Meet the CQI Construction Special Interest Group Steering Group: champions of quality in construction

Steffan Speer - Technical Director (Chair)

Steffan is the Technical Director – and member of the Construction Board – for Morgan Sindall Construction. He is currently chair of the Chartered Quality Institute’s Construction Special Interest Group.

Steffan is a Chartered Construction Manager and Chartered Quality Manager. With over 30 years' experience in construction, Steffan has experience in quantity surveying, project management, and leading multiple projects and construction programmes ranging from £1M to £300M.

Steffan is passionate about the construction industry and success through continuous business improvement and personal development. Through leadership, compliance, improvement to processes and technology, Steffan strives to provide society with a quality product and service.

Thomas Churchill - Senior Quality Manager for BAM Nuttall (Secretary)

Thomas as the Area Quality Manager for Northern England for BAM Nuttall. His role focuses on the challenges of embedding engineering excellence in the built environment and developing effective approaches to construction quality and safety.

Thomas is committed to creating useful models to design for quality, sustainability, and constructability proactively, and to enhancing the role of assurance within the construction industry. He serve as the Secretary on the Construction Special Interest Group (ConSIG) at the Chartered Quality Institute.

David Myers (Deputy Secretary)

David is a Quality and Programme Management Consultant specialising in helping organisations deliver results to improve their business efficiency and increase profit. 
  
David has spent 30 years delivering large-scale global automotive powertrain projects with companies including Ford Motor Company and JCB. He spent 10 years in the construction industry at Heathrow Airport leading a client-side project process delivering projects of up to £300M. 
  
A Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, David is also a Chartered Quality Professional and an expert in the cost-effective delivery of quality in construction projects from the client side.

Raquel Castro 

Raquel is a CQI Practitioner Member and a Chartered member of the CIAT.

With over 16 years of experience in construction, Raquel is passionate about architecture, construction, and quality management, to which she has devotedly dedicated her career. She loves seeing projects progressing from ideas, technical drawings, and specifications to reality, assisting during the process, crosschecking documents, and managing site visits to check compliance.

For Raquel, quality is not about a particular standard but how easy, efficient, and rewarding work can be when the right principles for success are applied.

Colin Campbell - Associate Director Scottish Futures Trust (Steering Group member)

Colin, a chartered civil engineer, is an Associate Director in the Construction Industry and Delivery Team with the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT). His work has been focused on improving construction quality since 2018.

He has over 45 years' experience in the construction industry – 26 of which have been in project management in the property sector, successfully managing and delivering projects from £12,000 to £230 million.

Colin is currently managing the secretariat for the Construction Quality Improvement Collaborative (CQIC), a national campaign to create a sustainable quality culture across construction in Scotland.

Louise Jones (Steering Group member)

Louise is part of WSP’s UK SHEQ Department and has worked in Quality Assurance system roles for major projects and in a corporate capacity for 23 years. She is a Chartered Quality Professional, IRCA Internal QMS Auditor and a Fellow of the Institute for Collaborative Working.

Louise successfully implemented BS 11000-1:2010 Collaborative Business Relationships for WSP’s UK business in 2015, successfully transitioning WSP UK to ISO 44001:2017.

She has experience in implementing management systems, audit programmes, lessons learnt, RCA, training and auditing in quality, environment, health and safety, and collaborative business relationships disciplines.

Dan Keeling - Senior Associate Shirley Parsons (Cost of Quality WG Lead)

Dan Keeling, an experienced chartered civil engineer and quality manager, is a Senior Associate with Shirley Parsons.

He has worked on mega projects for most of his career from city building to Crossrail via the Channel Tunnel and HS1. He was chair of the ConSIG Cost of Quality Working Group.

Dan is most interested in research work, and he has a focus on risks of poor quality.

Omar Jose Moreno (Quality Culture & Governance Lead)

Omar has been working for Ferrovial Construction for over 14 years. He is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI).

