By using SurePact’s project and contract risk management software, Aurukun Shire Council has been able to identify and manage risks and and reduce cost and time blowouts, delivering immediate savings to the community.
The client
Aurukun Shire Council is a small Council in Far North Queensland which includes much of the traditional country of the Wik, Wik Way and Kugu peoples.
As a non-rate payer-based community, 77 per cent of the Council’s revenue is provided by Commonwealth and State Government funding bodies. Any overrun must be paid for by either reducing future activity or applying for further funding. On the other hand, any savings the Council makes to its bottom line can be redirected to additional projects for the local community.
The problem
There are two main business sites within the Shire, located 800km apart. Between these two remote sites, millions of dollars in grants, projects and contracts had been managed through spreadsheets and hard copy documents, which can invariably lead to inconsistencies and out-of-date information in documentation, timelines, approvals and reporting.
Similarly, the Council was aware of the potential for less-than-optimal audit trails to limit transparency in risk mitigation and other decision making. This could affect Council’s ability to systematically identify and quantify risks and to deliver projects on time and under budget.
There was a clear need for the Council to develop a systematic method for tracking grants, contracts, projects and asset realisation, in order to increase transparency, mitigate risk and reduce bottom-line project costs.
The solution
In July 2019, Aurukun Shire Council agreed to implement SurePact’s project and contract risk management software, in order to identify, mitigate and manage risks of project deliveries from concept to closeout.
Deployment was immediate, with the initial set-up and training period taking just one week. Council’s Technical Services team were trained and mentored as part of the roll-out, and are now strongly proficient in administering the solution.
External contractors and Council collaborate within the SurePact system. The cloud-based SaaS (software as a service) allows information to be loaded into the system in the field, ensuring full accessibility and visibility at all stages and gateways in real-time and significantly reducing approval times.
The results
By putting simple steps in place to manage documents and make reporting metrics transparent and accessible, Council now has a much clearer picture of the spend and allocation of revenue received, delivery costs and management of risks.
In one program area alone, Council’s improved efficiency and accountability has already led to savings of $1.26 million on the delivery of 16 building and maintenance programs.
The benefits of the SurePact system to Aurukun Shire Council have included:
- ROI realised in under 3 months
- >34% quantified procurement savings
- 15% variation reductions
- >80% contingency improvement
- Retention of intellectual property across the organisation
As a result, Council has been able to re-invest the identified savings into the community.
“Having a software like SurePact that documents each process required helps to save Councils from massive cost blowouts,” says Gus Yates, Technical Director at Aurukun Shire Council.
“The SurePact software will help us to justify the decisions we make in the future.”
