NZCB InHouse Magazine Feb/March 2018

The off icial magazine of the New Zealand Certif ied Builders Association

February/March 2018 — Apply for the 2018 NZCB Apprentice Challenge!

Pg 44

Building Contract updates

Pg 16

Centrespread —

Our People Pg 24

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Contact: 10 Marsh Street, Tauranga 3110 PO Box 13405, Tauranga Central, Tauranga 3141 Phone: 07 927 7720 Freephone: 0800 CERTIFIED Fax: 07 927 7721 www.nzcb.nz ISSN 2463-3305

NZCB NEWS

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Message from the Chairman

Mythbusting: The Subbies’ Role

Message from Operations

Meet Kevin Sceats

How well are your staff and why should you care?

The 2018 changes to the Certified Builders Contracts

Halo 10 Year Residential Guarantee

IN THE KNOW

REDi – Is your site secure?

What the heck does a QS do?

Taxing times ahead in April and May

Trade pricing with Noel Leeming Commercial

20th Annual AGM Conference & Expo 30 Message from the Chief

NEXT GENERATION Building for Bolivia

Are you up for the challenge?!

ITAB apprentice completions

AST Excellence Awards

Free fees for apprentices welcomed

TECH TIPS Transforming the way Kiwis do business 43 Health & Safety Pocket Guide – free download

OUR PEOPLE Meet Luke & Alexandra MacGibbon

Tim McGurk

Employment Relations Amendment Bill 34 Do something different in 2018

MEET LUKE & ALEXANDRA MACGIBBON

AROUND THE REGIONS NZCB Taupo donates golf proceeds

Annual NZCB Wellington Golf Day

Summer indulging – Shane Ririnui

Welcome back – Nick Matthews

Pricing for profit

Industry Events Calendar

InHouse is the official bi-monthly magazine of New Zealand Certified Builders Association. We’re always on the lookout for interesting stories or build projects that NZCB members have been a part of! To share your story with us please contact Millie. Alternatively, if you are interested in advertising in the InHouse magazine, we have a range of opportunities available to suit every budget. Millie Jackson

INHOUSE EDITOR

millie@nzcb.nz | 07 557 9214

Find NZCB on

NZCB NEWS — Brent Chatterton Chairman of the Board

Message from the Chairman Well, we are all back into work again with holidays now a distant memory. I hope you had a fantastic break, charged the batteries and are planning for a successful 2018! Our family decided to take a road trip around Northland, Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga over the break. We’d never been there before and was amazed at what a great part of the country it is! Just to name a few, places like Paihia, Russell and Tutukaka Coast were outstanding.

The reason I mention our holiday, is due to the fact that I was blown away with the NZCB presence in the area! I’m not sure if it was just my interest, or that around every corner there was either an NZCB builder’s sign or an NZCB billboard! I’d just been reading the December issue of InHouse, which featured Howard Harnett’s renovation of the Duke of Marlborough Hotel in Russell, and the next day I was sat in that very hotel, beer in hand, looking at the great job those boys have done on the place! All our regions could be inspired by the work of the NZCB members in the Northland area. They’re out there promoting NZCB from a grass roots level, and it appears they are dominating the market with their work. Well done to everyone in Northland. Keep up the great work! Following on from this, I was also reading Jason’s article in the December InHouse, where he reflects on how well the smaller builders are competing with the housing group companies. I remember six or seven years ago, we all wondered how the smaller builder (mostly NZCB members), were going to survive without being swallowed up by larger companies. So, it is certainly heartening to see that the consumers see a lot of value in going with a smaller company and a more personal experience. My thoughts on this… remember not to undersell yourselves, we often take for granted the knowledge and experience we have and it is those values that we should be selling to new clients. All the best for 2018.

NZCB NEWS — Jason McClintock Operations Manager

Under the influence In support of a member, I recently attended a Dispute Tribunal hearing. The referee on the day sat us all down and made it clear that his role was to get a resolution. There were several pathways this could take; Through the parties in dispute guiding a resolution through compromise or; Through the adjudicator questioning and fact finding to strike a result. Upon the opening of the hearing, each party had the opportunity to lay their case on the table. What quickly became very clear to me, was the ability of the most informed party to influence proceedings. I realised that if the conversation was leading to a resolution, the referee appeared happy to go with the ebb and flow of that discussion. This reinforced to me, the point – that knowledge can be converted into dollars. The builder who understands their entitlement under the Association’s building contracts, can become quite influential under these circumstances. In this case, the builder simply had to understand three things…

1) The building contract is very clear, the builder was entitled to payment for work undertaken 2) I f the client has received the value of work charged for, then they must pay the builder that value 3) T he client signed into an agreement, on both these counts There was no dispute about the workmanship, it was largely to do with presentation of the value invoiced.

Accessing knowledge The best way to access such knowledge of entitlement is through engagement with the Association. That old adage of “you only get out, what you put in” stands true. Engagement with national support office, annual conference, help lines, local meetings and education as offered by NZCB, is the best way to obtain a deep understanding of the benefits in the products and services that are provided. NZCB acknowledges this and have adjusted our education opportunities for members by creating the Building Trade Professionals programme. Higher learning, delivered in various ways for the busy builder, keep an eye out for the email notifications!

NZCB NEWS —

Meet Kevin Sceats New Additional Director of the NZCB Board

Tell us what you’ve been up to for the last while? I retired in early 2017 after many years on the management team at Winstone Wallboards. I have over 35 years’ experience in the building industry and I’m a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors NZ. I’ve also been involved with the Association of Wall & Ceiling Industries NZ (AWCINZ) and AWCI Australia (AWCIANZ) for over two decades. What experience will you bring to the NZCB Board? I’ll bring years of experience in corporate strategic executive and senior management roles within the New Zealand and Australian building industries. I’m a long standing supporter of NZCB members and activities having attended most annual conferences as well as acting as a trustee for the Apprenticeship Scholarship Trust (AST) since inception in 2005. I’m a long-standing member of a number of NZ and joint AS/NZS standards committees as well as ASTM (US) committees C11 (gypsum) and D14 (adhesive). I’m passionately involved with leading activities to lift skill levels across the construction industry particularly as director of BCITO since 2007 (Chairman for eight years). What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? I’m a Scuba diver, marathon runner/walker, petrol head and avid tramper and traveller! That keeps me busy enough! Thanks Kevin, a warm welcome from NZCB as you step into the role of Additional Director of the Board!

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AROUND THE REGIONS â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

NZCB Taupo donates golf day proceeds As featured in the last edition of InHouse, NZCB Taupo organised a successful golf day for their members and regional partners at the end of last year which raised a total of $10,000! Just recently NZCB Taupo President, Chris Smith, presented both the AST Trust and St Johns with their well-deserved cheques. $8000 was donated to St Johns Taupo.

$2000 was donated to the AST Trust who help apprentices in times of need. Chairman, Brian Dillon (left) accepts the donation from Chris Smith.

AROUND THE REGIONS —

Annual NZCB Wellington Golf Day The annual NZCB Wellington golf day was held on Friday 27 October 2017 at the prestigious Boulcott Farm Heritage Golf Course in Lower Hutt.

Boulcott Heritage Golf Course, Lower Hutt.

Happy prize winner!

There was a great turn out with 18 teams registered and players were very lucky with the Wellington weather – there was plenty of sunshine and no wind! Thank you to the committee for all your hard work in organising the day. Thank you also to our valued sponsors for the support you gave us and donation of great prizes which were auctioned off at the end of the day. A massive thank you to all the NZCB members who turned up to support this event. We donated $5,000 from the golf day proceeds to Foster Hope – a charity that helps children going into foster care. Foster Hope Wellington Regional Coordinator, June Matthews was very appreciative of the donation!

Ross Flowerday of RD Builders gets ready for teeing off.

June Matthews of Foster Hope addresses the crowd.

AROUND THE REGIONS —

Shane Ririnui Business Development Manager – North Island

Summer indulging Kia ora NZCB whanau, I hope you all enjoyed lots of sun and rest over the summer break and you’ve recovered from the over indulgence! I’m sure everyone should well and truly be back into the swing of the hammer by now and looking toward the horizon of another exciting year, for not only our industry but more importantly our association. 2018 NZCB events are beginning to stack up ahead of us! There is lots going on like regional AGMs, trade training and fundraising, regional NZCB Apprentice Challenges, the NZCB Conference and Expo and the newly launched Building Trade Professionals workshops. I am very excited with the new look Building Trade Professionals (BTP) workshops beginning this March. As I mentioned last year, they will be bigger, focusing on higher business and industry education which will be delivered by experts in their field. So please keep a look out for the dates and locations for these workshops and I hope to see you there.

This year, NZCB will be trialling a new avenue of open forum discussion and engagement using social media. We will be looking at ‘going live’ on the NZCB members only Facebook group, where we will be discussing hot topics going on in industry and inviting industry relevant guest speakers. These sessions will be aptly named, “Chew the Fat”. Participating members will have the opportunity to ask your pressing questions. As this will be live streamed onto the NZCB members only Facebook group, I urge you to join if you have not already done so. You don’t want to miss out on “chewing the fat”! That’s all from me, see you in the regions! Ka kite ano.

