NEW ZEALAND’S MOST QUALIFIED BUILDERS
APRIL/MAY 2015
InHouse THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF CERTIFIED BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND
CARPENTRY APPRENTICE CHALLENGE
REGIONAL WINNERS PAGE 26
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
WIN $500 OF SWAZI GEAR
CONFERENCE GOOD TO GO!
RETENTION RULES CHANGING
PAGE 19
PAGE 34
PAGE 41
CONTENTS
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
As I sit watching all the boats heading to the boat ramp this Easter I am reminded of how important it is to strike a good work life balance. Having regular time away from your business to spend with family and friends is so important especially when we are all so busy.
IN THIS
ISSUE Message from the Chair
1
From the Operations Desk
2
Certified Plans
4
Toolbox Seminars
9
Around the Regions
10
Feature: Business Fundamentals
22
Centrespread - Apprentice Challenge
26
ITAB
33
Feature: Conference
34
Feature: New Retention Rules
41
Feature: Tax Taking Time
43
Feature: Beacon
47
Feature: Using the Cloud
51
Message from the Chief
53
From what I am hearing around the country most of our members are adapting well to the new swag of regulations that came into play in January. The latest Toolbox seminars are well attended and definitely helping builders cope with the changes. I have been working on the tools a lot more lately and experiencing firsthand the extra paperwork required to document a job. You certainly have to be wellorganised! I’ll emphasise again that as members of Certified Builders all the necessary paperwork is only a phone call away to National Support Office. Grant and I hosted Building Minister Hon Dr Nick Smith at National Support Office last month and enjoyed a candid exchange of ideas around what is happening in the industry. I think he is well aware of the challenges facing us all and realises that we need to work collaboratively to resolve them for the long term benefit of our sector. In fact we have recently taken advantage of several opportunities to push our case to the powers that be in Wellington. Losing a couple of thousand dollars worth of gear from our site the other day reinforced the need to be extra vigilant with site security. Lucky we were insured through the Association and the claim process was quick and efficient. Lesson learned the hard way! I’ve been attending some of the regional AGM’s and once again I am impressed with the level of commitment the Association enjoys at grassroots level. Keep up the good work! Looking forward to seeing you all in Christchurch at Conference time. It’s going to be epic. Cheers,
Contact
Dave Brown Chairman
Farming House 102 – 104 Spring Street PO Box 13405, Tauranga Central, Tauranga 3141 Phone: 07 927 7720 | Freephone: 0800 CERTIFIED Fax: 07 927 7721 | Email: editor@certified.co.nz www.certified.co.nz INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
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ASSOCIATION NEWS: FROM THE OPERATIONS DESK
FROM THE OPERATIONS DESK Jason McClintock – Operations Manager
Timber Merchants Are they a valuable asset or have they become the man in the middle? Recent Building Act law changes have tradesmen taking a good look as to who they are doing business with, and who they consider important to their business model. Timber merchants have traditionally been considered a vital link between product manufacture, product knowledge and more recently industry knowledge and have been considered the builder’s partner with loyalties and business arrangements often running deep. It was not so many years ago merchants delivered core value around product, the advice was sound, products they sourced and offered appeared to be less vulnerable to failure. Strong personal relationships were carved with local merchant representatives, who stuck around for years. However their function is now coming under some scrutiny as builders assuming the position of main contractor are asking the hard questions in line with the consumer demands placed on them.
Has the tide turned for timber merchants? The changing landscape of our industry has meant merchants have also had to diversify to retain trade clientele, at times doing so with offerings away from their core being of product supply, backed with sound advice. Often used as a conduit of information to practitioners I get concerned when information on their web pages have become a cut and paste with no real knowledge to deliver at the coalface. This was evident with members reporting of having to educate merchant reps on recent building law changes and explaining the role merchants had to play, yet all the big players promoted this information in their trade magazines and on their websites.
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For me this lack of genuine support was more recently hammered home during a presentation by one of the main stream merchants, claimed they do not give advice as they can be liable for this. Several of our members have been very active in the space of sourcing product and warranty information from merchants, reporting frustration as they attempt to conform to Building Act requirements when the merchants needed to be involved. Some timber merchants have been slow in being prepared. I commend the few taking it seriously as a core function of business and that is supply of product and all product information. The Ministry [MBIE] is asking the builder to seek warranty information on the limitation period of a warranty, how to make a claim and what does the client have to do to kick a warranty into effect. The suggestive nature of this now has our members enquiring as to just what is the process when product failure occurs? What is the role of the merchant who has up to this point been considered as a business partner and point of sale? Unlike the homeowner who deals directly with the timber merchant the builder is not considered a consumer and so deals under terms of trade. Terms entered and accepted when opening up that trading account. The problem I have with these terms of trade is the merchants have often attempted to excuse themselves from pretty much any accountability “whether in respect of quality, fitness for intended purpose, or otherwise and all warranties implied by law are expressly excluded” and even if they are found culpable the merchants have attempted to limit their responsibilities “in all cases limited to the amount of the price of the goods”. This begs the question who pays for sub sequential damage, that is, the surrounding damage caused by remediating product deemed not “fit for purpose”.
ASSOCIATION NEWS: FROM THE OPERATIONS DESK
Are merchants nothing more than distribution units? With the ease of doing business over the internet times are changing including roles and responsibilities. Thus are timber merchants at risk. No, I don’t think we are there yet, however I feel there is room for timber merchants to go back to core businesses, and that is support their customers with good quality product backed with sound advice and a transparent process which supports the builder when there is product failure, and that is “fit for purpose” for 10 years. It really is as simple as putting themselves in the shoes of the SME [small to medium enterprise] and feeling their pain.
Association’s Tools gets members paid! The Association is often involved assisting members to work the provisions of contract towards payment. Sometimes this is direct advice, other times it’s simply members working with the tools on offer by Certified Builders. I would like to share a success story whereby Auckland member Stavros Evangelidakis used these tools effectively to secure payment.
The client paid me my first progress payment claim without question. For all invoicing I use the free template on offer which is a Tax Invoice/Payment Claim. There were many variations along the way so I made sure I always got authorisation from the client to proceed with these, the job continued to progress well. In line with the milestone payments within the contract the second progress claim was sent to the client, and I was again expecting to be paid within the terms of the contract. The money did not arrive within the payment terms; there were no disputes about the claim, they just didn’t pay. I resent them the claim with a copy of the section 20 out of the contract, Owner Default, but still no response. The next step for me was to use the Association legal help line and get in touch with Geoff Hardy of Madison Hardy. The first thing they asked was “Did I have a building contract in place”? I was relived to be able to say yes, one of the Association’s Labour Only ones. With the help of Madison Hardy I have received payment of the money owing to me. I still have the deposit parked up which I will apply to the last payment claim on the job. So guys it is very important to use our contracts and use our legal team if you are not sure.
Here is Stavros story:
If you have a contract in place don’t roll over, don’t be scared. If I didn’t have a contract in place I would have lost a lot of money, I can’t say enough about our building contracts.
I’d like to share with all the members how important it is to use our contracts and to use the help the Association makes available to members.
Stavros Evangelidakis Director Aegean Homes (2006) Ltd
I signed up a Labour Only Contract with a client. The client sent the contract to their lawyer before signing it, which was ok. We both signed the contract and the client paid a deposit. INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
CONFERENCE 2015 Come and see us at our stand in Christchurch and check out the existing suite of architecturally designed “Certified Plans� and as part of developing this existing range we will have some new conceptual plans to view. These plans will be finalised later in 2015 and supporting collateral for the member and home owner will be supplied at that time. Join our Certified Plans workshop and learn how to take your builder hat off and put your salesman hat on to seal a new deal! Furthermore, for those interested in learning more about job quoting using the available Build A Price software please take time to visit their stand at conference where you can ask any questions you may have about their system.
ONLINE MARKETING CAMPAIGN The results from our February/March online campaign for Certified Plans have been extremely favourable and to keep the momentum going we are continuing with this campaign for another two months until the end of May. If you are experiencing an increase of traffic to your own website and are experiencing increased enquiries about Certified Plans or just in general we would love to hear your feedback.
PRICING Both PlaceMakers and Mitre 10 are currently putting together Estimate Template reference sheets to assist our Certified Plans members with faster turnaround times for pricing of Certified Plans and we envisage these to be ready shortly after conference. Simply quote the reference number for the plan that requires a price at your local store and the merchant will do the rest. We suggest you save these templates to your Certified Plans USB card supplied in your Start Up Package. Please contact julie@certified.co.nz if you do not receive these templates.
www.certifiedplans.co.nz
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
COMPLETED KAKAPO HOUSE BUILD IN TAURANGA!! Completed in February the new owners of this build by ZJ builders have now shifted in and are enjoying their new home. Great work Zach!
NEW BUILD IN DUNEDIN Mosgiel member, Dallas Shaw of DS Building Ltd now has the Kowhai plan underway in Dunedin and we look forward to regular updates as the building progresses. We now have a Certified Plan build from each of the Rural, Coastal and Urban ranges either completed or being built.
NEW MEMBERS!
Welcome Greg Bathurst - Bathurst Builders Ltd, Shaun McCollum - R & M Builders Limited, and Blair Oughton - Crusader Homes Limited.
For further information contact Julie at National Support Office: julie@certified.co.nz 0800 237 843 www.certifiedplans.co.nz
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
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OWNER/MANAGEMENT BUY IN OPPORTUNITY • Full or partial ownership • Well established Licensed fabrication business • Growth potential • Several locations available • Low risk Looking for greater control of your future? Keen to move to ownership? This business was established over 10 years ago and is a well recognised brand. They operate a highly successful business model, with a solid future revenue stream. The business is supported from a licensor who provides, R&D, Technical support, IT systems and Marketing. The owner would prefer to fully exit over a 6 month period, but would consider a significant Management Buy In,leading to a complete sale over an agreed period of time.
