CCNZ National Awards 2016

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CIVIL CONTRACTORS NZ / HIREPOOL

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 Z People Awards Connexis Company Training & Development Awards

in association with

CONTRACTOR: New Zealand’s civil contracting magazine

Proudly

fuelling the

Z People Awards We understand that there are literally thousands of talented Kiwis working away behind the scenes to improve the country’s infrastructure, which is why we sponsor the Z People Awards. Enough about us though - here’s to this year’s finalists.

Congratulations, from all the team at Z.

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 PUBLISHER Contrafed Publishing Co Ltd Suite 2.1, 93 Dominion Road, Mt Eden, Auckland PO Box 112357, Penrose, Auckland 1642 Phone: +64 9 636 5715 Fax: +64 9 636 5716 www.contrafed.co.nz EDITOR Alan Titchall DDI: +64 9 636 5712 Mobile: 027 405 0338 Email: alan@contrafed.co.nz

CCNZ / Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards 2016 Celebrating Construction Excellence 4 Judges comments

GENERAL MANAGER Kevin Lawrence DDI: +64 9 636 5710 Mobile: 021 512 800 Email: kevin@contrafed.co.nz ADVERTISING / SALES Charles Fairbairn DDI: +64 9 636 5724 Mobile: 021 411 890 Email: charles@contrafed.co.nz ADMIN / SUBSCRIPTIONS DDI: +64 9 636 5715 Email: admin@contrafed.co.nz PRODUCTION Design: TMA Design +64 9 636 5713 Printing: PMP MAXUM

COPYRIGHT Articles are copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher.

Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Contrafed Publishing.

Category 1 Projects with a value of less than $1 million 6 Bridge It NZ 7 Construction Contracts 8 Groundfix

Category 2 Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Brian Perry Civil Downer NZ Fulton Hogan Fulton Hogan Fulton Hogan Higgins Construction Nelson J&R Contracting McConnell Dowell Quality Roading & Services (QRS) Wairoa Ross Reid Contractors Southroads Schick Construction & Cartage

Category 3 ISSN: 0110 1382

Category 4 Projects with a value greater than $50 million 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

Causeway Alliance Downer NZ Fletcher Construction Fulton Hogan Fulton Hogan HEB Construction / AECOM HEB Construction

Category 5 Excellence in the maintenance and management of assets 34 Auckland Motorway Alliance (AMA) 35 Downer NZ

Z People Awards 36-37 Emerging Leader finalists 36-37 Training Development finalists

Connexis Company Training & Development Awards Up to $10 million turnover 38

Construction Contracts (CCL)

$10-$25 million turnover

Projects with a value between $10 million and $50 million

39 Texco Group 40 Ross Reid Contractors

22 23 24 25 26

$25 million+ turnover

Brian Perry Civil Downer NZ Fulton Hogan Fulton Hogan HEB Construction

40 41 42 42

Higgins Contractors McConnell Dowell Causeway Alliance Downer NZ

Civil Contractors New Zealand established the Construction Excellence Awards in 1978 as a means of recognising excellence in the civil engineering, construction, maintenance and contracting industry.

Hirepool has been a proud sponsor of the awards since 2003.

Civil contractors who are members of CCNZ compete for the awards annually. The winners are presented with their award at a gala awards dinner held in conjunction with CCNZ’s annual conference.

In 2016 the annual conference and awards were held at the SKYCITY Convention Centre, Auckland.

AUGUST 2016 3

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

Celebrating Construction Excellence

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

WINNERS

We thank the awards judges: Category 1, 2 and 5, Dave Macdonald and Paul Bishop; Category 3 and 4, Steve Hart and Alan Powell.

Their comments on the winning entries are summarised below.

Category 1: Projects with a value of less than $1 million.

WINNER: Groundfix for Waterview Tunnel – Cross Passage Drilling and Pressure Grouting The Waterview Tunnel is a $1.4 billion project being delivered for the NZ Government by the NZ Transport Agency and a consortium of contractors working as the “Well Connected Alliance”.

During the first tunnel drive, high ground water flows were experienced near the tunnel midpoint where cross passages were to be constructed.

Work within the cross tunnel passages during excavation and lining processes would have been extremely difficult without a reduction of these ground water flows.

A project to drill through the tunnel lining to within 300 mm of the adjacent tunnel wall and pressure grout the rock fissures between the tunnels was entrusted to Groundfix. Grouting through carefully sequenced patterns of drill holes with specially designed grouts successfully sealed out the water allowing for the construction of the required cross passages.

Groundfix performed this work in a timely, efficient and businesslike way, working with the client to reduce cost and perform the work in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. Working and safety conditions within the tunnel were especially rigorous but Groundfix was able to comply with these at all times to produce the required result. The work was completed ahead of time with twice the number of cross tunnel passages sealed to what was originally envisaged.

The client spoke particularly highly of Groundfix’s collaborative approach, and was very pleased with the work they carried out for the Alliance.

Category 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million WINNER: McConnell Dowell for Waitaki Erosion Remediation Meridian Energy is upgrading this power station to give it another 80 years of life.

McConnell Dowell were engaged through a D&C process using NEC3 to resolve erosion problems on the right bank and sluice pier while the station maintained its full power generation.

Through all phases from planning to delivery McConnell Dowell engaged fully with the client and used very robust and well thought through processes to identify and manage the risks around working within an operating station, managing the difficulties and challenges of construction and in ensuring the quality required was delivered.

Access was challenging especially for the sluice pier works as there was no ability to work from within the river due to limited time being available to clear the site under emergency opening of the sluice wall. Meridian adopted McConnell Dowell’s proposal to change the concept design for the sluice pier to one requiring the installation of a high lift fixed crane on the pier and to construct an interlocking drilled pile curtain wall fully encasing the pier to eliminate erosion of the underlying unprotected ground.

A very detailed plan measured (and re-measured) with precision allowed craneage to occur for construction which included very complex temporary works.

From design to construction, safety was a key focus for the whole team and with constant attention the rewards of an incident free site were obtained.

The client was very pleased with the outcome and on time delivery.

4 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

Category 3: Projects with a value between $10 million and $50 million WINNER: HEB Construction for Wero Whitewater Park The Wero Whitewater Park project by HEB Construction again exemplifies what can be achieved when client and contractor have trust in one another to work collaboratively to develop a project solution for a “first in the country” project combining both their talents with those of numerous consultants and suppliers to achieve a world standard outcome.

This project for the Second Nature Charitable Trust involved the development of a world-class whitewater facility with a short course able to be used as a recreational facility by the general public and a long course with the capacity to be used for Olympic level canoe and kayak slalom events.

The success of this ECI project is a tribute to both the Trust, for its foresight in seeing the potential for such a facility, HEB Construction for applying its expertise and project management capability and the specialist consultants and suppliers who provided their knowledge, equipment and experience on a “Best for Project” basis. HEB needed to ensure the outputs from the client’s six specialist consultants, their own five design and construct subcontracts and their self-performed works were melded into a final successful result.

Category 4: Projects with a value greater than $50 million WINNER: Downer NZ for Holcim Cement Terminals The Holcim Import Cement Terminals are a fine example of client, contractor and consultant collaboratively working together with specialist offshore suppliers to successfully implement new and unique technology in the construction of cement storage facilities in New Zealand.

This project by Downer for Holcim NZ involved construction of two new cement import terminals located at Auckland and Timaru.

The ECI (Early Contractor Involvement) approach to the project is a tribute to Holcim.

It was critical in allowing the client and contractor to work together in selecting the specialist dome and aerated floor suppliers and to fully understand construction risks and optimise the design while determining the contract price and a realistic construction programme.

The judges were impressed with the level of planning undertaken to implement the unique features on this project and with the collaborative approach between clients contractors and consultants, which is a testament to the industry today.

In a tightly contested category, the judges congratulate the Downer team on their winning entry and particularly on completing both terminals with zero harm incidents.

Category 5: Excellence in the maintenance and management of assets WINNER: Auckland Motorway Alliance (AMA) for Maintenance of Assets The Auckland Motorway Alliance is an organisation created from the NZ Transport Agency, Fulton Hogan, Beca, OPUS International, Resolve Group and Armitage Systems. All parties work in a truly collaborative environment to maintain the Auckland motorway system and refine services provided to motorway users.

Starting in 2008 the Alliance has worked to constantly refine and improve systems and methodologies resulting in reducing costs while maintaining or improving levels of service. Decisions and strategies are collectively formulated and agreed. Target outturn costs for each three year period are agreed between the Alliance members and a client elected specialist organisation.

The judges were impressed with the collective thinking of the group who have a common aim to keep the motorways in Auckland moving as efficiently as possible. Ideas and innovations are shared and actively distributed across other areas of the roads network so the Alliance is working, not only for their own betterment, but also for the improvement of the whole New Zealand roading system.

The Alliance is an excellent example of what can be achieved to improve efficiencies and service levels through strategic thinking and collaboration while still responding to the needs of motorway users.

AUGUST 2016 5

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 1: Projects with a value of less than $1 million

Finely crafted bridges

W

hangarei District Council needed to replace two 120-year-old footway bridges, one spanning 21 metres and the other 24 metres on the old Waimahanga/Boswell Track. Work involved a new pedestrian and cycle network connecting the seaside suburb of Onerahi to the CBD. The track follows a former railway route that is over 100 years old and the two old bridges had been well-used, as they formed part of a four kilometre walking track which has become a tourist attraction for the rich and diverse ecosystem of the mangrove forests in the area.

Due to the age of the track, the bridges nearing the end of their life span and the CATEGORY width (600mm) not meeting current requirements, the bridges needed HIGHLY to be repaired or replaced. Based on COMMENDED previous quotes, the council expected CATEGORY 1 replacement bridges to cost in excess of $600,000. Bridge It NZ’s tender price was under $300k and, in December 2015, the company was awarded the contract on a design and construct basis and works included

1

engineering design, contract management, quality control, environmental management, HSE management, earthworks, bridge construction, and the removal of two of the existing footway bridges.

A number of factors contributed to the complexity of this project including the fact the bridges were located in a remote marine environment. Bridge It NZ installed the new bridges separately to minimise their impact on the local surrounds.

The contract period spanned six months and the bridges were completed in June 2016 to budget, plus an additional $32,000 agreed by the client to cover a design variation.

For this project a Contract Quality Plan to NZTA TQS1:1995 standard was submitted and approved by Opus, before construction started. Several hold points were identified throughout the construction of the bridges. Tiaki Engineering Consultants designed two glulam timber laminated beams spanning 21 metres and 24 metres, with an unusual I-section detail with top and bottom glulam flanges in order to reduce weight and create a slimmer and more appealing bridge profile.

