Sydney NSW State Emergency Services

Services

Contact point

Picture of Helen Carroll
Helen Carroll 0402 969 141

NSW Emergency Service (SES) is a volunteer-based emergency and rescue service dedicated to assisting communities across the state.   As a non-for-profit organisation, SES relies on government funding and other donations from the community to deliver their critical services throughout the state.  Effective and cost-efficient management of all building assets is critical to the long-term viability of SES.  NSW Public Works was engaged to develop and implement a Building Condition Assessment (BCA) Program, develop a Capital Infrastructure Strategy (formally known as a Total Asset Management Plan) and develop a Capital Works Business Case to support NSW Treasury Funding submission to address essential safety and compliance issues.

NSW Public Works worked closely with key SES stakeholders to develop a BCA framework and program, and facilitated training programs to up skill SES staff on self-assessment processes. The self-assessment methodology enabled SES staff to self-assess their 246 operational units throughout NSW. We validated the data through an audit of sample sites using professional engineering and trades expertise.  Using the data collected from the BCA program,  an asset strategy was developed, incorporating the Capital Infrastructure Plan, for SES to program work up to 10 years and satisfy NSW Treasury requirements.

The strategy identified key risks in many SES operational units across the state, and enabled SES to prioritise a 10-year risk mitigation program of safety and compliance rectification works to reduce the asset gaps against service delivery.   A comprehensive business case for the most urgent of these works was then developed to support a NSW Treasury funding submission.  The business case analysed the options available and grouped the works into appropriate trade packages to be carried out over an 18-month construction period. NSW Public Works developed a strategy for delivery to shorten the timeframe and funding required by leveraging from existing panels.