About QBuild

Plan

This category involves strategic infrastructure and individual asset services that inform feasibility options, needs analysis and business case requirement to support government investment.

Involves managing customer assets and asset intelligence including:

• Asset Assessments (AA) - through customer engagement QBuild prepares a three year rolling AA Program to support customers to deliver on their Build Policy Framework requirements. AAs include:
  • Condition assessments
  • Asbestos audits
  • General property inspections
  • Health and safety audits
  • Renewal lifecycle assessments
• Asset Maintenance Plan – condition-based, four-year maintenance plan supported by 10-year predictive maintenance outlook (based on lifecycle assessment and other agency-specific criteria)
• management of government property disposals and acquisitions
• pre-lease investigations
• development/review of design guidelines.

QBuild also provides a full suite of built environment and engineering advisory services, this includes predesign investigations, brief development, and engagement of experts where required. Expertise is available across the following services:

• Strategic Asset Planning
• Professional Service
• Property, Town Planning and Environment
• Engineering (civil and structural, electrical, fire, water and wastewater and mechanical).

Build

This category encompasses the construction of new buildings, and upgrades and improvements to existing buildings to increase their useful life. This category can include capital delivery.

QBuild uses 5 delivery methodologies:

1. Traditional - full document and construct
2. Design / document and construct
3. Construct only
4. Construction with early works
5. Manufacturing

Across up to 12 project stages:

1. Business and Strategic Planning
2. Facility Planning
3. Master Planning
4. Feasibility / Preliminary Assessment
5. Preliminary Design
6. Schematic Design
7. Design Development
8. Construction Documentation
9. Tender Period and Contract Award
10. Construction, Commissioning and Practical Completion
11. Post Practical Completion/Defects Liability period
12. Transition to Maintenance

Incorporating:

• Construction: The planning, design and construction of new buildings. QBuild delivers this through fully outsourced construction, fully insourced construction and a hybrid model where QBuild provide supervision, trade staff, apprentices, materials, procurement, administration, and as necessary sub-contractors.  The building works can be undertaken either through onsite build or a combination of factory manufactured and onsite build.
• Manufacturing: Where QBuild uses manufacturing techniques within a build, this could include flatpack, panelised or modular.
• Refurbishment: Changes made to existing facilities, upgrading/improving existing buildings to increase the useful life, meeting current statutory building requirements. This involves work that is typically of a larger scale or higher complexity (i.e. building act compliance on major facilities, major fit-outs).
• Upgrade: Changes made to existing facilities adding and improving usability and extending useful life. This involves work that is typically on a smaller scale or lower complexity (i.e. kitchens, bathrooms and driveways).
• Defects management: The management of defects during the defect liability period aims to ensure that issues that are raised which are the contractor's responsibility, are rectified within a reasonable timeframe for the customer, and that no cost to the customer is incurred. Generally, the defect liability period (DLP) is 12 months from the date the works are completed.

Maintain

The category involves work on existing buildings to reinstate their physical condition or prevent deterioration and failure. This category can include capital delivery.

Incorporating proactive condition-based, facilities management, preventive, operational and reactive maintenance.

Proactive maintenance means an asset management approach that includes preventative (statutory and recommended) and condition‑based programs to ensure buildings and their components function adequately, preserve the value of the building, satisfy legal obligations, inform annual cost planning requirements and procurement planning, and achieve best value in terms of built assets during the occupancy phase of the building.

Proactive Condition Based Maintenance includes maintaining building assets as a result of the deteriorated condition identified through condition assessments. The asset assessments enable the development of proactive programs of work based on defect or asset lifecycle data.

These programs can also be developed through deferred works registered but not actioned through reactive maintenance requests. This typically happens when works are higher in value than the customer pre-approved threshold. The customer may elect to defer the works for next year’s program.

Condition Based Maintenance is not replacement or repair of building elements after failure. These tasks are managed through reactive maintenance services. This includes defects arising from periodic preventative maintenance or resulting from a workplace health and safety incident.

Facilities Management means the provision of a facilities management service by QBuild at a specific facility or group of facilities for an agreed number of years. These are arranged under a formal Facilities Management Agreement (FMA).

Under an FMA, QBuild can provide on-site coordination, longer term asset management expertise and overall advice on maintaining the facilities’ plant or equipment, including fixed assets, through a range of methods.

An FMA can be tailored to end users’ needs whether that relates to site-specific maintenance requirements for the duration of the agreement.

Typically, an FMA is underpinned by on-site staff or is staffed by through regular or scheduled on-site presence. QBuild services offered under an FMA include reactive, proactive and preventative maintenance. These works are coupled with the integration of facility managers, facility supervisors and trade staff.

Preventative includes Comprehensive Maintenance, and Periodic Preventative Maintenance and Operational Services.

Periodic Preventative Maintenance includes maintaining building equipment (such as Fire Equipment, Electrical, and Mechanical Services) through regular servicing to keep building equipment in good condition and sound working order. Regular servicing of building equipment maintains the life of building facilities, as well as meeting obligations under legislated requirements (e.g. Fire Systems). Maintenance of building equipment is mostly procured from industry with contracts managed by the QBuild team, to ensure that the requirements are fulfilled for our customers.

Comprehensive Maintenance contracts includes regular servicing as part of Periodic Preventative Maintenance of building equipment (such as Security Equipment and Lifts systems) through regular servicing, and additionally includes repairing or replacing parts and equipment which warrants such action as a result of wear and tear. It also includes all attendance during normal hours for Breakdown Maintenance Services, and after-hours attendance as specified within the Specification. Comprehensive servicing of building equipment can minimise downtimes, extend the life of building facilities, as well as improving the reliability of the equipment. Comprehensive maintenance of building equipment is mostly procured from industry with contracts managed by the QBuild team.

Operational Services includes providing services for our customers to maintain the buildings and property facilities for use, such as regular cleaning, landscaping, pest control and waste removal contracts with industry. The contracts are managed by the Service Maintenance Team and are usually established on a 2-3 year contract.

Reactive maintenance means corrective and breakdown maintenance that restores an asset to operational condition following unforeseen failure. Also includes incident maintenance to bring an asset back to an operational or safe condition following damage caused by natural disasters, storms, fire, forced entry or vandalism.

Reactive encompasses maintenance requests requiring prompt action to remediate damage to departmental owned and leased dwellings. This includes damage to associated systems, equipment and fixtures. These activities are intended to restore an asset, system or equipment to operational condition.

Usually derived from wear and tear and age such as blocked toilets, rusted stairs, damaged carpet etc.

Considered unplanned and have a quick turnaround time such as 1hr, 4hr, 24hr, 7day and 14day depending on health, safety and risk factors.

Ensuring works raised through the Maintenance Response Centre with a 1hr, 4hr or 24hr response have a Made Safe requirement within that timeframe.

QFIRST (Flying, Inspect, Repair, Service Team) - formerly known as Flying Gang.

Trade staff visits to rural and remote locations, for the identification and rectification of defects or Health and Safety issues. Items that can’t be immediately completed are subcontracted to local trades through the MRC. All defects are recorded for customer review and future program planning.