From Classroom to Construction Site

Wenzi, Rievangeline and Alessandro experienced a unique opportunity to shadow Steve Ziaziaris, Senior Project Manager, during an interactive onsite tour. Valued at $29.3 million, the state-of-the-art Powerhouse Museums facility encompasses site preparation and associated demolition, construction of the new Building J, subdivision and related works. 

Over the course of the day, students gained exposure to a variety of construction streams such as contracts administration, design management and site engineering. They were also fortunate to be see a concrete pour in progress and the preparation of two separate and different types of suspended slabs. Steve focused on Taylor’s unwavering commitment to safety, exploring our Bringing Safety Home and Zero Harm initiatives, the importance of relationship building and the practicalities of day-to-day operations. 

Meeting with Simon Chow, Design Manager, students got first-hand experience into the pre-construction process, exploring 3D models that demonstrated the importance of comprehensive coordination between structure and services to deliver the Architects’ vision. 

Speaking with Jason Gikler, Site Engineer, Wenzi, Rievangeline and Alessandro gained valuable insights and information about quality control, programming and procurement. 

Reflecting on UTS BEA Buddy Day, Alessandro said, “This event was one of the best experiences. It was a true showcase of what life is like onsite…the Taylor team are absolutely incredible.” 

Wenzi added to this, stating, “Venturing onto a large construction site and seeing the details helped me put my theory work into practice. Steve was an amazing and enthusiastic Project Manager who engaged with us at every step of the site tour. This experience with Taylor has left a positive impact on me.” 

UTS BEA Students Enjoy 1:1 Mentoring Sessions

As part of our ongoing relationship with UTS Built Environment Association (BEA), Taylor employees met with two high performing students for an immersive 1:1 mentoring session.   

UTS BEA supports the professional and personal development of students in the Design, Architecture and Building faculty and provides students with valuable networking and development opportunities with the University’s industry partners. Through regular engagements with Taylor, students gain access to support, encouragement and advice from industry leaders via virtual and face to face mentoring. 

Students Cameron and Jacinta met with Diarmuid O’Flaherty, Project Manager, and Robert Smith, Contract Manager, who facilitated educational site tours while sharing industry insights. 

Hosted annually, these sessions offer an invaluable opportunity to support the development of future leaders by providing professional development experiences that complement external tertiary study.  

A big thanks to Diarmuid and Robert for offering guidance as mentors, Jacinta and Cameron for their enthusiastic participation, and UTS BEA for helping bring these sessions to life.  

Powerhouse Castle Hill expansion well underway

The development will provide an important and significant cultural institution within The Hills Shire and surrounding community areas. The expansion will see the Castle Hill site become the home of the Powerhouse Collection in its entirety with the addition of public-facing exhibition and programming space.

The world-class facility will enhance the museum’s ability to protect valuable state, heritage and cultural assets in a secure, environmentally controlled and sustainable space.

The expansion will allow for increased opportunities for skill-sharing, education and community programs, as well as temporary exhibitions, tours and events.

Welcome Metin Tokcan, Construction Manager Industrial

Taylor has announced its new senior Industrial team is in place with the hire of new Construction Manager Metin Tokcan. The newly-expanded team will deliver a significantly increased Industrial capability, building on Taylor’s existing reputation for excellence in delivery of large-scale industrial projects.

Metin Tokcan joins Jerry Fanos, who joined Taylor as the new General Manager Industrial in January 2022, and Taylor’s Pre-Construction Manager Daniel Bacic, who has been with Taylor for approximately seven years.

Metin brings 15 years’ experience in commercial and industrial construction experience, having joined Taylor from Hansen Yuncken and previously worked at CIP (ESR Australia) and Lendlease.

Over his career, Metin has worked with high-profile clients such as ESR Australia, Logos, Frasers Property Industrial, Aliro, Goodman, Charter Hall, Qube Holdings, Altis Property Partners, Quintessential Equity, Multiplex Capital and Stockland.

High-profile projects that Metin has led as a Construction Manager include the Target Australia Distribution Centre, the Williams Sonoma Warehouse Development, Barangaroo South Tower One, and other large-scale office and warehouse developments.

Celebrating Aaron Persson’s Decade with Taylor

Since joining in 2012, Aaron has built a strong reputation as our sustainability champion, developing and implementing important initiatives across the organisation. It is no surprise that this passion for sustainable environmental design and engineering is reflected in his work as ESD Engineer. 

Responsible for contributing to the process and technical management of Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD), Aaron is focused on ESD value management and compliance from tender through to project completion across an array of projects. 

His commitment to sustainability does not go unnoticed. Aaron played a pivotal role in securing a 6-Star Interiors v1.1 Green Star rating for the SOPA Office Fitout within Boomerang Tower at Sydney Olympic Park. This project scored the highest Green Star Rating available and is considered a World Leadership benchmark for built environments across the globe.  

