University of Otago | Dental School Passive Fire Protection underway

2019 has been a positive year for Contego & we would like to take the opportunity to thank our clients, colleagues, consultants, suppliers, staff & everyone that allows our business to function & perform at a high level.

In 2020 we will see our staff go through more training a development courses. This investment in staff development & training highlights our commitment to upskill our team. We firmly believe that doing this early & constantly is the only way to ensure we are prepared & ready when growth & large scale opportunities present themselves.
Training in 2019 & 2020 has included:
Business leadership – Icehouse/ Chamber of Commerce Otago/ Employers Association
Level 3 Passive Fire Protection – Competenz
Level 4 Passive Fire Protection – Competenz
Diploma Fire Engineering – Open Polytechnic
Diploma in Quantity Surveying – Otago Polytechnic
Health & Safety Leadership – Site safe/ SafetynAction/ University of Otago
Carpentry Apprenticeships – BCITO

This new premises allows us to have a more functional office, technical centre, workshop & bulk storage.
The increased space accommodates for the growth we have experienced in recent years as well as providing flexibility for future growth opportunities.
In addition to the new premises we have also committed to a new full time Office Manager in Anna Cartwright who will be joining us from the start of 2020 at the new Head Office.
We are also making investments for our facilities in Queenstown & Southern Lakes with increased storage & workshop area & long term commitment to premises & resources in the region, so watch this space!

In November our Director Justin McEntyre was announced as the incoming Chairman for Passive Fire SIG group within FPANZ. This is a position that also involves a seat on the FPANZ council.

Property Council's South Island Branch was pleased to present their fifth annual Southern Excellence Awards. The Awards are open to both members and non-members of Property Council New Zealand who are based in the South Island.
The Awards celebrate the people in property; recognising excellence in leadership and innovation in the South Island property industry and celebrating outstanding contributions to our industry and the local economy.
Contego is proud to have been a part of the Hayward College Refurbishment Team Lead By Logic Group who won the Best Team Award this year. Contego were engaged by the Construction Manager Logic to undertake the role of Passive Fire Specialist.
Our core role involved treating existing & new services penetrations throughout the building which had previously been a maternity hospital & more recently a Student Hostel.
However, our role was far more involved than simply penetration treatment. Due to the tight nature of this project Logic & their consultant design team relied heavily on Contego for compliant Design solutions on the fly – there was simply no time for stopping the bus for design solutions. Contego were able to identify issues, scope out & have a compliant solution available for the project team immediately.

There are two types of fire protection systems, Active Fire Protection (AFP) and Passive Fire Protection (PFP). When it comes to fire safety it’s important that both systems are properly working in the event of a fire.
Active and passive fire protection systems are meant to work together during a fire, not one in place of the other. But, there still may be some confusion about the differences between active and passive fire protection.

We understand that fire safety isn't something you would gamble with and we take our role in the fire protection industry seriously.

Passive Fire Protection is a vital part of any fire design – safeguarding human life and reducing the risk to property in the event of fire.

Better contracts will spread the risk, ensure accurate pricing and improve project standards and compliance. Along with increased activity in the field of passive fire protection, there has been a lack of cost accuracy and poor contractor commitment to fixed pricing in recent years. This has left a high percentage or all of the risk associated with works, with the client and limited control on contractor performance and responsibilities.