Tag Archives: Collaboration

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Education

St Mary’s College – Embracing Construction

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St Mary’s College have embraced the project currently underway at their School, working with us to gain as many positives as possible out of the experience for their students. Taking note of the interest shown by some of the students while the footings were being drilled (see image below), School Principal Clare Nocka arranged for our Project Manager Jay Johnson and Site Manager Bojan Stegnjaic to take the hot seat and sit down for an interview with the girls!

“We found out that we are about 15% of the way through the project and that the hardest part is building on the intersection of two main roads. We also learnt that just like in our school, one of the challenges is managing all the relationships involved in such a big project. One of Jay’s jobs is to keep everyone happy and there are lots of people involved. A building project in a school environment brings particular complexities because keeping the students safe and the school running is an important factor.

Bojan and Jay managed the interview hot seat very graciously and we are thankful for how well our builders are working with our school team. Maddie, Edie and Arabella were very good interviewers, even in their excitement! They were disappointed to learn that they would not get a chance to drive one of the giant machines but I think they enjoyed the experience nonetheless.”

The team at Sarah strive to ensure that our clients not only love the completed project, but also the journey they take to get there. We hope that taking an active part in this experience inspires some of the St Mary’s College girls to consider construction as a career – they might even get the opportunity to drive some of the ‘giant machines’ in the future!

Health

Sportsmed Stepney Expansion: Adding Value For Client & Patients

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By Jay Johnson, Project Manager.

Transforming the existing SPORTSMED Stepney site into a state-of-the-art healthcare hub that provides a one-stop-shop for patients, while minimising impact to ongoing site access, was not a simple task.

As a Project Manager, I’m passionate about what I do. To ensure we delivered results of the highest quality, it was critical that we worked closely with SPORTSMED Stepney to understand and support the needs of their patients. That’s why I’m particularly proud of our work on their recent expansion.

While the existing facility continued operations, 5 separate tenancies were developed. Three of these – Dr Jones & Partners, Clinpath and Terry White Chemists – were fitted out by the tenants’ own contractors under Sarah’s supervision.

This expansion makes it possible for patients to undertake their entire healthcare journey from diagnosis and treatment (including hospital stay) through to rehabilitation, all in one location.

A stress-free experience for the client

With multiple contractors on site, including those completing the individual fitouts for Terry White, Dr Jones, and Clinpath, it was important that the entire process be managed on SPORTSMED’s behalf.

Without Sarah managing that process, there would have been 5 different builders working inside a shell without an end target, or a consistent focus on quality, time and money.

From quality control to compliance with statutory regulations, car parking, staging and safety, Sarah ensured that the project ran smoothly. This meant SPORTSMED could concentrate on servicing their patients.

The entire project was run to best suit SPORTSMED Stepney operations. Of course, this was challenging at times. The power shutdown, for example, was coordinated on a Sunday to make sure there was minimal impact to SPORTSMED. This doesn’t sound like much. However, getting a statutory body like SA Power Networks to agree to perform works on a set day within a 2 hour window is a mammoth task.

A massive amount of planning and negotiation by Sarah ensured that the power went off for 2 hours only, and was up and running again by a certain time. That was huge for us to get over the line. The client probably gave it about 2 seconds thought, which means we did our job well.

Commitment and delivery 

We’ve been consistently available to provide guidance and manage any teething issues throughout the handover. That’s what Project Management is all about. It’s about problem solving. A Project Manager is there to oversee and manage issues.

Client satisfaction is one of my main focuses on a project. Completing your own construction brief is one thing. But supervising other people’s is another. But we do it to ensure the job gets done properly.

You could see on this project that everyone was passionate about what they were doing, in the amount of extra time, weekends and abnormal start times that went on.

We wanted to be there for the client. That shows how much we care about what we do.

A convenient experience for SPORTSMED Stepney patients

CEO of SPORTSMED·SA Alan Morrison made clear that the patient experience was their primary concern:

“What we are trying to do at SPORTSMED·SA is really integrate as many aspects of the patient journey into the one hub so they can transition seamlessly between them all in one episode of treatment and care.”

Working closely with Hassel Architects, the Sarah team had a clear vision of the convenience the client was trying to achieve at SPORTSMED Stepney. Patients could see the doctor, have scans at Dr Jones and Partners, have surgery in the hospital, visit Clinpath for pathology services, get their prescriptions from Terry White, and grab a coffee in the cafe while they wait for results, all in the same location.

Pride and professionalism

At the end of the day, it’s about reputation. We have a level of professionalism to which we want to be held accountable.

At Sarah, it’s our flexibility and solutions focus that adds value for our clients. And that’s really what the Stepney expansion is about for SPORTSMED. It’s about adding value for their patients.

“We’ve got the best medical care here, that’s covered. So it’s about giving our patients the very best experience, above and beyond the treatment they receive here.” CEO SPORTSMED

It’s not a fun time when you’re injured or receiving treatment, so creating a more pleasant environment with conveniences all in the one location was a job worth doing for the Sarah team.

