Operational cost savings can be considered, measured and analysed as part of a life-cycle and whole-of-life review of property development and infrastructure projects. This helps reduce the environmental impact of modernisation and overall life-cycle costs. "Owners and developers are becoming more concerned with operational expenses," says Nick Deeks, managing director of WT Partnership in Australia. "It's being able to think about the future while in the concept and design phase and consider the ongoing operational costs of built assets." Among the largest independent cost consultancy businesses operating throughout Asia-Pacific, Britain, Europe and Central America, WT Partnership draws on its vast project database to accurately estimate not only the initial capital cost, but all the whole-of-life costs - from initial construction, operation and maintenance through to destruction. With Australian clients embracing sustainability initiatives despite marginal increases in construction costs, WT Partnership can calculate a building's embodied energy - the energy expended to create it, and later to remove it. "A building's embodied energy can be minimised by constructing it from locally available, natural materials that are durable and recyclable, and by designing it to be easy to dismantle," Deeks says. "Ultimately, our clients are finding that projects which are 'green' are more marketable." Valued for its trusted, impartial and accurate quantity surveying and construction cost advice, WT Partnership combines local expertise across key infrastructure and construction markets and extends this throughout its global network. As a pioneer in Asia-Pacific, its Australasian business supports the robust growth of offices across China and Southeast Asia and spearheads sustainability service offerings in the region. WT Partnership builds upon 60 years of service in the construction market and has more than 600 staff in 14 offices throughout the region. Its high-profile projects include the Hong Kong International Airport, Marina Bay Sands and China World Trade Center. Within Australia, the firm has provided services on major commercial, retail, residential and mixed-use developments for Asian investors and developers in all capital cities and regional centres. WT Partnership www.wtpartnership.com.au
