C3- Canungra Combat Challenge .
Legacy, Canungra Combat Challenge

The Gripfast team stepped up to the Canungra Combat Challenge (C3) to raise funds for Legacy. The 7km endurance race was designed to test leadership, teamwork, endurance and robustness through the jungles, tracks and creeks surrounding Canungra. Two teams were entered into this mental and physical challenge to test out their teamwork and communication skills which are both vital for completing the C3 course.

Together the teams raised $4,000 with all proceeds donated to Legacy, who care for the families of Australian Defence Force men and women who have lost their lives or their health as a result of their service.

Matt Swan joining the NSW team

The Directors are proud to announce the appointment of Matt Swan as our new Projects Director for our NSW Office (50 Miller St, North Sydney). Matt's primary responsibility will be to lead the project team for the ACU North Sydney Library Relocation Project. This project will commence with a detailed options analysis in January 2020 once the consultancy team is appointed. Congratulations Matt - we are very happy to have you on our team.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6602722205803614208 .

Expansion into Sydney with ACU

A few months ago Gripfast Consulting opened its first NSW office at 50 Miller St in North Sydney. A month ago we won our first big job! We are very proud to announce that the Australian Catholic University (ACU) have appointed us as project managers for the ACU North Sydney Library Relocation project. With an estimated budget of $42m and a 3-year timeline the Sydney office is off to a great start. Our team led by Matt Swan has already released the RFT for architects and consultants with the aim of having the team appointed by Christmas; ready to commence options analysis in January 2020. What a great way to start the new decade. Thank you ACU for this great opportunity - we are excited to be working with your great team!

NOVEMBER 2018.
Zombie Apocalypse – (Leadership and Team Building Day)

At Gripfast we talk about project leadership not just project management because leadership is a fundamental skill that brings and holds project teams together. As a way of building our teams and developing leadership skills Gripfast worked with the best in the business to develop a day long leadership and team development day hosted by the Combat Engineers of the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment.

The day brought together Gripfast team, clients, contractors, consultants, and even a few competitors as part of our commitment for improving project delivery on our current and future projects.

We finished the day by donating $2000 to Brisbane Legacy and $2000 to the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, both charities important to us and those at 2CER. To see photos of our Zombie Apocalypse Training day – follow this link

OCTOBER 2018.
National Project Management Award Winner!

We were very excited to win the National Project Management Award for Community Projects. We now compete in Asia Pacific. Read about the project in our August 2018 news.

AUGUST 2018.
Winner: Gripfast for best Community Development Project of the Year – Project Dignity 120 a development for Multiple Sclerosis QLD

The Community Development Project Award recognised not only Gripfast but the amazing team at Multiple Sclerosis Society of Queensland. The Gripfast team have worked hand in glove with MSQ for three years to develop a set of design and construction guidelines for high care accommodation that fills the gap between AS1428, the National Construction Code and NDIA guidelines. The PD120 Guidelines focus on the real needs of those living with MS, not just a ‘one size fits all’ set of generic standards. MSQ’s Project Dignity 120 and its first accommodation solution, MSQ Springfield sets a new standard within the Asia/Pacific for specialist high-care accommodation.

Winner: Chantal Jacobs – Junior Project Manager / Future Project Leader of the Year Chantal’s award recognised her dedication and commitment to her project, displaying a level of knowledge and maturity far exceeding her 25 years of age. Chantal’s approach to project management is guided by her high ethical standards and values that ensures that our client’s welfare is always paramount. This combined with her exceptional qualifications and analytical skills makes her an exception project manager.

Highly Commended: Ryan McKanna for Project of the Year < $20m, UQ Brisbane City.

Finalist: Paul Cleminson for Regional Project of the Year – Cherbourg Waste Water Treatment Project.

OCTOBER 2017.
Quad Cert

Gripfast is proud to announce that we are now the only internationally-certified independent project management firm in Queensland to hold certifications for ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management, ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management, AS/NZS 4801:2001 Occupational Health and Safety, and ISO 31000:2009 Risk Management.

We have done this to provide our clients and their boards with the confidence that all aspects of their projects are being managed in accordance with international best-practice. In a highly competitive environment many competitors cut corners to save money while we have invested in our systems and staff development to ‘stand out from the crowd’. As the only independent QLD project management firm to hold these certifications, combined with our international project management award we have now set ourselves up as a new industry benchmark. So, next time you are considering who is a low-risk, high return company to manage your project please keep Gripfast in mind. Regards the team at Gripfast Consulting

AUGUST 2017.
Optus Awards

Gripfast was delighted to receive the news that we have been short listed for the Optus My Business Awards for ‘Best Workplace of the Year’.
Our Co-Director Annabel McGuire is also in the running for ‘Business Woman of the Year’ and we couldn’t be more delighted.

