PROFFESSIONAL

ENGINEERING PRACTICE
2023 ASSIGNMENT
TIROHANGA MATAKITE ENGINEERING LTD.
BUSINESS PLAN
Rudy Nicolas ID 1540063 13/04/2023
PANUITANGA - OVERVIEW & STRATEGY :

Tirohanga Matakite means the ability to see a vision of the future; New Zealand has
a rich and unique culture with an enormous potential to flourish and strive. As a company,
we want to help our clients and communities to realise their visions and enhance their
potential to prosper in this fast-forward environment.

Engineering projects are becoming more complex to build and require more
resources; Furthermore, the already stretched workforce, new requirements to build more
sustainable & resilient infrastructures and shorter deadlines expectations can pressure
construction businesses and small communities with limited budgets.

Research & Development and adoption period are often too long and too costly for
small businesses and public institutions. Besides, there are risks associated with new
transformation; financial, legal, technical, and cultural. Furthermore, transitional periods can
be disruptive while trying to run a company business as usual, and it can be hard to know
where to start. Hence the importance of having the right team to help foresee and navigate
this process.

At Tirohanga Matakite, we provide consulting & engineering services aimed at

helping construction companies & public entities to implant and adopt new
technologies, advanced sustainable construction methodology and modern project
management systems within their structure.

We believe that our people can help with this transition; our team is composed of
engineers, project managers, sustainable experts, planners, cultural experts, data analysts,
organisational transition professionals and field specialists with common goals: planning our
client vision and assessing their needs, helping their people to upskill & adopt new
technology, but also helping them to create systems that work for their business.

We are operating in three stages :

- Stage 1: We assess the business & technical capabilities of our clients and
provide recommendation.
- Stage 2: We are seconding our team to support our clients during the transition
phase in their environment.
- Stage 3: The Last stage will be to assess the solution implanted and can provide
extra engineering services if required.

Tirohanga Matakite believes that the vision can only be achieved through the
people’s will; hence the People are at the centre of our business model, and we believe in an
inclusive and open collaborative working environment that values the uniqueness and vision
of everyone. Our company invest heavily in our people, not just in technical capability but
also in personal and cultural skill. We have a rich cultural heritage in New Zealand; we
strongly adhere to Māori values and want to celebrate and promote them within our
organisation; in fact, our people have strong connections with local Iwis and local
communities, and we are always looking for new cultural leaders to join our whanau.

Our mission is the hire the best people and provide them with the best working
environment to enable them to produce the best outcomes for our clients and communities.

TE HAPORI – ROLE IN SOCIETY :

Tirohanga Matakite aspires to impact positively on society; we aim to help our client to work
more efficiently and build more inclusive and sustainable construction projects.

Our team have experts in sustainable construction methodologies that can teach
affordable & easy solutions to implant on site or at the design stage. We aim to help to build
better and provide more resilient infrastructure. For example, our expert in sustainable
drainage solutions and landscape can assist with brownfield redevelopment projects with the
aim of improving the local environment for the communities and minimising
impervious areas.

Our business structure is very different from the traditional engineering consultancy;
sure, we can help our client with design and project management, but our main goal is to
transfer our skills and methodology with the aim of getting our client to design, construct, and
project manage better. By applying this approach, our business has more impact on society
as we are changing the system from within, allowing our clients to provide the best outcome
for the end user by themselves in the future.

Tirohanga Matakite’s vision is to bring New Zealand into a better future by helping
businesses and institutions to adopt new technology, working more efficiently and
sustainably but also by educating our clients on how to manage cultural and local
community relationships. Our cultural expert has a deep knowledge of local culture and
iwis and can guide our clients to understand and forge collaborative relationships between
the stakeholders. Consultation with local communities is often a critical step in a
construction project, and Tirohanga Matakite believes that New Zealand, in that aspect, has
a unique and fortunate process that is beneficial to the whole society.

TE TURE – LEGISTLATION :

Our team can help our clients navigate through the different legislation and
standards documents; our planner has a deep understanding of the Resource Management
Act 1991 and can help their team to navigate locally through the different Building
consents required for projects ( subdivision, land uses, coastal permit, water permit,
discharge permit…).

In fact, we have developed a digital database checklist of requirements of each local

council ( including controlled activity, discretionary activity, non-complying activity, and
prohibited activity.) that we are regularly updating to facilitate streamlining information.
Access through a monthly subscription can be offered to our client.

