Project Overview
McMahon Services were engaged by Project Manager’s Altus Page Kirkland, on behalf of the Department of Education to undertake the refurbishment of two crèche facilities, the Oodnadatta Crèche (TjiTji Tjapuku) and the Marree Crèche (Tjitji Tjapu Tjuta), in order to make the sites compliant with current regulations and legislation.
The project scope included the following:
- Relocation of general power outlets;
- Relocation of door handles and latches to a height of 1500mm to prevent child access and egress;
- Removal of internal doors in bathroom for safety and supervision of children;
- Installation of new baby change tables and storage units;
- Installation of air conditioning units, as well as extraction fans in the kitchen and bathroom;
- New roller blinds were fitted to external windows, and safety film was applied to the windows to prevent glass breakage;
- New sheds were installed, with padding installed around poles and soft fall protection applied to hard surfaces around the playground;
- Fabrication of new access ramp at our Adelaide site and transported to Oodnadatta with timber decking;
- Large storm water drainage was also installed to prevent flooding of the playground during heavy rains;
- Outside flooring was covered with a non-slip covering.
Due to the remote location of the works, extensive pre-planning was undertaken with the scheduling of materials and contractors, in order to reduce unnecessary transport and delays. All vehicles were fitted with satellite phones to ensure if an emergency occurred outside of range, the personnel were able to contact someone.
The works were undertaken in April, which meant the team were exposed to high temperatures and challenging working conditions. The team were vigilant in keeping hydrated so as to not over expose themselves to the heat and manage fatigue effectively.
In order to prevent disruption to students and staff routine, all internal work was completed during school holidays, on weekends and outside of business hours.
