Client: Tauranga City Council/Western Bay of Plenty District Council

Duration: 2021 - 2026 (renewal from TCC Three Waters Contract 2013 - 2021)

Background

In June 2021, Downer secured the newly combined Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty Council Three Waters network operation and maintenance contract. The contract covers the operations and maintenance of the Three Waters networks and maintenance of the treatment facilities across both Council areas. Downer previously held the Tauranga Three Waters contract since 2013, and the inclusion of the Western Bay of Plenty means our scope on the new contract now includes a combination of rural and urban delivery.

Delivery Solution

To ensure efficient management of the larger contract area, we have a single management structure and have implemented a zone- based maintenance approach, splitting our 90+ resources across Eastern and Western Bay of Plenty. Zones are not aligned to council boundaries but use the natural physical barriers of the Harbour Bridge and SH29 to create sectors of equivalent size for effective reactive response. This approach to resource allocation means we can operate larger teams across each zone, which creates resource resilience and ensures consistent delivery across both networks.

Outcome

Our resourcing strategy has been to offer our people the ability to work in the zones where they live. This enabled those who wished to move out of the CBD to join rural communities and allowed them access to purchasing a home and a better quality of life. Technicians receive work orders via field devices, which means they can travel to site from home, which increases productivity by reducing travel time to get to site or to callouts. By having ‘locals working for locals’, we have improved outcomes for ratepayers as we resource work orders to the closest available technician. This has also embedded a greater level of ownership into our people’s work ethic as they are working in and servicing their local community.

 

The everchanging environment of the Water industry requires us to develop innovative solutions for our communities. With changes on the horizon, we are collaborating closely with our stakeholders to bring Te Mana o Te Wai to life. Learn more about how we have collaborated with the Tauranga City Council and the Western Bay of Plenty District Council to deliver essential three waters services to locals.