At COVA, we pride ourselves on delivering innovative and impactful solutions that align with our mission of "Engineering Better Lives". To celebrate the achievements of 2024, we spoke with one of our Senior Design Managers, Maciej Jankiwiak, to learn more about his project highlights. From complex design challenges to fostering collaboration across teams, Maciej shares his insights into the remarkable work achieved in our Building & Properties division this year. Here's what he had to say:
Can you provide a brief introduction to your role at COVA and the types of projects you oversee?
Senior Design Manager. My role within the business is to be the intermediary between the client and the design team. My roles vary based on the specific project requirements, however, in most cases, I am responsible for project strategic planning and risk management, ensuring that the project outputs align with the COVA scope of works and deliverables to meet client expectations, team leadership, managing the team and collaborating with other consultants, quality assurance, making sure that the COVA outputs meet the companies QA policies and represents the agreed scope of works as well as the key project contact.
In short, I make sure that the client gets what they need when they need it, and how they need it, whilst maintaining high-quality documentation without costly project overruns.
What excites you the most about leading projects in Building and Properties Australia?
Working with a variety of clients delivering many varied and unique projects. Each of our clients and projects is unique; we rarely encounter the same situation twice. Whilst there may be some commonalities, being able to be constantly challenged on projects is what's it's all about. Additionally, our people, I don't know many businesses where each team member feels like an extended member of a family. We look after each other makes delivering challenging projects, all the easier.
Project Highlights
What standout project has your team delivered this year that exemplifies COVA's values of "Engineering Better Lives", and could you share insights into their scope, the challenges faced during execution, and any innovative solutions or unique approaches implemented?
This would have to be the University of Tasmania, IMAS experimental aquaculture facility, including the Antarctic Division Krill Research Labs. This project started in 2021 and took three years to document before being issued for Tender. It is a very challenging project dealing with complex water filtration, heating and cooling of seawater to just name a few.
It is the largest and most complex services project I have ever been involved with. The largest and critical key design component of the project was hot to effectively maintain the pace and water temperatures of the laboratories without using air-cooled equipment. This meant utilising seawater from the Derwent as the cooling medium and all the complexities that come with this.
Additionally, for the AAD part of the project, we had to design a sea ice room, which mimicked the temperature of Antarctica to enable the formation of sea ice formation for research purposes to occur.
Can you share a proud moment or milestone achieved this year that reflects COVA's capabilities and commitment to excellence?
Delivering the design documentation for the IMAS experimental aquaculture facility for sure. For such a large complex project, having to be across constantly each and every aspect of the project, ensuring that the design meets all client's needs and expectations was overwhelming but the team did a spectacular effort in being able to deliver.
What opportunities or trends are you excited about in Building and Properties Australia for the coming year? How do you see COVA continuing to deliver value and build trust in Building and Properties Australia?
I am excited about our growth in Asia and how we can leverage each other's resources and knowledge. I think the growth in these market will really expand COVA's knowledge and ability to respond to market and client demands.
Is there anything that you'd like to share about your team's accomplishments this year?
Mainly just ongoing support from the team and everyone around me, I can't do much without the people around me.
