Oran Park’s First Commercial Topping Out

October 31, 2019

Project milestone celebrations are always special, but the recent Topping Out Ceremony at Oran Park celebrated the towns first standalone commercial building and raised funds for a worthy cause.

To mark the completion of the structure on the future TRN House building, Greenfields Development Company, TRN Group and the wider project team joined RCC to see the ceremonial tree craned onto the roof slab.

Our Project Manager, Michael said that being able to share the day with wife and daughter was a hallmark of the collaborative environment and culture on the project;

“Greenfields Development Company share RCC’s family values and it’s rewarding to be working with them, the entire consultant and subcontractor team and the local community so collaboratively”.
Michael Ryan

Mark Perich of Greenfields Development Company in Oran Park Town said, “Once complete, TRN House will be the first A-Grade equivalent standalone commercial space offered for sale or lease in Oran Park Town”.

TRN House will stand alongside the existing Oran Park Podium retail and commercial precinct and will be the latest addition to Oran Park Town’s growing commercial hub.

The event was also an opportunity to promote Pink Up Oran Park, a breast cancer awareness and fundraising campaign supporting the McGrath Foundation, which has seen several sites across Oran Park Town turning a shade of pink during the month of October.

 

 

Experience for Constructions’ Next Generation

October 24, 2019

Our Snackbrands project at Orchard Hills hosted over 180 students from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) last month, offering them an immersive tour of the site, as well as a series of presentations from our site team.

“I just wanted to pass on a big thank you for coordinating such a great site visit for the students last week. The feedback was amazing. One student was so impressed he’s sent a thank you note of his own with his CV!

The diligence displayed by the RCC team, ensuring every student was signed in and inducted, coordinating manageable and safe group sizes and then escorting each group around the site speaks volumes about RCC’s unwavering commitment to site safety and planning”

Craig Barry – UTS Lecturer

These Construction Management and Civil Engineering students represent the future of our industry; we are proud to be involved in their transition from classroom to construction site and give them a firsthand insight into safe and sustainable construction practice.

 

 

RCC: 10th Best Place to Work in Australia!

September 12, 2019

RCC is thrilled to be recognised as the 10th Best Place to Work in Australia – a milestone achievement that reflects our continued commitment to ensuring that everyone at RCC genuinely looks forward to coming into work each day.

The Great Place to Work (GPTW) assessment is a feedback-based study obtained from a confidential survey of our 600+ employees and an independent audit across 9 practice areas. See the results of the 2019 GPTW study here.

2018 was our first evaluation in the study, and to be named 17th in our category (100-999 employees) was a remarkable achievement, to which we are incredibly proud.

Following our success last year, 2019 saw the integration of several new initiatives entirely unique to RCC and the support, development and appreciation of our growing teams. We feel that it is a combination of our highly talented employees and RCC’s unique culture, value-oriented initiatives that we are now considered among Australia’s top 10 Best Places to Work.

 

 

“Recognition as one of the Greatest Places to Work in Australia is a significant achievement for RCC in a demanding and pressurised construction market. To make it to the top 10 is an outstanding result.”

“For me, what makes RCC great is our people. They are our best assets, and this result reflects their contribution to the business and work environment and our commitment to ensuring their voice is heard as we continue to grow.”

Jamie Crookes – Managing Director of Richard Crookes Constructions

 

We are a private, family-owned company dedicated to building an open, honest and collaborative culture that is fulfilling for all our staff. We have a lot of heart for what we do for each other.

It would be no surprise that RCC’s most fundamental value is family.  Being a private, family-owned company dedicated to building an open, honest and collaborative culture means that coming to work at RCC is more than just a job for all our staff. New members are welcomed into the RCC family right from day one, including an induction that sets the tone for the business they have joined. We ensure that all new starters have a number of activities to complete to help form part of their integration plan.  They are set up with a “buddy” to help them with everything they need to comfortably transition into the business. Our founder, Richard Crookes, personally welcomes all new starters and we find it is this familial touch that sets RCC apart from other large companies.

Similarly, our staff appreciation events encourage RCC teams to spend time with their families whilst team building – whether it’s at the zoo, running the City2Surf or in an Italian style cooking class. Events like these are important to us, but it’s the enthusiasm of our employees which make them memorable.