The glulam laminated beams and handrails for both bridges were made and assembled by Techlam NZ at its workshop in Levin. l

PROJECT: Boswell / Waimahanga Track Pedestrian Bridge. CONTRACTOR: Bridge It NZ

6 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 1: Projects with a value of less than $1 million

Leaving backyards better than you found them

W

hen you are working on private property it adds another dimension to the building challenge.

Construction Contracts (CCL) was awarded the contract and works for the Brentwood Street (Upper Hutt) Sewer Stage 2 Wastewater Renewal after Cardno, the engineer, was appointed by Wellington Water to design and provide construction management services for an upgrade to the existing wastewater main in the area.

The eight-week project contract started on-site in February 2016 and was completed in April (a few days early) and was valued at around $300,000.

The public sewer serving properties from Brentwood Street and Ferguson Drive was old, CATEGORY showing signs of root infestation, flat grades and did not have an optimal alignment. The opportunity was taken to renew and realign this local drain through private property, as well as completing a significant public main upgrade in Brentwood Street, Upper Hutt.

A particular difficulty with this contract FINALIST was working in private property.

“Working in private property is never easy and

1

presents a completely different set of challenges to a typical construction site,” says the company. “We had to try and minimise disruption to the owners and neighbours and also maintain access [pedestrian and vehicle] throughout the duration of the contract works.

“We had to break a few eggs to make an omelette but the properties have been left better than when we arrived.

Established gardens and plantings look great. The new asphalt, grassed lawns and landscaping looks great and the overall appearance is to a high standard. By our unofficial count five dozen beers were given by the grateful residents to our workers on site.

“The most technically demanding drain-laying was the deep excavations for the 300 sewer in Brentwood Street.

Excavations were up to three metres deep in relatively poor ground conditions. We had to over pump the live sewer main.

Deep excavations are highly dangerous and we managed the risks by careful planning and the use of our K100 positive shoring system.”

This project won the 2016 Civil Contractors New Zealand Wellington/Wairarapa Construction Award Category A for contracts valued up to $1 million. l

PROJECT: Brentwood Street (Stage 2) Wastewater Renewal. CONTRACTOR: Construction Contracts

AUGUST 2016 7

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 1: Projects with a value of less than $1 million

Grouting under pressure

P

rojects don’t come much bigger than the $1.4 billion Waterview Connection Project currently under construction by the Well-Connected Alliance (WCA), and a lot of the work is being achieved by small sub-contractors.

Groundfix was invited by the WCA to tender for drilling and pressure grouting treatment works pre-excavation of a number of the Waterview Connection tunnel cross passages.

This WCA sub-contract started June 29, 2015 and was completed September 16, 2015. The value was $295,000.

During the first tunnel drive, high ground water flows were experienced near to the tunnel midpoint. It was identified that unless this groundwater flow was very substantially reduced, project CATEGORY CONSTRUCTION minimum specification conditions would EXCELLENCE not be met and works within the cross AWARDS 2016 passages during excavation and lining processes would be extremely difficult.

The treatment works within the tunnel CATEGORY 1 boring machine driven tunnel required drilling through the in-situ tunnel lining, from within one of the tunnels, to within 300mm of the adjacent tunnel lining. Pressure grouting was

1

WINNER

applied to seal out water bearing joints/fissures/fault zones.

These works were undertaken in the deepest section of the tunnel relative to ground surface where the water pressure and flow was at its highest.

Pressure grouting through carefully sequenced patterns of drill holes with specially designed and controlled grout mixes using specialist grouting additives was used to successfully seal out water, reducing water flow through full face excavations to only a trickle.

The treatment works was completed ahead of time, with double the number of cross passages treated than originally envisaged, and within the original budget.

Project works proved a substantial challenge with numerous risks, notably drilling through tunnel linings to within close proximity of the second tunnel, pressure grouting over pressurising the tunnel linings, blocking of the supply line to the tunnel boring machine requiring constant access through the tunnel, and the requirement of full interlock guarding of the drill mast rotating parts in accordance with health and safety regulations at the time.

All these activities relied very heavily on the expertise of the Groundfix team. l

PROJECT: Waterview Tunnel Cross Passage, Drilling and Pressure Grouting. CONTRACTOR: Groundfix

8 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Runway success

T

he 350mm thick concrete slabs on a taxiway at Auckland airport airfield had to be replaced due to damage from increased aircraft loading and traffic movements.

The client was Auckland International Airport and the project was called the Taxiway A1A Concrete Slab Replacement.

Damaged to existing 350mm thick concrete slabs at the eastern end of the airfield, an area of approximately 9800 square metres, was identified for replacement with new 500mm thick concrete slabs.

The contract was awarded to Brian Perry Civil and involved 3430 cubic metres of excavations; 1960 cubic metres of cement treated basecourse; 5000 cubic metres of concrete pavement; CATEGORY and 1350 metres of trenching for electrical ducting. Work started January 19 2016 and finished March 21.

The works were part of a three-year contract Brian Perry Civil has with AIAL as the contractor is the main contractor FINALIST for the works with Beca, the consultant engineer for airfield improvement and

2

replacement works.

“AIAL decided to place these works in the second year of the three-year contract to allow appropriate lead-in time and planning for the client, consultant and contractor’s project team to meticulously examine each construction activity against the design and airfield operational constraints,” says the company.

“Following taking possession of the site, the existing concrete was broken up and removed by Ward Demolition.

Higgins was then brought in to excavate the subbase and paver lay a new cement treated basecourse.

“Once the stabilised basecourse had cured, formwork was setup and concrete laid in 12 metre wide bays and up to 750 cubic metres in each shift.”

The tight programme constraints necessitated 24 hour work, especially during concreting. The construction programme therefore had a completion date of March 31.

Work was completed on March 23, eight days ahead of the ultimate project completion date. In addition joint sealing was also completed, an activity not originally planned to happen until after the taxiway was handed back to the airport. l

PROJECT: Auckland International Airport Taxiway Concrete Slab Replacement. CONTRACTOR: Brian Perry Civil

AUGUST 2016 9

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Working at heights

K

iwiRail needed to replace a 40-metre high, 166-metre long bridge on its Midland Line in South Canterbury that was built over 120 years ago.

Downer won the job and on November 16 last year started with the task of replacing the existing timber rail-beams (critical bridge beams that support the rail track) with prefabricated steel rail-beams on spans 1 – 6 of Bridge 28 Mid, and without delaying any train movements on the line. This involved about 146 metres of beam replacement.

KiwiRail’s main objectives were to replace the existing timber rail-beams in the safest and most efficient way possible.

KiwiRail, through a tendering process, CATEGORY asked for contractors to propose methodologies and processes for the HIGHLY replacement of the rail-beam units to COMMENDED carry out the work in the safest, most CATEGORY 2 efficient and environmentally friendly manner as possible, and Downer developed a methodology to allow this.

The works included removal of the existing rail-beams and sleepers, installation of new steel

2

rail-beam units and associated new steel members, and resleepering of the bridge.

Health and safety planning was critical to the success of this project, which was full of risks that included working within the rail corridor, working at heights, and in a remote location.

“If any incidents occurred, we were a long way from help,” says Downer.

“So, as well as taking extra care and attention when performing all tasks, as a precaution, we communicated with Garden City Helicopters / Westpac Rescue Helicopter, in case of emergencies.”

Suffice to add, stringent planning was essential to the project, and the Bridge 28 Mid project was completed with zero significant incidents and zero injuries.

The completion due date was February 19, 2016, but the project was finished April 19 2016 after work scope changes and variations that were included and approved throughout the contract. These included replacement steel walkways to supersede the existing timber structures. In the end, “We met all targets for practical completion,” says Downer.

The original tendered value was $1,374,000 and the final delivered value was $1,488,680 with the variations. l

PROJECT: Bridge 28 Mid Railbeam Replacement. CONTRACTOR: Downer NZ

10 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Landing safely and on time

L

ast year Auckland Airport faced a problem. Its busiest period – referred to as the ‘Northern Winter Schedule’ – was looming with the New Zealand summer.

Forward flight schedules coming into the airport from different airlines made it apparent to the client that it was short of aircraft parking spaces. Compounding the issue was that a number of airlines had added Auckland to their routes at the last minute and/or upgraded aircraft to larger capacity planes.

With the 30 busiest days of the schedule starting in December and running to the end of February additional parking was required by December 1.

The project was awarded to Fulton Hogan CATEGORY with a value of $6 million.

Normally a project of this nature would have an allowance of three months for design, two months for procurement, two months mobilisation and around four months for construction – 11 months in total.

It was clear from the outset this was not going to be a typical construction project and

2

it would require consummate collaboration, advanced riskmanagement strategies, specialist heavy duty pavement construction techniques and total collaboration between the contractor, client and designer. Detailed daily planning would be required to meet the demanding site, regulatory specifications and the deadline date of December 1, and it was already mid-September when the project was allocated.

Construction of hardstands and associated civil infrastructure was achieved with a 24/7 operation maintained by two high productivity excavation crews (subcontracted) and two in-house pavement construction crews airside at Auckland International Airport.

Mobilising within five days from the contract award and with design not yet complete, more than 100 Fulton Hogan staff were involved. As the company says, by “living and breathing the project” they finished the project a day early.

Says the client, Auckland Airport, “Our level of satisfaction was huge – this is probably the best project I have ever been involved in. Our expectations were exceeded, the deliverables were well defined, communications were always there, and we had the area available prior to December 1.” l

PROJECT: Northern Winter Schedule Remote Hardstands. CONTRACTOR: Fulton Hogan

AUGUST 2016 11

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Enriching the relationship with a client

F

ulton Hogan successfully tendered and delivered the construction of Kohimarama Storage Tank and Branch Sewer Upgrade in East Auckland, eliciting a satisfied client and praise from stakeholders.

The client was Watercare Services in Auckland and the contract value was $9.4 million.

The project was designed to meet the demands of a growing urban population and practical completion was achieved in September 2015, following 18 months of construction and four days ahead of time.

Watercare’s existing Wastewater Pump Station 17 was overflowing into the Kohimarama stream during storms around CATEGORY eight times a year. Overflow volumes ranged from 100-2500 cubic metres, leading to an abatement notice from Auckland Council as the overflow did not comply with council regulations.

Adjacent to the pump station, Fulton FINALIST Hogan’s construction project, designed by MWH, was made up of a new 3500 cubic metre underground storage tank, upgrade of transmission

2

and network wastewater pipelines, and replacement of the controlled overflow structure. A Deep Soil Mix secant piled wall acted as temporary support for the excavation.

Located at Madill’s Farm Reserve in a busy residential suburb east of Auckland city, the Kohimarama tank site is also a recreational reserve used for sports, dog walking, and a playground.

