Australia -Oasis ConstructionOasis really does try to “Five months into the global crisis, people said to me the heritage building sector, but in essence will not turn do things differently. that if we could survive then, we could survive in any away any viable project. One recent project involved a “We work on a ‘no market. If you set yourself up properly someone will half-million-dollar refit of the offices of surprises’ basis. You give you a start. Someone gave us that start and we ThomsonAdsett, a leading architectural practice, can’t avoid variations have gone great guns from there.” He admits there which Michael admits was a somewhat daunting in an open tender – were difficult moments – in retrospect he wonders if it prospect. At the end of last year he decided to start up there will more often was such a good idea to launch an ambitious a facilities maintenance division, making the company than not be additional construction business at the same time as marriage capable of doing anything from changing a light bulb to and imminent parenthood. “That first year was jam- executing an $8 million dollar project. “It is ancosts. But it’s all about packed with things happening, not to mention trying to investment in time but it’s not a loss leader,” he says. how you present that get a business up and running. It was quite hectic,” he “You do enough small jobs for a client and build the fact to a client. Talk comments with some suggestion of understatement. relationship and one day they may come and ask you about it, make sure “If I was doing it again, I don’t think I would organise to to do their bigger project.” do all those things at the same time, but once we hadthey are aware and can started there was no going back – we just had to make Two words that strike the reader of Oasis’ website are make their own it work.” ‘honesty’ and ‘integrity’. People tend to think of builders in a negative way, says Michael, as someone commercial decisions Starting from home, with his wife helping, Michael has who will stitch them up and walk away leaving defects about how they want already grown the business to the point where it has or twist arms for variations every few days. “I think to proceed.” Michael outgrown two smaller offices and is about to move to honesty and integrity are wanting in the industry and new premises that will accommodate a growing staff we are trying to bring some of it back in,” he explains. cites a case of a which is about to be augmented by two more The old-school approach to the construction business current client with a additions. “We are extremely busy at the moment,” he was “very confrontational. But we are not old school. shares. “So we must be doing something right.” We are new school and that is about relationships, story of a project which rely on honesty, integrity and transparency.” completed by a As with so many younger and more progressive builders around Australia, what Oasis is doing right is The market around southeast Queensland has hardly different builder, an not so much building better bricks and mortar but been any brighter than in the rest ofAustralia in the last apartment block, on building better ties to customers. This business is all couple of years. “I don’t think the market is any better completion of which about relationships, says Michael – building and here than anywhere else. Everyone talks in the client was hit with maintaining good relations with customers, Queensland, as they do in Western Australia, abouta variation of $400,000 contractors, architects and partners in industry. He the mining boom, but unless you are in major as a parting surprise. had considerable previous management experience engineering or have a large company, you don’t get to of the industry and had seen firsthand how poor see that work.” Oasis has seen the size of individual “That is not relationships and inadequate people-handling skills projects getting smaller “because there are fewer transparency or were hampering business for many companies projects of the size we prefer.” Michael would like the openness. It’s hiding operating in his region – southeast Queensland $6 or $7 million projects (wouldn’t we all) “and that is an issue until the last (Oasis is based just outside Brisbane at Mango Hill what we are aiming for, and we have done $2.5 million with the impending move taking the business to projects, but we haven’t seen one of those come minute. Brendale). So it was a top priority for him and his through our estimating department for some time. We young team to establish this new company as get squeezed toward smaller projects and larger something a bit different and with a forward-thinking builders are coming into the space to compete for the approach to customer relations. smaller projects.” It’s almost a fact of life that the construction industry becomes even more adversarial in its nature in tough times. So how does Michael square the circle and retain his honest and transparent approach without confrontation? “It is more adversarial between the subcontractor and the builder, because the former is reducing his rates so far in trying to win a job,” he explains. Having gone in so low, they then try to recoup costs and margin by resorting to variations and other practices which just encourage confrontation. “So it is important to build relationships with your suppliers, build trust and honesty and be fair and equitable with them.” The company does not specialise, although it enjoys50
Australian -Sustainable HardwoodsGoodWood thing environmentally, [and] it allows us to really Mr Hurley believes that handle the increasing demand for the product as timber – andASH carries out all of its manufacturing and well.” environmentally certifiedprocessing at two state of the art facilities located in timber in particular – willHeyfield Victoria. The production cycle begins with Sustainability continue to increase ininternationally certified timber, which guarantees that popularity as consumersall of the logs are sourced in an environmentally GoodWood is a remarkably sustainable and become more and moreresponsible way. The company’s greenmill converts environmentally friendly building material. For environmentallythese sawlogs into slabs of timber which are then starters, ASH only uses regrowth timber from conscientious. He alsosent to the processing plant for kiln drying, VicForests, the Victorian Government’s commercial foresees a wider varietyprocessing, and manufacturing. “It is quite a unique forestry business. This forest is carefully managed of practical uses forbusiness in that we take [the wood] right from the raw so that the harvesting rate never exceeds the growth timber in Australia. “I seematerial stage, all the way through to finished rate of the forest. In fact, the entire harvesting it growing not only incomponents,” CEO Vince Hurley points out. “We are operation carefully mimics the natural workings of a demand because it isone of the very few to do that.” The timber forest. Harvests must be small and spread out to environmentally friendly,”components may be used in a variety of objects minimise impact, and the bark and leaves from a Mr Hurley explains, “Iincluding staircases, windows, doors, flooring, felled tree are left behind on the forest floor to also see a lot morefurniture, and structural beams. maintain the nutrient cycle. The seed is also applications occurring.” collected from each felled tree