The Kawakawa Bay Landslip Emergency Response Team

Sustained wet weather in June, July and August 2008 resulted in the mobilisation of a significant landslide above the Clevedon - Kawakawa Road involving the movement of some 250,000 to 300,000m3 of material. Perched on top of the landslide was the adjacent landowners house and a further five houses were at risk below the active slip area. The Clevedon - Kawakawa Road was closed to traffic at the end of August 2008 due to acceleration of the landslide activity and fears of a catastrophic failure of the slope. As a consequence of the closure the communities of Kawakawa Bay and Orere Point were forced to take a 100km long alternative route. This caused widespread public concern and attracted media attention as the Manukau City Council tried to address community issues related to the road closure.

This was the backdrop against which the Kawakawa Bay Landslip Emergency Response team was required to operate. As the slip began to move the team monitored events continuously and were on call 24 hours per day in case of catastrophic failure. The team managed the slip on a daily basis and led decisions to close the road during bad weather and worked with Works Infrastructure to mitigate the effects of the slip. The Team also led the decisions to construct alternative four wheel drive and walking routes as well as the management of warning and detour signage.

This monitoring and management of the slip continued throughout September during which time an assessment of the slip was carried out by the Geotechnical Team in Auckland leading to involvement of the Earthquake Commission (EQC) who then accepted responsibility for further development of the slip repair. The team then assisted the EQC’s consultant with the project which was progressed within the emergency procedure criteria of the Resource Management Act. They were then tasked with Iwi Consultation, dealing with Archaeological issues and engaging an appropriate contractor using short listing and expedited procedures.

This project demonstrated our capacity to work as a unified team both internally and with a range of external parties including Government Departments, NZTA, ARC, Private Insurers, Contractors and other Consultants to achieve a desirable end result. The project is now being constructed within a tight timeframe and is being supervised by the Opus Manukau Team.

As the Client concluded “this was an extraordinary event for Manukau City an we were most fortunate to have the services of the Opus Manukau team at our beckoning.”

The Opus Tenure Review Team

"Best on Show" are the words that best describe the Opus Tenure Review Team.  As a team, they are enthusiastic and knowledgeable experts committed to the 'high country'.

They work exceedingly well in a seamless, trustworthy, and reliable way and with a 'can do' attitude.  The recognition that the Team have received by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) as the top performing consultant in Tenure Review, is indeed well deserved.

The Maroochydore Structural Team

The Maroochydore Structural Team showed great cohesiveness in understanding the deadlines of the Sandgate Retirement Complex Stage 1A project and undertaking the work required to complete the design and documentation within those deadlines. This required a high level of team work over extended hours to achieve the result the team was targeting.

The project was split into several different components and the design of the separate components was undertaken by different people but coordinated efficiently through solid project management to ensure the components achieved the desired outcomes.

Everyone worked as a team interacting with the other disciplines involved in the project.

This involved working closely with QS and the architect to assess design options to drive costs within budget. Throughout, the team displayed outstanding cohesion, commitment, and very solid project management skills that resulted in a profitable outcome and a very satisfied client.

The Llanilid Opencast South Wales Redevelopment Team

The Llanilid Opencast South Wales Redevelopment team has achieved the successful delivery of the first phase Civil Engineering and Geo-Environmental aspects of the redevelopment of Llanilid Opencast, South Wales, being the redevelopment of a 450ha, 125m deep opencast - one of the largest in Europe.

The Team have all striven hard to not only overcome technical challenges(building on 125m deep of uncontrolled backfill with less than 50mm settlement) but also geographical and discipline challenges as well. Importantly they are a multidisciplinary team from a number of different offices in the UK that has taken a “best team” approach to achieve results. The team has delivered the first phase of the development and are working on the masterplan for the next phases of the development, ensuring what we have learned in the first phase is taken on board and returns positive results for the remaining areas of the site.

Together the Team has delivered on innovative techniques for the construction including composite load transfer platforms comprising dynamic compaction, traditional 'cut and fill' and geotextiles.

The Christchurch Accounts Team

The Christchurch Accounts team provided remote accounting support to our Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary and Detroit businesses in the finalisation of their annual accounts. This included billing, WiP, annual accounts and audit packages.

At the same time the Team met all of the accounting requirements for the Southern Region to meet end of year reporting and audit requirements.

They provided quality support with all locations meeting their accounting requirements and audit standards, and the Team did it to very demanding deadlines and by taking a "all hands on deck" approach to achieving it.

They worked the hours necessary to get the job done, and they did it in good spirit and with high morale. This is an excellent example of high level of teamwork.