The high profile project generated much interest from local residents and Fulton Hogan identified the need for strong stakeholder liaison and addressed it collaboratively with Watercare. Fulton Hogan’s Risk Register aligned with Watercare’s to identify project risks and mitigation strategies.

This tactic proved so successful it is now implemented on other Fulton Hogan projects for Watercare.

During the project Fulton Hogan says it responded quickly to design changes and client requests. Watercare was satisfaction with the high profile project, hosting visits from various Watercare groups and Mayor of Auckland, Len Brown.

“Our relationship with Watercare has gone from strength to strength over the years, following joint projects such as the Albany Reservoir, Hunua 4 Watermain and now the Kohimarama Storage Tank and Branch Sewer Upgrade,” says Fulton Hogan. l

PROJECT: Kohimarama Storage Tank and Branch Sewer Upgrade. CONTRACTOR: Fulton Hogan

12 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Tackling one of SCIRT’s biggest challenges

T

he Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) set out in 2011 to repair Christchurch horizontal infrastructure within five years. It took on Fulton Hogan to tackle one of the toughest projects.

The SCIRT Sumner Road Stage 4 project involved the re-strengthening of an existing retaining wall that supports Sumner Road above the Holcim Cement site.

The retaining wall earthquake repair and strengthening consisted of three existing 100-year-old stone walls up to six metres high. The design called for 180 new soil nails to be drilled through the existing rock and grouted into place up to eight metres long and 180mm in diameter.

CATEGORY Once the soil nails were completed, drainage was installed, a footing was dug and poured and a reinforced shotcrete facing was applied in two layers of 150mm.

A new handrail and repairs to damaged kerb and channel and footpath completed FINALIST the project.

SCIRT’s Fulton Hogan delivery team was involved from the design phase through to the

2

delivery of the project, which started January 12, 2015 and was completed September 11, 2015. The project cost was $1.45 million and was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.

Fulton Hogan says its team typically took a hands-on approach, getting buy-in from all staff on what was one of SCIRT’s biggest projects.

“The retaining wall repairs on Sumner Road, which links the port suburb of Lyttelton with the seaside suburb of Sumner and provides an alternative route to the port from Christchurch, was a challenging project for all involved.”

The project included “tough ground conditions”, as Lyttelton is built on sloping terrain, with its international seaport and associated trade located on reclaimed land.

“The project was a success by finishing ahead of schedule, under budget, and stakeholders were satisfied with the finished project and how everything ran during construction.”

SCIRT management confirms this: “The [Fulton Hogan] team excelled, despite these challenges and delivered a quality project to the client ahead of schedule. SCIRT was also impressed with the positive feedback received from the locals and that the community was satisfied with the construction.” l

PROJECT: Sumner Road Retaining Wall Stage 4. CONTRACTOR: Fulton Hogan

AUGUST 2016 13

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Correcting a very dangerous part of SH1

T

he Dashwood Overbridge Realignment project transformed a dangerous section of State Highway 1 in the Marlborough region north of Seddon.

The New Zealand Transport Agency awarded this important rail bridge realignment project to Higgins.

The old Dashwood Overbridge, built in 1932, had been the site of a number of crashes over recent years. The layout of the road on either side of the bridge, tight curves and difficult approach to the overbridge, had caused problems for all vehicles, particularly trucks.

The remedial work involved 16 months of construction work; two kilometres of realignment; removing several tight curves CATEGORY on either side of a road/rail bridge; construction of a new wider, and seismically resilient, road/rail bridge; and an improved approach to the bridge.

The significance for this project was constructing the tunnel and approaches FINALIST while the main trunk line was still operating.

Also challenging were requirements around seasonal working and causing minimal disruption/

2

impact to road users, local residents and the environment. This project involved about 16 months of construction work and extensive investigations, planning, design, and consultation.

Some 10,000 truck loads moved 148,700 cubic metres of earth during the works.

The biggest project challenge was constructing the 54-metre long Armco Overbridge while the main trunk line was still operating. The second challenge to the project was demolishing the existing (85 year old bridge) as Higgins had a limited 30-hour window where the line was closed.

“This project is a wonderful achievement for the region and one that Higgins is very proud to have constructed,” says the company.

The project was completed in April 2015 safely and on time, causing minimal disruption to road users, trains and local stakeholders, and ahead of schedule and under budget.

The client’s base estimate for the contract was $6,200,850, but it was completed for $5,970,014.

“All this was achieved by building on our previous experience of working on similar major national projects and utilising the extensive understanding of local conditions from staff at our Nelson branch.” l

PROJECT: SH1S Dashwood Overbridge Realignment. CONTRACTOR: Higgins Construction Nelson

14 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Working in the public spotlight

J

&R Contracting won the tender for the first stage of the enabling works for the City Rail Link in Auckland City, working for Connectus, a McConnell Dowell/Hawkins joint venture company.

Auckland Transport contracted Connectus to relocate utility infrastructure in Auckland’s CBD in preparation for the build of the City Rail Link (CRL).

The CRL Utility Relocations Separable Portion 2 project is located at the intersections of Albert Street and Wellesley, Victoria, Wyndham and Swanson Streets – a busy part of downtown Auckland.

J&R Contracting’s contract scope included locating and moving all cables and pipelines CATEGORY that were in the way of the jacking shafts and the rail corridor.

The duration of the project was over the summer tourist season, and had a value of $1.9 million.

Over a six-month period J&R exposed FINALIST and moved about 500 underground services without damaging a single one. Working in

2

the city on a very large project meant being constantly in the public spotlight.

“Stringent health, safety and environmental management was key and using innovative methods such as sound curtains and hydro excavation helped reduce noise, improve safety and eliminate damage,” says J&R. “This project has required a level of collaboration greater than any previous works we have done. This is due to the complexities of working in the city, and being the first contractor to commence works on the CRL project, one of the largest jobs in the country. Due to the high profile, there is too much at stake to have the project marred with bad publicity. Every step possible is taken to mitigate a potential serious incident.”

The success of this project is reflected in the praise from Connectus, which says it was “hugely impressed” with the work and compliance that J&R carried out, and has made the company a Preferred Contractor for the next stage of CRL works.

The judges of the CCNZ Auckland Hynds Construction Awards were also impressed as they handed J&R Contracting the Category B Award. l

PROJECT: CRL Utility Relocations Separable Portion 2. CONTRACTOR: J&R Contracting

AUGUST 2016 15

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Collaboration critical

A

fter more than eight decades in operation, the iconic Waitaki Dam in North Otago was in need of repairs.

McConnell Dowell won the contract for an important part of the remedial work.

Meridian Energy planned a four-year refurbishment project to repair the gradual embankment erosion of the Waitaki Dam in North Otago.

The Waitaki Dam and 90MW Power Station is located in the Waitaki Valley, eight kilometres upstream from the township of Kurow in North Otago. Meridian’s multimillion-dollar refurbishment programme included repairing 80 years of gradual erosion of embankments and seismic and flood protection work around CATEGORY CONSTRUCTION the site.

EXCELLENCE In 2013, Meridian Energy awarded AWARDS 2016 McConnell Dowell the design and construct contract for the Waitaki Erosion Remediation project.

CATEGORY 2 These remediation works were an important component to refurbish the power station and dam. McConnell Dowell,

2

WINNER

with URS (now AECOM) as designer, started work on the $4.05 million project in April 2014 and completed it in October 2015.

“We had to meet stringent water quality requirements when working in the river. Flows through the power station, over the spillway, or through other openings could not be reduced to assist the works and had to be taken into account in the planning, costing and implementation of the works,” says McConnell Dowell.

The project was contracted under a collaborative contracting model. Downer says partnering charters were considered, but not deemed necessary as relationships were open, honest and considerate of all partners.

“A clear testament to the collaborative approach was demonstrated with no disputes or disagreement reported.”

The result, says McConnell Dowell, has provided Meridian with a long-lasting design solution while mitigating numerous safety and environmental risks, and saved the client half the original budget.

Meridian agrees and says, “The work was executed to a very high standard and the finished products are excellent.” l

PROJECT: Waitaki Erosion Remediation. CONTRACTOR: McConnell Dowell

16 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Keeping a beach community clean

T

he Wairoa District Council had central government funds to provide a new community sewerage scheme. Quality Roading and Services (QRS) Wairoa was awarded some of the contracts.

The Wairoa District Council looked at a range of design options for a new sewerage scheme for its Mahia Beach community and settled on a pressure sewer with on-site Septic Tank Effluent Pump (STEP) facility.

A contract was tendered and awarded for detailed design, and subsequently the following six physical works contracts were tendered and awarded: Treatment Ponds Earthworks; Rising Main Construction; Pump Station Construction; CATEGORY Community Reticulation; Private Property STEP Installation of 385 properties; and Irrigation System Design & Build.

Quality Roading and Services (Wairoa) picked up both the Community Reticulation and Private Property STEP Installation contracts. The contract value was $2 million and the project started in February 2013 and was completed in June 2016 on budget.

2

The Reticulation Contract involved installing 10,000 metres of pressure pipe around Mahia, while the Private Property STEP Installation involved installing STEP systems in 385 Mahia private properties. The work also involved installing 5200 litre concrete tanks and fibre glass tanks, gravity drainage piping (cape plumbing), outlet pressure pipe, decommissioning of the existing septic tank and the power connection to the STEP pumps (town and country electrical).

“The project faced many challenges with planning from the commencement to the completion of each tank. We had 385 properties where the owners were required to register for the scheme at a significant cost to each property owner,” says QRS. “Prior to letting the On Lot contract, council staff visited each property and completed an assessment of each sewerage system, followed by meetings with each owner to determine the best solution for their property.

“This included how the existing system would be decommissioned, where the new STEP tank would be positioned, if they had existing clay drainage pipes which had to be replaced with PVC, and how the power connection to the pump would be made.” l

PROJECT: Mahia Beach Community Sewerage Scheme Private Property STEP Installation. CONTRACTOR: QRS Wairoa

AUGUST 2016 17

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Oceanside project calls for sensitivity

R

oss Reid says it tackled a new housing subdivision in an Auckland beach suburb with professionalism.

Spinnaker Bay Stage 7 and Stage 8 is a 57 lot residential subdivision project being developed at Beachlands, Auckland.

Ross Reid was awarded the contract to undertake all the civil works for the subdivision. The contract period covered all seasons and was for 12 months from December 2014 to December 2015.

“The site factors presented some unique features and terrain, which was taken into account when identifying risk and methodology,” the company says.

CATEGORY This included earthworks in sensitive soils and minimising any impact on the area as the ocean was only 100 metres away. There was also a natural stream running through the site so particular care had to be exercised during construction.

