3 minute read
THE LAY OF THE LAND
The construction landscape.
Anthony Regis of Regis Built took time out of his busy schedule to share some thoughts on the current construction landscape across Australia and New Zealand.
Regis Built works predominantly on medium to large scale self storage projects, generally contracted under a “design and construction” process. The team currently have fifteen projects under construction across three states of Australia.
Anthony shared that in his 20 years of operation, he’s never seen demand for self storage construction so high. This demand, combined with the past two years’ global and local impacts, presents some challenges.
“The availability of consultants with the capacity to facilitate the design phase is critical to a successful self storage project. We are experiencing delays with architects, engineers, other consultants, certifiers and planning consultants,” said Anthony.
“There has been very little migration into Australia in the past two years. There are emerging trends of shortages of workers across all facets of skills/trades in the Australian construction industry. So far, this has primarily caused project delays and wage pressure within the industry, and this is expected to continue throughout 2023”. Significant price increases and longer supplier lead times are impacting projects at supplier and sub-contractor levels. “Steel price increases over the last eighteen months have made it challenging even to quote projects accurately. The volatility of the raw steel and timber prices have made the expected increase in dollar values and the time of the increase impossible to predict. We have had to build escalation clauses into contracts to cover the potential rises from suppliers as it reaches levels the industry cannot absorb,” said Anthony.
Regis Built is navigating the labour shortage, though it is difficult and is expected to remain so for some time. However, it’s not just the labour market that has been a challenge.
“Material shortages are not a major issue though the lead time is. We typically tend to procure materials in a “just in time” approach but have had to change this approach as material supply times are at an all-time high”, said Anthony.
Mr Regis expects if there is a change in government at the federal level, the industry could see further change, particularly around regulation and the nature of the Australian Building and Construction Commission. This could increase blue-collar wages in the construction industry, increasing building labour costs.
Regis Built currently build conversions and purpose-built
“Regis Built currently build conversions and purpose-built designs on greenfield sites and regularly engage with architects as part of the process.
designs on greenfield sites and regularly engage with architects as part of the process. Anthony sees increased pressure on developers to use façade architecture for the external fabric of buildings, especially elevations located on the streetscape. He says it’s important to understand your local environment and requirements.
Engaging an experienced planning company and/or architect to design and develop your facility is some of Anthony’s most sage advice. “In the current market, when advising on building a new facility, we suggest allowing at least four weeks more than the expected time for your facility’s planning, permits, design and engineering phase. Using a building company that is experienced in self storage and has a history in delivering projects on time and within budget will set you up for success,” said Anthony. Anthony remains optimistic despite the sector’s current challenges and is looking forward to growing and upskilling his team. l
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