friday 2 1 st september 2 0 1 2 key dates coming soon
Engineering South Australia February 2012 www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sa
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Are Your Details Up To Date?
Contents 2
President’s Message Division News
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Member Profile
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Upcoming Events
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Just a reminder to all the South Australia Division members that it may to be time to log on to the Engineers Australia website and confirm that your details are up to date. With everything so hectic when changing jobs or moving house it is easy to overlook updates to your Engineers Australia membership contact details. While you’re there why not reacquaint yourself with your membership benefits, the advocacy and policy papers, upcoming South Australia Division events or update your CPD record?
Save The Date Division executive President Gerry Doyle MIEAust CPEng Deputy President John Olson RFD FIEAust CPEng EngExec FAICD Immediate Past President Dr David Cruickshanks-Boyd FIEAust EngExec Executive Director Caroline Argent Deputy Director Sarah Carey Produced By Engineers Australia South Australia Division Level 11, 108 King William Street Adelaide South Australia 5000 tel 08 8202 7100 fax 08 8211 7702 www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sa
Sponsors Division Partner
The final Centre for Engineering Leadership and Management (CELM) and Young Engineers Australia (YEA) seminar, in the lead-up to the Engineering Leadership Conference 2012, is scheduled for Wednesday 28th March 2012, 5.30pm for 6.00pm start. Guest speaker for the evening will be Dr Bronwyn Evans FIEAust EngExec, Senior Vice President, Quality and Regulatory for Cochlear Australia More details will be available through the FocusSA email and the March edition of Engineering South Australia.
Science Alive! 2012 An initiative of the SA Co-ordinating Committee for National Science Week Science Alive! 2012 will be the seventh year of this huge community event. It will run from Friday 10th August to Sunday 12th August in the Goyder Pavilion of the Adelaide Showground. Participating with a booth will give you: huge exposure to 30,000 members of the public, opportunity to engage with 3,000 high school students at the Careers Day on the Friday, concessional booth hire fees for Engineers Australia members, 6m x 3m booth for under $2,000, the chance to be part of a special 'engineering precinct' at Science Alive! and extra free space available to companies providing hands-on activities for visitors. To register for a booth please view the registrations details via http://tinyurl.com/cwhp7d6. For more information please contact Event Coordinator Brian Haddy via brian@fundraisingpartnerships.com.au or by calling 0413 156 172.
Adelaide, 2012 Wednesday 30th May Saturday 2nd June
Division Supporters
The Centre for Engineering Leadership and Management and Young Engineers Australia have again joined forces to present the 2012 Engineering Leadership Conference (ELC 2012). With over 600 delegates expected, this stimulating conference will deliver a dynamic and thought provoking combination of high profile speakers and challenging presentations. Find out more at www.elc2012.org
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Engineering South Australia
President’s message Recently I have found myself following with great interest the economic turmoils of the world and considering the impacts they are having on our profession. As a young engineer I didn’t fully understand how intertwined the political, economic and engineering worlds are. I had to learn that as an engineer you can provide sound advice and valid opinion but sometimes for political or economic reasons other directions are taken. I had to learn that I was a cog in the wheel and that sometimes I would be the cog providing the driving force and other times I would be a “back seat driver” providing advice only. I have found that politics sets the rules of the game, the economy determines the appetite and engineering provides the solutions. I believe that as engineers we must be participating at the political level to ensure robust solutions are developed and implemented. There is significant talk whenever we approach an election of the economic management credentials of either party, but what about the solution development credentials? Engineering solutions are responsible for providing the standard of living that we in Australia expect, yet we are not as well connected to the political drivers as we should be nor are we providing the necessary input to economic debate. In the past three years we have seen the world go through economic turmoil and governments respond in different ways to address the problem. We are now hearing debate coming out of the UK regarding whether the 2012 Olympics should be an austerity Olympics or if they should go ahead as planned. We saw the Australian government use the Building Education Revolution to try and stimulate the economy here and we are seeing reports of a two or maybe even a three speed economy developing in Australia. All of this has flow on effects to us as engineers. As engineers we have learnt to be versatile and adaptable. We are seeing engineers follow the economy to make sure that we are providing our services to the economic sector which is going forward. But are we as engineers using our knowledge to help find solutions that enable our economy to stay robust and not become multi-speed? The Building Education Revolution was developed and implemented by the Federal Government at the time the world was dropping into a recession. It provided an injection of cash into some sectors of the economy in the hope that this cash would flow through to other sectors. The political rules that were put in place meant that the money had to be distributed quickly, this pressure meant that those in the sectors where the cash was injected had to ramp up capacity to be able to cope with the quantity of work. At the end of the cash injection there was nothing for that built up capacity to do and it meant a huge downturn in those industries. Engineers were affected by this and we need to be protecting ourselves for the future. The BER was a great way to inject cash into the economy, but it was injected at a time when confidence was low and the flow through wasn’t happening. It was also done too quickly to allow the existing industry capacity to respond. We are still in times of economic uncertainty and that uncertainty exists for us as engineers as well. We need to be proactively working with Governments to ensure that skills are developed and maintained in areas where they are needed or will be needed in the future. Partnerships between Government and engineers to ensure South Australia develops and retains the engineering skills it needs now and in the future is essential to provide not only economic stability but continued quality of life.
