So, this is what freedom feels likeā¦.Ā
Over the last few days, Iāve been to sites in Tauranga, Auckland and the Wairarapa. Itās fantastic to see New Zealand opening back up again.
Hereās a photo from the road.Ā
š Navigating decision making in uncertain timesĀ
As weāve travelled through the country, one question has surfaced a few times - how do we set up our properties well for this?
If youāre asking yourself this question - youāve probably already done a number of the following things. Weāll lay out our thinking just in case:
Understand your cost base - this is where itās good to get in touch with your finance team/or open up your accounting software and work through your key spend areasĀ
Review any non-essential spend - this might be putting a cost on additional facilities services provided like key cards, look to automate some services like security (talk to the team at Focus) and review your calendar of works
Andā¦Ā
āļøGet on top of your riskiest assets
This point deserves its own section as it represents one of the greatest areas for cost blowout.Ā
This one is for all those whoāve ever had an āoh shitā moment.Ā
We define an āoh shitā moment as a breakdown in a building product that involves surprise spend. It could be a roller door seizing or a toilet leaking through a few floors. Itās usually expensive and happens at the wrong time of the day.Ā
Over the next 12 months, you want to reduce the chance of this as much as possible.Ā
Recommendations to work through this:Ā
Donāt ignore it
Go through all the risky zones and map them - this could be on a floorplan
Have a chat to your key contractors and understand what their thoughts are in solving for your budget and use
Rank the priorities and work out which you can afford to fix now vs. 6-12 monthsĀ Ā
Consider putting signage up on the asset to make users aware that the asset is delicate or work to reduce its usage
šØāšAd astra / ad HVAC
For a bit of escapism, we like to consider the future of properties and involve you in the thinking. Ā
The B1M is great series of videos - this one covers what building on Mars could look like. Spoiler alert - itās a lot of HVAC.Ā
Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below on what you think of their designs.
Stay safe all and enjoy the traffic!Ā
GeorgieĀ
tellfrankie.com
š§ Navigating uncertainty
Great ideas and insights! I would like to see (1) deploy the proposed design on earth and test it out (2) deploy and test on the moon (3) aggregate lessons learned and take it to mars.