I have actually been working most of the time we have been here. I had sent my CV to some of the civil engineering consultants before we departed for Samoa, and one of them (Kramer Group) contacted me about a week before we flew out. One of their engineers had just left and they needed someone to fill that gap on a bridge project that they were working on. So, once we got to Apia I went to see them to find out more. I ended up agreeing to work for them on a part-time casual basis (20 hours/week) for the duration of the bridge project, which is due for completion in September 2009. The project involves the replacement of 2 road bridges in Apia and the upgrading of approach roads and intersections.
So, I didn’t get the 2 months of lying on the beach that was recommended to me by Stu and Stu from GHD in Palmerston North. It did however take about a month to get my work visa sorted out, during which time I didn’t work. That was good for us as it allowed me to do a lot of the running around while we were settling in here. I also wasn’t allowed to start work on the bridge project until I become a member of the Institute of Professional Engineers, Samoa (IPES). The team at Kramer managed to get all the paper work sorted out, so now I have a 3 year work permit and have my IPES CPEng membership. I am now officially a Kramer employee, you can see me on their website.
Initially I was supposed to help coordinate some of the activities during the design period and then look after the construction supervision phase. Before anyone panics – I was not going to be involved in any of the structural design of the bridges, so they should be safe to drive over!! We figured that 20 hours/week should cover my role. Once I got started the role grew and has been mainly 35 -40 hours a week. During the design phase I was required to do various things that I hadn’t done before, but no one else was able to tackle them, so I had a go. This included Road Safety Audits, Economic Analyses, Land Acquisition and Resettlement Plans, Project Risk Analyses, Environmental Assessment Reports. I even had to design, then participate in, some traffic counts. The roading engineers back at GHD would probably be shocked that I was doing these things that I am not qualified or experienced in, but I enjoyed it. Fortunately most of the Transit New Zealand / LTSA manuals are available online and I was able to download these to help point me in the right direction.
There have been a few other challenges during the design phase – our bridge designer was based in Brisbane and our road designer was in the Papua New Guinea, so coordinating all the information was difficult. We also struggled to get any of the information that you might need when designing a bridge, e.g. we need some geotechnical investigations done, but I found that there is only one geotechnical engineer in Samoa, and he passed away about the time our project started. His business is still operating, but without him there the services that they can provide are very limited.
Anyway, we have now delivered all the bridge designs and associated documentation so things for me have quietened down a bit. We aim to start construction towards the end of the rainy season, late March or April 2009.
In the meantime I am doing some work for Kramer’s Solomon Islands office and have helped out with stormwater designs for some other projects that Kramer are doing in Apia. I have also been approached by another local consultant to help out with s project to develop water supplies to some of the villages. That is due to start soon and I am supposed to provide technical assistance 2 days per week over the next few months. There is plenty of other work out there, so I don’t think I will be sitting around at the beach as much as I would like too.
There have been a few other challenges during the design phase – our bridge designer was based in Brisbane and our road designer was in the Papua New Guinea, so coordinating all the information was difficult. We also struggled to get any of the information that you might need when designing a bridge, e.g. we need some geotechnical investigations done, but I found that there is only one geotechnical engineer in Samoa, and he passed away about the time our project started. His business is still operating, but without him there the services that they can provide are very limited.
Working here has good so far, a bit more relaxed than home. I don’t wear a shirt and tie to work, and I turn up in shorts and jandals most days. There have been a few times when I have been to site and felt that jandals might not be appropriate, so I put my boat shoes on instead - no over zealous OSH inspectors here!
Anyway, we have now delivered all the bridge designs and associated documentation so things for me have quietened down a bit. We aim to start construction towards the end of the rainy season, late March or April 2009.
In the meantime I am doing some work for Kramer’s Solomon Islands office and have helped out with stormwater designs for some other projects that Kramer are doing in Apia. I have also been approached by another local consultant to help out with s project to develop water supplies to some of the villages. That is due to start soon and I am supposed to provide technical assistance 2 days per week over the next few months. There is plenty of other work out there, so I don’t think I will be sitting around at the beach as much as I would like too.