On behalf of Team Taylor, we would like to express our sincere appreciation and thanks to Aaron. His ingenuity, perseverance and commitment has been a huge part of our journey and success, and we are so grateful for his efforts.

Powerful WHSE Seminar Delivered to Team Taylor  

Ultimately, safety is a shared responsibility and, as part of Taylor’s continuous commitment to workplace health and safety (WHSE), our senior leaders delivered a powerful seminar on the importance of a safe, inclusive environment.  

Moderated by CEO George Bardas and Head of WHSE, Andrew Andreou, attendees heard from Executives on their personal commitment to WHSE, in addition to guest speaker David Crawford who discussed the physical and emotional challenges he faced after a workplace accident, before playing a pivotal role in workplace safety reforms. 

Jerry Fanos, Stephen Williams, Chris Bellemore, Ben Folkard and Phillip Bermingham demonstrated their commitment to strengthening Taylor’s positive safety culture, and emphasised the dual ownership for workplace safety across site, project and senior leadership. Encouraging the reporting of safety opportunities, the panel expressed their support for speaking directly with all onsite workers regarding the continual improvement of safety systems and processes.  

Phil Bermingham said, “Safety has always got to be the top priority. If it’s a call of productivity over safety, then safety must always come first.”  

George Bardas added, “Safety always comes first. We need to look after the construction worker next to us, always assessing what risks are present and how they can be managed. We share a collective responsibility to risk management and building strong safety outcomes.”

Celebrating Kari Unity Day 2022

KARI Limited’s Community Unity Event is an all-inclusive celebration of community and culture. Hosted annually in April, Unity Day aims to support Aboriginal people and community by providing a one stop shop to immerse themselves in cultural activities, one on one educative consultations, and community activations.

With culture at the forefront of planning, Unity Day also provides the wider community the opportunity to learn about and explore Aboriginal culture in an inclusive and supported environment.

Our Volunteers focused on engaging with young people to discuss pursuing studies and careers in engineering and construction management. It was great to see young people enthusiastically discussing their own interest in mathematics, for example, or future jobs in the construction sector.

As a business built on fostering meaningful relationships, Taylor is committed to partnering with organisations like Kari to help to increase cultural awareness, connection and opportunity across our own organisation. Connection to place and connection to people are fundamental drivers for our business and we would like to thank Kari for the opportunity to Volunteer and contribute to the success of Unity Day 2022!

@BuiltEnvironmentAssociationUTS @Kari_Australia #community #reconciliation #careersinconstruction

Taylor Charity Golf Day 2022

Our annual Taylor Charity Golf Day took place last Friday, 25th March 2022, where we welcomed many of our subcontractors and suppliers to participate in a day of golf, friendly competition, networking and, most importantly, fundraising activities to support the Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation.

This is Taylor’s sixth consecutive year of hosting our Charity Golf Day which has established itself as a significant milestone on our annual calendar. Together, we have raised more than $350K to help make a difference by supporting the valuable work of our chosen charities.

For the third year in a row, Taylor is excited to partner with Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation, an organisation committed to providing financial support for mobile home care units and outreach programs for regional families with children undergoing treatment for cancer.

Over the last 24 months, due to Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns the Foundation has unfortunately had to cancel numerous fundraising events. During this challenging time, Taylor is proud to have raised over $200K for the Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation – contributing towards the key funding for nurses in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide for their outreach programs.

On Friday we were joined by Former Australian Cricket Captain, Australian of the Year and founder of Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation, Mark Taylor, and Director, Jack Hughes, who gave insights into the life-changing work of the foundation. Mark also paid tribute to his former teammate and dear friend, Shane Warne, reflecting on some of his greatest moments and sharing some treasured memories.

We were also joined by special guest, Bridget McGinley, one of two NSW Clinical Nurse Consultants who operate several of the Sporting Chance outreach programs for kids with cancer. Bridget shared a couple of powerful stories on the direct impact the outreach program has had on a number of kids and their families. Bridget has played a valuable role in allowing many children from rural areas to stay in the comfort of their own homes for as long as possible and maintain as much normality in their family and day-to-day life as possible.

Taylor would like to thank our Major Sponsor, Raston Group, as well as all our loyal suppliers and subcontractors. Without their generous support the success of the day would not be possible. Specifically, we would like to acknowledge the following sponsors.

Finishing touches made to Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre

Images show #TeamTaylor completing upgrades to the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC).

Constructed in1994, the centre encompasses Leisure, Training, Competition and Utility Pools, Health Club and various recreational spaces.

As a venue during the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games, SOPAC played host to a number of iconic sporting moments and events. In the years following SOPAC continued operations as Sydney’s leading aquatic centre hosting a variety of annual competitive swimming events and open to the general public for recreational use.

Final touches to tiling and finishes draws an end to the works carried out by Taylor over recent months, including upgrades and remedial scope within SOPAC Training and Leisure pools, amenities, plant and concourse areas.

Great work by the Taylor SOPAC team.

#construction #design #aquaticcentre #sportsfacilities #refurbishment