Sheer quality
Hansen Yuncken is one of Australia’s leading commercial building contractors on a national scale. In their almost century-long history, they have successfully delivered more than 4500 projects, and have been involved in the construction of a long list of Australian landmark buildings.
A recent example of Hansen Yuncken work is the Projects & Engineering Building – formerly known as TAS Building – in Tullamarnie, Victoria. The project was valued at roughly $23 million dollars, and Hansen Yuncken saw it through to completion on time and within budget.
“It was a highly successful project,” says Paul Ginoski, the Project Manager on the job. “We delivered a high quality sustainable building that the client will enjoy and make good use out of.”
Paul has been with Hansen Yuncken for five years. Prior to joining the company, he studied Construction Management at DeakinUniversity, and spent several years with a local builder in Geelong. He also earned some experience with a small commercial builder in Melbourne, and later with a bigger builder in the same area. Since moving over to Hansen Yuncken, he’s worked on a variety of high-profile, challenging projects, with the Projects & Engineering Building marking his first job as a Project Manager.
According to Paul, he was appointed to his current role in the second half of the building’s works, and he was in charge of the overall project. He organised the site and was responsible for programming. He was also the front of the site team when dealing with the client,Airservices Australia. He developed and maintained an excellent relationship with them throughout.
“We were always communicating openly with Airservices and their project manager,” Paul says. “We did that throughout, and I think that was very important.”
Because the project took place on an operational compound, Hansen Yuncken had to be very careful not to impact those operations. If there were any changes that needed to be made, or if any equipment needed to be moved unexpectedly, they made sure to discuss it with the client first.
“I think they were quite happy with the process, from design through to completion,” Paul says. “Everything we did was discussed and earned client approval. They were aware of everything that was happening, and there were no secrets. Communication was key.”
Getting results
Hansen Yuncken came on board the project in November 2010, when they were awarded a design and construct contract to build a new purpose-built facility in Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport. Prior to that point, the company was well underway with the new air traffic control tower adjacent to the site, and had developed a good understanding of the client’s profiles and systems.
That pre-existing understanding – combined with Hansen Yuncken’s long corporate history and proven ability – made them a natural choice for the project.
“The company has been around for almost 100 years now,” Paul says. “We’ve been involved in a number of different projects, and have developed a great skillset, a great team, and great leaders. There are many reasons why clients choose us. The list just goes on and on.”
The actual project is a purpose-built office facility located on the far fringe of the airport. The new building consolidates all Projects & Engineering business groups into one facility, which accommodates all current personal and allows for future growth. According to Paul, the building offers a “modern and improved working environment,” which is intended to increase recruitment and staff satisfaction, and improve the impact on morale.
Constructing the project involved a range of works. First, Hansen Yuncken had to demolish various existing buildings and associated works on the compound. From there, they built a new base building fit to accommodate office and supporting workshop facilities, including a vehicle and storage park, car parking, and associated landscaping and external works.
The project was also designed with whole of life cost optimisation, environmental responsibility, and energy conservation in mind. Relevant features included solar panels on the roof, a water reticulation system, a bike shelter, and more.As a result, the building successfully achieved a 5-star Green Star Office Design Rating, and a 4.5 NABERS Energy Rating.
Industry recognised
The Australian Institute of Building (AIB) has a long and proud history of promoting excellence in construction and just and honourable practices in the conduct of business. As part of that mission, they host annual Professional Excellence in Building Awards – which they created to reflect the highest standards of building and construction management of projects in Australia.
At the 2013 AIB Awards, Hansen Yuncken’s professional excellence on the Project & Engineering Building did not go overlooked. First, the company won the AIB Victoria award for Commercial Construction $10 million to $50 million. Later, they went on to win the national award in the same category.
“It’s extremely important to be recognised by an organisation such as the AIB,” Paul says. “They’re well respected within the building industry, and they’ve been around quite a while. To win an award with them is great – it’s great marketing for the company, and it’s great recognition for the hard work and effort our team put in.”
Paul credits the awards success to the hard work and dedication of the subcontractors on the project. As a company, he says Hansen Yuncken did their due diligence when choosing that team, and carefully selected the “right people, with the right skills.”
“We had a really good group of subcontractors,” he says. “They were very responsive, and they worked really well with the client and our people on site. Everyone gelled.”
“It was a good project for all,” he adds. “The quality was exceptional. The contractors worked really hard to ensure everything was done in accordance with the specifications and the guidelines. The sheer quality of the building – and the time and effort that went into achieving it – makes it award-worthy.”