City constructs communication rooms for leading Australian retailer, Coles

Project Description  

Communication rooms were designed and constructed as part of an IT project for Coles, one of Australia’s leading retailers. Coles engaged City Facilities Management (City) for the design, certification, demolition, site audit, and all fit-out works, including mechanical procedures required to create 75 Communication Rooms within 10 weeks.

Our Approach

City is dedicated to providing a flexible, integrated service offering that adds value while ensuring transparency over budgets and timelines. This approach provides cost-effectiveness and efficiency throughout our construction projects.

Before construction commenced, our team audited each site to determine the appropriate design layout, measurements of each room, and potential areas of concern. Building material, piping, and ventilation layouts were also assessed during the audit process.

Once site audits were evaluated with the client and building permits were acquired, the team closely liaised with each store to plan construction in accordance with store peak, opening, and closing hours.

Team members and customers within the building surrounded the site; therefore, additional access was established, and safety precautions were undertaken to ensure construction was carried out safely and within the requested timeframe. This approach ensured business operations and customer activities on site at the store remained unimpacted.

Key Challenges

In some instances, the designated rooms for conversion were existing vault rooms with reinforced concrete walls, floors, and ceilings, making the installation of the air conditioning split system challenging. To overcome this issue, we implemented cranes with adequate traffic management controls on all the sites, in accordance with Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations, to lift the air conditioning condensers while customers and team members were on sites.

We also proposed coring to ensure the safe removal of the concrete walls. As part of the process, core holes were cut through the reinforced walls to facilitate the refrigerant pipe runs and ventilation.

Another challenge was access to the rooms. In some rooms, the only access was via a full-size steel safe door weighing approximately one tone with a linked security alarm. In line with our client’s safety requirements and the project’s purpose, we advised replacing the steel door with a more suitable solid-core timber door. As part of this process, we liaised with our client’s security provider to remove the alarm components before removing the steel with specialist hoists and rigging processes.

Outcome

An approximate total of 1500 sqm (75 rooms) was completed within ten (10) weeks across all states. Through our problem-solving approach and knowledge of expedited national rollout of fit out and safety procedures, all rooms were successfully and safely constructed as per the client’s requirements and within the initial timeframe.