TECHNOLOGY SURVEY
viewing ed our survey re u who complet yo plete the of m l al co to le u Thank yo had 480 peop we , ng di an br ers Cer tified Build response. as a wonder ful w ch hi w ey rv su ho won the bbie Donmall w Ro to ns tio la tu Also congra fee machine. Nespresso Cof
Ideal candidates will want more control of their future by managing and growing a low risk and very profitable business, which has excellent people in place. You may currently be an ex Builder, Architectural designer, or from a building related trade or occupation. Ideally some one with a mix of practical skills and some business experience managing staff or small business units. You may feel it is time to get more reward for your own efforts, and set yourself up for life, by taking on your own business. Obviously you will need to be commercially savvy and have a level of entrepreneurial spirit as well as the right level of drive, energy and enthusiasm to make it work. We expect you will be able to invest, or have net assets, in excess of $500k. If you are looking to have greater control of your future, and are prepared to take on the mantle of business ownership, then we will be happy to discuss this opportunity with you in confidence. In the first instance please send your CV to mark@weatherpro.co.nz
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INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
gs for this gift, d Noel Leemin an Z AN helps CB to retailers, which Many thanks ort from these pp su ve ha to its good ts us and our clien Regards Robbie
Certified Builders Association of New Zealand Incorporated
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Certified Builders Association of New Zealand Incorporated will be held on Saturday 23 May 2015 commencing at 2.50pm in Plenary Room, Horncastle Arena, 55 Jack Hinton Drive, Addington, Christchurch.
AGENDA 1 Welcome and Apologies 2 Minutes from last Annual General Meeting 28th June 2014 3 Chairman’s Report 4 Chief Executive’s Report 5 Presentation of the Annual Financial Report for the year 2014 6 Announcement of Directors of Board 7 Special Business 8 General Business
NEW PRESIDENTS - Hamish Galloway Whakatane, Paul Bashford Wairarapa, Chris Ewens Blenheim, Pat Coughlan Canterbury
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excl
MONTH 14 MAy 15
AND RECEIVE*: HAMMAHAND® FC75 WEATHERBOARD NAILER Via redemption.
accessories#:
#As laid out in the James Hardie Linea Weatherboard Technical Specification pg 12 Table 7 www.jameshardie.co.nz/productfiles/0180549001404952507.pdf
*See Carters’ May 2015 Trade Offers mailer for Terms and Conditions.
•
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
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QUICK & EASY WALL & CEILING REPAIRS We’ve got it covered A FLEXIBLE GAP FILLER
FOR LARGER HOLES
FOR CRACKS, SCRATCHES & DENTS
For more information visit www.gib.co.nz or call 0800 100 442
NZ MADE FOR NZ CONDITIONS 8
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
GETTING SMARTER June - August 2015 Sub contractor management In line with new building law we look at bringing sub contractors closer to the builder • Managing through a sub contractor contract • Reeling in sub contractors liabilities in line with the builders • Sub Contractors and the Construction Contracts Act Bring your subbies, front line staff and apprentices Non members welcome. Proudly supported by... Our next round of Seminars takes us back to the job site, featuring new Smartfit® Window Technology • Smartfit® is a ready-to-fit window system • Built-in head flashings, jamb flashings, cavity closers, end dams, sill support bars • Clever water management features • Fast efficient installs Check out dates for a Seminar near you...
NORTH ISLAND DATE
DAY
CITY
JUNE
SOUTH ISLAND DATE
DAY
LOCATION
JUNE
08 June 2015
Monday
Rotorua
15 June 2015
Monday
Greymouth
09 June 2015
Tuesday
Taranaki
16 June 2015
Tuesday
Westport
15 June 2015
Monday
Gisborne
22 June 2015
Monday
Timaru
16 June 2015
Tuesday
Napier
23 June 2015
Tuesday
Oamaru
22 June 2015
Monday
Auckland (Whangaparoa)
29 June 2015
Monday
Geraldine
23 June 2015
Tuesday
Wellsford
30 June 2015
Tuesday
Christchurch
29 June 2015
Monday
Whakatane
JULY
30 June 2015
Tuesday
Tauranga
06 July 2015
Monday
Blenheim
07 July 2015
Tuesday
Nelson
JULY 01 July 2015
Wednesday
Whangamata
13 July 2015
Monday
Cromwell
06 July 2015
Monday
Auckland (Remuera)
14 July 2015
Tuesday
Dunedin
07 July 2015
Tuesday
Auckland (Northcote)
22 July 2015
Wednesday
Winton
13 July 2015
Monday
Taupo
23 July 2015
Thursday
Invercargill
14 July 2015
Tuesday
Waikato
28 July 2015
Tuesday
Wanaka
20 July 2015
Monday
Waiheke Island
29 July 2015
Wednesday
Queenstown
21 July 2015
Tuesday
Whangarei
22 July 2015
Wednesday
Kerikeri
28 July 2015
Tuesday
Cambridge
Monday
Christchurch (Rangiora)
03 August 2015
Monday
Manawatu
04 August 2015
Tuesday
Foxton
05 August 2015
Wednesday
Wairarapa
11 August 2015
Tuesday
Wellington
12 August 2015
Wednesday
Waikanae
AUGUST 03 August 2015
AUGUST
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
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DARGAVILLE FIELD DAYS On each of the three days of the Dargaville Field Days an ITAB apprentice built an outdoor bench seat in the CBANZ tent. Materials were donated by PlaceMakers. Two of the seats were raffled on the day, with proceeds going to a worthy cause. The third was donated as a memorial to Alistar Newman and sent to Kaitaia. ITAB apprentices who gave up their time to help were Ben Clotworthy, Cam Long and Paul Maihi.
Bottom Left: Ben Clotworthy. Bottom Right: Robin Storey, Howard Harnett and Regan Grbic.
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BUILD IT EXPO The Western Bay of Plenty committee organised another very successful Build It Expo which was held on 26th February. We managed to build on last year’s success and had 29 trade stands in attendance including our local City Council Building Services staff. Unfortunately we had to turn away a number of potential stand holders due to the demand and lack of space. The Expo was well attended by builders, designers and members of the public ready to build, with a total of 235 tickets sold. We had one designer come from as far as Turangi and a number from the Waikato. Thanks guys for making the effort to come over the hill to enjoy the scenery of our venue on the shores of the beautiful Tauranga Harbour. Congratulations to all the prize winners. For the 3 prize winners going to Hampton Downs Raceway, have a great time driving the Ferraris around the track. Mike Way President WBOP CBANZ
Left to right: Paul James, Jason McClintock, Allan Shaw, Mike Way and John Mills
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AUCKLAND GOLF DAY Auckland Certified Builders Golf Tournament. Friday 13th February at The Grange Golf Club, Papatoetoe, organised by the Auckland Committee of Certified Builders Association. There was an excellent attendance on the day of the inaugural Certified Builders Auckland Golf Day with 108 individuals playing Ambrose, and 14 sponsored holes. Whilst the main purpose of the day was to raise funds for the AST Trust, the focus was actually on playing and networking, both with each other and those sponsoring the holes - many whom are Associate Members of Auckland. There was plenty of ‘on course
12 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
entertainment’ and food - a BBQ - sponsored by Bella Kitchens (silver sponsor), the drinks/nibbles cart sponsored by GIB (also a silver sponsor) and of course we cannot forget the 19th hole food and beverage, sponsored by Mitre10 Trade (gold sponsor) – huge thanks for the t-shirt and hats for the Auckland committee and also the goodies for the top nine players! Hole sponsors (bronze sponsors) included Hilti, Volkswagen, Hirepool, Rylock, Trades Coach, Resene Construction/Rockcote, Firth, Beam Central Vacuum Systems, Manukau Nissan, Pryda and Paslode, Knauf Insulation, Carters Onehunga, Metro Performance Glass, Holdfast NZ, Builtin NZ, Eco Insulation, James Hardie, PlaceMakers Cook Street, Tamaki ITM and Dayle ITM. Not only did all these companies sponsor a hole, but many also donated product for the auction held afterwards including $5,000 worth of glass products, a trial glider flight, a central vacuum system, a ute storage system, power tools and various other excellent product.
Allied Concrete also donated a truckload of concrete, and thanks to Resene paints – a goodie bag for each player and sponsor containing suntan lotion, pen, tees, golf ball, water, golf towel, and chocolate bar – fantastic. Other companies who were not even present on the day made donations – either monetary or product for the auction – Mitek, Selleys, Vodafone, Hua Tools, Taurus, PlaceMakers Westgate/Kumeu, Silverdale and New Lynn, Warmup, Novus, Powertool Shop, The Warriors and the Shilton family. Whilst there were a number of holes who had activities – all super fun, but one activity in particular needs a special mention – Noel Leeming bought along an old washing machine, pay to hit the machine and go in the draw for a brand new machine – won on the day by a visitor from Canada! And on top of all that – meat raffles and spot prizes galore! A great day had by all. Thanks to Hilti for providing a power tool (valued at over $800) as ‘an incentive to register to play’ before 30 November 2014. Euan Smith of Lifestyle Builders took
away this prize. The top nine players also received a Hilti tool bag. We are hugely grateful to our sponsors for the continued support they give us throughout the year and particularly for this event which was a huge success. In all, as a committee we were thrilled to hear a number of hole sponsors who, on the day before leaving said – ‘lets do this again next year’. A bit of fine tuning required and yes we will! Premier Renovations were our top team on the day, and Carters Onehunga won best sponsored hole of the day. Huge thanks to all who attended for making this such a successful day. A donation will be made to the Apprenticeship Scholarship Trust at the Annual Conference AGM in May.
End Right: Euan Smith Lifestyle Builders early registration prize
WAIKATO FISHING DAY A small group of members and associates from around the regions descended upon Te Kouma in Coromandel to once again have a fishing day with good banter. The conditions were trying with 15 to 20 knots winds and the later part of the day the heavens opened up. A BBQ and refreshments made up for the lack of fish caught, enjoyment was had by all. Warwick Leigh-James
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 13
ASSOCIATION NEWS
Will I have to give every customer a 10 Yea r Guarantee under the new Building Act rules? From the 1st of January all builders are legally required to disclose certain information to every client on jobs worth more than $30,000 or face a penalty. This disclos ure includes information about the types of guarantees you can give your customer. So what do you need to have in place and what do you need to disclose? The law says you must disclose if you offer noncompletion and defects guarantees. If so, you must specify the time period covered and any limits or exclusions. These disclosure requirements are likely to increase consumer awareness of third party guarantees and, for those that can offer one, will be a point of difference and improv e your chances of winning new business. The new regula tions do not require you to provide a third party guarantee, merely tell customers if you can and if so what it covers. As a Certified Builder you can offer your clients the Homefirst 10 Year Builders Guarantee, which includes the non-completion and defects guarantees mentioned in the new regulations. It protects the homeowner if their builder is unable to complete the work or return to fix defects that may arise.
