Ceiling Construction Process

You work for a development company that has its operational base in Wellington but with branches in the major cities of New Zealand. The total investment portfolio of your company is estimated to be about $125 million; but your company is actively interested in growing this to the $250 million dollar mark.

Over its operational life, your company has cultivated a good image with its business partners, and most importantly its financiers who are prepared to advance funds towards any of your proposals. You only need to prepare a good business case and your financiers are most likely to support it.

Your company sees opportunities rather than investment risks in the current economic climate. Though investor confidence is generally perceived as low, your company believes that this is the time when it could expand its investment base to take advantage of the boom period in the property investment cycle.

1. Discuss five (5) key development conditions which are central to Financiers’ decisions (in the current investment climate) when you prepare submissions to them on your investment proposals. (10%)
2. You are preparing a business case for a retail building project worth between $15-25 million, out of town shopping units, for the consideration of your management board. Your choice of this building project was made by analysing the costs and benefits of the project compared to some other alternative projects. Describe at least five (5) significant costs items and five (5) significant benefits you have included in the business case, which could ensure its favourable selection by your management board. For each of the costs and benefits identified, give an indication of how you would measure or assess them. (20%)
3. Your management board is considering adopting one of the modern relational-type procurement systems to improve on your overall project delivery. Discuss the practical implications for adopting Project Alliancing by your organisation. Conclude your discussion piece with a clear statement on the feasibility of adopting project alliancing by your company. (10%)
4. One of your ongoing projects is a 10-storey office building with 5 floors which is being built under very tight margins. Given past problems, you are particularly interested in controlling wastages in the ceiling construction process. This includes two works packages of suspended ceilings and GIB based ceilings on timber frames. You desire to sublet these packages to 2 separate subcontractors. Explain at least five (5) broad strategies you will adopt for controlling costs on these work package (taking into account the nature of the job) (5% for each package)