and is resown to The AustralianASH’s finished components are all sold under the preserve the genetic cycle. “We mimic the natural construction market iscompany’s GoodWood brand. GoodWood stands process in how it is harvested and regenerated,” ready to give timber itsout for its commitment to sustainability and for the CEO Vince Hurley explains. “So the only thing really due, Mr Hurley insists,high quality of the product, Mr Hurley says. Not only leaving the site is stored carbon.” Timber also takes a and ASH is ready toare all GoodWood products fully PEFC certified by relatively small amount of energy to process. “Our supply the high quality,theAustralian Forestry Standard (AFS), they are also energy use is very, very low,” Mr Hurley points out, environmentallystrong, durable, and aesthetically pleasing. “When “unlike many of the competitive products, such as responsible product thatan architect or a building designer specifies aluminium and concrete, which take a very, very high the industry deservesGoodWood they know what they are getting,” Mr input of energy in order to create them into a usableHurley explains. “They don’t have to worry about form.” Wood, on the other hand, is produced bywhether or not it is certified, or produced in an nature, using the ultimate eco-friendly energyenvironmentally responsible way. They don’t need to source. “The sun is what powers most of what weworry about whether the quality is good or not. They do,” Mr Hurley points out. “When we get the timber,don’t need to worry about whether it is available or all we have to do is put it in a form that makes itnot. [These things] are what GoodWood means.” usable, because the sun has basically created it for us.” Timber also saves energy in the long runThese combined qualities are giving imported because it acts as a natural insulator, making it anhardwoods a run for their money. “It does give people ideal material for windows and doors.a really good alternative,” Mr Hurley reports. Forstarters, very few tropical hardwood importers can ASH also processes its timber using environmentallyguarantee that their wood has been responsibly responsible methods. “We are actually able to burnsourced. In addition, Mr Hurley says that imported our dry sawdust in suspension to create the heat andhardwoods tend to come at a hefty price yet often steam we need,” Mr Hurley explains. “So we actuallylack the quality that discerning consumers are use our dry waste. It is a very, very clean way ofseeking. Furthermore, there are only a handful of burning fuel.”Australian companies that can offer a viablealternative to these costly and questionably sourcedimports. “We don’t have a lot of domestic processingcompetition,” Mr Hurley explains. “There are notmany other products that can put all the thingstogether that GoodWood means.”GoodWood has been so well received in fact thatASH is increasing its production capabilities to keepup with the demand. The company is investing nearly$3 million to build a second manufacturing plant inHeyfield. In addition to producing more product, thenew facility will be able to recover more usablematerial from each log, minimising waste andmaximising profit. “We are able to use a lot moreshort and narrow pieces to produce thecomponents,” Mr Hurley explains. “So it is a good 51
Tribunal -applications to intervene in construction.Salga and the Gauteng The Competition Tribunal on Wednesday Gauteng Infrastructure Development Department provincial dismissed applications by the South African Local head Bethuel Netshiswinzhe said in his affidavit that Government Association (Salga) and the Gauteng the Gauteng provincial government was not government's legal provincial government to intervene in the hearings consulted in the process during which the settlement representative of the settlement agreements between the agreement was determined. Competition Commission and 15 construction Ngcebetsha Madlanga firms, which have admitted to collusive tendering \"The first time I became aware of the settlement put forward that his in contravention of the Competition Act. The agreement was when it was announced in the media clients were seeking commission last month reached settlements with on June 24, although the agreements appear to have recognition as the construction companies and announced that been signed on June 21,\" Netshiswinzhe said, adding they would pay a combined penalty of R1.46- that the provincial government viewed itself asparticipants in relation billion. holding an interest in the matter, as it was the primary to the settlement consumer of the services rendered by the involved The fines were agreed under the commission’s construction firms.agreement between the Construction Fast-Track Settlement Process, commission and Basil which was launched in February 2011. The However, Basil Read representatives at the hearings commission found more than 300 cases of bid- opposed the applications, dismissing it as being 'non Read. rigging on projects concluded after 2006. The specific', lacking merit and indicative of Salga and the involved contractors were, Aveng, Basil Read, Gauteng provincial government's lack of faith in the Esorfranki, G Liviero, Giuricich, Haw & Inglis, commission and the tribunal's ability to adequately Hochtief, Murray & Roberts, Norvo, Raubex, handle the case. Rumdel, Stefanutti Stocks, Tubular, Vlaming and Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon (WBHO). Meanwhile, in its submission to the hearing, public watchdog Corruption Watch asserted that the Fines ranged from R155 850 for Esorfranki to over settlement agreement should be confirmed. R300-million for Aveng, Murray & Roberts, Stefanutti and WBHO. Salga was also seeking \"While we have noted that a considerable body of permission to make representations in relation to, public opinion appears to favour the imposition of among others, the appropriateness of the significantly higher administrative penalties, we administrative fine of R94.94-million that Basil accord a high level of deference to the commission in Read agreed to pay. the calculation of appropriate penalties. Setting out Salga's interest in the hearing \"We do this because we note that, in settling, the proceedings, the association's CEO Lance Joel commission has secured admissions of guilt from the indicated in his affidavit that organised local respondents, thus opening the way to civil suits on the government played a central role in part of those directly damaged by the cartel,\" a developmental service delivery. Joel stated that statement by Corruption Watch, read by in-house \"the prohibited and unlawful conduct” by Basil lawyer Nicola Whittaker, said. Read had inhibited optimal use of much-needed public funds, as it obstructed the benefits that Corruption Watch further noted that those calling for accrued from a competitive market. Meanwhile, higher penalties appeared to have weighted the Gauteng provincial government and Salga insufficiently the resources that the commission also sought access to the records of the would have had to expend had it not achieved a commission’s investigations, which had been settlement and were it, thus, obliged to investigate submitted to the tribunal. The Gauteng provincial and prosecute collusion in each of the impugned government called on the tribunal not to confirm construction projects. the settlement agreement.52
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