Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 527

Images, UC QuakeStudies

The Library Chambers behind cordon fencing. The entrance has been sprayed painted after it was checked by a USAR team following the February earthquake.

Photograph number UC 11-0109-02

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A member of the Security Team eats an icrecream from the Random Acts of Kindness of Campus, an initiative on Campus after the progressive restart.

The impact of subcontractor use on performance in civil construction: lear…

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Principal contractors can achieve better financial performance in civil construction projects by increasing the proportion of works delivered by subcontractors. However, anecdotally the use of subcontractors is thought to be make principal contractors less competitive due to compounding profit margins. This study found that projects with a higher proportion of subcontracted work exhibit better financial results than projects with less work delivered by subcontractors. This study uses the Christchurch Infrastructure Alliance (known as the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team, SCIRT) as a case study to observe why principal contracting firms engage subcontractors and the effect subcontracting has on the overall performance of a construction project. Five top tier civil contracting firms (known as ‘delivery teams’) participated in the alliance. Each team was responsible for the delivery of individual projects. A sample of 334 individual SCIRT projects were analysed, and key delivery team staff were surveyed, to investigate the effect subcontractor engagement has on performance. Between the five delivery teams there were clear differences in how much work was delivered via subcontracts. The extent of this subcontractor engagement had a significant effect on the relative performance of the principal contractor. A positive correlation between subcontractor engagement and overall financial performance is observed, and a negative correlation is observed between subcontractor engagement and non-financial performance. Although the causes of these relationships appear complex, the primary reason appears to be that subcontracting fosters increased productivity by cascading financial performance incentives closer to the physical construction task. To maximise competitiveness and financial performance, principal contractors must embrace the use of subcontractors and develop efficient systems of managing subcontracted work.

Anger from a chch firefighter on the anniversay of the quake

Audio, Radio New Zealand

A Christchurch firefighter says the Fire Service's management team should be sacked because of poor conduct during the February earthquake emergency response.

Photograph number UC 11-0372-12

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Gold Award, presented to Jonas Bergler, originally from Germany but now Christchurch based, team leader for Student Volunteer Army online operations by Prime Minister John Key.

Playing Favourites with Peter Marshall

Audio, Radio New Zealand

Peter Marshall is managing director of architectural firm Warren and Mahoney, part of the team selected to carry out the task of the redesign of Christchurch after the earthquakes.

Canterbury Earthquake - David Neal

Audio, Radio New Zealand

David Neal is the national programmes manager for the Red Cross. The Christchurch Red Cross response team is out with the fire service, searching buildings for people who might be trapped.

Engineering expert - Capital must learn from Canterbury quake

Audio, Radio New Zealand

The head of an international team of engineers who are expert in designing for disasters says Wellington should look closely at the lessons from the Canterbury earthquake.

Photograph of Ward's Brewery at 227-229 Fitzgerald Avenue (6)

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a member of the New Zealand Urban Search and Rescue team searching through the rubble of Ward's Brewery on Fitzgerald Avenue.

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 1923

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A brick wall has been spray painted after being cleared by a USAR team, this system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

Diabetes Centre Photograph 015

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of members of the Diabetes Centre team standing in front of scaffolding in the entrance way to the Diabetes Centre on Hagley Avenue.

Diabetes Centre Photograph 016

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of members of the Diabetes Centre team standing in front of scaffolding in the entrance way to the Diabetes Centre on Hagley Avenue.

Northern Outlook Image: Laura Melville 2010:09:04 03:02:25

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by Fairfax, "Damage control. Urban Search and Rescue team members liaise with safety officers in front of Blackwells department store in Kaiapoi".

Photograph number UC 11-0372-13

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Gold Awards recipients, Jonas Bergler, team leader for SVA online operations. Pictured here with Vice-Chancellor Dr Rod Carr, Prime Minister John Key and Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Gerry Brownlee.

Article - Identifying Victims: Defence helps lead the way

Articles, UC QuakeStudies

An article from Army News, March 2011 titled, "Identifying Victims: Defence helps lead the way".

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 363

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A fence has been spray painted after the building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 360

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A brick fence has been spray painted after the building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

Diabetes Centre Photograph 018

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a member of the Diabetes Centre team standing in the entrance way to the Diabetes Centre. In the background, a carpenter is working on building repairs.

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 359

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A wooden fence has been spray painted after the building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 250

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A store window that has been spray painted after it was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 265

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A window has been spray painted after the building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 280

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Spray painted codes outside a block of apartments after it was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 286

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Detail of spray painted codes left after a building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 358

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A fence has been spray painted after the building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

The case of the vulnerable persons interagency emergency response team: Le…

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Interagency Emergency Response Teams (IERTs) play acrucial role in times of disasters. Therefore it is crucial to understand more thoroughly the communication roles and responsibilities of interagency team members and to examine how individual members communicate within a complex, evolving, and unstable environment. It is also important to understand how different organisational identities and their spatial geographies contribute to the interactional dynamics. Earthquakes hit the Canterbury region on September, 2010 and then on February 2011 a more devastating shallow earthquake struck resulting in severe damage to the Aged Residential Care (ARC) sector. Over 600 ARC beds were lost and 500 elderly and disabled people were displaced. Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) set up an interagency emergency response team to address the issues of vulnerable people with significant health and disability needs who were unable to access their normal supports due to the effects of the earthquake. The purpose of this qualitative interpretive study is to focus on the case study of the response and evacuation of vulnerable people by interagencies responding to the event. Staff within these agencies were interviewed with a focus on the critical incidents that either stabilised or negatively influenced the outcome of the response. The findings included the complexity of navigating multiple agencies communication channels; understanding the different hierarchies and communication methods within each agency; data communication challenges when infrastructures were severely damaged; the importance of having the right skills, personal attributes and understanding of the organisations in the response; and the significance of having a liaison in situ representing and communicating through to agencies geographically dispersed from Canterbury. It is hoped that this research will assist in determining a future framework for interagency communication best practice and policy.

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 254

Images, UC QuakeStudies

The entrance to a building has been spray painted after it has been cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

Toys through the years

Articles, Christchurch uncovered

“It must have been a happy household,” was the remark made by one of our team members when she saw the artefact assemblage we are discussing on today’s blog post. Whilst children’s artefacts are relatively common finds on New Zealand … Continue reading →

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 279

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Spray painted codes outside a block of apartments after it had been cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 290

Images, UC QuakeStudies

The side wall of a building has been spray painted after it was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.

Photograph by Jocelyn Kinghorn 357

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A concrete-block fence has been spray painted after the building was cleared by a USAR team. This system was used following the February earthquake to mark buildings that have been checked.