Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Executive Summary
Civil construction is the same, but different, in New Zealand. Some terms and methods which vary from American civil construction follow.
Give me a little bit about New Zealand?
New Zealand is a country with about 5,000,000 people in it. This is roughly the population of Alabama in the United States, or British Columbia in Canada. It has two main islands, the North Island and the South Island, separated by the Cook Straight. It’s at the south end of Australia, out to the East about 1,200 miles. [QR]
Construction Vocabulary
Some of their heavy/civil construction vocabulary and definition follow:
| New Zealand | United States |
| Ute | Pickup truck |
| Bund | Small mound of earth (like a diversion mound for erosion control) |
| Fleet, cartage | Trucking or Hauling |
| Roading | Roadway/subgrade construction |
| Digger | Excavator |
| Moxy | Articulated dumptruck or offroader |
| Shield | Trench box or trench shield |
| Water cart | Water truck |
| Tender | Bid |
| Meters and tonnes | Feet and tons |
| Labourer | Laborer |
| Kerb and channel | Curb and gutter |
| Soakpit | Infiltration pond |
We also talked about bonding which does appear to exist, but it far less common than in America.
My Story
This little excerpt was provided by my recent interaction with a contractor client. I’ll be speaking with them again next month and perhaps there’ll be a part 2!