EPW March 2019

p ro jec t o f t he y ear iwd featu re me mbe r n e w s c a s e s t u dy

LOGAN’S WATER QUALITY SOLUTION

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

MEMBER PROFILE: NATASHA MURRAY

NHVR ASSESSMENT TOOL

Logan’s new project combines solar power, commercial battery storage and electro-chlorination technologies to maintain water quality. p.10

An infographic provides an interesting sector snapshot and women who have found success in engineering are celebrated in our IWD feature. p.22

Introducing Senior Transport Engineer at Cairns Regional Council and IPWEAQ’s 2018 Woman in Engineering, Natasha Murray. p.30

The Restricted Access Vehicle Route Assessment Tool (RAVRAT) aiding local governments to assess road suitability for heavy vehicles. p.54

ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS

ISSUE No.13

www.ipweaq.com

CONTENTS ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS | MARCH 2019

»»project Articles:

»» »» »» »» »» »» »»

sun & salt: Logan's water quality solution ................... p 10 Slow for ‘SAM’ - ROAD SAFETY SUCCESS ............................. p 34 Brisbane Valley Rail Trail ................................................ p 42 Mareeba Landfill Surface Water Management............. p 50 Asset Management Decision Making................................. p 53 RESTRICTED ACCESS VEHICLE ROUTE ASSESSMENT ............... p 54 BUNDABERG MULTIPLEX ......................................................... p 68

»»Community News: »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »»

President’s Report ............................................................... p 6 President’s BREAKFAST ......................................................... p 8 CEO’s Report ........................................................................ p 15 Community News ................................................................. p 16 Global day of the Engineer................................................ p 19 International Women’s Day feature................................ p 20 Member Profile: Natasha Murray .................................... p 30 Mayor’s Message: Rockhampton Regional Council ....... p 38 IPWEAQ 2019 Excellence Awards ..................................... p 48 NEXT GENERATION PROFILE: BENJAMIN ASH .......................... p 62 YIPWEAQ Report ................................................................... p 66 CQ President’s Report......................................................... p 71 SWQ President’s Report ..................................................... p 73 NQ President’s Report........................................................ p 75 SEQ President’s Report....................................................... p 77 Vale Graham John Brandon ............................................... p 82 IWPEAQ News in Brief .......................................................... p 83

»»IPWEAQ Updates: »» »» »» »» »»

IPWEAQ Constitution ........................................................... p 76 Portfolio Report: Technical Products ........................... p 79 Portfolio Report: Professional Development ............... p 81 Portfolio Report: Knowledge Centre ............................. p 80 Meet the team ..................................................................... P 84

»»QLDWATER NEWS

»» Qldwater CEO Report ......................................................p 86 »» qldwater News in Brief ..................................................p 88 Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

COMING UP NEXT QUARTER MARCH SWQ Branch Conference (Up to 9 hours CPD) Gatton, 7 – 8 March 2019 Erosion and Sediment Control L2 (Intermediate) (Up to 8 hours CPD) Cairns, 7 March International Women’s Day Friday 8 March 12-14 Bridge Inspection Workshop Level 1 & 2 (Up to 18 hours CPD) Brisbane, 14-14 March APRIL Road Safety Audit (Up to 16 hours CPD) Cairns, 2 – 3 April Global Day of the Engineer Wednesday 3 April Erosion and Sediment Control L3 (Advanced) (Up to 16 hours CPD) Brisbane, 9 April MAY Type A, B & D Sediment Basin Design (Up to 8 hours CPD) Brisbane, 11 May CQ Branch Conference (Up to 8.5 hours CPD) Rockhampton, 22 – 24 May Rural Road Maintenance & Rehabilitation Forum (Up to 12 hours CPD) Croydon, 28 – 30 May World MS Day Thursday 30 May

EDITORIAL The road ahead – recovery and reconstruction As we go to press on this issue of Engineering for Public Works (EPW), the once-in-a-century monsoonal deluge that struck large parts of north and northwest Queensland has moved from immediate disaster response to the recovery phase.

