New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards

Terence Kayes
Finalist: William Pickering Award for Engineering Leadership
Terry Kayes has been Managing Director of consulting engineering firm Tonkin and Taylor Group since 1989. His professional and community interests currently include membership of Auckland University’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department’s Advisory Board, and Honorary Consul for Malaysia in Auckland.

Francis Small
Finalist: William Pickering Award for Engineering Leadership
Dr Francis Small has spent the bulk of his career in the railways, rising to managing director of Tranzrail from 1990 to 2000. Since then Francis has been involved as chair or director in organisations as diverse as Meridian Energy, Antarctica NZ, and the Centre for Advanced Engineering. He has had a lifelong interest in Scouting NZ, and in the 2000 Honours was awarded a CHNZ for services to the transport industry and community.

Douglas Armstrong
Finalist: William Pickering Award for Engineering Leadership
Doug was Chief Executive of Unitec for 14 years until 1999. During that time he had roles in several national task forces, including the Todd Task Force on Funding Growth in Tertiary Education. Doug was awarded a QSO for his services to tertiary education, and since 2001 he has been an Auckland City Councillor.

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Simon Edwards
Finalist: New Zealand Engineering Innovator of the Year
The repair of a damaged Cook Straight power cable was a first for all those involved. Simon, as the project leader and principal structural consultant, successfully turned an army tank-landing barge into a mini-cable ship which was then used to lift, repair the cable and lay it back on the sea floor. The conversion was designed and delivered in just 12 weeks and worked from day one. An excellent example of Kiwi innovation.

Bruce Crabbe and Tony Dunlop
Finalists: New Zealand Engineering Innovator of the Year
Between 200-450mm of rain fell over a four-day period in July 2004 in the catchments and coastal areas of the Bay of Plenty. The repair of a failed stop bank required a speedy and innovative solution by Bruce Crabbe (left) and Tony Dunlop. The modified shipping containers installed in the stop bank permitted trapped floodwaters to flow out. When the tide turned, the container doors where simply closed. This device, now known as the ‘Cranlop’, exemplifies the application of “number-eight-wire” technology in a tight situation.

Antony Smith and Vaughan Anderson
Finalists: New Zealand Engineering Innovator of the Year
Antony Smith and Vaughan Anderson developed a new camera inspection system to detect packaging flaws in the seals of export cheeses. Brilliant innovation was required to overcome technical difficulties that would have halted the commercialisation of this idea. The solution, involving a prism light system, has increased seal integrity by 88%. At the time of award entry, a single site had an estimated saving of $62,000 through the use of the camera.

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Ian Mills, Norman Morum and Brian Smellie
Finalists: New Zealand Engineering Entrepreneur of the Year
In 2002, Ian Mills (left), Norman (Mack) Morum (right) and Brian Smellie (see page 7) founded Tekron International to manufacture and market precision electronic time products. Brian is a gifted engineer, Ian brings project management skills to Tekron and Mack a flair for client relationships. Together they have successfully taken a world-leading product to the international marketplace.

Matthew Ensor
Finalist: New Zealand Young Engineer of the Year
Matthew Ensor graduated from the University of Auckland with a civil engineering degree in 1990. He has spent nine years as a traffic engineer, four of these as an analyst for the Ministry of Defence. Matthew’s current role is with Beca Infrastructure Ltd as a Technical Director in Transportation. Matthew presented a unique view of a young engineer’s role in society. The judges were impressed to see someone stand up before their peers, extolling the virtues required of young engineers and the role they have to play in the community. During his presentation it was clear that he practiced what he preached.

Tania Williams
Finalist: New Zealand Young Engineer of the Year
Tania Williams is a Civil Engineer and, as MWH New Zealand Ltd’s Central Region Manager she is responsible for 240 staff, 11 offices and annual revenue of $30M. During her 10-year career Tania has developed a broad range of technical and management responsibilities in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and USA. Tania presented an excellent piece of work in support of her nomination for Young Engineer of the Year 2005, with the presentation both entertaining and informative.

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Seaside Park, Auckland City Council and Tonkin & Taylor Ltd
Finalists: Category A: Building, Construction & Amenities
The Seaside Park project turned a closed landfill into local recreational facilities and a habitat for indigenous wildlife. The resulting park is elegant and attractive. An innovative and holistic approach was used to produce a seamless solution addressing the many distinct issues and differing objectives.

Sky City Convention Centre and Grand Hotel
Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner Ltd
Finalists: Category A: Building, Construction & Amenities
This high profile project had a difficult site and a major change in client requirements midway through construction. Even so, it was completed on time and to budget. The design contained a number of innovative features in the structure and services. The building is a significant addition to the Auckland city centre.

Plateau Hut Structural Design, MWH New Zealand Ltd
Finalists: Category A: Building, Construction & Amenities
Despite the limited impact of this project on the overall community, it is a finalist because of its excellent engineering. A unique design was required for a difficult and risky location where there was little room for error and construction had to be carried out safely within a very narrow window of time.

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Kohimarama Beach Replenishment Project, Auckland City Council
Finalists: Category A: Building, Construction & Amenities
This project has greatly enhanced a very popular city amenity and protected a major thoroughfare from erosion damage. A pumped sand beach provided the amenity and protected the threatened sea wall from wave damage, while artificial headlands retained the sand in place. There was a high degree of community consultation.

