AVOID BLOW OUT COSTS ON YOUR NEXT PROJECT!

When it comes to building and design, industrial businesses can minimise the possibility of problems and cost blow outs by working with builders during the planning process. TOTAL is a company that is well-equipped to take a project from design concept through to completion.

“When a business is looking to either construct a new industrial facility or upgrade an existing one, it needs to find a good builder,” said Rob Blythman, General Manager – Engineering Construction Group (ECG) for TOTAL

“We pride ourselves on the value add we can provide to the client, not only do we conduct construction and fit out services, but we can also provide full design and process engineering services to ensure the finished facility provides maximum efficiencies and yet minimise capital expenditure on building works,” said Blythman.

TOTAL has extensive expertise in delivering industrial projects throughout Australia. Its capabilities include cost planning, design, construction, and fit-out.

Having in-house process engineering and design capability, and vast experience working in live environments, as well as the building capabilities, means that when it comes to industrial builds, we are there from start to finish.

Rather than taking a one size fits-all approach to building projects, TOTAL tailors a project to a client’s needs and offers a range of project delivery models.

“ECG’s approach is to focus on what is/will be inside of the building, then wrap a building or fit out around it,” said Blythman. “This approach has served TOTAL and its clients well. Having gained years of experience working in live environments, the company knows how to take the necessary precautions to eliminate safety risks as well as minimise noise, dust and vibration.”

With every project, ECG looks for innovations to improve buildability and offer value engineering solutions, where possible, to ensure the best possible outcome for the client.

As previously mentioned, one of TOTAL’s specialties is providing “concept-to-completion” – being able to build a facility from concept through to the finished project. ECG does this by breaking the project down into stages to create check points to ensure the project continues in the right direction. This allows the client to clearly identify any potential issues in cost or operability of the proposed facility.

Project flow from Concept to Construction

The first stage involves us having a concept discussion with the client to ascertain the scope of the project, current and proposed processes and what the desired outcomes need to be. From this a high-level square metre rate can be provided,” said Blythman.

The next stage is to workshop with all stakeholders, including operations, from the client side to confirm all process flows, equipment, and operational requirements. From these we can develop design and layout options that allow for the client’s operational needs.”

An example of how Total’s Engineering Construction Group can help with the layout of services.

ECG will identify risks and cost implications associated with the buildability of each option and overlay the client’s process flows to check for any pinch points or efficiency issues.

The desired option is then selected to move into the design-development stage. Again, this is workshopped and tweaked with the client to establish the ideal mix of functionality and need with buildability and cost, to arrive at the ideal fit-out and building scope.

Once the process design and layout are nailed down, ECG will then move to the final design stage and populate the design with all required services – power, drainage, water, hygiene stations, compressed air etc – and provide detail of area finishes, such as flooring, walls, room ventilation requirements, specialist services, room temperatures etc, which will be suitable for live market costing.

“The live market cost and designs provided are sufficient to assist in obtaining finance, board approvals, or simply use to progress to construction and then you are on your way to getting your new building/plant and machinery up and running,” said Blythman.

Throughout the design process shown above, the key items to consider are:

• optimisation of plant and equipment layout;
• build and fit-out cost reduction wherever possible;
• ensure authority codes and requirements are met;
• establish service requirements (power, gas waste);
• consider people movements and amenities;
• streamlining production and process flows;
• maximise the available floor space.

Having completed this process, a client can be assured they have thoroughly accounted for all functionality requirements and mitigated project risk by identifying any issues at each check point and covering them off.

Having a builder involved from the project concept stage that understands both the client’s operational needs and building cost implications can be invaluable in ensuring a project goes without a hitch from concept to completion.

 

Contact us today and let’s get started with your next project.