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AROUND THE REGIONS —

Nick Matthews Business Development Manager – South Island

Welcome back At the time of writing this, January has passed and February is disappearing at a rapid rate! If last year was anything to go by, 2018 is going to be manic… The new look Building Trade Professionals (BTP) workshops have replaced our traditional ToolBox seminars. The inaugural BTP workshop started in Christchurch on 1st March and will be the first of eleven workshops to be held nationwide, exclusively for NZCB members only and invited guests. The first BTP workshop will focus on quantity surveying – Pricing for Profit, so is not to be missed by any builder who enjoys making a dollar or two. See page 13 for dates, times and locations. Many regions are planning or hosting AGMs during February and March where some members currently serving on committees will step down, while others will step up to fill the void. It’s great to see the commitment of passionate members taking active roles within our association, please don’t be shy to attend your local AGM. Don’t use the excuse that you will be forced onto a committee, to not attend. Typically, the AGMs I’ve attended are fairly short, informal as they can be and are followed by some social refreshments, overall it’s a fairly painless experience. In South Canterbury, NZCB are supporting local sporting hero, Tom Walsh at the Timaru Super Shot on 14 March at Caroline Bay, Timaru. Teaming up with Mitre 10 Mega, this event will surely draw a large crowd and should help to raise the profile and awareness of

NZCB in the region. Tom himself is a trade qualified carpenter and NZCB member who is, pardon the pun – “building” towards the Commonwealth Games in April this year. Good luck for the games and the Timaru Super Shot! After a break last year, the NZCB Canterbury golf day returns and is planned for Friday 16th March. Proceeds from the event will go to the very deserving Canterbury Men’s Centre, a not for profit charity who produce “The Blokes Book” – a helpful guide for men in dealing with a range of issues we are either too proud or too stubborn to seek help for. If you are interested in registering for the golf day please contact Canterbury President, Richard Poff. Lastly, does your apprentice have what it takes? The annual NZCB Apprentice Challenge is back in force for 2018 with regional challenges taking place on Saturday 21st April. Registrations are now open through to the end of March and any apprentice employed by an NZCB member is eligible to compete. Having already received considerable interest, this year’s Challenge promises to be the biggest yet! Don’t miss out, get in touch with your apprentice’s ITAB Tutor and complete the entry form or if they are enrolled with BCITO, contact NZCB national support office directly. See you in the regions.

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IN THE KNOW —

What the heck does a QS do? Part 2!

In the December 2017/January 2018 edition of InHouse (pg 13) we covered part 1 of what a QS needs to be able to do for a builder. As promised, here is part 2 of what a QS can do for you including contract administration, back-costing and providing value engineering. Provide value engineering… Sounds a bit fancy, but actually what this terminology means is simply that if you are working with a client, you can offer alternative pricing solutions to help bring the job in at their budget. Things like swapping out materials, or staging the works, or chopping out parts of the project to be completed by the owner. Basically being a bit creative! Having the chance to have that conversation is twofold; obviously it is working alongside to create a budget that works for all parties, but also it just helps to build trust that both the builder and the home owner are working to the same end goal. Warm fuzzies all round!

Contract Administration… Doesn’t that sound hideously boring? Never fear, don’t underestimate the good juju that a beautifully constructed spreadsheet can create. Once a contract has been signed, the set up based on the contract can be put together. Spreadsheets that talk to each other for progress claims and variations – oh, be still my beating heart! It is just a matter of keeping on top of it all, ensuring the variations are processed quickly, that site visits are regular to pick up on any changes and sign off on work completed. None of this bizzo of sending through a variation invoice after the contract has been completed giving the client a fright and creating risk around non-payment because it is outside the contract terms – I have seen it before!

Back costing…. This one is interesting because, when you think about it, it is one of the most important tasks the QS should do, but it is done the least! A back cost of a job can tell you so many things: how your team is performing, if you are picking up on legitimate variations, if there are any issues around material theft on site – the list goes on. Amazingly, that list is all things that chew up any margin you may have made, and you may not even realise until when the accountant comes knocking. Not to mention the fact that if these issues are occurring, they are easy things to fix as long as you are aware of them. Back costing is easy if you are managing your contract administration well. Another delicious spreadsheet that only requires the TLC of someone entering info into it regularly! So there you have it, a list of some of the weird and wonderful things a builder’s QS should be able to do for you, either as an employee or as a contractor. And if you are looking to hire an in-house QS, I would recommend ensuring they are comfy across the board and have a decent amount of relevant experience. It’s your bottom line after all. Victoria Harrison, Director Red QS Red QS is primarily the builder’s QS, providing bespoke quantity surveying services to builders and sub trades, large and small, all across New Zealand. Join us as we hit the road with the NZCB Building Trade Professionals programme – Pricing for Profit, throughout March and April 2018. See page 12 for all the juiciness!

AROUND THE REGIONS —

Pricing for Profit Building Trade Professionals Workshop Through the Association’s Building Trade Professionals programme, NZCB is stepping up industry education for members and invited guests throughout 2018. NZCB are hosting 11 workshops throughout New Zealand during March and April which are presented by a professional quantity surveyor from Red Quantity Surveying. Even in these buoyant times the Association is witnessing builders who are struggling to complete contracts due to their pricing being inaccurate. Recklessly established estimates are also on the increase, largely due to a lack of understanding of accurate building costs and overheads. This could all be avoided if project costing was completed accurately at pricing stage. Armed with the knowledge of what and how to price and back cost, we can minimise the risk of depleted profit.

“It amazes me how many builders undercook estimates and run into trouble when the contract becomes challenged and the builder has to open up the books. The builder’s poor scheduling of costs usually ends up costing them in the pocket” Jason McClintock – Operations Manager NZCB

These workshops will cover off the basics of preliminary and general, through to applying margins and why applying gross margin will put more dollars in the builder’s pocket, as opposed to the traditional way of applying margin as a mark-up.

Members who sign in using their membership card will go in the draw to win a DeWalt laser distance measurer, there’s one to be given away at each workshop!

Workshop bonus! Red Quantity Surveying are offering a spreadsheet on how to calculate charge out and labour rates.

Victoria Harrison from Red Quantity Surveyors will demonstrate how to split on-site overheads from off-site overheads, and which one sits in the P&G. A workbook will be provided so new learning like this can be taken away for future reference.

AROUND THE REGIONS â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

For workshop information see www.nzcb.nz/event-calendar/

Nationwide Dates and Venues All workshops: 5pm nibbles and 5.30pm start

Nelson

08 March

Club Waimea, 345 Queen St, Richmond, Nelson

Invercargill

15 March

Ascot Park Hotel, Corner Tay St and Racecourse Rd, Invercargill

Hamilton

20 March

Wintec City Campus, A Block Tristram St, Hamilton

Tauranga

21 March

Hotel Armitage, 9 Willow St, Tauranga

Dunedin

28 March

Edgar Centre, 116 Portsmouth Dr, Andersons Bay, Dunedin

AKL South

03 April

Papakura RSA, 40 Elliot St, Papakura

AKL Central

04 April

Remuera Club, 27-33 Ohinerau St, Remuera, Auckland

AKL North

05 April

North Shore Golf Club, 51 Appleby Rd, Albany, Auckland

Whangarei

26 April

North Tec, ILC Theatre D340, 51 Raumanga Valley Rd, Whangarei

Note: Christchurch and Wellington dates not published as these workshops took place prior to the posting date of this InHouse magazine.

NZCB have teamed up with Strategic Partners, Carters to deliver the message of best practice on pricing for profit. See your Carters representative or check your emails for a workshop invitation.

AROUND THE REGIONS —

Industry Events Calendar

MARCH 19 + 20 CROWNE PLAZA | AUCKLAND

SIMX SMARTVENT NATIONAL ROADSHOW

The New Zealand Building Industry Regulation and Compliance Conference is your chance to understand the legislation updates as well as the practical application of the law and how you (or your business) can stay compliant. This is your opportunity to learn, network and grow from not only industry experts but your peers as well. Register now and save.

Only SmartVent offers a complete range of ventilation systems so you can Protect your investment, Control condensation and Control indoor air quality. Come along to one of our roadshows and find out what else is new for the 2018 season.

NZCB discount code: M6UIBI To register see: www.conferenz.co.nz/events/ new-zealand-building-industry-regulation-andcompliance-conference

MARCH 2PM START 12th 13th 14th 15th – 16th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd

Christchurch CMS Building Tauranga Hotel Armitage CONZTRUCT is for builders, electricians, plumbers, gasfitters and other specialist trades people to further their breadth of knowledge, education and gain a greater understanding of new product technologies. There’s LBP points available and it’s FREE to attend!

Nelson Quality Inn Nelson Hamilton Anglesea Hotel Auckland Home Ideas Centre

APRIL | 4PM–6PM

Queenstown Event Centre Invercargill Kelvin Hotel

18th 19th

Whangarei Cheviot Motor Lodge Dunedin Mercure Leisure Lodge

Taupo – Great Lake Centre Rotorua – Energy Events Centre

MAY | 4PM–7PM

Timaru Comfort Hotel Benvenue

1st 2nd 3rd

Hamilton –Claudelands Events Centre Auckland South –Vodafone Events Centre Whangarei –ASB Sports House

See www.conztruct.co.nz for more info!