The latest technology in silt control including PAC flocculent and silt fences was used on the project. Decanting earth bunds and

2

cut off drains were all used to minimise the silt runoff into the stream.

“Also we were surrounded by the public and we knew dust was going to be a significant hazard so we only did lime drying for instance when conditions prevailed and when wind changed direction we would cease activity.”

The scope of civil works also involved work on a live trunk sewer, and construction of a link road connecting the subdivision to Beachlands village, which involved working closely with Auckland Transport and its contractor.

“Spinnaker Bay Stage 7 was an outstanding success,” says Ross Reid.

“In construction a project is a collaborative enterprise, involving research, design, quotations, contracts and execution, which is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. This goal was to complete a 57 lot subdivision, with quality finish a key priority.

“A project can also be defined as a set of interrelated tasks to be executed over a fixed period and within certain cost and specifications. Temporary work systems were set up for our project team to complete this subdivision under specified time constraints.” l

PROJECT: Spinnaker Bay Stage 7. CONTRACTOR: Ross Reid Contractors

18 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Surrounded by traffic

T

he construction of the Stalker Road roundabout near Queenstown had its challenges, including high-density vehicle traffic.

The client for this project was Shotover Country, the developers of the Shotover Country Subdivision. The Stalker Road roundabout was a requirement for the consent of the 800 section subdivision. The job was awarded to Southroads.

The project involved constructing a 40 metre diameter roundabout on the Frankton Ladies Mile Highway (SH6) to service the new Shotover Country Subdivision. Works included 10,000 cubic metres of cut to waste; 2000 metres of kerbing; 10,000 square metres of pavement construction; 5000 square CATEGORY metres of 50mm asphalt; and 5000 square metres of chip sealing.

The challenge was that the site was on an intersection with the busiest road in Central Otago with some 24,000 vehicle movements a day.

“Due to this we had to extend the project from the originally planned three stages to five stages,” says Southroads.

2

With an additional 400mm of dig out required over the majority of the site, there was a large amount of excess spoil.

In order to avoid the large cost of carting material offsite and dumping it elsewhere, a construction zone permit was applied for by Southroads so the ADT dump trucks could cart material across Stalker Road and form a large landscaping bund in the neighbouring paddock.

A functioning roundabout needed to be completed by Christmas 2015. Various setbacks (mainly due to dig outs) meant this was pushed out till after Christmas. However, after some long days and work on Saturdays Southroads managed to get the project back on track and completed stage 3 on December 17. After the Christmas break, Southroads was back on deck to finish stages 4 & 5. The final completion date was two weeks late due to repairs to the final sealing after dirty chip had been supplied.

“The Stalker Road roundabout was a great project for Southroads and a huge challenge for the mainly Invercargill based team,” says the company.

This was recognised at the Southland Civil Contractor Awards where the project took out the category for projects over $250,000. l

PROJECT: Stalker Road Roundabout. CONTRACTOR: Southroads

AUGUST 2016 19

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 2: Projects with a value between $1 million and $10 million

Rehabilitating river bank slopes

T

he central section of Hamilton’s popular river walk/ cycleway, running from one end of the city to the other, had slumped down towards the Waikato River.

This big section of Hamilton city’s river walkway had been unpassable for a couple of years. In May 2014 the council looked at a new design, which was tendered and awarded to Schick Construction & Cartage.

Work started in June 2014 and involved rehabilitation of failed river bank slopes and the placement of a timber boardwalk across a section of the slump. A second area of the slump required a large retaining wall to be constructed.

It was a complex and technically challenging job, the scope of which increased CATEGORY dramatically due to unforeseen problems and circumstances, and was overlaid with significant political issues due to its high profile, says Schick.

The initial tender was for the Bryce Street North section repair of the river FINALIST walk. The scope of these works was to stabilise the northern slope with 1170 soil nails and 450 square metres of rock mesh and

2

coconut matting, as well as stormwater drainage to the river to prevent slips and slumping. This was followed by building a 22 metre timber boardwalk over the newly stabilised slip.

During the construction of the northern section, the Claudelands section of work was priced and added to the original contract.

This consisted of further slope stability from the river up to the underside of the pile cap on the Claudelands traffic bridge and the upgrade of the drainage in the area.

While these works were continuing, the section of walkway between the Claudelands Bridge and the Bryce Street north site (Bryce Street South) was purchased by Hamilton City Council; this allowed construction in this area to begin. This work involved soil nailing and the stability of the slip face, followed by the construction of a three metre high retaining wall out over the face.

The whole project was completed in February 2015 and the walkway opened to the public the same month at a final contract value of $1,573,000.

“This project, while extremely challenging, has left an end result that everyone involved can be very proud of,” says Schick. l

PROJECT: Waikato River Walkway Reconstruction, Bryce Street Hamilton. CONTRACTOR: Schick Construction & Cartage

20 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

Cutting Edge Civil Contractors - with branches in:

HAMILTON, CHRISTCHURCH and AUCKLAND

Phone: 07 849-3111 / 18 Manchester Place, Te Rapa, Hamilton / P O Box 20463, Hamilton 3241

We specialise in: Commercial and Industrial Development / Subdivisions and Lifestyle Blocks / Roading / Drainage / Bulk Earthworks / Retaining Walls

Cutting Edge Civil Contractors with branches in: HAMILTON, CHRISTCHURCH and AUCKLAND AUGUST 2016 21

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 3: Projects with a value between $10 million and $50 million

Unlocking the Johnsonville triangle

T

he $14 million Johnsonville Transport Improvements project proved a success story for early contractor involvement.

Johnsonville, the most northern suburb of Wellington, is located just 10 minutes north of the central business district off State Highway 1.

The convenient motorway access also provides easy reach to the cities of Lower Hutt and Porirua in a very short time. It is the northern terminus of the Johnsonville branch line of the Tranz Metro (commuter) train service to central Wellington.

The Johnsonville Transport Improvement (JTI) Project was a $14 million NZTA project CATEGORY aimed at improving the flow of traffic on/ off State Highway 1, reducing congestion in Johnsonville town centre and providing safer provision for pedestrians and cyclists.

With ECI D&C projects running both streams in parallel it involved demolition FINALIST and replacement of the Broderick Road rail

3

overbridge; storm water upgrade; bulk earthworks; footpath upgrade; new cycle ways; mechanically strengthened earth retaining walls; and State Highway 1 off-ramp widening works.

The primary client was the Transport Agency, but the project was funded jointly with Wellington City Council as part of the agency’s One Network approach.

Fletcher/Brian Perry Civil (FCI/BPC) were engaged under an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) design and construct scheme. Early concept designs were picked up in June 2014 and developed into a full specimen design. Following a period of pricing, refinement and negotiation the team mobilised to site in August 2014. The project was complete 13 months later, in September 2015.

“To deliver a successful outcome we needed to open a new bridge within five months before planning and executing a packed programme of work during the KiwiRail Block of Line,” says the company.

“This project is viewed as an immense success, with extremely high client satisfaction on all sides. The success of this project came down to trust between WCC, NZTA and FCI/BPC.” l

PROJECT: Johnsonville Transport Improvements. CONTRACTOR: Brian Perry Civil

22 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 3: Projects with a value between $10 million and $50 million

Perfect landing

T

he Queenstown Airport Runway 05-23 Widening and Overlay project was essential for enabling evening flights and increasing visitor access to the country’s most famous resort town.

In October 2015, Downer was awarded a six month, $15.7 million contract to upgrade the Queenstown Airport main runway in preparation for evening flights, starting May 2016. The contract was challenging logistically, required collaborative working with many parties, and had extremely high quality requirements and a demanding programme.

Downer completed this runway improvement package in a collaborative working environment, under budget and to CATEGORY programme.

“The team delivered the works to a stringent pre-winter deadline – as the airport and airlines had committed to the arrival of evening flights in time for the 2016 ski season,” says the company.

“Probably the greatest risk to the project FINALIST was the short contract period, with a fixed completion date required to allow evening flights

3

to begin. This required a peak spend on site of over $4 million in one month, and an average of almost $3 million.

“Due to delays in contract award (due to the need to get the project under budget) this contract had a very short window considering the amount of equipment and materials which needed to be established before work could get underway.”

The majority of the work had to be completed airside at night, and the project returned to the airport each morning in a faultless condition, as a basic requirement was no disruption to existing commercial flights.

“We overcame several logistics issues with the short contract window including purchase, transport and assembly on-site of a new asphalt plant from Germany; supply of a pugmill from Australia; and production of aggregates and transport through to site.”

At the finish of the project the client, Queenstown Airport said: “From a client’s perspective, we are delighted to see the project completed on time, on budget and to a consistent high degree of quality.

“The project has been a pleasure to be involved in from start to finish and in general, this has been the feedback and feeling from our staff and stakeholders.” l

PROJECT: Queenstown Airport Runway 05-23 Widening & Overlay. CONTRACTOR: Downer NZ

AUGUST 2016 23

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 3: Projects with a value between $10 million and $50 million

A new foreshore for Auckland

O

ne of the largest foreshore reclamations for recreational purposes in this country involved a $26 million project completed by Fulton Hogan.

The Onehunga Foreshore Restoration Project involved the reclamation of the Onehunga Foreshore for the client – Auckland Council and the NZ Transport Agency.

“Critical to the project was the re-establishment of a bridged connection between the Onehunga community and harbour, which was bisected with the construction of State Highway 20 (SH20) in the late-1970s,” says the company.

Key elements of the project involved: Creation of 6.4 hectares of new park land and beaches along a one kilometre stretch of coastline; CATEGORY extension of the existing park land surrounding the Onehunga Lagoon; a meandering shared use path through the extensively landscape park land; construction of rock headlands, three new sandy beaches and six gravel/shell pocket T S I L A beaches; a pedestrian path and cycle path; a N I F shared use pedestrian/cycle bridge over SH20; public amenities – boat ramp, toilet block, park

3

furniture and a new car park; upgrade of existing stormwater services including extension of the Onehunga Lagoon outlet culverts; and upgrading Transpower’s transmission tower footing.

With multiple activities underway at any one time, coordination and good communication between the different disciplines on-site required a planned approach particularly at interfaces and handovers, says the company.

The initial contract value of $23 million was extended to $26 million as a result of scope changes and the project was completed within this revised budget. Despite the delays encountered, a four-month extension of time to the agreed contract completion date of July 2015 was granted for additional works. The project works were completed in November 2015.

“Our client was delighted with the commitment and dedication to complete the work as quickly and as safely as possible. The relationship was that of a partnership type contract.”

