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Work on the Opihi College Block B project is nearing completion. Progress on this handsome building has been steady and the building is looking good.
“This has been a big project for our team,” says General Manager, Heather Harding. “We are proud of the work we’ve done. This building is going to be a great asset to the school.”
Lee Eastmead has headed the team on the Opihi Project.
The interior design features strong lines and contrasting angles.
Panoramic view of the interior.
The LVL portals are swung into place at Opihi College
Work is well underway on building the new Block B at Temuka’s Opihi College. This is a substantial project for the school.
“We enjoy projects like this,” says Simon Harding, Managing Director of Harding Construction. “Not only is it professionally satisfying, but the team takes pride in building something that will benefit the local community for generations to come.”
The LVL portals for Block B were installed with the help of 360 Cranes of Timaru. Blustery weather and Covid-19 safety management have not been an issue, with all parties working seamlessly to ensure a safe and efficient worksite.
These are no ordinary times, so we are conducting business as (un)usual.
New Zealand has entered a period where there’s a new ‘normal’. The way society operates will be different – and together, we can make it great.
How does that affect Harding Construction?
Unusual Offices: We are practising safe social distancing protocols. All visitors to our offices need to complete the Contact Tracing form on arrival and maintain safe distances whilst on site.
We can be contacted by phone and email and will conduct ‘contactless’ meetings via Zoom or Skype whenever practicable.
Unusual Sites: We want our sites to be safe for everyone. That means taking extra safety precautions in this new post-lockdown environment. These will affect everyone working on or visiting our sites. We have developed specific procedures for ensuring excellent health and safety practices, and including:
Restricted site access
Site management procedures
Covid-19-appropriate PPE
Safe working distances
Sanitary work areas
Effective contact tracing
Expect the Unusual: Our goal is still to finish our projects on time, on budget, with no surprises.
The post-lockdown environment will bring new challenges - and new opportunities. Working with our clients and trade partners we will implement new ways of operating to ensure the success of our projects in this ‘new normal’ environment. We are excited about South Canterbury’s future.
Let’s get building!
The new restaurant not only had a specific brand standard to achieve, but also required installation of specialised kitchen equipment that had to fit in a relatively confined space.
"It was important that all areas of the restaurant were finished to a high standard, not only reflecting the Hell Pizza brand but also ensuring maximum efficiency in all work spaces," says Simon Harding, Construction Manager for Harding Construction.
Some items took up more space than the plans had allowed for, so the team had to make adjustments once everything was on site and actual measurements could be taken.
Mr O, the proprietor, had a set budget and a set deadline for opening. It was imperative that all work be completed on time and on budget to meet these goals.
"Saving a few centimetres here and there made a big difference" says Harding. Our main issue was that the fridge door hit the extractor hood in the kitchen when it opened. By adjusting the hood we were able to ensure that the fridge door could open freely and avoid damage to either piece of equipment."
Hell Pizza Timaru opened to flocks of enthusiastic customers on the due date. All equipment was installed without fuss and the fitout looked great.
Mr O was effusive in his praise, "Our thanks to Harding Construction.You are professional and client focused. You gave lots of good advice to save us costs. The most important thing for us was that our project was finished within the set time scheduled."
Raewyn Bell of Aoraki Development, Business and Tourism approached Harding Construction in March 2015 asking if we would be interested in coordinating the fit-out of their new premises.
With a wry smile, Raewyn made it clear there was a catch: They wanted it done for as close to nothing as possible. ADBT, she explained, had minimal funding for the project, but needed to vacate their current premises. Would Harding Construction help them?
There was no doubt in our minds that we would. We rallied the support of other local companies we knew valued ADBT, asking them to join us in providing a high quality commercial fit-out for next to nothing. Their responses were overwhelmingly positive and very humbling. The outcome achieved far more than just the production of a high quality commercial fit-out.
“Harding Construction was extremely easy to work with, providing solutions and options and genuinely understanding our brief. They prepared a complete package that enabled the project to be completed in a timely and cost effective manner. The result is an area where visitors are welcomed into an environment of District pride.
”
This project brought together a community. It showed that in South Canterbury we value community more highly than dollars. It provided opportunities for innovation, creativity and problem-solving. It allowed for generosity, cooperation and collaboration. It enabled a united show of appreciation of the work and value ADBT brings to our business community.
This project was entered in the 2016 Master Builders Commercial Project Awards, winning a prestigious Special Award overall and Bronze in the Commercial and Civic section.
Total Project Value Confidential
Price to Customer 20% of total project value
Value to the Community Priceless
Harding Construction was contracted by Opus International Consultants on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch as the Main Contractor to complete an upgrade of Blocks 3 and 4 at St Joseph’s School, Temuka, in 2014. The contract value for this project was $320,000 (including variations). Work began in August and was completed in November, 2014.
Students from St Joseph's School celebrate their newly upgraded classroom blocks.
Our brief for this project was to upgrade the existing classroom blocks, which included demolishing and replacing old walls, ceilings and flooring, creating new storage areas and re-lining classrooms. We co- ordinated sub-trades for painting services, roofing, aluminium joinery, floor coverings, plumbing, drainage and electrical services, and supply of metalwork and concrete work.
“We would like to officially thank you and your team for the outstanding work you completed for us as part of our recent recladding and building upgrades at our school.”
The new design makes the most of indoor and outdoor learning spaces.
As the Main Contractor for this project it was our responsibility to co-ordinate the sub-trades required to complete the work on time, on budget, with no surprises. Our experienced project management team facilitated this with ease, ensuring excellent communication between the school, Opus, the sub- trade contractors and our crew.
“The foreman managed communications with subcontractors very efficiently, ensuring they worked around the needs of the school. At all times the team were efficient, obliging and fun to work with. We also found Simon extremely thorough during the final checks, insisting on every job being completed thoroughly and professionally.”
The upgrade created safe and easy flow between the classrooms and the rest of the school.
The scope of the project expanded from the initial quoted work to a significantly larger project as unforeseen structural issues were discovered once work had begun, requiring full and immediate remedy. Our skilled team quickly formulated a time and cost-effective solution for this, and work continued without interruption or delay.
The revamped classrooms are light, spacious, modern and attractive.
“Throughout the process we found your team to be extremely professional and willing to “go the extra mile” for us. The difficulties that arose from the original plans because of the internal state of the building were managed patiently by the foreman, who communicated extremely well with the project managers and myself.”
At all times, our work and site safety practices were keyed to the fact that we were conducting construction work in a busy primary school with curious children all around, and teachers wanting to continue their classroom programmes with minimal disruption.
Harding Construction has an excellent Health and Safety record. All projects have an individual Site Specific Safety Plan tailored to meet the specific needs of that site. Our experienced team is well- versed in ensuring work on school sites is completed in as safe and unobtrusive a manner as possible.
“The building team were extremely safety conscious with the safety board very visible capturing our students’ attention, safe driving in and out of the school during school hours and limited interruptions with noise.”
Clean lines and a modern look transformed tired buildings into a 21st Century learning environment
Staff from the school were effusive in their praise for our team’s professional conduct and the way they worked in with the needs of the school. This was a very successful project with an excellent result.
“Staff found your team great to work with. The guys also sparked ideas for our young builders in our tech shed.”
Harding Construction Management were guests of honour at the school celebration blessing the finished buildings.
“The whole community is delighted with the final outcome of a complete transformation of a building that is the envy of others.”
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