AROUND THE REGIONS —

MARCH + APRIL

NATIONWIDE Introducing Building Trade Professionals, NZCB’s new take on builder’s education. Pricing for Profit Workshops: These workshops will cover off the basics of preliminary and general, through to applying margins and why applying gross margin will put more dollars in the builder’s pocket, as opposed to the traditional way of applying margin as a mark-up.

Check out pages 12–13 for all the details or see www.nzcb.nz/event-calendar/

25 + 26 MAY 2018

NZCB CONFERENCE & EXPO ENERGY EVENTS CENTRE | ROTORUA

21 APRIL 2018

NZCB APPRENTICE CHALLENGE 2018 REGIONALS

Are you up for the challenge? Competitors will be tasked to complete a challenging project for a specific end user within the allotted 8.0 hours. Regional Challenge Events are taking place on Saturday 21st April 2018 at a location close to you and thanks to ITM, all apprentices who take part will receive a prize pack, along with prizes for the winner and place setters.

A Factory tour you wood (ha ha!) not want to miss Earn up to 12 Skills Maintenance Points 12 Educational Workshops Network, mingle and make new NZCB friends Over 70 trade industry specific expo stands Soak up the spirit in Rotorua while lounging in a mud bath

The Challenge is open to apprentices employed by current NZCB builders or enrolled with ITAB. So, what are you waiting for? Register today!

Apply at www.nzcb.nz/apprenticeships/ 15

NZCB NEWS —

The 2018 changes to the Certified Builders Contracts By Geoff Hardy of Auckland law firm Martelli McKegg To keep up with the times, the whole package of Certified Builders contracts is being revised. They will be steadily released over the first half of 2018. This is a summary of the changes. The recent decision to make a Halo Guarantee a mandatory requirement for all residential building projects (new builds and alterations) costing more than $30,000 (including GST) has driven a lot of the changes. The tick boxes in the Schedule at the front will show whether a Guarantee is required. If it is, then the Builder promises the Owner that a Guarantee will be applied for, and if you are completing the contract on-line then an application for a Guarantee will be automatically sent to the insurance broker.

“The recent decision to make a Halo Guarantee a mandatory requirement has driven a lot of the changes.” Some extra clauses have been added to the fine print in the Guarantee section, and the brief description of the building work at the front has been expanded. It now includes the information required by the Building Act that used to be in a table at the back of the contract, as well as further information required for the Halo Guarantee. Similar changes have been made for the contract works insurance. The main differences are that the new REDi policy is optional not mandatory, the Owner always pays the excess on a claim, and in labour-only and renovation projects it is the Owner, not the Builder, who arranges the policy. There was some confusion over who was supposed to be named as the Builder (the company, or the individual?) and who was to sign the contract on the Builder’s behalf, so that has been clarified. The labour rates for both fixed price + and cost and margin contracts have been simplified. There is a new category called “Owner/Operator” which is one level

above Carpenter. And you can now choose to have different margins for materials, subcontractors and your own labour, or none at all. Because there has been some debate about what the margin is actually for, the word “administration” has been removed so that it relates solely to overhead and profit. Administration should be covered by the labour rates. There have been two new things added to the Owner’s primary obligations. First, if the Owner is going to supply some materials or contract with some specialist trades direct, then the Builder’s consent is required, the Owner’s inputs have to meet the same standards as the Builder’s inputs, and they must not impede the Builder from carrying out his own obligations. Secondly, there is an obligation on the Owner to get on with the project and not hold the Builder up. If the Owner delays the Builder too long, the Builder’s ultimate remedy is to terminate the building contract. It has been clarified that reasonable meal breaks and smokos are chargeable, and GST goes on after the margins have been added to the materials, subcontractor and labour costs. From 31 March 2017, any retentions that have been withheld under commercial construction contracts, have had to be held in trust for the contractor – unless an insurance policy or a bond has been provided instead. Commercial construction contracts include residential contracts where none of the Owners lives or intends to live in the building, so these rules will apply to rental properties, properties owned by entities like companies that don’t live anywhere, and all subcontracts. From time to time there are going to be disputes over whether these rules have been complied with. To ensure that these disputes can be resolved by adjudication under the Construction Contracts Act or by arbitration, the retentions rules have been incorporated into the Certified Builders contracts. Either party can terminate the building contract where the contract expressly says so, or where the other party has become insolvent, or has seriously breached its obligations, or has abandoned the project or

NZCB NEWS —

become incapable of continuing with it. Now there is a further ground for termination – where it has become impossible to perform the contract, for example where the site has completely subsided away, or the Council has “red zoned” it. Probably the biggest changes to the Certified Builders contracts relate to the dispute-resolution provisions. Previously adjudication under the Construction Contracts Act was the sole method, and you could not appeal from it. Now it is only one of four permitted methods, the others being arbitration, Disputes Tribunals (our small claims courts), and suing in the regular courts.

“There was some confusion over who was supposed to be named as the Builder and who was to sign the contract on the Builder’s behalf, so that has been clarified.” In almost all building disputes, the same allegations tend to crop up all the time. The Builder typically alleges that the Owner has failed to pay one or more invoices. The Owner typically alleges that the Builder has unreasonably delayed, or overcharged, or performed defective work or supplied defective materials. What normally happens is that the Owner takes possession before the dispute erupts, or soon after. Then to verify the allegations of defective workmanship or materials, the Owner hires a building consultant to write a damning report on the standard of the work to date. The Builder has generally been banned from the site at this stage and cannot get a credible counter report done by his own consultant, even if he could afford to. This gives the Owner an unfair advantage, because these so-called expert reports carry a lot of weight with the adjudicators, arbitrators, Disputes Tribunal Referees and the Judges. In an effort to level up the playing field, the contracts now provide for one, neutral, jointly-appointed and jointly-paid for expert to resolve any disputes concerning defective workmanship or materials. That expert will conduct a site visit, consult both parties, and then write a report which will be final and binding. The report will identify what work and materials are defective, what are merely unfinished, and what are fully compliant with the plans and specification and the Building Code. The MBIE’s Guide to Tolerances will be applied, to the extent it is relevant. Those are the main changes. Equivalent changes have been made to the labour-only versions of the two principal contracts (fixed price +, and cost and

margin), as well was the small works contract. In addition, in response to popular demand, new “renovations” versions of the two principal contracts have been produced. These are similar to the principal contracts, but they differ in three main respects. First, the Builder only gets possession of that part of the building he is working on. Secondly, the Owner always takes out the contract works insurance. Thirdly, if you are charging on the basis of having reached defined stages of completion of the works, those stages have been left blank so that you can fill them out to fit the requirements of the project.

Geoff Hardy is a partner in the Auckland law firm Martelli McKegg and is a construction law specialist. Contact Geoff on (09) 379 0700 or geoff@martellimckegg.co.nz. This article is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice.

HEALTH AND SAFETY —

Mythbusting: The Subbies’ Role Site Safe helps demystify subbies’ responsibilities on site. Q: I’m a subbie and I’m only on-site for a couple of hours, surely I’m not responsible for health and safety and don’t have to do any paperwork? A: Wrong – even if you’re a subbie who is only on-site for a couple of hours, you still have health and safety responsibilities. From workers through to company directors, safety on-site is now everyone’s responsibility. Here’s an example: Sam is a self-employed plasterer. He often does plastering on residential renovations for his friend the builder, Bruce. Although Sam may only come on-site for a few hours or days, he is still a PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) and has responsibilities. The extent of his duty will depend on how far he is able to control the risk. The more influence and control he has over the risk, the more responsibility he has. And because Sam is usually sharing a site with other crews or workers, he needs to be consulting with these other businesses to make sure everyone on-site is kept safe. Under the recent Health and Safety at Work Act, clients, principals, main contractors and sub-contractors are all PCBUs. Despite the name, a PCBU is not necessarily one person – in most cases a PCBU will be a business entity, like a company or organisation but it could also be an individual running their own business, like a sole trader. A PCBU has the “primary responsibility of care” to ensure the safety of its workers and anyone affected by its work. PCBUs must (as far as is reasonably practical): • Have a safe site, plant, structures and ways of working • Make sure plant, structures and substances are used, handled and stored safely • Provide facilities for the welfare of workers, such as running water and toilets • Provide the necessary information, training and supervision to protect people from risk • Monitor health and workplace conditions As Sam is self-employed, he is also classed as a “worker” under the Act. This means he also has a responsibility to take reasonable care to ensure the health and safety of himself and others in the workplace. So, what should I be doing? Let’s take Sam. He may only be on-site for a day but he still needs to be thinking about what risks there might be and what he can do to manage them. As a minimum, we would suggest Sam:

• Meets with the main contractor before starting work to discuss the job, any risks and what to do in an emergency. • Completes a Site Specific Health and Safety Agreement with the main contractor, a Hazardous Products and Substances Register, and a Site/Job Hazard Risk Register. The Hazardous Products and Substances Register may be the same for most of his jobs and might just need minor changes for each job. • Does a quick Step Back 5x5 to think through the job. This is just an example of one scenario – it is important to remember that each job is different and will require a different approach depending on the circumstances.

