Top people and projects recognised in Canterbury Westland Awards

01 Nov 2019

Top civil construction companies, projects and people were celebrated at the 2019 Gough/Humes Canterbury Westland Civil Contractors Excellence Awards, held at the Addington Racecourse in Christchurch on Friday 1 November.

Fulton Hogan was named the overall winner, receiving the Contractor of the Year award. The company also picked up the Company Training Award and the Subcontract Award, as well as a Merit Award for Category D – contracts over $5,000,000.

Four other companies walked away with more than one award, including McConnell Dowell Constructors Ltd (Health & Safety, Underground Services and Category D – Contracts over $5,000,000), Downer Group (Merit award in Category A – Projects with a value up to $500,000 and Category B – Projects with a value between $500,000 and $1m) Grant Hood Contracting (Most Progressive Company and Category C – Contracts ($1,500,000-$5,000,000)) and Isaac Construction Ltd (Company Image and Innovation).

The awards dinner was attended by representatives of many Canterbury Westland civil construction companies, as well as CCNZ Chief Executive Peter Silcock.

The winners are:
Category A – Projects with a value up to $500,000
Hunter Scarborough Sea Wall Remediation
Winner: Hunter Civil Ltd – Scarborough Sea Wall Remediation.
Hunter Civil submitted an alternative tender 20 per cent below the council budget for the Scarborough Sea Wall Remediation, which simplified the design and incorporated precast wall panels to maximise erosion resistance.

The stone masonry seawall was stabilised and remediated using a redesigned methodology to provide a functional beach access at Scarborough Park and restaurant amenity. The outcome is a pleasant stepped masonry faced wall fitting the high public amenity environment providing beach access.

Hundalee Hill Retaining WallMerit: Downer Group – Hundalee Hills Retaining Wall
This project involved the construction of a 13-metre-long by six-metre-high sloping steel column retaining wall, together with associated earthworks, drainage, and paving works to support State Highway 1, near the top of the Hundalee Hills.

Well thought out construction methodology ensured one lane of traffic was maintained at all times and innovative techniques were employed to ensure tie back anchors and concreted piles fit the prefabricated steel components.

Category B – Projects with a value between $500,000 and $1m
Waihi Bailey Bridge
Winner: Downer Group – Waiho Bailey Bridge Reinstatement.
Following the dramatic flooding of the West Coast’s Waiho River in March, this project involved the removal of the intensively damaged bridge super-structure, replacement and refurbishment of damaged piers, and installation of a new 172-metre-long Bailey bridge superstructure.

To undertake the planning, design, demolition and construction for the new bridge in just 17 days, was an incredible achievement, and a testament to the excellent work of the Downer Group crew, alongside that of the NZ Defence Force and other contractors.

Category C – Projects with a value between $1.5m and $5m
Dalgliesh Farm
Winner: Grant Hood Contracting Ltd – Dalgliesh Farm (Millbrook Resort) Earthworks.
When Millbrook Resort purchased adjoining farmland to expand, Grant Hood Contracting was selected to undertake major earthworks, drilling and rock blasting on the hilly 67-hectare site to create 42 allotments on two plateaus, a new nine-hole golf course and a 30,000m³ storage dam for irrigation.

This project demanded a high level of expertise using difficult to handle Central Otago earthworks materials and was executed very well. Use of total station machine control enabled the complex profile to be achieved with no material discrepancies.

Environmental safeguarding was a critical part of the project, and a lined reservoir for irrigation storage was built to avoid storm water pollution.

Category D – Projects with a value greater than $5m
Sumner Road Remediation
Winner: McConnell Dowell Constructors Ltd – Sumner Road Remediation.
This complex project required stabilising the earthquake fractured rock faces, extensive structural retaining of the road and reconstruction of barriers and pavements to reopen the Sumner Road strategic transportation link to Port Lyttelton.

The project was technically very challenging, with high risks and the constrained site necessitated a high level of planning, communications and coordination between many work fronts. Once the methodology had been developed, the selection of the “right” partners was key to success.

The scope of works and the constraints of the site led to innovative thinking and the use of different skills and techniques. The team displayed an absolute focus on safety and managed sensitive environmental constraints to deliver under challenging circumstances.

