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When Bernard Ainsworth was parachuted in to run the construction of the Shard at London Bridge last month his first act spoke volumes: he ordered all the walls inside the project鈥檚 headquarters to be ripped out.

Now, the office at 40 Bermondsey Street is open plan, which means teams from the firms on the job 鈥� from Mace, to Davis Langdon, to the newly appointed Turner & Townsend 鈥� can chat across the room.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 like walls and I don鈥檛 like emails,鈥� explains Ainsworth. 鈥淚t鈥檚 much harder to have a go at someone when you鈥檙e face to face.鈥� In fact, it鈥檚 hard to imagine Ainsworth shouting at anyone, although he assures me it happens occasionally. When we meet at the project HQ, where his new bosses at developer Sellar Properties are also based, he is more like a kindly uncle than the killer project manager his reputation suggests.

Ainsworth patiently poses for a seemingly endless stream of photographs and keeps smiling when asked for the umpteenth time whether the project to build Europe鈥檚 tallest tower will actually happen.

The questions aren鈥檛 likely to stop any time soon, either 鈥� there is a lot of scepticism about the 72-storey building, most recently after the withdrawal last autumn of one of its financial backers, CLS Holdings. Although it was rapidly replaced by a consortium of Qatari investors in January this year, some still question the need to build the skyscraper at all, let alone on top of one London鈥檚 busiest train stations.

Ainsworth shrugs off the sceptics, and reveals he is poised to award two key contracts at the end of June 鈥� piling and facade 鈥� which will prove once and for all that the project is going ahead. 鈥淚f people don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e serious, wait until we start placing orders,鈥� he says.

Cladding firm Scheldebouw is the favourite to supply the facade, although not yet formally appointed, and Stent is tipped for the piling, which is scheduled to start on 5 January 2009. The project鈥檚 completion date has been set for the end of 2011.

Certainly it seems that if anyone can make the Shard happen, it鈥檚 Ainsworth. One industry insider describes him as 鈥渢he ultimate project manager鈥�. The 60 year old鈥檚 track record, which includes bringing in the Millennium Dome on time and 拢40m under budget as project director, reads like a hall of fame of construction projects.

Most of his career was at Laing, where he spent 34 years. He has spent the past three years at Atkins as major projects director, during which he was seconded to Metronet, the London Underground consortium. In 2002 he was also chief operating officer on the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, a project which, like the Dome, came under heavy fire in the press, but was finally hailed as a success.

So what鈥檚 his secret? Ainsworth鈥檚 overriding quality seems to be simply how incredibly nice he is. A source on the Shard team says: 鈥淗e鈥檚 a really good guy. He talks to everyone and brings a real buzz to the project.鈥� Even as we鈥檙e walking through his office Ainsworth introduces Angelica, the receptionist, and Monday, the security guard, and has little chats with both of them. Pretty impressive, considering he鈥檚 only been working here for five weeks.

鈥淚 think I relate to people well,鈥� he says.

鈥淚 always walk around and talk to people on site. I went out and presented some safety certificates the other day here at London Bridge. You have to be very visible.鈥�

You shouldn鈥檛 be scared to change teams. It might be difficult at the time but if that鈥檚 what鈥檚 best for the project you have to do it.

He also believes in trusting everyone on the team. 鈥淚f you give them responsibility they will respect it and work for it. They鈥檒l get personal satisfaction from it too.鈥�

Don鈥檛 let all this niceness convince you that Ainsworth is a soft touch, however. He is scrutinising every element of the Shard plan and appears to be fully prepared to tear it up if necessary. 鈥淵ou shouldn鈥檛 be scared to change teams. It might be difficult at the time but if that鈥檚 what鈥檚 best for the project, you have to do it,鈥� he says.

This is exactly what he did on the Commonwealth Games. 鈥淚t was going so well that 12 weeks before the Games we were in danger of resting on our laurels,鈥� he says. Instead of letting this happen Ainsworth called the project team to a meeting lasting the whole of a three-day weekend. 鈥淲e threw every kind of scenario at them 鈥� the Games team, the local authority, the police and the fire services. At the end of it we found we had some holes and some failures in certain people, so we replaced them.鈥� He鈥檒l be doing the same on the Shard.

This demonstrates another principle of the Ainsworth school of project management: constantly thinking about what could go wrong. He鈥檚 applying this principle to the Shard, starting with the budget. He will be going through all its components, including every specialist contractor鈥檚 package. 鈥淲e are starting to look ahead and asking what the challenges are, and whether we have the right teams, contractors and prices.鈥� He is also planning to buy materials as far in advance as possible to control costs.

He stresses, however, that the appointment of project manager Turner & Townsend, announced two weeks ago, was not part of his new regime and planned before he was involved the scheme. But he did play a major part in the selection process. T&T was chosen from a shortlist of three because it put forward a particularly senior team. The team of six, led by Tim Coleman, the firm鈥檚 UK director, is due to increase to 15 as the project picks up.

But once Ainsworth does get to grips with the Shard, the fine-toothed comb approach that enabled him to knock 拢40m off the price of the Dome bodes well for the project, which has had questions raised about its reported 拢350m budget. Mace started the scheme on a construction management basis, but that then switched to a fixed-price contract. Now the firm has been given until autumn to produce the final quote.

So, how much will it cost? Ainsworth responds with a good-natured laugh. 鈥淟ook, I don鈥檛 know where this 拢350m figure came from 鈥� 拢350m for what? The tower, the whole scheme, for London Bridge Place? I have got a budget, but I鈥檓 afraid I am not prepared to tell you what it is. When we have finished taking the budget apart I believe we will start to get value for money.鈥�

Either way, under Ainsworth the Shard finally appears to be speeding along. His mastery of project management leaves you wondering why he isn鈥檛 running the Olympics. 鈥淚 was never asked,鈥� he says, though he admits that the role of 2012 construction director was mentioned to him before his friend, Howard Shiplee, got the job.

In any case, it sounds like the role would not have been hands-on enough for Ainsworth. 鈥淚 am not a consultant,鈥� he says, firmly. 鈥淚 like to be hands-on, be responsible and dictate the end result.鈥�

What should be at the top of the tower?

Shard architect Renzo Piano has been talking to the bishop of Southwark about the possibility of putting a church on the building鈥檚 top floor, but it seems unlikely the project鈥檚 Qatari backers will be massively keen on the idea. So what else could occupy such a prime spot? A Starbucks perhaps? The old classic, a revolving restaurant? Or a Russian oligarch鈥檚 penthouse?