Multiplex set to improve NSW school building standards

NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA: Multiplex has partnered with School Infrastructure NSW (SINSW) to improve construction quality on school infrastructure projects in NSW.

The premier global construction company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SINSW, a division within the Department of Education, which will facilitate access to its Construction Handbook, a construction methodology and detailed systems handbook that the department can incorporate in its own standards and guidelines for education facilities.

The NSW Government is investing $7.9 billion over the next four years, continuing its program to deliver more than 200 new and upgraded schools to support communities across NSW. This is the largest investment in public education infrastructure in the history of NSW.

David Ghannoum, Multiplex Regional Managing Director for NSW & ACT, said Multiplex was on a continuous journey to enhance building standards across the board.

“We have decades of experience and research that shows us the more you collaborate and plan upfront, the better the quality outcomes will be,” he said.

“This MOU enables us to share our hard-won knowledge and provide support to SINSW’s principal contractors to improve construction quality standards industry-wide.”

The Multiplex handbook is a documentation management approach that identifies common construction quality issues such as waterproofing, and details best practice to address them.

It is supported by the innovative Centre for Excellence in Rosebery, an industry-first training centre that provides a physical representation of the most common risks to quality using prototypes to demonstrate best practice.

Anthony Manning, Chief Executive School Infrastructure NSW said, “As we are pushing ahead with an historic investment into new and upgraded schools, a key focus for School Infrastructure NSW is to achieve certainty about quality, cost and delivery. The agreement with Multiplex is a great example of how we can collaborate with industry, benefit from their expertise and drive high quality outcomes in our projects.”

Multiplex was recently awarded the early contractor involvement (ECI) contract to work collaboratively with SINSW to plan and design a major upgrade to Mosman High School on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.

The upgrade will cater to growing enrolments and deliver state-of-the-art educational facilities to accommodate 1,200 students, with construction set to commence in early 2022.

“As part of our bid we put forward an opportunity to create more flexible learning spaces for Mosman High School, as well as greater connectivity to nature. We are looking forward to working with School Infrastructure in the coming months to progress the design through to delivery,” said Mr Ghannoum.