Winners: NZIOB Awards for Excellence
Fonterra head office by Fletcher Construction.
Walter Nash Centre, Hutt City by Hawkins.
North West Shopping Centre by Fletcher Construction.
Winners of the 2016 NZIOB and GIB Awards for Excellence were announced at a gala evening at the Pullman Hotel, Auckland on Friday 26 August. The awards, which are in their 23rd year, celebrate and recognise the professional excellence of individuals in the building and construction process, rather than the project or completed structure.
Full list of winners and jury citations below:
GIB® Supreme Award:
Rodney Verhoeven – project manager
Company: Hawkins Construction
Project: Walter Nash Centre, Hutt City
The centre combines the Walter Nash Stadium, Taita Community Hall, Taita Community Library and Hutt Valley netball courts into a single integrated facility for all ages. With the challenges of an exposed site, weather and a programme with no room to move, Rodney was methodical with every detail of this project, as he constantly checked that he was employing the most effective and efficient methodology. Rodney’s determination, leadership and passion for this project were exceptional and instrumental in delivering a project that the client, the community, and the whole design and delivery team are extremely proud of.
BCITO Young Achievers Award:
Annalise Johns – project engineer
Company: Fulton Hogan
Project: Christchurch Art Gallery
“There is something special about a young person who works alongside gnarly construction people, and learns from their experiences and values their contribution and takes this with them as they progress their career. It is even more special when that young person is respected and valued by those same influences as the cross over to senior positions come. Annalise has achieved much in a short space of time; in the opinion of the judges she has the potential at some future date to sit at the board table of a significant business, probably her own!”
and
Glenn Jowett – BIM practice lead
Company: AECOM
“We rarely see a young achiever who is at the vanguard of significant industry change. Glenn is already a sought after expert in his chosen discipline of Building Information Modelling and works tirelessly to assist, educate and inform others to understand the value of computer based modelling and use of technology as an everyday tool in the seamless coordination of building design. He impressed the judges with his passion and vision of an industry that uses smart tools in project delivery. We expect that his skills will not be limited to BIM as he becomes a significant influencer in the NZ construction industry.”
Resene Projects under $2.5 million Award:
Ben Connick – interiors and special projects manager
Company: Hawkins, Hamilton
Project: Sky City Co-operative hospitality precinct
Ben lead the team on the Sky City Co-Operative hospitality precinct project with passion and foresight. There are a number of constraints and restrictions involved in working in a live 24/7 complex, and Ben demonstrated that he understood fully his client’s business and customer needs. Ben showed agility to respond to both opportunity and crisis at all times, and did so by leading from the front in a performance that showcased his ability to build a holistic team.
Steel Construction Projects $2.5 – $5 million Award:
Dave Corbett – project manager
Company: Fletcher Construction, Auckland
Project: Bledisloe Lane upgrade
Bledisloe Lane is a popular inner-city Auckland thoroughfare that links Wellesley Street to Aotea Square. The upgrade transformed the gloomy dated lane into a safer more vibrant connection, and did so in six months. What made the project successful was Dave’s meticulous planning, and attention to detail, whilst maintaining a complete overview of the project. The high-profile lane upgrade featured considerable public interface, and a client who was very averse to negative public exposure. Dave managed the risks of working in close proximity to the public, which involved a restriction on working hours and noise levels.
Hays Construction Projects $5 – $10 million Award:
Garyth Jones – project manager
Company: Hawkins, Auckland
Project: Pridelands Escarpment – Auckland Zoo
To aid Zoo staff in conceptualising the design, Garyth developed 3D computer models, which also served as a tool for the planning and staging of the project, as it was imperative that staff maintained safe access routes to the animals at all times. By influencing the 32 separate sub-trades (included sculptor’s and specialist artists) to take positive action and accountability for their assigned work, Garyth was successful in creating an effective team with a great collaborative approach.
Steltech Projects $10 – $25 million Award:
Rodney Verhoeven – project manager
Company: Hawkins, Wellington
Project: Walter Nash Centre, Hutt City
This was a project with a major community focus. The local community needed to be engaged with, and Rodney ensured that they were involved wherever possible. This project required a project manager who possessed a non-confrontational manner, and whom could build a strong rapport with subcontractors and consultants alike. Rodney understood complex construction methodology issues and could communicate clearly with all stakeholders. He showed great support for his own reasonably inexperienced team, and kept them focused and enthused at all times.
and
Declan Scanlon – project manager
Company: Fletcher Construction, Christchurch
Project: Te Hapua: Halswell Centre
The Halsell Centre in Te Hapua was a complex and technically challenging design. The building was broken into 16 separate blocks, with each block featuring an extremely complicated roof design that needed to be thought through. Coordination meetings required inputs from the various contractors to make sure the building worked, while retaining the architect’s very definite vision for the building. Declan managed a multitude of personalities in a firm and fair professional manner, and had the ability to engender a desire among the group to complete the works in the most efficient manner.