Our Engineers are also expert with the NZ Building Code & Local Code of
Practices; we have also developed a simplified database of the different rules that our team
regularly update; this enables us to identify requirements and constrain on each project
quickly.

Additionally, our engineer can help our clients to create Resource consent,
Building consent & Engineering Approval template package with all the necessary
requirements. Our company also has a team of senior chartered professional engineers
with significant experience who can help with reviewing and issuing Producer
Statements ( PS1 under certain conditions, PS2, PS3 & PS4 ) and advise on Construction
Monitoring levels.

Tirohanga Matakite has developed efficient construction monitoring methods

combined with the use of digital technology (on-site CCTV, drone monitoring, Digital
receipts, tracker, scanning technology…); we can help our client to choose an appropriate
methodology to improve construction monitoring and site within their budget.

Finally, our Project managers are familiar with engineering NZ3910 contracts,
short and long-form agreement contracts; they can advise on which one to choose
depending on the size and complexity of the project and how to fill it. Moreover, if required,
they can also act as Engineer to the contract and help with progress payment and
variation…. Nevertheless, also help our clients and contractor team to develop internal
processes to follow to stay on top of their obligations.

WHAKAHAERE TANGATA – PEOPLE MANAGMENT :

At Tirohanga Matakite, the company culture is to :

o Be Inclusive; We are accepting everyone and celebrating the uniqueness

and culture of all,
o Be Open & Cooperative; We are listening and taking everyone’s
feedback on board.
o Be hungry for progress: We are constantly monitoring the future and
how we can change for the better.
o Care for society and the Environment; we always monitor our actions
and their consequences.
o Promote New Zealand culture and Māori Values; we fully integrate
Māori principles into our identity and take our responsibility as a
kaitiakitanga seriously.

To build and enhance that culture, the first step starts during our hiring process; we
strive to have a team with a diversity of cultures, skills and life experiences, as we believe
that people are at the centre of the business model and that nothing gets done without
their will. Therefore, we provide an ideal ecosystem and environment where open,
respectful communication and feedback are valued ( we are organising regular surveys,
and we are trying to get the input of everyone before making a strategic decision for the
business using a digital tool where people can vote and give feedback.

Skill Development is our business. Therefore, we are constantly developing our

people; in fact, we have a team in charge of assessing the needs of our workforce and
creating concise and entertaining training program ( using team activity, site visits, mentoring
systems, sending people to seminars overseas…), we also make sure to reward and
promote people able to transfer their soft and hard skills.

Finally, we want to promote Māori belief and fully integrate it into our identity;
we have a team of cultural experts that oversee promoting Māori culture within our company
and also to our clients. We have Māori as part of our diverse senior management team, and
we are regularly checking & visiting local Iwi and communities to forge deeper
friendships and cohesion.

The most important asset that we have to attract and retain our customers is
how much value we can provide to them. We have a common goal with our clients as we
want to empower them and see them succeed.

We are operating in a unique way; usually, our clients pay for a service that is
executed remotely, and the relationship is purely commercial. In our case, we are sending
our teams in secondment to help our clients to transition to a new technology or construction
method or train them to forge connections with local Iwis and communities; we are
doing it from within. Our team become a temporary part of their team. Consequently, our
clients feel supported in their environment resulting in a more genuine connection and
partnership.

ĀRAHITANGA – LEADERSHIP :

At Tirohanga Matakite, we aim to deliver a collaborative environment where

everyone is empowered & made feel important. This participative style of leadership
requires many soft skills and involves trust and confidence.

We want to stay away from the classic hierarchical pyramid and try to establish a Flat
structure where everyone has a role to play across the organisation. Our team are project-
based, and every member of the team has critical inputs and accountability for its part.

The management team have more of a support role ( guidance, development ),

resource allocation, and coordination with the team regularly on objectives, progress,
delay, and planning.
 This type of leadership encourages participation and creativity from everyone but
also empowers everyone to take the lead in his own field of expertise. Our business is to
guide, develop and empower our clients; therefore, those values need to be instigated
within our team first.

The leadership team also need to represent the diversity of our workforce, and we
have the duty to ensure that promotions are not only based on productivity criteria but
also on other criteria ( collaboration, inclusivity, support.).

TE HIHIRI ME TE PUPURI – MOTIVATION AND RETENTION :

We want our team to feel valued and treated respectfully; at Tirohanga Matakite, we
believe in acting fair and reasonably with our people.

