30 | Cameron Road Joint Venture DEVELOPMENT Proud to be associated with the Cameron Road JV – another exciting city project that we are involved with. CALL US FOR YOUR CARTAGE AND TIP TRUCK HIRE NEEDS We specialise in the supply and delivery of metal and sand aggregates, and clean ll disposal. Depots in Tauranga and Katikati 07 579 4888 | 0800 100 829 | www.taylorbros.co.nz Big guns join forces for critical project Karen Phelps Downer and Fulton Hogan have joined forces to tackle a key infrastructure project on Cameron Road in Tauranga. Normally they’re competitors vying for the same contracts. But now Downer and Fulton Hogan have joined forces in a unique joint venture to tackle one of Tauranga’s most critical infrastructure projects, designed to enable future growth across the city. The Cameron Road Joint Venture (CRJV) is undertaking the Building Our Future Cameron Road, Te Papa project. CRJV project manager Dave Burns says the collaboration brings many benefits to the project. Both Downer and Fulton Hogan were involved during the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) stage and recognised they would be stronger together. “It was the ability to resource to complete the project that led to the joint venture,” explains Dave. “We can gain access to a wider experience and skill base from the two businesses. We can also pick the best of the companies’ systems.” Dave says that both companies went into the venture with open eyes and a willingness to share ideas and resources. Similar company culture values helped bring the two teams together – but it was still not without its challenges. Dave says allowing the two teams become a part of the process assisted buy-in. He gives an example: “The Fulton Hogan team would traditionally wear short sleeve uniforms. Downer would wear ‘long longs’ – long sleeves and long trousers for health and safety reasons. We took the best health and safety approach for this project. “To get everyone on board with the ‘long longs’ change we let the team choose from a selection of uniform options, which long trousers and long sleeved tops they liked best. Overall they realise there is a project to build and they will all be in one place working for two years so the response to the joint venture approach has been very positive.” The CRJV has also focused on building a one team culture: “We all came together – client, designer, engineers, supervisors etc – to come up with a project charter of what we want to achieve and how we were going to get there,” says Dave. Being part of the ECI stage also helped build strong relationships with the client. “It meant we established relationships early on between both companies and Tauranga City Council so we could put the best ideas forward for the project.” An example of how this worked in practice was the pavement design: “We all came together – client, designer, engineers, supervisors etc – to come up with a project charter of what we want to achieve and how we were going to get there.” “The CRJV team worked with the designer and as a result, part of the pavement design was changed to make it easier to build for the team on the ground. And of course anything quicker to build not only saves time but also money,” explains Dave. Keeping the project on track is especially important as $45 million of the project funding is covered by a Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP) grant, which had strict timeline criteria for completion. The CIP funding from central government was also to support the local economic recovery from Covid-19 following the initial outbreak in 2020. Dave says the CRJV has created a number of employment opportunities for the region. “As much as possible locals have been employed on the project with around 30 new jobs created, not including subcontractors many of which have also had to increase their staff numbers to cope with the demands of the project. We’ve also been able to take on apprentices,” says Dave. to page 32 “So that’s been another real benefit, not only to help meet the skill shortage Downer and Fulton Hogan are facing, but also the wider industry in general. “As an industry, we need to train and grow people and this project has provided the opportunity for that.” Being able to draw on the resources of the two partners has also enabled the CRJV to move people around from other parts of the country as required during the recent lockdowns. This has also helped keep the project on track, says Dave. Cameron Road is one of Tauranga’s main arteries, connecting people across Tauranga to the city centre.
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