Commendations were received on the project including from Greg Hannah, Auckland Council’s project manager and Jane Aickin, manager Local and Sports Parks for Auckland Council. l

PROJECT: Onehunga Foreshore Restoration. CONTRACTOR: Fulton Hogan

24 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 3: Projects with a value between $10 million and $50 million

Keeping Whangarei moving

T

he aim of this project was to reduce congestion in central Whangarei and provide freight, tourism and local traffic with a more reliable and consistent journey time on the main artery of Northland’s transport network.

The Whangarei Urban Improvements project was undertaken as an Early Contractor Involvement model which formed a partnership between the NZ Transport Agency, Northern Civil Consulting Engineers and Fulton Hogan.

The project that started in 2012 and was completed in 2015, involved widening a two-kilometre, two-lane section of state highway through Whangarei to four lanes and upgrading six intersections.

The SH14 to SH1 intersection alone is the CATEGORY highest trafficked intersection in Northland, with over 30,000 vehicle movements every day. As the main route North, South, East and West through Whangarei, this intersection serves the local hospital and schools.

T S I L A However, the biggest focus for the project N I F team was to be “invisible to the travelling public” during the four-year construction of this

3

project – a request from the Transport Agency.

Planning also revolved around “Keeping Whangarei Moving”, which became the project theme.

Fulton Hogan drew on experience from around New Zealand to explore innovations in materials and methodologies. This included introducing the ECI model to Northland, and providing for continued use of the highway during works; a high degree of resident interface; specialist pavement design; and significant service relocation and interface.

“A great deal of planning went into ensuring maximum public satisfaction,” says Fulton Hogan. “This is reflected in receiving the NZ Transport Agency’s Keeping Customers Moving Award at the 2014 national GEM awards for the SH14 to SH1 Intersection Improvements stage.”

The company is extremely proud of this project. “It is not often as a contractor we get to deliver a capital infrastructure project over four years, with four separable portions.

“This project was truly a community asset that benefits all users. Fulton Hogan rose to the challenge of raising the bar in each subsequent stage and has managed to foster an attitude of public anticipation about what future projects will bring to the local area.” l

PROJECT: Whangarei Urban Improvement. CONTRACTOR: Fulton Hogan

AUGUST 2016 25

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 3: Projects with a value between $10 million and $50 million

Whitewater rafting at its best

T

he Wero Whitewater Park is our first purpose-built artificial white water facility and will host its first international event, the World Masters Games, next year.

Construction of the first stage of the Wero Whitewater Park started in September 2014 and the project was completed on April 8 2016, two working days ahead of programme.

It was built by HEB Construction for Second Nature Charitable Trust (formerly known as Counties Manukau Pacific Trust) and it cost $25 million.

HEB Construction says it was a “thrilling” and unique project and it is proud of the role that it played in its successful construction.

The project was procured as a Lump CATEGORY CONSTRUCTION Sum Contract with Early Contractor EXCELLENCE Involvement model. HEB collaborated AWARDS 2016 with the client, a large number of consultants, suppliers, subcontractors and stakeholders throughout the CATEGORY 3 extensive planning and construction of this very complex design.

“It was a combined effort of HEB’s Civils and Structures teams, whose pool of skills and

3

WINNER

experience was the key to our top-quality, on-time and withinbudget delivery of this international standard facility,” says the company.

The main components of the system include a large 22 million litre pond or reservoir, which feeds the two whitewater courses via a large pump station.

The project had multiple work-fronts on a difficult and tightly constrained site and involved 100,000 cubic metres of earthworks, 7500 cubic metres of concrete, utilities, ground improvements, bridges, roading, mechanical and electrical and building works.

“The end result is pretty stunning, and John Felton [the world’s whitewater course guru] has told us that it is the best finish he has seen on any of the whitewater parks he has been involved with, including the Sydney, London and Brazil Olympic courses,” says HEB. “The project has been a massive achievement and we are very satisfied with what we achieved in such a short space of time. The client wanted a world-class facility and that is what we believe we delivered to a very high standard.

“The project was very complicated and has required a tremendous amount of planning and programming.” l

PROJECT: Wero Whitewater Park. CONTRACTOR: HEB Construction

26 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 4: Projects with a value greater than $50 million

Causeway safety innovations

R

aising and widening almost five kilometres of causeway while keeping 90,000 motorists and 450 cyclists moving at all times every day through a narrow, complex and challenging site, is no mean feat.

The massive, $220 million Causeway Upgrade Project is raising and widening 4.8 kilometres of Auckland’s Northwestern motorway (SH16) between Great North Road and the Whau River Bridge on the approach to Te Atatu.

The contract period for the project is four years from February 2013 through to December 2016 in preparation for the opening of the Waterview Tunnels in early 2017. The target practical completion date is the third quarter of 2016.

CATEGORY The contract is being managed by an alliance made up of the project owner (the NZ Transport Agency) and five design and contractor company participants – Fulton Hogan, CPB Contractors, AECOM, Coffey and Jacobs.

FINALIST Work is concentrated on a unique section of Auckland’s infrastructure, which was originally built in the 1950s, and has sunk by two

4

metres and is prone to flooding. The project has a number of complex challenges and has required some unique responses to managing the consents, design and construction.

As the causeway runs beside a marine reserve managing or mitigating a number of environmental issues is crucial.

The geotechnical input of the project is very complex because of the variable, deep, weak subsoil including Jurassic-period greywacke from 200 million years ago, marine mud that is 25 million years of age, 30,000-year-old basalt from the Mt Albert lava flow, and a more recent shell bank.

“The project required construction to widen and raise the existing causeway by up to 2.5 metres adjacent to an existing operating highway carrying 90,000 vehicles daily over the past 3.5 years since work started,” say the alliance partners.

“Temporary traffic management has therefore been a critical item to manage for the success of the project. Added to this has been the construction of a new, shared path for cyclists and pedestrians with 450 daily commuters.”

Another project achievement says the alliance is its ‘Zero Harm’ safety innovations, which have been adopted on other projects. This is a legacy of which the project partners are particularly proud. l

PROJECT: Causeway Upgrade. CONTRACTOR: Causeway Alliance (NZTA, Fulton Hogan, CPB, AECOM, Coffey and Jacobs)

AUGUST 2016 27

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 4: Projects with a value greater than $50 million

Securing a strategic future

A

n unusual construction project involving new concrete storage facilities at two ports brought out the best in this contractor.

Client Holcim NZ was closing down its concrete manufacturing in New Zealand and planned to import material from Japan. It needed two large dome storage facilities.

Downer was engaged for an ECI process to work with Holcim and its designer Beca to achieve two, large capacity dome storage silos at the waterfronts of Auckland and Timaru.

A global search was conducted to determine the most appropriate technologies and suppliers.

Key designers, suppliers and subcontractors were identified and Downer was awarded CATEGORY CONSTRUCTION the main construction contract (valued EXCELLENCE at $51 million) on the Import Cement AWARDS 2016 Terminals Project. Downer engaged and managed over 80 consultants, subcontractors and suppliers from CATEGORY 4 around the world to build the first dome storage facilities in the country.

A complexity to the project was the need for works to be performed on an existing

4

WINNER

wharf at the Ports of Auckland and a new wharf at Timaru, also built by Downer.

This turnkey project was started in February 2014 and handed over 27 months (and 226,000 working hours) later with an excellent safety and environmental record, at the right quality, on time and within budget.

“The work was so complex that the methodology needed to consider the health and safety aspects of a great number of elements during construction, planning was embarked upon to address these issues and to gain approval from WorkSafe NZ for the works to commence,” says Downer.

The relationship with the client depended heavily upon mutual trust, which developed over months of collaboration and co-location at the ECI phase.

Holcim put a great deal of trust in Downer to embrace the principles of the project – providing a concept and then allowing Downer to take a significant portion of ownership over Holcim’s long-term country plan, approved by their head office.

Holcim New Zealand country manager Glenda Harvey says: “The so-called ‘minion’ has been made a reality on time and within budget.” l

PROJECT: Holcim Import Cement Terminals. CONTRACTOR: Downer NZ

28 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 4: Projects with a value greater than $50 million

Not your average highway project

T

he Ngauranga to Aotea Upgrade forms part of the NZ Transport Agency’s Wellington Northern Corridor RoNS programme and is part of the wider Wellington Smart motorway that runs between Johnsonville and Petone to the Terrace Tunnel.

Ngauranga to Aotea upgrade was a complex engineering project for Fletchers and careful monitoring was required to ensure that the very considerable risks to road user safety and worker safety were managed, as well as environmental risk factors.

The key construction elements were: Lifting and moving the old Aotea bridge at Kaiwharawhara to form part of the new northbound lane; CATEGORY lifting out existing gantries, lengthening and re-installation along with fabrication of entirely new gantries; widening to three lanes the existing SH2 off-ramp through to the Jarden Mile intersection; construction of a new southbound on-ramp for emergency services from the Jarden FINALIST Mile intersection city bound; upgrading and reprogramming the intelligent transport system,

4

including new sensor loops and radars; constructing a new northbound lane on State Highway 1 between Aotea on-ramp and Ngauranga in Wellington; and developing and implementing the country’s first smart motorway between Johnsonville and Petone and the Terrace Tunnel.

Following investigations in 2012, the 18-month construction programme started in late 2014 and was completed in June 2016. It involved closing Wellington’s urban motorway for the first time in living memory to install new overhead gantries.

“Closing the motorway was just one of the challenges the Fletcher Construction team successfully overcame to build the NZ Transport Agency’s first smart motorway,” says the company.

An unusual feature of this project was the amount of work carried out during night shifts, due to the nature of working on a live motorway.

From a client point of view the months of planning, including motorway closures, all went smoothly. Says the NZTA, “Fletchers managed the job very professionally and competently throughout the project. Despite the challenges posed by the site health and safety and environmental standards were managed and maintained to a high standard.” l

PROJECT: Ngauranga to Aotea Upgrade. CONTRACTOR: Fletcher Construction

AUGUST 2016 29

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 4: Projects with a value greater than $50 million

An outstanding achievement

T

he Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme is the largest rural construction project in the South Island and will, when complete, deliver game-changing benefits to Canterbury including, economic, social and environmental benefits.

The tender for the $66,700,000 Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme Stage 1 contract was awarded on April 4, 2014 to the Fulton Hogan / John Holland Joint Venture.

Despite challenging conditions, with a significant snow event in June 2014 and an increase in scope, the project was completed on July 22 2015 on the due date.

The scheme is being developed by Central Plains Water (CPWL), which is a cooperative CATEGORY of 380 shareholders supported by a staff of 25.