DECEMBER 2016.
Chantal Jacobs Joins the Gripfast team

In December we also welcomed Chantal Jacobs to the team as a Project Manager. Chantal completed her Master’s Degree in Construction Management earlier this year and then took some time to broaden her horizons through travel. She is now ready to dive head first into projects. Her base degree in Architecture and her varied background is consistent with our approach to having a diverse multidisciplinary team. Welcome Chantal!

DECEMBER 2016.
Jeevan George completes MBA

Following the theme of diversity of experience and qualifications we are thrilled to announce that one of our Senior Project Managers, Jeevan George, completed his Master of Business Administration at the University of Queensland in December. Jeevan has worked very hard over the last 12 months to achieve a very high grade point average whilst maintaining the exceptional work he does for the Gripfast team. We are very proud of Jeevan and look forward to what his new credentials add to the Gripfast team.

NOVEMBER 2016.
National and Asia Pacific Awards for Project Management

After winning the ‘Community Services and Development Category at the Queensland Australian Institute of Project Management Achievement Awards, Gripfast Consulting was honoured to win at the National and Asia Pacific level. (See below) for their project on Understanding Veterans in the Community.

Key to this success was the Directors’ combination of professional academic and military project management experience which gave us a unique perspective on how to maintain high standards while not losing sight of the ultimate objectives of a project (understanding the health care needs of veterans). Our award winning Gripfast Research Project Management Methodology (GripfastRPM) is a custom model for managing research projects that deliver meaningful insights in a relatively short space of time. It draws upon aspects of both Waterfall and Agile methodologies to ensure that there is enough flexibility to allow researchers and clients to follow the data while providing a framework that keeps the project time bounded, within budget and focussed on the client’s needs.

OCTOBER 2016.
Andrew Joins the team

Gripfast is delighted to announce that Andrew Drummond joined the team this October as a senior Project Manager. Andrew comes to us with a diverse range of credentials and experience. After completing a degree in Science at UNSW (ADFA), he continued his career in the Australian Army before later transferring to the British Army. Andrew’s career spanned nearly 20 years with the military, including global operations and training. Afterwards, Andrew worked in several roles in Financial Services in London before returning to Australia with his family in 2015. This saw a career shift into Project Management working for Jacobs in Darwin. We are very excited by the diverse experience he brings and welcome to the team Andrew!

SEPTEMBER 2016.
Accolades for Veteran’s Research - Project Wins AIPM Project Achievement Award (QLD)

How we can best help veterans and their families is at the forefront of all of our minds.  On the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, it was gratifying to see that a research project into veterans’ health received the State’s top award in the ‘Community Service/Development Project’ category for the Australian Institute of Project Management Achievement Awards (QLD).

The project ‘Understanding Defence Veterans in the Community: Who they are and what are their health care needs’ aimed to identify the specific health needs of the veteran community and the best treatments for those needs.  It was sponsored by the Australasian Services Care Network and funded by RSL Care Queensland.  This project delivered a breakdown of the current and possible future health care needs of veterans and particularly mental health care. It identified gaps in policy and research where veterans’ unique health and ageing needs are not well articulated, funded, or serviced.  This has allowed ASCN to focus its efforts on addressing those gaps to benefit ex-service members and their families. 

The project has received considerable support and recognition from the Aged Care Sector, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Government and various ex-serving organisations for delivering a research project with practical, targeted and actionable findings that will benefit our veterans now and into the future.

APRIL 2016.
Supporting Youngcare’s Simpson desert challenge 2016

Breaking News:  GRIPFAST has agreed to sponsor Samantha Kennerley, Youngcare’s CEO for the 2016 Simpson Desert trek.  In what is the ultimate Australian adventure challenge, for eight days between Thursday, 28 April and Sunday, 8 May 2016, 18 bold trekkers will conquer harsh weather conditions and endless sand dunes whilst walking more than 250 kilometres across the Simpson Desert.

And it’s all for an important reason; right now, 7,000 young Australians with high care needs are living in aged care simply because there are few other options to receive dignified, relevant and age-appropriate care and housing.  Youngcare work to create real choices in care and age-appropriate accommodation for young Aussies with high care needs.

