Queensland developer Golden Gate Property has completed the acquisition of a 50ha residential development site at Park Ridge, 32 kilometres drive from the Brisbane CBD and in the heart of the city’s southern growth corridor.
The company is now within the final stages of finalising plans for the launch of a 600-lot masterplanned community with an expected gross realisation in excess of $135 million.
The site comprises nine separate lots located along Park Ridge Road, Park Ridge, in the heart of the fast growing Logan City Council local government area. The site is well connected to the surrounding area and the rest of south east Queensland with easy access to the west via Mt Lindesay Highway, east via Chambers Flat Road and north via the Logan Motorway.
The privately-owned Golden Gate Property (www.ggpg.com.au) has a number of other in-fill projects within the broader SEQ region and is currently looking to release Stage 2 of their 97-lot, $23 million Regency Green estate nearby at Green Road, Park Ridge.
Director of Development David Whiteman said the site required complex negotiations to aggregate a group of fragmented rural land holdings into a single site and would be the company’s largest project to date.
“It is a significant site that we believe has great potential due to its existing natural attributes and its connectivity with major transport infrastructure and the nearby Park Ridge Central shopping precinct,” he said.
“Our intention is to create a vibrant community that generates opportunities for, and enhances the lives of local residents with improved amenities, public transport links and public realm offerings with over six hectares of district level parklands onsite.
“Regency Green has given us a strong understanding of the area and we are confident there is demand for a quality owner-occupier focused product in the area.”
Future residents will benefit from the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan, which outlines $134 billion in infrastructure projects including the Meadowbank health, education and innovation hub masterplan and Logan Hospital expansion and refurbishment.
Mr Whiteman said the company had commissioned research that showed the primary catchment for the project (consisting of Park Ridge and Boronia Heights) was expected to cater for an extra 20,000 residents by 2036, with a growth rate of 4.9% a year (2016-2036).
Residential land sales in Logan LGA continue to follow upwards trends, accounting for 38.5% of SEQ’s current developable land, providing a significant scope for prosperous future residential land development.
The project, named Carver’s Reach estate, is due to be launched within months pending engagement of the site’s principal civil contractor.
Mr Whiteman said the masterplan for the site would have a range of features and amenities including a district recreation park, a local park, a childcare centre and integrated passive recreation opportunities within adjoining biodiversity areas which are planned for rehabilitation.
“It is a true, multi-stage masterplanned community where we have the scope to be creative in terms of the open space and connectivity with the local community,” he said. “We look forward to launching the project in coming months.”
Families from all over Ipswich and Springfield flocked to Torhaven, Defence Housing Australia’s (DHA) latest development in Deebing Heights for a free family fun day, celebrating the opening of a new $2 million dollar park.
On Saturday, February 9, Torhaven Park played host to more than 600 members of the community who enjoyed family-friendly entertainment, free food and treats. Children were delighted to play in Torhaven’s new adventure playground featuring slides, swings, spinami and a treehouse network connected by rope bridges, climbing frames and rock climbing walls.
There was also a visit from the Queensland Fire Service from Ripley who come along to show all the children their fire truck and let them spray water out of the fire hose.
DHA’s Development Manager Meaghan O’Shea said the event was a great success at showcasing the new parklands as a fabulous space for families to come together in Deebing Heights.
“It was important for us to let the Deebing Heights community know that while the park is a part of our Torhaven project, everyone in the broader area can enjoy the benefits it provides,” she said.
“This event is the first of many community activites planned. We have put together a calendar of events to be held at Torhaven Park for the whole community to enjoy, including community BBQs, a Halloween ‘trick or treat’ trail and a Christmas party.”
Torhaven’s parklands are a natural landscape spanning 22,000 square metres of sculpted gardens, open green space and intricately designed wetlands. Torhaven Park features an exciting treehouse network with rope bridges, climbing frames and rock climbing walls. Children can enjoy the seesaw, spinami, hoop carousel, multi-swing and mounded slippery slides.
