Waikato Business News July/August 2019

FROM THE GROUND UP
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS July/August 2019
41
McCracken & Cheal – one month on
Last month we wrote about the merger
of McCracken Surveys with Cheal and
the benefits the combination of the two
companies brings to land development
projects in Waikato.
Geotechnical engineering
is one of those benefits
and Cheal’s highly qualified
team of international geotechnical
engineers provides a
wide range of experience.
Geotechnical engineering
used to be one of those professions
that flew under the radar.
It wasn’t until the Christchurch
earthquakes that everything
changed, and overnight geotechnical
engineering was thrust
into the limelight. People were
introduced to terms like “liquefaction”,
“lateral spread” and
“foundation improvements”
and these days anyone wanting
to undertake land development
projects is likely to come across
the requirements for geotechnical
engineering early in the
process.
As a consequence of the
Christchurch earthquakes, regulatory
authorities around New
Zealand have become more
aware of the damaging effects
of earthquakes, and in particular
how critical the geotechnical
aspects of a building projects
can be. This has led to revised
engineering guidelines and
greater scrutiny on the wider
engineering profession.
So what does a geotechnical
engineer do? Simply put, a geotechnical
engineer is half a geologist
and half a civil engineer.
All structures, be it a building,
a road or an earth structure such
as a dam, are supported by the
ground, and therefore one of the
key roles of the geotechnical
engineer is to determine what
the local soils are and how they
will react when the load from a
structure is placed on it. A geotechnical
engineer interprets the
“real world” of soil and rock,
and converts it into a series
of numbers that represents its
strength and can be used in
equations to determine if the
loads and forces that are generated
from a given structure can
be balanced against the strength
of the soil or rock.
Cheal has an experienced
team of geotechnical engineers
operating within the Central
North Island. Within the rural
sector we specialise in the remediation
of existing irrigation
dams and the design and construction
of new ones. Cheal
also has experience in foundation
design for farm infrastructure
such as milking shed platforms,
stock underpasses, farm
culverts and bridges.
These larger projects tend
to require a multidiscipline
approach and Cheal’s wider
team of civil and structural
engineers, surveyors and planners
provides the support and
expertise to ensure efficiencies
and overall satisfaction.
As for an update on the
merger between the two organisations?
The McCracken team
has now moved from Norton
Road into Cheal’s office at 533
Anglesea Street. They look forward
to seeing you there!
- Supplied copy
engineers | surveyors | planners
Ph: +64 7 858 4564
Level 1, 533 Anglesea Street, Hamilton 3204