Iain Caution

About Iain Caution

As a civil engineer, I understand how contractors want to build things, where the problems arise and how to anticipate them, so projects get finished on time and on budget. Great designs have to be buildable, which is often about pragmatic negotiation between the hopes and needs of the owner, the architect and the builder. We have a reputation at GHD for finding those paths through the problems. The contractor on New York University’s campus in Abu Dhabi, for instance, wanted to begin construction before the architect had completed the final design. We used our local knowledge to get the contractor what it needed—approval to start construction works some 18 months ahead of completion of the final design. The US-based architect was able to take the time necessary to complete its design through consultation with the client as construction progressed, and contingency was sequentially removed from the structural design as the architectural design was completed, and the contractor delivered NYU and its students a world class campus on time.The same project called for a basketball court to be constructed over an Olympic-size swimming pool and a library above. Both the sports and the library floors had clear spans of circa 40 metres. There were limits to the depth of structure that could be accommodated with the available building height, and consideration also had to be given to potential footfall-induced vibration of these long span floors. We accepted the challenge, did the analysis, and specified tuned mass dampers to limit vibration of the sports floor, and achieved a shallow depth steelwork solution that could be readily craned into place.These projects involving multiple stakeholders and professionals in different countries are commonplace for GHD thanks to our connected global network.

Experience

1. Project Director

   GHD

   Jan 2026 — Present · AE

Education

• Abertay University

  BEng (hons), Civil Engineering

  1990 — 1995

Skills

• Commercial Management
• Structures
• Value Engineering
• Earthquake Engineering
• Road
• Construction Engineering
• Drainage
• Structural Engineering
• Steel Design
• Feasibility Studies
• Civil Engineering
• Construction Management
• High Rise
• Cost Management
• Contract Management
• Construction
• Concrete
• Tunnels
• Seismic Design
• Design Management
• Primavera P6
• Earthworks
• Expert Witness
• Rail
• Staad
• Cost Control
• Structural Analysis
• Etabs
• Bridge
• Deep Foundations
• Project Control
• Reinforced Concrete
• Foundation Design
• Steel Structures
• Structural Engineers