Aptus Interviews with Industry Leaders

4D Workshop, the new Consulting Engineers on the block

Tom Murphy (Aptus) speaks to co-founding director of 4D Workshop, David Farrar to find out what makes them tick.

Tom: Firstly, congratulations on the new structural engineering practice, 4D Workshop.
David: Thank you Tom.

Tom: It seems to me that starting a new business during a time of uncertainty is a pretty gutsy thing to do. Why did you start this now?

David: The concept behind 4D Workshop has been developing for some time.  We wanted to set up a consulting practice that was different from where we had previously worked.  Figuring out “the differences” is what took the time.

As far as getting started in the GFC goes, it was a two edged sword.  On one hand, it meant the possibility that the work in the construction sector could dry up.  On the other hand, the people undertaking the projects were asking for more from their consultants, which is another way of saying in a buyers’ market the focus shifts to getting the best value for their project.

So in a way this shift in the market was complimentary with getting 4D Workshop up and running.  Dave (David Doolan, co-founding Director with David Farrar) and I took a big gulp of air, and jumped off the cliff.  It was a real leap of faith, but we believed in ourselves, what we were doing and how we could deliver the value to our clients.  Here we are today with a good client list and a healthy log of work.  We are focussing on the quality and value our services rather than external influences.

Tom: You speak of your clients and possibly that you bring a point of difference or a value difference to their businesses. Why do you believe you have something different to offer?

David: Yes, our services are different.   As we developed the concept that is now 4D Workshop we wanted to shift the the way we worked with our clients to being more collaborative and creative, even if that meant challenging current thinking. To be able to challenge means you have to develop client relationships to the point where your clients trust you and want to collaborate. This collaborative relationship is developed through the workshop idea in our name, 4D Workshop.  We invest in our clients business to demonstrate a new way of working with them.  Once we have a relationship based on mutual trust and respect, the creativity kicks in.  We challenge their thinking about their project and the outcomes they want to achieve to create new opportunities for both them and for ourselves.

Tom: That’s always the issue though, it may be easy at the moment for you and Dave as you both have loads of experience, and appreciation of the industry but how do staff fit in, how do you see them as part of your point of difference?

David: Good Question.  Our staff are our most valuable asset, and they are ambassadors to our clients. They must reflect and reinforce what 4D Workshop stands for, which is encapsulated in our values of innovation, experience, quality and trust, in every client engagement.  They need to be more than just great engineers they need to be able to do all of the things we have just talked about so that our clients get a consistent experience when ever they work with 4D Workshop.  Finding the right staff for our business will not just be about us, but also about what is right for them and where they want to go in their career. If we nail both, then we are all winners.

Tom: So what’s on the immediate horizon for 4D Workshop?

David: Pretty much business as usual, which for 4D Workshop, meaning we will be doing more things differently to deliver client value.  We will continue working with our clients to assist them with tendering procurement and bid process, construction logistics and risk management services.  We definitely won’t be resting on our laurels.  We will develop new approaches and services offerings that we have identified with our clients.  They have asked us to assist them to develop these ideas for mutual benefit.  This leads to more collaboration and innovation further strengthening our client partnerhips. 

We are also very excited about the appointment of another director, Rob DiBlasi who will be joining us in mid-December. Rob is closely aligned with 4D Workshop’s core values and we believe his contribution will further strengthen and complement our dynamic and experienced leadership group.