We are genuinely interested in our people’s life. In fact, we aim to remember

birthdays, graduation, wedding anniversary, the birth of new children and other personal life
milestones of our employees and send a congratulatory message with some presents to
celebrate their milestone (i.e., we shout a dinner for 2 in their favourite restaurant for their
wedding anniversary or send Voucher card for their birthday…).

We also want to support them when life is getting hard and show that we have
their back (by offering extra recovery time in case of family issues & sending flowers, and
offering help in case of the loss of a loved one…). Furthermore, we are also covering life
insurance for whole our employees and subsidising public transport and gym
membership.

We understand that everyone has different priorities in life and that work/life
balance is an important criteria for being productive and happy at work. Therefore, we also
want to offer flexible schedules and remote working within reasonable conditions as
we also believe that being part of a team and creating human connection is to be present at
least a few days a week in person.

We are big on developing our people and want to support them in this area; at
Tirohanga Matakite, we are organising regular training sessions, but we can also help
with school fees or training by having a system of training credit that employees can
cumulate and use whenever they feel. We also help our seniors to become chartered or
registered in their body of work.

Like every business, we are setting goals, and we want them to be clearly defined,
realistic & measurable; in fact, we are open to the process of setting targets and consult
with our employees regularly on this subject. At Tirohanga Matakite, we also want to share
company success with our people by offering yearly bonuses based on the company
results (where a part is a collective effort, and another part is based on personal
achievement).
 We also organise regular social events to celebrate with our people important
milestones during the year (end-of-the-year festivities, important cultural events, retirement
parties, and welcoming events…)

Finally, we want to offer a remuneration package that is fair and reasonable with
a bi-annual review to match better market rates and reward efforts on a regular basis. We
do believe that all the above strategies are effective at retaining our talents and keeping
motivation in our workforce.

TIKANGA MĀORI – MĀORI CULTURE :

The Māori culture is part of our identity; in fact, we have chosen to make a statement
by naming our engineering Tirohanga Matakite. We strongly believe in Māori values and
have solid ties with Tangata Whenua.

As part of our commercial services, we are offering cultural advice to our clients and
helping them to forge strong ties with the Mana Whenua. Our cultural teams have many
personal connections with locals Iwi but also a wealth of knowledge in Māori history, culture
& consultation processes.

We can help our clients to navigate around the resource management act 1991’s
sections related to Māori culture; for example, we can help to explain the concept of
Kaitiakitanga and interpret the role of guardianship and protection of the environment
by minimising the effects of the projects on the natural surrounding and managing taonga
(natural resources),

We can explain to our clients the important significance of Wai (the water) in the
Māori culture (that represents a source of food but also have an important spiritual meaning),
describe what are the indicators of stream and river health and explain the Mauri
model which is recognised within the mātauranga Māori (Knowledge Māori).

We have experts to help our client to choose the appropriate water treatment
devices; as part of a Cultural Value Assessment, concerns with water contaminants are
often brought up during the consultation process; the Mana whenua is often interested in
multiple mitigation systems to protect the water course.

We also aim to train our client but also our whole team on how to form genuine
Mahi tahi (partnership) with local Iwi and include them early in the project to make
suggestions (on design, methods to protect the environment, location of Tapu…).

The Māori culture is rich and unique, and at Tirohanga Matakite, we want to project
the vision of Inclusiveness, Symbolism, and Identity of the Māori culture; our company
has an important ratio of Māori employees, and we are always looking for some new talent
with knowledge and connection to the Māori culture; we also have a cultural director which is
part of the senior executive team.
TE ORANGA TONUTANGA – SUSTAINABILITY & SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT :

Care for society and the Environment is part of our core company values. As
part of our team, we have specialists in sustainability that are in charge of assessing the
sustainability level of our clients ( construction companies and local public council ), and
they are looking at the organisation itself (building efficiency, usage of electric vehicles,
water conservation policies…) but also at how they can improve their construction method
or maybe including more sustainable design in their construction project ( using
sustainable material and better insulation for their buildings, using water sensitive
design and increasing previous areas to recharge water table and minimise run-offs….)

We want to show leadership in this area, and as part of our target to become 100%
carbon neutral, we are operating our offices on renewable energy, having a fleet of
electric vehicles for our team to use when they need to go on-site, our office building is
certified green building 5 star and equipped with Low Impact development stormwater
devices (re use detention/retention tank, rain garden, green roof).

