News

	RILEY Christmas and New Year Closing The staff at RILEY would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Our offices will close from mid-day on 24 December and re-open at 8am on Wednesday 8 January 2020. Emergency contacts during the closure period: Auckland - Brett Black - 0274 451 205 Christchurch - Paul Rivett - 027 448 4522
	Congratulations Arthur Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) We are thrilled to learn Arthur Amputch has been awarded an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to engineering. The Order is awarded to those “who in any field or endeavour have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and the nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions, or other merits”. This is an incredible honour and one that has been bestowed on only a few engineers over the years. Arthur has been involved in the design and construction of significant infrastructure throughout New Zealand, including Auckland’s Northern Motorway – SH1 Northern Corridor Extension, the Waterview Connection, and the Canterbury Kate Valley Landfill. He has contributed to major award-winning solid waste and environmental protection projects, was the first engineer to win a Ministry for the Environment Green Ribbon Award and a New Zealand Planning Institute Project Award, and has received many other engineering, planning, and environmental awards. Arthur has served as a Committee Member and Vice Chair of the Engineering New Zealand Auckland Branch. In 2010 he was one of the youngest elected Fellows of Engineering New Zealand, recognising his contribution for developing best practice design and management guidelines for New Zealand. Well done Arthur, we are proud that you are part of the RILEY team.
	Scott Vaughan - EngNZ Fellowship Award We are pleased to acknowledge the achievement of Scott Vaughan, RILEY Managing Director, on being recognised by Engineering New Zealand (EngNZ) through its Fellowship programme for his contribution to the engineering profession. Scott’s citation read: “Scott Vaughan is elected a Fellow of EngNZ for his engineering leadership and advancement of engineering practice. We especially recognise his contribution to geotechnical and forensic engineering. He has exhibited high levels of professionalism in his organisational and governance roles.” RILEY now has three practicing and one retired EngNZ Fellows – a significant achievement for a company of its size.
	RILEY Cleans-up Again Three RILEY teams took part in the November 2018 Rodney Coastal Challenge, romping home in very respectable 1st, 2nd and 12th positions in the Corporate Team section. The multisport event traverses the Rodney district from Muriwai beach on the west coast to Wenderholm Regional Park on the east coast. It consists of a 10km forest run, a 30km road bike, a 25km mountain bike, an 8km paddle, and a 100m run to the finish. Kaukaupakapa Scouts run the event, which is in its 21st year, and RILEY has had teams involved most years. The race attracts over 300 participants both, as individuals and teams.
	RILEY Cleans-up On a warm November day, 12 staff from the Auckland office, together with the skipper and an assistant, took part in a regular Waitemata Harbour clean-up. Sea Cleaners is a non-profit organisation whose long-term strategy is to educate people to dispose of rubbish in eco-friendly ways. To date, volunteers have collected over 3.5 million litres of rubbish. Sea Cleaners’ vision is to preserve the coastline for the benefit of marine life and for the enjoyment of all users. On this trip the boat journeyed up the Tamaki River into the industrial area. In two hours, the volunteers picked up a mixture of illegally dumped and windblown rubbish, including four televisions numerous tyres, assorted lounge furniture, industry waste, plastic rubbish, and other detritus. It is a sad reality that every day is the same. The volunteers were pleased to have the opportunity to undertake some community service, and after a morning’s hard work they expressed enthusiasm for joining together as a team outside the typical work environment.
	Arthur Amputch – Inaugural winner Engineering New Zealand Auckland Branch Excellence in Service Award RILEY Technical Director, Arthur Amputch (FEngNZ) received a significant honour recently when chosen as the inaugural winner of the Engineering New Zealand Auckland Branch Excellence in Service Award. The Award, which celebrates 100 years of engineering in Auckland, recognises exceptional engineers who have set a high standard for others to follow. Award criteria includes: Serving selflessly for the benefit of the community Using their unique engineering skills for the benefit of others Making an outstanding contribution to the profession Practising engineering in a way that gives back to the industry and wider community. Arthur commented: I am humbled and overwhelmed by this honour. I would like to acknowledge the opportunities and latitude that RILEY has afforded me to grow in my career – the consultancy’s progressive thinking is a breath of fresh air. For anyone in our profession, a legacy is not just the built environment for which we were responsible, it is the transfer of knowledge between engineers for the benefit of all future generations. This is an ethical imperative for each of us as engineers. I believe that mentoring, coaching, and practicing engineering in a way that gives back to the industry and the wider community is the best way to achieve this.
	RILEY welcomes a new External Director We are pleased to announce the appointment of Peter Lilley as External Director. Peter brings to RILEY more than 25 years’ of industry knowledge gained from his experience of both the power generation industry, where he undertook a variety of roles within Trustpower Generation including those of Strategy Manager and General Manager (acting), and as a respected consultant water resource engineer. Much of Peter’s career to date has focused on water resource governance, efficiency, development, optimisation, safety, and performance. He has overseen many water resource projects from new developments to major infrastructure upgrades, and has co-ordinated project inputs across multiple disciplines, both technical and non-technical. A core area of expertise is the development and lifecycle management of multi-use assets that combine uses, such as hydro-electricity, irrigation, town water supply, stormwater, recreation, and commercial use. He has also had involvement with a large range of collaborative processes including resource consenting and the Land and Water Forum. Peter is a past Chairperson of the New Zealand Society on Large Dams (NZSOLD) and currently represents New Zealand at the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) on their Public Safety committee. Having someone of Peter’s calibre join us is a great company endorsement; his extensive knowledge and experience will enhance our consultancy as we continue to grow and develop.
	True to form, the Last Try Wins In a tight and exciting match, the Christchurch RILEY touch team, Last Try Wins, took out the opposition in the South Hagley Park mixed Wednesday night division. In the semi-final the team was up against Hogan Heroes (Fulton Hogan) who had recruited Black Ferns half-back Kendra Cocksedge to their side. It proved a thrilling game, with Leo (Leanne Sutherland) scoring the opener for Last Try Wins, and B Mac (Brendon Fisher), securing the win with a late second-half try. The following week, in the final against Smokin' Arrows (Arrow), the first half proved tight with Last Try Wins narrowly ahead on the scoreboard at half-time, before pulling away in the second half to take home the gold medal with a comfortable two try lead.


	Rodney Coast Challenge Three teams took part in this year's Rodney Coast Challenge. the course starts in Woodhill Forest with a 10km run, transitioning to a 30km road bike leg, followed by a 25km mountain bike section to Puhoi, and an 8km kayak and 100m run to the finishing line at Wenderholm. Despite continuous torrential rain and thunder and lightning all teams finished in very respectable times. The mixed team came first in their category, whilst the two all-male teams finished second and eighth.
	Auckland Office Ski Trip Poor ski conditions could not dampen enthusiasm for the annual RILEY ski trip. So, when the slopes closed, we took to the mountain bike trails to make the most of the weekend.