Provide solutions, not just a product

AS INNOVATION, SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY LEAD AT SELECT PLANT, OMAR AL-KHAYAT (PHD MIEAUST) IS A PASSIONATE BELIEVER IN TECHNOLOGY AS A DRIVER OF LASTING POSITIVE CHANGE. SO HOW DOES THAT PLAY OUT IN THE HIRE INDUSTRY? OMAR TALKS TO HIRE AND RENTAL ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HIRE, TECHNOLOGY TRENDS, THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND HELPING CUSTOMERS NAVIGATE THEIR SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEYS.

What does the future of Hire mean to you?

To me, the future of Hire is about leaders in the hire industry taking a step back from the day-to-day and observing the world around us for trends, not just in the sector and region that we currently service. We then need to find opportunities in those trends for our business operations to grow into and introduce new technologies, products and services, thereby delivering and capturing value.

What do you see as the three main technology trends for the next five years?

1. Environmental sustainability driving the need for low/no emissions machinery.

2. Environmental sustainability also driving alternative fuels as businesses seek to fast-track emissions abatement.

3. Automation to meet the need of Australia's construction market for higher productivity and standards of safety.

How important is achieving net zero to your business and your customers?

Net zero is a key part of the Laing O'Rourke Group's sustainability agenda. The business has a clear ambition to achieve operational net zero by 2030 and to be a net zero company by 2050. As a global constructor there are significant hurdles to achieving these targets, especially in the reduction of embedded carbon in materials. However, the business has heavily invested in finding innovative solutions to these challenges with the ambition of its projects and the capability of our people recognised by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council in 2022.

We recently invested in the first two 250-tonne electric crawler cranes in the Australian construction industry. This is the largest investment yet in our sustainability range which meets the needs of our customers. Our range is growing weekly with electric, solar and hybrid power solutions. We want to set a benchmark and an example for the construction plant hire industry.

How does the relationship between Select Plant and Laing O'Rourke give you a strategic advantage?

Laing O'Rourke is a progressive and innovative contractor and works closely with Select to deploy the latest technology, products and solutions. Laing O'Rourke's extensive supply chain also provides us with a supportive network of customers to validate our products before releasing them to the wider market. The relationship works both ways with Select championing Laing O'Rourke's standards to our partners in the Hire industry and driving development across the sector.

What do you view as the main advantages to using ‘hire’ over ‘owned’ fleet equipment?

Agility. In an industry where most OEMs aren't Australian based and with equipment evolving rapidly, the decision to invest in owned fleet can be challenging. Leveraging the Hire industry's networks with OEMs and experience with products and their customers' requirements allows contractors to de-risk their asset holdings and the opportunity to test the latest products without significant capital expenditure. In the construction sector, procuring and operating assets over the timescale of a project is likely to be financially and environmentally unsustainable.

In what way does the circular economy feature in what you do?

The circular economy framework is synonymous with the hire industry. We procure selectively for assets with high utilisation potential. These assets are closely managed with preventative maintenance, routine inspection, refurbishment and damage repair between jobs to ensure the maximum useful life is reached and viability for the second-hand market.

Finally, we maintain close relationships with the OEMs for product feedback and enhancement.

We’re always looking for opportunities to minimise, substitute and eliminate waste and single-use materials associated with our products, as well as developing the capability to support our customers to achieve the same results.

When we adopt new technologies, we are mindful to promote and support the development of sustainable pathways for the production, use and disposal of these products and their components. As an example, the sustainability of production and end-of-life of Lithium-Ion batteries is one consideration among others that are front of mind as we procure the next generation of products.

What will industry be looking for from Hire companies in the future?

Industry is looking for hire professionals who know their product and understand the application spaces to provide expert guidance to select the right product for the job. I see the relationship evolving to be more than transactional, especially in non-traditional products and solutions. For the construction industry, this expertise in innovative technology will be relied on to support project design, planning and delivery information@selectplanthire.com.au www.selectplanthire.com.au

What are your top priorities in the coming 12 months? Select's focus is to operate Australia's most modern, innovative and sustainable hire fleet. We have a publicly stated position to achieve operational net zero by 2030 and will be exploring all opportunities across fuels, plant, site facilities and vehicles in the local and international markets to achieve this target. We'll also be working with our teams nationally to provide the knowledge in this space to allow them to best serve the needs of our customers and guide them on their sustainability journeys.

What can HRIA members do to better help industry?

Really understand your customer's requirements and challenges to provide them with solutions, not just a product. Select Plant is an innovative plant hire and site solution company providing sustainable solutions to the construction industry.

Des Whelan’s been involved in the hire industry since 1956. Now, at the age of 83, he’s been recognised for his contribution to the EWPA industry, recently named a Life Member of the EWPA and is still a passionate advocate for the industry that he loves.

“It’s a fabulous industry to work in because things happen very quickly,” says Des.

“I used to love standing in the yard and see equipment moving out all the time. You always knew the machines were going to work properly and do a good job because you had to maintain them.”

After decades in hire and rental, Des knows a thing or two about the industry. His father and uncles ran a demolition company, Whelan the Wrecker, which used air compressors for demolition. After constantly being asked to loan out their air compressors, they saw an opportunity and had the foresight to ‘formalise’ the process and hire out the equipment. That’s when Wreckair was born, with just seven employees and one telephone.