The Trusts Stadium, Waitakere City , Alan Reay Consultants Ltd
Finalists: Category A: Building, Construction & Amenities
The project used two outstanding features – the extensive use of on-site precasting and tilt slab design – in novel ways. These helped provide a cost effective structural solution, and achieving a successful environmentally sustainable design. The stadium is a major asset to the community.

Whole-of-Community Broadband Telecommunications Services for Southland, Venture Southland
Finalists: Category B: Utilities & Networks
This public-private partnership project provides broadband internet services for Southland. This project has had a significant impact on the substantially rural province, supplying 92% of Southland’s occupied dwellings with coverage on a single priced service basis. The use of wireless technology on this scale is a first for New Zealand and an excellent example of engineering providing infrastructual services to the rural community.

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Nelson City’s Water Treatment Plant, Nelson City Council, MWH New Zealand Ltd, Fulton Hogan Ltd, GHD Ltd
Finalists: Category B: Utilities & Networks
This project was a joint venture between the consultant and contractor and has resulted in a reliable ‘A’ graded water supply for the residents of Nelson City. Alternative design enabled the project to be completed at a cost well below the original estimates. The project uses the latest membrane technology to provide high-quality potable water and a high degree of security of supply, and has received high public acclaim.

Pohangina River Bridge Wash-out: Temporary High Pressure Gas Transmission Aerial Bypass, NGC New Zealand
Finalists: Category B: Utilities & Networks
This emergency project provided a quick, reliable solution to maintain gas services to the East Coast despite significant damage to other infrastructure in the prolific flooding in the lower North Island in 2004. The creative solution, in very difficult and challenging circumstances, enabled full line pressure supplies to be continued in the shortest possible time when industrial gas demand in the Hawke’s Bay was at a premium. The project exemplifies an excellent ‘can-do’ attitude, and highlights the ability of New Zealand companies to work together and pool resources. 

South Auckland Train Project, Auckland Regional Transport Authority
Finalists: Category C: Roads & Transport
This project won the 2005 Category F Mechanical & Manufacturing.

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Wanganui Flood Recovery, Wanganui District Council, Opus International Consultants
Finalists: Category C: Roads & Transport
This project exemplified outstanding coherence of management, which enabled a rapid response across a wide area of significant damage. There was a particularly innovative approach to damage assessment. Costs were estimated with remarkable accuracy and repairs were prioritised and carried out with minimal delay.

Britomart Transport Centre, Opus International, Consultants Ltd
Finalists: Category C: Roads & Transport
This was a demanding project, excellently executed. It has had a significant impact, in on both Auckland and nationally. The design solution had to deal with an awkward site and the conflicting functional demands of people and trains. The result was exceptionally well integrated into the urban environment.

Mt. Maunganui – Huntly Coal Train, Toll Rail Professional Services Group
Finalists: Category C: Roads & Transport
Finalists: Category F – Mechanical & Manufacturing
The key to the integrated transport and logistics system for moving coal by rail from Mt Maunganui to Huntly was the design and construction of new hopper wagons. These are efficient, environmentally friendly and reliable, to the delight of the client. The project was completed on time and to budget.

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Development of the new Vege-Polisher, Wyma Engineering (NZ) Ltd
Finalists: Category F – Mechanical & Manufacturing
The latest version of Wyma’s ‘vege-polisher’ is a clever innovation and an excellent example of the niche engineering of specialist products. It is expected to create new export sales in Europe, Asia and North America.

Repower of Port Nelson Tug ‘W.H. Parr’, Port Nelson Ltd, Dufill, Watts & King
Finalists: Category F – Mechanical & Manufacturing
This project is an excellent example of New Zealand engineers achieving modern and best practice solutions from available raw material. Dufill, Watts and King created a modern, high capacity tug from an old vessel, to the delight of the clients, Port of Nelson.

Manufacturing & Supply of Airbridges for the Airbus A380 Aircraft, Airport Equipment Ltd
Finalists: Category F – Mechanical & Manufacturing
The equipment manufactured by Airport Equipment Ltd is a classic example of New Zealand engineering firms finding niches that use our special brand of creativity and engineering excellence to compete on global markets. The latest extended air-bridge will be at the forefront of servicing the new generation of very large passenger aircraft, such as the Airbus A380, which are about to become operational around the world.

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Aquada, Gibbs Technologies Ltd
Finalists: Category F – Mechanical & Manufacturing
Finding new and ingenious solutions to old problems seems to be a speciality of New Zealand engineering. The Aquada sports amphibian is an excellent illustration of this, with the key element of ingenuity being the mechanism for lifting the vehicle wheels out of the water while they remain attached to the driveshaft.
Photo courtesy of Gibbs Technologies Ltd

Landfill Full cost accounting guide, Tonkin & Taylor Ltd
Finalists: Category H: Sustainability & Clean Technology
This project combines state-of-the-art engineering knowledge with accounting methodology to produce an innovative tool for landfill management. There is very widespread potential for its application across New Zealand, and excellent environmental benefits.

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