Not just ticking the boxes By talking to the main contractor and completing the Agreement, Sam is helping to communicate what he is doing about safety. By completing the Hazardous Products and Substances Register and Site/Job Hazard Risk Register, he is communicating what the risks of his work might be and how he will manage them on-site. By completing the right safety documentation, he is not just “ticking the boxes” but taking a systematic approach to managing risks. This reduces the chances of miscommunication and mistakes. In the event of an accident or injury, it is also evidence that Sam is on top of safety. In a nutshell, the job is not there to create paperwork, the paperwork is there to support the job.

What next? If you’re wondering what to do about health and safety, then a great place to start is the Site Safe website, where you’ll find a free electronic Site Specific Safety Plan. This document has many of the individual templates that you need to get a basic system in place including: • • • • • • •

Hazard register Task Analysis / Safe Work Method Statement Emergency Response Plan Training and Competency Register Accident/injury register Hazardous Products and Substances Register Accident and Incident Investigation Report

Site Safe also offers a free Risk Management Guide, designed to help you understand and control risk. For more information or to download the guide, go to www.sitesafe.org.nz. Site Safe is a not-for-profit, membership-based organisation that promotes, inspires and supports a culture of health and safety in New Zealand construction.

IN THE KNOW —

Taxing times ahead in April and May April and May are notoriously difficult months for cashflow with terminal and provisional tax payments due to Inland Revenue (IRD). Review your 2018 year

The consequences of not paying on time – interest of 8.22 percent and late payment penalties – can further exacerbate things. Here’s how to avoid getting into strife. Pay the terminal tax immediately

The May 7 instalment of provisional tax is the final payment for your 2018 tax year. Given your year ended on March 31, you will have a rough idea whether you have overpaid or underpaid income tax. Look at how your business has performed and adjust your payment accordingly (no point paying more tax than is required, right?).

Terminal tax means you didn’t pay enough provisional tax for the previous year. If you don’t pay this by April 7, late payment penalties will apply, and you will register a blip on the IRD debt collection team’s radar. That’s the last thing you want as a tradesperson given the department’s current focus on the construction industry.

Know your payment options for May 7 provisional tax if cashflow is tight Tax pooling offers some payment flexibility if paying on May 7 does not suit you. Provisional tax can be deferred to a later date or paid off in instalments via an intermediary.

You may also notice IRD is charging interest on the tax owed.

Again, this will reduce your interest cost and eliminate late payment penalties.

This can be reduced by up to 30 percent by using an IRD-approved tax pooling intermediary. IRD treats tax paid through a tax pool as if your provisional tax was paid when it was due, eliminating any interest and late payment penalties incurred.

You can also consider a payment arrangement with IRD or using your bank overdraft. Both will require details of your financial position before agreeing to terms. If they approve, they will charge their respective interest throughout the arrangement.

An intermediary also gives you an additional 75 days past your terminal tax date to pay.

Whatever you decide, make sure you discuss your options with your accountant and do what’s best for your business.

Chris Cunniffe is the chief executive of New Zealand’s largest tax pooling provider, Tax Management NZ, and former head of the BNZ and Air New Zealand tax teams.

NZCB NEWS —

Halo 10 Year Residential Guarantee Job scenario flowchart Are you a Business Member of NZCB?

YES

Are you contracted to the property owner?

Are you sub-contracted to someone other than the property owner?

Is this a spec build?

NO YES

Only Business Members of NZCB can access the Halo Guarantee. Apply today to become a Business Member!

YES YES

Is the contracted work purely residential and over $30,000 incl GST? NO

Halo isn’t mandatory on commercial work or contracts valued under $30K, but we do encourage you to apply for Halo anyway to enjoy the Sleep Easy Protection.

FULL BUILD The HOMEOWNER has the full protection of the Halo Guarantee in respect to the entire build. This includes 10 years cover for defects caused by workmanship and materials – including the workmanship and materials of any of the sub-contractors. You, THE BUILDER, including your employees as well as any sub-contractors who are NZCB Business Members, are covered by Sleep Easy.

YES

Halo is mandatory on this job. Please ensure the Halo policy is in place before the work begins. Is this a full build or a labour only/ partial build?

SUB-CONTRACT Halo is not mandatory when you are acting as a sub-contractor to an entity other than the property owner, however, if possible we encourage you to take out Halo regardless to enjoy the protection of Sleep Easy. The HOMEOWNER will only be covered by Halo in respect to your contracted works. Remember you will have to get the homeowner to sign the application form. NOTE: IF you are contracted to a head contractor who is also a Business Member of NZCB, you will be automatically covered by Sleep Easy if there is a policy in place.

LABOUR ONLY/ PARTIAL BUILD The HOMEOWNER is only covered in respect to your contracted work. Halo does not apply to materials or contractors supplied/engaged by the homeowner. You, THE BUILDER, including your employees as well as any sub-contractors who are NZCB Business Members, are covered by Sleep Easy.

SPEC BUILD Halo is mandatory on all spec builds and it is important that you apply for it before the work begins as usual. Whilst there is limited cover provided when you (the builder) own the property, Halo reverts to its full scope of cover once the property is sold – including the Sleep Easy protection.

www.nzcb.nz/members/ 10-year-guarantee/

Please refer to the Halo 10 Year Residential Guarantee Insurance Policy for full details of the policy coverage and additional benefits. If you have any questions regarding the Halo 10 Year Residential Guarantee, please contact BrokerWeb Risk Services on 0800 644 444

NZCB NEWS —

Is your Building Site Secure? Vandalism and theft from building sites is a growing problem in New Zealand. Thieves now realise the potential for easy gain by stealing everything from raw materials to whiteware, as well as tools and machines.

RRED

PREFE

ANCE IN S U R E R S ! BROK

A single site can have multiple attacks over the course of the build, totalling not only thousands of dollars of lost profit (or insurance claims) but time delays on already tight schedules. Building sites are particularly vulnerable because of the level of activity during the day with often many different contractors and sub-contractors on site at the same time. And after hours and weekends are prime times for opportunist thieves. We are hearing more and more of increased thefts, burglaries and even the manufacture of P taking place on building sites.

Some tips to secure your site: • Ensure your building site key is left in a locked key box and not under a brick. • Ensure that only authorised sub-contractors have access to the key and not all employees of the sub-contractor. • Name and register all your tools and equipment. • Keep detailed records. • If possible, keep your job site well-lit during off hours.

Theft of Building Materials and Tools on site

There are opportunist methamphetamine manufacturers that target new subdivisions. This is a relatively easy target for them as they can arrive later in the evening when subbies or builders have left for the day and find the key under a brick by the fence or in the electrical box. With new subdivisions, there aren’t any neighbours to keep an eye on the property, so they have free range of the building at night. They are able to use the property as they please and leave it contaminated for the new owners etc.

If not locked away $2,500 excess for Theft, i.e. items are not locked away.

It is recommended that you have appliances and the other items to be fitted, delivered at the time they are ready to be installed and not sitting on site for any length of time or overnight.

Excesses that apply to tools on site If locked away, $1,000 excess for Burglary, i.e. forced entry or exit to a locked building or vehicle must occur.

We can offer Replacement Cover for your Tools and include additional cover for tools and equipment at your home or workshop for very little extra premium. It is important to always refer to your broker and policy wording for full coverage details. As a NZCB Member you have exclusive access to REDi Insurance solutions; • • • •

Negotiated Premium Discounts Wider Policy Coverage Personal Risk Advisor Assistance with claims process and settlement

Your REDi Builders’ Insurance is administered by BrokerWeb Risk Services Ltd

For a full review of your insurance programme please contact BrokerWeb Risk Services on 0800 644 444

CB’ S

Nails or screws? Softbaits or pillies? The most common questions from builders who install Smartfit windows. ®

Because Smartfit® windows are so easy and fast to install, you’ll free up a lot of time for other things. And while you’re doing these other things, you can rest assured that your windows come with an impressive 10 year warranty. So hook yourself up with Smartfit® for your next build. Visit smartfitwindows.co.nz or call 0800 031 031.

Made exclusively by:

FLA0306

NZCB NEWS —

Trade Pricing with Noel Leeming Commercial Don’t forget as an NZCB member one of the many benefits is Commercial trade pricing available through the Noel Leeming Commercial division. To access NZCB trade pricing with Noel Leeming Commercial get in touch with one of their dedicated trade managers below. You must be a current member of the Association.

