Flying the flag for women in construction everywhere, local resident and Kier site manager Elizabeth (Libby) McCartney, became the first female award winner in three years at the 2012 Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) Construction Manager of The Year Awards, where she scooped Silver for her project management skills on the £2.2m refurbishment of Mansfield Central Library.

After studying Construction Management at Bolton Institute, Libby has worked in construction since she graduated in 2000. For her first job she worked on the Salford Royal Hospital refurbishment project in Manchester and this is where her love of refurbishment projects began.

Libby's career then brought her to Nottingham when she joined Kier as an assistant site manager in 2005 before being promoted to site manager in 2007. Libby has worked on many projects in the Nottingham area, including St Edmunds Church of England Primary School in Mansfield Woodhouse, and she is currently managing the refurbishment of the County Hall in West Bridgford for Nottingham County Council.

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Libby's £2.2m Mansfield Central Library refurbishment project, also for Nottinghamshire County Council, transformed this community resource to create a comfortable environment for the residents of Mansfield and surrounding area to benefit from. The work included forming an exciting new children’s library, a large local history area and dedicated spaces for refreshments, studying and research. The first floor now has over 60 new computers, Wi-fi and a digital information system. On the second floor works included the refurbishment of various meeting rooms and a lecture theatre which was not within the original project scope, but was incorporated throughout the works and still within the original budget.

With community always at the heart of her working ethos, Libby kept the local pound in local pockets by hand picking the key trades from framework contractors in the area, with 86% of labour sourced from within a 20-mile radius, and 100% coming from within 60 miles. This inclusive approach, using local labour, instilled a sense of pride in the job and served to foster an environment of collaboration which helped to bring cost savings and other efficiencies to the project.

(CD)