HMP Glasgow – 500 Tonnes Per Day and Building Momentum

Five cranes. Five hundred tonnes per day. Secure Prison in full flow.

HMP Glasgow is rising fast, with PCE delivering the structural solution using its Secure Prison structural system to drive high-performance installation and coordinated industrialised construction at scale. The project, which will create 1,300+ prison places, is being delivered in collaboration with main contractor Kier for the Scottish Prison Service, marking a first-time client relationship while also building on PCE’s long-standing and proven delivery partnership with Kier across multiple complex UK and international projects.

The Secure Prison system is built around a proven kit of parts, using optimised structural components from PCE’s system library and configuring them within defined rules and specifications to create a fully integrated and buildable structural solution. Having already been deployed across the majority of recent UK prison developments, including HMP Millsike, Five Wells, and Fosse Way, Secure Prison has become the blueprint for successful prison construction, now driving delivery at HMP Glasgow.

High-speed installation with complete control

The project includes 9,400 structural elements, 9 offsite specialists, and 5 houseblocks alongside CaSU and ancillary buildings, with 5 cranes installing up to 500 tonnes of structure per day.

Standardised on-site methodologies define a repeatable installation process, ensuring every component is lifted, positioned, and assembled in a controlled and consistent sequence. This enables 13-operative crews to deliver 240 prison places in approximately 12 weeks per houseblock, achieving high productivity while maintaining strict control over safety, quality, and programme certainty.

Precision through alignment of casting and installation

The precision of Secure Prison is demonstrated through the alignment between casting and installation. Components are manufactured and delivered in direct sequence with installation demand, ensuring elements arrive exactly when required on site. This synchronisation removes bottlenecks, reduces waste, and maintains a controlled, predictable flow of work across the programme.

Digitally controlled and built for certainty

Structural components are manufactured offsite with M&E, security, and utility integrations already cast in, significantly reducing deliveries, waste, noise, and on-site activity. Prefabricated riser modules are installed through rooftop openings and extend vertically across all four floors, while pre-fitted handrails improve safety and streamline installation.

Ynomia digital twin technology provides real-time installation status, planned vs actual progress tracking, and full QA/QC traceability of every structural element, ensuring complete visibility and programme control.

Delivering at scale across multiple projects

Delivered concurrently with HMP Gartree and HMP Northumberland, HMP Glasgow demonstrates the full strength of Secure Prison as a scalable delivery system. Multiple large-scale secure prison projects are being delivered in parallel across the UK, coordinated through integrated digital systems, a controlled supply chain, and systemised, repeatable methodologies. This level of coordination is built into the system from the outset, enabling consistent performance, predictable programme outcomes, and full control across multiple live sites.

This concurrent delivery capability is only made possible through the precision, planning, and repeatability embedded in Secure Prison, enabling reliable delivery at scale without compromise across quality, safety, or programme certainty.