What an independent assessor found across five New Zealand projects

DSC Consulting — a construction consultancy providing project management, cost management and commercial reporting, whose director has more than twenty years in the industry across the UK, Australia and New Zealand — was engaged to assess the system independently.

DSC surveyed and interviewed construction companies with live experience of both working platforms and safety nets, working from actual project data across five New Zealand projects. The sample ran from a 160m² duplex to a 2,272m² multi-unit development, in both islands.

On a 180m² single-storey house, the tasks that depend on fall protection took three days with Workdek, against five with nets. Those tasks took 144 man-hours with Workdek, against 218 with nets.

Across the full sample, every project showed a reduction in man-hours on the tasks that depend on fall protection. The reductions ranged from 25% to 45%, and held across the full range of project sizes — from a single house to a 2,272m² multi-unit development.

DSC also noted two things that do not appear in the numbers: that Workdek provides a walkable platform other trades can use, reducing dependence on scaffolding, and that nets are less flexible where the frame is complex or the structure changes during the build.

DSC's conclusion was that Workdek delivers savings on the tasks which depend on working at height protection — consistently, and regardless of the size or scale of the project.