SCREEN SHOT: Paging nurses at Wairarapa Hospital is made easy thanks to the call system installed by Miracle Electronics of Wellington.
Some strategic doorknocking from the Industry Capability Network (ICN) has resulted in a small Wellington company making a name for itself in a highly competitive niche market.
With ICNs help, Wellingtons Miracle Electronics made a successful tender to provide the nurse call system for the new Wairarapa Hospital in Masterton - a contract which helped it subsequently to win other significant hospital projects.
Miracle
Electronics managing director David Burger says ICNs intervention
paved the way to win the contract which in turn has thrown up other
opportunities and strengthened the companys initiative to export its
call systems.
"Being
able to say we have supplied several big public hospitals in New
Zealand proves that we have a track record and know what we are doing.
The
firm became involved with the network when ICN Project Procurement
Advisor Ian Mallett heard about some previous health sector work
Miracle had completed and picked up the phone.
"At
that point he was already talking to people involved on the other side
of the project and he knew they were looking to save money. He paved
the way by speaking to them on our behalf and knowing who the right
people were,” Mr Burger says.
Mr
Mallett says the procurement side of the health sector is small and
many people working in it know each other. His extensive industry
contacts and working for a Government organisation means he can help
open doors for companies which they may struggle to do alone.
Wairarapa
District Health Board building and property manager Peter Clayton says
when ICN made its approach other alternatives were already being
considered.
"Really we were looking at the more obvious ones on the market, he says. "We probably werent quite aware of the capabilities of Miracles call system.
But Mr Mallett was persistent in suggesting Miracles product could do the job, would cost less and, importantly, was New Zealand made.
"When
we compared it to the Australian-made product we decided that the
locally made one was more than capable of meeting the specifications
and perhaps did a little more, Mr Clayton says. "Certainly some of
the functions of it were more suited to our requirements.
Miracles
product ultimately saved the DHB more than $50,000 in a project worth
about $160,000 in total. Another benefit was Miracles proximity to the
hospital site.
"Obviously the ability to service the equipment from close by, that was important to us as well, he says.
www.miracle.co.nz
Background
The now complete Wairarapa Hospital
was a $30 million building project completed in May 2006. It provides
92 beds for a population of about 40,000 and offers a full range of
secondary care services.