Holcim Concrete Projects $25 – $50 million Award:
Jimmy Corric – project manager
Company: NZ Strong Group Ltd, Auckland
Project: Lynn Mall redevelopment
Delivering $32 million worth of major extensions (including 25 retail fit-outs) to an operational shopping centre over a ten-month period is a difficult assignment. The Lynn Mall project was a big step up for Jimmy Corric, who is a passionate practitioner, and a strong personality. Jimmy was thrown into the project and loved it. His enthusiasm and positive ‘can do’ approach to the project was admired by all stakeholders.
and
Bruce Halligan – senior construction project manager
Company: Arrow International (NZ) Ltd
Project: Remarkables Base Building, Queenstown
The Remarkables Ski field is located in an extreme alpine environment. Bruce Halligan was chosen to lead the project because of his experience in leading and delivering demanding projects in tough locations. This project was a major undertaking for Bruce, and a team that he hadn’t worked with previously. 6000m2 of new building were to be constructed at 1600m above sea level. To achieve the nine-month program (ski off-season), the site was effectively 24/7 for the project duration.
Hilti Projects $50 – $75 million Award:
Kevin Bird – project manager
Company: Arrow International (NZ) Ltd, Auckland
Project: Vodafone Rural Broadband Initiative Rollout
A Government-led rural broadband initiative involving installation of 154 cellphone towers in rural areas from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island. Kevin provided information for the Resource Consent application, and managed the design process. Kevin’s role was all encompassing, including inputs for lease plans and construction drawings, providing ‘open book’ pricing for each project, and coordinating power supply and installation with 14 different power companies.
Metro Performance Glass Projects $75 – $100 million Award:
Gerard Anderson – project manager
Company: Fletcher Construction, Auckland
Project: Fonterra head office and VXV3 development
Gerard had total involvement in the Fonterra project, from the pre-design to building handover. He was extremely passionate about this project, and showed effective leadership and outstanding strategic management skills throughout. Gerard worked alongside the project manager, and led a strong team of site supervisors. He implemented a ‘fatigue management plan and roster system’ that ensured the site team all rotate so as to provide enough cover for the project to run at 100 per cent while the family commitments of team members were carried out.
Aecom Projects over $100 million Award:
Peter Lawson – project director
Company: Fletcher Construction, Auckland
Project: NorthWest Shopping Centre, Auckland
As project director of the new Northwest Shopping Centre, Peter took a very visible and active leadership role on this extremely challenging green-field construction project. He was responsible for delivery of this project on time, to high quality standards. In doing so, he had to deal with approximately 90 individual tenancies and two anchor tenants. Peter’s management of the interface with the specialist retail tenancy design and subcontract team was critical to ensuring timely delivery of the shopping centre.
Site Safe Safety Excellence Award:
Jeff Robertson – project manager
Company: Aspec Construction, Auckland
Project: Kings College Centennial project
The King’s School Centennial Project incorporated demolition, and the erection of a state-of-the-art classroom and music block in a live school environment. Jeff put several new exciting initiatives in place. This included the introduction of a finger-print scanner system, and building a ‘security portal’ that consisted of two scanners and turnstiles located in a shipping container. Workers’ thumb/finger prints were recorded as part of the site safety induction process, which facilitated quick and easy access to and from site.
James Hardie Innovation Award:
Dave Corbett – project manager
Company: Fletcher Construction, Auckland
Project: Penrose campus redevelopment and industrial buildings demolition
With approximately 12,000m2 of highly brittle asbestos roofing and cladding materials needing to be removed from site, the opportunity arose to produce an innovative removal methodology, with safety as its focus. Dave commandeered a mobile crawler crane and platform, with the latter being modified to include railings large enough for a team of four fully harnessed team members to work off. The platform had the ability to extend out to 35 metres, and so the workers did not come into contact with any of the asbestos containing materials. This meant that the risk of asbestos contamination to both the staff and the environment were significantly reduced.
