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.

The media is awash with stories about apartment developments falling over or asking for more money. We’ve all heard about banks shutting up shop and the desperate need for more houses hampered by the chronic shortage of labour, material delays and their fluctuating prices. Residential developments have been hit the hardest but commercial projects are not immune to these pressures.

The market is not in a competitive state and it’s become a lot harder to secure the main contractor your project needs. There’s now a premium for doing so but it’s about having a pallet for that premium. Your entry price might be higher but your exit price should be better managed. There’s no escaping the fact that building in this market is going to cost you more money and your margins will be affected. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t deliver a successful, financially viable project.

Amidst all of this, our message is a simple one: get your feasibility right and you start to mitigate project risks. With the right structures in place developers can minimise the effects of the current market situation. By carrying out comprehensive due diligence and feasibility processes, engaging a reputable main contractor, with good relationships with sub-contractors, and securing a lump sum price you go a long way to locking in a reliable project delivery. Employing a competent quantity surveyor is crucial part of this process.

It’s clear that we all have to work a lot harder to get projects across the line in this environment and what worked in the past isn’t necessarily going to work today. Staying ahead of market trends has never been more important and at White Associates we’re always trying to do that. We’ve taken a real forward thinking approach in the last couple of years and restructured the way we operate. Looking towards the future we have brought in three company principals to ensure we have a strong succession plan in place. As the industry evolves we’re adapting and growing to strengthen the areas that allow us to add the most value to projects.

White Associates are pleased to announce their appointment as the Department of Corrections’ Cost Advisor for their Prison Capacity Programme.

Konrad Trankels says:

“After a thorough tender process we have been engaged as cost consultants on the next Public Private Partnership (PPP) as well as the delivery of a new building, Building C, at Mount Eden Correctional Facility.

We are thrilled with the decision and look forward to working with the Department to meet their objectives, requirements and desired outcomes. Having been involved on both previous Department of Corrections’ PPPs (at Auckland South Corrections Facility and Auckland Prison) we’re well placed to do that.”

New Zealand’s prison population is soaring and in the last two years has increased at a rate considerably higher than what had been forecast. Consequently, there is significant pressure on prisoner accommodation which has required the government to increase its prison funding. Finance Minister Bill English recently said that our climbing prison population is as big a risk to our economy as world interest rates.

Accordingly, the Department of Corrections is investing in a number of medium and long term options to meet capacity and service requirements. Jeremy Lightfoot, Corrections National Commissioner says:

“We’re pleased to have White Associates supporting us throughout this process”

Konrad says:

“We look forward to working with the Department to ensure that services are delivered in an integrated, timely and cost effective manner in accordance with the programme time frames. Our work with the Department has already begun and is expected to continue over the coming years.”

 

Project confidence and partnership for new Transocean Business Park in Christchurch

The Transocean Business Park in central Sockburn has a mix of office, showroom and warehouse units. Being situated just 7.5km from the Christchurch Airport, and 6km from the city centre, means the location and quality of the park are enviable. Developed for investors, or owner-operators, the park has created new supply for a market that is hungry for new developments.

A trusted partner to drive project confidence 

Transocean was put in touch with White Associates through its bank, ANZ, which required Transocean to retain the services of an independent quantity surveyor to oversee and audit the drawdown of construction funding during the construction phase of the project.

Transocean Developments Director Jon Howard says:

“The White Associates team and service ensured that ANZ was confident that the project was on track and on budget over the drawdown period.”

And it is not just bank funding, drawdowns and claims valuations that White Associates has facilitated for Transocean.

“White Associates have been the consummate professionals and the team really understands the construction business. Darin and Andrew have been responsive to any issues that have arisen throughout the project, which made them a great partner to have on board”

Darin Bayer, White Associates Director, says the high-quality design of the Transocean property is one of its strengths, as it has fantastic street appeal:

“The property has more sizzle than your standard industrial units, which puts it ahead of other facilities like it; ample parking and the final quality are also great features.”

Competitive pricing characterises Christchurch industrial market

Darin says at present, there is a shortage of larger scale developments commencing in Christchurch, therefore some contractors in the market – especially the mid-tier contractors – will provide reasonably competitive pricing in the near future.

Jon says there’s been a noticeable slowdown in the local industrial market, but that has only created more opportunity and demand for the new development.

“The wider Christchurch market for new industrial office and warehouse products has markedly slowed over the past six months. However, given its excellent location, distinctive design and quality of construction, the demand for both the sale and lease of units in the Transocean development has been strong.”

What’s next for Transocean?

With the project now effectively finished, with some of the units settled and one already occupied, the next step for the Transocean development is the marketing of the final remaining units, and then on to new opportunities.

Jon says Transocean’s next development is a 17,600 m² greenfield industrial development located in the fast-emerging Belfast area, located to the north of Christchurch.

“We are also investigating opportunities including commercial and residential apartments in central Christchurch, so we’re looking forward to creating new developments in the region in the coming months and years.”

White Associates is looking forward to working on future projects with the Transocean Developments team, and architect David Snell from SHL Architecture. Find out more about the Transocean Business Park here.

Project team:

Darin Bayer and Andrew Newlands led the White Associates team for the Transocean property project. Darin constantly completed site visits, which meant high levels of communication with the client at all times throughout the project.

White Associates services:

White Associates enabled the funding process for the new facility to work smoothly. In addition, we provided assistance in valuing the contractors’ claims on the project.