With only one planet and limited resources, many New Zealand businesses are looking for a more sustainable way to operate.
This has sparked the introduction of a national Green Star standard – a tool used to determine lower-carbon, higher-performing projects that meet the criteria of various environmental categories.
Many of the projects we now work on must meet Green Star standards and the fit-out of two brand new spec-built warehouses on Jerry Green Street in Wiri were no different.
With clean, green initiatives to follow, technical specifications and a deadline to meet, DGE were the electrical contractors for the job!
The Challenge
Build it green and make it look good!
With two warehouses highly visible from the main thoroughfare that is the Auckland motorway, there were two key stipulations for this project – build it green and make it look good. Oh, and do it all on time, of course!
With two separate warehouses to fit out, a tight timeframe and no tenant stipulations to follow, this project was always going to be a challenging one. Then, there was the added complication of our usual supply lines being interrupted in the aftermath of the Covid lockdowns.
Our team had to procure very specific Green Star standard resources in a volatile market with shortages everywhere. Excellent project management, careful planning and early procurement were all going to be essential in making this project successful.
The Scope
Ensuring two spec-build warehouses met specifications and Green Star standards
This project involved the fit-out of two newly built open plan warehouses on Jerry Green Street in Wiri. As there were no tenants lined up when the project started, our team needed to ensure every eventuality was covered so that all possible needs could be met.
The buildings needed to adhere to Green Star standards, which not only meant procuring the right materials and equipment to meet those specifications but also ensuring our on-site practices were totally green, right down to minimising rubbish and its correct disposal.
Along with the usual electrical fit-out requirements for a new warehouse, this project also involved low voltage connections from the transformer in, data, and solar panels on the roof – all using Green Star best practices.
That meant highly regulated specifics such as utilising the right equipment, installing BEP certified cables and doing everything necessary to conserve energy. The end result creates impressive sustainable solutions like loner control systems that automatically dim and brighten the lighting based on motion detection and light level harvesting from the installation of skylights. The entire building is metered and the data can be accessed via an app for monitoring.
The Delivery
Proactive communication and procurement to meet a tight deadline
With numerous providers involved in this project, the potential for delays was high and unfortunately, our timelines were impacted by circumstances out of our control. However, our strong communication with the other parties and proactive project management meant that we could still deliver DGE’s project components by the necessary deadlines.
Due to known supply issues with Green Star standard materials in the aftermath of the Covid lockdowns, our team worked hard to source the right resources within our strong supplier network so that we had everything on hand to complete the job on time.
The scope of the project moved partway through due to these supply issues, so the DGE team had to adapt and provide an agile solution so that the two buildings had the same capabilities and were able to access the same data capabilities.
The Outcome
On time, on budget and exceeding expectations
Despite the numerous challenges in this project, the DGE team was able to deliver by the required deadline and exceed the client’s expectations.
Not only did we create a sustainable and green energy solution, but it looked good too!
All Green Star standards were met and the time pressure created by circumstances out of our control was absorbed and remedied via proactive project management and our team’s extensive capabilities.
Happy customers all round!