There are also time limits:
two years for non-structural defects ten years for structural defects
Common exclusions include:
owner supplied materials and owner arrang ed sub-contractors consequential damage works outside the building envelope damage or loss covered by other insurance contractual disputes
The Homefirst Guarantee is underwritten by a licensed insurer, with 40 years experience working alongs ide the New Zealand building industry. Claims are asses sed independently of both the builder and the insure r, guaranteeing an unbiased approach.
But I already have this legal requirement, why do I need to give a separate warranty?
The Guarantee is not automatically award ed, so for your client to receive one you must apply for it, in much the same way as you would apply for contra ct works insurance. The owner will receive a certificate of guarantee, acknowledging that their policy is in place, and you will receive a copy of it too.
Your legal obligations to fix defects under the Building Act apply as long as you are still trading. But if the buildin g company is no longer around, those legal warranties can’t be enforced, which is where an insured third party warran ty like Homefirst comes into play.
You can apply using your Certified Builders log in details at www.builtin.co.nz/login or contact Suppo rt Office and ask us to send you the application form. The friendly team at Builtin can also help you through the process. Call Kim on 0800 237 843 extn 714.
Benefits for homeowners include:
For information on how to complete the guara ntees section your disclosure statement visit the members section of the Certified Builders website. There is a template and a video that explains what to do.
peace of mind knowing that if a problem does arise their financial investment in the build is protec ted by an independent insurer the guarantee is also transferrable to subse quent owners, providing an attractive marketing benefi t
There are limits on the amount of cover for each section of the guarantee:
Loss of deposit: up to 20% of the contract price, to a maximum of $50,000 Extra completion costs: up to 20% of the contra ct price, to a maximum of $100,000 Defects: up to 50% of the contract price, to a maximum of $1,000,000
watertightwarranty.co.nz
To become a WaterTight Accredited Builde r contact Ben on: 07 579 6259, e: ben@builtin.co.nz
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Follow up to
TAUPO CHARITY GOLF DAY As a result of an extremely successful Charity Golf Day late last year the Taupo region donated $5,000.00 to the Lake Taupo Hospice and a further $1,000.00 to the Apprentice Scholarship Trust. The $5000.00 cheque was presented to the Lake Taupo Hospice’s fundraising and promotions manager Leanne Vlaanderen by Chris Smith and Leanne was overwhelmed by the amount the charity golf event raised. Leanne said whilst the hospice receives some
Photo is of Leanne Vlaanderen of Lake Taupo Hospice with Taupo region president Chris Smith and Amy Smith. (Taupo & Turangi Weekender)
government funding a lot of fundraising is completed by themselves to cover additional costs so this donation will be of great assistance to the Hospice. For those interested in this year’s Taupo Golf tournament it will be held November 13th.
QUIZ ‘N’ THE GREY MATTER New Zealand Building Code - Acceptable Solutions
B1 Structure
E1 Surface Water
For the purposes of applying loads, a rail shall be any handrail or any top rail having a width in plan of greater than how many mm.
To avoid blockages, surface water drains shall have an internal diameter of no less than how many mm? E2 External Moisture
B2 Durability
What is the minimum width of a brick veneer wall or panel?
On the durability table gutters or downpipes incorporated within the structure (e.g. down- pipes cast into a column or boxed behind cladding) must perform for how many years?
E3 Internal Moisture
C Protection from fire Buildings must be designed and constructed so that fire does not spread more than how many meters vertically from the fire source over the external cladding of multi-level buildings? D1 Access routes
Within a shower enclosure, the curtain or shower screen must extend past the shower rose by how many mm? F4 Safety from Falling Barrier construction; The triangular opening formed by the riser, tread, and bottom rail of the barrier on a stair shall be of such a size that a sphere of what diameter cannot pass through it?
Pitch, risers and treads Uniformity; For all steps in one flight, shall be uniform within the tolerance of how many mm? Measured at the centreline on straight flights and at the pitch line on curved and spiral flights.
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 15
The peace of mind you feel knowing that we’re 100% behind our GIB® products and systems can now be passed on to your residential clients. The GIB® Products and Systems Warranty makes it easy to meet your obligations under the new consumer protection measures in the Building Act, effective from 1 January 2015. To find out more about this and the GIB® warranty, visit gib.co.nz/warranty
peace of mind you can pass on.
16 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
Tried. TrusTed. True.
FEATURE: EMPLOYMENT AND ENVIRONMENT LAW
EMPLOYMENT Q&A The below content is by its nature general, and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice.
MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE
before starting on the benefit), and is not involved in supervising or training other workers; or
In our column for the December 2014/January 2015 InHouse magazine, we wrote about case law developments that had impacted on the way in which the minimum wage legislation is to be interpreted. In this column, we cover the increases to the minimum wages payable to employees.
• Is aged 16,17,18 or 18 and is required by his/her employment agreement to undertake at least 40 credits a year in an industry training programme for the purpose of becoming qualified for the occupation to which the employment agreement relates, and is not involved in supervising or training other workers.
Increase 1 April On 1 April 2015, increases to the minimum wages for employees came into effect. The increases were as follows:
The benefits applicable to the second bullet point above are specified in the legislation. “Industry training programme” is also defined.
• For adult workers paid by the hour, an increase to $14.75 (gross) per hour;
Trainee
• For starting out workers paid by the hour, an increase to $11.80 (gross) per hour;
A “trainee” means a worker aged 20 years or more who is required by his/her employment agreement to undertake at least 60 credits a year of an industry training programme for the purpose of becoming qualified for the occupation to which the employment agreement relates, and is not involved in supervising or training other workers.
• For trainees paid by the hour, an increase to $11.80 (gross) per hour. For workers paid by the day, week or fortnight, the increased rates are also specified.
Adult worker An “adult worker” is a worker aged 16 years or older, as long as the worker does not come within the definitions of “starting out worker” or “trainee”.
Starting out worker A “starting out worker” has a more complicated definition. In summary, this is a worker who: • Is aged 16 or 17 years and who has not completed 6 months continuous employment with his/her current employer and is not involved in supervising or training other workers; or • Is aged 18 or 19 years and who has been continuously paid a specified social security benefit for 6 months or more, and has not completed 6 months continuous employment with any employer (excluding employment
Danny Jacobson and Trudy Marshall are Partners at Employment & Environment Law, Barristers and Solicitors, Tauranga. They operate our Employment Helpline for CBANZ members : phone 07 928 0529. They have also previously produced a Guide for Employers in the Construction Industry which CBANZ can send out to any members on request.
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 17
DRAFTFCB M10 8108
The Mitre 10 Trade online hub gives you the tools to keep your business running smoothly Visit 18 INHOUSEonline. | APRIL/MAY 2015mitre10.co.nz /trade
WIN $500 OF HIGH VIS SWAZI GEAR! There’s plenty of ‘Bright orange stuff’ on the market. However, not all is compliant and much has yet to become certified by testing agencies. Another problem is durability. Let’s face it, the building and construction industries can be physically demanding, both on staff and gear. Swazi Apparel, a New Zealand based manufacturer, has a long history of making extremely durable garments for those working outdoors. Now with the expansion of their High-visibility range they provide users with not only gains in safety, but also in productivity and value.
How to WIN 500 bucks worth of High Vis Swazi Gear... Simply email social@swazi.co.nz with the following details:
• First and Last Name
• Business Name (if applicable)
• Contact phone number
• A photo of you and your building team
The competition will close on 5th June 2015. All entries will be posted on the Certified Builders Facebook page and a winner will be chosen. To join the Certified Builders Facebook page check out www.facebook.com/groups/CBANZ/ INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 19
FEATURE: THE RULES ABOUT RETENTIONS ARE CHANGING
Geoff Hardy is the senior lawyer in the Auckland commercial law firm Madison Hardy. Contact Geoff on (09) 379 0700 or geoff@ madisonhardy.com. This article is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice.
THE RULES ABOUT RETENTIONS ARE CHANGING By Geoff Hardy of Auckland commercial law firm Madison Hardy
When Mainzeal Property and Construction Ltd went into receivership, contractors were owed $18.3m in retentions, most of which they will probably never receive. So on 31 March 2016 the Government will be introducing a new set of rules about retentions, following the trend that has already emerged in other countries. They are part of the amendments to the Construction Contracts Act 2002. Depending on whether you are at the bottom of the feeding chain (a specialist trade contractor) or at the top (a developer or commercial building owner), this will either be good news or bad news for you. If you are somewhere in the middle, it will be both good news and bad. The good news is that if you have retentions deducted from your payments, the party that owes you the money (your “client”) will have to hold those retentions on trust for you. That means that if your client goes bust, the client’s creditors can’t touch the retentions because they belong to you, not the client. The bad news is that if you deduct retentions from the payments you owe to your subcontractors, you will have to hold those payments in trust for them. And that means more paperwork to add to the ever increasing burden, and potentially some very serious consequences if you don’t comply. The new rules only apply to commercial construction contracts, not residential. A commercial construction contract means a contract for carrying out construction work in which none of the parties is an individual who is occupying, or intends to occupy, the premises wholly or mainly as a dwellinghouse. A dwellinghouse means any
20 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
building that is occupied as a residence. It includes any fence, gate, path, garage, shed, or other structure, amenity, or improvement that is an accessory to, and used wholly or mainly for the purposes of, the residence. Some residential projects will be caught by the new rules. For example, where you are working for a franchise or group home building company, or you are a subcontractor. In those cases, your client is not an individual who is going to live in the premises. And obviously you aren’t either, so any subcontract you enter into will be a commercial construction contract. Of course, not all residential building contracts provide for retentions. But it is worth knowing that of the four standard form building contracts in common use, two of them (Standards New Zealand and New Zealand Institute of Architects) do provide for retentions. This is going to be a game-changer for the New Zealand construction industry. Developers and head contractors have always tended to use retentions as working capital. In other words, they spend the retentions on paying their bills, in the hope that they will have recouped or borrowed enough money to pay the retentions when the time comes. And typically they push out the time at which they have to pay out those retentions (practical completion and rectification of all defects identified during the defects liability period) for as long as they possibly can. As from 31 March 2016 they won’t be able to spend the retentions on paying their bills, so they will have to finance their projects some other way.
