Maintaining a diverse portfolio of assets, from lifts and ventilation systems in large office buildings to public toilets and park facilities, is all in a day's work for our team on the Auckland Council facilities management contract. 

As a provider of facilities management services to councils in New Zealand and Australia, Ventia's teams are often called upon to service and maintain some of our clients more interesting assets.

In addition to cleaning office buildings and maintaining heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, our Auckland Council FM team also maintains parks and playgrounds. This includes looking after 23 flying foxes (ziplines), six BMX tracks, several skate parks and 16 swimming pontoons. 

Ventia's New Zealand Country Manager Matthew Cotterall says that he's proud of his team's versatility when it comes to asset maintenance, as they work across parks, buildings and community facilities such as libraries, community halls, pools and public toilets, as well as sports field renovations.

"Whether it's maintaining a flying fox in one of Auckland's beautiful parks, keeping heating and cooling systems in top condition in a council office building, or managing litter collection and vegetation control along our streets, we are focused on quality, cost-effective solutions for our client," Matt says. 

Local communities, and particularly Auckland's younger residents, like to make the most of amenities like the BMX tracks and swimming pontoons, so it's important they are kept in top shape. 

Ventia Contract Manager Carl Rogers says the summer months are often the busiest for his team, as kids are out and about during the school holidays, and regular inspections of all council amenities is key. 

"Our asset inspectors visit each location and check on the safety and general condition of equipment like the flying foxes and other playground or park equipment," Carl explains. 

"The average flying fox is around 25 to 30 metres long, some of the custom ones are over 40 metres. Times that by 23 and we're looking after around a kilometer of gear in total." 

The flying foxes and BMX tracks are visually inspected weekly to keep an eye on obvious maintenance issues. A monthly operational inspection on equipment like the flying foxes looks at wear and tear on the gear, the trolley seat, cable tensioning and other key elements. A yearly inspection confirms asset compliance against NZ standards. 

Read more about our work with Auckland City Council here.

^{Pictured: One of the BMX tracks that the Ventia team maintain on behalf of Auckland Council}