- Hansen Yuncken had some particular challenges on their construction project
- Through community engagement, they have kept local people informed on progress
- They also ran a competition to name the crane, won by 11-year-old Conor
Faced with some challenges on their Iglu Summer Hill construction project in Sydney’s inner west, Australian commercial building company Hansen Yuncken came up with some innovative solutions.
The new, 180-bed student accommodation facility included the restoration of a 1924 heritage-listed ambulance station as well as being in close proximity to Sydney Trains assets, including the HV power lines within 1 metre of the site boundary.
The project is also being delivered in a busy precinct in the close-knit community of Summer Hill.
The site is highly visible, with one frontage across the road from a major commuter train line, and the other backing onto a busy pedestrian thoroughfare between the local supermarket and shopping precinct, and a community park and before and after school care centre.
Community engagement and stakeholder management has been front of mind for the Hansen Yuncken team. A number of strategies were implemented to ensure the project ran smoothly without opposition from the local community.
One idea was to offer students of nearby school and vacation centre SHARE the opportunity to name the crane, that will be towering over the project.
The winning name – Sir Liftalot – came from 11-year-old Conor, because, as he rightly wrote (see photo above) “there is a famous person called Lancelot and he is very strong and reliable”.
The site team hosted Conor and his family, as well as the two runners up (5-year-old Ava and 11-year-old Bhargavarama) and their families for the official naming ceremony recently.
“Thank you for all the effort that you and your team went to for the ‘Name the crane’ ceremony. Conor and Simon had a great time – Conor was so proud of himself and the pictures have been sent to his grandparents, aunties and uncles in the UK,” said Carmel, Conor’s Mum.
As a show of gratitude, the Hansen Yuncken team also presented the management of SHARE with a donation so they can buy additional arts and craft supplies for all their budding artists.
Jenny from the SHARE Centre praised the project team for engaging the local community in this initiative.
“We would like to thank you for the effort and energy you put in re ‘Name the Crane’ it provided a great opportunity for us to be part of your community,” she said.
The team was overwhelmed by the overall quality of the entries. As a thank you to all the students who participated, all the entries are proudly displayed on the hoarding at the back of the site, along the busy public thoroughfare.
“Working in such a tight-knit community like Summer Hill, the Name the Crane was a great opportunity to involve our neighbours in the project,” said Josh Beslich, Hansen Yuncken Project Manager.
“The guys on site were overwhelmed with the response from the kids, and it was great to have them on-site, meeting the team and talking to the crane operators. It looks like we will have some new recruits in the pipeline in a few years’ time.”
Other community engagement initiatives have included fund-raising efforts, donating semi-trailers for good works and charity walks. In another Name the Crane competition, the winner was ‘Cranium’, submitted by six-year-old Alex.
Creativity is not lost on the young.
