{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Building Doors with Lauren Karan","title":"85. Fixing Infrastructure Delivery: Collaboration, Procurement Reform, and Building High-Trust Teams with Mark Simister","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3776,"description":"In this episode of Building Doors, host Lauren Karan sits down with Mark Simister, a globally experienced program leader who has spent three decades reshaping how infrastructure is delivered. From London’s crumbling water network to disaster recovery in Queensland and Christchurch, and ultimately transforming Sydney Water into one of the world’s top-performing programs, Mark’s story proves that collaboration is not a buzzword. It is a system that works when leaders are brave enough to implement it.Mark opens up about his unconventional journey from the British Army to hydrogeology to major program delivery. He shares inside stories from rebuilding regions after natural disasters, pioneering early contractor involvement, cutting years out of procurement cycles, and leading one of the most influential collaborative frameworks in Australia.Whether you work in water, transport, energy, major projects, or leadership more broadly, this conversation will challenge you to rethink how teams engage, how contracts shape behavior, and how cultural clarity lifts productivity. Mark shows what happens when you replace fear-based systems with trust-based delivery: better outcomes, higher morale, and programs people are proud to be part of.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:Leadership & Career Journey:How Mark went from the British Army to hydrogeology to multimillion-dollar program leadership.Why early exposure to NEC contracts shaped his lifelong passion for collaboration.How major disaster events (2011 floods, Christchurch earthquake) taught him the power of co-location and shared purpose.Collaboration & High-Performance Delivery:Why early-contractor involvement removes waste before it starts.How co-located teams eliminate rework and build trust.Why standardized contracts accelerate decisions and cut procurement delays.How shared KPIs and open-book data create accountability instead of adversarial behavior.Procurement Reform & Industry Challenges:Why traditional tendering...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/rcJTQ5eXITvLdAogYDlhRpa2ZvZlMeipr6w7MvQqkqs/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzM1NTExLzE2Njgz/OTU0OTQtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}