No time to waste! Critical project delivery at Goondiwindi Regional Council

Abstract

Picture this. You’re a last-minute addition to the new waste levy zone that includes 39 of the 77 local government areas in Queensland. Other councils have had months to prepare for the July 1 implementation of a waste levy and to get upgrades to their facilities underway, but not you. You own seven regional waste facilities, six of which require varying degrees of modifications to suit the new legislation and have a very tight timeline to prepare. What do you do? This was the situation faced by the Goondiwindi Regional Council (GRC) in February of 2019 when opposition by other regional councils to its exclusion from the levy zone lead to their region being a last-minute addition. Their Inglewood, Talwood, Yelarbon, Texas, Toobeah and Bungunya waste facilities, located some 247 km apart, all needed upgrades. This presentation will focus on the procurement method utilised by GRC to engage a contractor to complete the works using a Local Buy arrangement and the significant benefits to Council by doing so. The specific contract used by GRC for the works was Contract BUS254 Project Management (Construction). Under this arrangement, Council was able to quickly engage a contractor to design and construct an urgent infrastructure project, but with considerable flexibility in project delivery. The multiple benefits to Council using this style of project delivery method include: - Rapid commencement of project (eliminated costly and time-consuming tendering process); - Ability to package works into smaller portions to enable bids by local contractors through RFQ process; - Ultimate control of sub-contractors, suppliers and materials used; - Ability to make “on-the-fly” scope and design changes without costly variations; - Provision of clear cost tracking and forecasting monthly; and - Return of a percentage of the project management fees to Council from Local Buy.