This community irrigation scheme will provide water to an irrigable area of 60,000 hectares on the Canterbury Plains. The Waimakariri and Rakaia Rivers will be linked via a 56 kilometre headrace FINALIST canal running around the foothills and water from the canal will be distributed to properties by

4

a combination of gravity feed throughout the 60,000 hectares by over 500 kilometres of underground piping. Water within the canal will be about four metres deep and about 25 metres wide at the surface. The intention is to construct the scheme in three stages.

The Fulton Hogan / John Holland Joint Venture delivered the Headrace Stage 1 contract with Nelson-based Taylors Contracting as a full project partner. Complementing the strengths of the three organisations, the project team was able to deliver 3.5 million cubic metres of earthworks ahead of schedule.

Works entailed constructing 17 kilometres of headrace canal including intake, four off-take and 13 bridge structures.

The project was managed proactively with a high degree of collaboration between the three contractors and their consultants.

The client, Central Plains Water, says the joint venture, “Performed at a very high level to deliver the Headrace Stage 1 component of the project on time and on budget.

“We recognise the achievement of 100 percent compliance with environmental consents through the construction programme – this is an outstanding achievement.” l

PROJECT: Canterbury Central Plains Irrigation Headrace (Stage 1). CONTRACTOR: Fulton Hogan

30 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 4: Projects with a value greater than $50 million

Three-stage roading project

T

he Lincoln Road project was the first of five projects in the Western Ring Route RoNS programme to start after the Global Financial Crisis.

The SH16 Lincoln Road Interchange Improvements contract was procured by the New Zealand Transport Agency in March 2010 as an Early Contractor Involvement contract.

Fulton Hogan along with designer URS (now Aecom) worked collaboratively with the Transport Agency to fast track the first stage of the project to start construction of the Selwood Road Bridge over the SH16 motorway.

Construction started in January 2011 and formed Stage 1 of the project valued at $24 million. Shortly afterwards the Christchurch CATEGORY earthquake in February 2011 put a strain on funding and the project was developed collaboratively and let in stages as funding became available. Three stages were subsequently let totalling $138 million, delivering maximum value for the available funding.

FINALIST The project was complex, involving significant ground improvements, bridge

4

construction and deconstruction of old bridges across sensitive coastal marine waterways, and all within a working motorway environment.

Stage 2 of the project (value $29 million) involved the construction of the westbound off ramp to Lincoln Road, which will provide additional capacity for traffic when the Waterview Tunnel opens in 2017. Stage 3 (value $66 million) was made up of all the eastbound widening works and the replacement and widening of Henderson Creek Bridge. Finally stage 3A (value $19 million) included an auxiliary lane from Royal Road eastwards and the widening and replacement of Lincoln No 2 Bridge on the motorway just west of Selwood Road Bridge.

“The project has been technically challenging with deconstruction of multiple motorway bridges over sensitive coastal marine areas and then replacement, and deep ground improvements for seismic stability of bridge approaches and carriageways; all carried out without affecting the daily use of the motorway,” says the company.

The Transport Agency gave the project a PACE score of 83 percent for delivery. Practical completion was achieved in August 2015, excluding the final Open Graded Porous Asphalt (OGPA) surfacing, a month ahead of programme. l

PROJECT: SH16 Lincoln Road Interchange Improvements. CONTRACTOR: Fulton Hogan

AUGUST 2016 31

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 4: Projects with a value greater than $50 million

Unlocking economic potential

T

he Tamahere to Cambridge Section is one of seven sections of the $2.1 billion Waikato Expressway, a Road of National Significance identified as key to unlocking our economic potential.

The Design and Construct Contract: 2/04-005-601 Waikato Expressway Tamahere to Cambridge Section project is the third part of the Waikato Expressway to be completed and is made up of a 16 kilometre, four-lane median divided expressway that bypasses the Cambridge township.

Being a (lump sum) D&C contract awarded in April 2013, the contractor, HEB Construction and lead designer AECOM, had to own the risks transferred in the contract and promised CATEGORY in their tender. HEB’s risk management skill was proven by the early completion of the project and within budget, says the company.

“On top of that we delivered the increases in project scope within our original programme by managing our time FINALIST and resources well.”

The project incorporated the highway sections,

4

nine bridges, walking and cycling paths, a number of artworks and 365,000 native and exotic plants planted along its length.

Also involved were: the excavation, transportation and placement of 1.7 million cubic metres of cut/fill earthworks materials including 250,000 cubic metres of imported material; 380,000 square metres of main alignment and 120,000 square metres of local road pavements constructed including a one kilometre section of hi-lab pavement.

Separable Portion 1 of this contract was completed and opened on December 16 2015, six months ahead of schedule.

Separable Portion 2 of the contract is made up of EMOGPA (Epoxy-modified Open Graded Porous Asphalt) and will be completed in December 2016 after a 12-month lag to allow the chip seal surface to bed in.

The NZTA says: “HEB Construction did a fantastic job in an often challenging site to get the project finished six months ahead of schedule. Their hard work and dedication has ensured we finished construction well ahead of schedule.”

Waipa District Council says: “The NZ Transport Agency and its contractors deserve a pat on the back for the outstanding job they have done in building the Cambridge section. It’s been a very well-run and very well communicated project.” l

PROJECT: Waikato Expressway: Tamahere to Cambridge Section. CONTRACTOR: HEB Construction / AECOM

32 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 4: Projects with a value greater than $50 million

A successful berthing

L

yttelton Port of Christchurch’s new wharf is a milestone in the port’s development, and part of its plan to ensure that the port is the freight hub for regional and South Island trade.

The $56 million Cashin Quay No 2 Wharf doubles the vessel berthing capacity at Lyttelton Port. It is one of the most significant major rebuild projects since the earthquakes and supports the national economy.

The Lyttelton CQ2 Wharf Reconstruction project was awarded to HEB Construction and involved the demolition and replacement of the earthquake damaged 24-metre wharf structure and the construction of a new 230-metre long and CATEGORY 34-metre wide container wharf including associated works. The client was the Lyttelton Port of Christchurch (LPC).

Works were complicated by restricted access, a tight working area and the need to maintain port operations at all times.

This included the provision for ship berthing FINALIST and mooring within the construction zone.

“We overcame this through our excellent

4

collaboration and liaison with LPC and port stakeholders, says HEB. “A key site risk was noise and vibration (primarily from pile driving) on marine mammals, such as dolphins. We took unique measures alongside LPC and ECan involving harbour observance and intermittent ceasing of work. Surveys demonstrated no resulting negative impact on dolphin sightings.”

Project delivery included intermittent delays due to design changes as a result of unforeseen issues (including LPC’s discovery of the full extent of damage, and failure of their initial ground improvements contractor).

“We offset these delays by collaborating with designers, providing flexibility in our critical path programming, and application of proven fast-track construction methods. For example, we delivered final wharf frontage works in staged separable portions to enable LPC to provide continual berth space. This resulted in no loss of availability to their customers.”

The new wharf was officially opened on February 4, 2016.

“Lyttelton Port Company was pleased with our efforts to maintain progress on site and the staged delivery of key milestones. LPC is extremely happy with the end product,” says HEB. l

PROJECT: Lyttelton Cashin Quay No 2 Wharf Reconstruction. CONTRACTOR: HEB Construction

AUGUST 2016 33

CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

CATEGORY 5: Excellence in the maintenance and management of assets

Keeping Auckland on the move

I

n 2008 the Auckland Motorway Alliance was set up by the NZ Transport Agency to manage and maintain Auckland’s motorway network connecting one third of the country’s population.

With over one million trips made on the network daily, over 51,000 new cars registered in Auckland in the past year, and 50 million tonnes of road freight originating in Auckland – the Auckland Motorway Alliance (AMA) says it is challenged to work smarter and harder to meet a growing demand.

The AMA brings together the NZ Transport Agency, Fulton Hogan, Opus International Consultants, Beca, Resolve Group and Armitage Systems to monitor and maintain the Transport CATEGORY CONSTRUCTION Agency’s Auckland network assets, and to EXCELLENCE operate the movable lane barrier on the AWARDS 2016 Auckland Harbour Bridge.

“However, our mandate to add value to the Transport Agency, which is reflected CATEGORY 5 in the Five Priorities of our Strategy to Action, has enabled us to contribute to all stages of the asset management cycle,” says the alliance.

5

WINNER

“This has resulted in the AMA regularly gaining outstanding recognition from NZTA and industry peers,” says the alliance.

Producing over 700 innovations since the inception of the AMA, the concept of growing ideas has resulted in game changing innovations, it says.

“The AMA has invested heavily in engaging, collaborating and forming strong relationships with the Transport Agency to understand what success looks like.

“This has shaped who they are today and has given them a unified purpose of ‘helping New Zealand grow by keeping Auckland moving’.”

Auckland is the economic hub of the country, iterates the AMA. “If Auckland grows, New Zealand will grow, therefore, it is essential that AMA keeps Auckland moving and the Transport Agency [AMA’s client] demands the highest level of service and business resilience.

“To put it simply, asset management and customer service are part of our DNA – they are what make us different. To us, asset management is fundamental to everything we do – it is a culture that is embedded throughout the organisation at every level, and is the key to delivering value and customer outcomes.” l

PROJECT: Maintaining Auckland’s Motorway Network. CONTRACTOR: Auckland Motorway Alliance (AMA)

34 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016 CCNZ / HIREPOOL

CATEGORY 5: Excellence in the maintenance and management of assets

Managing Tauranga’s three waters

D

owner has the operations and maintenance contract for the potable water, wastewater and stormwater assets throughout Tauranga City.

This performance-based contract focuses on the mechanical and electrical operations and maintenance of these assets throughout the Tauranga region providing three waters services to over 120,000 residents. Downer secured this contract in 2013.

With a locally based team comprising of 37 personnel, Downer undertakes mechanical and electrical maintenance of all water and wastewater treatment plants and pump stations, inspection, monitoring and renewal of over 1200 kilometres of CATEGORY watermain (including backflow testing), 800 kilometres of sewer main and 490 kilometres of stormwater network.

In addition to this are meter reading services to over 51,000 residential meters, flushing and maintenance to over 4800 T S I L A hydrants and grounds maintenance services.

N I F “From day one, the team endorsed a highly

5

collaborative approach, engaging with Tauranga City Council regularly to ensure a seamless transition throughout the contract’s initial stages,” says Downer.

“Over time the collaboration and relationship between council and Downer has strengthened, resulting in the achievement in meeting all KPIs with regards to level of service, value for money and performance.”

Downer says its contract management team meets with the council monthly to present a report, and an annual review is held to report on performance throughout the year.

The contract allows for four, one-year extensions based on achieving a weighted KPI score of greater than or equal to 92.5 percent.

“The first extension was achieved last year and the contract is on track to comfortably achieve an overall KPI score exceeding 97 percent for the 2015/16 contract year.

