Rhett van Veldhuizen:
Proof of Compliance

"Our ability to accurately measure and control a range of environmental impacts gives Lattey Group an edge in the tendering process."

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Rhett studied environmental engineering has a postgraduate diploma in business gained while working at Gallagher Europe in the Netherlands. 

 

His IT and logistics positions at Gallagher Europe grew the connection with New Zealand which already existed as his wife grew up in Havelock North. After a few visits, the decision to move to Hawkes Bay was made in 2006.

 

In New Zealand, Rhett worked at the Napier City Council for 15 years, seven looking after IT systems in the Works Department and the remainder in Waste Management and Minimisation. His technical role at the Regional Omarunui landfill involved looking after landfill gas infrastructure and resource consent compliance.

 

His role at the Lattey Group draws on his skills in engineering, IT and systems. It is essentially about reducing waste (time, cost and materials) and improving efficiency and quality. 

 

A key part of his work is enabling everyone at Lattey Group, irrespective of their technical know-how is to easily access and understand the information they require to perform their tasks. It’s a shift away from data silos to centralised data access - or, as Rhett puts it “a single source of truth”.

 

It’s not just about data access for management and staff, clients also want to be informed of safety, quality, and compliance prior to starting a project. In an increasingly regulated business landscape, project leads cannot afford non-compliant sub-contractors. Lattey Group systems allow us to obtain assurance on issues such as noise, vibration and other environmental impacts. Being able to demonstrate our ability to accurately measure and control these impacts gives Lattey Group an edge in the tendering process.

 

Refining a system cannot be a ‘blame game’. Rhett sees systemic or human errors as “points of opportunity” to improve. Conversely, when problems are solved, “they should be celebrated” so that everyone can buy in to the idea of continual improvement. 

 

Systems are relational and issues are multi-factorial. A solution to any problem may involve software, hardware, supervision, quality control or staff training. The best solutions are collaborative, and therefore any success at Lattey Group is everyone’s success.

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Meet the rest of our team here.