NORTH ISLAND Whangarei

SOUTH ISLAND Christchurch

Karn Gerrard – 027 264 9723 karn.gerrard@nlg.co.nz

North Auckland/ Janie Brown – 021 712 323 janie.brown@nlg.co.nz Auckland

Lower South Island

Jason Beulink – 027 265 8904 jason.beulink@nlg.co.nz

North Auckland/ Rayan Jay – 021 731 866 rayan.jay@nlg.co.nz Auckland

Central Otago

Boyce Wilson – 027 340 6654 boyce.wilson@nlg.co.nz

Jas Scrooby – 027 836 3815 jas.scrooby@nlg.co.nz

Central Auckland Nature Chen – 021 541 504 nature.chen@nlg.co.nz

Central Auckland Timmy Tu – 027 836 5727 timmy.tu@nlg.co.nz

Waikato – South Auckland

Steve Fleming – 021 733 259 steve.fleming@nlg.co.nz Prineshan Moodley – 022 106 4003 prineshan.moodley@nlg.co.nz

Bay of Plenty

Daniel Pereira – 021 523 434 daniel.pereira@nlg.co.nz

Napier/Taupo/ Gisborne

Jill McCleary – 027 591 5056 jill.mccleary@nlg.co.nz

Manawatu/ Taranaki

Phil Clinch – 027 270 4691 phil.clinch@nlg.co.nz

Wellington

Sam Wrenn – 021 538 731 sam.wrenn@nlg.co.nz

Noel Leeming has also extended the offer to access retail commercial pricing instore (this is not the same as trade pricing). Please identify yourself as a NZCB instore to redeem instore discount across their product range (this is a cost + % offer so pricing will be the NZCB rate or the best price on the day). Request to speak with the assistant store manager or the store manager if your salesperson is struggling to locate your discount till screen.

OUR PEOPLE —

— Luke & Alexandra MacGibbon P. 24–27

— Tim McGurk P. 28-29

— Meet Luke & Alexandra MacGibbon Young members of NZCB who co-captain their thriving new business, 90 Degrees Construction “We’re a young husband and wife duo from Tauranga. We threw ourselves into our respective careers early on, and take turns at keeping our “workaholism” in check!”

Luke and Alexandra, tell us about yourselves… We’re a young husband and wife duo from Tauranga. We threw ourselves into our respective careers early on, and take turns at keeping our “workaholism” in check! Luke has loads of experience in construction management complemented by superior carpentry skills and terrible singing vocals. Alex is a self-proclaimed geek with loads of experience in marketing, coupled with an obsession of great customer experience and digital solutions. We have a giant black labradoodle named Harley, a couple of nagging mothers who impatiently want grandchildren, are suckers for punishment when it comes to renovating our own home, and our hobbies centre around water and travel.

OUR PEOPLE —

What inspired you to launch a high-end building business? With the industry booming, it seems the market is saturated with a lot of qualified builders going out on their own. We’ve seen a few guys get a shock at just how full on running a business actually is, and how much time gets sucked up off the tools. Luckily we went into this with both eyes open, excited and inspired by what our mash-up of skillsets and passion for the industry could mean. Entering the high-end market was a no-brainer for us, as Luke’s been in it for the past 13 years. His skill-set and passion is very much tuned to working closely with architects to master the art of a beautiful custom build. We think that builders can often forget that building a dream home is likely the biggest spend a person/client will ever make in their lifetime, so they are justified in their high expectations and deserve an incredibly personal, professional, slick service. Our past experience has given us confidence that we can deliver on the journey we know clients ultimately want.

90 Degrees Construction is a great name for a construction company name, tell us about that journey It was quite a process! Naming our business needed to carry real meaning and link with the founding values of the company. After some research, we learnt that in nature there are no true straight lines or corners other than a light beam. This means that almost all straight lines you come across are constructed by man, and look perfect to the human eye, especially two straight lines that create a 90 degree or “right” angle. This fits because Luke is an absolute perfectionist when it comes to his building practice and we always try to work with the client’s perspective or angle in mind. The bonus is the opportunity to use a cheeky pun or two!

“Luke is an absolute perfectionist when it comes to his building practice and we always try to work with the client’s perspective or angle in mind.” What’s so different about 90 Degrees Construction? Luke is innately tuned to the detail. He’ll walk into a room and sense immediately whether the walls are straight and true, and notice any flaws in finishing work. Laziness is not in his vocabulary. Our added value though, is inspired by a quote from Steve Jobs – “Simple can be harder than complex: you have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple”. We make sure all our information is provided to the client in a way that immediately engages. It needs to be sexy, beautiful and simple. We can’t emphasise enough just how important it is to provide all the information a client wants immediately, with no fuss and in ways that can be readily understood. This means we’ve relied on our background processes being well set up. Our main focus at the start was choosing the right systems to automate those pesky, time consuming admin jobs. We avoided the big “all-in-one” software packages, which still weren’t simple or beautiful enough. We’re proud of our customised digital ecosystem. It’s allowed us to spend more time on the actual construction experience, making sure we are transparent, the jargon is simply translated and the construction process more seamless.

up young apprentices. While we technically fit into the millennial category ourselves, we are still working on understanding this new wave of young people entering the workforce. We’ve had team chats about “picking up your feet”, how turning up to site on time is the least we can do to show our clients we respect their investment, and that “swings-and-roundabouts” are not an entitlement, but are earned. However, for the most part we have had good natured guys who just need to be given confidence through good leadership, communication and of course the odd fishing trip! Needless to say, we’ll keep watching the TED talks and listening to podcasts for tips on this one.

What’s next for 90 Degrees Construction? Once we have completed our current project, we will have been working in Pauanui for nearly two years. It’s time to start putting our roots down at home in Tauranga! The medium-term goal is to have two teams able to work on a couple of projects at a time, moving between Tauranga and Pauanui. It was always our intention to take our time for the first two years before expanding. It’s given us the necessary time to stress test our systems and fine tune our business model. Being a start-up has allowed us the opportunity to be at the forefront in using tech and innovative processes to be more efficient, professional and accessible. Attending the National NZCB conference last year gave us the confidence that we were on the right track. The key for us is to keep learning, stay on top of the latest trends, and of course keep going to the annual conference!

What’s been your biggest learning curve in the first year of business? That’s easy – staffing. We are definitely feeling the nationwide labour shortage, though we’ve seen this as an opportunity to train

OUR PEOPLE —

— Tim McGurk Christchurch-based NZCB builder and artist Tim McGurk takes recycling to a whole new level, with a Star Warsinspired sculpture made from old rimu furniture and musical instruments created out of cast off bedpans and basins. We ask what inspires him to make use of all those things most people would rather throw away. Q. Tim, not only are you a builder, you create works of art and furniture with whatever materials you can find. What inspires you to recycle junk into art? I often see a lot of value and remaining life in the things we throw away. I’ve always played around with making things, and the easiest and cheapest materials to get are the ones no one else wants. Over the last few years I’ve tried to apply this attitude to my work as a builder, my furniture making and my artwork.

Q. Where do you think this attitude to re-use comes from? I’ve always been uncomfortable with the amount of waste we produce in our lives today. I think this comes out of a childhood spent watching my grandfathers at work. Both my grandfathers were very practical people; one was a farmer, the other a builder. Their attitude towards use of materials is very different to today’s norm. As a child I was always amazed at how they could extract the most utility out of the stuff they had, or use something I thought was rubbish. While I’ve never been a very confident activist, perhaps re-using waste is a small way I can take a stand.

Q. Have you been involved with any Canterbury community events? I came back to Christchurch after the earthquakes and like many others, was upset to see so much good stuff going to landfill. I got involved in an organisation called Rekindle, where I met my partner Emma. Rekindle has given me many opportunities to create art works. Emma and I were also involved in a project called Whole House Reuse, where one entire house from the ‘Redzone’ was dismantled, the materials catalogued, and makers from all around the region were able to request materials to turn into functional objects. These objects were exhibited in the Canterbury museum. In the last months of that project we had the enjoyable task of using as much of the left over materials as we could. I’ve also enjoyed the chance to work at FESTA – a festival of transitional architecture, held every two years in Christchurch. It’s a buzz setting up for a festival and meeting great people with similar attitudes and cool ideas about making stuff.

Q. Tell us about some of the artwork and furniture you’ve created that you’re super proud of? Last summer I made furniture for a restaurant in Christchurch called Gatherings. The owner gave me a lot of freedom when it came to the table and counter designs and that resulted in some interesting shapes.

OUR PEOPLE —

“I often see a lot of value and remaining life in the things we throw away.” I’m particularly proud of some of the art pieces I’ve made from lath (lath and plaster walls) and rimu from demolished houses. I made a coffee table using lath for the Whole House Reuse project and after the exhibition it was purchased by the museum for its permanent collection. Another exciting piece I loved working on was a big X-wing fighter plane made from the offcuts of recycled rimu furniture. (Google Star Wars if you’re drawing a blank on this one).

Q. What is the weirdest material or piece of junk you’ve used in a project? Probably the stainless steel bedpan in a guitar body! I was trying to make a guitar I could fill with water (for acoustic reasons) but was struggling to weld pieces of stainless steel. I came across this bedpan and realised it was almost the perfect shape. Later, I made a guitar using a wok, and an upright cello-sized instrument strung like a bass guitar, using a basin as the resonating component

Q. What’s been the most challenging obstacle to overcome? Using old materials is very time-consuming and they take up a lot of space. They may be cheap to obtain but they can be expensive to process. You have to invest time into storing them, keeping things dry, clean, straight and accessible. Basically, you have to remember what you have and where it is. Unfortunately, you do end up being that strange guy on the building site going through the skip. And the hoarding means you’re sometimes living amongst a bit of chaos.

