Project Management in Christchurch
Christchurch has been rebuilding since the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, and projects in the city still carry the lessons of that time. Much of the flat land is soft, liquefiable ground with a shallow water table, residential sites are still assigned an MBIE foundation technical category from TC1 to TC3, and the Port Hills add rockfall and slope hazards of their own. A single project can involve Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council, a ground investigation that reshapes the foundations, and a design team drawn from several disciplines. LDE provides engineering-led project management across Christchurch and wider Canterbury. Our project managers come from civil, geotechnical and structural backgrounds, so they can tell when a ground report or a design change will move the budget and act before it does. We prepare the business case and procurement route, appoint and manage the consultants, administer the construction contract and keep a current forecast of cost and time from early design to practical completion. Clients get one accountable lead who understands the programme and the engineering underneath it.
How LDE delivers project management in Christchurch
Most of the risk on a Canterbury project is set in the first months, when the site is investigated, the brief is fixed and the procurement route is chosen, so that is where we put our effort. A geotechnical report that confirms liquefiable silts or high groundwater changes the foundation type, the temporary works and often the programme. We build those findings into the cost plan early and explain to the client what they mean. During construction we chair the project meetings, track progress against the baseline programme, assess variations and claims, and report plainly on where the money is going.
The service draws on LDE’s national project management practice and on the engineers behind our buildings and urban development work, so design questions are answered by people who do the design.
- Business cases, feasibility studies and early cost planning
- Procurement strategy, tender documents and tender evaluation
- Contract administration and engineer to contract roles under NZS 3910
- Design management across geotechnical, structural and civil disciplines
Consents, approvals and standards in Canterbury
Regional consents for earthworks, dewatering, groundwater takes and discharges are issued by Environment Canterbury under the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan. Land use and building consents, and engineering acceptance of new roads and three waters assets, go through Christchurch City Council under the Christchurch District Plan. Consent timeframes and any conditions on groundwater or hazard management feed straight into our programme, and we track them as risks from the start.
- Engineering New Zealand guidance on professional engineering practice
- Standards New Zealand publishes NZS 3910 and the other contract conditions we administer
- New Zealand Building Code requirements that shape design and consent documentation
LDE project management in Canterbury
Typical work in the region includes commercial and community buildings in the central city, school and health facilities, industrial sites on the city’s edges, and roading and three waters renewals. Clients range from public agencies and councils to developers, building owners and institutions that need a technical project lead without keeping one in house. Where a site sits on the Port Hills or near Lyttelton, we raise slope and rockfall questions with the design team early, because they can decide whether a scheme is affordable.
Common questions about project management in Canterbury
Why use an engineer as project manager in Christchurch?
Ground conditions drive a large share of cost and programme risk here. An engineer can read a geotechnical report, question a foundation option and see how a design change affects the contract, so cost and time effects are found at design stage, when they are cheapest to deal with.
How do technical categories TC1 to TC3 affect a residential project?
The technical category sets the foundation options MBIE guidance allows on that land. TC3 sites generally need a site-specific geotechnical investigation and an engineered foundation, which adds cost and time. We confirm the category at the start and plan the investigation and design around it.
Who leads LDE’s Canterbury project management work?
Engineers and project managers from our team lead each commission, supported by LDE specialists nationally.
Can LDE take a project from business case to handover?
Yes. We can act for the client from the first feasibility study through design, consenting, tender and construction to the end of the defects liability period, or come in at a single stage such as procurement or contract administration.