Located off Andy Way, Deebing Heights, the parklands provide an oasis for birdlife with a wetland full of native plants and trees. The area was designed to mimic natural waterways, including shaded creek beds and riverbanks constructed out of boulders sourced from the site.
Torhaven is a beautiful
new parkland community occupying one of Deebing Heights’ most appealing, elevated
locations. Spanning 27 hectares with over 20 per cent green space, Torhaven is
being developed by Defence Housing Australia and marketed by Oliver Hume. When complete,
Torhaven will comprise 294 home sites and two major parklands. The first stage
of 96 lots is now complete with over 70 per cent of retail lots sold, and new
homes now under construction. Another 11 lots in stage two have just been
released for sale to the public.
Education is a journey. It is a long-term and often ongoing experience we embark upon to attain knowledge and better ourselves. During this ‘student journey’, we often associate our schools, universities and other institutions merely as tools or locations we need in order to achieve our goals.
In fact, when we embark on the student journey the campuses, teachers and even intangible curriculums travel alongside us. For example, when someone decides to pursue a Master of Business Administration, the business school they enrol with becomes a companion every step of the way, providing the necessary support to help reach the finish line.
Student and the business schools, however, have different priorities and must prepare accordingly for each phase of the student journey.
Searching,
contemplating and recruitment
At this stage, students are considering studying an MBA and are on the lookout for the business school that will best suit their needs. Students need to consider their personal commitments, professional workload, location and flexibility. These considerations are vital so early on in the process, and so business schools must respond in kind by providing accurate and up-to-date information on their MBA programs.
According to the Australian Skills Quality Authority, students have reported that it is important to them that the information they receive about their course before they enrol is factual and accurate, because many who are beginning their MBA student journey can often find the experience initially confusing.
Enrolment
At enrolment the journey to acquiring an MBA still demands research and preparation. Most MBA programs in Australia require students to already have completed an undergraduate degree and hold several years of professional experience before pursuing an MBA. Business Schools also provide their own iteration of the program on top of the core business outcomes, meaning the specialisations, electives, costs, course content and delivery mode (on-campus or online) will vary. The MBA student journey cannot begin if the student does not know what is required.
Similar to the recruitment phase of the journey, business schools must again ensure they are providing accurate advice to ensure it meets a student’s needs before they enrol. They must also ensure that their students can understand details about the course, such as how long the course will take, the study requirements and assessment methods.
Studying
and Assessment
Notes, textbooks, online materials and other academic resources are of course essential items to carry through this phase of the student journey. However, when it comes to studying an MBA, students need more than tangible items to get them through to the other side. It has been touched on before but a good MBA kit bag must also include the right inner qualities and personal characteristics. Throughout their studies, MBA students must ensure they have determination, integrity, discipline, entrepreneurship, teamwork, critical thinking and a willingness to challenge prior knowledge.
It is at this point that business schools must provide all the necessary resources and support to maximise the outcomes for the student. According to the Australian Skills Quality Authority, it is important that:
teachers, trainers and assessors are professional and knowledgeable about their subjects and industry areas,
the amount of training is enough to allow students to practice new skills before they are assessed,
students can access good-quality learning resources and facilities, and
assessment activities are fair and well explained and students are given helpful feedback.
Many business schools have already addressed many of these elements in their MBA programs. For example, many schools appoint professors who have been or still are business professionals in their own right, resulting in classes being taught by former CEOs or current corporate directors.
Business schools must also be aware of the ‘support and progression’ phase of the student journey, which focusses on how they support students’ progression in their learning. This can be accomplished by providing easily accessible resources and materials like study support and study skills programs, mediation services, flexible scheduling and delivery, counselling services or referrals to these services and information and communications technology (ICT) support.
Graduation
The journey is over. Students have completed their studies and are eligible to receive an MBA. In this phase, students typically want to receive their certification in a timely manner to ensure they are not disadvantaged in seeking employment.
