by Ray Ciseau
In any industry, there are always new ‘buzz’ words and everyone seems to use the latest phrases to stay cool among their peers. Asset management seems to portray an image of being in control, but unfortunately, the reality is that it is just another buzzword.
There are numerous cases where councils have awarded works to contractors with price being the major factor, however the end result was anything but satisfactory.
How do we know this? We get the phone call after the job is done and we are asked to quickly and quietly repair, replace or rectify the cheap job.
So how seriously does your Council take open space asset management?
Effective asset management should mean that your Council gets value for money and hopefully, a project does not come back to bite you.
It is important to clearly state that there is nothing wrong with choosing the lowest price, however the issues arise when the cheap price delivers a result that disappoints.
In our industry – open spaces, sports fields and the like – every job has a cost component in it, including labour, job quality, machinery, soil, plants, turf, mulch and so forth.
For a contractor to deliver on a low price can only mean that they will cut back on a component, so the only question that you have to ask is what will your Council be happy to compromise on to get the low price?
Evergreen Turf would suggest that you get an independent site audit before and during the job, not after completion, to ensure compliance by the low cost contractor.
We are happy to put you in contact with a highly qualified agronomist even if you choose to use the lowest cost contractor and not Evergreen Turf.
For further information contact Ray Ciseau on (03) 5945 2100
*Ray Ciseau is General Manager Evergreen Turf (VIC)
