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.
Jon Astwood
Regional Manager (North Island)
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, Supreme Court, Telecom Central, SOHO Apartments, ASB Wellington Sports Centre, amongst 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.
Ben Healy
Regional Manager (South Island)
Ben brings over 20 years of industry experience in local government and architecture. Based in the South Island, he specialises in providing Farsight’s clients with cost-effective regulatory solutions acting efficiently as the leading interface between our clients’ building projects and the Council. He has a vast knowledge of the Local Government Act, the Resource Management Act and the Building Act and codes. Before joining our team, he spent over a decade working for the Local Government as the Technical Leader for Building and Environmental Services. Ben successfully managed a vast amount of direct and indirect reports, and trained staff to build their competencies in line with the Building Act and codes.
Claire Lawrence
Project Assistant and Quality Leader
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.
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.
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.
Richard Lorgelly
Technical Building Specialist
Richard brings over 27 years of construction industry experience and knowledge to Farsight. 20 of those years being on the tools as a qualified Carpenter. He also has experience working at the local council, carrying out a wide range of functions such as processing building consents, inspections and influencing the Quality Assurance team on training. He joined the team in 2019 utilising his skills in carrying out site inspections, processing, construction monitoring and training. He brings a very pragmatic and practical approach which complements the teams' overall expertise.
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.
Reuben Topzand
Administrator
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Rob Tierney
CEO/Principal
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.
Sue Bai
Office Manager/EA to Rob Tierney
Sue has been with Farsight for over six 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 regarding the regulatory requirements process for building consents and compliance. Sue provided high standard administrative and secretarial services to four Building Group Managers during her two years as a Personal Assistant at the Council. In her current role as Office Manager and EA to Rob Tierney, 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.