New Year resolutions

Q: What industry changes do you hope to see in 2016?

Firm: Fiordland Homes
Principal: Roger Foote
Location: Te Anau
Staff: 3

In terms of what is happening in Te Anau, I think we’re going to see a shift in work from the residential side to commercial. The town is pretty busy at the moment and a lot of accommodation providers are fully booked, so there’s already more renovation work becoming available in that sector. I hope that the market will just get busier and lead to more work for everyone.

Regarding the industry as a whole, my biggest concerns are about the new health and safety laws. I’d like to see them rolled out smoothly and the authorities take a common sense approach. I also think the rules need to be better clarified, particularly around standing up trusses. It’s difficult, because you can scaffold the outside of a house and then when you’re trying to work through the middle, you can’t put your safety net up, then work through it to stand up your trusses.

It’d be nice to have everything ironed out, but it’s hard to get everyone working off the same page. Talking to other builders, everyone has their own opinions on health and safety, so it’s important to make sure everyone is properly informed.

Firm: RJKBuild Ltd
Principal: Rick Krauts
Location: Auckland
Staff: 4

In line with the recommendations of the ‘Loopy Rules Taskforce’, I would like to see an element of self-certifying introduced for competent and proven builders. I think that, if covered by a Producer Statement or Record of Work, some work should be self-certified, such as waterproofing, bracing, plumbing, drainage, insulation and foundations covered by specific designs.

This is because we often find that the inspection process and the time required for inspection notification is awkward and often unnecessary.

Locally, I would also like to see more of Auckland’s future development concentrated in the more central suburbs, as proposed in the unitary plan. I think that will help bring down the cost of housing, allow for better infrastructure to be put in place and it will be better for the environment.

Firm: Laing Properties Ltd
Principal: Grant Laing
Location: Christchurch
Staff: 26

We’re both a building relocation and construction company, which puts us in a unique position in the market. As we’re based in Christchurch, one thing I’d really like to see is more certainty around anchor projects in the city.

The filter effect is that the placement of hotels, apartments and other infrastructure becomes more concrete, which is good for the industry because it creates more building work.

The health and safety changes will be interesting. I suspect some smaller businesses might struggle to make the necessary adjustments and I think a number of them might get caught out. The government has also talked about streamlining certain aspects of the industry; I’d welcome that, because I think the current regulations make it too complicated.

It would be nice if councils employed more experienced processers, as we’re filing a number of detailed consents with various councils at the moment. The feedback we’ve been getting from designers is that they aren’t qualified enough to deal with them quickly.

It would be great if they could process them in a smoother, more timely manner. It’s a nationwide issue and a standard approach could help achieve that.

Now have your say…

Given the boom and bust nature of the building industry, how do you skilled staff?

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All responses must be submitted by 25 February. The answers to this question will be published in Under Construction March.