Atkins

37

All under one roofJustin Norman took over as managing director of Atkins Ireland in June from his mentor of many years Tom O’Malley. With a series of national and international projects under his belt with the company, Justin believes a shift is happening towards multidisciplinary consulting services in the construction industry.

One of Justin Norman’s proudest career moments was to experience the opening

ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics – secure in the knowledge that he had overseen a team of 28 engineers from Atkins Ireland who had worked on what he describes as this “career defining project”.

Now headquartered in Montreal, Atkins is a provider of professional consulting and support services employing around 18,000 people around the world. The multidisciplinary consultancy employs over 200 staff on the island of Ireland, with offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast. It was acquired by SNC-Lavalin in 2017.

Atkins was the official engineering design services provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Over 1,000 Atkins professionals were involved in total. The Irish contingent was an integral part of the team, working in areas such as structural design, fire safety, mechanical and electrical engineering and technical reviews.

“There was a call to arms for Atkins Ireland to work on the project about six months before the Games were due to begin,” Justin recalls. “It meant a lot of sleepless nights and pressure, but everyone dived into it and was a fantastic experience. Engineers don’t get the opportunity to work on projects of that scale on the international stage very often.”

Passion for design

Engineering was a natural career choice for Justin, whose family came from a construction background. Growing up he worked on construction sites in the summer and loved problem solving, maths and science in school. “I was the kid who liked to build Lego models without the instructions,” he recalls.

The route Justin took into his career was somewhat unorthodox, however. After leaving school in 1994, he did a full-time civil engineering certificate in Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) Bolton Street for two years. He then took on a position at consulting forensic engineering practice Denis Wood Associates in Dublin and within three years obtained a Diploma in Civil Engineering by studying part-time.

Wanting to move into more design and construction-based consulting, Justin secured the position of structural technician at Michael Punch & Partners in 1999. While working there for four years, he completed his Structural Engineering degree from DIT, Bolton Street. “Once I had graduated I really wanted to move into structural design, which would allow me to apply the knowledge I had acquired through my education on a day-to-day basis,” he says.

Since joining Atkins 15 years ago, Justin has progressed from design engineer to chartered

“Once I had graduated I really wanted to move into structural design, which would allow me to apply the knowledge I had acquired through my education on a day-to-day basis.”

Dubai Opera House Burj Al Arab

IBMagazine Issue 3 2018.indd 37 20/07/2018 17:26

Atkins

39

engineer to project manager and project director. He took charge of the engineering division in Ireland in 2007 and took over the management of the Engineering Water and Environment Division in 2009. In 2017 he completed an MBA while working full time. He was appointed director of the Infrastructure division last January, which effectively meant he was responsible for 50% of the Irish business.

Reflecting now as managing director, Justin says one of the main reasons he decided to apply for a role at Atkins Ireland in the first place was the prospect of working on large-scale projects outside Ireland. He was drawn to Atkins’ impressive international portfolio. At that time, this included Burj Al Arab in Dubai – now the third tallest hotel in the world.

When it came to working on international projects for Atkins, Justin was not to be disappointed. For example, in Bahrain, he was engaged in two projects relating to the building of residential and office clusters, entitled Al Durrat and Al Areen.

“We had an Irish team of six to ten engineers and architects stationed in our Bahrain office in Manama with a local design team in Dublin working on the design delivery,” he says. “I led the Irish structures team and commuted back and forth from Dublin to Bahrain to deliver work packages and coordinate the designs with other design team members and clients.”

The Irish team’s ability to deliver quality, efficient designs on time and on budget in Bahrain resulted in Atkins Ireland teams completing further Atkins projects in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.

In 2011, Atkins was appointed as multidisciplinary designer for the expansion of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. The team in Ireland overseen by Justin were involved in structural engineering, fire safety and mechanical and electrical (M&E) engineering for this 36-month project.

