News, Views and Insights

Many organisations have a nationwide contract for conducting regular washing of their assets. However, often the results are not the consistent service they think they are getting when selecting their supplier…and often they are not a nationwide supplier at all, despite their assertions.

The most impressive thing about a dairy site from an outsiders view is the attention to detail when it comes to Hygiene. However, this same stringency can often be overlooked on the exterior. Following are 4 areas to look at when considering the necessity of a regular washing plan:

With a product, you can observe the quality of it, touch it and see the quality in front of you. With a service this is a little bit different, you have to know the quality is going to be what you expect prior to the work being done. Watch this quick video to find out how you can know much more definitely that you are going to receive what you are expecting

Lead was banned in paint in 1979 which seems like a long time ago, surely all that paint is gone by now? However, this is often not the case. Older buildings are often layered with many years of paint and as they are prepared properly the methods will likely expose old layers of paint from previous years.

Gone are the days where you could get away with just asking a contractor to show up to your site and do the work. You as the principal on the site are now responsible under WorkSafe NZ laws to ensure the contractor you employ is safely going to conduct the work you require. This can make things difficult, especially since you have your own responsibilities anyway.

Height access systems are almost infinitely variable and there is no one right option. A suitable system for a HVAC contractor needing quarterly access to condensers in the middle of a roof is completely different to what’s required for an annual roof wash

Steel is one of the most durable metals available for use today and is used across a huge range of structures on industrial sites. However, steel is expensive and susceptible to basic corrosive elements that reduce its life. Here are a few corrosion types and things to consider to ensure your structure remains sound for decades to come:

Most organisations will already have a plan in place for shutdown, but often overlook the importance of a relationship in the leading up to shutdown. This means that when changes inevitably happen, quality is jeopardised because jobs get rushed and quality levels drop, along with works not necessary being done through lack of communication. Having a series of steps in place through a central communication system is crucial to quality control during shutdown.

Ensuring consistent delivery from employed teams and subcontractors on remote sites becomes very difficult. The good news is that there are steps you can put in place to almost guarantee a successful outcome.

When it comes to repainting bridges, costs vary considerably and it can be difficult for asset managers to drill in and see where the costs lie. In this article we explain the components that make up a bridge coating project (plus a few more tips).

Integrity of bridges is imperative to the infrastructure of New Zealand, yet apart from doing annual inspections, the care of them is often neglected - until they get to replacement stage. Its strange, but organisations are often able to find millions of dollars for bridge replacement, but they couldn’t find the $100k 5 years back to prevent it corroding into this state!

Managing health and safety on projects can be a real challenge. However, it’s something that cannot be overlooked because all parties, directly and indirectly involved have a legal obligation to provide a safe and healthy workplace at all times.

VIDEO - If you were assessing a product you would get samples, photos and specs prior to buying however assessing a service quote is always a challenge because you won’t be able to see or feel what you are buying until after you have given the go ahead. Also just looking at a completed paint job doesn’t tell you if its been done well or will last in the future.

With the increased focus on safety, property owners, schools and building managers are increasingly turning to height safety methods such as anchor points and static lines to keep tradesmen safe at height. Uncertainty about how these devices are to be checked often leads to the mandatory re-certification not happening.

Knowing whether to invest in basic services like building washing is a hard one. On the one hand it’s hard to see where your money is going and the other hand it’s obvious and costly when it isn’t done. In the article we will discuss some considerations when looking at building washing.

In every area of the country there are lots of good painting and building washing contractors. And…. there are lots that are not-so-good! So how can you tell the difference?

Bridge structures over waterways are very common in New Zealand – we have over 15,000 of them crossing our 425,000 kilometres of rivers and streams. The fact that maintenance work has the potential to allow chemicals into the waterways hasn’t been understood historically as the major issue that it is.

During a maintenance year we’ll hear from people who are deciding to take the bull by the horns and regain control of their site maintenance. Petrol Stations and Fuel Stops are no different and one of the most asked questions is “How many times a year does my site need to be cleaned?”. Below we’ll cover some key considerations on how to assess your cleaning needs and what type of washing program will be the right fit.

During our work we sometimes get asked “should we wash our service stations?”. In a competitive marketplace, a humble forecourt wash can seem like an easy place to start cutting costs. In this article we look at some of the reasons for maintaining your fuel sites to a high level and why this will pay back dividends.

Painting a roof can be a big undertaking and you want to ensure you do it right and have a sufficient budget. In this guide we talk you through how the costs of roof painting it made up and other factors to consider.

There have been many studies done over the years to measure and assess the noise levels in our classrooms, and the effect of these noise levels on the students and their learning development. It can be difficult to assess the relevance of these reports on the modern day learning environment, because so much has changed in recent years, however all conclusions point to the fact that our children are suffering in a range of ways due to this problem.