In 2016, Omar started his journey as a quality professional on several projects at Heathrow. He achieves operational efficiency by digitalising construction for a leaner way of working through enhanced processes, sustainable and efficient materials, and developing platforms to share learnings. Omar's team was nominated for the CQI’s Quality Team of the Year award.

As a UK & Ireland Central Quality Representative, he is focused on quality culture and championing their Graduate Quality Engineer training plan.

Rahul Shah - Global Director of Built Environment (BSI) (Steering Group member)

Rahul Shah, Global Director of Built Environment at the British Standards Institution (BSI), leverages over 24 years’ experience to empower businesses and people to address complex challenges. He has directly collaborated with asset owners, contractors, architects, engineers, and manufacturers, guiding them through digital transformation initiatives. Rahul has worked on large-scale, multi-billion-pound urban regeneration projects.

In his current role at BSI, Rahul champions purpose-led outcomes, helping businesses navigate global issues like digital disruption, climate change, rapid urbanisation, and supply chain resilience. He advocates for using global best practices to achieve sustainable improvements within the built environment.

Giorgio Mannelli, Project Quality Manager at EDF EPRE (Steering Group member)

Giorgio, a CQI Fellow, brings 25 years of experience in the Oil & Gas and Nuclear industries, successfully overseeing quality management across large-scale projects. His expertise covers all phases of projects, from pre-contract to commissioning, including procurement, inspection, and construction. Having lived and worked across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Giorgio offers a global perspective on quality standards.

In his role, he is dedicated to driving continuous improvement, leveraging hands-on experience and leadership roles within professional bodies such as APM, ASQ, and CQI

Nina  Abassi - Director of Abbassi Ltd (Steering Group member)

Nina B.Sc. (Hons) Chem. Eng., CQP, FCQI, IRCA Certified Principal Auditor (QMS), and CQI and IRCA Approved Training Partner, is the Founder and Director of Abbassi Ltd

She is an international trainer, consultant, and auditor, with over 33 years’ experience specialising in quality management, environmental management, and social responsibility. 

A dynamic ambassador for business quality, Nina advises global organisations on successful impact management, customer satisfaction, and responsibility for people and the planet.  

A UK expert and member of BSI and ISO Standard Development committees, Nina is dedicated to promoting quality and health and safety in high-risk sectors.

Neil Mellor - Head of Quality Management for HOCHTIEF (UK) Construction Ltd (Steering Group member)

Neil is currently Head of Quality Management for HOCHTIEF (UK) Construction Ltd.  

In 1996, Neil joined Honda as a roboticist. He became a quality manager after converting two painting lines to use waterborne paint and successfully completing a Y2K review.  

From 2002, at Taylor Woodrow he was responsible for quality on major projects including a 50% capacity increase for the DLR, and Tottenham Court Road and Victoria upgrades. 

In 2011, Neil joined Kier delivering quality management systems for sectors including nuclear and highways. As Group Business Assurance Manager at NG Bailey, he managed the group quality management systems.

Arwen May - Managing Director of The Steel Construction Certification Scheme (SCCS) Ltd (Steering Group member)

Arwen is a Chartered Member of the CQI and Managing Director of The Steel Construction Certification Scheme (SCCS) Ltd, a UKAS Accredited Certification Body specifically for companies engaged in the design, manufacture and installation of structural steelwork and its associated products and services.

Arwen has over 12 years’ experience in quality across several industries, including aerospace, rail, oil & gas, mining, nuclear (civil and defence) and infrastructure. She has held positions in quality management, assurance, and quality control within businesses from SMEs to Head of Quality and a Global Manager in an international business.

Arwen’s passion is educating and supporting wider teams in their understanding of what quality can do for a project or business, as well as improving the overall competency of quality professionals. She is also studying law and prompted by the Building Safety Act is keen to show how quality from the start can avoid issues and litigation during or after the construction project is finished.