FEATURE: THE RULES ABOUT RETENTIONS ARE CHANGING There is no requirement to keep the retentions in a separate trust account, and you can mix it up with other money, but you have to cough it up at the end of the day. In the meantime, you can invest it in any number of conservative investments that are authorised under the Trustee Act 1956, and you can keep any interest you earn or profits you make. However if those investments turn sour, you have to make up the shortfall. The only time you won’t have to pay the retentions to the contractors who earned them, is if they have defaulted in performance of their obligations and you have applied the money towards remedying their default. If you are holding retentions you will have to maintain proper accounting records showing what you did with the money. Those records can be audited and the contractor on whose behalf you are holding the retentions can inspect them at all reasonable times and without charge. The big developers and construction companies will have the resources to be able to comply with those requirements, but it will be a challenge for the small-medium companies. I can see them outsourcing both the accounting and the investment functions, to specialist service providers such as banks or trust companies. All this will add cost, which the Government is gambling will be offset by the greater efficiencies to be gained from keeping the money safe.
I expect these new rules will be abused for a while, by developers or contractors who either aren’t aware of them, or can’t finance their project any other way than by using retentions to pay their bills. In those situations they will still play the same games to delay or avoid payment of retentions, by alleging that the contractor on whose behalf they are holding the money has defaulted in some way. That may buy some time, but ultimately the dispute will get resolved, and then the holder of the retentions will either have to stump up with the money, or face the music. What happens if you don’t stump up? Well if your development or construction company has gone bust, you possibly might not care. But that would be a big mistake. Section 220 of the Crimes Act 1961 (theft by a person in a special relationship) and section 229 of the same Act (criminal breach of trust) would apply to directors and senior managers of companies who have knowingly and intentionally broken the rules. And the maximum penalty for committing those crimes? Up to seven years’ imprisonment. So I can see some serious attention being paid to these new rules in the period leading up to 31 March 2016. (The above is by its nature general, and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice).
6 FREE Help Line Services For all members 1. Contracts
4. Insurance
PETER DEGERHOLM Contract issues? Call Peter for a free 20 minute session. Ph: 04 587 0061 Mob: 021 307 232 Fax: 04 587 0062 Email: peter@calderglen.co.nz
JIM RICKARD Insurance issues? Call Jim at CBA insurances. Ph: 07 579 6259 Mob: 0274 505 528 Email: jim@certified.co.nz
2. Business Legal Issues
5. Employment
GEOFF HARDY For up to 20 minutes of free legal advice on business-related issues, phone Geoff on 09 379 0700, Meika on 09 970 9568, or Simona on 09 969 5963, any time between 8.30am-5.30pm weekdays.
3. General Business Accounting or Tax STEVE BROCKLEBANK For general business, accounting or tax issues you can contact Steve Brocklebank of PricewaterhouseCoopers. You must identify yourself as a CBANZ member and any information you disclose will be treated with confidence. Call Steve Ph: 03 470 3615
DANNY JACOBSON TRUDY MARSHALL For advice on employment related issues, call for a free 10 minute session. Ph: 07 928 0529 Mob: 021 857 529 Email: trudy@e2law.co.nz
6. Health & Safety GREG WATTS For advice on any health and safety issues, call Greg for a free 30 minute session. Ph: 0800 555 339 Email: info@hazardco.com
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 21
FEATURE: BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS - PART 2
Tracy McElroy-Rivett is a consultant with the Crowe Horwath Business Performance group and ex-owner of a Construction business. Crowe Horwath delivers business advice, coaching and training to support successful business owners across NZ. Go to www.crowehorwath.co.nz/construction for further information.
Turning your Plan into Results!
BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS – PART 2 This series is aimed at helping business owners combine technical construction skills with core business and management concepts to improve their business’s performance. This topic follows on from part 1, “Strategic planning for growth”. “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.” This famous quote from John F. Kennedy can be applied to politics and business! Let’s look at the key elements in turning a plan into action.
1. You!
4. New products or services Have you found a solution to a common problem? Sourced a hard-to-find or unusual product? Found a way to produce something more efficiently than others? Have you researched the viability of offering those capabilities in the form of a new product or service?
5. Funding Make sure you evaluate the operational and funding aspects of your plan separately. Just because an opportunity arises, does not make it worthwhile simply because the business can afford it. Equally, if a fantastic, profit-generating opportunity arises, it may be worth seeking investment from new sources.
The business owner’s attitude and skills have a huge influence on results. Before implementing your plan, check in with yourself. Do you believe in the plan? Are you plagued by worries, and if so, are you able to separate the “real” issues from unfounded, energy-sapping, negative thoughts?
6. Flexibility
2. Your team
7. Measuring progress
Does your team have the technical and interpersonal skills to deliver your vision? How could you develop them? Can you outsource or hire people to fill the gaps?
Construction firms are often leaders in project management, but don’t let “Cobblers Children Syndrome” infect you – make sure you apply your project management skills to your business plans, as well as to your builds!
3. Customers Referrals from satisfied customers are valuable business assets. There is a saying: “People don’t remember what you said, but they remember the way you made them feel”. Create a great customer response from delivering fantastic finished properties, on-time and budget and use the testimonials to win new customers. 22 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
Many opportunities arise because of a sudden change in market conditions. Avoid being so attached to a plan that you miss a new opportunity that pops up! Find time in your busy day to observe new trends and changes happening around you.
In summary, successful change is a result of quality planning, implementation and project management. Pay attention to both the financial and “fluffy”, sides of your business – staff morale and customer satisfaction are great barometers of a plan that is being implemented well!
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INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 23
THE SECRET
to passing your moisture test is to start using Bottom Plate Packers Saves time, money and adds value.
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MOST BUILDERS CAN RELATE TO THIS! John Oliver, Inventor/Marketing Manager, HIANDRI Solutions Ltd Hold ups on building sites are inevitable, but when you can avoid these costly delays, why wouldn’t you? The cost and delay that some builders experience due to wet bottom plates is quite staggering. I was recently talking with the project manager of a well-known housing company, who informed me, last winter they had about eight homes they were building, held up for around 6 weeks each, prior to the moisture content in the bottom plates dropping to 20 percent. To put that into dollar terms, on this example, the cost would have been well in excess of $50,000. To put HANDRI under the frames on all those 8 homes would have cost the housing company under $4,000, plus they get all the other benefits. This company is now installing HIANDRI on all its frames.
24 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
Calling in on a building site in Ellerslie, I walked down the drive, to be greeted by Brad the builder, who had spotted the HIANDRI packer in my hand. His first words were, ‘know all about your product, and it is going on every house we build from now on!’ Then he begins to tell me about the last home they built, and the nightmare experience. They spent $2,400 on heaters and dehumidifiers plus a week or two just trying to get the moisture content down, so they could line. It didn’t matter what they did, there was no way the moisture level in the bottom plates, particularly on the internal walls, was getting anywhere near the 20% required. In desperation, they made the decision to remove and replace all the bottom plates on the internal walls, this took 4 builders 4 days to achieve! This unnecessary frustrating exercise cost Brad in the order of $10,000. If you have a story like this, we would love to hear it. email: john@hiandri.com
OFFICE PINBOARD Reduction Task
force commun ity meetings belo w Information ca n also be found on ht tp://w w w.dia. govt.nz/RulesReductionTask force-Publ ic-Meetings. Th is page will be updated regularly. Up to date deta ils about the m eetings will also be post ed on the Task force’s Facebook page (facebook.com / cutredtapenz) and Twitter (@CutRedTapeN Z).
Writ ten submiss io
ns can be lodg
ed by: sReduc tion@di a.govt.nz; • post to Rules Reduction Task force Secretariat PO Box 805, W ellington 6140; or • the Rules Redu ction submissio ns website • email at Rule
Caltex StarCar d discount is no w available throug h Challenge! br anded fuel outlets whi ch will give mem bers an additional 80+ locations natio nwide that will allow you to receive your ex isting Caltex StarCar d discount. Pu rchases at Challenge! will appear on your monthly StarCard Statem ents alongside any made through the Caltex Net work.
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INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 25
CARPENTRY APPRENTICE CHALLENGE
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
APPRENTICE CHALLENGE
CARPENTRY APPRENTICE CHALLENGE
REGIONAL WINNERS AUCKLAND - ALBANY The first of two Auckland Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenges was held Monday 13th April at Unitec in Albany, North Harbour, with top young builder Hunter Flatz crowned as the first of the two Auckland Regional Champions and advancing to the New Zealand Final. All materials were sponsored by Dayles ITM with the final products going back to Unitec North Harbour. North Harbour HUNTER FLATZ W O Flatz Construction Limited
Providers Taking part:
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AUCKLAND - MT ALBERT The second Auckland Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenges was held Thursday 16th April at Unitec in Mt Albert, Auckland, with top young builder Vladimir Titoff crowned as the second of the two Auckland Regional Champions and advancing to the New Zealand Final.
OTAGO The Otago Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenge was held on Saturday 21 March at Otago Polytechnic, with top young builder Marcus Devereux crowned Regional Champion and advancing to the New Zealand Final.
All materials were sponsored by Dayles ITM with the final products going back to Unitec Mt Albert.
PlaceMakers supported the challenge by supplying all material free of charge with the final products going back to the Southern Institute of Technology and Otago Polytechnic.
Mt Albert VLADIMIR TITOFF Hampstead Homes
Otago MARCUS DEVEREUX Mike Creedy Builders
APPRENTICE CHALLENGE The Carpentry Apprentice Challenge consisted of 12 events that have been held across New Zealand over March-April, run by Certified Builders and the Industry Training Association (ITAB), an organisation founded and supported by Certified Builders, in conjunction with a number of polytechnics, large construction companies and other employers throughout New Zealand. This year there was an increase in competitions from 9 to 12 with 60 competitors taking part. There were three new competitions, Waiariki (Taupo) West Coast (Greymouth) and Otago/SIT (Dunedin).
Mt Albert to help train future generations of apprentices. The challenge is undertaken in a set timeframe and covers all aspects of technical building from following plans to meeting Health & Safety requirements.
This year the challenge has apprentices competing to build something that all apprentices need to know how to build, such as a framing wall or a staircase, with the final products going back to Unitec North Harbour and Unitec
The successful apprentices will represent their region in the New Zealand Final to be held at the certified Builders Annual Conference in Christchurch on 22-23 May 2015.
WELLINGTON
Certified Builders Chief Executive, Grant Florence, said “Given that all members of Certified Builders are required to be trade-certified, a major focus for us is helping to foster more quality apprentices. So it’s appropriate that the finished products of these competitions will be used to help train future apprentices through ITAB.
