After nearly 6 years, our work on the Ministry of Education’s Classroom Delivery Programme is coming to an end.
The programme was designed to address the growing school rolls across the Auckland and Northland regions, and included over 190 school classroom projects and 200 special needs modification projects.
White Associates began working on this programme back in 2011, and we have since acted as an extension of the Ministry, carrying out the internal programme management function. Our role as Programme Director involved managing the processes of design, engagement, budgets, procurement, managing contractors, working collaboratively with project managers, consultants and designers, and reporting back to the Ministry and other stakeholders.
Best value outcome
The comprehensive systems and processes we created have put the Ministry in a position whereby their internal Delivery Managers can now take over and run the projects, as the Classroom Delivery Programme (CDP) has moved into the Ministry of Education’s Capital Works Building Programme. White Associates Director Mark Rothery says he’s thrilled for the Ministry that it’s now in a position to take over.
“It’s testament to the streamlined and linear processes we’ve put in place and the great, collaborative relationship we share with the Ministry. We helped the Ministry set up a panel of preferred consultant suppliers so that will put them in good stead. We could never have got to this position had it not been for the dedication of the 130 separate lead consultants and 31 contractor firms involved in the programme.
There were so many people and elements that needed to be brought together in what was often a short space of time during these projects. So, we’re grateful to all of those involved in making this programme a success. The relationships that have come out of the CDP have been a real highlight for us at White Associates.”
Getting results in an ever-evolving landscape
The nature of the programme meant there was a plethora of stakeholders who needed to be consulted and engaged. This included school principals, boards of trustees, community leaders and local Iwi. Each school had its own unique needs, roll growth, budgets and deadlines that had to be considered and managed in order to generate the best outcomes for all of those involved.
All of this stakeholder involvement was managed by us at White Associates and we also had responsibility for:
- Scoping
- Creating budgets with peer reviews
- Funding applications
- Procurement – engaging designers, consultants, project managers and contractors
- Ensuring the design team met key deliverables
- Reviewing the construction processes
- Monitoring practical completion
- Defect remediation processes
All of this was taking place at a time of constant change, explains Mark:
“It was never a static process; not only were building costs increasing but the Ministry’s building parameters were also increasing which resulted in design changes. This meant we had to react and adapt quickly to get the best possible results.”
Saving time and money
Despite the fluid environment under which the CDP was operating, Mark explains that White Associates was still able to add real, tangible value for the Ministry.
“We were able to save both time and money for the Ministry through our compressive budgets, planning and processes. We looked at it holistically, not as 400 individual projects. We batched projects together, engaging one set of consultants on multiple projects, which really saved a lot of time and effort.”
White Associates’ long relationship with the Ministry of Education continues and we look forward to seeing the Ministry’s Capital Works building programme’s ongoing success.