Amid ongoing construction, AGS Abuja successfully assists with installation of 148-room hotel

The AGS team in Abuja, Nigeria, was tasked with supporting the complete installation of a brand-new four-star hotel in the city’s central business district. Measuring 3,000m², the complex features 148 rooms of eight different types, five public areas and a nine-storey office tower.

The initial objective was clear: to dispatch and help install the hotel’s fixtures, furniture and equipment (FF&E). But construction delays, caused by social and political challenges, meant installation had to begin before the building was complete, with multitudes of subcontractors still working on site.

 

A series of logistical and operational hurdles

Access and handling complications

Another project partner had been assigned to unload the FF&E shipment, which arrived in 50 40-foot shipping containers. But when they unexpectedly withdrew, AGS was asked to complete the job.

The team gladly took on the task to keep the dispatch process moving. However, the absence of fully functional elevators, which were often too small for the larger items, made delivering goods to the staging areas a challenge.

As a workaround, they used the external lifts put in place by the construction crew. But as the building neared completion, these were moved off site, and the team were left to rely on their own strength and endurance to get the job done. This required manoeuvring unwieldy equipment up multiple flights of stairs, with as many as 16 team members assisting with the dispatch of particularly heavy items.

 

Complex inventory management and coordination

The team then had to move the dispatched inventory multiple times as construction progressed, and work needed to be completed in the staging areas previously assigned.

Damage to the inventory already installed was also a constant concern, and the AGS team diligently applied protective materials wherever and whenever required.

 

Innovative solutions and operational adaptation

Human resources flexibility

Faced with these exceptional constraints, AGS’s scope of work evolved considerably and as the project progressed.

The team’s original responsibilities had been limited to:

• Dispatch from containers to staging area and onward dispatch to the installation sites of the hotel and office building
• Inventory Management into and out of staging areas
• Installation support
• Basic assembly of office furniture and equipment

Their expanded duties included:

• Unloading of containers and unpacking of shipment
• Handling heavy kitchen and cold room equipment
• Keeping dispatched items secure in a series of staging areas
• Supporting the installation of ceilings and finishing work

 

Creative and cost-effective solutions

Bringing this project to a successful conclusion required creative and pragmatic solutions.

• To adapt to the additional workload, the AGS project manager immediately made more staff available. Drawing on her strong local relationships, she more than doubled the size of the crew, from 15 people to 35 people on site every day.
• To limit the client’s costs, the AGS team reused as much of the original packaging material as possible, including polystyrene protectors, nylon sheets, corner protectors, to protect already-installed furniture.
• To ensure that installation was completed without a hitch, they implemented a system of double checks to track inventory distribution.

The client was impressed by AGS’s flexibility and the quality of the work provided, acknowledging the team’s exceptional ability to adapt to the challenging circumstances in writing.

This recognition paved the way for a new, similar project in Harare, Zimbabwe with 119 rooms, demonstrating the client’s confidence in AGS’s capabilities.

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