Q. How would you like to see the reuse of materials better incorporated into building practice today? Re-using materials in furniture and art is one thing but using old materials in buildings, and particularly using them structurally, is another. It’s great to see people doing this in fitouts recently but it would be even nicer to see old materials used more than just cosmetically in buildings. However, I’m aware that for this to work you need time, thought and supportive engineers and councils. Ultimately, I think that when a building, or object, is made with this level of care, you can feel it.

NZCB NEWS —

20th Annual AGM, Conference & Expo Celebrating 20 years of raising the standards! 25th & 26th May 2018 Energy Events Centre – Rotorua

Wow – Twenty Years of NZCB…Twenty Years of Raising the Standards!!! This conference celebrating our twentieth milestone is not to be missed, it’s going to be massive! The 2018 Annual General Meeting, Conference, Expo & Apprentice Challenge will be held at the Energy Events Centre in the cultural heart of New Zealand – Rotorua, surrounded by the majestic Government Gardens. This stunning multi-purpose venue meets all our conference and expo criteria and is the perfect spot for a streamlined event. The expo, plenary sessions and great apprentice race will be on the ground floor, with all other workshops and educational sessions taking place on the first floor. NZ Certified Builders was started in the beautiful Bay of Plenty, so we are returning for our celebrations and we hope that you will join us too?

Costs at a glance:

all costs below are excl GST and per person attending Main conference delegate (the main person registering to attend conference)

$160.00

Additional delegates (any additional people you would like to bring with you to conference; your business partner, wife and even your apprentice)

$93.50

Factory tour

$25.00

CARTERS Te Puia Mingler

$65.00

Blue Baths Awards Dinner

$110.00

Keep an eye on your email inbox for the registration email, but if you have any questions in the meantime, hop onto the members ToolShed and check out the conference info and if you still have some questions then give Eve a call on 07 557 9215 or drop her an email eve@nzcb.nz.

NZCB NEWS —

THURSDAY 24TH MAY 2018

Educational Tour $25 + GST p/person 9:30am Pickup from the Rotorua Energy Events Centre 1st Stop – Scion Research

»» Scion specialises in research, science and technology development for the forestry, wood and wood derived materials and other biomaterials sector. At Scion you will be taken through the Timber Engineering Lab to look at research on new timber products, timber fixings, design aids and strength assessment. The second part of the tour will take you into the biocomposites lab where scientists are currently working on transforming bio-waste into different products. 2nd Stop – Red Stag Timber Super Mill

»» Red Stag will provide a Timber Training Course which will consist of a series of video modules followed by a set of questions. The modules start with the forest, log yard and sawmill, moving through kiln drying and moisture content, preservation, grading, the planer and remanufacturing plants and finishing with standards. Once all modules and questions are complete a certificate in Timber Training will be issued to each participant. »» Following the Timber Training there will be a tour of the Red Stag Timber Super Mill. This tour takes about 1 hour and will be conducted in groups of 10–14. On this tour guests will have the chance to look at our new Sawmill, Kilns and Remanufacturing Plant on a guided walk through. You will be dropped back off at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre.

NZCB NEWS —

THURSDAY

24TH MAY 2018

From Builder to Business Owner – 1-Day Business Coaching Intensive delivered by Andy Burrows, The Trades Coach

How to manage health and safety risk in your business (aka Risk 101) Half day workshop

Full day workshop $95 + GST p/person

There will be four logical time blocks: pre-morning tea, pre-lunch, post-lunch, post afternoon tea.

Learn the five-step process to get on top of health and safety risk in your business.

Foundations Develop a business owner mindset Build the right Culture Develop the right Structure Learn to Delegate effectively Develop a 1-page Planning System

This presentation covers: »» Your responsibilities under the law »» When you need a formal risk management process »» Examples of how to eliminate or control risk in your business

Financial Financial information flow The most Important Number in Your Business Learn to Love Budgeting Pricing and Back-Costing Develop your Business Dashboard

Systems The Power of Checklists Introduction to Lean Construction Document your Operational Systems Develop Team Management Systems

This year we have invited the AWCI (Association of Wall and Ceiling Industries) to join in on the action, for all of the AWCI members there will be:

Clients Marketing 101 – Attracting the Best Prospects Developing your Sales Pipeline process Turning off the Time Wasters Improve Your Tendering Success Managing Clients Effectively

• AWCI specific trade stands • AWCI specific AGM – running concurrently with the NZCB AGM • AWCI specific educational workshop stream • AWCI apprentice challenge • AWCI members to register go to: www.nzcb.nz/conference

THANKS TO OUR KIND SPONSORS:

NZCB NEWS —

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

25TH MAY 2018

26TH MAY 2018

1930s Masquerade Awards Dinner

CARTERS Te Puia Mingler

Described as one of New Zealand’s most loved buildings, the Blue Baths are the epitome of glamour and style. This stunning heritage building, with its geothermally heated pools and 1930s ambience provides the perfect venue to house the last ‘hoorah’ of the 20th annual conference and expo. This will be a fanciful affair of celebration, announcing the winner of the 2018 Carpentry Apprentice Challenge, all topped off with a mind-blowing dinner and The Monroes will be the band rocking the night away (some of you will remember them from our Rocky Horror gala dinner held in Hamilton a few years ago).

Will be held at Te Puia, the centre for New Zealand’s Māori culture and geothermal wonders which is just a short bus trip away from the Energy Events Centre. You will be welcomed with a traditional Powhiri, walk through the brand new New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute watching master carvers and weavers at work, tantalise your taste buds at the food stations incorporating indigenous inspired flavours, all of this whilst mixing and mingling with likeminded people. Dress code: Smart casual attire.

Dress code: 1930’s Masquerade fancy dress attire.

IN THE KNOW —

Employment Relations Amendment Bill • Reinstating the rules about affording an employee the same terms and conditions of a collective agreement for the first 30 days of employment, and significantly expanding on the compliance steps that an employer must take at the commencement of such an employee’s employment. In relation to trial periods specifically, a trial period provision in an employment agreement entered before the Bill is actually enacted as an Act and comes into force will still be legally valid. So any employer can continue to use trial periods for the time being (as long as the employer complies with current legal requirements). Once the bill becomes law, the more traditional probationary period clauses will be able to be used by employers with 20 or more employees. However, the downside for employers is that an employee could still pursue an unjustified dismissal personal grievance following any dismissal in reliance on a probationary period clause (including seeking reinstatement).

You will have probably heard some media coverage about the Government’s new Employment Relations Amendment Bill. This has now been introduced, had its initial reading, and been referred to the Education and Workforce Select Committee. Some of the key proposed changes are: • Limiting the use of trial periods to employers with fewer than 20 employees. • Reinstating specified rest and meal breaks linked to the duration of the work period (with only very limited exceptions for those employer providing essential services (as defined in the Employment Relations Act) who meet certain criteria); • Restoring reinstatement as the primary remedy in unjustified dismissal cases; • Removing the exemption for employers with fewer than 20 employees from the current rules about business transfers for “vulnerable workers” (those who provide cleaning services, food catering services, caretaking, or laundry services in certain specified industries, and those who provide cleaning or food catering services in any industry); • Changing the current legislative provisions relating to: union access to workplaces; allowing union delegates paid time to perform union duties; collective bargaining; and requiring for employees to still be paid during partial strikes.

Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill You may not have heard about the Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Bill. This is a private members bill which was introduced and had its first reading on 1 February 2018. This Bill aims to ensure that employees employed by one employer (a primary employer), but working under the control and direction of another business or organisation (a secondary employer), are not deprived of the right to coverage of a collective agreement, and to ensure that such employees are not subject to a detriment in their right to allege a personal grievance against either employer.

Danny Jacobson and Trudy Marshall are Partners at Employment Lawyers Tauranga and they specialise exclusively in employment law. They operate our Employment Helpline for NZCB members: Phone 07 928 0529. They have also previously produced a Guide for Employers in the Construction Industry which NZCB can send out to any members on request. (The above is by its nature general, and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice).

IN THE KNOW —

Do something different in 2018 So, it’s March already! The year is over two months in and the end of the current financial year is just around the corner. Before any more of this year goes by you have a chance to readjust your focus and really achieve better results than last year. So, what are you going to do different in 2018 that will actually make a change in your situation more likely? Having goals of how much extra profits you will make or how much extra time you will spend with the family are great and essential to drive you forward, but that is only half the story. The other essential element in the planning process is converting your goals into practical action plans and tactics that affect your day-to-day activities. It’s what you ACTUALLY DO that really counts, not what you PLAN to do. So, take a stock of your activities last year in various parts of your business. What marketing activities did you undertake? What generated leads and what did not? How many leads did you convert into sales and what techniques did you use in the sale process? Did your customers pay on time? How many complaints did you receive? Take stock of what worked in your business and what did not. Then decide to make a fundamental change or two in some areas and reinvent part or all of your business to drive change. Some areas you may wish to consider: Delegation. Look at your lower level tasks that sucked up too much of your time last year. Decide to pass these tasks to someone else, either internal staff or an outside contractor. Put in some measures and controls and focus more of your time where it will pay you more. Plan more. Make planning a weekly event, either with yourself or key staff. It is easier to make lots of small adjustments as you go through the year than put up with inefficiencies and try to make big changes once or twice a year. Learn more. Read some business books, or even just one. Attend a seminar or two. Pick a topic you don’t know much about and aim to become proficient at it. Consider skills outside business as well. Take up archery or mountain-biking, or something.

