Personal Journey and Motivation

What inspired you to join FPC, and what stood out to you during the hiring process?

In August 2018 FPC approached me to come on board and take on the role of Quantity Surveyor (QS) on the company’s first project in Pokeno, Auckland. FPC were a start-up company, with their first project on the books totalling around $50 million.

They had a portacom and the CFO’s garage for offices — but lots of energy, experience and enthusiasm for the project and the start up. It seemed like a great opportunity to learn and expand in areas of business you’re not commonly exposed to in a typical QS role.

So, I jumped at the chance. And I’m glad I did, because FPC emerged!

As an OG I have seen and been part of FPC’s seven years of growth – playing a role in implementing systems and process, and seeing growth in the people around me as we solved issues that arose.

The first year was all hands-on deck – some days I was the QS, other days I was accounts, admin support, delivery driver, emotional support person or rental property manager! This developed and improved my skills in communicating with people, all the while helping them to see the FPC vision and encouraging them to take a chance on the start-up.

It was extremely worthwhile, but boy, was it a hard first year.

Can you share a bit about your career path and how it led you to your current role at FPC?

I started out in the accounts department of a construction company, but after a few too many wines and telling one of the managers I didn’t think being a cadet was that hard, I quickly got enrolled into a more hands-on role! That was 15 years ago. Since then, I progressed through a cadet program into a site-based QS role. And just last year I was promoted to the role of Senior QS, which basically means a lot of site measuring, chatting with subcontractors, helping site managers decipher our QS spreadsheets, and making sure the team aren’t going off on tangents.

Culture and Values

How would you describe the culture at FPC three words?

Fun. Collaborative. Fast-paced.

What’s something unique about working at FPC that you haven’t experienced elsewhere?

Everyone gets their five minutes of fame, where you’re not afraid to speak your mind. It’s a place where you feel genuine care from everyone.

You’re encouraged to reach out and ask for help or support if you need it. Upper management make it a priority to create space and give individual pep talks to anyone who needs it.

“They just care.”

Team and Collaboration

What’s your favourite thing about your team or the people you work with?

Comradery and being on-site, it’s such a good learning experience and, honestly, the team are just so much fun to work with. It’s a much better environment than an office any day of the week!

It’s great being involved and “in the trenches” on site with the team They know you’re there to help and work together as a team to get shit done, and they respect you for that.

FPC do a lot of work throughout the regions and I’ve had the pleasure of being able to work in places like the Awarua plains, Pokeno, Tokoroa (not as bad as you’d think!) and explore the surrounding areas in my spare time.

Throughout my career I’ve travelled from project to project living for most of the week not far from site and being based onsite day to day, this now includes my young son and partner.

Our home base is in Kakanui just outside of Oamaru. For me, this means one weekend I can be on the beach in the Coromandel, and the next enjoying the fun that life in Otago brings!

Can you share a moment when you felt especially supported or empowered by your colleagues or leadership?

In my early days as a QS, there were times when I would get super stressed out, and I knew I could text or call senior leaders for support.

This has been consistent throughout my career at FPC and something I appreciate, knowing they are always there and have my back.

Growth, Development and Innovation

How has FPC supported your professional growth or personal development?

When I first started, I didn’t know the first thing about building – I just sort of jumped in and said “okay, let’s see how this goes”.

But the environment has always been incredibly supportive. If you want to learn something, they will teach you or give you the opportunity to have a crack at something.

Regular catch ups among the teams are also prioritised, and we’re encouraged to share how things on the various projects have gone – any key learnings or weird solutions we came up with! And we’ve had some pearlers – especially during COVID. Coming out of the lockdowns, managing vaccine restrictions and sourcing materials – there was a lot going on.

What opportunities have you had to learn new skills or take on new challenges here?

I was a member of the National Association of Women in Construction NZ (NAWIC) when it first started, back when I lived in Wellington. But the team encouraged me to get back into it recently since it has expanded into the regions, which is primarily where we work. It’s been an awesome community to get back involved with, especially the recent awards ceremony and other local events.

For me, I enjoy learning about other project sites because I primarily work on dairy projects, which is very specific to the sector. So learning about what happens in the rest of the world and taking lessons from there is great!

How does FPC encourage innovation in your role and/or across the company? Can you share an example?

The value of relationships with contractors and other people in the sector are hugely important to FPC. But sometimes there can be challenges – whether personal or professional – that need to be resolved without harming the relationship.

Standard industry practice is to treat the contract as the contract. But FPC are special in their approach to this, because they appreciate there sometimes needs to be room for movement.

The nature of our work sometimes means we need to call people and say “Hey, can you be in Nelson tomorrow? Someone will tell you what to do when you get there, but just grab your tools and off you go”.

And for a lot of our subcontractors, that’s enough for them to say ‘Yup, I’m on my way’.

It takes a special relationship and a high level of trust for people to know we aren’t setting them wrong. Building that trust over the years comes from being people-focused and willing to work with them in good faith.

Impact and Fulfilment

What part of your work at FPC makes you feel most proud or fulfilled?

Cost reporting has become the most fulfilling part of my job – it can be an emotional rollercoaster, but there’s real satisfaction in watching the numbers balance out and knowing the team made the right calls to keep the project on track.

If someone were considering joining FPC, what would you want them to know?

You get what you give – if you give 110%, you’ll have a wonderful work life balance.

If you commit to doing the mahi, you won’t have anyone looking over your shoulder – you get your autonomy and all the perks that come with that. There’s the trust that, within reason, you can be responsible for running your own day within the team as long as you deliver to the FPC standard.

Plus, some of the projects can be challenging in a good way, really putting your thinking and innovation to the test!

Can you tell us about the types of projects you work on? And what you love most / what’s most challenging?

I have predominantly worked in the dairy sector for FPC, mostly on our powder tower projects, which are fast-paced and challenging.

This often means programme and delivering on time is a huge priority, as well as ensuring tight coordination with the process contractors and plant, and dealing with issues that arise from our projects being located in rural areas where it rains a lot and sites can be difficult to get to.

We need to be able to pivot, change, rethink, and plan so that the project is built within the required timeframe.

The logistics of this and the problem solving required to deliver a great solution for the programme and budget is a huge draw card for me.

What advice would you give anyone entering the industry?

• Be willing to learn
• It’s hard work, but it’s worthwhile – you will always feel a sense of fulfilment knowing what you’ve been a part of building
• There’s never a dull week in dairy 😊
• Never let your ego get ahead of you – be confident not arrogant

What do you think are the key skills that make a good QS and why?

• Diligence and efficiency – being a QS means moving through your work and all the information (contracts, drawings, trade letting scopes) in an efficient way
• Effective communication
• People skills – read the situation and person and approach people in a way that ensures a favourable outcome
• A passion and understanding for construction
• An understanding of scoping work packages and reporting on them