The team that maintain the state highways in the south west Waikato received three prestigious industry accolades recently for the significant contribution that the contract has made to the advancement of asset management internationally.
The Performance Specified Maintenance Contract (PSMC) team consisting of the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and their suppliers, Transfield Services, won a Gold Award at the Asset Management Council Awards held at the ICOMS 2011 Asset Management Conference on Queensland's Gold Coast. The award was given in recognition of the asset management processes employed by the team to improve the condition, safety and performance of the 346km of State highway managed by the contract.
NZTA State highway manager Kaye Clark said that the award was excellent recognition of the strong relationship NZTA had with Transfield Services and the continued growth in knowledge and capability the team had developed over the 12 years that the PSMC has been in place.
"The award review team noted the very strong and open relationship between the NZTA and Transfield Services. We really work on having a culture of continuous improvement, and try to 'Do It Once, Do It Right'," she said.
An Australian Asset Management Council review team visited the Hamilton-based team earlier this year to view and assess how the team manages the State highway.
The review panel report was very positive, noting in particular strengths in the leadership, systems, measurement and management of data and focus on achieving key outcomes.
In its closing remarks, the Asset Management Council review team report noted the "very positive and significant development" of the team's use of increased safety performance as a driver of improved performance within the contract.
"The Review Team fully believes that with a little further maturity, the use of safety to drive asset management performance improvement will be recognised, with both NZTA and Transfield Services seen as industry leaders."
Transfield Services PSMC Contract Manager Richard Parsons was also announced as the winner of the Steve Maxwell Award in recognition of his leadership excellence and understanding of the role asset management and maintenance engineering has in the success of an organisation. Richard's nomination was evaluated with respect to his proven track record of excellence in systems and process improvement, innovation, teamwork, change management and leadership.
As the highest scoring applicant, the PSMC contract team has been put forward by the Asset Management Council as a finalist at the prestigious Australian Engineering Excellence Awards in Canberra later this year.
