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Welcome to Norman Disney
& Young’s web site and our Executive Focus for the third quarter of the financial year 2007/2008.
2007 has been a successful year for NDY. We owe this success to the quality of our people, to their experience and creativity, and the way they respond to the needs of our clients.
The achievements over 2007 have been many and this has led to a strong increase in new business across a range of key sectors; some of which are highlighted below.
It is particularly gratifying to see the diversity and volume of work in progress in all offices and also the positive feedback I have received from many clients regarding the combined energy, enthusiasm and commitment demonstrated by our management teams and their staff in delivering on key project commitments. It’s an excellent result we can all be proud of and I thank all our staff for their hard work and the positive contributions they have made to NDY’s success in 2007.
At the annual meeting of Directors and Managers in August '07 many new operational initiatives to improve our strategic position were discussed. I was extremely pleased with the commitment demonstrated by all Managers on the importance of well-planned strategy, people and performance. A few of the key outcomes worth special mention include:
- Appointment of a HR Director to help strengthen our international HR capability by providing assistance to Office Manager/Directors on all aspects of HR best practice. I see this new position as a vital part of our future to ensure we continue to build on our employer of choice brand and maintain a strong focus on the maintenance of our most important assets, our people;
- Establishment of an in house recruitment group to assist the business in the delivery of it’s resourcing requirements;
- Greater definition of our Sustainability goals and measures. Such a commitment will impose not only a more disciplined focus on our pursuit of sustainability – it will also help ensure sustainability considerations become an integral part of our business decision making process;
- Building our Health and Safety culture. This includes not only the workplace but also our approaches to safe design to ensure they are communicated effectively to help address potential hazards that might arise through the construction and life of a building;
- The rollout of MS Office’07 software on all NDY desktops by end January ’08;
- Greater investment in our 3D CAD and BIM technology plus a stronger focus on user training to help with the introduction of new applications such as REVIT and NAVIS Works – which will further strengthen our service offerings in this important area;
- Implementation of a NDY Wiki intranet to help improve NDY’s ability to capture, publish, search, retrieve and manage controlled and non-controlled information.
I am also pleased to report that we are well on the way to realising the benefits of many of these new initiatives and I look forward to outlining the strategies in more detail to staff during my office visits in 2008.
2007 also saw the launch of the NDY Innovation Awards. The program has been well received and the level of entries in the key categories has been strong. Designed to elevate the understanding and importance of innovation and to better align the level of collaboration and the sharing of ideas across the group; entry is open to all staff – making the award process special and truly international. I encourage you all to become involved.
It is also great to have our work acknowledged by the ACEA. Three recent NDY projects have won significant recognition at the annual ACEA Awards for Excellence – an event offering a unique opportunity for industry and community recognition of the outstanding achievements of ACEA Members.
The acknowledgments awarded to NDY projects include:
- Gold Award of Merit in Building Services, on the Brisbane Square development;
- Silver Award of Highly Commended in Environmental Engineering (the highest award made in the environmental section) for the Digital Harbour Port 1010, Melbourne Docklands;
- Certificate of Recognition in Specialist Services for Eureka Tower Melbourne – NDY’s Evacuation Solution for Australia’s Tallest Residential Building.
These important awards reinforce the firm’s culture that encourages design initiative and innovation to deliver quality engineering technical services. Well done to all NDY staff in both the Brisbane and Melbourne offices who were involved in these landmark projects.
I also congratulate Ben Chan and Shayne Blazley as the joint recipients of the David Norman, 2007 Young Engineer of the Year Award. Well done to both of you – we’re proud of your excellent contribution to the firm, your commitment to technical quality and delivery of first class solutions to
our clients.
I thank all our people who continue to accept the challenges and the demanding goals as part of this journey, that also provides us all with the opportunity to “lead the way by making a difference.”
Tony Lukic
Managing Director
Norman Disney & Young
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