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The Federal Government is now determined to bring the budget back into surplus. This seems to be driven by the desire to be considered sound economic managers. It appears that this is being done without consideration of the need to maintain investment in some of our industries, which may in fact be contributing to the development of a two speed economy. The private sector will only go so far and they will only do things when there is a reasonably short term pay back, after all they have shareholders who want a return. Governments can and need to take a longer term view. However, if you look at the tiers of government and their ability to raise capital, the Federal Government is the only level of government that can generate “free” capital quickly. They can move from large deficits to surpluses in a short time. State and Local Governments can’t do this. So as South Australian engineers what does all of this mean for us and what can we do? Currently a lot of South
Australian engineers to as be waiting on the next big project and this is likely to be BHP Billiton’s Olympic ngineers Australia’s colleges and groups,seem as well Dam expansion. But the capacity of our industry has been built around small and medium size projects, these ectronic direct mail (EDM) or similar applications . projects have enabled us to deliver the big projects when they come around. The basic infrastructure that will continue to support the quality of life demanded by South Australians
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some large. What we need to be doing is working with our politicians to develop capacity which matches the needs of the future, we need to take a long term FIND perspective and we need to provide a voice that speaks of the FIND OUT MORE OUT MORE simple fact – if you ignore spending on infrastructure you fail to maintain Engineers Australia the Logoquality and Brand Management Procedures of life people expect. In 2012 we have the opportunity to demonstrate the engineering UPDATE YOUR PROFILE leadership needed to provide long term sustainability for South Australians at the Engineering Leadership Conference. Here we will have the opportunity to listen and interact with some of our professions leaders and REGISTER NOW REGISTER NOW some recognised leaders of industry. I encourage you all to get along to Icons and Buttons this and to contribute to the sustainability of our state and our industry.
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A full suite of iconsGerry and buttons are available Doyle MIEAust CPEngfor all of Engineers Australia’s colleges and groups, as well as President NOWcall ENTERfor NOW ocial ENTER media and to action buttons use online, electronic direct mail (EDM) or similar applications . Engineers Australia South Australia Division
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Reflections on a tour in Afghanistan Afghanistan is defined by a conflict that has destroyed much of the country’s physical and human capital. The presence of the international community in Afghanistan provides opportunities to reconstruct communities however, accompanying these opportunities are challenges. My experience in Afghanistan came at very short notice and centred on the efforts by NATO to supplement combat operations with stability enablers. “Stability Operations” focuses on delivery of support for Governance, Health, Education, Economics, Infrastructure and Agriculture. The change in my environment and role from Chief Engineer for the RAAF and Army flight test community to Chief - Stability Coordination, 10th Mountain Division US Army, Regional Command South – Afghanistan was dramatic and challenging. For example my relationship with aircraft changed to that of a regular passenger on coalition Chinooks, Blackhawks and several other unique varieties. I am WGCDR Tobyn Bearman confident my engineering background - a systematic approach, willingness to prototype, the ability to co-opt successful ideas and enthusiasm for simple, elegant solutions helped me to rapidly come to terms with the characteristics of the stability disciplines I was most comfortable with and flattened a pretty steep learning curve for the rest. I’ll concentrate in this short article on a few of the many considerations applicable to the delivery of infrastructure, agriculture and economic stability I encountered during six months embedded with the US ARMY in some of the most violent provinces of southern Afghanistan. Catch-phrases or slogans are extremely useful for communicating a theme to a large group – in this case the many thousands of military, UN, and Government and Non-Government men and women in the region. Two slogans we employed in the southern provinces of Kandahar, Ouruzgan and Qalat were “No Technology after 1880” and “Will it last once we have left?” These slogans helped cue those working in the area to the rudimentary nature of the human and physical environment and the imperative that introduced programs and technologies are complimentary with the local environment and will, where possible, endure without external support. Complex machinery and sophisticated agricultural techniques that rely on support taken for granted in Australia will quickly disappear either because of the impost they place on non-existent infrastructure or the alternative benefit that can be realised by disposing of the resource in exchange for more practical and immediate benefit. Well meaning programs to introduce technology to communities with overwhelming illiteracy, absent all but the most basic agrarian competency frequently failed once external support was removed. So we sought to ‘keep it