The project scope includes 122 independent living units across three buildings and a separate residential aged care facility with 96 high-care beds. The development promotes active lifestyles and fosters a sense of community through recreation facilities including extensive sub-tropical landscaped grounds, swimming pool, salon, BBQ facilities, gymnasium, café, function room and meeting rooms.
Aurecon's role on the project was as project manager, contract superintendent and furniture, fittings and equipment (FF&E) manager. The Aurecon team overcame a number of key challenges to deliver the project and provide great value for the not-for-profit operator including:
- Managing the project scope with multiple Blue Care internal stakeholders and the organisational restructuring within Blue Care during the project
- Sign-off, procurement and installation of the FF&E during the organisational restructuring to achieve Blue Care’s occupancy of 15 August 2012
“I firmly believe the completion of the project on time, and under budget, was a direct result of the project management methodology and controls implemented by Aurecon,” said Michael Green, Blue Care, Manager Capital Development.
Through Aurecon’s project management expertise, we were able to deliver a range of benefits for the client and the project delivery. These included:
- Project saving of AUD 12 million from the original budget through strong scope management processes and a further saving of AUD 2.2 million from the revised budget through the construction phase
- 10 additional independent living units were incorporated into the scope at Schematic Design phase with no increase to project budget
- Early occupation of the independent living units
Since project completion, Aurecon has returned to the facility to manage defects and to undertake a post occupancy evaluation (POE). The POE involved extensive interviews and surveys of Blue Care staff and the campus residents. The findings from the POE are now instrumental to Blue Care’s corporate learning and are being used to drive improvements for Blue Care’s future Azure Blue developments. Aurecon is applying this learning as part of their current engagement as project manager for Blue Care’s proposed Azure Blue Kawana development.
Aurecon project team members who collected the award included Susie Pearn, Project Director, Lavinia Buckley, Project Manager design and procurement and Tanya Syddall, Project Manager commissioning, furniture, fittings and equipment, post occupancy evaluation and defects.