The key to this project was adequate resourcing to ensure minimal disruption and a strong focus on health and safety. 

In just one month Sacred Heart College heritage property was restored to its former glory with minimal disruption to students and staff. In addition we implemented a long-term maintenance solution to minimise future costs.

The challenge

The campus is widely recognised for its stately heritage architecture, having some of South Australia’s most beautiful late 19th-century buildings. The jewel in the crown of this Adelaide school campus is the exquisite heritage building, which serves as their main administration.

The heritage building was in need of repairs and an effective maintenance solution, and Higgins was engaged to partner with the college in managing these works.

The challenge was more complicated than it seemed. Firstly, the project had to be completed with minimal impact on the school’s daily operations. Secondly, it needed to be completed within the shortest time frame possible, while still maintaining a safe working environment. And thirdly, the ornate architecture needed to be painted carefully in accordance with strict heritage guidelines.

This meant an inspection of all the paintwork to detect and note unsound surface areas requiring repair and attention. In accordance with guidelines, we also made sure to test on small unobtrusive areas of paintwork before repainting to ensure there would be no damage to the surfaces. The existing colour pallet could also be matched by testing colours on these small areas.

Solution

Together Higgins management team developed a solution tailored exactly to Scared Heart’s requirements.

1. Phase one: Implementing an organisational structure to effectively manage the project by identifying resources requirements, skill requirements and members’ responsibilities.
2. Phase two: Planning of resources to control project delivery, which included implementation of Higgins Project Delivery Strategy.
3. Phase three: Identifying core risks, developing a risk management plan and implementing control measures to minimise the risks using Higgins Integrated Management system based on ISO 9001, ISO 14001 & OHSAS 18001. 

“We needed a company with the resources to finish sections of the building exterior in a short time frame and demonstrate that they could comply with our WH&S requirements. On recommendation from an existing customer we selected Higgins. Progress to date has been very pleasing, the professionalism of the team on site and support of their management has enabled us to carry out this project with minimal impact to the college’s operation”.

Liam Crocker, Maintenance Manager, Sacred Heart College Senior

Results 

By implementing Higgins Project Delivery Strategy, the 181 man-hour project was completed:

• On schedule and on budget, with no disruptions to the operations of the school
• By undertaking a comprehensive risk analysis we completed the project without incident
• Through our onsite assessment process we also discovered timber rot. By using proactive processes to repair rather than replace the timber, we were able to save the school considerable expense.
• The implementation of a Maintenance Painting Solution, which provides annual audits and periodic maintenance to slow down deterioration. It also prevents water from penetrating cracks and damaging the layers underneath.