Welcome to JCA’s new look Planning & Resourcing Website.

We have designed a new website and with a new weblog (Opinion) feature which will be updated with new and relevant information to JCA and JCA’s clients.

Feel free to review our website frequently to stay abreast of current issues, news, offers and events relating to JCA.

Any feedback on the site content and design is greatly appreciated.

The following article from BIS Shrapnel, gives some idea of market activity in the Maintenance sector after the end of the current resource led Boom.

JCA are currently targeting this area as a service to existing clients of its planning and resourcing divisions, in both Sydney and Perth. Our existing involvment in planning and engineering services for Shutdown works and upgrades, means JCA are well placed to secure ongoing project work on maintenance related projects.

“The coming cycle in Australia’s construction sector will be partially offset by ongoing strong growth in maintenance activity, said leading industry analyst and forecaster BIS Shrapnel.
BIS Shrapnel warns construction companies they should be starting now to build up a presence in the maintenance sector as it will be a strong area of activity beyond the next downturn in construction.
According to BIS Shrapnel’s Maintenance in Australia, 2005 to 2020 report, the massive investment in infrastructure, buildings and mines over the past decade, will form the basis of a sustained upswing in maintenance activity. The increase in the asset base is being accompanied by rising rates of utilisation of assets and rising incomes and budgets for maintenance work. And in many areas, there is considerable catch-up maintenance work to be done, following many years of under-spending. For companies already servicing the maintenance sector, planning will be essential to ensure they have the ongoing capacity to meet demand.
refer BIS link here

The following is an extract from the Sydney Morning herald regarding WA’s boom:

The west’s property spree is driven by its resources, but will it last?

When apartments in a yet-to-be-built Perth inner-city building went up for sale in May, more than 20 people slept on the street, queueing overnight in the hope of securing an off-the-plan purchase. By 5am the following day, the crowd had swelled to 60, and by noon, 74 of the 81 one- and two-bedroom Domus units, priced from $275,000 to $455,000, had been snapped up.

“It was pretty unbelievable,” says Ronald Chan of Finbar International Limited, the building’s developers. “It was a frenzy.”

It was exactly the same story when a small West Australian developer put 15 new luxury units in Geraldton, 424 kilometres north of Perth, on the market a few weeks ago. He wasn’t sure how they’d go - apartment living is a relatively new concept in the state, they were all priced in the top end at $485,000 each and most people still prefer to invest in houses and land. Yet five days later, they were all sold and he was left with a waiting list of 300 eager buyers for his next release of 60 units.

Demand seems to be just so strong,” says Barry Humfrey, managing director of Humfrey Land Developments. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

It’s a story that’s now being repeated across Western Australia and parts of the Northern Territory.

It is with increasing frequency the JCA team is asked “what is the best Planning software tool for my construction business ?”

Of course there is no easy answer for that…a lot depends upon the project types, the level of planning controls adopted by the business (both on & off site), the likelihood that the system will be used, the level of training provided to thier staff, etc, etc.

JCA planners have experience with Primavera (P3, Suretrak, Enterprise) and MS Project (98 to 2003). Each one of these tools has a niche with-in the construction industry.

Pre-dominantly our Building contracting firms and property developers use MS Project, where as our heavy industry and resources sector contractor’s use Primavera products.

John Roberts the founder of Perth born Construction Company “Mulitplex” Passes away today.

JCA and it’s team have a long association with Multiplex in Perth and are saddened that such a pioneer of the Perth Construction scene is no longer with us.