Get rid of that frustration. Maybe you have an old printer that jams all the time or a computer that crashes often. Consider throwing it out and getting a new one. The new equipment will be far more efficient, will reduce everyone’s stress and may even improve customer relations. Network. Join a business network group. This can be a low cost way of making business contacts and promoting your business, especially if you pick a group that is heavy on prospective customers and lighter on competitors. At worst you will get to talk to other business owners, share your frustrations and ideas and learn from others in a similar position as you. Whatever you do in 2018 aim to do something DIFFERENT to what you have been doing for the past year, or years. If you keep doing the same stuff you will only get what you have always got, or possibly even less as the competition passes you by. Drop what hasn’t really worked and move on. Something better will turn up if you work at implementing new strategies and tactics consistently through the year.

For help in putting a new plan together for 2018 that focuses on some changes in your business, contact Andy Burrows at The Trades Coach. andy@tradescoach. co.nz or phone 027 688 6721.

HEALTH AND SAFETY —

How well are your staff and why should you care? We know how pushed for time everyone in the building industry is – fluctuating demand, juggling deadlines, not enough people to get the job done and so on. And that’s on a good month. Add to that, staff making mistakes, increase of safety incidents, lack of motivation, not turning up on time, taking sickies, resigning exactly at the worst possible time, and the boss’s job can become a real nightmare. These are all obvious signs of risk. We are drilled into having good safety processes in place, but how much emphasis do we put on the health part of the Act? If you can relate to any of this, it’s costing you money, and profit off the bottom line. And like it or not, if incidents occur that can be linked in any way to workplace stress, then the boss, the foreman, the business is liable. And that can be very expensive. The industry is full of ‘unwell’ people: unmotivated, depressed, experiencing money worries, addiction issues, problems at home, lack of skill to do their job as a supervisor, stressed, suicidal even. Employers are increasingly recognising the need to deal with these issues, as ignoring them actually doesn’t work. You may or may not think it’s your job to do something as a boss, but it’s going to cost you if you don’t. The research is overwhelmingly convincing, that if you focus on people’s health and wellbeing, this will generate real return: more motivation, fewer sick days and incidents, better performance, higher levels of engagement, and ultimately less turnover. All of this equates to better productivity for your business.

• Healthy staff are up to three times more productive than unhealthy workers • Southern Cross in its second year of running an in-house wellness programme calculated they successfully reduced unplanned absence by around 15 percent (reference sources available) Isn’t it better, then, to be proactive and build health and wellbeing within your workplace? Enjoy the benefits this produces, both in morale and productivity, as well as being seen as an ‘employer of choice’. What can you do that’s not in the “too hard basket” to overcome some of the issues on your workplace? Here are some suggestions: • Implement a counselling programme and make sure staff are aware of it. It’s a built in support system for staff and NZCB actively supports this service for members. • Start small, focus on an area you know is a priority. Don’t put your head in the sand, it won’t go away. Find the right professional to help you address this. • Give staff basic skills on mental health and wellbeing. This makes it easier for people to talk about it when things aren’t going so well, and gives them some tools to help themselves.

Here are some scary facts: • Every time you replace a staff member it can cost you 6–9 months of that income on average • Employees admit to being unproductive 57.5 days per year • The average direct cost of a workplace injury is $10,000 – the indirect cost is much higher • Three Kiwis out of 10 report significant stress in the workplace And here’s some evidence that workplace wellness works: • The return on investment of a well-run employee wellness programme can be as high as 6:1.

EWP (Employee Wellness Programme) is a network of highly respected professionals providing best practice wellness solutions to Kiwi companies nationwide. As a new Affinity Partner of NZCB, EWP is providing nationwide confidential counselling support service to members. When you sign up for this service, you will get a preferred customer rate for your annual fee and NZCB will pay for the first counselling session used by one of your staff. For more information on the counselling service, please contact EWP Services’ Managing Director, Pauline Wrigley on 0800 800 397.

Prefabrication is fast becoming a cornerstone approach to constructing the built environment of New Zealand. Waste minimisation, quality control, and reducing on-site build times have driven innovative thinkers to create more effective ways of building New Zealand. Touchwood® is a successful New Zealand company that offers a revolutionary building system and prefabricated solid wood panel product to a network of builders throughout New Zealand. This is a unique opportunity to become part of the future of New Zealand construction and grow your business, naturally. For more information or to arrange a confidential presentation call Ivan Scott on 0508 TOUCHWOOD® (0508 868 249). Procurable areas include: Coromandel, Hamilton, Rotorua, Napier, New Plymouth and Wellington.

Touchwood® started out 14 years ago pre-cutting components for on-site construction but soon discovered the vast potential for greater off-site manufacturing. For over 10 years we have supplied our prefabricated solid wood wall and brace panels into the NZ housing market saving thousands of on-site construction hours while increasing the quality and strength of our NZ homes. Touchwood® solid wood construction is a competitively priced, design-flexible system that creates a strong and durable finished wall surface with a modern, stylish appearance – perfect for the homes of today and tomorrow.

The Touchwood® building system upholds CodeMark certification, the highest level of product assurance a building product can achieve in New Zealand. This is evidence that Touchwood® has been put to the test for compliance with the New Zealand building code including systematic monitoring by CertMark International, a JAZ-ANZ accredited certifying body.

CodeMark 1

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TOUCHWOOD ® A revolution in solid wood construction www.twd.co.nz

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Easy hose storage, all set to go! Pick up in a loop.

NEXT GENERATION —

Building for Bolivia Ara Building and Carpentry tutor Ron Bedyn and fourth year ITAB apprentice Nicole Davis recently returned from Bolivia where they volunteered along with 12 others at the Corazón Grande Orphanage for girls. During the three weeks they were away Ron and Nicole applied their trade skills to upgrade the orphanage, performing building maintenance and improvements such as painting the exteriors of the buildings, replacing fly screens, repairing a playground and constructing barbeque tables. Nicole is completing her apprenticeship through the ITAB Apprenticeship Programme at Ara Institute of Canterbury, and is currently working on a commercial job for Housing New Zealand. She first heard about the Bolivian trip two years ago while studying pre-trade carpentry at Ara. This year she seized the opportunity to go, and fundraised to pay her own way with assistance from the AST Trust. “In Bolivia we went back to building basics” we didn’t have many power tools. It was all hand tools. I oversaw the health and safety as well, making sure everyone was being safe” Nicole said. As for the experience “I loved it. It was completely different to here. Very refreshing. It’s hard to put into words really. Seeing the girls’ happy faces was so rewarding. Over there it’s different to see a female builder. I suppose they just couldn’t believe a female could do that kind of work,” she said.

“Seeing the girls’ happy faces was so rewarding.” The trip was not solely work and no play. “We had some excursions on the weekends and on the way back home we flew back via La Paz and cycled Death Road. It was thrilling,” Ron said. As these trips continue, a positive relationship is developing between Ara and the Orphanage. Ron believes there will most likely be another trip in 1–2 years’ time where other Ara staff and carpentry students would be welcome to join the volunteer effort.

Handitops™

Formica Handitops. Ready to go. Formica® Handitops™ are an affordable solution for a broad range of applications. Available in a range of 18 popular Formica colours the pre-fabricated benchtops are perfect for work surfaces and benchtops in both commercial and residential spaces. Stylish, durable, and easy to clean the Handitops range comes in a Velour finish, delivering a clean and modern look. Durable; scratch, stain and wear resistant

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TECH TIPS —

Transforming the way Kiwis do business

This Tech Tip was supplied by the New Zealand Business Number. The NZBN is making it faster and easier to do business, so head to nzbn.govt. nz today to get yours, or call 0508 696 926.

The New Zealand Business Number is a globally unique identifier, available to all Kiwi businesses (including self-employed people). Having an NZBN will make it faster and easier to connect and transact with other businesses and government agencies. That’s because the NZBN links to the key business information organisations are most often asked to share. Many businesses are building the NZBN into their systems right now, which will make it faster to: • • • • • •

Invoice customers Pay bills Procure goods/services Manage supply chains On-board customers and suppliers And much more.

As technology continues to evolve, the NZBN will become increasingly central to the way we do business. Head to nzbn.govt.nz now to get your NZBN and ‘Like’ us on Facebook to receive NZBN news and updates www.facebook.com/newzealandbusinessnumber/.

Health & Safety Pocket Guide – Free Download! Site Safe has made its popular Passport Handbook available for free download. This handy pocket-sized guide is a great introduction to all the basic health and safety information every worker should know. The Passport Handbook is designed to give workers key entrylevel information about some of the potential risks they face onsite, equipping them with easy-to-use tools and resources to identify hazards, manage risks and improve safety culture.