HAWKES BAY
MANAWATU
The Wellington Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenge was held on Saturday 21 March at the Wellington Institute of Technology, with top young builder Ryan Jervis crowned Regional Champion and advancing to the New Zealand Final.
The Hawkes Bay Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenge was held on Saturday 28 March at Tumu ITM, Napier, with top young builder Lee Holloway from Simkin Construction crowned Regional Champion and advancing to the New Zealand Final.
The Manawatu Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenge was held on Saturday 21 March at the Universal College of Learning, with top young builder Staci King crowned Regional Champion and advancing to the New Zealand Final.
Supporting the challenge was Mitre 10 Lower Hutt with the final product going back to the Wellington Institute of Technology.
Also thank you to Jaime at Tumu ITM for supplying materials and venue with the final products going back to the Eastern Institute of Technology.
Materials were sponsored by ITM Palmerston North with the final products going back to the Universal College of Learning.
Wellington RYAN JERVIS Mike Craig Builders
Hawkes Bay LEE HOLLOWAY Simkin Construction
Manawatu STACI KING Robbie Builders
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 29
APPRENTICE CHALLENGE
NORTHLAND The Northland Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenge was held on Saturday 28 March at the Northtec Education Institute with top young builder Paul Maihi from TW Henwood Builders, crowned Regional Champion and advancing to the New Zealand Final. Materials were sponsored by ITM Whangarei with the final products going back to the Northtec Education Institute. Northland PAUL MAIHI TW Henwood Builders
WEST COAST
WESTERN BOP
The West Coast’s Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenge was held on Saturday 28 March at the ITM, Greymouth with top young builder Phillip Hogan from GJ Gardner Homes, Greymouth crowned Regional Champion and advancing to the New Zealand Final.
The Bay of Plenty Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenge was held on Saturday 21 March at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, with top young builder Luke Dickinson crowned Regional Champion and advancing to the New Zealand Final.
Materials sponsored by Greymouth ITM with the final products going back to Tai Toutini Polytech.
Materials sponsored by Mitre 10 Mega Tauranga with the final products going back to the Bay of plenty Polytechnic.
West Coast PHILLIP HOGAN GJ Gardner Homes
Western Bay of Plenty LUKE DICKINSON Hawes Building Solutions Limited
Thank you to the sponsors: Thanks to the kind sponsors who gave generously and supported the New Zealand Carpentry Apprentice Challenge 2015:
Principle Sponsors:
30 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
APPRENTICE CHALLENGE
CHRISTCHURCH
NELSON
TAUPO
The Canterbury Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenge was held on Saturday 21 March at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology, with top young builder Mark Johnston crowned Regional Champion and advancing to the New Zealand Final.
The Nelson Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenge was held on Saturday 14 March at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, with top young builder Josh Gardiner crowned Regional Champion and advancing to the New Zealand Final.
The Taupo Regional NZ Carpentry Apprenticeship Challenge was held on Saturday 21 March at ITM Taupo, with top builder Keepa Hodge crowned Regional Champion and advancing to the New Zealand Final.
Materials were sponsored by Hamptons ITM with the final products going back to the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology.
Materials were sponsored by Mitre 10 Mega Nelson which can be used by future generations of apprentices at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology to study.
Christchurch MARK JOHNSTON Chatterton Builders
Nelson JOSH GARDINER Inch Building
Materials were sponsored by ITM Taupo with the final products going back to the Waiariki Institute of Technology.
Taupo KEEPA HODGE Home Renovations Lake Taupo Ltd
Challenge Supporters - National Final:
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 31
32 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
EXCELLENCE THROUGH TRAINING
ONGOING EXCELLENCE THROUGH TRAINING Shane Ririnui North Island Membership Development Manager
Shane joins the Association after spending many years in a number of areas within the industry. As a tiler by trade, Shane also has a background in the roofing, spouting, balustrade and handrail industries. Shane took time out from his roofing and spouting representative role to pursue his professional rugby career in Ireland. During his time in Ireland Shane learnt the Tiling Trade. On his arrival back to Tauranga, New Zealand, Shane then joined a balustrade and handrail company as Sales Manager where he continued to play rugby for his local whanau based club. Shane will step into the vacancy of North Island Membership Development Manager delivering ToolBox Seminars and helping the regions out with regional activities. Shane will also be available to assist and support ITAB’s when called upon.
Brian Dillon Chairman AST Trust
As we enter the second quarter of 2015, there are no signs of the strong economic activity abating, and in particular the amount of construction work occurring across the country. While this is generally seen as a good thing, it presents challenges for the industry too. Current ones seem to include a shortage of experienced/qualified staff to run that next contract on offer, and the sometimes flow-on effect to finding a suitable apprentice to take on. The first is driven by economics; the second affected by both economic and social factors. A recent news article from the Waikato region highlights a shortage of apprentices, and points in part to an unwillingness by some to commit to a physical job and/or a four year training period. While most employers want a committed apprentice from the start, many apprentices don’t fully realise the opportunities the trade and industry offer until they are well into their training, so a challenge for the wider industry is to nurture and encourage more apprentices into this very rewarding vocation. The majority of the regional rounds of the 2015 NZ Apprentice Challenge have now concluded, and as a principal sponsor the AST is very pleased with the levels of interest and quality from the participants, as well as the input from the local CBANZ committees and Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITP) staff. We all look forward to seeing the finalists in Christchurch in May, vying for the national title. The Trust continues to receive a regular number of applications for hardship grants. This shows that the awareness of this support is growing, and also that there is a very real need for financial support with many of our apprentices. The support the trust receives from industry partners, regional CBANZ committees and the ITP’s is invaluable in continuing this support. Lastly, big thank you to Paul Taylor who has recently stepped down from his position as a trustee on the AST. Despite holding a very busy role, Paul has been an active contributor to the trust’s activities over the last six years.
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 33
STILL NEW ZEALAND’S MOST QUALIFIED BUILDERS 17TH ANNUAL CERTIFIED BUILDERS CONFERENCE & EXPO – HORNCASTLE ARENA, CHRISTCHURCH 21ST, 22ND & 23RD MAY 2015 Our upcoming conference and expo just keeps getting bigger and better. The trade expo area has been extended twice already due to an overwhelming response from our trade and industry partners wanting to be in attendance and have a catch-up with our members.
34 INHOUSE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015
THURSDAY 21ST MAY: Factory & Red Zone Rebuild Tour (4 skills maintenance points): Thursday @ 9am to 5pm The ever popular factory tour returns again and will be taking in 3 manufacturing plants as well as a tour of the Christchurch Red Zone Rebuild with full commentary. Visiting: Calder Stewart Roofing & Precast, Allied Concrete & Winstone Wallboards. FREE Tradies Expo Thursday @ 3:30pm – 5:30pm Come along, bring your collegues and friends to the FREE Tradies Expo Open Afternoon where you will be able to wander around over 75 building & construction industry related trade exhibits. ITM Welcome Function Thursday @ 5:30pm to 7:30pm Join us for the first ever Welcome Function kindly sponsored by ITM, enjoy nibbles and a tasty tipple while catching up with fellow Certified Builders who you haven’t seen since last conference, before hopping on a bus to be taken back to your hotel for the night.
FRIDAY 22ND MAY - KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: Bill James - Stand Up and Play to Your Strengths Friday @ 9:15am How can you turn more visits into jobs? How do we all compete with the big boys easily? And how do we do it by being ourselves? Rhett Brown – Kindly sponsored by WorkSafe NZ Friday @ 10:45am I AM YOUR LIFESAVER. My mission is to save your life by relating my own experiences. I can clearly demonstrate the lack of safety at my old workplace. These circumstances will in turn be imparted to you all so that YOU will not become a statistic like myself. I will describe what it means to be permanently injured. What it means to my family and friends. What it has cost me emotionally, physically, financially and personally. I want everyone to go home after work the same way they arrived. I never went home. That hurt. My message is relevant to everyone, every day at home during recreation and in the workplace. My message is about life itself and the good that can always be found in what happens to us.
Davey Hughes – Kindly sponsored by Mitre10 Trade Friday @ 2:15pm Living your dreams - Pirates, Bears, Wolves and Wild Women We’ve seen Davey Hughes aka the Swazi Man on TV’s Border Patrol and 60 minutes. He’s the long-haired dude in the cowboy hat driving the customs guys crazy after arriving home from an adventure in some far-flung part of the planet with furs, spurs and exotic bones. Join Davey round his campfire as he talks about • His deep passion for all things New Zealand, including keeping his business New Zealand-made • Fending off charging grizzlies • Running across desperate and devious ivory poachers • Saving the Siberian tiger • Riding with Mongolian nomads • Running a successful business while enjoying life to the max… and much much more Baboomfa!! Geoff Hardy presents Building Law – The Latest Developments Friday @ 3:45pm Geoff’s not to be missed session will cover the following subject matters: • The consumer rights & remedies in action – experience gained from the first 5 months • How the CBANZ Building contracts have changed in response to the new consumer rules • When your customer goes bust, can the Liquidator claw back your money? • The latest Government proposals for protecting your retentions • The most common questions we are asked on the CBANZ free legal helpline PlaceMakers Mingler – A Night at the Races – kindly sponsored by PlaceMakers Friday @ 6pm
EVENT
The 3 hour long Friday PlaceMakers Mingler is not to be missed! Addington Raceway is a hop, skip and a jump across the carpark from Horncastle Arena, the final chance for high quality horses to earn much needed points and cement their place in Harness Racing’s championship race The Jewels in Ashburton the following week.
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 35
SATURDAY 23RD MAY EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOP LINE-UP: At this year’s conference there will be 3 rooms with 4 educational workshops in each room. There is no need to book which workshop/s you will be attending, simply turn up and take a seat.
CERTIFIED STREAM: 8:30am to 9:25am SALES & SUCCESS To Enhance Your Business With successful selling techniques learn how to manage a sales enquiry and convert an enquiry into a “Sale”. Hear of the history, success and planned future of Certified Plans and how this initiative can enhance your business. 9:30am to 10:25am Law changes: Insurances and Product Warranties – This is a two-part educational workshop: First part is: What you need to know about your insurance & guarantees with the new regulations – Ben Rickard, Insurance & Guarantees Adviser at CBA Insurances and Builtin New Zealand This workshop will answer the following questions: • What insurance and guarantees do I need to have under the new regulations?
