Mining engineer and McConnell Dowell Contractor’s Representative Marianne Rogers has been re-elected to the NZ Mining Board of Examiners for a second three-year term.

The Board was established as a result of the Pike River Royal Commission and is responsible for setting and examining the competencies required of supervisors and managers looking to achieve Certificates of Competence in the extractives industry.

Marianne says her involvement with the Board stems from a passion for Health & Safety in the industry.

“I have been involved in serious incidents in our industry and I want to get the message out that it’s possible to keep people safe and have strong production and profitability as a business,” she says. “There does not need to be a tension between production and safety if the job is set up and managed properly.”

I wanted to bring my learnings from working in the Australian mining industry to NZ and contribute the H&S culture here.

About Marianne

Marianne has over 20 years’ experience in the NZ and Australia mining industries across a range of commodities and mines, including underground metal mines, open cut coal mines and consulting for sand mining, quarrying and civil earthworks operations.

Being strong in maths and interested in geology, and with a State Coal Mines Scholarship under her belt, she began her career with a Bachelor of Engineering in Mining from the University of Auckland. Her early experience in Mining Engineer roles and working alongside expert witnesses in mining litigation led to an interest in law, which she pursued at the Queensland University of Technology. Her First Class Honours Degree in Law has helped her develop a strengthened commercial and compliance understanding which has come in useful in her more recent roles in the mining and now civil construction industries.

Marianne has detailed understanding of, and practical capability in, underground metal mining operations including drill and blast, heading development and stope production, and has held roles involving statutory mine management, risk management, mine design and planning, ventilation, drill and blast design, production, feasibility studies, dewatering, operations start up, cost control, logistics, environmental management and compliance.

Most recently, she has been responsible for leading the McConnell Dowell team working on the Sumner Rd Geotechnical Remediation project in Christchurch.

Volunteers from all five SCIRT (Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team) partners have helped give Christchurch children of all abilities a special new play area.

The Sensory Garden in New Brighton opened to the public on the weekend, after months of planning and two solid weeks of hard labour by SCIRT volunteers. Delivered in partnership with Christchurch charity SmileDial, which McConnell Dowell has supported for several years, the Sensory Garden was a long-time dream of SmileDial founder Kelly Dugan, whose daughter has cerebal palsy and struggles to use typical playgrounds.

“It always seemed that we were adapting to the surroundings so my daughter could enjoy them,” says Kelly, “and I thought surely there must be an easier way.”

Initiated as a SCIRT team wellness initiative, the project aimed to bring the combined delivery teams together to ‘give something back’ to the community. They were thrilled to be able to bring Kelly’s idea to life.

Each component of the garden is designed in to be accessible to all children, including those with special needs. It gives children the chance to explore their senses through interaction with nature, and includes edible plants, plants with textures and scents (including stinky ones), a wheelchair accessible boat, water play, a sandpit and a musical footpath.

Behind the scenes, McConnell Dowell Wellbeing Co-ordinator Nicole Hill and HR Co-ordinator Linda Plower worked hard to co-ordinate the volunteers from the SCIRT partners and donations of materials from suppliers, while Downer Project Manager Mario Wolfrum kept the team on track during the fortnight of construction. Over 20 McConnell Dowell people gave their time to help prepare the ground, box gardens, spread mulch, plant trees and install the garden’s features.

“SCIRT has always been about people and teamwork – people from hundreds of organisations working together to improve the lives of the people of Christchurch," says SCIRT General Manager Ian Campbell. "This project was particularly rewarding because it gave us the opportunity to do something extra for some very special children.”

A TV crew from Seven Sharp captured the opening day ribbon cutting and met Lucia Dugan, the little girl who inspired it all.

The garden taking shape

Almost finished

Colourful art

Lucia making some music

McConnell Dowell sponsored a CEDA (Committee for Economic Development of Australia) lunch in Melbourne last week, which was attended by over 250 leaders in the local infrastructure industry.

Keynote speakers were Kevin Devlin, CEO of the Level Crossing Removal Authority, and Ian Woodcock of RMIT University. Both gentlemen talked on the topic of cities and infrastructure.

Scott Cummins (McConnell Dowell’s CEO) and Jim Frith (Managing Director of McConnell Dowell Australia) were both in attendance, and Jim gave the vote of thanks to the speakers at the end of the event.

McConnell Dowell also hosted a corporate table with guests from Arup, UGL and Woods Bagot (architects) in attendance.

Pictured right to left: Jim Frith, Kevin Devlin and Jean-Marc Imbert (moderator)

Congratulations to McConnell Dowell Learning and Development Manager Anand Naidu, who was awarded Runner Up in the Practitioner of the Year category at last night’s NZATD Awards.

Second place was a significant achievement given the huge number of entries in this category. The award acknowledged Anand’s “broad range of skills: strategy, coaching, mentoring, leadership, design skills [and] assessment.”

The judges particularly noted the significance of establishing McConnell Dowell’s in-house Private Training Enterprise - the first in the construction industry – which Anand has been responsible for implementing and running.

“We acknowledge that establishing a PTE for his employer which links to accredited training is a tremendous achievement” they said.

After just 12 months of operation, the PTE received an ‘excellent’ rating in its first NZQA Audit.

The judges were also impressed by Anand’s personal contribution to the community, for which he received a Queens Service Medal in 2013.

Anand has worked as an L&D professional for over 30 years in a variety of roles including secondary and tertiary School Teacher, Information Technology Trainer, Lecturer, Webmaster, Senior Trainer, Community Education Tutor, People Capability Manager, OD/L&D Advisor, Assessor/Moderator, Qualification Developer and L&D Manager. He actively contributes to the Learning and Development industry by delivering conference presentations, and taking an active part in a number of groups and associations.

Anand demonstrates a strong work ethic, maintains a high level of personal integrity, and focuses on relationship building and facilitating achievement though learning. He has also been instrumental in transitioning the culture within McConnell Dowell from a ‘training’ focus to one of ‘learning and development’.

“This is an outstanding achievement and deserving recognition of Anand for what he has achieved in getting our PTE to where it is today,” says New Zealand and Pacific Islands Managing Director Roger McRae. “It is also due recognition of Anand’s service to the training industry - we are proud of his achievement and standing in the industry.”