3 November 2006

STANDARDS AUSTRALIA will gain expert knowledge from the Standards New Zealand development model, through the secondment of Craig Lauchlan, the General Manager Standards Development at Standards New Zealand.  The secondment is part of a new co-operation agreement between Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand.  Craig will be the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Standards Australia, for the next two years. 

A key focus of Craig’s role will be to leverage best practice processes from both organisations and reorganise the development capability.   Craig’s secondment will enable Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand to maximise harmonisation of our joint Standards development processes, as well as trans-Tasman and international projects.  This will bring many benefits to our stakeholders including increased efficiency and transparency.

Reducing trade barriers through Standards is becoming increasingly important and the pivotal role Standards play – such as helping to facilitate trade between New Zealand and Australia – is being widely recognised.  Strengthening our working relationship with Standards Australia will enhance the joint Standards development process.  This will grow the development and use of international and joint Standards.

For the last two years, Craig has been General Manager Standards Development at Standards New Zealand.  For the seven years prior to that, Craig held Head of Development and Project Director roles with the Bank of New Zealand and National Australia Bank.  His qualifications include a Masters in Project Management, Diploma in Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts. 

Craig, as COO, will assume full responsibility for the Standards development division of Standards Australia.  His immediate focus will be detailed planning for the Standards development change management programme.  Craig will lead the reorganisation of Standards Australia’s Standards development capability, to address key operational challenges, including the need to:

• Upgrade the infrastructure and systems to deliver projects effectively for members and contributors
• Improve project management capability to deliver against key performance indicators
• Ensure consistency and timeliness of product delivery to market and partners
• Appropriately prioritise resource allocation and workloads to meet realistic demands.

While Craig is seconded to Standards Australia, Michelle Wessing has been seconded to Head of New Zealand Development for two years and will continue to specialise in managing projects related to the fire protection industry.  Michelle has played a key role in improving New Zealand’s Standards development process.  For the last year and a half, Michelle has been a Senior Project Manager in the Standards Development Team and Team Leader of the Project Administrators at Standards New Zealand.  She was recently awarded a Distinction Award, which recognises outstanding achievement and contribution within Standards New Zealand.