simple – make it appropriate – make it sustainable’. Why build a sealed road to a community that has no potable water, school or bazaar? A more useful approach may be to improve the gravel track. The road requires techniques and materials not available to the community; the track requires basic manual labour to maintain and delivers secondary benefits in the form of employment, vocational development and connection to governance, judicial, social and economic programs. Other successful programs I assisted with employed a similar philosophy of simplicity and sustainability. Agriculture defines the southern region of the country and yet the community has lost the skills necessary to effectively exploit their environment. Imagine shepherds who have forgotten how to harvest wool and farming families who have lost the knowledge necessary to maintain kitchen gardens and poultry. Programs were started to re-introduce such knowledge, train those who could teach and develop pathways for communities to connect economically nurturing growth. It is not hard to extrapolate two simple examples to the other components of the mission –community health campaigns to address high infant mortality, literacy training integrated with manual labour programs to increase both engagement and commerce and master farmer training to transfer horticultural knowledge to farmers. Each effort was tailored to the local socio-economic environment and achieving small but coordinated progress towards stability. During my time in Afghanistan I was fortunate to work with a global coalition of professionals engaging with Afghans demonstrating breathtaking courage, in a sometimes chaotic but always determined enterprise to rebuild a nation. I drew heavily on my experiences and training to address the daily challenges associated with such a broad undertaking. The experience has improved my perspective and sharpened both my competency and confidence as a professional engineer. WGCDR Tobyn Bearman FIEAust CPEng
Interviewers Required The South Australia Division is looking for engineers who have Chartered Status and are willing to donate their time and expertise. As well as giving back to the profession and experiencing new perspectives time spent assisting with Professional Interviews can be used towards Continuing Professional Development (CPD). To register as an interviewer please complete the short form at http://tinyurl.com/4uk39ew or for any questions please contact Member Service Officer Kirstein Bartlett via kbartlett@engineersaustralia.org.au or by phoning 08 8202 7100.
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Engineering South Australia
Epic Chartered Achievement For Epic Energy Engineer Epic Energy pipeline integrity engineer Gabriel Pizani has recently achieved Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) status. Gabriel also levered off his newly attained CPEng to become a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ). Gabriel was impressed by the process, noting "For me it’s been a great result, not only because I have achieved a very important milestone in my career, but also because of the alignment with Epic Energy’s commitment to the requirements of RPEQ in Queensland. The process itself has in fact been very rewarding as it provided the opportunity to look back at my career and reflect on my own achievements, skills and experience. It’s almost like giving yourself a pat on the back for a job well done". As one of Australia's largest gas transmission companies, Epic Energy’s assets include the South West Queensland Pipeline, incorporating the recently completed duplication of approximately 940km of high pressure natural gas transmission pipeline. This pipeline runs between Moomba and the central QLD gas hub of Wallumbilla, providing a key infrastructure link between Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia.
Epic Energy’s Manager Engineering and Technical Services Tom Forde MIEAust and Gabriel Pizani MIEAust CPEng
Epic Energy employs a work force of around 120 people, with 15 engineers within various teams across the business. Epic Energy relies on the technical competence of these engineers to ensure successful business operations, and has committed to their ongoing development by participating in an Engineers Australia Professional Development Program. Tom Forde MIEAust Manager Engineering and Technical Services Epic Energy
Michael Quince - KBR Chartered Champion Michael Quince graduated five years ago and is now a structural engineer at KBR, one of South Australia’s largest engineering firms. As part of his Continuing Professional Development, Michael recently obtained Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) status. Michael said the qualification is a demonstration of not only his engineering competence, but also his commitment to professional development. “By obtaining my CPEng, I hope to take on more responsibility, including key roles in large and complex projects.” Since joining KBR, Michael has been responsible for the design, documentation, construction phase supervision and project leadership for many commercial, residential and industrial developments. Some of his career highlights in Melbourne include the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre increased demand project and the Eastern Treatment Plant tertiary treatment upgrade and, in Adelaide, the 80–88 Rundle Mall base building refurbishment and Clipsal 500 Adelaide pit straight temporary shade structures. “My career has progressed from a graduate engineer in a project team to a lead structural engineer responsible for project delivery, where I’m now providing guidance to graduate engineers in my project team,” Michael said.
