29 Nov 2024
Members are increasingly raising concerns about the pricing and outdated standards used in engineering.
Although The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) fund a number of the building standards for free download, on others the Engineering New Zealand member discount has been dropped. Members have expressed concern that the cost prevents them from accessing the standards they need to do their work.
Standards New Zealand now offers online library collections to access core standards for your business or organisation. Their subscription collections combine commonly referenced documents across select industries.
Engineering New Zealand is planning to investigate creating discounted collections catering for the needs of our members. If you have ideas about standards you’d like to see as part of a customised collection, email hello@engineeringnz.org
The second key concern we are hearing is that New Zealand is suffering from a lack of investment and inefficiencies within the Standards system, with outdated or non-existent standards creating risk for design and manufacture.
We know many of you volunteer your time and expertise in updating standards but are hamstrung by the lengthy process and lack of prioritised work addressing key issues and gaps.
We are now aware that MBIE is reviewing the Standards New Zealand model. Engineering New Zealand welcomes MBIE’s review to explore a more sustainable model for funding and developing standards. We are meeting with officials in the new year to input to the review and will find out how members can best contribute to this process. If you want to be part of these discussions, please email advocacy@engineeringnz.org
We have also written to Ministers Hon Andrew Bayly and Hon Chris Bishop and met with Te Waihanga New Zealand Infrastructure Commission about our concerns regarding standards – and we will continue to raise our suggestions for change next year.
