Australian Essential Services Group (AESG)

Independent Audit Specialists

Business View Oceania interviews Jonathan Beckett of Australian Essential Services Group for our focus on Facilities Management.

Since their founding in 1996, the team at Australian Essential Services Group (AESG) has worked to provide Australia’s managed property industry with world class, comprehensive building consultancy services. A completely independent auditing authority, AESG operates in every Australian state and territory to service private, government, and semi-government clients through specialist fire safety auditing, Safety Measures reporting and education, Building Health and Safety, and compliance solutions. With a portfolio of over 11,000 properties, ASEG’s knowledge and experience allows them to support a variety of industries according to state-specific regulations.

AESG provides a number of building consultancy solutions including 10-year maintenance property plans, COVIDSafe plans, essential safety measures, fire safety schedule performance, building surveying (assessing and issuing building permits, resolving building notices and orders, building maintenance determinations, BCA performance solutions, and building regulations consultancy), combustible cladding investigations, building health and safety inspections, evacuation diagram design and development, asbestos audits, and pool barrier safety audits.

Mr Jonathan Beckett is National Sales and Marketing Manager for AESG. He begins, “AESG is an essential services and safety auditing group that specialises in fire safety, maintenance plans, and property compliance. Our company has grown substantially over the last 25 years to be able to work nationally across all industries. We are a team of 40 that services right through the chain from private clients such as aged care, hospitality and retail groups, residential properties, commercial offices, universities, and industrial properties, through to local council and state government assets.”

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, AESG’s efforts have been more important than ever. Changes to client operations and service delivery, driven by ever-developing restrictions, have required significant support, but Mr. Beckett says his team has risen to the challenge. “Our clients have had to develop appropriate COVID plans for their safe operation and continued viability, which is something we have certainly been able to facilitate. For example, we have been a large contributor in particular for our clients in health and aged care. Those have been very sensitive areas, especially with the COVID outbreak we’ve had here in Melbourne. We have worked remotely to provide consulting services, chase up documentation for maintenance providers, and even set up virtual inspections where we can. And for the instances where we have had to go on site, our inspectors have been fully outfitted in PPE and followed the strictest guidelines for the protection of residents and staff, as well as our own team. Everybody has been doing their part.”

AESG maintains a comprehensive and inclusive sustainability policy that considers a number of objectives to ensure employees, suppliers, and contractors understand and fulfill their social, cultural, economic, and environmental responsibilities. AESG identifies their sustainability goal as: “To provide a safe workplace for staff, embrace workforce diversity, embed sustainable work practice as we deliver business outcomes for clients, and foster strong relationships with suppliers and local communities. AESG is committed to becoming the first Australian fire safety services organisation to be certified carbon neutral by 2021. Climate Active certification will be proof that we are working to achieve net zero emissions. AESG will continuously strive to improve its sustainability performance whilst complying with its legal and other obligations.”

The organisation implements their policy through a set of core elements: Safety first, People, Sustainable environment, Sustainable sourcing, Sustainable business operations, Community, and Governance. Carbon neutrality has been an asset to AESG in ensuring the safety and efficiency of their team during the pandemic, Mr. Beckett says. “We were able to adapt very quickly to remote processes thanks to our continuing efforts towards carbon neutrality.  We went through a process in 2021 to become carbon neutral certified, and part of that required us to develop and streamline our online processes. So the move to remote work wasn’t as difficult for us as it was for some of our competitors.”

AESG achieved their goal to become the first Australian fire safety services organisation to be certified carbon neutral in 2021- an accomplishment that differentiates them in the market significantly. In addition to this certification, the company identifies themselves through collaboration with clients and industry stakeholders. Mr. Beckett explains, “We’re probably regarded as being more collaborative than some of our competitors. We are an auditing company, so if something doesn’t meet safety standards, we will obviously fail it as appropriate. But it’s not the end of the conservation from our end. We will work with our clients to show them what they can do to solve the issue, so they can continue improving their own practices.”

AESG’s use of technology has spurred them to a leader’s position in Australia’s independent auditing sector. From offsite technology supporting client portals, information distribution, and cloud storage through to on site software like QR codes and compliance tracking, ASEG uses their equipment and expertise to deliver quality consultancy to their clients every time. Mr. Beckett elaborates, “We have had some great innovations developed over the last few years that include building passports, which allow clients to set up and build building profiles that include things like protection, emergency, and evacuation plans, permits, procedure manuals, etc. That can then be easily accessed via QR codes by building owners, tenants, staff, or emergency services as appropriate.”

AESG would like to thank their network of clients, suppliers, software partners, and likeminded industry stakeholders for their support in the development of the property management and building consultancy sector. Looking to the future, AESG plans to develop their reach across Australia, building up their presence across all industries in each state and territory. Service creation and innovation is also on the cards. AESG will continue to enact their plan for sustainability in a broad and long-term sense, considering all areas of environmental, economic, cultural, and social responsibility. Mr. Beckett concludes, “We will keep doing what we’re doing well, and develop areas that could see some improvement. In particular we plan to build up our regional client base and employ local workers in their own area. All in all, our future looks bright, and I am excited to see where our industry goes moving forward.”

AT A GLANCE

Australian Essential Services Group (AESG)

What: Independent Auditing Provider operating across a range of industries Australia-wide

Where: ASEG is headquartered Melbourne, Australia

Website: https://www.aesg.com.au/

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