As for students; while the journey to achieving an MBA is over, it paves the way for a bigger journey of self-improvement, employment opportunities and career advancement. All there is left to consider is finding the will to use their newfound knowledge and achieve the success they desire in the business world.
One of South East Queensland’s fastest growing economic development zones has received another boost with Orchard Property Group commencing in excess of $12 million of construction works at the newly-launched Pebble Creek project at South Maclean.
After acquiring the site in 2018 and launching the project in January this year, the current works will cover the first two stages of development and will be undertaken by civil contractor CCA Winslow, which won the high-value contract late last year.
Orchard Property Group Managing Director Brent Hailey said it was exciting to finally see some action take place on the Pebble Creek site after several months of planning.
“The beginning of on-site activity fills us with excitement and we cannot wait to finish this work so we can start providing affordable, comfortable and stylish housing options to the area and commence building a real community,” he said.
“Encouragingly we have already received significant sales enquiries and are already looking forward to welcoming our first residents in early 2020.”
The initial civil works for the project include the upgrading of Mountain Ridge Road from Teviot Road to the site entry, as well as construction of the entry road and bridge to connect Pebble Creek to Mountain Ridge Road. The work will also include the first 93 lots of the overall 650-lot development.
“This construction is not only a milestone for Pebble Creek but a major step forward in the continued growth of the region,” Mr Hailey said.
“The surrounding area is currently being developed, with new retail offerings being built and education and employment opportunities becoming available, but the end result is still far into the future which gives us a chance to be a part of the creation of this amazing new development area.
“We’re excited to be a catalyst for activity in South East Queensland.”
Pebble Creek’s positioning in South Maclean creates a significant contribution to the Greater Flagstone PDA, which covers an area of more than 7,000 hectares in Logan City and runs along the Brisbane-Sydney rail line, 40 kilometres from Brisbane’s CBD.
The PDA was declared in 2010 after the Queensland Government identified the area as a significant job and industry growth area in South East Queensland’s south-west growth corridor. And while already a significant regional centre, the Greater Flagstone PDA is expected to experience an influx of residents thanks to Queensland’s growing local population and continuous interstate migration.
The PDA, when complete, is expected to provide retail, transport, education and employment as well as approximately 50,000 dwellings to cater to a population of up to 120,000 people.
Mr Hailey said Orchard Property Group were up to the challenge of providing a vibrant, sustainable community for Queensland’s growing population and the future prominence of the area.
“As we continue works on Pebble Creek, so too will the area around us evolve, and we’re confident that our efforts will produce the area’s prime residential community.
Pebble Creek’s construction and development will continue over the next five years and include the addition of more lots and a district park, which will provide future residents with more than nine hectares of parkland, playground and open space.
Current civil works will be completed in late 2019, making way for the community’s first settlements.
National developer and home builder Tribeca Homes has introduced two stunning new turnkey home designs in the highly successful Otto Estate at Coomera, with buyers able to move into their new home within 6 months of purchasing.
The release of the new architecturally-designed homes mark the launch of Otto Estate’s final stage, and Tribeca’s overall commitment to deliver 101 contemporary homes on one of the highest points in Coomera along Foxwell Road, just minutes from the Coomera train station and the recently opened Westfield within the Town Centre precinct.
Priced from $479,980, the new Otto Estate homes will blend comfort with style due to a mixture of traditional and contemporary features. Buyers have the opportunity to select the façade and house design that best suits their lifestyle and the blocks of land available in the final stage, which range from 314m2 to 726m2.
While each house will provide its own unique façade, floorplan and features, every resident at Otto Estate will find all the lifestyle essentials featured in their home as a standard Tribeca offering, including a driveway, landscaping, fencing, blinds and high ceilings at no extra cost.
