Most owners planning a commercial building in regional Victoria start by asking for a builder. Often that is the right call. Sometimes the project is better served by a construction manager, or by a builder who also designs. The choice decides who carries the price risk, who manages the trades, and how much of the owner's own time the project will take.
Three ways to deliver a commercial building
- Lump sum, construct only. The owner's designers complete the documents, builders tender, and the successful builder agrees a price to build what is drawn. The builder carries the risk of its own price and programme; the owner carries the risk of the design being complete and right. The usual contract is AS 4000, administered by a superintendent.
- Design and construct. One contract covers the design and the construction, so the builder also carries the design risk. It suits a project where the owner's requirements are clear but the drawings are not finished. AS 4902 is the standard form, and the trade-offs are set out in design and construct or traditional procurement.
- Construction management. The owner engages a construction manager for a fee to plan, procure and run the works, and the trade packages are let and managed under that agreement. The owner keeps the cost risk, and the savings; the construction manager brings the programme, the procurement and the control of the site.
How to choose
Four questions settle most projects.
- How certain is the design? A finished design suits a lump sum. A design that is still moving suits design and construct, or construction management, where the builder is involved early.
- How firm must the price be before you commit? A lender or a board that needs a fixed price before funding usually points to a lump sum or a design and construct contract.
- Is there an operating business on the site? An aged care home, a processing plant or a working farm needs staging, access and safety planned around its operations. Early builder involvement pays for itself here.
- How much of your own time can the project take? Construction management asks more of the owner, because the owner holds the cost risk and makes more of the decisions.
In regional Victoria the local trade base matters as well. A delivery method that lets packages go to local trades keeps the work, and the capability, in the region, and it keeps the people who built the building close by when it needs maintaining.
Check who you are dealing with
In Victoria, a builder must be registered with the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC, formerly the VBA) in the class that covers the work: commercial, domestic, or both. Check the registration number on the BPC register before you sign anything; five questions to ask a builder before you sign covers the rest of the checks.
Where Silverfox fits
Silverfox Management is registered as a Commercial Builder Limited (CCB-L 100461) and a Domestic Builder Unlimited (CDB-U 67999), and takes on all three roles from its Bendigo office and from Flemington: builder under a lump sum or design and construct contract, construction manager, or independent superintendent representing the owner. At Huntly, Silverfox is head contractor, designer and builder of the Bendigo Organics facility for Western Composting Technology, designed in house and built under a $10M head contract within WCT's $15M facility, with Bendigo and regional trades.