RPS keeps projects moving through pandemic
While most would agree 2020 has been a challenging year for property, the RPS team in Adelaide made an early commitment to help clients project manage through the pandemic.
As diversified global firm, RPS offers services ranging from infrastructure strategy, planning and procurement to town planning, urban design, environmental services and much more. Here in South Australia, its growing team is made up primarily of project management specialists working on complex property and defence development initiatives.
“While SA has been somewhat insulated from the worst of COVID’s impacts, everyone has had to adapt to new ways of working,” says RPS Senior Project Manager, Tony Simile.
“We’re probably one of the most qualified professions to deal with this kind of situation”project management is all about managing risk, adapting to change and putting a strong framework around projects so they can overcome the challenges that inevitably come up through delivery.”
One of the ways the company has helped its clients adapt is by engaging its national network. RPS has a large team”around 1,000 consultants nationally, and 5,000 globally”and has people working across 22 locations throughout Australia.
“While we’ve always been a very integrated team, COVID-19 separation has actually brought us closer in some respects,” says Tony.
“Under normal circumstances, we might have consultants travelling interstate to do site visits and meet with contractors for large programs of work, but with travel restrictions this hasn’t been possible for much of 2020.
“Where we have national programs being managed out of our Canberra or Sydney offices (for example), the team here in Adelaide has been able to step in and assist when someone needs to go to site or meet a client, and vice-versa for our projects. We’ve even gotten creative with things like virtual pre-tender site visits.”
With a growing focus on state-based investment to aid economic recovery, RPS has maintained its focus on local projects that will help South Australia bounce back, too.
“Defence is a major client and we have actually grown our team in recent months to help service the huge investment that’s being made in that space generally, and especially in the wake of COVID-19,” says Tony.
“Other local projects we’re excited to be working on include the new Rowing Centre and Sturt Reserve Masterplan for the Rural City of Murray Bridge, also the recent upgrade of Lerwin Aged Care Facility, in Murray Bridge.
“Large national projects with budgets in the order of billions are our bread and butter at RPS, and we love the challenge of that, although it’s also really fulfilling to work on projects where you see the direct value it generates for communities and the joy it brings to local people.”
Discover more about RPS and meet the team at rpsgroup.com