THE NEWSLETTER OF THE SYDNEY DIVISION OF ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA
MAY 2012
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Achieving our purpose Sydney Division Key Sponsors The purpose of Engineers Australia, and that of the engineering profession, is to benefit the community – by advancing the science and practice of engineering. The 2011 Royal Charter and By-Laws, and the 2010 Code of Ethics and supporting Guidelines on Professional Conduct, provide the framework, values and principles for us to do so. But our success in achieving our purpose is dependent on our ability to structure and organise ourselves, enable suitable and effective engagement, to foster collaboration and innovation, forge a common view wherever possible, and to communicate a message that is responsive and relevant to addressing community needs. Establishing, managing and directing the activities of Sydney Division is an ongoing challenge – for Staff, Office Bearers, Volunteers and Members. Work being done by Division Committee and a number of Subcommittees with support from Staff, continues to review and consider the appropriateness and effectiveness of these activities. I’m particularly aware of the need to support and engage with the various panels, groups and technical societies which have long since been established within metropolitan and regional areas to enable membership engagement on topics of interest and relevance to the profession. In this regard Group Chairs and College Representatives were invited to a workshop meeting with Division Committee in mid May, and I’m attending a range of Technical Seminars and Events being delivered by various groups throughout Sydney and NSW during the year. Further, a new Board of Engineering Practice
has recently been established by Sydney Division Committee. The aim of the new Board is to support and stimulate better alignment of CPD Activities with the needs of members in both metropolitan and regional areas, and to provide for a more direct correlation with College initiatives for strategic professional development. Apart from CPD Activities, I would also like to highlight two flagship programmes of the Sydney Division Calendar. The Engineering Excellence Awards is launched in February each year, seeking nominations for a variety of award categories, with a gala awards ceremony being held in Sydney on 21 September 2012 – a special thanks to the loyalty of our existing Sponsors, and an encouragement to new Sponsors. And, Australian Engineering Week (the first full week in August each year), seeks to promote engineering and the profession to the public – please set this week aside in your diaries now to maximise your opportunity to participate. With vision, passion, innovation, and leadership, we as an engineering profession in Australia can achieve our purpose, if we’re prepared to do so together. Brendyn Williams, BE(Civil)(Hons) MIEAust FIPWEA President, Engineers Australia Sydney Division
Deputy President’s Corner
Key Division Staff Executive Director – Steve Finlay Executive Operations Manager – Richard Hanna Events Manager – Aimee Najdovski Industry Relationship Manager – Elana Huthnance Events Coordinator – Jessica Marshall Communications and IT Coordinator – Nimali Herath Membership Officer – Julia Bresolin Membership Officer – Danielle Tuazon Membership Officer – Maritsa Kacopieros Account Manager – Rimma Kolodizner Chartered Assessors – Roland De Broglio, Amal Hanna Neil Wyles and Guy Beaubois National Stage 1 Assessor – Guy Beaubois and Maurice Allen National Manager Careers – Jenny O’Donovan Auditorium Operator – David Zhao
Your Division Committee for 2012 President – Brendyn Williams Deputy President – John Nichols Immediate Past President – Maryam Khajeh National Councillors – Bruce Howard, Marlene Kanga and Alex Baitch National Congress – Kevin Dixon, Ted Tooher and Michael Myers
Elected Members: David Edwards, Nikki New, Rosemary Crowhurst and Michael Lucas
Appointed Members: Young Engineers Australia, Sydney Division – Sam Green Women in Engineering – Julie Mikhail Regional Group Representatives – John Stonelli and Rosemary Crowhurst College and CELM Representative – Alexandra Meldrum Chair Education and Assessment Sub Committee – Norm Himsley Electrical Branch – Allan Sangster Unit Representatives – Norm Himsley and Allan Sangster
Produced by Engineers Australia Sydney Division Editor – Steve Finlay Designed by Engineers Media
