62 | Weather events add to workflow Terra Firma Engineering offers a surprisingly broad range of services, from geotechnical and natural hazard assessment, on-site wastewater disposal assessments and design, to landslip remediation, earthworks and foundation design Terra Firma Engineering T T Hugh de Lacy REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Nelson’s appetite for residential subdivisions may have waned a bit over the past couple of years, but geotechnical and civil engineering company Terra Firma Engineering Ltd has remained busy, helping the Nelson and Tasman communities recover from the August 2022 heavy rainfall event. This resulted in widespread landslips and damage to land and buildings, only for those districts to be hit with successive repeats of that event in July this year. In this testing environment, Terra Firma Engineering has helped residential property owners in many and varied residential and rural developments throughout the Top of the South. “The August 2022 storm really sent us into overdrive, initially helping Civil Defence during, and immediately afterwards, to assess potential life-risk threats from landslips,” Rob Hunter of Terra Firma Engineering says. “We also helped with the New Zealand Earthquake Commission – now the Natural Hazards Commission – assessing land damage insurance claims, and property owners in remediating damaged land, preparing retaining wall designs and resolving general geotechnical, stormwater and civil engineering issues. “The fallout in terms of work for us continues,” Rob says, and the latest disasters will compound that demand. “We were flat out on subdivisions in the wake of Covid, but just as the heat was coming out of that market, storm recovery work helped to maintain our workload. “The recent storms aside, the last year has been more of an even mix of land and building developments, including earthworks, foundation and on-site wastewater designs. Workflow in the Tasman and Golden Bay areas has generally remained steady, compared to Nelson and Richmond urban areas, where it has really dropped off from the post-Covid peaks.” Terra Firma Engineering was founded in 2005 by Andrew Palmer, working initially alone from his home near Mapua, west of Nelson. Andrew is a chartered professional engineer in New Zealand, and has over 30 years in the profession working for civil contractors and geotechnical and environmental consultants in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. An outdoorsman – ultra-marathon running, skiing, biking and tramping – he made a notable contribution to the remediation work after the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquakes, for which he was awarded the Fulton-Downer Gold Medal for Engineering. He has also recently been a key volunteer in the establishment of New Zealand’s first free Via Ferrata, located on top of the Takaka Hill. Rob joined Andrew in Terra Firma Engineering three years ago from a background as a senior engineering geologist and project management consultant in both New Zealand and the UK. He has a Master’s degree in engineering geology and 15 years’ experience in projects across the public and private sectors, ranging from civil infrastructure to land development, road and rail projects, and in natural hazard assessments. For a two-man firm, Terra Firma Engineering offers a surprisingly broad range of services, from geotechnical and natural hazard assessment, on-site wastewater disposal assessments and design, to landslip remediation, earthworks and foundation design, stormwater assessment and civil design, and, of course, subdivision assessment and site certification. Experienced in all aspects of excavation Mobile: 027 285 7633 Proud to support Terra Firma Engineering Hockley Brothers CONTRACTING LTD Gary | Mobile: 021 547559 Ph: 03 543 3764 | www.hockleybrothers.co.nz Prompt Reliable Service • 4 & 12 tonne digger hire • Tip truck hire • General Earthmoving • Hole Boring • Retaining Walls • Rock retaining walls Proudly supporting Terra Firma Engineering › GROUND ANCHORS › PILING & MICROPILES › RETAINING WALLS › SHOTCRETE › SLOPE STABILISATION › INDUSTRIAL ROPE ACCESS › SEISMIC STRENGTHENING › ROCKFALL CATCH FENCES 0800 47 26 79 INFO@GROUNDANCHORSYSTEMS.CO.NZ WWW.GROUND.NZ
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