It has been so sad to witness the delight from regions suffering through several years of debilitating drought, turn to horror as the torrential rains went on to engulf these outback communities.

Our thoughts are with our colleagues who have been affected by this disaster, and those who have friends or family suffering as a result of the unprecedented flooding.

As is often the case in the immediate aftermath of a major disaster, there are countless stories of small kindnesses and personal heroism. And it is in keeping with the unbeatable spirit of Queenslanders that communities pull together in the worst of times.

We see this within the IPWEAQ community, amongst those who are now focussed on repair and reconstruction of critical public works infrastructure, and we offer our thanks. We are proud to know that our communities are in safe hands as Registered Professional Engineers of Queensland (RPEQ) work through the complicated

issues with their teams to deliver quality, responsive repair and reconstruction solutions. This will be no small task.

As Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey described in an interview with Brisbane Times recently, parts of Queensland’s Flinders Highway are like “confetti”. While major road repairs have begun and Flinders Highway has been opened again, thousands of kilometres of roads and supporting infrastructure has been affected.

Queensland Rail engineers have identified damage across 307 kilometres of track, with extreme erosion at 204 sites.

The damaged Mount Isa rail line between Richmond and Oorindi has been prioritised and a crew of 400 workers has already been mobilised to repair the damage which will take eight to 12 weeks to complete.

We’d also like to send special thanks to the ground crews who continue to face challenging conditions – from the spectre of the devasting livestock losses to the extreme temperatures of more than 40 degrees in some areas – thank you for your continuing work!

On that note, I hope you can take some time to enjoy this issue of EPW which highlights a range of innovative, award-winning projects and includes our special International Women’s Day feature.

If you have feedback on the journal or suggestions for articles or other content you’d like to see in an upcoming issue of EPW, please drop me a line Belinda.smith@ipweaq.com Belinda Smith Editor

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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Partner Program ANNUAL CONFERENCE

One booth and priority allocation for position before non-Partner exhibitors. (value $4,000).

BRANCH CONFERENCES

Opportunity to exhibit at up to four branch conferences. Note: due to the size of some regional venues, it may not be possible to accommodate all Partners at each event.

If we are unable to offer a trade display, we will ensure you still have a presence as a sponsor/Chair of a session or in some other way. Priority will be given to Principal Partners (guaranteed) then Partners before non-Partner exhibitors.

Upgrade to Principal Partner for greater exposure...

plus O pportunity to host a Tech Tour for the SEQ Technical Series - due to limited opportunities, this is exclusive to IPWEAQ Partners.

D iscounted rates to purchase IPWEAQ technical products including Standard Drawings, Complete Streets, QUDM etc.

T wo delegate registrations to the IPWEAQ annual conference including access to the conference proceedings (podcasts) (value up to $3,600).

Y our employees may attend IPWEAQ events at member rates including the IPWEAQ annual conference and branch conferences.

T wo delegate registrations for each branch conference per financial year (value up to $2,800).

Y our logo is displayed in the front pages of every issue of Engineering for Public Works.

A branded community in the IPWEAQ Knowledge Centre 'Technical Products & Services' where you can add videos, product guides, media releases, photos and other promotional materials.

Y our logo on our website linked to your website.

 1 0% discount on all sponsorship opportunities at the IPWEAQ annual conference and branch conferences and other IPWEAQ events including the roads symposia, Australian Engineering Week, Global Day of the Engineer etc.

Y our logo on our conference websites and our conference App linked to your website.

A double booth and priority position at our annual conference and a guaranteed trade display at branch conferences. B randing/sponsorship of an excellence award including your logo on the trophy and presentation of the award on stage. C hair a stream or plenary session at the IPWEAQ annual conference. T able for 10 at our annual excellence awards gala dinner. B randing of the IPWEAQ Knowledge Centre with banner.

O ur IPWEAQ Partner logo for use on your website, marketing collateral etc.

