Matt Cathcart: Our new Health, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor

Geotechnics is proud to announce our new Health, Safety, and Wellbeing Advisor, Matt Cathcart. Health and Safety is a sector Matt has been involved in at the periphery of pretty much every career he's had. Matt started at Geotechnics in April 2022 following a pandemic-related redundancy. Last year, he moved into the Health and Safety sector to be more visible and add more value to the company's Safety System.

Before Geotechnics, Matt was teaching cadets how the engines, airframes, and associated systems worked as a Ground Instructor at an International Airline Academy. He says, “we covered almost everything from single-engine Cessnas through to Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. We had students from Japan, Hong Kong, Brunei, Iceland, and the UK”. Many of these students are now flying as co-pilots for airlines across Europe.

Prior to this, Matt served for over 20 years with the Royal New Zealand Air Force. He trained as an Aircraft Technician and worked on a variety of aircraft over the years. He also had the privilege of “selling the dream” as a recruiter and then as a trade instructor. Matt says, “I had a few other really cool jobs and got to do some amazing things and see some amazing places; the highlight was probably two weeks at the South Pole Station where I operated bulldozers modified as forklifts”.

When being recruited as the new HSW advisor for Geotechnics, Matt really wanted to spend a bit of time learning the role. He says, “I am looking forward to getting out to all our branches around the country and meeting the teams out there doing the work”. Matt has a broad range of experience across CMT, Instrumentation, Environmental, as well as Site Investigations. His goals are to increase his knowledge around our Laboratory, Sales department, and MCC to further understand how they do their “mahi”.

Matt believes that he will bring a pragmatic approach to the role and will continue to develop the safety culture across our teams. He says, “I am open to working with people to ensure we understand hazards and risks and then manage them appropriately so that we can be risk-aware and put safety first in every task we undertake”.

I asked Matt what his favorite quote to live by is; he says, “there are so many great quotes out there, but I am reminded of a quote rejuvenated by Lieutenant General David Morrison in a June 2013 speech, during his tenure as Chief of the Australian Army”. Matt continues, “It was a speech in which you could hear and see the emotion of a man who had dedicated his career to upholding the values and reputation of an organization built on the traditions of service and integrity. It is simply; ‘The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.’”

All corners of the business are looking forward to Matt’s refreshing ‘hands-on’ approach and rich knowledge of health and safety. His past careers have allowed him to learn the ins and outs of HSW both in the field and in the office.