Miller & James case study

Trading since 1903, Miller & James sell properties and conduct clearing sales across a wide area including east to Yass, south to Gundagai and Coolamon, west to Ardlethan and north to West Wyalong and Ungarie.  

Over the years they’ve developed a reputation for providing honest, up-front advice and the very best customer service that has seen them remain as the most visible and most successful real estate business in the region for decades.

Each year they conduct around 15 clearing sales throughout the region and each sale includes approximately 500 lots.

Chris Reardon, a Director of the business, has been helping people buy and sell property his entire career having joined Miller & James as a teenager in the early 80’s.

He’s been involved in countless clearing sales and understands how important it is to have the right systems in place to ensure things go smoothly before, during and after a transaction, especially when it comes to anything that has moving parts.

“A local machinery business sold a second-hand header in the late 90s which was later involved in major accident,” explained Chris.

“The owners of that business were put through the ringer so we immediately started paying more attention to the process of ensuring machinery had all the right safety information before it left one of our clearing sales.”

“When we were appointed to our next clearing sale we were acutely aware that we were responsible for ensuring that it was safe for us to sell the equipment but we weren’t exactly sure how to go about making it happen, and that’s how I found Plant Assessor.”

“You hire a plumber to do the plumbing and a sparky to do electrical work so why wouldn’t you use an expert in machinery safety to ensure all plant and equipment has all the right information to allow safe use when it leaves the property.”

“Legal issues can cost you – win or lose – plus the insurance companies expect us to follow best practice so using a system like Plant Assessor not only reduces risk but also reduces our premiums.”

Reardon says Miller & James has undertaken their own machinery assessment in the past using the checklists built into Plant Assessor’s software but he believes it’s actually more cost effective and much more convenient to have Plant Assessor field staff come to site and conduct inspections.

“They send one of their team to the property a week or so out from the clearing sale and we make sure all machines are checked and paperwork is ready for the day of the event,” he says.

Reardon explains that the inspection and assessment process is methodical and simple to follow.

“The whole Plant Assessor process leaves a very obvious paper trail. Inspections are done in numerical order so it’s easy to follow on the day of the event,” he explains.

Reardon is quite shocked that he sometimes speaks with others in the industry who still aren’t aware of the chain of responsibility.

“Many don’t realise that the risk is on the vendor and we are the vendor’s agent. So it’s our job as their agent to ensure everything is in order,” he explains.

“I still meet others in our industry who don’t know who is responsible for what and certainly aren’t aware of the potential risks to themselves or their business.”

“I tell them about Plant Assessor every time. It’s a no-brainer to get them involved with anything relating to selling farm equipment. I recommend them without hesitation.”

We’d like to thank Chris and the team at Miller & James for their ongoing support.