New Facility for MPI
Along with the extra time required for trips to the airport, Aucklanders will also be aware of the rapid expansion of commercial developments in the area, particularly those in distributions.
The roofing of many of these large-scale projects has been undertaken by Kiwi Roofing Ltd, a RANZ member specialising in the big build “boxes” that now dominate the landscape in the airport environs.
The most recent Kiwi Roofing job, at the Landing Business Park, was a contract with Macrennie Construction for a purpose built facility for the Ministry of Primary Industries, nine months of last year taken up with the roofing work on site.
The MPI facility comprises a cluster of six fully insulated buildings which were built simultaneously: two offices (1200sqm each) with Kingspan roofing system; two sheds (1580sqm each) with insulated built-up roofs and a third shed (520m2) with a conventional roof. Included in the facility are two buildings for the National Detector Dog Centre, to be used for accommodating, training and breeding detector dogs. One of these buildings has 1400m2 of conventional roofing plus another 500 sqm building with a Kingspan insulated roofing system.
Dimond Roofing Brownbuilt 900 was the material of choice for the roofing and some cladding with corrugate soffits. Materials included a combination of Dimond Roofing’s dual roof skylight system (Durolite FG3) and 10mm Lexan twin wall polycarbonate to two of the buildings and Durolite FG3 1.4mm, manufactured by Ampelite, to another building.
Previously accommodated in three separate offices, MPI staff will now have one central location in modern, flexible workplaces with the aim of making access to its various services easier and bringing MPI closer to foo and biosecurity customers.
Included in the kennel sector building will be simulated passenger halls along with a simulated mail centre so dogs are better equipped to screen incoming international passengers, mail and cargo passing through Auckland Airport.
Kiwi Roofing General Manager, Simons Figgins says the MPI contract has been successfully concluded apart from some minor variations being completed. With six buildings being constructed at the same time, roofing work was also simultaneously required, meaning a large amount of co-ordination on site. Kiwi split the job between two project managers with installers coming and going at various stages and nine on site at peak times to complete the 6,300m2 of roofing.
This contract reflected an increasing trend for more efficient energy systems in the commercial sector, the inclusion of Kingspan insulated roof systems specified to achieve R values in three of the new MPI buildings.
Kiwi Roofing has specialised in other significant commercial developments in the Auckland Airport area over the last 2 ½ years. These include the Agility Logistics, Fuji Xerox, Quad 7 office building, Coca Cola Amatil Manufacturing facility, Hellmann Logistics Distribution Centre (the one with the raked glazing and cladding) and Bunnings Distribution Centre.
While it’s always satisfying to bring major contracts like the MPI complex to a successful conclusion, the main issue currently impacting on forward planning for Kiwi Roofing is getting jobs which have been sitting in the pipeline actually started. There has been an emerging trend with projects failing to start on time and anecdotally there are a number of factors at play here. Delays in consents being issued, timelines of design changes and the industry being extremely stretched to capacity, coupled with long lead times for key trades such as pre-cast and structural steel.
Recruitment of suitable staff remains a constant struggle although Simon says the company had an unexpected boost recently when 12-14 students from a local school turned up to learn about roofing at a presentation organised with the schools careers advisor. Kiwi Roofing has previously given work experience to students form Edmund Hillary Collegiate in South Auckland and when the deputy headmaster took up a new role at another school, he remembered the success of giving students a taste of work in his previous role. Three students have since signed on with Kiwi Roofing, Two full time and one destined for tertiary study but wanting part time employment in their down time and a fourth started with one of Kiwi’s contractors.
Currently Kiwi Roofing has three apprentices who are completing the National Certificate and with one nearing completion Simon will sign up two new candidates soon. The Kiwi approach to its trainees is inclusive, supportive and collaborative – giving the apprentices different roofing experiences by moving them around jobs to work and learn with different foremen.
Article from Rooflink Autumn 2018, Issue 84 www.RANZ.org.nz
