Project Photography Services

Garry Boon of PCG Solutions has worked in the construction industry his whole working life of more than 40 years and has always been a very keen and competent photographer.

Garry is now offering property and construction project photography and associated reporting services using high resolution digital SLR, video and aerial (drone) equipment.

Building Condition Assessment and Reporting:

  • Capture, record and report on building condition (exterior and / or interior).
  • Roof surveys. Our drone can provide great, super clear images of roofs enabling property owners to make more informed decisions about the extent of roofing repairs or replacement.
  • The drone can also be used very cost effectively for viewing and photographing difficult to access situations without the need for scaffolding or ladders when undertaking cladding inspections.

Aerial Site Inspection:

High resolution aerial photograph or video perspective can assist greatly when property development options are being considered.  The quality of video and photos from Garry’s drone is super high, as well as being quick and very cost friendly.

Project Progress Recording and Reporting:

Regular high quality digital photographs and video shots taken from the same position (and / or aerial) provide an excellent date stamped record of construction progress. This media can used later for such purposes as;

  • assisting with development of building maintenance plans.
  • marketing and promotion for sale or leasing.
  • resolution of construction contract disputes.

 

Tower Crane Erection, Auckland

Tower Crane Erection, Auckland

New School Interior Work

New School Interior Work

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Ohope Beach School Redevelopment

Ohope Beach School is a Primary School located south of Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty with a roll of approximately 350 children.

After a long period of investigation of a range of options for the school, a Master Plan for significant Redevelopment of the existing site was agreed, and the Design process commenced in earnest late in 2015.

Official opening day at Ohope Beach School

Official opening day at Ohope Beach School

A number of the school buildings were affected by weather-tightness and other dilapidation issues, which were exacerbated by the site being prone to flooding during extreme weather conditions.

A large portion of the school was operating from ageing prefab buildings, many of which were in a very poor state of repair have been demolished. The main admin block and 2 teaching blocks were also demolished and a new 2 storey block with 12 new teaching spaces, Administration facilities and a library was constructed and completed in May 2018.

Substantial site civil works was also carried out to reduce the risk of flooding during severe rain events.

PCG Solutions was involved with this site right through the feasibility / options investigation stages and as the Consultant Project Manager engaged by the Ministry of Education we lead this circa $14 million redevelopment from concept and feasibility work right through to final completion in early 2019.

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Te Puke High School Redevelopment

This school was badly impacted by a range of building dilapidation issues including weather-tightness and other general age related deterioration.  Much of the supporting services infrastructure (electrical; drainage; storm water; heating etc.) is also failing.

Garry Boon of PCG Solutions was engaged by the MOE’s Central Region Property Office in late 2010 to carry out a ‘due diligence’ review of the many different reports on various building (and services) failures that had been commissioned by the school BOT and MOE officials over preceding years.

Following Garry’s report, the Ministry of Education approved funding of $13.9 million for redevelopment of the school to address its crucial issues.

Garry was been appointed by the MOE as the Project Director for this project.

PCG Solutions key deliverables for the project included;

  • Recommending an appropriate project governance model and establishing an effective Project Control Group.
  • Engaging the services of an independent Cost Engineer to review project budgets; develop cost plan and monitor financial performance through the project.
  • Development of an outline Project Plan and establishment of project monitoring and reporting frameworks.
  • Working with MOE officials to recommend model for procurement of design and construction services for the project. The model implemented was a 2 phase Design / Build / GMP contract in which the Architect and other professional design consultants were engaged by the GMP Contractor.  Phase 1 took the project through to preliminary design and development of the GMP. In phase 2 the detailed design was developed and construction work completed.
  • Managing the ROI and RFP processes for procurement of design and construction services.
  • Facilitation of PCG and design meetings.
  • Managing relationships with project stakeholder including the BOT, MOE New Buildings office; MOE Regional Property office; School Principal; Design consultants; construction tenderers and the head contractor.

After several years and a couple of ‘false starts’ the school Principal and Board of Trustees are extremely relieved that this project is finally nearing completion and they have openly expressed their view that Garry Boon’s ability to work collaboratively with the wide range of stakeholders in often sensitive situations has contributed significantly to bringing the project to its successful conclusion.

Construction logistics for this project were immensely complex. The school has almost 1000 students, and more than 60% of the existing teaching spaces are being demolished.  There is much stress from the schools perspective and one of the key challenges on the project was maintaining positive and collaborative working relationships between all the stakeholder parties. Considering the amount of ‘upheaval’ occurring during construction, the parties worked extremely collaboratively and everyone involved is excited about this outstanding and comprehensive transformation of the school.

Construction of phase 1 (Technology Campus) was completed for occupation by the school at the start of term 1 2013. Phase 2 (Student Centre plus half of the main new teaching block) was completed and occupied by the school in the final term of 2013, and the final stage (horticulture area and Wharenui) was handed over to the school in February  2014.

A new and open learning environment replaces a hotch potch of dilapidated buildings.