“The structural team in Dublin led the structural design on a number of the building elements. They coordinated fully with our international architects and M&E partners through the use of emerging digital engineering solutions such as building information modelling BIM,” says Justin. “This was the Irish team’s first exposure to the benefits of true collaborative models, which made remote working an easier proposition.”

Closer to home

In Ireland, Justin believes the fact that Atkins offers the full gambit of consultancy

services is its unique selling point. When he joined the Irish operation, it was a fledgling multidisciplinary consultancy following its acquisition of McCarthy & Partners Consultants in 1999. Its extensive public and private sector client list here now includes Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the National Transport Authority, Ervia, various Local Authorities, the Office of Public Works (OPW), Eirgrid, Cosgrave Developments, daa, Ryanair, Coca Cola, Castlethorn, Dublin Port Company and many others.

In some cases, such as the Finn Valley Leisure Centre in Co Donegal, which opened in 2013, Atkins Ireland delivered the full range of design services from inception to handover. Other projects such as Kevin Street Garda Headquarters and the National Children’s Detention Centre in Lusk involved particular services being provided – as the client in both cases, the OPW, has its own in-house architecture and M&E teams.

“I have seen the multidisciplinary aspect of the business grow from a grassroots level. While there will always be a requirement for the more traditional approach of separate appointments for different services, we can see a shift in the industry towards clients preferring one point of contact,” says Justin.

“This is enhanced with the implementation of digital engineering including BIM. With separate contracts, each practice is following different standards and protocols. However, with a multidisciplinary approach everyone is following the same internal standards and protocols from the outset which provides efficiencies to our clients. The buck stops with us and there is less finger pointing with a focus on collaboration and problem solving.”

Irish Water

Justin highlights Atkins Ireland’s client relationship with Irish Water since its formation in 2013 as being a very important one for both the company and the

environment. One of the major projects it is working on for Irish Water is the Greater Dublin Regional Drainage Project and City Centre Sewerage Scheme (GDRDP: CCSS). This is a four-year design commission to investigate the entire wastewater sewer network across the city of Dublin.

“The project utilises our considerable wastewater expertise to plan a solution that will protect public health, improve water resources, facilitate sustainable economic development and help set the agenda for a green infrastructure network in Dublin,” notes Norman. “Our water team has grown considerably in the past few years.”

In addition to GDRDP:CCSS, Atkins Ireland is also working on a number of new builds and upgrades for various water and wastewater treatment plants nationally as well as various drainage area plans and network upgrades around the country. One of the first treatment plant upgrades it completed for Irish Water, at Mutton Island in Galway Bay, won the Engineering Project of the Year at the Irish Building and Design Awards last year.

Justin feels that the senior management team at Atkins Ireland – and, in particular, outgoing managing director Tom O’Malley who has retired – have left him in a position of strength in the Irish market.

“I have a mandate to grow the Irish business both in terms of headcount and revenue. Under my leadership we will strive to be the premier engineering solutions partner, committed to delivering complex projects from vision to reality for a sustainable life span,” he says.

“To achieve this vision, we will be required to attract and retain the best talent to enable us to deliver on the pipeline of work that is coming down the line. We expect interesting and stimulating projects for the company in light of the Government’s €116bn Project Ireland 2040 capital investment plan.”

It has been Justin’s experience from the start at Atkins that there are plenty of opportunities for growth and development for good, ambitious people within the organisation.

“There are no glass ceilings in Atkins and personally I received all the training, exposure and support I needed over the years to get to where I am now,” he notes. “I see it as my duty to provide the same opportunity that has been afforded to me to the great people we currently have and aim to attract as we grow towards a bigger and brighter future.”

“There are no glass ceilings in Atkins and personally I received all the training, exposure and support I needed over the years to get to where I am now.”

Mutton Island - Image © Ian Murphy

Kevin Street Garda Headquarters

IBMagazine Issue 3 2018.indd 39 20/07/2018 17:26