2010 Standards Meritorious Service Awards announced

STANDARDS NEW ZEALAND MEDIA RELEASE 19 April 2011

2010 Standards Meritorious Service Awards announced

Winners of Standards New Zealand's 2010 Meritorious Service Awards were recognised at awards breakfasts in Wellington on 6 April 2011 and Auckland on 15 April 2011.

* The 2010 Meritorious Service Award winners are Nevil Hegley, Malcolm Hunt, Allan Sage, Roger Shelton, and Clive Smith.

* Winner of the 2010 Committee of the Year Award is Timber-framed buildings committee P 3604.

* Winner of the Standards Council Award for Outstanding Contribution to Standards and Standardisation is Chris Mak. In congratulating the winners in Wellington, Commerce Minister Simon Power said, 'These winners have been recognised by their peers for their outstanding contributions to Standards development. I applaud their expertise and dedication to improving New Zealanders' economic and social well-being through Standards and standardisation.'

Auckland keynote speaker Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson said, 'It was an honour to present the Meritorious Service Awards in Auckland. The winners are people who have done outstanding work over a period of time and it is fitting their contribution has been recognised by their peers.

'We have interesting and challenging times ahead and I am sure that New Zealand Standards will make a valuable contribution in this era of change.' Standards New Zealand hosts breakfasts each year to honour the award winners and the 2000+ volunteer committee members, their employers, and nominating organisations who all make Standards development possible. The first awards breakfast was held in Wellington on 6 April 2011 with keynote speaker Commerce Minister Simon Power. The second awards breakfast was held on 15 April 2011 in Auckland with keynote speaker Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson. The third breakfast will be held in Christchurch in the coming months.

Standards Council Chair John Lumsden said, 'Winners this year come from many sectors - from building and construction, to consumer protection, to environmental health. They are some of the top experts in their field not just here in New Zealand, but also in the world. From glazing to seismic engineering to fire protection they are helping to improve New Zealanders' quality of life.' 2010 Meritorious Service Award Winners

Nevil Hegley

Nevil is the Principal of Hegley Acoustic Consultants. He has nearly 40 years' experience in civil engineering specialising in acoustics. He has participated in acoustical Standards development since 1975. At that time, he was instrumental in a project to turn Department of Health environmental noise guidelines into Standards.

Malcolm Hunt

Malcolm is the principal of Malcolm Hunt Associates, a Wellington-based consulting firm specialising in environmental acoustics and noise. Over the last 15 years Malcolm has assisted in developing eight new or revised New Zealand acoustical Standards. He is also involved with a Standards New Zealand review group that considers international Standards on acoustic matters.

Allan Sage

Allan is the technical manager for the nationwide glass company Metro Glasstech, owner and director of Glassage Design Limited, and a glass industry consultant. Since 1985, Allan has been involved with the development of NZS 4223 Glazing Standards Set, including serving as chair on committees for Parts 1, 3, and 4 of the Standard.

Roger Shelton

Roger is a structural research engineer with BRANZ - the Building Research Association of New Zealand. He has worked on numerous Standards, including the recently published NZS 3604:2011 Timber-framed buildings. He was the author of the preliminary draft of NZS 4219:2009 Seismic performance of engineering systems in buildings.

Clive Smith

Clive has almost 50 years' experience in production and quality management in the textile, plastics, and retail sectors. Before retiring in 2009, Clive was the Quality Assurance Manager for Farmers Trading Company Limited. He is the New Zealand Retailers Association's representative on the joint Australia/New Zealand Standards committee for the safety of children's furniture.

Committee of the Year Award

Timber-framed buildings committee P 3604

NZS 3604 Timber-framed buildings is the foremost building Standard in New Zealand for the building and construction industry. The majority of new and existing residential buildings in New Zealand are timber construction, and 93 per cent have components of NZS 3604 in their design and construction.

A limited technical review of the Standard was needed to bring it up to date with current building practice and align it with AS/NZS 1170 Structural design actions.

P 3604 was capably chaired by architect and past Meritorious Service Award winner Don Bunting. As with all Standards, public comment was a critical component of the NZS 3604 development process. The draft Standard received overwhelming support across the building sector.

The revised NZS 3604 was published in February 2011.

Outstanding Contribution to Standards and Standardisation

Chris Mak

Chris has over 25 years' experience in the fire protection industry in engineering and management positions. He currently manages AON's Technical Services business unit. He is a Chartered Professional Engineer and is the president of the New Zealand Chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. He was recently promoted to Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand.

Chris has chaired four Standards committees and served as a member on numerous others. He recently chaired the committee that drafted a major revision of NZS 4541 Automatic fire sprinkler systems. The Standard is now incorporated by reference as a means of compliance with the New Zealand Building Code. NZS 4541 is recognised as being one of the most reliable and cost effective Standards of its kind in the world.

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