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Papakura Library and Museum

PCG Solutions role: Client Project Manager / Engineer to the Contract.
Building Owner / Developer: KCL Property
Principal Tenant: Papakura City Council
Contract Value: $7 million
Completion: September 2010

This site is situated in the central retail precinct of Papakura and the project involved structural alterations to an existing building and the fit-out of a new library and museum for the City of Papakura in South Auckland.
The contract between the client and the main construction contractor was a ‘guaranteed maximum price’ (GMP) model with a performance mechanism that allowed for the contractor and client to jointly share any project cost savings made during the construction phase.

Garry was responsible for acting on behalf of the client in the contract relationships with the head GMP contractor and the key tenant (Papakura City Council).

Being a located in an existing building that housed a number of public and local authority service centres including the existing Papakura Library, meant that this project was logistically quite complex to programme and manage. All the existing business operations and building services had to remain operational throughout the 7-month construction period.
The importance of establishing and maintaining open, transparent and responsive relationships between all stakeholders was critical to the success of this project. One of Garry’s key roles as client Project Manager was to ensure that all the parties contributing to the project were kept well informed and that a culture of cooperation and collaboration among all members of the project team was developed early in the project.

The project was completed on time and within budget and to a very high standard of quality.

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Tahatai Coast School Redevelopment

Client: Ministry Of Education
PCG Solutions role: Project Director
Project Value: $7 million
Completion: Early 2103

The Tahatai Coast School was constructed during the 1990’s and weather-tightness issues have affected many of the buildings.
Garry Boon of PCG Solutions was engaged by the MOE in March 2011 to report on status and establish the redevelopment project.
The project included demolition of the library and several water damaged classroom buildings followed by construction of a new 2-story classroom block housing 18 teaching spaces. A new library building was also constructed. The school remained fully operational during the entire project.

PCG Solutions key deliverables for the Tahatai Coast School project included;
• Review and advise on the impact that ‘weather-tightness’ affected buildings were having on the teaching and learning environment at the school.
• Recommend an appropriate project governance model and establish an effective Project Control Group.
• Engage the Services of Project Architect.
• Engage the services of an independent Cost Engineer to review project budgets develop cost plan.
• Develop outline Project Plan and establish project monitoring and reporting frameworks.
• Recommend model for procurement of design and construction services for the project.
• Manage the ROI and RFP processes for procurement and of construction services.
• Facilitation of PCG and design meetings
• Manage relationships with all project stakeholders including the School, Ministry, consultants and the construction contractor.

The Project was completed in January 2013.

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Brand Is The Word

Do your customers really know who you are and what your organisation stands for? Or is your’s like many other small New Zealand businesses that are yet to learn about the power of intelligent branding?

What does this word ‘brand’ mean?

The words ‘brand’ and ‘branding’ are thrown around liberally by all sorts of people in  different contexts and with different meanings in mind, so it may help to start by asking ‘what exactly is a brand?’
The simplest answer is that a brand is a set of associations that a person (or group of people) makes with a company, product, service, individual or organisation.
These associations may be intentional – that is, they may be actively promoted via marketing and corporate identity, for example – or they may be outside the company’s control. For example, a poor press review for a new product might ‘harm’ an organisations overall brand by placing negative associations in people’s minds.

So brand is much more than the logo you attach to your letterhead and your company vehicles. Brand defines your business culture and how your company and the services or product you offer are perceived by your target market.

So how can this benefit a small New Zealand business?

If a brand results from a set of associations and perceptions in people’s minds, then branding is an attempt to harness, generate, influence and control these associations to help the business perform better.

Any organisation can benefit enormously by creating a brand that presents the company as distinctive, trusted, exciting, reliable or whichever attributes are appropriate to that business.

‘If Coca-Cola were to lose all of its production-related assets in a disaster, the company would survive. By contrast, if all consumers were to have a sudden lapse of memory and forget everything related to Coca-Cola, the company would go out of business.’

While absolute control over a brand is not possible due to outside influences, the intelligent use of design, advertising, marketing, service proposition, corporate culture and so on can all really help to generate associations in people’s minds that will benefit the organisation.

In different industry sectors the audiences, competitors, delivery and service aspects of branding may differ, but the basic principle of being clear about what you stand for always applies.

If your current and target customers remember who you are and what your business stands for they are much more likely to do business with you.

Highlighting a Point of Difference through Brand

Branding is a way of clearly highlighting what makes your offer different to, and more desirable than, anyone else’s.
Effective branding elevates a product or organisation from being just one commodity amongst many identical commodities, to become something with a unique character and promise. It can create an emotional resonance in the minds of consumers who choose products and services using both emotional and pragmatic judgements.

Defining your Brand

So if you’re thinking about how to rebrand your business, its products or services, or if you want to assess where your brand stands at present, there are a few key aspects to consider:

  • The big idea – what lies at the heart of your company?
  • Values – what do you believe in?
  • Vision – where are you going?
  • Personality – how do you want to come across?

If you can start to answer these questions with clarity and consistency then you have the basis for developing a strong brand.

Of course, an important step in the process of finding the answers to these questions is developing a Strategic Plan for the business… but that’s another story!

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