Citycare Property & Department of Conservation: A Comprehensive Facilities Management Solution
In early 2023, Citycare Property was contracted by the Department of Conservation (DoC) to ensure all residential properties within their portfolio met Healthy Homes standards. With DoC’s portfolio spanning some of New Zealand’s most remote locations—many requiring strict biodiversity protections—this was a complex and logistically demanding operation.
Citycare Property’s ability to navigate these challenges with efficiency and precision led to an expanded partnership, securing additional contracts for deferred maintenance on commercial properties in early 2024 and, later, a full set of property assessments to encompass off grid power, BWOF, HSNO and Structural investigations
Delivering in Remote & Biosecurity-Sensitive Locations
In early 2023 Citycare Property was contracted by the Department of Conservation (DoC) to ensure that all properties in a range of DoC locations met Healthy Homes standards. The standards, which became law on 1 July 2019, introduced minimum requirements for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage, and draught stopping in residential rental properties. With DoC Properties located in some of New Zealand’s most remote locations and with the added challenge of meeting biodiversity requirements, this was not a standard operation.
Citycare Property Capital Projects Manager, Thomas Parackal, says that there was a lot of work to be done, and the project required a thorough understanding of DOC’s biosecurity requirements, key stakeholders, and the logistic nuances of working in remote locations like the 217-hectare Mana island located off the West Coast of Porirua in the North Island.
“For DOC it was essential that no pests, either plants or animals, were inadvertently taken on to the island during the programmed works. All materials had to be transported to the island by helicopters, which left from Whitireia Park in Porirua, and before people and materials even hit the Park biodiversity rangers had to visit each sub-contractor site with rat traps to provide an additional layer of biosecurity protection. Citycare Property also had to manage the extraction of all waste from the island at the end of the project,” says Thomas.
Citycare Property had a team of up to 25 trades people – roofers, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, painters and decorators, flooring specialists and scaffolders- completing work on the island at any one time so it was an exercise in logistics making sure team members and the materials they needed to do their jobs were on the island at the right time. The project manager was also responsible for managing helicopter transportation logistics with Wellington Regional Council and DOC, ensuring Health and Safety requirements were in place for take-off and landing in such a public space and keeping an eye on weather conditions in relation to flight operations.
Scaling Up: A Holistic Approach to Asset Management
While the residential Healthy Homes contract runs until 2027, DoC recognised the value of the existing relationship with Citycare Property and their comprehensive approach to biosecurity, works completion and Health and Safety. As a result, in 2024 they awarded the team the deferred remedial contract for DoC commercial properties. This contract covers workshops, visitor centres and office space across the motu and initially included deferred maintenance, such as reroofing and cladding repairs to align the asset condition with New Zealand Asset Management (NAM) Ratings.
Once again Citycare Property not only had to source and manage excellent operations, but sites were not always in easy to reach locations with Great Barrier Island, Stevens Island, Kapiti Island and Tiritiri Matangi featuring in the line-up. Like the Healthy Homes contract many of the properties require boats, helicopters and biosecurity to ensure efficient delivery.
Following commencement of the contract, Citycare Property and DoC recognised that a standard deferred maintenance approach was not delivering the most efficient or effective result for DoC, with each property in the portfolio proving a unique challenge with a specific set of individual requirements.
“Some of the sites featured chemical storage facilities for pest control, others had hazardous substances on site, and some had off grid power sources, all of which were requiring assessment and in some cases remediation. It made sense for DoC to include a comprehensive asset condition programme across all sites including Building WoF, Hazardous substance and a seismic building assessment against the NBS. As a result, Citycare Property has subsequently entered a contract for delivery of this more comprehensive programme through to 2027,” says Thomas.
An example of recent work under the contract is the ongoing assessment of off grid power systems, including solar, hydro, wind and diesel systems, for close to 200 Department of Conservation (DoC) sites. The Citycare Property team, made up of qualified electrical engineers, electrical inspectors and electricians are gathering on- site data to assess asset condition, compliance and make decisions about replacement prioritisation of the off grid power systems that are essential for ongoing operations in some of these remote locations. DoC Research stations need power to maintain data collection and internet access via Starlink satellite and the huts require power for trampers and DoC workers. Each asset will receive a comprehensive condition assessment report, a prioritised asset replacement plan based on the life cycle and urgency of repairs, a cost estimate for asset renewal and maintenance and a detailed catalogue of remedial actions and quotations for repair/replacement needs.
Technology-Driven Project Delivery
To streamline data collection and decision-making, Citycare Property developed a custom software solution on the Fulcrum platform. This real-time field data collection system allows DoC to receive immediate updates on asset conditions, compliance status, and remedial action recommendations—enhancing efficiency and transparency. Data consistency is supported through an intuitive user interface with inline fields, data validation and required fields to ensure the consistent and accurate collection of information. By leveraging an intuitive user interface which has been configured with all the key fields and data validation rules we are able to ensure the right and consistent data is collected to support the project.
In addition, we established offline data collection which is ideal for remote sites without connectivity.
A Successful Partnership
Citycare Property’s ability to adapt, innovate, and manage large-scale projects in challenging conditions has strengthened its long-term relationship with DoC. Delivery Manager Thomas Parackal has played a key role in fostering this partnership, overseeing a nationwide team of six project managers across Christchurch, the West Coast, Wellington, and Auckland.
|
|
|
|