APRIL 2016.
Construction starts on the University of Queensland’s (UQ) dental clinic, St George

After considerable time and effort refining the design and getting local government approvals, work will now commence on the new UQ Dental Clinic at St George in regional Queensland.
The clinic will be a welcome addition to the existing Goondir Health Centre and will provide modern teaching and clinical support to the local community.  The construction is being done by Hutchinson Builders (Toowoomba) while Struxi Architects completed the design. Gripfast are the appointed project manager/superintendent for the project.
Practical Completion is expected in July 2016.

JANUARY 2016.
Gripfast presents research paper webinar and helps improve understanding of our veterans’ needs

As  part of the research project "Understanding Veteran’s in the Community” (completed by the Gripfast research team), our Director Annabel gave her first international webinar, which was hosted by the Australasian Services Care Network.  Over 80 Research, Government, and Service providers from the public and private sector in Australia, New Zealand and Canada participated in the webinar, plus a question and answer session.  The webinar presentation focused on understanding what illnesses and injuries are common in the veterans’ community and what services are available to help them recover.   Both the research paper and the webinar have received local and international acclaim.

JANUARY 2016.
Farewell to Don Leslie, director

Two years ago Don Leslie agreed to join the new Gripfast team to provide leadership, guidance and advice to the Directors during the company’s set up.  Don came to us with over 40 years of experience with Dwyer-Leslie Consulting and we have put this experience to good use.  Now we are set up and going strong Don has decided to retire and enjoy travelling the world with his wife, Fay.
At Don’s farewell he was proud to say “…Gripfast’s growth over the last two years has been nothing short of astounding, but most importantly the maturity and professionalism of it foundations rival many companies who have been around for decades.”
Don was instrumental in helping is set up our Business Management System (BMS) that integrates  a fully certified Quality Assurance system, Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Management and Risk Management.  To the best of our knowledge we are one of only a few specialist project management companies in Australia with such a mature BMS.
Thanks Don from the whole team – bon voyage.
Of course this now opens up an opportunity for a new Director…for more on this, watch this space.

OCTOBER 2015.
Our managing director elected as the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) president (QLD):
Our Managing Director, David McGuire was very proud to be elected as the new QLD President of AIPM this month.  David has been on the QLD Chapter Council for the last five years and has filled the role of Treasurer for the last three.
David will assist in overseeing the transformation of AIPM to align with the International Project Management Association and to improve the Institute’s relevant to members over the next five years.  David will travel to Melbourne next month to participate in the inaugural National Congress, focusing on the theme of ‘2016 – the Year of Change’.
David is also focused on revitalising the Institute’s relationships with its corporate members and in encouraging young project managers to join and to take a leadership role on the Council.

SEPTEMBER 2015.
Jeevan George joins the Gripfast team:
We are very happy to announce that Jeevan George has accepted our offer and will join the Gripfast team in September as a Senior Project Manager.  Jeevan has recently left Brisbane Airport Corporation where he played a key role in delivering the G20 airport solution.
Jeevan has over ten years of project management experience in addition to his early years as an architect.  Jeevan has worked on projects around the world and will bring this wealth of experience to our team.
Jeevan will be leading our projects with Multiple Sclerosis Society of Queensland as well as assisting in growing the company.  Welcome Jeevan.

AUGUST 2015.
Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) wins state and national project management achievement awards 2015:
In mid-2015 Gripfast was engaged to work with the BAC team to write their submission for the QLD Project Management Achievement Awards.  The submission focussed on the G20 ‘Airport within an Airport’ project which was responsible for managing the safe arrival and departure of the world’s leaders for the G20 in November 2014, while maintaining business as usual throughout the rest of the airport.
The writing team, led by our Director Annabel, ran a series of interviews and workshops with the team who delivered the project to gather the information about how different project management frameworks and skills were used across a variety of disciplines including construction, security, diplomacy, communication, airside and landside operations, and liaison with Federal and State authorities.  The submission won at the Queensland and National awards in its category. 

JUNE 2015.
Youngcare’s share house at Wooloowin completed:
Gripfast was proud to be the project manager and superintendent for the Youngcare Share House at Wooloowin.  The Youngcare Share House at Wooloowin provides innovative solutions to share house living and will allow young Aussies with high care needs to experience the same lifestyle as others their age.
This innovative, inner-city development located 6km from Brisbane’s CBD was completed in June 2015. The unique vision and scope for this share house has resulted in a beautifully light and bright home for four deserving young Queenslanders moved in mid-July 2015.
What sets this home apart is the innovative technology, where lighting, audio, visual, automated doors and blinds are at the touch of a fingertip, allowing for optimal independence.  This makes it one of the smartest residences in Queensland.
The Share House is of the best practice in design. The hub of the house includes a spacious communal living area and kitchen, and each resident has the privacy of their own balcony, bathroom, bedroom and kitchenette.