Don worked for BRANZ (Building Research Association of New Zealand) in Wellington as their Quality and Environmental Manager from 2005 until 2015.  Don then moved to Whakatane where he worked for BRANZ remotely over the Internet for a further year before deciding to go it alone in the lovely Bay of Plenty.

While working at BRANZ, Don harmonised their Quality Management System, Environmental Management System and Health and Safety System and ran them off a single platform.  Audits, risk management, continuous improvements and complaints were managed seamlessly across all three disciplines.

Health and Safety experience: Don has over 15 years of hands-on experience in Health and Safety, starting in 1998 when he set up the Health and Safety System for Standards New Zealand. He was on the Health and Safety Committee for Transpower and was the Secretary of the BRANZ Health and Safety Committee for 11 years. Don was an integral part of the team that won the 2015 ACC Workplace Safety Award in the Wellington Gold Awards.

Asbestos surveying: Don  has the International proficiency certificate in IP 402 Surveying and sampling strategies for asbestos in Buildings and has undertaken over 50 surveys. Don uses an IANZ accredited lab to test his samples for the presence of asbestos.

Risk Management: Don has facilitated a number of very successful Risk Management sessions for a diverse set of clients.  He ran a session for Transpower as it grappled with how to lay transmission lines lines to wind farms as they came on line.  Traditionally Transpower had plenty of time to lay the lines for hydro dams as it took years for the construction to be completed and the lake to full whereas wind farms go up in a fraction of the time.  The Risk Management session solved the issues they faced.  Don has also facilitated successful sessions for companies in the Eastern Bay.

Environmental experience: Don developed the BRANZ Environmental Management system from scratch enabling it to gain EnviroMark diamond accreditation. The Environmental system was a finalist in the 2016 Wellington Gold awards.

Don also organised a personal project to clean up Wellington Harbour in 1998 that involved 300 people and removed in excess of 1.5 metric tonnes of rubbish from the foreshore. The project was recognised by the Mayor and he received the 1999 Conservationist of the Year award for the Wellington region. Don continues with the clean-ups to this day even though he now lives in Whakatane.

Quality experience: Don was the Quality Manager for Standards New Zealand for four years and implemented ISO 9001 after three previous attempts by previous Managers failed. He was the Business Excellence Manager for IRL prior to being the Quality Manager for BRANZ for11 years. Don implemented solutions that gained praise from TELARC and IANZ auditors for their simplicity and its effectiveness.