“These scores have been achieved through a focused team, passionate about the delivery of a service for the communities in which they reside. The training and access to national support and systems improvements have all contributed to achieving these outstanding results repeatedly.” l

PROJECT: Tauranga City Water Maintenance Contract. CONTRACTOR: Downer NZ

AUGUST 2016 35

Z PEOPLE AWARDS 2016 in partnership with CCNZ

Smart Contracting

The Z People Awards were developed by Civil Contractors NZ, with support and sponsorship from Z, to recognise the outstanding achievements of individuals within the civil construction industry.

Z People Awards – Emerging Leader finalists Hugh Johnstone ..............Johnstone Construction Daniel McKessar.............Fulton Hogan

Reza Shafiei....................... McConnell Dowell Timothy Stewart.............Brian Perry Civil

Hugh Johnstone

ds Z People Awar ader Emerging Le Category

WINNER

Since becoming managing director of Johnstone Construction in 2014, Hugh has undertaken a comprehensive review and update of the company’s health and safety systems and policy, including achieving an A-grade safety rating from international agency ISNetworld.

Since he took over, the company has doubled in size from six to 12 staff and he has implemented a training and development programme for the ongoing skills and career development of all staff.

Hugh has also led a rebrand to reflect a shift away from a small family business to a dynamic main contracting firm with an ambitious and hardworking young team.

In his concurrent role as a senior project manager at Johnstone Construction, Hugh has delivered five complex civil and building construction projects across the upper North Island over the past year.

He is also proud of his personal achievements, especially his nine years of service as a reservist with the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) alongside his growing contracting career. He was recently promoted to corporal and is responsible for the training and development of other soldiers.

“Through my army service I have learnt the value of patience, staying calm in stressful situations and effective team leadership in high pressure environments,” he says.

Daniel McKessar Daniel McKessar was nominated by his employer Fulton Hogan and is the project manager on the Pukekohe Trunk Sewer Upgrade for Watercare Services. Following the success of his last project, Kohimarama Storage Tank and Branch Sewer Upgrade (also for Watercare), Dan was invited by the client to lead pricing and negotiations for Pukekohe.

Dan also led his Kohimarama team to submit a paper and present at the 2016 IPWEA conference held in Auckland in June.

His employer says, “Dan embodies the qualities

of an emerging leader. His team values his clear communication style, finding inspiration in his commitment to empowering those around him to succeed. Fulton Hogan is proud to have such a member of staff leading by example.

“Dan is not only committed to his team, his projects, and his clients but the civil construction industry as a whole. He develops future leaders by lecturing at Unitec and his conduct with community members represents the industry in a positive light.”

Z People Awards – Training Development finalists Joseph Beskalo.......................Ross Reid Construction

Stacey Walker.........................Fulton Hogan

Joseph Beskalo, Ross Reid Construction

ds Z People Awar lopment Training Deve Category

WINNER

Joseph Beskalo says when he left school and joined Ross Reid Contractors his skills were minimal. “However through self-drive, initiative, and successful training, I have embraced the pathway of learning and skills achievement that present me as an asset to the company,” he says. “My advancement and improvements are freely commented on by fellow workmates.”

Joseph says the numerous sites operated by his employer provide a wide range of projects that lead to various skills.

“The outdoor earthmoving/civil arena suits my interests as do the many varied opportunities and skills offered through the company.

36 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

“I also have aspirations to learn all the different types of machines being run by Reids and put a lot of effort into doing my best to master them.”

Joseph says the Ross Reid in-house professional trainer is always there to provide strong, disciplined skills learning, plus there are his senior workmates who pass on their knowledge.

“I am always asking ‘what’s next’ and take any initiative to improve. In a health and safety focused environment it is important to be professional in what you do. Yes, I have made mistakes, but I have learned and moved forward. I strive to obtain a high level of skill. Being part of the Ross Reid team is a bit special.”

Reza Shafiei At 32, Reza Shafiei is the youngest of the four area project managers employed by McConnell Dowell to deliver SCIRT projects in Christchurch.

He discovered his interest in project management while studying at the Mining and Petroleum University of Technology in Iran, before emigrating to Australia where he completed a Masters degree in Engineering and Project Management at Griffith University. Before joining McConnell Dowell in New Zealand Reza worked for Fulton Hogan, Leighton and FKG in Australia, progressing from site engineer to project engineer roles on infrastructure projects including wastewater and roading.

Reza joined McConnell Dowell in March 2014 as a project engineer on the award-winning Waitaki Dam project to strengthen the 80-year-old dam by drilling 67 384mm diameter interlocking piles into the sluice

pier using Down the Hole Hammer methodology. This was the first project of this kind performed in New Zealand. Reza managed the self-performing crew and provided technical support to the team, overseeing health and safety and environmental requirements, acting as the client’s prime point of contact for construction supervision, reporting, problem solving and providing creative solutions to issues.

“Despite his relative youth, Reza is currently entrusted with the management of nine projects (soon to be 10) – more than any of his peers,” says his employer.

“His role involves cost and project management and control, ensuring his teams understand all regulations and specifications and have the required information, resource allocation, productivity management and reporting.”

Timothy Stewart Timothy Stewart was raised on a farm in North Canterbury and initially wanted to be a farmer, but mixing with the city-based students in Christchurch led to an interest in professional studies, particularly engineering. “I graduated with an engineering degree from Canterbury University in 2009,” he says.

He was registered as a Chartered Professional Engineer in 2015 and, since then, has been involved on a number of big projects including acting as site engineer on a large steel footbridge for the Olympic Games complex in London and the Victoria Park and Waterview tunnel projects in Auckland. Timothy was the project engineer for ‘turning around methodology’ for the 3500 tonne tunnel boring machine called Alice

and construction of the project’s low point sump pump station.

“These experiences have moulded my own leadership style,” he says. “To complete construction projects successfully, I lead a team of people to build complex structures.

“The tradesmen and supervisors that I lead on construction sites are incredibly talented individuals in their own disciplines and I find that empowering these people by giving them the confidence and flexibility to perform work in their own way leads to excellent outcomes.

“I believe that it is important to lead by example and set the tone for performance.”

Stacey Walker, Fulton Hogan Stacey has been a laboratory technician at Fulton Hogan Waikato for over two years now.

“I started at Fulton Hogan with no previous laboratory or civil engineering experience. My training was structured so that I could learn the basics and then build on this foundation into more complex testing. Regular reviews and mentoring from the leadership team enabled me to complete my National Certificate Level 4 for Laboratory Technician in four months and achieve IANZ Signatory Status for aggregate.”

Stacey has worked on a few major projects during her time in the lab, including the Tauranga Eastern

Link, Huntly Joint Venture and Fonterra Lichfield project. She recently won the CCNZ Waikato Trainee of the Year award.

She says the very supportive team at Fulton Hogan enabled her to identify what was needed to become a signatory and determine where she needed to improve her understanding of each test, so she could explain it confidently and accurately.

“Through learning the test methods completely and understanding what they mean and why they are being completed, I can provide feedback to our clients in the field, allowing me to build good relationships with the engineers I work with.”

AUGUST 2016 37

CONNEXIS C ompany Training and Development Awards 2016

CATEGORY

ER WItoN$1N 0 million Up

turnover

Working smarter – getting better every day Construction Contracts (CCL) is a medium sized civil, drainage and water contractor based in Naenae, Lower Hutt City. CCL is owned and operated by directors David Howard and Dayle Scrimshaw and employs around 38 full time staff.

C

CL is already an award-winning company when it comes to training, having won a ‘highly commended’ at the Construction Excellence Awards in 2015 and winning local CCNZ Contracting Awards in 2015 and 2016. The company was also the proud winner of this Connexis Company Training Award last year.

Since winning the Connexis award in 2015, CCL says it has continued to invest heavily in training, development and innovation.

Company shareholder Steve Scrimshaw has assumed the specialist role of training and development manager and is settling into his new role, he says.

“We have also moved our training and development records into PeopleSafe, a software package that helps us to manage our health and safety as well as our training records with reminders to renew training and certifications,” says director David Howard. “All of this helps us to work smarter and get 38 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

better every day.”

The company has continued its training programmes and is assisting staff to obtain driving licences, first aid, Site Safe and temporary traffic management training, he adds.

“We continue with our weekly in house ‘Smarten Up’ training.

We have signed up to new training qualifications with Connexis and receive great support from our training rep, Karewa.”

All staff are involved in this ongoing training, he says, which includes National Certificates with Connexis, and National Certificates in Drainlaying through the Plumbing, Gasfitting, Drainlaying and Roofing Industry Training Organisation.

“The biggest benefit to us as a business is getting the production done. The qualifications help us to get people to the level where they can work unsupervised, and do things safely and correctly. It’s about getting the job done right first time, and I want people to be better than when they arrived,” says David. l

CATEGORY

ER WINN million $10-$25 turnover

Committed to developing staff The family-owned Texco Group employs 135 staff across four companies and all are engaged in some form of training.

T

he Texco Group says it invests heavily in the training of its staff whether it be compliance, industry qualifications, or tailor-made training solutions for its business and its people. “Every staff member is committed to the relevant compliance training required by their own industry and many staff engage in national and international qualifications,” the company says.

“Well-trained and competent staff are key to the success of our business. Texco invests heavily each year to maintain a high level of skill within its teams and give ample opportunities to its staff to advance themselves.

“Our business covers a vast range of roles and we encourage staff to engage in as much training for their role as possible. It adds great value to us as a business, and our staff know they

are working in a supported environment.

“Much of our training is conducted ‘on the job’ and integrated into staff’s daily work.

“An example of this is the Connexis Civil Infrastructure qualifications. Most workbooks contain either practical elements or evidence gathering and we use ‘in-house verifiers’ to verify their workbooks along the way. Another example is our ‘in-house’ welder training. We assign a weld supervisor to a trainee and they set up practice sessions to work towards welder qualification test certificates. This training is scheduled around their daily workload.

“We are proud of our training and support programmes, as they play a strong part in the safety, retention and skill sets of our amazing staff.” l AUGUST 2016 39

CONNEXIS C ompany Training and Development Awards 2016

CATEGORY

FINALIST n

$10-$25 millio turnover

A variety of roles and skills Ross Reid Contractors has an in-house trainer to provide the multi-directional skills and training diversity required in such a large company.

I

n addition to its in-house trainer, Morris Dent, all staff at Ross Reid are encouraged to assume a tutorial role when suitable competencies have been attained, and this process is rigidly monitored to assure adherence to the strict benchmark and guideline goals set by the company, says director Jarrad Reid.

“Knowledge of tasks is matched with the rigid company benchmark requirements and then the degree of training can be ascertained.