Second part is: Product Warranties: What Builders need to know about recent law changes – Don Thompson, Senior Specification Editor Productspec Recent legislative changes now require builders to submit product warranties upon completion of the works. Don will outline the requirements for Builders, explain your responsibilities, plus demonstrate how you can quickly and easily source these warranties via the Productspec website 11:00am to 11:55am Ensure you get paid – the CCA is now better than ever! – Peter Degerholm – Adjudicator and construction contracts specialist, Claderglen Associates Ltd Brief of workshop content: • How and why the CCA works • Discuss a real-life example of the CCA in action • Forthcoming changes to the Act • How to use the Act to improve your cash flow
• What information should I be providing on my disclosure statements to comply with the regulations?
12:00pm to 12:55pm The Importance of the Apprentice
• What documents do I need to give my client at the end of the contract?
This workshop will highlight the importance of the apprentice, with speakers from education providers, employers of apprentices as well as a qualified builder and previous winner of the NZ Carpentry Apprentice Challenge who is now a Certified Builder Business Member and his road to success.
36 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
OFFICE STREAM: 8:30am to 9:25am What you need to know about competition and consumer law – Nicky Beechey, Chief Adviser, Competition Branch, Commerce Commission “It’s easier to break the price-fixing rule than you might think!” This workshop will give you a quick run-down of competition law and how to avoid anti-competitive agreements, especially price-fixing. We will provide examples of recent cases and investigations in the construction sector. We will give you some practical tips to help you to stay on the right side of the law. We will also update you on some recent changes to consumer law. The session will be informal and interactive and there will be an opportunity to ask questions throughout the workshop. 9:30am to 10:25am Make the Internet work for your business: Michael Bongiovanni, BDM Incubation & Innovation, Yellow The Internet is here and it has changed the way people live, interact, buy and make decisions. This session will put the Internet into perspective and lay out a path for you to use the internet to help you with your business. Topics include – how consumers use the internet to engage builders, what makes up a good website, what to prioritise when developing your strategy, how to budget and measure impact and 7 things you can do for free to improve your online presence tomorrow.
SITE STREAM: 8:30am to 9:25am Force for Change - How the Canterbury Earthquakes enabled Innovation, New Technologies and Cost Efficiency: Jade Kirk, Director, Kirk Roberts The Canterbury Earthquakes accelerated the development of new building technologies that were designed to enhance both damage avoidance design and cost efficiency. But in a climate of risk aversion and conservatism many innovative approaches were considered too ‘new.’ Kirk Roberts Consulting Engineers, however, forged fresh dialogue and worked alongside architects and developers to demonstrate how innovation added value, reduced cost and met the need for stronger, more resilient commercial buildings. 9:30am to 10:25am LBP Update – how the scheme is working & plans for the future: Paul Hobbs, Registrar Building Practitioner Licensing, MBIE
Charity Auction – kindly sponsored by Fletcher Window & Door Systems Saturday @ 4:30pm
11:00am to 11:55am Customer Service & Satisfaction: Stephen Caunter, Business Training Manager, ANZ Biz Hub Your business will be more successful not from being great at your craft but by also being able to deliver outstanding Customer Service in the process. The responsibility for service does rest with the business owner and the ability to instil into the rest of the team the need to deliver great service. This session will cover what service is and isn’t and why it is critical. How to engage your teams. Why are we all so different and how you need to be adaptable? A quick exercise to identify your style and how it impacts on service. 12:00pm to 12:55pm Finding the pots of gold in your cashflow: Peter J Cody, Partner, PwC Too often we see businesses struggling to manage cashflow pressures when the solution to the problem is already within their current business. To help businesses extract more cash from their current business, our workshop will look at: • Common challenges/obstacles; • Suggestions for improvement; and • Taking a look at some useful tools to make managing cashflows easier. The key objective from the workshop is to help business owners identify tangible changes that they can make to the business to improve cashflows.
Update on skills maintenance and LBP complaints, learnings and observations from the first few years of the LBP scheme. 11:00am to 11:55am Absolutely Essential Health & Safety Toolkit: Vadim Spice, Project Team Leader Falls from Heights, WorkSafe NZ All attendees will receive the publication (notebook) that assists in identifying common issues and risks to small construction sites. During this workshop we will offer guidance to help manage these responsibilities, Vadim will also offer an outline on the upcoming changes to our Health and Safety legislation, to promote a Question and Answer session. 12:00pm to 12:55pm Prebuilt construction in NZ: Pamela Bell, PrefabNZ CEO and Dave Scobie, Concision General Manager An overview of local and international innovations with a close look at the new Concision joint venture.
Gala Dinner – Fabulous Fifties 7pm to 12am: Saturday @ 7pm EVENT
The ever popular Charity Auction will take place on Saturday afternoon, grab yourself a bargain and help apprentices in their hour of need – it’s a win win! All funds go to the Apprenticeship Scholarship Trust.
EVENT
The Saturday Gala Dinner is the highlight of our conference; it’s when you get to unwind after 2 days of learning and networking. Set in the heart of the Air Force Museum in the magnificent Aircraft Hall, you will be served a delectable three course meal, and rock ‘n roll the night away to the 2015 37 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY breathtaking five piece band, Puree.
FEATURE: 17TH ANNUAL CERTIFIED BUILDERS CONFERENCE & EXPO
CONFERENCE SPONSORS Many thanks to our conference sponsors: Charity Auction - Fletcher Window & Door Systems
Friday Mingler - PlaceMakers Welcome function - ITM
Friday Afternoon tea - Winstones Wallboards
Friday Happy Hour - Carters
Name badges - Pryda
Keynote Speaker - WorkSafe
Bus advertising - Knauf Insulation
Satchel & Keynote Speaker - Mitre10 USB Lanyard - James Hardie
Bus advertising - Certified Plans Bus advertising - Hebel
MC - BRANZ.
CONFERENCE EXHIBITORS (In alphabetical order) Allied Concrete
Dulux
Metro Performance Glass
Quickflash
Addison Drilling
Eco Insulation
Mitek
Ramset
ANZ
Electrolux
Mitre10
Red Stag
Anzor
MYOB
Resene Construction
APL
Fletcher Window & Door Systems
Nalco
Rheem
Bartercard
Genesis Energy
NASH
Samsung
BCITO
Hazardco
Nelson Pine
SIKA
BRANZ
Hiandri
Noel Leeming Commercial
SIMX
Builda Price
Hilti
Noel Leeming Lifestyle
Site Safe
BuiltinNZ
Holdfast
Novus
Sto NZ
Carters
HomeTech Solatube
NZ Scaffolding
Toyota
CBA Insurances
Intaks
NZ Steel
Tradeworx
CBANZ
ITAB
Paslode
Vodafone Digital Mobile
Certified Plans
ITM
Paul Industries
Warmup NZ
CHH Woodproducts
James Hardie
Peter Fell
Whirlpool
CS For Doors
Juralco
Pink Batts
Winstone Wallboards
CSR Hebel
Knauf Insulation
PlaceMakers
WorkSafe & ACC
Databuild
Laminex
Pro Clima
DeWalt
Marley
Pryda
FEATURE: 17TH ANNUAL CERTIFIED BUILDERS CONFERENCE & EXPO
TIMING
ACTIVITY
ROOM THURSDAY - 21ST MAY 2015
9am to 5:15pm
Factory Tour
Christchurch
1:00pm
Registration desk opens
Registration area
3:30pm
Trade Expo open afternoon
Expo area
5:30pm
ITM Welcome function
Expo area
7:30pm
Buses back to accommodation FRIDAY - 22ND MAY 2015
7:30am
Registration desk opens
Registration area
9:00am
Welcome from the Chairman of the Board - Dave Brown
Plenary area
9:15am
Stand Up and Play to Your Strengths - Bill James
Plenary area
10:15am
Morning Tea
Expo area
10:45am
I am your lifesaver, Rhett Brown - kindly sponsored by WorkSafe
Plenary area
11:45am
Yellow - Web & why you should be there!
Plenary area
12:15pm
Live feed to Antarctica to catch up with 2x apprent-ICE
Plenary area
12:30pm
Lunch
Expo area
1:30pm
Official Conference Opening by Hon Dr Nick Smith Minister for Building and Construction
Plenary area
2:15pm
Living your dreams, Davey Hughes - kindly sponsored by Mitre10
Plenary area
3:15pm
Afternoon Tea
Expo area
3:45pm
Building Law - The latest Developments, Geoff Hardy construction law expert
Plenary area
4:30pm
Carters Happy Hour
Expo area
6:00pm
Placemakers Friday Mingler at the Races
Addington Race Way
9:00pm
Buses depart to accommodation SATURDAY - 23RD MAY 2015
7:30am
Registration desk opens
Registration area
8:30am
Educational workshop round 1
Breakout rooms
9:30am
Educational workshop round 2
Breakout rooms
10:30am
Morning tea
Expo area
11:00am
Educational workshop round 3
Breakout Rooms
12:00pm
Educational workshop round 4
Breakout Rooms
1:00pm
Lunch
Expo area
1:45pm
Official Conference Closing
Plenary area
2:30pm
Carpentry Apprentice Challenge 2015 Winner Announced
Plenary area
2:50pm
Certified Builders Annual General Meeting (members only)
Plenary area
4:30pm
Fletcher Window $ Door Systems Charity Auction
South Concourse
5:30pm
Buses back to accommodation
7:00pm
Fabulous Fifties Gala Dinner - pre dinner drinks
Air Force Museum
7:30pm
Fabulous Fifties Gala Dinner
Air Force Museum
Midnight
Buses back to accommodation SUNDAY - 24TH MAY 2015
9:00am to 5:00pm
Akaroa Tour and Dolphin Cruise
Hotels/arena
10:00am to 4:00pm
Clearwater Golf Day
Hotels/arena
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 39
FREE TRADIE EXPO P
Are you a tradie in/around Christchurch or studying carpentry?
P
Do you like to keep up to date with building industry products and services?
P
Do you enjoy receiving freebies?
P
Fancy a few hours off the work site?
P
Want to join Certified Builders Association of NZ?
P
Keen to mingle with like-minded tradies?
Scan the QR code to add this event to your calendar or go to www.certified.co.nz for more info....