Part of our company benefits is also to subsidise public transport for our team to
encourage people not to take the car; we also organise a sustainability competition every
year where employees give ideas on how we can make our business more sustainable, the
best and practicable ideas get rewarded with a brand-new electric bicycle.

As part of our social work, we want to encourage people to volunteer for their
community, Tirohanga Matakite pays for each of our team members to volunteer in a local
non-profit organisation of their choice a few days per year; we believe in giving back and
want to instigate these principles to all our whanau.

WHAKAHAERE – KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT :

We know that we can only achieve results through our people. Therefore, it is
important for us that we develop effective methods of coaching and managing work.

We have four steps in our management strategy :

 Planning: We are identifying the scope of work, set the goals, select the
skills and resources needed; we involved our team leads working on the
project at that stage to plan how best we could realise the job.
 Organising: team leads to organise the work and select the work system
that will suit best for the project, they select resources and brief other
team members required in the project, and discussion will take place on
who will take responsibility for what and how.
 Leading: During this step, it is time to do the work; the team lead show
direction and support the team in their effort, but everyone is
responsible and accountable for their part (performance
 management) good communication and soft skill are important during
the leading phase.
 Controlling: This is the monitoring process where team leads assesses
if goals are on track and performance is met. It is also during that
stage that team leads need to provide positive, constructive feedback
and see if more resources, training, and mentoring are needed.

This strategy has been put in place to see the step of the management clearly, and at
Tirohanga Matakite, we provide regular coaching sessions for our team leaders to
ensure they have the capacity to lead their teams efficiently.

We want to ensure our teams and leader have all the tools to succeed, and we
have developed junior leadership program, senior leadership program and project
management program that cover all the necessary skills required at different stages of our
management strategy.

MATAKITA – BUSINESS ETHIC :

At Tirohanga Matakite, we aim to conduct business with moral & ethic. As an

engineering company, we have important responsibilities toward the community and
the land as we are working on projects that affect the life of people and the environment;
therefore, need to look after their well-being.

We fully abide by the Engineering NZ code of ethical conduct, and we ensure that
we are conducting a triple bottom line before taking on a project and assessing what could
be the adverse consequences on health and safety, society, and the environment.

We also ensure that we are acting within our domain of competency and do not
advise our clients in areas where we do not have sufficient skills. Furthermore, our internal
quality assessment helps us to redirect the job to our proper specialist or outsource if we do
not have the skill internally.

We are communicating & behaving professionally and respectfully with our

clients and the different stakeholder of the project and informing them of the adverse
consequences of not following advice. This is an area where we train our team
considerably as they are directly in contact with the client.

Our business is to help our client to improve their engineering capabilities and work
more efficiently on construction projects; during that time, our team has access to sensitive
commercial information, and our client places their trust in us. Consequently, we pride
ourselves in our strict confidentiality policy and have a good reputation in that domain.

Health and safety is at the top of our mind; we pride ourselves on training our team
thoroughly in that matter and have records where we can identify the needs of our workforce
and keep up-to-date training. Before attending a job, we proceed to a site risk assessment
and provide full PPE equipment when our team are going on-site; Finally, we aim to transfer
this safety culture to our client and partners too.

References :

Cover page pictures

Viewpoint, n.d., How connected Construction is shaping the future

https://www.viewpoint.com/en-au/blog/how-connected-construction-is-shaping-the-
future?redirected=y

The nature conservancy,n.d., New Zealand,

https://www.google.com/search?q=water+nature+new+zealand&tbm=isch&chips=q:water+n
ature+new+zealand,online_chips:nature+conservancy:68zO4MtEwp4%3D&rlz=1C1ONGR_
enNZ994NZ994&hl=en-
GB&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQoqu5tr__AhWDT3wKHSTuBZ4Q4lYoBHoECAEQMA&biw=899
&bih=421

Twinkle,n.d, Māori Patterns, https://www.twinkl.co.nz/teaching-wiki/maori-patterns

All the sections of this assignment have been inspired by my Professional

Engineering Practice course, semester 1, 2023, taught by Dr David Philips

Business ethic :

Engineering NZ, 2016, code of ethical conduct, https://www.engineeringnz.org/engineer-

tools/ethics-rules-standards/code-ethical-conduct/