Tribeca General Manager- Sales & Markets David Kozik said Otto Estate’s final stage is due to be registered in the next few weeks, meaning buyers can see construction start on their new home as soon as they purchase and settle their lot.
“Otto Estate Stage 1 was a huge success for us when we completed the first stage in 2015, and now with long standing infrastructure and amenities becoming a reality, Coomera’s popularity is soaring.
“That means that the offerings continue to appeal strongly to buyers who see the enormous potential in the area for their future,” he said.
Mr Kozik said Otto Estate was a testament to Tribeca’s core property development values.
“We are providing people with homes, which is a huge responsibility. That is why we ensure we deliver nothing less than intuitive designs, enduring value and offer a simple and easy buying experience,” he said.
“As a high quality fixed price turnkey builder and land developer, our commitment is to deliver a fully completed high quality product to our clients, including the estate amenities such as the new central community park, the roads and civil works.
“Our new homes can be suitably completed within 6 months of buyers settling on a new lot, giving them the opportunity to start a new chapter of their lives by simply opening the front door,” Mr Kozik said.
Property services group Oliver Hume has been appointed as the sales and marketing agent for the final stage.
Oliver Hume’s General Manager Matt Barr said the project would meet demand for turnkey homes with land lots registered and builders ready to go, instead of waiting months for a site to be ready and then having to start the building process.
Otto Estate’s new homes are all within 150 metres to more than 11,000sqm of green space, featuring communal barbeques and a central community park.
The community is also complemented by the its location within Coomera. Tribeca has positioned their Otto Estate minutes from the Pacific Motorway, making travelling to either Brisbane or the Gold Coast easy. It is also only a two minute drive from Westfield Coomera and the Coomera train station. The Coomera East Shopping Centre and Coomera State High School (opening in 2020) are both less than one kilometre away.
Otto Estate is also only minutes away from several other schools and Griffith University, making the new homes suitable for growing families.
Mr Barr said the latest lots available in Coomera provided great value for buyers looking for property in Queensland.
“Otto Estate’s final stage is a golden opportunity not only for its lifestyle but the value being created in the surrounding area,” he said.
“The local population is expected to soar by more than 600% over the next 20 years, which means demand will continue to rise in Coomera, while around $1 billion is being invested nearby in the Coomera Town Centre as well as $500 million in local infrastructure.
“This level of investment will go a long way in creating jobs and opportunities for the community.”
Tribeca’s display homes can be inspected at 361 Foxwell Road, Coomera (entry via Henry Street).
Tribeca has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Over the past decade it
has delivered more than 5000 homes worth $1.1 billion in developed value across Queensland,
NSW and Victoria. Tribeca was founded in 2007 as a residential construction company and has
now become a leading residential land development and home building business in Australia.
Providence South Ripley has become the first masterplanned residential community to partner with Nature Play Queensland (natureplayqld.org.au) as part of a comprehensive initiative to get kids off the couch, off their devices and back out into the great outdoors.
This partnership will help shape Providence into a place for children to play freely outdoors and was launched at a community Playbourhood Day today (January 23) where local kids enjoyed a host of outdoor games and cubby house building.
Providence is the largest masterplanned community in the Ripley Valley with nearly 700 families now calling the estate home.
Nature Play Queensland’s mission is to increase the time Queensland kids spend in unstructured play outdoors and in nature. It is founded on the understanding that unstructured play outdoors – nature play – is fundamental to a full and healthy childhood.
Nature play promotes a range of health benefits, including cognitive, social and emotional development, and builds resilience and creativity. Experiences in nature as a child also leads to environmental awareness and stewardship later in life.
Providence Project Director Michael Khan said the project was proud to be the first property development to form a partnership with Nature Play Queensland.
“Providence has always been about families and one of the things we hear from our community is about the challenges of getting kids out of the house to enjoy the outdoors,” he said. “We have amazing parks, paths and playgrounds but need to do more to teach children about the value of unstructured, outdoor play.”
