Conversley, inexperienced engineers increase risk and cost.
Integrated Engineers has been established to provide clients
and their project teams with experienced engineering resources
to guide them through the design, construction and operational
processes.
Specialising in Building Services, we provide technical
advisory, peer reviews and expert witness for mechanical,
electrical and hydraulics engineering services.
We
specialise in hospitals, laboratories and complex / critical
engineering building projects. Our fees are variable and
reasonable and tailored to the scope. They pale into
insignificance when compared to cost and risk of failure,
especially when the lawyers start to engage us. There is a
dearth of inexperience around the world, and unless you are
lucky enough to get a company's 'A' team your risk multiplies.
Integrated Engineers work directly for clients,
architects, consultants, quantity surveyors, contractors,
project managers, insurance companies and lawyers.
"It is time to give back to the industry that has sustained
our careers. I started Integrated Engineers in 2018 and soon
found that more clients were asking for independent advice.
This ranged from early business cases to reviewing detailed
designs to operational failures. So, in 2021, we decided to
work exclusively in the Technical Advisory Space.
We assist and guide design and construction teams through
the maze of good engineering practice, code compliance,
sustainability, and cost-effective solutions to improve
performance outcomes and avoid potential disasters. We are
able to draw on a network of highly experienced and well
qualified engineers throughout New Zealand and beyond.
Ian Booth - BSc(Hons) CMEngNZ CEng(UK) MCIBSE MABSANZ EurEng
- November 2023".
We are of course also able to integrate with the design and/or
construction teams at any stage in the building process and
onwards through operations, to provide technical advise on an
adhoc basis.
Our focus is on complex buildings where health and
safety is essential. Buildings which carry a high degree of
risk require resilient proven solutions.
These factors are critical in hospitals and laboratories
where higher levels of competency and attention to detail are
fundamental to the outcomes of the facility.
We have many years’ experience in the design, construction and
commissioning of hospitals and laboratories including:
Hospitals - operating theatres, isolation suites, CSSD,
radiology, dialysis and support spaces.
Projects for: ADHB, WDHB, CMDHB, CDHB, MCDHB, CCDHB, NHS -
Salisbury, Liverpool, Isle of Wight, Sheffield, Manchester.
Laboratories - bio-containment PC1, PC2, PC3, quarantine,
chemistry, pathology, microbiology and teaching laboratories,
animal rooms, glasshouses, and ISO Class cleanrooms.
Projects for: Health New Zealand / Te Whata Ora,
Ministry of Primary Industries, ADHB Labplus, University of
Auckland, Victoria University Wellington, Sheffield
University, Manchester University, Oceania Dairy, Invent
Farma, Novartis, Pfizer, Andaris, Medimmune.
We find ourselves in a world where working spaces and
processes are becoming more hazardous as viruses and
technologies evolve and risks become more onerous. Add
inadequate training and poor quality control, too often
results in deficient buildings.
In addition, as all businesses, engineering consultants are
under pressure to win work and make them commercially
successful. Consequently, resources are under pressure and
corners are cut. This can expose their clients to risk.
Hospitals and laboratories have their own risks to manage
without having poor performing buildings to worry about.
Therefore, specifically when there are compounding risks, the
answer is a resounding yes, because an effective peer review
will discover errors and will highlight under and over design,
code compliance failures, cost excesses, energy wastage, and
wasted space. It will also be able to recommend proven best
practice alternatives to achieve the same objectives.
Ideally, a peer reviewer will be commissioned to be a
contributing member of the business case team, or at the very
least at concept stage, to assist the project and provide
knowledge exchange. They act as critical checkpoints in the
building process. Bringing the peer reviewer in at detailed
design stage is not too late but may incur significant
redesign costs and programme implications if faults are
discovered, especially when the earlier design deliverables
achieved staged approvals.
Peer reviewers find errors and faults through a systematic
process of examination and evaluation using proven knowledge
and experience and, where applicable, drilling down to
engineering fundamentals. They also ask pertinent questions -
who, what and why. Only a highly experienced engineer can do
this effectively.
Our role here is to carry out a forensic examination of the
design, the installation, the equipment, the commissioning,
and the operations of the building services before and up to
the problem,incident or dispute, to establish causes and
effects and then present the evidence and opinion in a manner
that lawyers and their clients can comprehend all the valid
technical details and support legal arguments.
If the case progresses to court or mediation our reports and
opinions will be used when determining the verdict and help to
facilitate settlements.
Regardless of who engages us, our duty is to the court and the
truth.
For obvious reasons of confidentiality, we are unable to
provide examples of cases we have been involved in, however we
can request references from our clients.
Inevitably, we find failures are usually due to negligence
(human error) at some stage in the building process. These
errors could be by the designer, the installing contractor,
the equipment supplier, the commissioning team, the controls
engineer or the building’s facilities management team.
In hindsight, most, if not all incidents could have been
avoided if the people involved carried out appropriate risk
assessments in their roles and responsibilities and
implemented ‘simple weakest link’ / ‘single points of failure’
/ ‘what if’ scenarios and applied effective ‘make safe’
processes and procedures. Clients and project managers also
have a responsibility to appoint competent teams - proven
architects, engineers, and contractors to deliver their
buildings.
Integrated Engineers are based in Auckland, New Zealand and
operate nationally and internationally.
T: (+64) (0)9 445 1687
A: Level 1, 49 Victoria Road, Devonport, Auckland, 0624 New
Zealand
Contact: Ian Booth
E: ian.booth@integratedengineers.co.nz
M: (+64) (0)21 057 1852