RCC offers an environment that can facilitate career growth, personal opportunity and an exciting workplace through its diversification.  Being a family business means that family is high on the agenda at RCC providing family-based benefits including generous paid parental leave packages, additional paid annual leave to encourage more time spent with family and friend, family days out and much more.

Growing our own has always been a fundamental principle of how we manage the business therefore we invest heavily in technical training, personal development as well as a suite of team building activities which form a consistent and dynamic social calendar. Since our success in 2018, we have unveiled a suite of initiatives including a Women Leading program, Health & Wellbeing and Workplace Giving Programs – all working to help maintain our strong commitment to a thriving and lively workplace. They’re also fundamental to our company’s core values: Client First; Delivering Certainty; We Do What We Say; Family Values; and First Step Safety.

 

 

RCC is also committed to celebrating the achievement of our people; our best asset. Complimentary to our staff initiatives is our Rewards and Recognition program that recognises the outstanding behaviour and performance of our employees. RCC’s Hats Off awards encourages peer-to-peer appreciation for those who go above and beyond, and we regularly celebrate key project milestones throughout the year. We also support informal team appreciation events to build an organic, in-team culture.

To be ranked 10th Best Place to Work in Australia is confirmation that we value a supportive, fulfilling and dynamic work environment – and RCC employees agree.

Do you think you would enjoy the journey of working on exciting projects, with highly skilled, passionate people in a positive and supportive workplace? Find out what it’s like to be part of the RCC family…

 

Wollongong Juniors Name Our Crane

November 22, 2018

We appreciate feedback on our delivery; but it also means a lot when our clients acknowledge RCC’s commitment to making a positive community contribution and giving back on every project…

“We much appreciate the effort that RCC has put into the ‘softer’ side of project delivery; this highlights the character and values of your company”
Blake Preston – Senior Manager Project Delivery
University of Wollongong

RCC is currently on site at the University of Wollongong (UoW) delivering Molecular Horizons. We are excited to be delivering this important education and research facility and we’re committed to being part of the campus community during our time on site. In recognition of the valuable work of the Early Start Discovery Space and Kids Uni organisations who are situated on the UoW campus, RCC has run a Name the Crane initiative to engage the children in this exiting construction project.

Name the Crane

RCC started the campaign by introducing students, teachers and parents to the Molecular Horizons projects, construction and the purpose of the crane on site! The children all enjoyed the video of the crane being erected and making cardboard cranes with our site staff! The kids were asked to choose a name for the crane and submit a drawing and we were overwhelmed with how impressive the entries were!

The crane is now called Orion, which highlights both the talent and compassion of this cohort who chose the name in honour of their classmate of the same name who was recently injured! Orion is also a prominent constellation which is an apt name for our very tall crane!

To celebrate the success of the initiative and present the Early Start Discovery Space and Kids Uni with gifts to be enjoyed by students and their families we held a Name the Crane BBQ. Our site team thoroughly enjoyed cooking a BBQ and introducing the children to our excavator!

For RCC, each project we deliver is about more than a quality facility for our clients; it’s about enjoying the journey with our entire client, consultant and subcontractor team and engaging with the local community to generate positive outcomes for all stakeholders and give back!

 

University of Wollongong Molecular Horizons Project

RCC will be responsible for the design finalisation and construction of Molecular Horizons at the University of Wollongong, Wollongong campus.

This development involves site excavation and establishment works as well as the construction of a 5-storey educational facility up to for 15 researches. The facility will contain:

  • office and administration areas
  • meeting and conference rooms
  • research and chemistry laboratories
  • animal house
  • astronomy and chemistry roof platform
  • pedestrian bridge between Molecular Horizons and the adjoining IHMRI (building 32)
  • reconfiguration of the eastern portion of P7 car park to accommodate 13 accessible spaces
  • associated landscaping and public domain works including learning and gathering spaces and gardens
  • building identification signage

 

RCC talks ‘Growing Our Regions Well’

November 21, 2018

RCC was proud to sponsor and participate in the recent Property Council of Australia (PCA)’s ‘Growing Our Regions Well’ event. We were honoured to discuss the vision for the Hunter and Central Coast regions with representatives from across a range of disciplines who will, together, contribute to the growth and prosperity of the area.