NEW ZEALAND’S MOST QUALIFIED BUILDERS
FREE TRADIE EXPO 21 May @ Horncastle Arena, Christchurch 3:30pm to 5:30pm 75+ Building Industry Specific Exhibition Stands 40 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
FEATURE: NEW RETENTION RULES
Peter Degerholm MM (Disp Res) Reg QS FNZIQS FAMINZ (Arb/Med) MRICS Calderglen Associates Limited PO Box 31 595, Lower Hutt
NEW RETENTION RULES The government has taken the final step in the long-awaited amendments to the Construction Contracts Act 2002, introducing a new retention regime that will come into effect in 2016. At the time of writing the legislation had not been passed, but this is what was proposed in the Supplementary Order Paper: • The retention regime will apply only to commercial construction contracts. • Under the Act any amount withheld as security for defects in the performance of a party’s obligations under a contract will be treated as retentions.
5040 Email: peter@calderglen.co.nz
• Importantly, any money held as retentions will not be available for the payment of debts of any creditor is a payer goes into liquidation. In that event a payee from whom retentions have been deducted will have first call on retention money in the event of the payer’s liquidation. The retention provisions will only apply to new contracts from 31 March 2016, providing a one-year transition period for industry to make whatever changes are necessary to processes, procedures and contracts. Other changes in the Amendment Act affecting payment claims, enforcement and adjudication will apply almost immediately, from 1 July 2015, and details will be in the next issue.
• A payer can only use retentions to remedy defects in a payee’s performance obligations under the contract.
The changes do not mean the end of retentions, or that retentions will be safe and secure. They will provide a statutory structure and process to ensure that retentions are properly withheld and released when they are due. They will fundamentally affect the way that the industry deals with progress payments, retentions and surety for performance, and even the traditional industry funding arrangements, and not everyone will be pleased.
• Retention moneys above a prescribed minimum amount will be required to be held “on trust” for the benefit of the payee. The trust status of the retention money will end when the money is paid out, given up by the payee, or is no longer payable under the contract such as when the retentions have been used to remedy defects.
The industry collaborated in bringing the retentions issue to a head, and must continue working together to identify and address the many issues that will arise out of the legislation that has been handed down. This will include reviewing industry payment practices, forms of contract, and the way that retentions are tracked in accounting systems.
• Retentions are not required to be held in a separate trust account, and may be invested.
We have needed retentions because the industry still produces too much defective work. The best way to reduce the industry’s reliance on retentions is to focus on ensuring that construction work is properly designed and defect-free.
• Retentions will not be mandatory, the regime may be only apply above a minimum amount, to be prescribed in regulations.
• Payers will be required to keep proper accounting records of all retentions, and to make records available to payees. • Interest will be payable on overdue retentions, at a rate to be set by regulation.
A copy of the Supplementary Order Paper may be downloaded from: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/sop/ government/2015/0052/latest/DLM6387101.html and the final legislation will be available from early April at www.legislation.govt.nz.
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 41
your favourite players are behind placemakers
25k game day
get your head in the game & get amongst it!
* 000 IT’S A CHANCE TO WIN 25 $
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RegisteR ONLiNe, shOp weekLy, make the quaLifyiNg puRChase** head Off tO that weekeNd’s New ZeaLaNd based hOme games aNd be iN the dRaw get tO www.pLaCemakeRs.CO.NZ/gameday tO fiNd Out mORe
*The Trade/ Know how Card aCCounT holder is The winner. Players who have linKed To ThaT Trade/ Know how Card aCCounT will noT direCTly win The major or minor Prize. **Entries for that weekend’s match draws of Super Rugby games close
at 11.59pm every Thursday during the 2015 Investec Super Rugby season. Spending $200 excl GST or more on fastenings, sealants or adhesives (in one transaction) on a Trade Account or spending $100 incl GST or more (in one transaction) on your Know How Card account earns 1 entry in all match draws for that week. For all terms and conditions and how to play go to www.placemakers.co.nz/gameday
42 The INHOUSE Official| APRIL/MAY Community2015 Partner of
FEATURE: IS TAX TAKING UP TOO MUCH OF YOUR TIME?
Hon Todd McClay Minister of Revenue
IS TAX TAKING UP TOO MUCH OF YOUR TIME? By Hon Todd McClay, Minister of Revenue
At a time when you can use your cell phone to order a movie or buy a plane ticket the Government thinks that Inland Revenue can do much more to make your tax simpler. Businesses say it takes too much time to do their tax and takes them away from doing their work. And it costs too much to run. As taxpayers you pay for that too. Our tax system is recognised as one of the best in the world, but the way we manage it needs to improve.
There are also some ideas around helping small businesses get their tax right from the start. How could exchanging information directly with Inland Revenue benefit builders? I think that these ideas would mean you can spend less time filling out forms, and more time on your business, but we need your feedback. It’s time to make the tax system that is easy for you.
Over the next couple of years, the Government will consult on ideas to understand your views before we settle on what to do. These changes will affect all New Zealand businesses and individuals.
Join the discussion
Right now we are giving an overall picture of how tax could work in the future, and more detail on how we can use digital technologies to simplify tax.
• Discussion on Better digital services closes on 15 May 2015.
What could this mean for you? As an example, in the future the Government proposes that accounting software would be able to exchange information directly with Inland Revenue, so that: • More accurate PAYE, GST and related information could be provided to Inland Revenue automatically – with less time needed to fill out forms • Provisional tax could be managed more like PAYE and calculated as you earn your income.
Go to makingtaxsimpler.ird.govt.nz for more ideas, see what others are saying and give your views.
• Discussion on Making tax simpler, a Government Green Paper closes on 29 May 2015. For paper copies of the discussion documents email policy.webmaster@ird.govt.nz (subject line: Making tax simpler documents) or phone 0800 587 243.
Hon Todd McClay Minister of Revenue
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 43
FEATURE: ARE YOU A MANAGER OR MUSHROOM FARMER?
ARE YOU A MANAGER OR MUSHROOM FARMER?
Getting the best from your people
When we start working with a company, during the first couple of weeks we interview every member of staff, face to face, confidentially, to see what’s really happening where the rubber meets the road.
We’ve had clients say to use “why should we tell the staff how the company is doing? We pay them, that’s enough”. Unfortunately that might be enough to keep the wheels turning, but no more than that.
From the thousands of interviews over the years, we’ve gathered some very clear ideas about what works and what doesn’t work when trying to motivate and lead staff, and one key factor that comes up over and over again is the complaint “we don’t know what’s going on until the last minute, we never get to hear the full story”.
When setting up an new business, it’s easy to design-in and implement the “habit” of communication from the start – but what about existing businesses that may not have all the good habits in place? (we won’t talk here about the bad habits – for example “management by waving your arms and shouting”)
We’ve found that companies with well informed staff work better, the staff take more care, work more productively and work smarter, and they make you more money in the long term.
Let’s focus on the first type of communication – Job or Task based – (Operational Management to use a bit of jargon)
So how do YOU communicate with your people? There are three basic types of communication necessary in business 1) Job or task based – what needs doing, how well it needs doing, systems and processes, safety, quality control etc with input feedback from staff 2) Personal Performance – each staff member needs to know exactly what is expected of them, how well they are doing, and what the future holds for them. 3) The Big Picture – how the company is doing, where it is going, what the future holds, prospects in the pipeline, recent successes, feedback from customers and the market. 44 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
• Start each year with an annual “State of the Nation” talk, which covers the big picture (#3 above), but also sets the scene for any operational changes, challenges or process improvement, for example the new H & S laws, introduction of ISO or Q Base, etc. • Bring the timescale down to your management meetings with your department heads, or foremen, whoever directly guides production. How often do you have production meetings? Monthly is a good starting point, long enough to make changes, short enough to keep accountability going. These meetings must be recorded simply and effectively, with the issue, the decision, who is going to do what about it, and by when. Next meeting – tick off the items accomplished, and don’t accept excuses (even from yourself) when things haven’t happened. H & S must be discussed at these meetings.
FEATURE: ARE YOU A MANAGER OR MUSHROOM FARMER?
• Your supervisors, managers or foremen need to hold weekly “shop floor” or “toolbox” meetings to brief the staff on workflow, expected problems, and also update H & S hazards, remedials needed and actions taken. Again these meetings must be noted down in writing, same format – issue, decision, action to be taken, who and when. • The last part of “job based” communication is how you get feedback and ideas from your team, and how those ideas are evaluated. Don’t put barriers in the way of your people’s thinking – and the old ‘suggestion box” method doesn’t work, by the way, unless you want to gather some fairly pointed suggestions about management! • Make sure your supervisors ask staff for ideas and improvements, and give them a format for passing the ideas on. Periodically, take the time personally to talk to your teams in each area of the business about what could be improved – a simple 10 minute toolbox meeting is often enough to get people contributing, or maybe a shared lunch can get the ideas flowing. • Walk the floor and look for evidence of delays or frustrations – materials cluttering work stations, stock building up in despatch, people looking for tools, waiting for assistance. Ask, what is causing the delay, what could be done to fix it? Make a note, and action it. Deal with the constraint and ease the flow.
with “well, we’ve thought it through and we don’t think it will work AT PRESENT because ……” “but thank you for your suggestion, keep it up” • Never just flatten ideas with “Nah, we’ve tried that, didn’t work” Remember things change with time, and what didn’t work last year, might just work this year with changing conditions, machines, and materials. Take advantage of these points – work at developing the “habit” of effective, regular communication on operational points – and you’ll see the results very quickly. Why “Manager or Mushroom Farmer”? Staff feel they are being kept in the dark, and the quality of information they are fed feels like S*!# - just the right conditions for mushrooms to grow, but not for humans! So, are YOU a manager, or a mushroom farmer? For more information contact Advantage Business Ltd: Email: info@advantagebusiness.co.nz Web: www.advantagebusiness.co.nz Freephone: 0508 238 268
• Even when an idea from the shop floor is impractical, always make a note of it, say “we’ll look into that…” and always get back to the person who made the suggestion INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 45
46 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
This very ordinary house had remarkable results with the addition of some basic changes and FEATURE: Beacon Pathway some sustainable technologies.
