Here are some of things that LDE prides itself on, and may do differently from other Engineering companies
LDE has enjoyed sustainable growth for many years; however, we strive to remain a small company wearing big pants.
Our Teams are a healthy mix of enthusiastic graduates, highly skilled young professionals and industry leaders spread across Te Ika a Maui (North Island). We enjoy the toolsets of a large company. While we are small enough to stay close and loyal to our clients, you will be on first-name terms with the engineers and scientists leading your project.
We believe strongly in value engineering and always aim for common sense, practical solutions that meet required standards and client expectations. With our whakapapa based in the regions, the foundation of LDE’s success is cost-effective engineering and scientific solutions developed in partnership with our clients and their stakeholders.
We know climate change is here and is impacting “the norm”. We know it will continue to put more and more pressure on the challenging environments we specialise in, the critical infrastructure owned by our clients, and the compliance expectations of under-resourced councils and territorial authorities. All this makes staying in front of industry changes the only way we can ensure project sustainability.
At LDE, we couple our continued learning, understanding that a “Rolls-Royce” solution is not always viable, and a band-aid approach is not always practical. Risk versus cost-based options drives informed decisions, accountability, effective constructability and “fit for purpose” solutions.
Aaron Holland
National Engineering Manager - Civil & Infrastructure
We only know what we know, yet our world continues to evolve and change.
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is one of the most critical investment areas and a way we can assure first-time callers and long-term clients peace of mind.
But it’s more than just attending courses; We know that the team makes magic happen, and ongoing learning is fundamental to sustainable business and delivering technical excellence. We couple external training, internal mentoring, presentations and shared experiences with practical application and in-the-field exposure.
LDE provides professional memberships for our team, allowing access to the latest training opportunities, industry publications, seminars, webinars and e-learning. We also fund additional studies when aligned with individual goals and company direction.
Tamlyn Adams
National Engineering Manager - Structures
We are not big on setting lofty “corporate” goals. For a start, we are not “a corporate”. Secondly, we feel we get better results from being relentless and passionate about our systems (i.e. our technology and “ways of working”).
Our digital technologies enhance our capability and capacity and allow us to deliver a cohesive service from geographically distributed locations. For example
While we are an engineering company, we are also a technology company. We plan to lead our industry in adopting data/technology-driven engineering design through our investment in technology.
Through technology, we provide a landscape where engineers can be engineers.
Chelsea Young
Finance & Operations Manager
It wasn't that long ago that we all believed that "if I can't see it, it's not a problem, " which unfortunately extended into commercial practices as much as around the home. "It's in the ground; it's gone" was all too common. The world has somewhat moved on from those practices, but their residue remains.
At LDE, we have a dedicated environmental team to seek out harmful contaminants that risk our health and our families health. Far from being a policing action, we see our part to play as leading the collaboration with clients, contractors and councils to ensure practical remediation options are assessed and acted on, providing complete peace of mind that where you plant your veggie garden is safe and contaminate-free.
For our Civil practice, where possible, we deliver green infrastructure in conjunction with Urban and architectural design practices adhering to Water Sensitive Design (WSD) and Low Impact Design (LID) principles. We aim to maintain fish passage and specify native plantings to protect works from adverse environmental impacts. We have done considerable coastal protection work.
As a company, we align our pro bono engineering works with charitable organisations with strong ecology outcomes.
It's not just about fixing it for today, it's about getting it right for the future, and sometimes that's understanding how to deliver on tomorrow's needs without always seeing the outcome. This can be summed up in a single line.
Society grows great when old men plant trees, the shade of which they know they will never sit in. (Greek Proverb)
James Gladwin
National Manager - Environmental
We have expanded significantly over the last few years, but we have maintained our ability to add a personal touch to each of our projects.
As a national team, we pride ourselves on delivering projects seamlessly, whether integrating support from our other offices or working with other consultants and contractors on wider project teams. We bring a positive, ‘can-do’ attitude to every project and have the technical nous to develop smart, cost-effective solutions and provide sound, timely advice.
LDE is a highly dynamic company with a relatively flat structure. I really like that, both internally and externally, we boldly explore new opportunities with an open and keen mind grounded by strong commercial acumen.
We value our team, proactively invest in professional development, and, above all, we enjoy what we do.
Rob Haskell
National Engineering Manager - Geotechnical and Geo Science
What sets us apart is our people and attitude. Substance is equally as important as qualifications in what we look for in a team member. Our people start with a thirst to do well, and we foster that with continuous professional development, exposure to new skills and a safe and happy workspace.
Our model is unique because our people want to know how projects work from inception to delivery, and we encourage this. Every team member touching a project understands who the client is, what the end game is, their contribution, and how it contributes to successful delivery.
Graduates get coupled with intermediate and senior team members and are asked to understand and contribute to client liaison, project quoting, quality assurance hold points, delivery and invoicing.
The benefit of trust with supervision and empowerment for the client is that everyone working on your project understands your needs, constraints and desired outcomes. They care.
The benefit to LDE is that we have independent thinkers who constantly grow and deliver daily. You’ll often hear us telling our people that we want them to gain the courage and skills to run a business of their own but enjoy LDE enough that they don’t want to.
Bruce Walters
General Manager
