Partnership delivers new competency framework

“For years, New Zealand was the only country in the OECD without a regulatory regime for the ongoing management of large dams,” says Engineering New Zealand Chief Executive Dr Richard Templer FEngNZ.

That all changed in 2022 when the Government introduced new dam safety regulations, which came fully into effect in 2024.

“It was essential that engineers with relevant expertise had input into how the new Recognised Engineers would be assessed,” Richard says.

To develop the framework, Engineering New Zealand worked with the New Zealand Society on Large Dams (NZSOLD), a collaborating technical society, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), which oversees the dam safety regulations. MBIE also provided additional funding and support.

“The project was delivered ahead of schedule and under budget,” says Richard. “And it shows the valuable role Engineering New Zealand can play in the development of regulations to improve both engineering practice and public safety.”

Chair of NZSOLD Dr Kaley Crawford-Flett MEngNZ agrees, saying Engineering New Zealand was “uniquely positioned” to drive the project forward.

“Their dedicated project lead, separate from experts and government, helped all partners maintain a big-picture view, stay on track, and communicate effectively.”

Kaley says that Engineering New Zealand’s experience as the Registration Authority for Chartered Professional Engineers was invaluable.

“Only Chartered Professional Engineers can become Recognised Engineers, and we were able to adapt a lot of the assessment and registration processes and systems already used there,” Kaley says. “That, combined with work NZSOLD had already done to develop best-practice guidance for dam safety, was a big advantage for informing the framework.”

Laura Lumley, Design and Implementation Manager, Building Performance at MBIE, says MBIE recognised it needed to partner early in the implementation of the Building (Dam Safety) Regulations. She says Engineering New Zealand was best placed to lead the work on the competency framework.

“Engineering New Zealand is an important part of the new dam safety measures,” says Laura.

“Pivotal to the success of the project was the ability for us to adapt and vary the scope of the project as we got closer to the Dam Safety Regulations coming into force.

“Open and prompt communication, and monthly status updates, ensured that there were no surprises… and we had clear line of sight over the progress of the project,” Laura says.

Richard adds: “This is a great example of how the engineering community can partner with government to meet a regulatory need.

“We will apply what we’ve learned here and draw upon the expertise of other technical groups when developing similar competency frameworks in the future.”

Similar frameworks may soon need to be developed.

“We’ve just finished consulting on proposed changes to the CPEng Rules – proposals we’re making to strengthen the system to improve public safety,” Richard says.

“If the proposals are confirmed, they’ll enable the introduction of registration classes.

“The work to develop the competency framework for Recognised Engineers (Dam Safety) is a good template for future frameworks and registration classes.”

Richard says the introduction of classes would provide clarity to engineers, regulators and the public about what specific skills and capabilities are needed to undertake certain types of engineering work.

“Our work with NZSOLD and MBIE on the competency framework for dam safety has been a great partnership and we’re proud of the result,” Richard says.

“It reinforces the importance of getting the profession involved early in the regulatory process and we will repeat that when it comes to registration classes.”

This article was first published in the December 2024 issue of EG magazine.