About HarkerWize
Forty years on the tunnel face.
Now an independent advisor for the teams shaping the project.
THE FOUNDER
Mike started HarkerWize after forty years building tunnelling and trenchless projects across New Zealand and beyond. Two-time CCNZ award winner. Board member of the New Zealand Tunnelling Society. Hands on the kit. Eyes on the gauge. Scars to prove it.
Mike Harker
He founded HarkerWize for one reason: too many trenchless projects are scoped without anyone in the room who has actually built the work. Owners and consultants are doing their best with the expertise they have. The gap is structural, and Mike believes it can be closed.
— Mike Harker
WHAT WE STAND FOR
Integrity & Ownership
Honest, independent advice. Full responsibility for the outcomes we deliver.
Clarity & Simplicity
Strip away the complexity. Practical, buildable solutions. Real confidence.
Collaboration
Close to clients and stakeholders. Shared goals. Shared wins.
Innovation & Excellence
Fresh thinking grounded in decades of experience, enhanced by smart tools.
Four values. Every project.
HOW WE WORK
Three principles run through every project we touch.
PRINCIPLE 01
We start with the ground, not the method.
The right method falls out of the right ground investigation. Get the baseline right and the rest of the project gets easier. Get it wrong and you're paying for it for the next two years.
PRINCIPLE 02
We plug in where influence is highest.
Pre-feasibility. Concept. Early design gates. That's where a few weeks of the right input saves months of downstream rework. Late-stage intervention is rescue work — useful, but expensive.
PRINCIPLE 03
We back the call with the data.
Every recommendation has working you can audit. Every option has a range. Every risk has an owner. We don't hide behind "trust me" because we don't need to.
BEYOND THE PRACTICE
Independent. Industry-engaged.
HarkerWize works with engineering consultants and asset owners across New Zealand and internationally, on everything from local utility upgrades and major infrastructure programmes to transport tunnels and mine development. Independent advice. No contractor allegiances. No method bias.
Mike sits on the board of the New Zealand Tunnelling Society, contributing to industry strategy and the promotion of trenchless adoption across New Zealand's transport and utility sectors.