Farsight is New Zealand’s largest ISO (17020) accredited team of specialist compliance consultants with in-depth knowledge of the New Zealand Building Code and environmental health related legislation. Our team brings positivity and personality to the process – A team of specialists by your side – from start to finish.
Mike Cox
Senior Technical Building Specialist
Mike is a Senior Technical Building Specialist who has gained over 30 years of experience in the construction industry. Before Farsight, he began as a builder to site/project manager, before going back to school after a 2-year sabbatical and becoming a chartered building engineer. After moving to Wellington, Mike joined the Wellington City Council as a Building Officer and later became a team leader. After several years at the Council, MBIE approached him to join the fire team as a senior advisor. Among many things he advised the Minister, legislator, BCA’s, and fire engineers on fire safety matters, restructuring the acceptable solutions for fire along the way. He has now found his home at Farsight and four years in believes it is the best place for him to make a difference, helping people negotiate an increasingly complicated set of rules and requirements.
Reuben Topzand
Administrator
Reuben is an experienced administrator with fantastic people skills and great attention to detail. Supporting the team's day to day administrative needs, Reuben helps to ensure Farsight continues in delivering an excellent service. When not at Farsight, Reuben works as a musician and event organizer.
Jon Astwood
Manager Technical Performance
Jon is an exceptional Technical Leader bringing over 30 years of in-depth knowledge of the construction industry to the team, including nine years in local government and 16 years of hands-on experience as a professional builder. Jon was involved in the success of many large-scale projects completed in Wellington between 2003 and 2013 such as Chews Lane Apartments, Wellington Regional Hospital, Wellington International Airport Terminal upgrade, The Supreme Court, Telecom Central, SOHO Apartments, ASB Wellington Sports Centre, and others. Since joining Farsight, Jon has been instrumental in establishing and maintaining relationships with Building Consent Authorities (BCA's), large commercial property owners, large construction organisations and key industry stakeholders. Jon has assisted many BCA's and their team with his National Competency Assessment System expertise, ensuring they produce high-quality work and continue demonstrating robust compliance skills.
Claire Lawrence
Manager People Performance / Quality Lead
Claire is an exceptional Quality Leader bringing over 10 years’ experience in key account management, administration, and compliance. She leads the delivery and maintenance of the Quality Management System that promotes and achieves the quality assurance goals of Farsight. Her attention to detail and systematic approach contribute significantly to successfully maintain Farsight as an Accredited Organisation Body and Inspection Body since 2018. She also helps with operational and business development strategies and provides efficient administration and document management support to the Farsight team.
Rob Tierney
Managing Director
With over 33 years of industry experience, Rob's expertise is a perfect balance of trade, Local Government, and professional consulting. His unique perspective continues to provide clients with proven solutions and confidence in building consent approval. His pragmatic approach to his clients' projects consistently saves them time, money, and hassle. Rob is a trusted advisor to Industry, Local Councils and Central Government. He brings a wealth of expertise in regulatory stakeholder management and is repeatedly engaged to act as the vital interface between building projects and regulatory bodies. His career experience ranges from multiple high-level national commercial projects to advising on greater efficiency in national housing demands. He remains highly regarded within the industry, with many specific engagements for expert advice on building regulations and building code interpretation and enhancement. Rob currently serves as an external Director for CIL Masterspec and is a former member of the Board, and Technical Chair, of the Building Officials Institute of New Zealand.
Lee Yasar
Technical Building Specialist
Lee brings over 19 years of building industry experience and knowledge to Farsight. His areas of expertise are plumbing and drainage, building inspections, Building consent processing, CCC’s and COA’s. He has a passion for working with clients to streamline their council experience by working through the council process and obtaining the consents and certificates they require for their buildings. Before joining our team in 2018, he spent 14 years gaining experience and knowledge by working in the NZ construction industry as a plumber, drain layer and gasfitter. He also spent three years working for the Local Government carrying out the functions of a building control officer, as well as in the field carrying out inspections on residential and commercial buildings.
Sue Bai
Manager Business Performance
Sue has been with Farsight for over seven years and brings a wealth of efficiency and organisational knowledge to our team. Through her various roles at Wellington City Council before joining Farsight, she obtained extensive understanding of Local Government, and the regulatory requirements process for building consents and compliance. During her two years as a Personal Assistant at the Council, Sue worked closely with four Building Group Managers and provided high standard administrative and secretarial services supporting the building consent and inspection team. In her current role as Manager Business Performance, she supports the overall team efficiency through maintaining an overview of all staff and their current projects, upcoming deliverables and deadlines, enabling the team to deliver their best.
Dwayne Murphy
Technical Building Specialist
Dwayne brings 20 years of experience in Architectural Design, and over 7 years of experience with the local and central government. Dwayne joined Wellington City Council as a Consenting Officer, working his way up to a Senior Technical Consenting Officer competent at Commercial 3 Consenting and Technical Leader. After gaining extensive local government experience and building compliance knowledge, he later joined the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) as a Senior Advisor with the Determinations team. Dwayne’s area of expertise is to provide alternative solutions, change of use assessments, accessibility analysis, provide design solutions, and utilise his unique experience in assisting with gaining the necessary Council approvals throughout the course of the building project.
Reach out to one of our team members to book a coffee or a call to discuss your project or click here to submit an inquiry.