Page 8 - WM Donald Newsletter - Edition Four

Larry Morrison– Fairhurst8Founded in Glasgow in 1902, Fairhurst has grown to become oneoftheUK’slargestprivately owned Consulting Engineers.Two of Fairhurst’s seventeen offices are located in Aberdeen and Westhill, and the local workforce of 75, together with the overall total staff of 550, continues to grow. A multi-disciplinary practice, Fairhurst has expertise in the design of civil and structural engineering, geotechnics, infrastructure, traffic, transportation and hydrology. A recent high-profile project saw them provide full engineering input into the initial infrastructure and on-going developments for a 3000 housing scheme at Countesswells on the western outskirts of Aberdeen.Larry Morrison is a Principal Director with Fairhurst based in Aberdeen. Like all Fairhurst Partners and Directors, Larry is a practising ‘hands-on’ engineer managing a portfolio of projects. Apart from a couple of short breaks, Larry has worked for Fairhurst since 1979.What has been your experience of working with W M Donald?It’s difficult to put an exact date on it, but I am guessing I have worked on projects alongside Willie and the W M Donald team since the early 1990s. Fairhurst, in Aberdeen and Westhill, typically provides design and engineering consultancy for AberdeenCity and Aberdeenshire, commercial developers, housing associations and housing developers. The consultancy typically covers the design of roads, sewers, water mains, bulk earthworks and individual house plot designs. The developer in turn contracts with W M Donald to undertake these works. Increasingly, the emphasis is on all parties working more closely together to deliver the best solutions from a pooled resource of experience and expertise.From your perspective, how has W M Donald evolved over the years?In some ways there has been very little change.WMDonaldhasalwaysbeen a very conscientious contractor. My experience is that they take great pride in what they do. They have obviously grown significantly over the past five to ten years in terms of number of employees, plant and the scope of work they undertake. I suppose the biggest development is that they have moved from being a ‘traditional’ reactive contractor to being far more proactive in terms of bringing their experience and expertise to bear on projects at a far earlier stage.What makes W M Donald attractive as a supply chain partner?It is a truism that you are only as good as your last job. W M Donald seems to embrace this and strives to be the best in what they do. As mentioned earlier,I feel their conscientious approach and pride in a job well done are the backbone of their business.I attended a presentation by W M Donald last year where they emphasized the benefits that they could bring to a project if they were able to get involved as early as possible. My colleagues at Fairhurst and I certainly value the engineering expertise and practical experience that W M Donald’s engineers can bring to the design phase of a project.What does the future hold for Fairhurst and W M Donald?Privately funded construction activity in the Aberdeen area is largely dependent on commercial and residential developments. The slowdown in the oil and gas sector has led to developers reappraising their project portfolios. There has been a general move towards changing the mix of properties on sites with smaller more affordable accommodation interspersed with larger properties. Revitalising old schemes, alongside a steady stream of new developments, has kept Fairhurst very busy.For W M Donald the challenge will be to retain those cultural aspects of their business which have made them successful as they continue to grow and diversify.Neither W M Donald nor Fairhurst have ever rested on their laurels and I believe there remains scope for both organisations to achieve further expansion in the future.