Sydney’s population is increasing at the rate of one thousand people per week and its infrastructure has been groaning under this strain for many years. As one who has travelled daily across the metropolis I’ve silently watched as the transport arteries have thickened and clogged, buses and trains have become over crowded and choked, and travel times have doubled. Ironically what was once described as the peak hour rush has now ballooned to the peak four hour rush and even threatens to besiege the city on the weekend. While we, as a community, have muddled over metro lines, fumbled with freeways and bumbled with bikeways, the daily grind continues to get worse. Sydney will continue to grow and it will double its population over the next twenty five years upon which travel demand and commuter congestion is going to increase exponentially. Given this as a background I was pleased to see the plans and positive progress being made on the proposal to build the North West Rail Link from Epping to Rouse Hill. The proposal is an $8 billion development being embarked upon by the NSW Government department: Transport for NSW. It’s an ambitious scheme to design and build an integrated transport link, consisting of 23 kilometres of double train line with eight railway stations and 4000 car spaces, and represents the biggest transport infrastructure project in Sydney since the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The Link will serve the North West Growth Centre which is earmarked for major residential growth over the next twenty five years, and will save current commuters to the CBD thirty per cent in public transport travel time. The project will incorporate 15 kilometre long tunnels which will be the longest and deepest rail tunnels built in Australia and will join directly with the existing Epping to Chatswood rail tunnels. It will also include a 4 kilometre long Skytrain structure between Bella Vista and Rouse Hill which will allow communities to have access to open space around the Skytrain for uses like parks and community grounds without bisecting the suburb. While this is an important step in improving our city, it is only one of many more steps that are required to improve our infrastructure. Similar strangling problems are being faced by regional communities faced with poor, ageing and non-existent infrastructure. Infrastructure and its renewal, upgrade and development is the foundation of Australia’s future and we as a community must make the hard decisions and foster, plan, support and encourage its development. John Nichols BE (Civil), CPEng, FIEAust Deputy President, Engineers Australia Sydney Division
Presented by: The Risk Engineering Society (NSW) Dr. Alena Griffiths
Software Reliability – an Oxymoron? Date:
Sydney Division
Level 3, 8 Thomas Street, Chatswood NSW 2067 (PO Box 1389, Chatswood 2057) phone 02 9410 5600 fax 02 9410 0000 sydney@engineersaustralia.org.au www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sydney The views expressed in Engineers Sydney are not necessarily those of Engineers Australia Sydney Division.
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2 ENGINEERS SYDNEY MAY 2012
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Time: 5:30pm for presentation from 6.00pm to 7:00pm, networking until 8:00pm. Venue: Engineers Australia Auditorium – Ground Floor, 8 Thomas Street Chatswood. Cost: $10 for RES members, $20 for non-members (drinks and snacks included). Speaker: Dr Alena Griffiths. RSVP: Please register online by Monday, 28 May 2012 at www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sydney/events.
NEWS
YEAS Careers Expo The YEAS Careers Expo took place on Monday 2 April at the Sydney Masonic Centre. The event was supported by a 26 exhibitors and attracted 600 students from over 5 universities. The event was opened by Pat James, Chair of Young Engineers Australia Sydney Division, who was the Master of Ceremonies for the Forum “Getting a Job” which was panelled by 5 industry representatives. The industry representatives were; Steven Lindsay – Lindsay & Dynan; Jolene Ou Yong – RailCorp; Sophie Dowling – TransGrid; Mary-Ellen Christie – Fulton Hogan; and Jenny O’Donovan – Engineers Australia. The panel addressed questions from the audience in regard to resume writing, interview skills, and how to get job placements in the industry. The exhibition was opened to the students after the forum which provided the students the opportunity to mingle with the exhibitors and gain valuable information and guidance for future graduates and employment opportunities. The 2012 Careers expo exhibitors were: • Abigroup Contractors • ICD Asia Pacific Pty Ltd • Arup • Joy Mining Machinery • Aurecon • Keller Australia • Cardno • Lindsay & Dynan Consulting • Coffey Geotechnics Pty Ltd Engineers • Defence Force Recruiting • NSW Public Works • Defence Materiel • RailCorp Organisation • ResMed Ltd • Engineers Australia • Roads and Maritime Services • EA Books NSW • Engineering Education • Snowy Hydro Limited Australia • Taylor Thomson Whitting • Fulton Hogan • TransGrid • Golder Associates • URS Australia P/L • HATCH • Rio Tinto • Honeywell
Forum Panel of Company Representatives.
