During the later part of 2025, Gustavo Paz and Andrew Barrie from NPSG Europe held weekly online sessions with NPSG Australia staff to align teams on the approach for an outbound expansion project in Sydney scheduled for a January 2026 start.

With works now underway, Andrew (based in Scotland) and colleague, Gary Chapman from London, have flown to Sydney to work alongside NPSG Australia staff, on the ground, providing technical advice, assisting sequencing and handovers, and ensuring the early stages are delivered smoothly.

We asked them a few questions about what they’re focusing on while in Sydney, what success looks like, and what has stood out so far.

**Photo:** Gary Chapman and Andrew Barrie arriving on site at BWU2 in Sydney.

What brought you to Sydney for this project, and what’s your focus on site?
Andrew: I’m here to support the team through the phases we own and help keep progress moving across the whole job, especially where handovers to and from NPSG Australia can slow things down.
Gary: I’m here to train and assist the team, mainly around building stations and fencing and getting everyone confident through repetition.

Have you been to Australia before?
Andrew: I haven’t! First time for me in the southern hemisphere. I’m loving the weather and the way of life here!
Gary: Same for me, first time for me here too. I do have a lot of family in Sydney. I can remember as a child waving them all off on the boat when they left England. It’s great to see them again, and to meet all the new generations of relatives.

What skills/experience are you bringing that help the NPSG Australia project team?
Andrew: We call this type of project an Outbound Expansion, they are quite different to our normal Robotics projects as everything happens in a sequence and there are multiple handovers to and from as the project evolves. This type of project only started last year, and I have the unique CV of already being a Project Manager for 3 of them back-to-back. I’m here to help the team do our phases as efficiently and easily as possible, but also to keep tabs on the other contractors to make sure they get on with their scope and don’t hold us back too much.
Gary: I’ve done this type of work across Europe for 8 years. I was travelling around through Covid when everyone else was stuck at home. Once you’ve built a few, it becomes straightforward, and I want the team to get to that point quickly.

What does a typical day look like on site so far?
Andrew: Start early, set the plan with the team, then spend the day moving between the floor, the client, and other contractors to keep work fronts clear and safe.
Gary: Pretty similar to home. Early start, get the team together, then up to the robotics floor. The coffee here is better!

Was there a moment in the first week where you thought, “Yep, this is going to be a good one”?
Andrew: I arrived at my accommodation from the Airport at 1am after being awake for 36 hours, but it was 25 degrees and I stood outside for ages enjoying the temperature! The first week was brilliant, the guys made a great start and to finish the week we took Gary out for his 60th birthday.
Gary: Was a fantastic first week, I went to see my uncle who has been living in Sydney for 36 years, it was great to catch up in person. And to celebrate a milestone birthday Aussie style with the team was special.

What are the priorities over the coming weeks, and what does “good” look like before you fly home?
Andrew: The project is going great, we’ve completed one floor of Pod Removals and another one will be ready for us next week. I’m looking forward to seeing the guys demonstrate that they’ve understood a good setup for how to do this task efficiently and safely. Before I head home next month, I also want to complete our first floor of Drives and Fiducials. Installing these units is hard graft, back home, no one goes to the gym during Drives week. I’m equally keen to share and teach our blueprint of how we organise ourselves to do that task efficiently, I’m equally interested to see what the local team do with it and what improvements a fresh set of eyes can deliver.
Gary: I’m here for longer, but by the end of my time here I want to have done everything a couple of times and that the guys will be confident doing the final floor without me in the building.

Anything you will take back from how we work in Australia?
Andrew: The people have been great, very helpful and to the point. You Aussies are direct! It makes a big difference when you’re trying to move quickly and keep things simple.
Gary: The Utes are brilliant. Having transport and tool storage ready to go is something I’ll suggest we look at back home.

Quick one: first impressions of Sydney outside of work?
Andrew: Sydney is fantastic, it’s huge! We don’t have cities like this back home in Scotland. I’m still learning the transport map, but seeing the city from Sydney Tower Eye helped me get my bearings.
Gary: Looking forward to getting to the beaches. We don’t have warm water back home.