With very few operators in the industry, they made up the rules as they went along. “It’s amazing how informal it was in those days,” says Des, “A lot of things back then were done on a nod and a handshake.”

In those early days, the equipment in demand was air compressors.

“If you were in the hire business, you had to have air compressors as they were the key to earth moving,” recalls Des. “If customers needed to use jack hammers to drill or blast the rock away, air compressors were essential.”

Having joined Wreckair at 16, by 17 he was sent to Adelaide to manage the local operation for a short term. After a few years back in Melbourne, Des was asked to relocate to Sydney to open a local branch of Wreckair. He stayed for nine years, returning to Melbourne in 1973 as Chief Executive. By that stage, Wreckair was a fast-growing public company and the biggest rental company in Australia.

He says this was one of his proudest career memories.

“I was chairman and managing director of a public company at age 32. I was very proud of that because although we were still relatively small, we were one of the fastest growing companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.”

He left the company in 1978 to start his own business, Whelan Rentals, eventually selling the business to Coates Hire in 1992 (who also acquired Wreckair in 2002).

As one of the pioneers of the hire industry in Australia, Des says he didn’t foresee how big or quickly the industry would grow.

“I couldn’t imagine that Wreckair would grow like it did,” he says. “I remember when we used to allocate plant numbers to equipment and 150 would be plenty for what we had in Melbourne but by the time I left, we were numbering well over 1000.”

The type of equipment that’s now in demand has also changed from the early days of air compressors to access equipment.

“Access equipment is having an impression on so many industries because it enables safe working conditions,” says Des.

He also learned that providing specialised equipment for hire can pay dividends.

“I think the penny dropped that if we provided more specialised equipment, like impact wrenches and heavy jacks, we could not only get a premium rate but would enhance our reputation with customers.”

“Same thing for water pumps,” he says. “While we were trying to provide the minimum amount of hose, the customer was always trying to hire the longest hose they could so there was conflict straight away.”

In the end, they offered high quality hose and couplings because people were willing to pay for it.

“That’s the eureka moment,” he says, “when you can see demand grow and know that the initial investment was worth it.”

Des is also proud of the part he played in the creation of the hire and rental association in the early 1960s. He says the idea of an association came about when Wreckair hosted a lunch in Melbourne with about 6 or 7 people from the industry. They appointed a secretary from an accounting firm to set up the basic association structure and began to have regular meetings.

“Being in an association enabled us to exchange ideas because we were all headed in the same direction.”

Through the association, we were able to help each other and standardise a lot of processes.

Des believes that business owners and leaders need to take more responsibility for leading their people and talking about the benefits the industry can offer.

“Someone will only join our industry if they can see something in it for them. It’s a vibrant, terrific industry to work in because you’re touching base with a broad and diverse customer base. As employers, we’ve got to emphatically believe that we can offer people a secure future and then talk about it in a loud voice.”

It’s why he’s a big advocate for formal training and believes the association’s Young Professionals and Women in Hire programs are great avenues for attracting more people to the industry.

“It’s wonderful that we’re doing this sort of thing, but we need to be more upfront about what the future can hold for young people looking to join our industry.” he says. “How you treat your people is how they’ll treat your customers.”

His other passion is customer service.

“It’s everything in hire,” says Des. “My experience says when you go to a place to buy something, there is nothing like the sense of urgency that hire industries have.”

“People come to us to find solutions — and often in a hurry — so we’ve got to be able to react in double-quick time.”

“You’ve got to anticipate your customer’s needs and do the job properly. Otherwise, we let them down and they might consider purchasing their own equipment. That takes us out of the equation and the market becomes a bit smaller.”

“I always had a dream that ultimately, if a person wants a piece of gear, they would hire it. But it turns out, it wasn’t just my dream, it was the dream of the association because we knew that the bigger we could make the pie, the bigger the share would be for everyone and all our businesses would prosper.”

The association has come a long way since those early catch-ups in the 60s and 70s, with a big focus now on attracting more people into the industry.

“When we were expanding at Wreckair, we’d have people joining us who were well-educated and had trade qualifications,” Des recalls.

“But I also remember someone at Wreckair whose first job was cleaning machines, yet he made it to the position of state manager. That’s because it doesn’t matter where you start or where you come from, as long as you’ve got a desire to work and a willingness to learn.”

For Des, it comes back to leadership.

“Our industry has had a lot of good leaders — certainly the leader I had when I started in business was wonderful to me, giving me all sorts of responsibility at a young age and saying, ‘you have to work it out’. He empowered me and gave me the chance to do it. This really helped formed my views on leadership.”

“I’ve learned that you can’t treat your people one way and expect those people to treat your customers a different way,”

Now, at the age of 83, he can look back with satisfaction on a long and rewarding career in the industry and as part of the EWPA.

He's also proud of how much the industry has grown.

“The way the hire industry has grown to become an integral part of commerce in Australia is extraordinary,” he says.

“It’s now essential for the smooth operation of so many industries that can't possibly own and maintain all the equipment they need. It’s our industry that keeps them going.”

“I’m so lucky to have been in this industry,” says Des. “While I didn’t always get it right and might have made some pretty big blunders along the way, it’s been a fabulous ride.”

This month, Des and his wife Helene celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. They have five children, 14 grand-children and one great grandchild on the way.

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