Regional Procurement - June 2013

By: Regional Procurement Coordinator, Steven Cosatto...

Procurement

I was pleased to be invited to present to the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) North Queensland Branch Conference hosted by Cook Shire Council in Cooktown on 16 May 2013.

My presentation focused on FNQROC's "collaborative procurement model" and how our group of councils is following the lead of some State Government agencies with our Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) process. It outlined our success to date and the indirect benefits which have emerged from the collective arrangements.

I hope my presentation has allowed some IPWEAQ members to view procurement as an integral part of any project, from its concept, as opposed to a "necessary evil".

Water and Waste

I am pleased to advise that Wujal Wujal and Hope Vale Aboriginal Councils, through Cook Shire Council (CSC), are participating in the region's Sodium Hypochlorite arrangement. This type of addition to the collective is one of the objectives of the FNQROC procurement – "providing arrangements which benefit the region". I would like to thank CSC for their work in facilitating this process.

Bitumen Reseal

As previously advised in last month's newsletter, we advertised for interested suppliers to tender for the collective councils' individual resealing programs and to apply for a register of pre-qualified suppliers for road construction and maintenance services. Whilst I am unable to directly comment on the process to date, the Project Steering Committee has been pleased with the number of companies registering an interest in the process, and is optimistic regarding the market response.