Top Champion Business Award to SCIRT

Strategic partnerships, innovative practices contribute, top Champion Business Award to SCIRT

SCIRT’s contribution to the Canterbury rebuild received official recognition at the Champion Canterbury Business Awards this week. The Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) won not only the Infrastructure award but also the Press Supreme award for medium to large businesses.

Mark Ford, SCIRT’s chair, client governance group, emphasised the teams which had come together to drive the city’s horizontal rebuild machine. The SCIRT alliance’s core infrastructure rebuild work is a partnership between central government through CERA and the New Zealand Transport Agency and local government through the Christchurch City Council.

Five delivery teams are carrying out the work in the streets and around the Port Hills - City Care, Downer, Fletcher Construction, Fulton Hogan and McConnell Dowell. Within the design hub, more than 25 organisations are represented.

He said it was good to get the recognition from business that the alliance was delivering to its five-year time frame. “This is a complex project which requires an ongoing commitment to working with communities, getting their buy-in and delivering on time. The intensity of work sites is only going to increase in the central city in particular, so it’s important in the third year of work to have some recognition of what is happening on an unprecedented scale in New Zealand. The awards help raise the importance of the urgent need for resilient core services.”

Steve Hart, acting general manager, SCIRT, noted the way the alliance had brought together engineers from companies that would normally be in competition to share ideas and innovative practices for the good of Christchurch. “The same is happening at delivery level with our teams sharing what they are learning as they go and collaborating to reduce delays and get businesses and neighbourhoods freed up from road works as soon as possible.

“It is a great morale booster for the team to have their efforts recognised, particularly with the Supreme award which recognises the ongoing aim of SCIRT’s teams to work strategically and co-operatively for the good of this city and its people.”

He thanked Christchurch people for being part of the rebuild and for doing whatever they can to keep their local businesses and the central city’s commercial area thriving despite the need to dig up roads to lay new pipes and cables.

“Staff across SCIRT take a huge personal pride in the work they are doing. This might mean designing new wastewater systems which will not fail in an aftershock or in the wetter ground conditions we are working with now. Or it could mean building those systems and all that involves with traffic management and keeping residents informed on what is happening near their homes, shops and work places. The need for communication with residents, road users and business owners has never been higher for any organisation working on infrastructure. We are proud of the way our people go about their work,” said Steve Hart.

“As SCIRT moves into our third year, we continue to strive for operational excellence as we now move to increased activity in the central city. It’s a huge task and we thank everyone in Christchurch for taking a big picture approach and focusing on the resilient infrastructure this city will have when SCIRT’s work is over.”

For more information: http://championcanterbury.org.nz/2013-winners

Story in 3 October, 2013 Press: http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/9236004/A-P-Show-scoops-top-award

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