“Importantly, when you come into a community and you can see children outdoors playing, you know that it’s a safe, happy and connected community.
He said Providence’s partnership with Nature Play Queensland would lead to a more proactive approach to integrating the principles of nature play into in the designs of parks and streets and the delivery of community activities and events.
There are a number of ways communities can be designed to encourage
nature play, including;
·
Promoting walkability –
ensuring pedestrian paths and cycleways linking throughout the community.
·
Welcoming front yard – front
yard design helps bring back traditional neighbourhood connections as it enables
people to say hello as they walk past, for kids to make friends and find
playmates and to create a feeling of openness and connection.
·
Open space – Maximising open
and community places and spaces for playing and connecting.
·
Safe streets – designing
streets that are safer for kids by reducing speeding and ensuring kids can play and connect and
neighbours can walk and socialize.
· Masterplanning – ensuring residential areas are well connected to community facilities like parks, schools and shops to encourage walkability and connection
Nature Play QLD Program Manager, Hyahno Moser, said the partnership was an important step toward prioritising the health and well-being of children in local neighbourhoods.
“Since Nature Play QLD launched we have been working with communities’ right across the state addressing rising concerns around the health and well-being issues associated with children’s inactivity,” Mr Moser said.
“Providence South Ripley is the first masterplanned residential community in Queensland to prioritise children’s play and we applaud them for applying Nature Play principals to create better play experiences for local children, helping parents raise resilient, happy and healthy kids in the digital age.”
“We hope this partnership inspires other
communities to prioritise children’s play and create opportunities for kids to
get off their screens and return to playing outside.”
What RGCMM has achieved for Orchard Property Group
Brisbane’s southwest growth corridor is set for a new wave of growth after the launch of a new 650-lot, $120 million residential community in the heart of the Greater Flagstone Priority Development Area (PDA).
Orchard Property Group’s 53ha Pebble Creek South Maclean project hit the market with stage 1 comprising 46 lots starting from $149,000. Lots in the first stage range from 280sqm to 516 sqm (average 350sqm) and frontages of 10-16 metres.
The centrepiece of the project will be a major new 9.4ha, $3 million regional park comprising a multi-purpose sporting field, basketball court, outdoor ping pong table, adventure playground, dog off leash area and learn to ride precinct.
The new park will wind along Flagstone Creek with the developer set to undertake extensive remediation and revegetation along the creek to create a family-friendly destination.
Major civil works on the community have now commenced, including construction of a new $4 million bridge over the creek that will link the project to Mountain Ridge Road, South Maclean.
Orchard Property Group Managing Director Brent Hailey said Pebble Creek would provide a fresh, new option for buyers in the fast-growing Flagstone region.
Orchard Property Group Managing Director Brent Hailey
“The Greater Flagstone PDA has begun to build momentum over recent years, and we think it will be one of Queensland’s fastest growing areas over coming years as the nearby employment hubs really kick into gear,” he said.
“With Queensland experiencing strong interstate migration and a rapidly growing population and with Pebble Creek set to provide some of the most affordable land in the country close to a capital city and secondary employment hubs, we are confident the project will be a huge success.”
Mr Hailey said the new $3 million park would be a great asset for the entire South Maclean community.
“With the project nestled along the banks of Flagstone Creek, we had a unique opportunity to create an outdoor recreation and adventure destination that would be unmatched in the area and provide options for people of all ages,” he said.
While the built form of the park will entice visitors, park designer Dean Butcher of SLR Consulting said nature would be an integral part of the experience.
He said vegetation and ecology would be blended into every aspect of the park in order to prevent the feeling of over-urbanisation, and instead give residents and visitors the feeling of “being one with nature”.
“The playground, for example, is positioned so it feels like it is nestled within the trees and the picnic facilities are integrated with enough vegetation to provide plenty of natural shade,” he said. “A section of the park has also been allocated for rehabilitation and feature planting, providing a section that will one day reflect a time of uninterrupted forestry.
