Babbage is an 88-year-old NZ owned multi-disciplinary firm with offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and Melbourne, with the team travelling to projects anywhere in-between. This week we welcome Babbage as our latest NZPI supporter.
Babbage Consultant’s Planning Manager Richard Black is excited about the prospect of the next NZPI conference being in Invercargill. He originates from Southland, near Tuatapere in fact, and looks forward to seeing his own region in the spotlight. Richard leads a team of 10 planners, each with various levels of experience, and enjoys seeing his planning team work directly alongside a very broad range of technical specialties inside the firm, ranging from building surveyors to hydrologists.
Babbage began as a Structural and Civil Engineering Firm and has grown into many different fields. This means their planners work on anything from private plan changes to air discharge consents to new infrastructure. This professional diversity means that the Babbage planners are able to work collaboratively on a wide range of projects; “At any time they can go to their engineering and scientist colleagues and get insights into what they’re really looking at” says Richard. “It means our planners can tap into these other professions that are out there, to help broaden their own understanding.”
Richard says that at Babbage they recognise the value of staying up to date on regulations, standards and best practice, “It aids us in providing a high-quality service to our clients”.
Babbage has a dedicated commitment to planning and the value of the work that planners do, and Richard has seen a general interest out there from other disciplines. Alongside Technical Director: Planning Sukhi Singh, Richard is runs internal training sessions on planning, which has largely come about from a desire for learning from the other disciplines in the firm.
The Babbage planning team are all NZPI members at various stages but are all working toward Full Membership and have the support of the company.
Babbage have a strong commitment to sustainability, led by in house environmental engineers and scientists working on water quality, contaminated land and biodiversity. They work with big industrial clients and look at how they could do things better such as wetland restoration, and measures to improve water quality, all for the betterment of the site or development. With their team approach their planners are also exposed to these opportunities.
“We’re not your typical big corporate” says Richard, “we pride ourselves on being a close knit, happy and professional team”. Richard says they’re maintained some of the “old-school” traditions over the 80-year history including an annual ski and surf trip and a sit down Friday morning tea that is becoming an increasingly competitive team building experience, as a new team each week is scored on their food creation efforts. This is a weekly opportunity for staff across all disciplines to meet and collaborate in a fun family atmosphere.
“We have a non-hierarchical structure which means that anyone can sit down and ask a question of anyone. This means we can have those crucial conversations and achieve great outcomes for our clients.”