YEAS is currently in discussion for how to make the 2013 Careers Evening even bigger and better than this year. More information will be published in upcoming newsletters. Many thanks to the speakers, exhibitors, and to all of the volunteers who gave up their time and helped make the Expo an overwhelming success. Students at the Expo.
Students at the Expo. engineers sydney MAY 2012 3
NEWS
Titanic 100th Anniversary – Engineering lessons to be learned Engineers Australia, Sydney Division, Electrical Branch and the Joint Electrical Institutions Sydney, marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic by presenting a half day seminar on Thursday, 12 April 2012 at the Harricks Auditorium, Chatswood. Philip Mallon presented both the social context which made the Titanic disaster particularly notable as well as many of the engineering aspects of the ship. The film A Night to Remember was used to illustrate much of the presentation. Dr Peter Jensen presented on the radio communications aspects of the Titanic.
David Edwards and Dr Peter Jensen standing next to a reconstruction of the Radio Room of the RMS Titanic.
Nuclear Engineering Panel Presentation Engineers Australia Auditorium Ground Floor, 8 Thomas St, Chatswood 5.30pm for 6pm, Wednesday, 23 May 2011
Developing Advanced Nuclear Structural Materials for use in Next Generation Nuclear Power Plant By Prof Lyndon Edwards Head, Institute of Materials Engineering Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) Next generation nuclear power systems are safer and more sustainable, and designed to address global energy needs later this century. This presentation will describe the challenges and progress to date in identifying, designing, producing and assessing materials that can withstand the extreme conditions of radiation, temperature, chemical environment and stress inherent in both fission and fusion systems, using examples of the current work at ANSTO. For further information, contact Tony Irwin tonyirwin@bigpond.com
4 engineers sydney MAY 2012
Discover Engineering Day The most recent Discover Engineering Day was held at Caringbah High School on 22 March 2012. The day saw an attendance of over 120 students from surrounding schools including Cronulla High School, Gymea Technology High School, Bethany College and Port Hacking High School. The new format was used once again and went off without a hitch. To start off with the students were introduced to the world of engineering with a presentation by our Careers Manager Jenny O’Donovan. Throughout the day the students then saw presentations from both our Student Engineer and Professional Engineer, David Zhao and Andrew Dyer. When the students were not captivated by our presentations they were given the opportunity to rotate around to a range of different activities that helped them learn more about engineering as a future career path. Activities on the day included an Education hub with ambassadors from University of Sydney, UWS, UNSW, UTS UoW and TAFE NSW, and a search and rescue robot from the University of Technology Sydney. Students also got to try their hand at some engineering of their own by competing in a marshmallow catapult competition and testing their own paper towers. The engineers of the winning paper tower came from Gymea Technology High School. The highlight for most of the students on the day was a presentation from a member of the UNSW RoboCup Team. Brad Hall showed the students how the robots work and explained the real life use of this technology. After all their hard work students were treated to morning tea and lunch provided by Caringbah High School. A big thank you to Caringbah High School for allowing us to use their school venue. We now look forward to the next Discover Engineering Day.
NEWS
CEO Inaugural Breakfast – CELM NSW The Chair of CELM NSW James Phillis recently hosted the inaugural CEO Breakfast at the Sydney Hilton with our CEO Stephen Durkin as guest speaker. The National Deputy President Marlene Kanga was also a special guest. The breakfast was attended by CEOs and senior management leaders including many of our PDP partners. It was a very interactive Q&A session with Stephen sharing his views on the way forward for Engineers Australia centred on the four key themes of: • Developing a member-focused culture • Being visible and accessible and relevant to members • Being commercially viable, and • Professionalism CELM NSW is looking forward to hosting this CEO Breakfast as an annual event in its calendar.
James Phillis introducing CEO Stephen Durkin (seated to right with National Deputy President Marlene Kanga).