“The layout will embody the whole natural movement of water into the design, from linked facilities right down to the meandering pathway that is reminiscent of the flowing creek.”
Pebble Creek will be Orchard’s largest project to date and comes after the successful completion late last year of PineVue @ Maudsland (110 lots) and The Rise @ Thornlands (156 lots). Other completed Orchard projects include the $105 million Silkwood at Mount Cotton, Park Central @ Oxenford and The Outlook @ Oxenford.
Located just north of Jimboomba and 45 minutes drive from Brisbane, South Maclean is one of a number of suburbs in the area that is undergoing transformative growth thanks to a comprehensive masterplan as a result of its designation as a Priority Development Area (PDA) by the Queensland Government.
The Greater Flagstone PDA was declared in 2010 and covers a total area of 7,188 hectares. It is located west of Jimboomba and the Mount Lindesay Highway, along the Brisbane-Sydney rail line. It is immediately north of the Bromelton State Development Area.
When fully developed it is anticipated that the Greater Flagstone PDA will provide approximately 50,000 dwellings to house a population of up to 120,000 people.
Existing employment hubs at Park Ridge and Logan Central and proposed economic development at North Maclean, Bromelton and within the adjoining Flagstone Town Centre will provide a range of job opportunities.
Building a strong network of media contacts is a crucial element to public relations and business. With 2019 well underway and communications strategies being finalised, establishing a connection with journalists personally or through your business should become a priority.
Here’s why.
Earned media is vital to reaching millions of readers
According to research by Roy Morgan in 2018, 16.1 million Australians over the age of 14 (that’s almost 80%) now read or access newspapers in an average seven-day period via print or online platforms. Although it is true that print readership has steadily declined over the years, there are still 7.3 million Australians overall who read print newspapers, including over 5.2 million who read weekday issues, more than 4.4 million who read Saturday editions and nearly 4 million who read Sunday titles.
Online platforms are making it easier for people to access news, and journalists are the gatekeepers to this audience. Creating a solid news story that can be passed on to a reliable contact in the media means your name, business and content has the chance to be passed on to millions of people.
Some journalists write for multiple publications
Having the right media contact can result in your story being seen by thousands of extra readers across several suburbs, regions and even states. Many papers and news outlets belong to the same media group, resulting in a story written by a single journalist finding its way – word for word – on more than one platform. Distribution and residential boundaries may result in some journalists, especially editors who still write stories for their publication, taking charge of a whole region and the multiple local papers that circulate within it. At minimum, newspapers today also post stories on a dedicated news website, so a story in the paper typically means it will also be available to an online audience.
Trust increases likelihood of publication
Journalists also need a strong list of contacts and will pay close attention to those who provide them with interesting, news-worthy stories. Unless your story is ground-breaking, exclusive and undeniably engaging, it is difficult to cold-contact a journalist with instantly positive results. A journalist you contact regularly will be more likely to run your stories if they recognise your name or company to be a reliable source of quality content.
Media contacts improve crisis communications
When word of an incident or sensitive information finds its way into a journalist’s hands, it can lead to the production of a negative story which can damage a reputation. However, it is a general rule for journalists to be impartial, which often means the damaged party may be contacted for a right of reply. If the journalist has your contact information close at hand, they will know to come straight to you, giving you a chance to share your side of the story and hopefully minimise any further potential damage.
How to build a strong relationship with your media contacts
Deliver quality content that is worth their time. Put heavy consideration into a story’s impact on its audience – is this important to readers, or is it advertorial and self-serving? Also ensure your content is well-crafted and engaging, rather than shallow or poorly written.
Communicate consistently, not persistently. Show your media contacts that you are reachable, cooperative and a reliable source for quality news. You don’t want to be thought of as an email spammer and end up in their junk mail, so avoid diluting your relationship by pestering them with inane updates, constant follow-ups and check- ins or weak stories.
