Ok lets, be honest, both teams are winners in the eyes of everyone involved in Constructionarium Australia’s Victorian Big Build, but in the harsh reality of the real world, there is only ever one winner in a tender. So, which contractor was selected to build the Victorian Big Build Bridge? Read on to find out.
As day three dawned there were a few tired eyes among our cohort gathered at Kallibr’s training centre in Maidstone as our teams worked late into Thursday evening to stay on track for today’s all-important tender submission at noon.
But there was also an air of confidence about both teams and rightly so. So far, they have stepped up to meet every challenge head-on, created high performing teams in a matter of days, absorbed information, asked key questions, and participated with enthusiasm and positive attitudes throughout.
So, what would today have in store? First up was the continuing development of the tender as our two teams, Team A – SID Constructions and Team B – Green solutions, put their final touches to their tender documentation ahead of the noon submission. Moments before the deadline, two huge cheers went up as confirmation was received from our panel lead that their documentation has been received. Cheers of relief? Absolutely. But also cheers that reflect an enormous sense of pride in a job well done. This was backed up by comments from our tender panel as they took their initial review of the documentation. We can confirm that they were hugely impressed by the amount of work, the expertise on show and the high standard and detail contained in each element submitted.
Once again it is important to stress the expectations that we have of our cohort. The tender will be judged as if in the real world. Assumptions will be interrogated; decisions will be queried, and the documentation will be analysed by our panel comprising:
- Harry Hartman – Constructionarium Australia
- Alex Ibarra – Constructionarium Australia
- Ash Pender – Arcadis
- Dan Rowse – BMD
- Tanya Barmby – BMD
- Julia Farrell – MRPV
For our Lunch and Learn session we were joined by someone who has been a driving force and champion of Constructionarium Australia for many years; BMD’s Peter Anusas. Whenever Peter presents, not only do you receive great insights, knowledge and expertise, you have the opportunity to hear someone speak with passion for an industry to which he has contributed over many years. In today’s session, Peter spoke about BMD’s philosophy, values, methodologies and practices that have seen a small Queensland family business become one of Australia’s largest privately-owned construction, consulting and urban development organisations.
It was now time for our cohort to finalise their presentations, ready to face the panel in the final assessment.
At 3 pm it was time to put on their bravest faces and their most confident voices as they tried and persuade our panel as to why their organisation deserves the opportunity to build the Victoria Big Build Bridge. Once again, it was hugely rewarding to see our cohort in action. Confident, articulate and in control under pressure, they delivered their arguments compellingly and answered our panels challenging questions with understanding and knowledge.
But there can be only one winner.
And the winner is...
Drumroll please…
Green Solutions
Congratulations to Green Solutions, commiserations to SID Constructions. There can be only one winner, but that does not diminish the technical capability, effort and endeavour of SID Constructions. Sometimes, even with your best efforts, you don’t get the result that you want.
After celebrations and a quick debrief (the teams will receive full feedback in a session on Monday) it was time for two teams to become one ready for next week and the challenge of delivering what Green Solutions promised in their tender.
