
Contact
(03) 365 4328
Qualifications
BE (Mech) (Hons); University of Canterbury
ME (Mech) (Dist); University of Canterbury
Memberships
IPENZ
PMI
Amanda Batchelor
Skills
Programme & Project Management
Amanda has undertaken a wide number of roles involving programme & project management, procurement and contract management. Her experience has been a mixture of office and site based roles, and includes regularly acting as Engineer's Representative.
From a programme perspective, she has held a number of positions beginning with contract administration to more recently being responsible for the set-up, definition, and delivery of several large scale programmes. This familiarity with a range of project lifecycle phases provides Amanda with a sound understanding of the implications upfront decisions may have on the latter stages of a project.
Design Management
With a technically based background, and experience in the industrial, buildings, residential and food and beverage sectors, Amanda holds an in-depth understanding of engineering design and design management. This makes her a good fit for technically challenging projects, as she is able to anticipate and mitigate technical risks early on, and subsequently challenge design consultants to deliver the best solution for the client.
Stakeholder Relationship Management
Amanda has experience on large programmes with multiple
stakeholders, often with conflicting drivers. She is effective at
communicating with and coordinating multiple parties, helping all
stakeholders to remain informed
throughout the project lifecycle.
Recent projects have included the identification of important themes for individual stakeholders, and the development of programme reporting and communication measures to suit.
In Previous Lives
Prior to making the transition to Project Management, Amanda's background has been as a mechanical engineer, moving into a combined PM-Engineering role for the latter half of her career. In this time she has gained over 10 years consulting experience.
Her technical experience has been broadly based across a number of sectors, but she has particular familiarity with industrial wastewater and gas, residential upgrades, and from 2010 onwards EQ related building work.
In recent years Amanda has been operating in a purely PM, or combined PM-engineering role, where she would often assist with design or verification in addition to her primary responsibility for project delivery.
Client Projects
CERA - Residential Red Zone Operations Team Secondment
Amanda was seconded into the CERA Residential Red Zone (RRZ) Operations Team, where she applied her skills to increase the rate of clearance works in the Christchurch flatlands area.
When first engaged in Oct 2013, the rate of built structure
clearance in the RRZ flatlands was well behind
programme. Amanda provided expert programme management advice
to the team managers in identifying bottlenecks within the current
operational processes, reviewed their resource requirements and
team structure, and designed and helped implement additional
management tools necessary to deliver works at an
increased rate. She was also responsible for setting up
progress reporting to inform insurers, PMOs and the wider RRZ group
within CERA.
At the completion of her secondment, the RRZ built structure clearance programme was fully recovered and delays mitigated, and the future Land Clearance phase of the programme had in place defined processes through which it could be managed.
Housing New Zealand Corporation
Amanda has a long-standing relationship with HNZC, having worked
on several large residential upgrade and earthquake related
projects for them. Some of her specific activities have included
the contract management of
multiple Contractors to deliver upgrades to over 400 properties in
the South Island region, and more recently leading a team of 24
engineers and architects to produce damage assessments and costings
for 1000+ structurally damaged properties in Christchurch.
NZ Post Properties - Postshop Seismic Strengthening
NZ Post required an "earthquake-prone" Postshop to be
seismically strengthened and re-opened prior to the Christmas
trading period. The project was delivered on-time, and within
budget, despite numerous challenges including a delayed start from
the client's internal approval process, external consenting delays,
and significant
additional demolition work.
Amanda oversaw and implemented the procurement, design management and consenting for the project, as well as acting as Engineer's Representative. Measures she employed to successfully deliver the project included reducing the construction program from 12 weeks to 8 weeks by employing alternative construction techniques, and robust project cost control throughout the project's life cycle.
Why I Love What I Do
Amanda is interested in identifying innovative and effective solutions to technically challenging issues. She also enjoys turning a concept into reality, being part of the team responsible for taking initial expectations and implementing them to become a real physical solution for the Client.
"I particularly enjoy the challenge of setting up a difficult project well in the beginning and pulling together the right team, so that outcomes are more easily achieved in later project stages. "