A new integrated process factory and logistics facility for BlueScope Steel. As principal consultant, Pritchard Francis was responsible for civil, structural, rail and design services along with co-ordination of all sub-consultants. The design and construct contract involved 14,000m² of building, 60,000m² of hardstand pavement and 1km of freight rail internal to the site. Significant issues included a cost efficient design of the large spanning roof structure, detailed analysis of pavement and floor slabs to carry 70 tonne axle loads, and stormwater management strategies that resulted in cost savings compared to traditional solutions.

Several abattoirs ranging in size from $6m to $40m have been designed and documented for construction in various parts of Asia.

Providing the right civil and structural solution required an assessment of local loading factors and design requirements, an understanding of local methods of construction, and often involved complicated ground conditions.

With plan areas of up to 10,000m², these abattoirs required significant co-ordination of structure and services due to most areas within the building being temperature controlled.

This $30m district shopping complex (Stage 1 & 2) located in Perth's northern suburbs, included all civil and structural works.

A thorough geotechnical investigation, including research into site history, resulted in an accurate specification of the bulk earthworks - without time delays and costly overruns due to unforseen ground conditions.

Early in the design process Pritchard Francis identified critical aspects of the soil conditions, and project managed the work to ensure a successful result. Based upon its performance on Stage 1 works, Pritchard Francis was awarded the commission of Stage 2 ($16m).

The $25m Stage 1 replacement of Mt Lawley Senior High School was potentially delayed pending successful removal of contaminated material on the north-west section of the existing site.

Following detailed investigations and reports, Pritchard Francis was given the task of documenting and managing the $1.8m contract for removing 18,000 tonnes of Class 4 contaminated material from the site and backfilling to new levels.

This difficult project was completed on time and on budget, with minimal problems, publicity and inconvenience to the school and adjacent landowners.

Pritchard Francis provided civil engineering design and contract administration consultancy services for realignments to Haley and Stirling Streets surrounding the commercial precinct. The scope included 4 new roadwork intersections incorporating roundabouts and signalised control. Stormwater control included a management plan to address the 1 in 100 year flood paths for the Bunbury CBD along with civil infrastructure upstream and through the site to control flow rates and impact on downstream services.

Valued at $16m, this project also included a discount department store, speciality shops and two major elevated cardeck structures.

Careful analysis of the geotechnical conditions resulted in three distinct solutions being utilised on the site. Grouted piles, vibro-flotation and traditional high-level foundations were designed for the differing conditions experienced. This unique approach resulted in major cost savings in the order of $100,000 compared to the approach taken by others on the original development.

This project in Herdsman transformed an old building into a leasable factory. By introducing a new top chord over the existing structure. Pritchard Francis removed two thirds of the internal columns by modifying individual saw tooth trusses into one parallel chord truss. Once six 9m spans had been converted into two 27m spans for the complete length of the building, the 5,400m² roof was then lifted from 5.5m up to 9m. This total project, including recladding, cost $900,000 compared to a replacement cost of $2.4m – a saving of $1.5m.

During the early 1990’s Pritchard Francis initiated, prepared feasibility studies for, designed, documented and project managed a series of difficult tunnel projects under existing, busy, inner-city streets. Pedestrian deaths at the sites, and a failure by others to product feasible solutions, let to the firm’s involvement. The Pritchard Francis alternative design solutions for these projects were less than half the cost of more traditional solutions and each of the four projects was completed on time and on budget.

The $350,000 Thomas Street underpass at Princess Margaret Hospital was put forward as an alternative to a $1.1m Main Roads Department design.

The tunnel was completed during a 48 hour closure of Thomas Street.

The Coogee Chemical complex in Kwinana, south of Perth, incorporates major tanks, silos, granulation and chemical plants along with many other structures. For over fifteen years, Pritchard Francis has undertaken the civil and structural engineering design work for this complex. This is an example of work undertaken in the industrial and resource sector.

Inspection tours to Japan, the United Kingdom and Europe by the clients and consultants resulted in the setting of extremely high standards for this new $12m food processing facility in Osborne Park. From floor construction right through to final detailing, the project has to match and improve on world’s best practice in hygiene, workplace safely and security.

The new building included preparation, processing and storage areas with chilled freezers and packing halls.

Among the many engineering challenges was the removal of a significant depth of peat material. Dewatering had to be carefully controlled to avoid damage to adjacent structures and equipment.

This project consisted of a 10 storey Holiday Inn Hotel with additional car parking for the Burswood Resort. The hotel contained approximately 260 rooms, a restaurant, pool terrace and two levels of car parking.

The project was constructed employing a mixture of pre-cast and in-situ concrete and was optimised for rapid erection once the formation of typical floors commenced. A piled foundation was necessary due to the challenging foundation material.

The delivery of the tender documentation was completed on time and within budget. The co-ordination of the various consultants was achieved by providing a full set of structural and civil sketches to the client, architect and all secondary consultants before full design and documentation started. This allowed coordination to proceed early in the development stage and avoid clashes with the mechanical, electrical and hydraulic consultants’ documents.