AUSTRALIAN INDEPENDENT BUILDERS OFFER GREEN HOME SOLUTIONS By Nick Collins A new network for builders is aiming to provide readymade packages for green homes to the lower end of the housing buyer market in Australia. This new initiative from the Independent Builders Network is a good example of how builders are well placed to influence the market AND grow new business at the same time. The IBN has developed a package of green products (such as photovoltaic systems and insulation) which are offered to buyers as a readymade solution to a financial problem. Costs are saved by pre-sourcing products under a group buying arrangement and the IBN is promotes the eco home initiative to average houses across Australia. Homeowners are sold on the lifecycle financial case. “If we say, ‘This [energy-saving item] is standard in the cost, and your energy bills will be lessened by X amount,’ that makes sense. People do want to be green, but they don’t want it to cost more,” says spokesman Tim Renwick. Builders in the network are trained in the products and methods, and their information is based on real life research. The IBN has developed several demonstration InsulLiving homes which were independently tested. One house used 48% less electricity than the average South-East Queensland home, and provided thermal comfort without mechanical heating or cooling for 87% of the year. Another home built in Tasmania, where heating is a priority for much of the year, showed that the occupants reduced their annual power bills for heating and cooling from $1200 to $500 a quarter compared to their previous home.
The good news is that the ‘how’ of improving a home’s performance is quite well established and similar data is available in New Zealand to prove the savings that homeowners can make. Take the NZ Housing Foundation’s HomeSmart Home as an example. It’s a standard design, aimed at the affordable end of the market. A package of improvements was added: high levels of insulation, U-PVC framed double glazing, photovoltaic energy generation, energy efficient appliances, lighting and hot water, water efficient appliances and fittings, a rainwater tank, and a greywater recycling system. Monitoring established that energy use was startlingly low at 3980 kWh per year (compared to an average energy consumption of 11,410 kWh/year per house) and water use was only 117 litres/person/day, considerably less than the local average of 165 litres. The homeowners noticed the difference immediately, saving $1625 per year on power bills, and $570 per year on water bills (2011 prices!) The information is available. The challenge is to use it to drive a solution for the market that also brings you new business. http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/business/innovators-fringe-elements/ independent-builders-network-adds-green-to-average-homes/70740
Beacon Pathway is an Incorporated Society committed to transforming New Zealand’s homes and neighbourhoods through research and demonstration projects that show how to make homes more resource efficient, healthier to live in, adaptable, resilient and affordable. For further information about Beacon Pathway visit: www.beaconpathway.co.nz
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 47
ASSOCIATION NEWS
MERCHANDISE WWW.CERTIFIED.CO.NZ/MEMBERS/ONLINE-SHOP/
ALL MERCHANDISE IS AVAILABLE ON THE ONLINE SHOP! ONLINE CONTRACTS | ONLINE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS | CLOTHING | STATIONERY | JOHN BULL WORK BOOTS | LICENSING | CERTIFIED PLANS COLLATERAL | LIFEPROOF PHONES CASES | DIRTYMAN SKINCARE | NZS3604 & E2 PUBLICATIONS
Cable Knit Beanie $20 • 100% acrylic • Cable knit • One size fits all • Polar fleece lining around the brow
Wool Army Jersey $96 • 80% wool • 20% nylon • Reinforced on the elbows and shoulders for extra durability • Crew neck • Navy or black
NEW! High Vis Full Zip Hoodie $74 • 100% Polyester • Syzmik Workwear • 320gsm brushed polyester cotton • Microfibre lined hood with internal hood cord for safety • Heavy duty zips and reflective piping detail • Chest zip pocket with wire management • Two side slash pockets with zip closure • Complies with AS/NZ standards • Orange or Yellow 48 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
Hoodie $49 • Warm 285gsm • 65% Polyester, 35% Cotton – Low Pill • Drawcord • Kangaroo style pocket • Black, navy or royal blue
ASSOCIATION NEWS Craftsman Trousers $135 • Two apron pockets with tool loops and tool pockets, reinforced with EnduraTM. These can be tucked away inside the trousers. • Never lose your keys with the key-ring loop • Heavy duty belt loops • Hanging side entry pockets under nail pocket for less exposed seams • Cell phone pocket to keep your cell phone safe • Zipped EnduraTM cargo pockets and pen partition • EnduraTM reinforced knee protector pockets with two knee pad heights for perfect ergonomics • Hammer loop • Leg pocket with heavy duty vislon zip • Ruler/tool pocket with pen pocket and tool loops
NEW! Razor TShirt $37 Razor Polo $43 • 100% Polyester Sports Interlock • Keeps you cool and dry • Grid mesh underarm panels for breathability • T-Shirt - V neck • Polo Shirt - 3 button • Unique sleeve print feature • Contrast panels and piping • See online shop for colour options
NEW! LIFEPROOF iPhone 6 Case $89 The Lifeproof Fre Case for iPhone 6 is waterproof, dirt proof, snow proof and shock proof, ensuring that your device remains like new no matter what you face on the building site day to day! The LifeProof Fre Case protects your iPhone 6 from shocks and drops as it exceeds US military drop specs!
Polar Fleece Top $59 • 100% Polyester Low Pill Fleece • Metal look 12 zipper • 2 Front welt pockets with concealed zipper • Generous easy fit sizing • Black, navy or bottle green
• Four-proof protection • Virtually invisible scratch defence • Optical-glass lens • Enhanced speaker port • Touch ID still works • Sleek profile
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 49
Here’s another tool you can take on-site This is how you do it! Scan the code to view videos for MiTek product installation tips or go to vimeo.com/channels/howyoudoit
www.miteknz.co.nz
If your clients are expecting quality results with their interior linings, then choose a Certified Business member of the AWCI. WE are the professionals when it comes to interior linings for both installation and finishing. Supported by
A full list of Business members can be found on www.awcinz.org.nz or phone 0800 292 469
www.awcinz.org.nz 50 INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015
FEATURE: USING ‘THE CLOUD’ CAN MAKE YOUR LIFE SO MUCH EASIER
Sue de Bièvre is the CEO of beany.biz – Real Accountants Online. Beany.biz works with the construction sector to help streamline accounting and business processes and
USING ‘THE CLOUD’ CAN MAKE YOUR LIFE SO MUCH EASIER
is an associate member of Certified Builders.
At beany.biz we live our lives in ‘the cloud’ and would like to share a few tips to help you make the most of using it too. • Store your data in ‘the cloud’ with Google Apps. This is a great option (especially for new businesses) as one account only costs $70 per year – and you can access your files from anywhere, on any device. Google Apps also provides email, calendar and hangouts (like Skype, however you can have multiple number of people connected at once – so it’s great for virtual team or client meetings if you’re not all in the same place).
• At beany.biz we encourage the use of Xero accounting software – bill your clients from your ute or from the beach! Xero can save a lot of time and money, and gives you instant access to see how your business is doing. • Using ‘the cloud’ is all about convenience, accessibility and keeping costs down for your business. Beany.biz works with people across New Zealand who all love the way they can contact us online, day or night, whenever it suits them. They also love no need to travel to our office, no expensive hardware, no lost data, no software upgrades. If that sounds like something your business needs, call us on 0800 755333 or check us out at www.beany.biz
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 51 BB_CBA ad.indd 2
14/04/15 9:52 am
ASSOCIATION NEWS
Virtual theft, extortion and vandalism The numbers of cyber attacks, hacking and data thefts are increasing and even “offline” businesses can be affected. As a builder you may not think that virtual crime such as hacking, data theft and blackmail would affect you. But consider: Does your business rely on a computer, software applications, email and internet services to functi on efficiently?
What is Cyber insurance? The term "cyber liability insurance" is often used to describe a range of covers:
Do you keep customer, project and billing record s on your computer? Cyber attacks and cyber extortion are becoming increasingly common as it becomes easier for crimin als to use the tools of cyber crime. Cyber insurance cover is now available in New Zealan d and should be considered by any business that stores electronic data and uses computer systems to do business.
Data breach/privacy crisis management cover. For example, expenses related to the management of an incident, the investigation, the remediation, data subject notification, call management, credit checking for data subjects, legal costs, court attendance and regulatory fines Multimedia/Media liability cover. Third-party damages covered can include specific defacemen t of website and intellectual property rights infringement
Extortion liability cover. Typically, losses due to a threat of extortion, professional fees related to dealing with the extortion
Network security liability. Third-party damages as a result of denial of access, costs related to data on third-party suppliers and costs related to the theft of data on third-party systems.
You insure your business from physical theft and damage, in today’s world you equally need to insure from the risks of virtual theft, damage and loss. Contact CBA Insurances to discuss your particular situation and obtain a quote for cover. Written by Jim Rickard at CBA Insurances Limite d 0800 237 843 (press 2 for insurances) insurances@cbainsurances.co.nz
52 INHOUSE INHOUSE| |FEBRUARY/MARCH APRIL/MAY 2015 2015
MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF
THE DR IS IN THE HOUSE It was pleasing for the Association’s Chairman – Dave Brown and I to host a visit of Hon Dr Nick Smith the Minister of Building and Housing at the offices of the Association recently. The first time if I can recall that the Minister has visited our National Office. It was an opportunity to discuss and understand some of the future thinking of the Minister and also for us to convey to him some of the concerns (and opportunities) that we have in how the building sector is developing. The Minister was very open to discussion on our thoughts. The new regulations relating to protection of the consumer are now in place being effective from 1st January 2015. The Association continues to be very proactive in communicating these changes to our members by the large number of ToolBox Seminars that we have conducted over the past few months – each and every one of these have been focussed on these changes. It is pleasing to note however that in general our members of Certified Builders seem to be more aware and understanding of these changes and prepared to manage and comply with the new requirements. It is painfully obvious however that the participants in the wider industry sector continue to not be aware of these changes and in many cases continue to be totally unprepared.
Grant Florence – Chief Executive
As previously mentioned the Association has purchased a new commercial building in which we are to shift the National Support office after some refurbishment and extension work is completed. This building is located on the centre fringe of Tauranga City and is not too far away from the existing offices. This purchase has arisen from a decision of the Board in 2014 to use some of the reserves of the Association toward a purchase and instead of paying lease costs we can pay back some borrowing there by increasing the equity and overall wealth of the association. We will provide further updates on progress on this over the next few months – but we are targeting to move in during September/October later this year once the refurbishment and extension building work has been completed. Preparations for this year’s conference are progressing well – with a very interesting line up of speakers and workshops and again outstanding support from our building material supply partners. I hope to see you in Christchurch to join us for our Annual General meeting and Conference.
I am very pleased to note that our members section of the web site has had heavy traffic over the past 3 months as members seek additional information on the changes or obtain building contracts. Especially pleasing is the high level of use of the brief video clips that have been developed on the use of the various templates – a further step toward the higher use of technology for instant education, 24/7 availability and all from the comfort of your office or home.
INHOUSE | APRIL/MAY 2015 53
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