“Training and skills update entails classroom tuition, group discussions and workshops with machinery scale models and literature includes the latest updates in plant technology, GPS skilling etc.

“Classroom open questionnaires are conducted as well as written theory tests, then we move to the ‘live’ on-the-job arena.”

Constant monitoring and feedback from training systems and methodology ensures the company maintains a successful workplace facility, says Jarrad. “Employees are rewarded for their efforts in many ways including the Ross Reid Innovative certificates of competence.

“Each individual is encouraged to share their role knowledge with workplace colleagues, which in turn, creates a completeness of understanding throughout the team from management across to field staff.”

Aside from all staff learning skills, at some stage there are 25 percent to 40 percent of Ross Reid staff engaged in NZQA unit studies, whether they are individually tailored single units or more graduated National Certificates, Jarrad says. l 40 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

Nurturing competent Higgins Contractors currently employs about 1200 staff across the country and around 30 percent are completing some form of training. This includes qualification compliance training and in-house development programmes.

A

ll staff coming into the company follow an induction and performance improvement process that identifies their future training needs.

Staff are given training in their work crews through toolbox talks and one-on-one instructions and operations sets aside release time for instruction and bookwork and qualifications.

Staff are also released to attend off-site training programmes, usually in the winter periods.

The company says all of its work instructions and standard operating procedures are being converted into a form that supports ongoing training on-site.

The company has its first two Civil Trade Certificate candidates and is implementing a programme for further CTCs. Some 22 staff have completed the Connexis First Line

Holistic learning culture Last year some 441 McConnell Dowell employees, or half of its workforce, completed some form of training. The company has three full-time staff dedicated to training management, administration and delivery of 45 training courses.

R

CATEGORY

staff

WINNionE+ R $25 mill turnover

Management programme and another 24 are enrolled this year. Despite this, Higgins says it is “not completely satisfied” with its qualification achievement rate – about a 40 percent pass rate for Connexis qualifications. “We are stepping up this programme in 2016 to improve the achievement rate.”

The company is also supporting a group of cadets who are making good progress in completing NZDE and NZDEP and over the past two years has run programmes to help supervisors understand the key role that they play in training others. “In addition to this we have developed a range of tools to assist supervisors to train on-site. This includes tools for training.”

Over recent months Higgins has implemented a number of training innovations that includes Document Access Network; a comprehensive suite of training programmes, videos, materials and processes accessible to staff online; and a mobile site vehicle with a TV training screen.

Each year since 2013, Higgins has run a Young Fellas Camp for under 25-year-olds. This intensive two-day induction sows the seeds for developing a career at Higgins and in the industry in general. l

ecently, NZQA carried out an external evaluation of McConnell Dowell’s Private Training Establishment (PTE) status and overall it received a ‘Category 2’ rating after only 12 months of operation.

The company delivers unit standard based health and safety courses that lead towards the nationally recognised Certificate in Health and Safety (Construction Projects Level 3).

Training is delivered across all projects in New Zealand and the Pacific and all other training is identified through each employee’s Individual Development Plan (IDP) and is aligned with the company’s strategic goals and company values.

Last year, 85 percent of the people trained were direct employees, the other 15 percent included non-employees, such as subcontractors working on the company’s sites.

“The fact McConnell Dowell does not charge course fees for its training programmes is testament to its commitment and investment in its people,” says L&D manager Anand Naidu.

McConnell Dowell says it has intentionally transitioned from a ‘training’ culture to a ‘holistic’ culture of learning and development.

For example, as it is critical that people understand the training they receive (low levels of literacy and English as a second language are common in parts of its workforce), the company ensures trainees from diverse cultural backgrounds are well supported, and literacy and numeracy support is provided.

“Good rapport between our trainer and trainees also contributes to the success of the training and in 2015 we achieved a 97 percent overall course satisfaction rating from trainees,” says McConnell Dowell. l CATEGORY

FINALIST s

$25 million plu turnover

AUGUST 2016 41

CONNEXIS Company Training and Development Awards 2016

Encouraging growth and development

CATEGORY

FINALIST s

$25 million plu turnover

The $220 million Causeway Upgrade is a NZ Government project delivered by the Causeway Alliance made up of the NZ Transport

Agency, Fulton Hogan, CPB Contractors, AECOM, and Coffey and Jacobs.

A

ll Causeway Alliance team members must attend Causeway Upgrade Project Induction training. This includes an Alliance safety training innovation known as Red Zones. Red Zones is the Alliance’s response to ensuring safety through plant and people separation, which has significantly reduced injuries to staff, say the alliance partners.

It has also been adopted by other NZ Transport Agency projects and over 3000 people have completed the Causeway Upgrade Project Induction training since the project began.

The alliance employs around 120-130 people and 118 of the team have completed qualifications during the three-year period that the alliance has been in place. Translated into results achieved, the alliance has a key result area score of

85 percent for providing training opportunities. (These figures do not include Red Zone training.)

Staff are provided with every opportunity to develop their skills and/or progress their careers.

The alliance’s proactive commitment to “developing people” enables managers to focus and encourage growth and development for their own teams.

There is a dedicated training room along with set time every Monday and Tuesday afternoon for staff to work on their workbook assignments. During this time two workplace assessors make themselves available to help. Practical assessments are completed on site and are signed off by two full time internal assessors who can assess National Certificate qualifications up to level 5. l

A strong training culture Downer employs about 20,000 people and about 5000 work in New Zealand. The company says it has a very strong training and development culture and proud history of supporting its people to achieve nationally recognised qualifications.

O

ver the past 12 months, 93 percent of Downer employees have attended internally developed and delivered learning initiatives. Since 2008, over 1700 Downer employees have completed one or more NZQA qualifications and many of those employees have completed more than one formal qualification resulting in upwards of 2500 NZQA qualifications. At any given time Downer is likely to have 10 percent of its workforce completing a wide variety of formal training qualifications including First Line Management, Project Management, Telecommunications and Infrastructure Works National Certificates.

In addition, Downer proactively supports training and development of people outside of the company and partners with Connexis and other external training providers to create learning and career development opportunities across all levels in the organisation. This includes its Maori Leadership Programme.

Says the company: “Career development is well grounded 42 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine

CATEGORY

FINALIST s

$25 million plu turnover

at Downer with a focus on development at all levels of the business, ranging from school work experience to post graduate study at university.

“Downer encourages and supports a learning organisation by assisting employees in their personal and professional development. We have an expectation that all employees will be involved in some form of learning whilst they work with us, whether it be on the job, by being coached or mentored, sharing knowledge through communities of practice, by attending programmes or through undertaking external study.” l

CONTRAFED PUBLISHING

TH E VO I C E O F N E W Z E A L A N D I N D U ST RY www.contrafed.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND’S CIVIL CONTRACTING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

J U LY 2 0 1 6 $ 8 . 9 5

NEW ZEALAND’S CIVIL CONTRACTING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2016 $8.95

Tough job at the coalface

NEW ZEALAND QUARRYING & MINING Volume 13 - No 3 | June - July 2016 | $8.95

The New Zealand Institute of Highway Technology

A new Hitachi ZX870LCH-3 excavator is proving its worth at a South Otago coal mine

Customer demand driving growth at Hirepool

Delivering valuable industry skills and training

NEW ZEALAND QUARRYING & MINING Volume 13 - No 4 | August - September 2016 | $8.95

Geared for growth Two new Hyundai loaders go to work in the Chatham Islands

In praise of old gear

A collection of well-loved classic machines in action

Opportunities from mine closures

Quarrying unique schist

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel for West Coast coal?

Catering to Otago’s booming building trade

Q&M magazine 2016 award nominees

Demystifying quarrying CPD

Seven up and coming industry leaders profiled

INSIDE:

INSIDE:

In charge of transport – Fergus Gammie A Remarkable achievement in sealing at heights Pavement quality under NZTA review Supporting young dreams – racing sponsorship

A tomorrow’s leader – Hugh Johnstone Waikanae – a very very long bridge Havelock Nth relieved – a sewer in the making Buying low-cost steel – a wise guide

Cover_Upfront_1.indd 1

20/06/16 6:03 pm

SKATING ON THIN ICE?

Can councils work together? p20

Social media meets the Public Records Act p30

IMPROVE YOUR INTRANET NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE VOL 53 • AUGUST 2016 • $8.95

VOL 53 • JULY 2016 • $8.95

The power of plants p26

7

19/05/16 5:48 pm

Q&M2016 Aug-Sep1 .indd 1

19/07/16 5:46 pm

water water MAY 2015 | ISSUE 189

MAY 2015 | ISSUE 189

RAIN RADAR

JULY / AUGUST 2016 l ISSUE 195

MAY / JUNE 2016 l ISSUE 194

Stormwater solutions

3

S implythe

BEST

1

2

7

Q&M2016 June-July .indd 1

Christchurch City’s mega model p41

Water sensitive design p34

6

Aggregate News

MAGIC OR MADNESS?

TECHNICAL BRIEFINGS

5

Three councils share their stories p34

Estimating the size of flood events p40

A SHORE THING

4

19/07/16 5:32 pm

NEXT GENERATION COUNCILS Five local authorities to watch p24

NZ LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAGAZINE

QuarryNZ 2016 in pictures

Highlights of the AQA/ IoQ conference in Blenheim INCORPORATING

INCORPORATING

Aggregate News

Cover_Upfront.indd 1

RISK & INSURANCE

A guide to Professional Development requirements

A focus on efficiency Flood vulnerability The $26 billion question

2016 LGNZ EXCELLENCE AWARDS p16

SMART MOVES

Building resilience Stormwater conference Utilities of the future Gaining trade waste traction Safety strike for drones

Web & digital to the rescue p14

LG July_1607_V3.indd 1

Kerry Prendergast: Outstanding Contribution to Local Government

20/06/16 5:19 pm

LG Aug 1608 v3 .indd 1

13/07/16 5:30 pm

VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.contrafed.co.nz

Water_MAY - JUNE_1605 v2.indd 1

27/04/16 2:58 pm

Water_JULY - AUG_1607 2.indd 1

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR e-NEWSLETTER

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES

Contractor, Q&M and EnergyNZ Perspectives Alan Titchall Email alan@contrafed.co.nz Phone +64 9 636 5712

Contractor and Q&M, NZ Local Government and EnergyNZ Perspectives Charles Fairbairn Email charles@contrafed.co.nz Phone +64 9 636 5724 Mob +64 21 411 890

NZ Local Government Ruth Le Pla Email ruth@localgovernmentmag.co.nz Phone +64 21 266 3978

6/07/16 9:50 am

CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2016

in association with

CONTRACTOR: New Zealand’s civil contracting magazine