Giving back to our industry and the communities we live and work in is important to RCC; As a 100% Australian owned, family business we take great pride in knowing that every project we deliver provides the social infrastructure required for our local communities to thrive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RCC in the Top 50 Best Places to Work in Australia

August 30, 2018

Recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in Australia is a significant achievement for RCC in a demanding and pressurised construction market. Our employees are our best asset, consequently this award means even more knowing it is a result of their experience. The Great Place to Work assessment is based on feedback obtained from a confidential survey of our 600 employees and an independent cultural audit across 9 practice areas.

To be named 17th in our category (100-999 employees), amongst companies such as Salesforce and Stryker in our first year of evaluation is an outstanding achievement for RCC and a reflection of our personnel’s commitment to each other, our clients and the industry. See the full results of the 2018 GPTW study here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The goal to provide a fulfilling and supportive work environment prompted us to submit an application to become an Employer of Choice and make it to the Top 50 Best Places to Work in Australia.  We set out to understand our employee experience in the context of Australia’s best workplaces, to highlight focus areas for future commitment and to ultimately be recognised as a Great Place to Work.

We did it. We are honoured to have been recognised as a Great Place to Work in our first year of evaluation.

This acknowledgment compliments our recent recognition in the Employee Engagement Awards (2017) and highlights the strength of our culture of high performance, development, autonomy and collaboration.

The Best Places to Work awards are based on an independent study coordinated by the Great Place to Work Institute. Great Place to Work Australia is an organisation, whose recognition has become an international standard for excellence in workplace culture. After more than 30 years of research the Institute operate across 44 countries, surveying 6,200 companies annually.

“THE 50 BEST ARE SETTING THE STANDARD FOR ALL BUSINESSES.”
Zrinka Lovrencic – Managing Director of Great Place to Work Australia

 

RCC is committed to the ongoing improvement of our employee experience in the hope that our staff continue to enjoy the journey as the company grows and evolves. This recognition reflects the passion, commitment and fun that our people bring to work everyday.

“WE ARE PROUD TO BE RECOGNISED BY OUR PEOPLE AS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO WORK IN AUSTRALIA. WE BELIEVE WE ARE DOING GREAT THINGS AND THIS ACCREDITATION MEANS THAT OUR BEST ASSET, OUR EMPLOYEES, AGREE.
FOR ME, OUR PEOPLE ARE WHAT MAKES RCC GREAT, AND THAT DRIVES US TO PROVIDE THEM WITH AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE THEY CAN REALISE THEIR PROFESSIONAL ASPIRATIONS AND DELIVER QUALITY OUTCOMES FOR OUR CLIENTS”
Jamie Crookes – Managing Director of Richard Crookes Constructions

 

Do you think you would enjoy the journey of working on exciting projects, with highly skilled, passionate people in a positive and supportive workplace? Find out what it’s like to be part of the RCC family…

 

If you are interested to know more about the RCC Family, our values and what makes RCC a Great Place to Work then follow us on social media and stay tuned for our ‘Meet the Family’ series!

 

 

City2Surf 2018

August 13, 2018

RCC took on the iconic City2Surf again this year! We’re so proud of all 133 RCC Team members who ran, walked and crawled from the city to Bondi yesterday for the Sydney Breast Cancer Foundation!

Near-perfect Sydney weather and the motivation of post-race celebrations made the 14km course a little easier. Thanks to Panama House for hosting our afterparty, providing RCC finishers with views of the course and a Mexican feast!

It was great to again be part of such an incredible event for a worthy cause. Fundraising efforts have reached $4,288,078.15 so far with donations still being accepted.

Want to know more about this incredible annual event? Check out the official City2Surf website.

 

Women’s Forum – ‘because of her, we can’

July 5, 2018

‘Because of her, we can’ – the NAIDOC Week 2018 theme was the inspiration behind July’s RCC Women’s Forum.

We were lucky enough to be able to explore the theme of ‘Because of her, we can’ through the words of Sandra Gadd and the modern native bush tucker cuisine of Jo-Ann from Goanna Hut.
We all then enjoyed a training session with Vanessa from Learning Circle Co, who took us through an interactive course on identifying and chasing career goals and building our personal brand.

