Technologies

The assurance of the latest technology

Founding partner Alister Babbage was the great great grandson of Charles Babbage (1792 - 1871), who has been recognised as the inventor of the first computer. Known as the Father of Computing, his projects included the Difference Engine and the Analytical Engine. A working replica of the Difference Engine is displayed in the Science Museum, London.

Babbage has consistently been a leader in the use of technology, with the company installing its first in-house computer in 1975, and in 1984 was an early user of CAD in New Zealand.

Today Babbage continues to invest heavily in electronic technology and software. Site information is recorded in the field by Total Stations and GPS downloaded directly to digital project files. Sophisticated high end CAD workstations run networked Revit, Geopak and CivilCad software. OfficeCentral is a specialised job management tool which is used throughout the practice. Our network systems manager has the responsibility to ensure the systems are maintained fully operational and that upgrades are regularly introduced.

Our Geotechnical Laboratory is IANZ accredited and undertakes a full range of laboratory and field testing. Triaxial, shear box and consolidation testing is undertaken using LVDTs and LabVIEW for data acquisition and real time monitoring of critical parameters.

The practice continues to be a leader in the field of development and use of technology in the tradition of Charles Babbage.