Meet Kelly Burgess, Stantec

Role: I’m in the Project Management Team at Stantec.

What is the most exciting aspect of working on the Porangahau and Wimbledon Rd Upgrade Project?

Being part of the whole project from the investigation stage right through to the construction stage and being able to see the huge amounts of progress made now that we are nearing the end is really exciting. There have been so many people who have worked so hard and contributed to different aspects of this programme to make it happen, so it is rewarding to see it all come together and know that the end result will be a safer and more resilient outcome for the local community.

What is one thing about working on roading projects that people might not know?

Before I worked on transportation projects, I didn’t know the amount of very specific and detailed requirements that go into producing a sealed road. I thought it was just a layer of tar with some chipseal thrown on top. But it’s actually a very involved process with different layers which must contain material of a certain size and density, placed in a certain way, and compacted to a certain strength, and then tested to ensure that the road is going to be durable enough to withstand whatever you are driving over it. There is a lot of science behind a seemingly simple road.

What is something about your job or roading projects that you wish people knew?

The amount of health and safety procedures and documents that are necessary when you have teams going out on site. Especially to remote areas with patchy cell phone coverage which is not uncommon in Central Hawke’s Bay. H&S is taken very seriously, and really makes you think about different outcomes that you might never have considered before and how to mitigate them.  

What’s your go-to productivity trick?

Email management, coffee and working from home when you need to.

If you could automate one part of your job, what would it be?

If all my spreadsheets could just magically set themselves up, I’d really enjoy that.

27 July 2022

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