Award from CURT underscores the programme’s success in setting a high standard for capital project execution in the life sciences sector.