Find it at: www.sitesafe.org.nz/guides--resources/passport-handbook2/

Download the Passport Handbook and find out: • Basic steps to manage and control risks • Practical tools to identify hazards • Key information from the Health and Safety at Work Act

NZCB NEWS —

Are you up for the challenge?! Applications for the 2018 NZCB Apprentice Challenge are now open! Competitors will be tasked to complete a challenging project for a specific end user within the allotted 8.0 hours. Thanks to ITM’s sponsorship, every competitor will receive a prize pack for participating as well as major prizes up for grabs for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place getters! The Challenge is open to apprentices employed by NZCB builders or enrolled with ITAB. *conditions apply

Have you got what it takes to go all the way?

REGIONAL CHALLENGES

SAT 21 APRIL 2018

WHERE: ITM STORES NATIONWIDE + selected venues

NATIONAL FINAL

24 – 27 MAY 2018 ROTORUA

To apply for the challenge checkout nzcb.nz/apprenticeships/

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

facebook.com/itabnz *The fine print: Competitors can be at any stage of their apprenticeship, regardless of age or experience and if they are lucky enough to progress to the National Final in May 2018, they must still be a current apprentice. Competitors must be enrolled in a recognised apprenticeship programme and must be up to date with any associated apprenticeship fees or training related expenses.

NEXT GENERATION —

ITAB apprentice completions Congratulations to the following ITAB students Ara Institute of Canterbury Barrie Amtman

Simplexity Construction Ltd

Matthew Jones

Shayne Anderson

Radius Building Ltd

Desmond Kennedy Buildtech Restorations Ltd

Troy Anderson

Van Wiggen Builders Ltd

Mitchell Kortegast

Manuka Homes

Riki Clay

Adam Campbell Building Ltd

Shane Monk

Francis and Norton Construction

Adam Cotton

CFJ Contracting

John Page

Vaughan Morrison Construction

Trevor Doran

Daniel Smith Industries

Teura Rahiti

Sean Sweeney Builder Ltd

Erwin Filius

Van de Geest Building

Sam Reeves

Fairmaid Builders Ltd

Fei (Bruce) Fu

Chatterton Builders Ltd

Benjamin Strydom

CFJ Contracting

Andrew Hayman

Builderz Ltd

Joshua Thomas

Wayne Rees Builder

Garth Henare

Bushnell Builders Ltd

Geoffrey Urquhart

Unfehlbar Building

Stefan Jackel

True House Ltd

Scott Wilson

Robertson Building Canterbury Ltd

Jaden Janssen

ECL Builders

Jason Wright

Metzger Builders Ltd

Mark Johnston

Chatterton Builders Ltd

Northtec – Future Trades Jake Brown

Mita Tipene Builders Ltd

Marshall Harman

Showcase Structures Ltd

Shaydan Scown

Streamline Builders Ltd

Otago Polytech Ifereimi Naqeramagimagi

Space Engineering and Construction Ltd

Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) Mark Templeton

The Builders.co.nz Ltd

UNITEC Institute of Technology John Drake

D B Builders

Samuel Wilson

Resolution Projects Ltd

Byrne Building & Construction Ltd

NEXT GENERATION —

AST Excellence Awards Congratulations to Otago Polytechnic ITAB apprentice Daniel Hogan who was awarded $500 worth of ITM vouchers for an AST Award of Excellence. Daniel is a first-year apprentice working for Steve Mowat Building and Construction in Dunedin. He has kept incredibly good records of his work within his ePortfolio. Otago Polytech Assessor, Grant Beel says that “Daniel’s a very easy apprentice to manage and assess and the way he has grabbed this opportunity to show us what he has been achieving on the job is so clear, and he can complete so much of the work unaided”. Daniel is currently attending block course at Otago Polytechnic, using this chance to increase his knowledge. Daniel’s employer Steve Mowat says that “Daniel is progressing well on the worksite having a good understanding of what is required thanks to the block course he is attending”.

Baxter Mosely works for Pete Brown Builder and was selected for the award because of his great attitude and enthusiasm for the building industry and his solid work ethic. Having just completed his first year, Baxter is already a valuable part of Pete’s team. He takes away a $500.00 cheque and whole lot of prizes from sponsors PlaceMakers and Rebel Sport among others. Congratulations and well done Baxter!

ITAB apprentice Baxter Mosely receiving his New Zealand Institute of Building, (Northland branch), excellence award from Northtec carpentry programme leader Taina Savage with NZIOB National president, Graeme Birkhead.

From left: ITAB assessor Grant Beel awards Daniel Hogan with his certificate and ITM vouchers. Proud employer, Steve Mowat stands by on the right.

NZCB Taupo members, Wade Construction’s team take out awards second year in row! Kevin Sun and Ashton Wilder were selected from 170 apprentices throughout the Bay of Plenty to each receive an Award of Excellence. Only five awards were given with two of those being employees of Wade Construction. Kevin and Ashton each received Awards of Excellence from Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology in the form of a $300 Mitre 10 voucher. Wade Construction is very proud of their achievements and to be selected for the second year in a row is great news!

Left to right: Brian Dillon (Chairman AST Trust), Glynn Maulder, Alistair Penrose (ITAB Carpentry Tutor), Ashton Wilder and Kevin Sun (ITAB Apprentices), Phil Grimmer (Toi Ohomai Group Manager) and John Wade (Director Wade Construction).

NEXT GENERATION —

Free fees for apprentices welcomed The announcement at the end of 2017 that the Governments’ free fees policy would include apprenticeships was a welcome one, and while an annual apprenticeship fee of around $1000 may not compare to university fees, there are of course many hidden costs to an apprenticeship, including tools and time off for day classes or block courses. Employers, apprentices, and training providers alike were pleased to hear this news, and while it may not have resulted in an immediate increase in uptake of apprenticeships, there should be some growth in the short to medium term. A recent media article announced that New Zealand has the lowest unemployment in nine years. I’m sure many in construction aren’t surprised at that, as a tight

Brian Dillon Chairman AST Trust

labour market continues to put pressure on many facets of the construction process. Free fees, and a growing understanding that not every school leaver wants to or should go to university will hopefully see some of the labour pressures ease, with more showing an interest in this rewarding sector. The AST, through the ITAB/ITP partnership, is already enabling a lot of ‘extra’ benefits for apprentices, and the trustees are looking to further enhance these in 2018. The last count had apprenticeships through ITP’s totalling around 1800, close to 20% of all carpentry apprentices. Many ITP’s are now training to develop skills that are transferable across a number of trades. This will provide more employable graduates, and may go some way to coping with the fluctuations we typically experience every few years.

Xtreme

LESS HEAT EGRESS

LESS COLD INGRESS

NZCB NEWS —

From the Chief Executive

Grant Florence Chief Executive

A year of change? It’s a bit late – but as this is the first edition of InHouse for this year, welcome back to 2018 and I trust all our members and NZCB partners had a pleasant and safe break over the Christmas/New Year period. It is pleasing to see that many of our members are returning to work with some good solid ‘forward work’ for the year. It’s a pleasing situation to be in, compared to years gone by when many builders returned to work, with not much on the horizon. With the change in Government, housing and in particular rebuilding stock levels with new housing remains on the agenda (for both Government and media). This will continue to be the case over the next 12 – 18 months minimum I am sure. What shape this will take, how it will be achieved, how the Government will go about this and what impact it will have on our existing type business, will be interesting to be involved in and monitor. Consumer confidence remaining high will be a key for the future. Opportunities (and some related risk) for us all I am sure. One of the initiatives launched by the Government late last year – was free study fees for first year students. This offer also applies to any new person who is taking up an apprenticeship in 2018 – but the good news is – they will get their first two years of fees free. There are some conditions (e.g. if any previous study has been undertaken) – so for further information visit www.feesfree.govt.nz, contact the local ITAB Polytechnic partner in your area or contact NZCB national support office. This is another great incentive for people to enter the industry – and we need them! A recent poll to some of our members showed that ‘not enough skilled workers’ was the largest current challenge they face and unfortunately this is forecast to continue for some time. We have had some great feedback from members who’ve signed up to the health insurance scheme as part of our partnership with Advice Financial/ nib. Members have used the scheme to include employees and their families, thus rewarding them for their past, current and future loyalty. Finding innovative ways of retaining staff, other than paying more per hour, seems to be a logical step to take in times of shortages like we are experiencing. Contact national support office for information or visit the members ToolShed at nzcb.nz.

With the help of our legal counsel, Geoff Hardy and his team at Martelli McKegg, we have been undertaking some pretty heavy work on our suite of building contracts including extending the type of building projects they cover – so watch out for the announcement of them being available over the next few weeks! We are also in the process of putting together the new Revere magazine, which features a number of the fantastic builds our members have completed. It will be a great publication to promote our work and NZCB to potential homeowners, architects etc. Our target is to have this out by mid May 2018. In line with the policy issued by the NZCB Board regarding reviewing membership fees on an annual basis the Board has decided to raise the fee and levy levels by 5% for the 2018 year. This is an increase of about $40 per year for the average NZCB member. I believe this is still outstanding value for money. There will be a number of new services and ideas that we will be launching over 2018 – so keep an eye out for them.