University of NSW prize giving night Prizes (EA cheques) of $250 each were handed out at the UNSW 2012 Prize Giving Ceremony, for 3 top electrical/IT students. Original prize certificates were handed out at the EA Electrical & ITE Branch student CPD lecture in November 2011, which was followed by a dinner for the students and Deans of Engineering at a nearby Chinese Restaurant. EA prizes are to encourage new graduates to utilise Continuing Professional Development facilities of Engineers Australia.
Ni Ding with Allan Sangster.
Duncan Edwards with Allan Sangster.
L-r: Ray Eaton, David Dorrell, Allan Sangster, Graham Painton, Prof Ambi and Neil Roberts.
Chi Man Cheng with Allan Sangster. engineers sydney MAY 2012 5
NEWS
Abigroup Autumn Engineering School The Abigroup Autumn School is an Engineers Australia Sydney Division initiative. With the support of Abigroup, NSW and ACT ‘Engineering’ Universities and participating Rotaries was successfully run for the third year. The major aim of the Autumn School is to give NSW high school students a better understanding of what engineering is and how it works in everyday life. The Australian National Engineering Taskforce (ANET), of which Engineers Australia is a member, reported that Australia produces 6000 graduates annually, which is half of our annual workforce needs. The Autumn School is a resource to ensure that young people have engineering in the forefront of their minds when looking at career options. During the week‑long program the Autumn School students met and interacted with professional engineers employed by government, private companies, researchers and academics from a wide range of engineering backgrounds. They gained valuable insight into career opportunities available to men and women in engineering. Visits to industry provided a valuable opportunity to gain first hand experience in the role of professional engineers in a wide range of activities, including the management of major projects. The students learnt about the role of professional engineers in society and different disciplines within engineering. The Abigroup Autumn Engineering School brought together 50 Year 11 and 12 students from the Sydney and some regional NSW areas. Some of the students were funded or partly funded by Rotary and their high schools. Abigroup Autumn School students attended lectures and demonstrations at the University of Sydney; University of New South Wales ; University of Technology, Sydney; and Australian National University. Site visits the
6 engineers sydney MAY 2012
students attended included Cotter Dam, Weir Minerals, Cochlear and Transport Management Centre. Another significant program inclusion was the Careers evening where students had the opportunity to meet and talk informally with a broad range of engineers. Guests included – Fiona Morrison from Nova Systems; Andrew Airey and Chris Dowton from Defence Materiel Organisation; Christina West from Ghd; Joshua Toohey from Bulk Water Alliance; and Matthew Skinner, Winey Suen, Sarah Wilson, and Jodie Gallo from Abigroup. In response to the Survey Report question of do you think you will go on to study engineering, the response was overwhelming with 99% responding YES, with civil and mechatronic engineering identified as the discipline the majority of the students wish to study at university followed by mechanical. The Abigroup Autumn Engineering School was a great success and we look forward to running the event again next year and seeing an even greater interest in the program and the field of engineering. Our sincere thanks are extended to Abigroup for their sponsorship, Rotary Clubs for their financial assistance to some of the students, the participating Universities, the people who made the site visits possible, Careers Evening guests, and last but certainly not least the students who all contributed in making the Abigroup Autumn Engineering School 2012 a wonderful success.
NEWS
CPEng Roadshow into Regional NSW As part of the Year of the Regional Engineering Team and inline with the new Stage 2 Competencies and the eChartered process being launched on 1 July 2012, Sydney Division underwent a Roadshow visiting some of the regional groups. Four regionally based Chartered Workshops were hosted which aimed to demystify the process for applying for Chartered status. The workshops were conducted by Richard Hanna, Executive Operations Manager and were held at the following locations: • Blue Mountains – Tuesday 17th of April • Parkes – Wednesday 18th of April • Dubbo – Thursday 19th of April • Bathurst – Friday 20th of April.
Richard Hanna presenting at Bathurst workshop.
