This year marks a significant milestone for Edison, as the team celebrates 25 years of partnering with their clients to keep the energy flowing across New Zealand. Taking time out to chat, Michael Nicholson - Managing Director of Edison - reflects on the company’s journey, successes, and discusses how sustainability and technology will shape Edison’s future.
The Edison team are driven to achieve great results for their clients, and it has been a consistent motivator since the company was formed in 1995. “There were plenty of people serving the design space, but there was a real gap in project and construction management. We’ve always been motivated by understanding our client’s need, building something tangible and seeing a great result” Michael explains. “That’s how Edison was born and it’s still at the heart of what we do 25 years later.”
Edison’s company values and a focus on clients and their people are important factors in the company’s success. “It starts with our clients. They trust us because we focus on what we are good at and we deliver results for them. That’s what has driven our growth over the years – doing a great job and looking after our team.”
Knowing people are their greatest asset, Edison has spent years building a team of experienced people and a culture that’s family friendly. “We always try to recognise the individuality of the people in our team and treat them with respect, whether that’s tailoring a job to fit or providing flexible working. We appreciate that our people have full lives outside the office, so we try to embrace that as much as possible.” Keeping people safe is of paramount importance too. “For over 25 years, we’ve kept our people and clients safe, and we are proud of our excellent safety record.”
Edison started out offering project management, construction supervision and commissioning services, then the team saw the opportunity to add value in the design phase too. “We like to build stuff, but it’s critical to build something fit for purpose. Getting to the party late can cause all sorts of issues for the client. So, it was practical to get involved up-front at the concept design phase and use our construction experience to influence it. That delivered better outcomes and created the opportunity for us to start offering detailed design services. Now we can deliver our clients an end to end service.”
August 2020 is a poignant time to reflect on 25 years in business given the changes we all face with Covid-19, the uncertainty and potential impact on our economy. Edison has always operated with the continual backdrop of change and Michael believes this will continue.
Michael anticipates that increased electrification throughout the economy combined with aggressive Net Carbon Zero commitments will drive significant change for Edison and the industry. “Edison has always operated with a responsive, distributed workforce. But we will need to embrace the changes that are coming by serving our clients differently with new technology available. Remote surveillance, artificial intelligence and automation will mean we can serve clients more quickly and efficiently.”
Automation will unlock engineering resources “We’ve got to free up our engineers to do value added work. There is not going to be a surplus of electrical engineering talent and the need to fulfil Net Carbon Zero targets will demand even more resources. We need to continue collaborating with our clients to deliver programs of work that help grow our sector. So, our future is about codifying knowledge, maximising technology, increasing productivity, and focusing on energy efficiency to build a sustainable future. That’s how Edison will thrive in the next 25 years.”