Project Overview:

Delivered on time and to budget, HMP Five Wells is a 1,680-place prison. Kier’s pioneering approach to offsite manufacture resulted in a PMV of 70% and a design that is 80% standardised and can be used to create another 20,000 prison places for the client, MoJ. Kier drove the manufacturing mindset for this £253m project, resulting in a facility that not only provides a safe, secure and modern environment but is more sustainable, energy efficient and cost-effective than traditional prisons.

HMP Five Wells is a Category C prison with 1,680 places for adult male inmates. The 65,000sq m facility offers an environment conducive to rehabilitation, in line with the vision of our client, MoJ. It features barless windows and smaller wings, each holding just 20 men, to create more normalised surroundings. This project sets new standards for excellence in integration, collaborative working and product innovation.

At its heart was a pioneering approach to offsite manufacture. Some 80% of the design was standardised, leaving just 20% as site-specific. This means the component assemblies can and will be used on subsequent MoJ prison projects, leveraging economies of scale. The platform design is already in use at the new 1,680-place Glen Parva prison. We assembled the houseblocks using integrated precast concrete components and precast MEP riser modules. Using prefabricated MEP saved 54,000 operative hours on site and will deliver increased flexibility and functionality.

Each houseblock has 33 risers, each four storeys high and servicing two cells per floor. The houseblocks contain 15,183 precast panels, and over 60,000 sub-components. Kier acted as Project Integrator, working closely with the client’s project manager Mace to drive the manufacturing mindset. We entered into collaborative dialogue with suppliers, ensuring the components we asked each manufacturer to make were the best fit for their facilities. Results include:

– A Pre- Manufactured Value (PMV) of 70%

– 99.3% precast quality rate

Digital design and offsite manufacture also reduced onsite delivery time by 22% and onsite labour by 33%, compared to traditional construction methods. This helped reduce any disruption around the 36-acre site, which is bounded not only by the River Nene and the A45, but also fishing lakes, a housing estate, and a crematorium. HMP Five Wells received a CCS Ultra Site plaque for maintaining the highest standards in considerate construction, achieving the highest mark possible for ‘Respect the Community’. Offsite manufacture also brought significant safety, health and environmental benefits.

HMP Five Wells was designed to BREEAM Excellent and is 70% more energy efficient than a traditional prison. Digital design and offsite manufacture prevented approximately 20 on-site accidents, based on HSE statistics, and the project was completed with 3.1m hours accident-free. Offsite manufacture also allowed production to continue at pace throughout lockdown in 2020. Manufacturing identical components in multiple factories removed a single point of failure and ensured continuity of supply, minimising delays. The project was ultimately completed on time and to budget, handed over in November 2021.