Provide your media contact with all the resources they need. Sometimes this isn’t possible, but you increase your chance of a story being run if there is sufficient material for the journalist to use. Some journalists receive media releases attached to an email that reads ‘image upon request’. This might sound like a viable strategy to gauge interest in the story, but it’s a bad habit to get into. Accompanying a quality media release with high resolution imagery and some background context as to why your story is newsworthy is always a step in the right direction.
Platform-as-a-Service startup Mercury Commerce has released its first self-developed product to the market, with the launch of the Hire My Trailer app and website.
After nearly 12 months of beta and in-market testing Gold Coast based Mercury will be rolling out the fully featured Hire My Trailer platform in key markets across Australia over coming months.
Hire My Trailer was developed to demonstrate the efficacy of Mercury’s instant hire platform that allows any business or industry with excess equipment to generate an income by renting it out.
Founder Nick Milillo said the Mercury platform could be white-labelled and allows businesses to simply feed in their inventory and market to customers.
“Any business that has idle equipment can now rent it out quickly and efficiently and turn something that is costing money to do nothing into a revenue,” he said.
The Hire My Trailer business was created to test and market the platform and enables person to person trailer rental, by putting under-utilised trailers to good use.
“Hire My Trailer was born from the observation that just about every street in Australia had a least one house with a trailer sitting idle in the yard or carport,” Mr Milillo said.
“At the same time you have people utilising expensive, short term hires to take a couple of loads of rubbish to the dump.
“Hire My Trailer provides a cost effective way for people to hire a trailer while giving owners the opportunity to offset some of the cost of ownership.”
“Renters of Trailers will no longer need to drive kilometres to find their mainstream hire company, reducing time and effort whilst also reducing the cost of the hire.”
The platform allows people to upload their trailer for hire via an app, receive bookings, pre-payments, rental agreements, bond and payments. No cash is exchanged with an electronic rental agreement ensuring both the renter and the hirer are protected.
The process for trailer hirer is as simple as putting your location into the app, choosing a trailer and booking. Once the owner accepts the booking the fee is charged to a credit card via secure payment provider.
Ten years ago most people operating in Australia’s trade services industry were still scribbling quotes, invoices and their daily schedule on the back of any scrap of paper they could find. It was chaotic, inefficient and costly.
Move forward a decade and many, if not the majority, of these businesses are now utilising complex cloud-based technologies to manage their businesses, allowing them to get on with the job they are paid to do. From accounting to job management, MR and quoting, most administrative jobs can now be done easily and simply.
While many are still bedding down this first wave of change, a new wave is about to hit. The second phase of the trade services digital revolution, the Internet of Things (IoT) age, could have an even more profound impact on the way the entire industry operates. For those businesses that embrace the opportunity it will be a pathway to growth and prosperity.
Those that resist will be very quickly left behind.
In its simplest form, IoT refers to the interaction between machines which are connected to the internet. When the digital age first took off, technology was still dependent on physical input; machines still needed a human being at the helm. Today, IoT represents the next stage of digital evolution. Human-to-machine interaction has been streamlined with an online network that processes data and allows sensors or devices with an internet connection to speak to each other and perform automated functions.
One of the biggest barriers preventing some trade service companies from getting on board is a lingering confusion about what IoT means for their business.
In the trade service industry, IoT can be seen when a technician synchronises their job calendars to track appointments, prioritise projects and plan best routes. An example of this is where simPRO assisted Swissport and Thermacell in improving it’s facilities management capability at England’s Luton Airport through installation of simPRO’s IoT hardware and software solutions. With simPRO IoT, the airport established sensors that monitored the performance of its lounge air conditioners remotely in near real time, and automatically received alerts in response to anomalies.
The applications are various and can be applied to many different sectors. For example, IoT can assist fire safety technicians through sensors in a fire detection or sprinkler system, which then monitors and reports back the current state of the equipment they are tasked to keep an eye on. In the security sector, IoT allows real-time viewing of security cameras from devices connected to the internet, allowing clients to view live footage of their home or business anywhere, at any time and on different devices.
