Andrew Hills stepped into the coalface of engineering when he joined the team at Brian Perry Civil as a Senior Geotechnical Engineer.

As a specialist ground engineering firm, BPC offered an opportunity to complement his design skills as a consultant engineer with more the practical experience of a contractor.

“While we’re still designers, we’re on site all the time and see our projects being built. You don’t get the same opportunity in the consulting world to experiment with new methods and materials, and recalibrate your design methods based on what you’re seeing and the data collected on site,” Andrew says. “There is more focus on finding and delivering value, which is what engineering is all about.”

The work is faster-paced, as the BPC Geotechnical Team also cover projects across the wider Fletcher Construction and Piletech businesses.

Although he is based in Christchurch, Andrew works on projects nationally, including Wellington’s Te Awa Kairangi programme of work - a highlight, due to the challenge of founding (very) large diameter piles in a regionally-significant aquifer. Others include Auckland Airport’s Taxiway Mike project and designing various screw piling solutions through BPC’s in-house screw pile specialist Piletech.

Andrew’s previous consulting experience coupled with the perspective of a contractor has made him a well-rounded engineer.

“Being able to offer the experience from both sides of the fence is really helpful,” he says.