Case Studies

Tusla

TEAM

Building Surveying Team

Sector

Residential

Public

Related Services

Structural Engineering

People To Contact

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Overview of service

Tusla is the state child and family agency for Ireland. It is dedicated to improving the well-being and outcomes of children. It represents Ireland’s most comprehensive reform of child protection, early intervention and family support services.

Tusla commissioned the ORS Building Surveying Team to carry out building condition surveys of all Tusla’s building stock and the properties they occupy across the Dublin North-East and Dublin Mid-Leinster Regions. It involved c.150 locations.

The ORS reports submitted to Tusla outlined the overall condition of the building/space occupied by Tusla, identifying and assessing the condition per aspect. They provided recommendations for further investigation and/or remediation and associated budget costs.

The intention was for these surveys to gather accurate empirical information regarding the scope, nature, and condition of each building. There was also a requirement to prepare cost estimates for both works necessary to attain a defined acceptable standard and an annual maintenance regime in each case.

Project challenges

Complex property portfolio

One of the project’s challenges was to achieve consistent data-gathering across all surveyors and various building types, ages, uses, and tenures. Pilot surveys of two contrasting properties were carried out at the start of the project – modern offices in a Primary Care Centre and a purpose-built residential unit built in the 1950s. The pilot surveys allowed for the report template to be tested. Modifications were made at the outset rather than further into the process.

An initial meeting with the client also assisted with ORS understanding the types of properties being surveyed, particularly the residential buildings. ORS identified specific protocols needed so that the building occupants were not unduly inconvenienced.

Over four months, 150 inspections and reports were successfully completed to the highest standard. Access to the properties was coordinated with the client through a dynamic scheduler that was updated by ORS weekly and based on an agreed communication strategy.