About
Civil engineer and director of BlueWave Consulting. I’ve worked on 3 sides of a construction contract: building it for the contractor, designing and checking it, now administering it for the client.
I studied civil engineering at the University of Pretoria and started my career on site for a contractor in Dubai, then Auckland. Those years taught me how a contractor prices, programmes and builds. They also showed me where the pressure points are.
I then moved into structural design and design verification in Tauranga, working under a Chartered Professional Engineer. Alongside that I took on Engineer’s Representative roles on transport, marine and bridge contracts. Since 2024 I’ve run BlueWave, providing contract administration for NZTA, councils and the consultancies that hold their contracts.
Contract administration is mostly judgement about time, money and quality, then writing it down properly. These are the principles I work to.
Before forming a view I go to the clause, the specification and the site record: diaries, photos, test results and correspondence. Where that doesn’t settle a technical question, it goes to a specialist who has dealt with it before.
An event can be real and still not delay completion. Time is assessed on the accepted programme with actual dates loaded. A disputed period is rebuilt day by day so the Principal’s delay and the contractor’s are separated. How that works →
Quantities are remeasured and quality results are checked against what’s in the ground. Hold points are released on evidence, not programme pressure.
If the contractor has a point, the assessment says so. If I’ve made an error, I correct it whether or not anyone has noticed. Decisions that only ever point one way don’t survive challenge.
A decision paper sets out each option against the contract, programme and cost, makes a recommendation and lists what is still to be decided. Decision papers that hold →
Much of what lands on an Engineer’s Representative’s desk is technical: a contractor’s independent report, a designer’s answer to a site query, a proposed change to a hold point. Having done design and verification, I can test those against the contract and the site rather than just pass them on. Design questions still go to the designer.
For supplier forms and panel applications.
| Legal entity | BlueWave Consulting Limited, incorporated July 2025 |
| NZBN | 9429052994395 |
| GST | 146-306-950 |
| Government panels | All-of-Government Construction Consultancy Services panel (MBIE), approved September 2026. Project Management, Civil/Structural/Geotechnical Engineering and Supplementary Services |
| Insurance | Professional indemnity and public liability. Certificates of currency on request |
| Based | Mount Maunganui, Tauranga |
| Contact | Tim@BlueWaveCo.co.nz · 022 656 3963 |