Member Profile, Janice Wilson

Janice Wilson

Janice is a water and wastewater treatment engineer with 15 years experience across mining, utilities and private industry. She is a director at Double Black Diamond Solutions, an engineering consultancy based in Mackay offering water and wastewater engineering, project management and contract management services. Janice serves on the Australian Water Association Queensland Committee as Regional Liaison, an inaugural role developed to connect with regional and rural stakeholders and highlight achievements across the state, “up north and out west.” In 2015-16, she was awarded a full scholarship to attend the International Water Centre Water Leadership Program, which built lasting relationships with other emerging leaders in the water industry across the country. Janice is a chartered professional engineer in the colleges of Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering and Asset Management and is a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ). She juggles her busy professional life with being a mum to twin boys (Norris and Nolan), wife to Heath and dog owner of two golden English Cocker Spaniels (Statler and Waldorf).

What have been your career highlights?

Leading the team who performed the first membrane slack adjustment on ZeeWeed 500D cassettes in Australasia at the Sarina Water Recycling Facility in 2017 was a moment I look back on with pride. It was uncharted territory for us and the supplier – we had no procedures and had to figure it out as went, working on critical equipment on a plant with extremely tight effluent requirements as it discharges to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. There was little room for error. Our whole team came together, and everyone rolled up their sleeves to play their part, learning a lot in the process. It was a very successful exercise. We provided the supplier with our procedures and made some design recommendations to make it easier for future models to get better access for maintenance.

What has been the most valuable advice you’ve received that you will pass onto others?

I have a young family, so I’ve been so lucky to connect with other working parents who have blazed the trail on the work-life balance front, such as Lauren Rovelli from G&S Engineering Services, Narelle D’Amico from Bundaberg Regional Council, Rebecca Caldwell from Maytree Studios, Anna Whelan from Townsville City Council and Carlie Sargent from the Queensland Water Directorate. They are like my Board of Directors for being

a working parent and I regularly reach out to them for advice and reassurance. The most valuable takeaway from these amazing mentors is that the key to juggling all of the things we are responsible for is to understand which ball is made of plastic and which ball is made of glass. If you drop a plastic ball, it bounces – no harm done. If you drop a glass ball, it shatters, so you need to prioritise the glass ones. The takeaway is not to prioritise kids over work, or work over kids – just understand that some kid stuff is plastic, and some is glass. It’s OK to drop a plastic ball if you need to catch a glass ball – be kind to yourself.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The area that I’ve enjoyed the most is the interface between engineering and the public. I believe, as professionals in the public works space, that we need to make sure we design and build assets that can be easily used – by a water treatment plant operator, by a fitter trying to access a valve for service, or more broadly by a family using a library space. When the design team makes an effort to understand the end user and incorporate that feedback into their design, we end up with assets that perform as they should and achieve their intended goal. This translates into improved outcomes for public health, environmental protection and the standard of service for the community, not to mention value for money.

I delight in working in that design and operations and maintenance interface, smoothing communication and fostering understanding between all parties. I see my role as a public works engineer in this space to make sure the end user feels comfortable to speak up about their wealth of experiences at a design review, and to help the design engineer, or a supplier understand these issues so it’s easier for the frontline staff in water and wastewater treatment to get on with the delivery of essential services – taking care of your tap and your toilet.

It is International Women in Engineering Day, 23 June 2021. What can women in leadership positions do to increase the intake and retention of females in engineering and in the public works industry?

Pay equity is a serious issue – the Workplace Gender Equality Agency estimates that female professionals have a pay gap of 18.3% by 2019-20 figures. Anyone in a leadership or management position, regardless of gender, can review their direct reports’ salaries with a view to identifying and addressing pay gaps. This is just one thing that will help to attract and retain female talent in the engineering and public works industry.

What inspired you to join IPWEAQ and what services are of most value to you?

I completed the IPWEA Asset Planning course in 2017 online. It was a challenge to juggle full time work with study, but I learned so much about asset management and planning. The most valuable aspect for me specifically was how to frame asset management funding decisions in terms of service levels to the community and how to simply communicate risk to executive teams so they can make informed decisions. I highly recommend this course to anyone who works in the asset management space.