MEMBER PROFILE
MEMBER FOR
Bruce Stevenson
45 YEARS
I am a retired Civil Engineer having worked in the Local Government area for over 40 years. My qualifications include a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education (now USQ) completed in 1972, and a Certificate as a Local Government Engineer. I am a Non-Practicing Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland, a Member of Engineers Australia, and a retired Fellow of IPWEAQ. I have worked across seven shires and councils, a federal government department, as well as in private consulting. I retired in 2016. What was the industry like when you started your career? In the 1970s, local government engineering offered many opportunities, particularly if you were willing to move to rural areas. The works environment was much less formal than it is now but working in rural areas meant a degree of professional isolation. There were no computers, no mobile phones, WH&S was much less prominent and job quality was assured by adequate supervision and inspection, rather than by more recent QA systems. Although we didn’t appreciate it at the time, funding for engineering functions was relatively greater than current times, due in part, to councils, particularly rural councils, tending to concentrate on their road, water and sewerage functions, rather than spending significantly on the variety of other functions embraced these days. Standards were a little lower than today, although adequate for the time, and costs were relatively
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Sheffield, Tasmania during a hiking trip with a group of bushwalkers in 2017 (not every day that you see an alpaca in the main street - Bruce, on the right).
lower, due in part to there being less “red tape”. What are the most significant differences then and now as you understand it? One of the most significant changes between then and now, to my mind, is computerisation. I started using computers in my job in the late 1990s and now, it would not be possible to function without them. I refer not only to the personal use of computers for things such as day to day report writing and use of spreadsheets, but also to the design, modelling and control functions computers are used for. The introduction of the internet and mobile phones have also occurred over my working career, from being unavailable early on to being essential tools now. It is hard to imagine working without these modern aids these days and there can be little doubt that efficiency has improved as a result. However, I believe there are downsides, including the time taken to service the requirements of these systems, such as emails, and the intrusion
ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS | JUNE 2021
Hiking in north west Tasmania during a 2 month caravan trip in 2019.
on our private lives as a result of being instantly available at all times. Is it better or worse than it used to be? What changes had the most impact? There is little doubt in my mind that things have generally changed for the better with local government engineering over the years even though it is tempting to look back, perhaps with “rose coloured glasses”, at how things were, even though some of the changes were certainly challenging at the time of implementation.