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Awards, Careers, News

The NAWIC Awards for Excellence – Melisha Willington – Outstanding Achievement in Construction Award

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The NAWIC Awards for Excellence –

Outstanding Achievement in Construction Award

Melisha Willington, Sarah Constructions

Sarah Constructions would like to extend our congratulations to our Project Manager, Melisha Willington, on her National Association of Women in Construction Award for Outstanding Achievement in Construction!

Melisha is a great asset to our team; she exemplifies the intent of the award, which is to recognise women who have made a significant contribution to the construction of projects and accomplished outstanding achievements.

Melisha is an exceptional Project Manager who excels in all aspects of her role, this award stands as a well-deserved reflection of the outstanding level of service she continues to provide for our valued clients and their projects.

She is a self-motivated and results-driven professional who thrives in a stimulating environment. Melisha’s experience proves her ability to successfully manage works in complex and sensitive environments. She drives herself to continually learn and adapt to an evolving industry, whilst upholding the highest standard of integrity.

Melisha is paving the way for all young women working within or looking towards the construction industry and is a leader and an inspiration amongst her peers.

She is an inspiring, motivating and positive role model for all employees at Sarah Constructions, and her role as Mentor for the next generation of project personnel in Sarah is highly regarded.

Career Progression

Melisha has been working within the Construction Industry for 15 years, developing a commendable wealth of knowledge and experience in residential and commercial construction.

Melisha was awarded an Alumni Association Certificate for outstanding academic achievement whilst studying at University of South Australia. Her career started with Nevarc Constructions where she managed over 600 residential contracts, simultaneously coordinating up to 60 contracts.

Melisha transitioned into commercial construction with ISIS group where she progressed from Project Coordinator to Project Manager. During her tenure, Melisha was recognized within the top 15 percentile of Project Managers nationally for “Perfect Delivery” for projects consistently exceeding company targets. In 2014, Melisha was acknowledged with a commendation by the Master Builders Association. Her desire for continual evolvement saw her pursue an opportunity with Dig-it Landscapes to experience another perspective of commercial construction.

Melisha’s drive to continually develop saw her join us at Sarah Constructions in 2016, where she has prospered with every project she has managed. Melisha is currently participating in the 100 Women in Property Program for the Property Council of Australia and she was also selected for the 2017 Sarah Constructions Building Future Leaders Program which nurtures our organization’s highest achievers.

What’s it like on site with Melisha?

 

Melisha demonstrates a high-performance culture through continuous development and engagement. This culture is attained through collaboration, team cohesion, mutual trust, respect and the celebration of project successes. Melisha’s success is fostered by the relationships she develops, achieved through a customer focussed approach.

Communication is pivotal in the underlying accomplishments of the current Adelaide University Projects Melisha manages. Melisha encourages her team to take ownership of their areas of influence and promotes accountability and decision making to support delivery results. Melisha believes everyone plays a critical role in project delivery, valuing the importance of feedback and continual progression of her team.

Melisha’s project delivery success is fundamentally built on strong relationships,

collaboration with Subcontractors and Suppliers is highly valued as they are leaders in their professions, providing insight into the advancing building technologies, which Melisha regards as a vital asset.

Testimonials received by Clients have commended Melisha for her early communication about potential challenges, resulting in prompt management by the Client and avoiding any cost implications. Where budget is challenged Melisha sources alternative and cost-effective solutions in collaboration with the Subcontractors and Consultants. A recent example of this approach occurred on the ThincLab Project where Melisha worked with the Subcontractor and the Engineer to identify an alternative solution that generated a 30% cost saving for the Client.

“The ThincLab was a high priority project for the University and resulted in significant pressure to ensure the ThincLab was operational from early May 2017.

Construction commenced in January 2017 and from the commencement of her appointment Melisha set in place a high-performance culture with her assistant project manager, site supervisors and trade contractors, where collaboration was emphasised in order to achieve faster than normal timeframes for the procurement, shop drawing, manufacture and site installation.

Under Melisha’s management there was not one single HSW related issue and even more surprisingly there were no complaints received from building occupants despite the need for extensive internal demolition and unexpected and complicated floor preparation works within an occupied University building.

The project was delivered on time and on budget and the quality of workmanship was excellent as was evidenced in feedback from the end users and key stakeholders of the facility.”

Sean Carrick, Project Manager – Capital Projects Delivery, The University of Adelaide

Awards

Australian Institute of Building (AIB) Awards 2017 – SA Chapter

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Sarah Constructions is delighted to have been awarded 7 Australian Institute of Building –  SA Chapter awards on Friday night; a fantastic result which highlights some of the outstanding projects we have delivered for our clients over the past 12 months.

Our people secured these awards working closely with our clients and the greater project team including designers, cost managers and project managers.  At Sarah, our reputation is created by our staff.  We owe our thanks to all team members and their unfaltering commitment to upholding our company values and consistently achieving award winning results.

Sarah was awarded the following: 

What sets our teams apart is not only the quality construction results we deliver, but the collaborative and solution focused approach that we take in everything that we do. Throughout the construction process, from tender right through to completion, continuing to build relationships is what we pride ourselves on – its why we do business.