Of course, there will always be those who think IoT is nothing more than a gimmick, and an unnecessary disruption in technology development that will only make life and business more difficult. There may be business owners out there who believe that IoT is an extravagant and unjustifiable expense, and that IoT systems will likely die down to serve a niche market.
Those that accept the disruption will be those who prosper from the adoption.
A recent report commissioned by the Australian Computer Society (ACS) revealed that there is much to gain from IoT, as it currently presents a $30 billion opportunity for Australia’s tech sector by 2023, with IoT hardware, software, solutions and communications systems presenting unprecedented growth rate prospects.
At this point, being left behind by not embracing IoT is not a risk; it’s a certainty. But why risk it? IoT has the potential to streamline business processes, increase productivity and produce logical and data-driven solutions that consistently help to achieve goals. Trade businesses that adopt IoT are effectively future proofing their operations with strong competitive advantagelike real-time productivity and energy monitoring of machinery, as well as tracking of key maintenance indicators to predict and prevent failure provide real-time inventory of inputs. It also allows businesses to communicate with supply chain and factory operations and monitor real-time tracking of outputs, allowing for quality assurance to be performed in real time as well as status and location tracking of goods.
At simPRO we have seen how IoT systems can help trade businesses across the spectrum, from ambitious niche startups to globalised industrial companies. It facilitates machine learning and automation that can help those small businesses explore new growth opportunities, and larger businesses to stay competitive in the market for for longer.
No matter their size, trade service businesses are able to use IoT systems to respond more quickly to competition and customer’s demands and volatile market conditions. It can provide real-time insights into trends, creating opportunities to alter production activity, fine-tune strategies or find alternatives that saves a business cost and time. Essentially, machines that are connected and able to share data allow business owners the luxury of spending less time wondering and more time taking action.
The truth is that IoT is already making a significant impression on Australia’s economy. Manufacturing, for example, is expected to achieve potential benefits of $50 to $88 billion, according to ACS’s IoT report.
IoT systems are certain to change the way service scheduling is completed and therefore we all must be prepared for new styles of service agreements, scheduling and task related activity. This means the time is now for businesses to consider the following preparations for a world where IoT makes significant industry contributions.
Plan. IoT systems are rapidly changing how we do things but a business still needs to have a clear direction. Identify where your business uses the most resources or requires the most time and effort. Pinpoint opportunities where a process can be streamlined, and consider whether these areas could be improved by automated systems and an IoT network.
Security. Cyber security is one barrier keeping many businesses away from connecting to IoT. While there is certainly an ever-present risk to online data, a growing IoT presence means a greater acknowledgement of online safety. Technicians are constantly developing new ways of protecting data and the integrity of IoT system, so be sure to keep up to date with the latest security developments.
Invest in the infrastructure. It’s no use committing to a new age of industry when the office is filled with lock-and-key filing cabinets. IoT systems require an efficient flow of data and therefore require suitable hardware, including internet ports, hard drives, strong connection speeds and modern interfaces. The good news is that simPRO IoT can be retrofitted to existing systems with little effort and no extra cost.
Peter Darley has been appointed General Manager Australia for fast-growing SaaS business simPRO. He joins simPRO with a strong background in sales, marketing and operations in field service industries, events, broadcasting and information technology. Mr Darley joined simPRO from Schindler Lifts where he was National Sales Manager, Repair and Digital Services, where he oversaw a number of complex digital implementation projects as well as developing new product development sales and marketing for Schindler’s Internet of Things (Iot) strategy. He also previously held positions with Wesfarmers and OTIS.
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Ten years ago most people operating in Australia’s trade services industry were still scribbling quotes, invoices and their daily schedule on the back of any scrap of paper they could find. It was chaotic, inefficient and costly.