Our series of Women in Construction Forums provide employees with a chance to share knowledge, learn and develop… over lunch (of course)! It’s also an important way for us to acknowledge the contribution and achievements of our staff and thank them for their dedication!

 

 

RCC’s Impact on the Aged Care and Retirement Living landscape

April 6, 2018

Economic, social and cultural outcomes for providers and residents

RCC has a long history in the design and construction of specialised social infrastructure. In 2015 we invested further in RCC’s specialised Aged Care and Retirement Living division, matching our capabilities in the health and social housing sectors. Our subsequent 300% growth in aged care delivery is recognition of our ability to deliver quality, state of the art facilities which still feel like home and provide better living for residents.

RCC has been building for 42 years and innovating in the aged care and retirement living sector since 1993, recognising the mounting demographic and cost pressures of infrastructure and care provider availability.

“To meet Australian aged care demand we need to deliver a 120 bed aged care facility every two weeks for the next 10 years. We appreciate the need for sustainable solutions and quality facilities and we share the age care sectors commitment to providing the senior members of our community with the security of a comfortable home and quality of life”
Martin Patience- Joint GM, Aged Care & Retirement Living, RCC

Having successfully delivered a range of Residential Aged Care Facilities, Independent Living Units and Retirement Villages in NSW and ACT metropolitan and regional areas, RCC underwrites the success of major new facilities and the necessary transformation of existing homes to emulate the amenity and aesthetics of today.

We are proud of the projects we have delivered to date and enjoy reflecting on our handover of facilities that our clients are proud of, as much as we are as well as the contribution we have made to those older Australian’s who now call them home.

Our project team’s partner with leading aged care and retirement living operators, experienced design teams and industry specialists, looking for opportunities to speed up, go modular, prefabricate and achieve high levels of quality, amenity and service from every dollar spent.

“Designing and delivering state of the art aged care and retirement homes merge the preventative, therapeutic and rehabilitation needs of residents in a secure, comfortable, home environment allowing them to stay active, happy and connected to their families. Innovative technology and construction services ensure our projects meet their current and future needs”
Rod Burger- Joint GM, Aged Care & Retirement Living, RCC

Our highly experienced and focused aged care team are supported by the substantial financial backing and delivery systems of a long established multi-sector construction business.

Looking forward, our client teams and residents can continue to count on our skills and support to further evolve and enjoy the journey of working with RCC.

 

“SummitCare Baulkham Hills brings to life everything residents and families could wish for in a home… To RCC, it has been an absolute pleasure, and an outstanding result. You have been a delight to work with and I couldn’t recommend you more highly”

SummitCare, Baulkham Hills
Peter Wohl – Owner and Director, Summitcare

 

“We are most pleased to be associated with Richard Crookes Constructions as all aspects of the projects are moving in the right direction. Drayton House is approximately half way through the construction program with good progress to date. Attention to detail and selection of sub-contractors is impressive”

Drayton House
Markam Ralph – Director- Morrison Design Partnerships Architects

 

 

 

Over $17,000 Donated to the Sydney Children’s Hospital

March 28, 2018

RCC teams on the Regiment & LEES projects at the University of Sydney have raised more than $17,000 for the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation (SCHF).

SCHF visited the site last Friday to celebrate and thank the teams for their effort and generosity.

It’s important to RCC that we give back wherever possible and make a positive contribution to the communities we live and work within; we are extremely grateful to the generous project team and subcontractors who made this incredible donation possible and to our supportive client, the University of Sydney, for encouraging this community contribution.

The Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation (SCHF) was overwhelmed with the fundraising efforts of the Regiment & LEES teams who hosted Clare from SCHF last Friday at their presentation and site BBQ. The initial target of $5,000 has been blown out of the water, highlighting the incredible generosity and commitment of the team to this very important cause. The team intends to continue their support for the foundation and grow this much needed donation over the life-cycle of the project.

Special mention goes to our Contract Administrator and fundraiser extraordinaire, Peter Meleady, who took the lead on planning this amazing initiative.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keen to get involved?

Fundraising is still open and its a case of the more the merrier; you can donate to this great cause here!