Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Kapiti News
5
Company to make way for expressway DAVID HAXTON
ON THE GO: Felicity Glenie, left, checks on employee progress at Poplar Avenue’s MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway site, in what is one of many responsibilities for the project’s southern zone manager. PHOTO: CLOE WILLETTS / KAP280814CWFELICITYGLENIE
Manager’s job a juggling act CLOE WILLETTS Felicity Glenie loves her job. In a multifaceted role that sees her work an average of 50 to 70 hours each week, the MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway southern zone manager is responsible for $110 million worth of construction work. As well as tackling a range of on-field and in-office roles, the 32-year-old fronts a team of about 10 imperative Alliance figures, including project engineers, construction supervisors and foremen. Enjoying the business of her position, which one moment can see her out liaising with the big guys in the field, and the next talking one-on-one to media, the engineering and commerce
graduate is kept on her toes. “The range of people I interact with is massive, which, in that regard, makes my job quite exciting,” explained the original Aucklander, who relocated to Kapiti with her engineer husband for the role, after two years of working in Christchurch. With communication composing a large portion of her role, in addition to time management and problemsolving, Mrs Glenie said, foremost, her role is to “make sure everyone’s working on the right thing at the right time”. “I look after the planning and construction of all the works between MacKays Crossing right up to Kapiti Rd, including bridges, earth
works, retaining walls, and drainage. “I began managing the preloading process at Poplar Avenue, and am currently working with the foundation and earthmoving work underway on Kapiti Rd.” Having spent her entire 10-year engineering career as an employee of Fletcher Construction, the Alliance associate said the expressway project is the first of its kind for her. “It’s the first project that involves heavy earthmoving equipment, so getting up close to them is pretty exciting. “I’m learning more and more about the different capabilities of cranes, right through to excavators.” One of the most challenging aspects of the
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role, which she said is highlighted by an “awesome team”, is sourcing workers to fill available positions. “We’re just at the beginning of ramping up a really busy construction period, so we’re looking at how to fill all the future roles. “This is done through a range of methods, which include looking into existing local resource and trying to use that where we can, and looking further afield around the country to see if we can attract people to the coast. “Then we also look into training people up for roles that are more challenging for them. “It’s all about being able to juggle a whole lot of balls at one time — but it’s a lot of fun.”
A well-known firewood company is relocating to make way for the MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway. Kapiti Firewood, in Kapiti Rd, is moving as preparations from a expressway bridge over the road moves up a gear. The family-run business, owned by Lisa Burns and Bruce Saunders, is looking at a proposed new rural site in Otaihanga. Ms Burns has written to residents in one of the streets after someone dropped flyers in letterboxes that she says contain inaccurate information. She says the business wanted to work with residents, not against them, and welcomed feedback to help the business address any concerns people had. Her letter says the business only processed and delivered firewood and didn’t have retail sales from its site for the public to access. “Customers access us via phone or our website and we complete deliveries accordingly using one vehicle, which I usually drive. “It is a small Isuzu Elf, about the size of a van, containing a cage which holds the firewood. “Our traffic volumes are well below council’s guidelines and regulations for rural properties.” She said another issue, that had been incorrectly advised to residents, was regarding sound levels. “We have contracted an acoustic engineer, one of three recommended by council, who have completed tests on our processor and equipment and have reported that we meet a 50-decibel or lower recording, which is within the guidelines of council’s regulations for rural properties.” And the business wanted to “greatly improve and enhance the look of the [new] site” by building rural wooden fencing, attractive wooden gate, planting native belts along boundaries to encourage birdlife, grazing animals in the southern end of the site and removing gorse, scrub and blackberry currently on the site. “Once the planting has established, we would rarely, if at all, be visible.”