Engineers Australia Industry Relationship Manager Jason Thornhill with Michael Quince MIEAust CPEng
“My technical abilities and understanding have grown from undertaking design based on concepts devised by others to producing the design concepts myself and undertaking planning studies to determine innovative and efficient solutions that meet the stakeholders’ needs. “My career strategy has been to fast-track my development by taking on responsibility, and demonstrating strong communication skills and accountability.” KBR has a comprehensive graduate development program, IMPACT, which aims to assist graduates to achieve excellence in technical and managerial skills, as well as develop personally. It’s designed to motivate, retain and develop employees. IMPACT is recognised by Engineers Australia and includes a Certificate IV in Frontline Management that KBR delivers in-house, as a Registered Training Organisation. A key objective of KBR’s graduate development program is to assist participants in obtaining Chartered Status or other professional accreditation, while they work alongside senior professionals, experts in their fields, and apply leading technologies. Michael will act as a chartered champion for KBR and will mentor graduate engineers and peers to help them obtain their CPEng. More information on KBR’s graduate recruitment program can be found at www.kbrjobs.com Rowena Austin Manager Communications Australia KBR
www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sa
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Why Join Engineers Australia? Do you have colleagues, friends or acquaintances who should be members of Engineers Australia? Are you an engineer who is not a member of Engineers Australia? Engineers Australia is the national forum for the advancement of engineering and the professional development of our members. Our members enjoy a wide range of benefits including: • Continuing Professional Development and career services; • Technical information and resources; • Networking events; • International mobility and recognition; • Special offers. We also provide advocacy on a wide range of government issues with consultation from our nearly 100,000 members worldwide. Our high standards for accreditation and membership sees recognition from government, organisations, companies and internationally occur on an ongoing basis. We welcome any enquiries you may have about membership and the process of becoming a member. For any enquiries please contact the South Australia Division Member Relationship Coordinator via njones@engineersaustralia.org.au or by calling on 08 8202 7170.
Are you familiar with Engineers Australia’s RAP? Through our Strategic Plan and Code of Ethics, Engineers Australia has emphasised its commitment to "use our members' knowledge and skills for the benefit of the community to create engineering solutions for a sustainable future." A Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is Engineers Australia's commitment and response to 'closing the gap'. Engineers Australia's RAP details steps and priorities that the organisation will undertake to assist in helping to achieve Indigenous equality and to help build positive relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. To view Engineers Australia's RAP please visit http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/about-us/ reconciliation-action-plan
Congratulations To Our Members! The South Australia Division would like to congratulate the following members on attaining Chartered Status between 1st October 2011 and 31st December 2011: • James Czornohalan MIEAust CPEng; • Lindsay Freund MIEAust CPEng; • Raj Ingole MIEAust CPEng EngExec; • Rajmund Kot FIEAust CPEng; • William Lee MIEAust CPEng; • Gabriel Pizani MIEAust CPEng; • Mark Pokorny MIEAust CPEng; • Michael Quince MIEAust CPEng; • Rajendram Srithar MIEAust CPEng; • Xiang Yu MIEAust CPEng; • Stephen Butterworth MIET MIEAust CPEng; • Alfred Chang MIEAust CPEng; • Leo Maria MIEAust CPEng. The South Australia Division would also like to take this chance to welcome the 269 new members, 71 readmitting members and 65 members who have moved to South Australia. Are you interested in becoming a member? Contact Member Relationship Coordinator Nathan Jones via njones@engineersaustralia.org.au or by calling 08 8202 7170.
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Member Profile Anjan Kundu FIEAust CPEng Why did you decide to become an engineer? My late uncle was an Electrical Engineer and a visit to a small hydroelectric power station in Darjeeling back in the late sixties got me interested to become an engineer. What do you like the most about the engineering profession? The profession has and still does make significant contributions to society. Most of our lives are influenced by the inventions and activities of the profession. You get an opportunity to make a big difference for others in society. It is often said that ‘Engineers have a collective responsibility to improve the lives of people around the world’. If you could have worked on any engineering project, throughout history, what would you choose? The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric scheme. It’s completion provided Australia with the image of a young, vibrant, multicultural and independent nation. What do you see as one of the biggest issues facing the engineering profession? The earth’s population has passed the 7 billion mark. Consequently, food production and water resources will be major issues for the engineering community to solve. What is the greatest piece of technology released in the last decade? There are so many such as the smartphone, tablet computer, internet search machines and social networking sites. The smartphone has transformed our idea of what a cellular phone can do. It is no longer just for phone calls. Emails, search machines, camera etc. are some facilities that can now be done on the move through a device that is small, lightweight and simple to use
Why are you an Engineers Australia member? As a member, I can meet and network with others within the profession in Australia and overseas. I have also got the opportunity to put something back into it through Divisional involvements. If you could take a year off to study anything, what would it be? Having lived in the Territory for over 16 years, I would love to learn more about the cultures and practices of our indigenous community. What do you feel is the engineering professions strongest asset? The engineering team comprising of professional and para-professional members are the strongest asset of the profession. They provide solutions to many problems. What are your hobbies? They used to be cricket and gardening but lately I have turned to reading books. DIY is something that I enjoy and get great satisfaction from. What is your motto? Be positive as positive minds attract What would be your ideal working holiday? Travelling to Darjeeling in India and working on the Toy Train transport system. It’s fascinating how the little trains wind up the sides of the Himalayas amid breathtaking sceneries and sheer drops. Who would you most like to meet? I would love to meet my great grandfather who was the headmaster of the local school. I heard so much about him from my father and he was way ahead of his time. He believed very strongly in a good education and inspired a lot of young children to become educated and contribute to society. My father was inspired by him to qualify as a Doctor and serve society.
