Double Success for MWH Global

Double Success for MWH Global
MWH recognised for what they bring to New Zealand communities
Wellington, New Zealand, 5 December 2012, - MWH Global is celebrating double success after winning the Excellence in Engineering for Safety and the Waste, Water and Amenities categories at the 2012 New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards.
Excellence in Engineering for Safety

MWH and the NZ Transport Agency have been awarded for their project KiwiRAP Star Ratings & KAT: The Development of a Proactive Road Safety Assessment Tool.

KiwiRAP Star Rating has attracted international recognition for its innovation and effectiveness as a proactive road safety assessment and management tool. It is a key means for moving towards a safe system approach, promoted by the New Zealand road safety strategy, Safer Journeys.

Launched by the Minister of Transport in June 2010, KiwiRAP Star Ratings has been used to assess the safety afforded by road infrastructure and allocate a star rating from 1 star through to 5 stars, across 10,000km of the rural state highway network in New Zealand.

KiwiRAP is improving safety outcomes by helping to grow public awareness, and provides a common nationwide assessment methodology for highway network planners and managers. By understanding deficiencies in road infrastructure features that increase crash risk through KiwiRAP, it is possible to proactively and more accurately prioritise road safety investment to target resources to those routes and features where the greatest road safety gains can be achieved.

“The ability to accurately, systematically, and cost effectively quantify existing roads in a way that enables the relative risks of crashes to be determined is a major step forward in road infrastructure management,” says awards judge Andrew Read of Pedersen Read Consulting Engineers in Christchurch.

MWH risk analyst and road safety engineer, Gina Waibl says, “This award caps off a phenomenal year for KiwiRAP, adding to an Ingenium Award and ACENZ Gold Award. These successes can only further cement KiwiRAP’s standing and advance its uptake and expansion. KiwiRAP began modestly, as a means of providing a baseline measurement of the safety performance of state highways, and it has now grown far beyond that with embedment and adoption throughout the NZ Transport Agency’s business, raising the profile of road safety and ultimately saving lives. We are about to start trials of an Urban KiwiRAP model, which if successful, will see the benefits of KiwiRAP extend to local road networks and further reduce road trauma.”

The Excellence in Engineering for Safety Award recognises outstanding activities associated with engineering that promote excellence in health and safety, or an individual who has championed health and safety.
Learn more about the development of the KiwiRAP project.

Waste, Water and Amenities Award
MWH and the Hastings District Council have been awarded for their project Hastings Wastewater Treatment Plant: A Paradigm Shift in Wastewater Planning and Treatment.
The successful completion and proven operation of the upgraded treatment plant commissioned in 2009 marked the end of a long journey described by the Coastal Permit/Resource Consent Hearings Committee in their decision as “a remarkable and probably historic accord between tangata whenua and local government.” The journey has resulted in considerable engineering and planning innovation.
At the treatment plant a modified biological trickling filter without primary treatment or secondary clarifiers is used as an alternative to more traditional primary and secondary treatment of municipal waste. A low energy process treats the human waste into biomass, carbon dioxide and water which is then discharged through to the ocean through a rock lined channel.
“This project offers a simple low-tech solution that satisfies the many demands of the local community including the tangata whenua,” says awards judge Andrew Read of Pedersen Read Consultants in Christchurch. “Sometimes the best engineering is the simplest.”
“I was very attracted to this project,” says awards convenor, Bill Darnell. “It was a well worked through adaptation of proven methodologies to produce a very cost effective solution that recognised cultural sensitivities. A great solution for this local authority and one that has already been used by other Councils.”
Hastings District Council, (HDC) group manager for asset management, David Fraser says, “In my experience very few engineering projects demonstrate both true innovation and excellence in delivery. On this project MWH, working closely with HDC staff, supported by excellent workmanship by DownerEDi as the main civil contractor unquestionably achieved that.”
The wastewater treatment method has now been successfully implemented by the Gisborne District Council. Napier City Council and Grey District Council will soon follow suit.
The Water Waste and Amenities Award recognises recent activities associated with reliable supply of services to communities and/or their distribution networks in respect of any of water supply, water storage, wastewater, flood works and community amenities
Initiated in 2005, the New Zealand Engineering Excellence Awards are the premier awards for the engineering professionals of New Zealand.
About MWH
MWH Global is a strategic consulting, technical engineering and construction services firm leading the wet infrastructure sector. Offering a full range of services and innovative, award-winning solutions beginning in the initial planning phases through construction and asset management, we partner with our clients in multiple industries to implement projects and programs that focus on water, energy, natural resources and infrastructure. Our 7,500 employees in 35 countries spanning six continents are dedicated to fulfilling our purpose of Building a Better World, which reflects our commitment to sustainable development. MWH is a private, employee-owned firm with a rich legacy beginning in 1820. For more information, visit our website at www.mwhglobal.com.

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