Western Belfast BypassMerit: Fulton Hogan – Western Belfast Bypass.
The Western Belfast Bypass project for the NZ Transport Agency required Fulton Hogan to construct 5 kilometres of four-lane motorway, which included three overpass bridges and complex tie-ins to existing carriageways. The site is subject to significant ground settlement and runs through the Groynes – an environmentally sensitive reserve.

The project stood out to judges for its project planning and management, approach to quality management and quality of construction, management of technical challenges, its public and environmental focus, and emphasis on the safety of their people.

Hirepool Canterbury Westland Contractor of the Year Award
Overall winner: Fulton Hogan – Contractor of the Year.
Fulton Hogan demonstrated the breadth and quality of its contribution to civil construction in Canterbury and the West Coast across the range of entries they put forward for the awards.

Collectively, their entries represented considerable ability, innovation and discipline in working to condensed programmes, challenges of nature and scale of production, in working collaboratively with clients and other contractors, and in their commitment to a strong safety culture.

Other awards:
Emerging Leader Award: Elena Hofman.
Elena Hofman, a Project Manager for Higgins, won the Emerging Leader Award for outstanding leadership.

Outstanding Service: John Crawley
John is a long serving member of the CCNZ Canterbury Westland Executive Committee and has championed both the Canterbury and West Coast contractors.

Company Image: Isaac Construction Ltd
Isaac Construction management and crews exhibited a high degree of empathy with stakeholders across two projects involving severe disruption of heavily trafficked streets and major effects on adjacent businesses. This helped to solve conflicts in the design and developed enduring successful relationships.

Most Progressive Company: Grant Hood Contracting
With a relatively small team, initially focused on the private rural sector, Grant Hood Contracting has grown by recognising and recruiting the engineering skills and machine technologies needed to effectively plan, manage and accurately construct a more challenging and remote mix of private and public sector works.

Health & Safety: McConnell Dowell Constructors Ltd and subcontractors
All 39 projects entered by McConnell Dowell Constructors Ltd in the awards demonstrated an attention to detail in risk assessment, mitigation and management that meant nothing was left to chance. While the award is made to the lead contractor, acknowledgement goes to their carefully selected subcontractors who all embraced the absolute focus on Health and Safety.

Underground Services: McConnell Dowell Constructors Ltd
This complex project utilised a vast array of resources and methodologies ranging from amphibious excavators and barges to clever modifications to install 7 km of pipeline 1m below the seabed.

Company Training: Fulton Hogan
Fulton Hogan won the company training award for outstanding training initiatives.

Environmental: Grounds & Services Ltd (Sparks Road Wetland)
Careful planning, including changing methodology and plant, comprehensive mitigation measures to control runoff, and full involvement of site staff in understanding and managing the risks, ensured the wetland development was completed with no environmental issues.

Innovation: Isaac Construction Ltd (Merit Taggart Earthmoving)
Isaac Construction Ltd looked at how to reduce the scale and cost of disposing of contaminated materials, and how to apply plant differently to avoid the costly removal and replacement of encased concrete pipe work. In addition to improving productivity, additional works were able to be incorporated through cost savings, resulting in an overall better product.

Subcontract: Fulton Hogan (Sumner Road Roading Rehabilitation)
The reconstruction of this 2.6-kilometre road included pavement and surfacing works, edge beam construction and guardrail installation, undertaken within a worksite that was both topographically constrained and used in common with other construction activity. Planning and production on the restricted access site ensured road opening dates were achieved.

Thanks to our sponsors
The Canterbury Westland Branch is extremely grateful to the event sponsors, in particular Gough and Humes, for making this successful event possible.

The event was also sponsored by Hynds Pipe Systems, Wynn Williams, Road Metals Co Ltd, Franklin Smith Leibherr NZ, Contract Consultants, Hydraulink Fluid Connectors, Connexis, Geofabrics NZ Ltd, AB Equipment Ltd, CAM Magazine, Global Survey Limited, CablePrice NZ Ltd, Fulton Hogan – Plastiphalt, TransDiesel and Hirepool.

Updates: Regional return to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 and 3

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