Aged Care News - Issue 2 - Skope Construction

Pacific Link Housing, Chairman, Wal Edgell shares how he saved $100,000 on his project - page 4

How did Calvary Aged Care save $250,000 on Kalingo Lodge rebuild?

Paul Crane shares why Skope Constructions is the ideal builder for Aged Care Providers

One of the greatest challenges faced by an aged care provider is to undertake a complete overhaul of a facility while staying within the allotted time frame and budget.

In this story, we spoke with Paul Crane, who was in charge of a project for Calvary Care at their Kalingo Lodge home in Cessnock.

The project was an exceptional success and managed to save over $250,000. To learn about how this was achieved, we asked Paul Crane a series of questions.

Why was this project so successful in saving Calvary Aged Care $250,000?

"Yes, the success of this project

is largely attributed to Skope Constructions," said Paul.

"They were appointed to complete works for us at our Cessnock facility after they were successful in the tender process.

"This facility was a large, operating aged care home, making it difficult to carry out construction while preserving the comfort and convenience of our residents.

"However, Skope did a fantastic job, and we were very pleased with the results," Paul explained.

One of the main challenges of this project was to work within a limited time frame and budget, but Skope was able to save $100,000 by reutilizing the

existing ventilation system.

"Skope believed that the existing system could be continued, and as it turned out, this was the case, saving Calvary significant funds during the construction phase," Paul added.

Paul, who was the Asset Manager at Calvary during this project, has worked with many builders over the years.

When asked why he found Skope Constructions particularly easy to work with, Paul said, "John and Brent, along with Guy Smith, their on-site manager, have a deep understanding of the needs in aged care.

"They know the importance of maintaining a controlled, organized,

and peaceful environment for our residents.

"They worked closely with us, and communication lines were always open, which allowed for any issues to be raised, communicated, and resolved quickly.

"This type of effort to take care of our residents during the construction phase was much appreciated."

Skope Constructions also helped save Calvary an additional $150,000 by suggesting various cost-saving alternatives for flooring and equipment.

Paul mentioned that it is not common to work with builders who look for ways to save the client money, but having worked with many builders, Paul believes that Skope Constructions are always focused on delivering value back to their clients.

This project was carried out on a live site, which posed some challenges.

"The key to executing a project like this in a live site is to have a good plan and a good understanding of the client and resident needs," said Paul.

Did Skope keep you appraised of what was happening on site?

"During the construction phase, it's important to keep communication lines open," Paul said.

"The part of the home being refurbished was vacant, but there were still residents nearby, so careful consideration was taken to minimize any risk of noise or hazard to those residents.

"We must look after our residents' safety at all times."

Paul explained that Skope Constructions were very good at understanding these risks and putting in place effective mitigation strategies.

When asked why he would recommend Skope Constructions

to someone in a similar role, Paul commented.

"Skope has a great understanding of aged care, which is not an easy environment to work in," Paul said.

"They have a strong focus on planning and are always open to listening and responding to their client's needs and priorities.

"They also made sure that their subcontractors were aware of the processes necessary to operate safely and effectively in this environment."

Are you looking at refurbishing your Aged Care centre? Then talk to John Carolan from Skope Constructions on 02 9659 8461.

How can you find a trustworthy builder for your next project?

Finding a trustworthy builder is essential for any construction project, and it's important to do your research and choose a company with a proven track record of delivering quality work on time and within budget. One such company is Skope Constructions, founded by John Carolyn.

"Well, I think one of the top priorities on most projects is saving money for my clients," said John.

"More recently, we had a project in Canton Beach, Central Coast, NSW which was an affordable housing project for Pacific Link Housing.

"During the planning phase, we were able to obtain and plan for over a hundred thousand dollars worth of savings on that project."

Wall Edgell, the Chairman of Pacific Link Housing, commented on the savings John and his team found on this project.

"The hundred thousand dollars you talk about savings, that's the equivalent of half a unit in that development," said Wall.

"And because we're a registered charity, I have to say money is always the bone of our existence or the lack of money so getting a competitive tender and also having a builder who's prepared to sit alongside us and work to minimize costs for anything that we might come across is a great benefit Skope brought to the table."

Recovery Aged Care has also benefited from cost savings thanks to Skope Constructions.

David Argueles, the project manager, said, "We're always looking to put a bit of money back into contingency if you can.

"So a couple of areas where

Skope saved us are, was one in terms of the mechanical ventilation system at Hebbern Lodge.

"Working on the air conditioning system they managed to provide a fifty-thousand dollar saving and the reason for that was the mechanical engineer designed a system that included the replacement of all the duct work within the ceiling spaces.

"So this was going to be both a very costly exercise to do and also the time implications associated with it because you needed to pull the ceiling down pull the duct work out redo the duct work redo the ceilings.

"So there's a saving in the order of approximately fifty thousand dollars in just doing that and not only obviously the cost side of things the time side of things as well."

Saving time on your building project is crucial, and John Carolyn shared an example of a time-sensitive project that Skope Constructions had to deliver on schedule.

"The project we completed that was time sensitive was for IDEX Laboratories," said John.

"They had only a six-week period where they had to have their fitout

completed on time.

"They had to move from one building to a new building, and they had something like 200 staff to move. All in all it was a 24-hour operation to make the move.

"IDEX is a Veterinary pathology provider, and it runs around the clock. That was a time-sensitive project.

"We had to have it done in the six weeks to prevent damage to the company's brand and reputation,"

Tim White, the former managing director of IDEX Laboratories, said,

"It was a collaborative decision across the business to go with Skope Construction, and it was unanimous, and we were pleased that we chose them in the end.

"Our team were impressed with theoir efforts to help us out!"

In conclusion, when looking for a trustworthy builder, choosing a company with a proven track record of delivering quality work on time and on budget is crucial.

Skope Constructions is an excellent example of such a company, having saved clients money and time on various projects, including affordable housing, aged care, and veterinary pathology.

IDEX Laboratories