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YOUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT – DIARY DATES Most events are held at EA Harricks Auditorium, Ground Floor, 8 Thomas Street, Chatswood with refreshments provided prior to the session. Events are subject to change or cancel at short notice. Please check our website www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sydney/events for up-to-date information. PLEASE NOTE: To view video streams and to download slides of selected Technical Presentations please visit Online CPD at our website: www.engineersaustralia. org.au/sydney/onlineCPD
Fri 25
MAY
Riverina Oils & BioEnergy Plant Bomen Business Park Wagga Wagga, NSW 14:30 to 16:00 Contact: Ian Davis Email: iandav@optusnet.com. au
Thurs 17 Mechanical Branch Reducing the Carbon Footprint for Carbon Pumps Auditorium 18:00 for 18:30 to 20:00 Contact: Andrew Lowe Email: AndrewLowe@ ShelstonIP.com Cost: Free
Thurs 24 Engineers Australia ITEE College Eminent Speaker Series From Wireless to Astronomy: Lessons From an Engineering Career by Dr Trevor Bird Auditorium 17:30 to 19:30 Contact: Emily Yiannakis Email: eyiannakis@ engineersasutralia.org.au
Mon 21 Coastal, Ocean and Port Engineering Panel Engineers Australia Update – The NCCOE Guidelines for Coastal Implications of Climate Change Auditorium 17:30 for 18:00 Contact: Heli Lahteela Email: heli.lahteela@urs.com Cost: Free
Wed 30 Risk Engineering Society Software Reliability – An Oxymoron? Auditorium 17:30 for 18:00 to 19:30 Contact: Ruben Welschen Email: RubenW@scottlister. com Cost: $10 RES/EA members, $20 Non members
Tues 22 Water Engineering Panel Collaborative Approaches to Multi-level Governance in the Water Sector Auditorium 17:30 for 18:00 Contact: Grantley Smith Email: g.smith@wrl.unsw. edu.au Cost: Free Wed 23 Nuclear Engineering Panel Developing Advanced Nuclear Structural Materials for use in Next Generation Nuclear Power Plant Auditorium 17:30 to 19:30 Contact: Tony Irwin Email: tonyirwin@bigpond. com Cost: Free Thurs 24 Western Sydney Regional Group Your Easy Route to CPEng Building UG Room 50, University of Western Sydney, Kingswood 12:00 to 14:00 Contact: Dr. Olivia Mirza Email: o.mirza@uws.edu.au Cost: Free
8 engineers sydney MAY 2012
Riverina Regional Group
JUNE Mon 4 Engineering Heritage Committee The Tragic Blunder: The Fate of HMAS Australia Auditorium 17:30 for 18:00 to 19:30 Contact: Simon Wiltshier Email: simon.wiltshier@ mottmac.com.au Cost: Free Wed 13 Australian Geomechanics Society, Sydney Chapter Mine Subsidence Auditorium 17:30 for 18:00 to 20:00 Contact: David Airey Email: david.airey@sydney. edu.au Cost: Free
Thurs 14 Joint Electrical Branch – Engineers Australia, IET, IEEE Energy Efficiency Auditorium 17:30 to 20:00 Contact: Allan Sangster Email: allan.sangster@gmail. com Cost: Free Fri 15 Engineers Australia Sydney Division Chartered Workshop Board Room 9:30 to 12:00 Contact: Julia Bresolin Email: jbresolin@ engineersasutralia.org.au Cost: Free Sat 16 Engineers Australia Sydney Division Chartered Workshop Board Room 9:30 to 12:00 Contact: Julia Bresolin Email: jbresolin@ engineersasutralia.org.au Cost: Free Wed 20 Society of Fire Safety Tenability Criteria Auditorium 15:30 for 16:00 to 18:00 Contact: Vivek Apte Email: vivek.apte@avfireeng. com.au Cost: $20 SFS/EA members, $30 Non members Thurs 21 Mechanical Branch International Technology Licensing Auditorium 18:00 to 20:00 Contact: Andrew Lowe Email: AndrewLowe@ ShelstonIP.com Cost: Free Thurs 28 Joint Electrical Branch – Engineers Australia, IET, IEEE Cyber Security Auditorium 17:30 to 20:00 Contact: Allan Sangster Email: allan.sangster@gmail. com Cost: Free