Thursday, 8th March 2012, 6.30pm Civil Contractors Federation SA | 1 South Road, Thebarton SA 5031
Engineering
AND Construction
Engineers Australia and Civil Contractors Federation Members Only $10 inc GST
Networking Cocktail Night
For online registrations and payment please visit the South Australian Division Events page at: www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sa/events For further information contact Events Coordinator Sharryn Fensom via sfensom@engineersaustralia.org.au or 8202 7140
www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sa
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Upcoming Events Unless published otherwise all presentations are scheduled to be held at the Engineers Australia South Australia Division. Event details are subject to change. Please check our website prior to the event for current information and updates. Level 11, 108 King William Street ADELAIDE SA 5000. Please register online where you see this symbol
February Mon 20 ~ 5.00pm Structural Branch Event Type: Security for Payments Act - Make sure that you get paid for the work you do Tue 21st ~ 5.00pm JTP Electrical and Electronic Event Type: Zero Carbon Australia Stationary Energy Plan Wed 22nd ~ 6.30pm Pre-Dinner Drinks Engineers Australia 2012 Sir Eric Neal Address Venue: The Sebel Playford, 120 North Terrace, Adelaide Enquiries: Events Coordinator Sharryn Fensom sfensom@engineersaustralia.org.au Thu 23rd ~ 5.00pm Footings Group Event Type: Technical Presentation Enquiries: sa@engineersaustralia.org.au Tue 28th ~ 5.00pm Royal Aeronautical Society Event Type: Technical Presentation Enquiries: sa@engineersaustralia.org.au th
March Tue 6th ~ 5.15pm Engineers Australia Event Type: Chartered Workshop Presentation Enquiries: Member Services Officer Kirstein Bartlett kbartlett@engineersaustralia.org.au Tue 6th ~ 5.30pm Engineers Australia Eminent Speaker - Greg Martin Enquiries: Events Coordinator Megan Sam msam@engineersaustralia.org.au Wed 7th ~ 5.30pm Joint Chemical Engineering Committee Event Type: Technical Presentation Enquiries: sa@engineersaustralia.org.au
Wed 7th ~ 12.30pm Retired Engineers Group Event Type: Luncheon Topic: Climate Change, Future Energy, Nuclear Myths and Uranium’s Role in SA Development Thu 8th ~ 6.00pm Society for Building Services Engineers Event Type: Technical Presentation Topic: Mitsubishi Site Redevelopment Enquiries: sa@engineersaustralia.org.au Thu 8th ~ 6.30pm Engineers Australia and the Civil Contractors Federation Engineering and Construction Networking Cocktail Night Venue: Civil Contractors Federation SA, 1 South Road, Thebarton Enquiries: Events Coordinator Sharryn Fensom sfensom@engineersaustralia.org.au Fri 16th ~ 5.30pm Engineers Australia Eminent Speaker - Doug Arbuckle Topic: Next Generation Air Traffic Management – Promises, Pitfalls and Progress Enquiries: Events Coordinator Megan Sam msam@engineersaustralia.org.au Mon 19th ~ 5.30pm Australian Geomechanics Society Event Type: Technical Presentation Enquiries: sa@engineersaustralia.org.au Tue 20th ~ 5.30pm JTP Electrical and Electronic Event Type: Technical Presentation Enquiries: sa@engineersaustralia.org.au Thu 22nd ~ 8.30am Engineers Australia, Concrete Institute of Australia and Consult Australia Event Type: Short Course Topic: Precast for Engineering Graduates + Students Enquiries: www.nationalprecast.com.au
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