O ne-half page advertorial in any issue of Engineering for Public Works.

W e invite you to share your content on our social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Y our logo in a prominent position on our website linked to your website.

Partner | $7,700 (plus GST) | Value $12,000

$12,800 (plus GST) Value $22,000

IPWEAQ PARTNER PROGRAM

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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PARTNERS

IPWEAQ

Principal Partners

E n g iEnnegei rni e ne g r fi n og r Pf ourb lPi cu bW l i oc r kWso |r kDs e|c eMma br cehr 2 0 1 8 9

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president’s Report Thank you again to everyone who joined us for the 2019 President’s Breakfast on Friday 8 March. More than 90 delegates were at the Captain’s Room, Allan Border Field - our biggest Breakfast to date with many more colleagues joining us via satellite.

Thank you also to Goondiwindi Regional Council and City of Gold Coast for hosting our inaugural satellite breakfasts. We missed our colleagues in Townsville who were busy attending to more critical issues but thank you to GHD for agreeing to host the Townsville Breakfast. We’d like to see more of you involved next year as this event continues to expand each year.

Once again, we were blessed with high quality presentations which are now available in our globally recognised Knowledge Centre.

Thanks again to Col Chandler, Alton Twine and Chris Pipe-Martin.

By now you would be aware that the 2019 IPWEAQ Excellence Awards are open for submissions.

Please nominate your people and projects so we can celebrate your successes at the awards dinner and ceremony in October.

Coming up next we have the SWQ Branch conference which kicks off our program of regional conferences and forums. Please join us in Gatton, 7-8 March for another comprehensive program including a Keynote presentation

Seren with John Tannahill and Phil Atley representing Principal Partners, Komatsu.

on Waste to Energy - the future of water management by LGAQ. I am particularly looking forward to this year’s panel session to see how our representing engineer takes on a councillor and a consultant in the discussion on the financial sustainability of local government. Be sure to be there to support your colleague!

We are expecting representation in Gatton from all 14 councils in the SWQ region including mayors and councillors. Our regional conferences offer an excellent opportunity for our elected officials to better understand

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

the issues we deal with when delivering our community’s public works program and we look forward to their participation.

As you would know, we do enjoy our conference social gatherings but to prove that we at IPWEAQ are also concerned for the wellbeing of our delegates, we have scheduled two sporting events for the SWQ Branch conference.

Join us firstly for barefoot bowls, Thursday 7 March and then for the inaugural Team IPWEAQ bike ride, Saturday 9 March!

A huge thank you to our joint host councils, Lockyer Valley Regional

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of all the presentations, belatedly, in our Knowledge Centre after the event.

The proposed General Meeting to adopt the new constitution and company structure will now be held in Brisbane, 6 June 2019.

There is a form on the website for you to submit your comments and feedback. Otherwise, if you are happy with the new constitution which was designed to serve us well into the future during periods of growth and turbulent times, then please complete the Proxy Form, also on the website. Please take this opportunity to record your vote in what is an important moment in our history.

Since I last reported on the Street Design & Planning Manual (SPDM) in the December issue of EPW, we have finalised a cooperative agreement with the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure & Planning. The work continues on this seminal publication which we are still hoping to launch at the annual conference in Brisbane in October.

Seren speaking at the President’s Breakfast in February.

IPWEAQ CEO Leigh and Seren with the team from BPEQ.

And on a personal note, I am very pleased to announce that I am returning to ‘water’ to take up a position at the Southern Downs Regional Council as Manager Water and Wastewater. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues at Lockyer Valley Regional Council for their support over the past four years and I look forward to joining the team at SDRC.

Council and Somerset Regional Council.

I look forward to seeing you and your engineering and technical teams in Gatton!

The Call for Papers is now open for the CQ Branch conference to be

held in Rockhampton, 22-24 May 2019. Unfortunately I will be on my honeymoon and will miss the conference but I look forward to listening to the audio recordings

Seren McKenzie President

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2019 PRESIDENT’S BREAKFAST

The annual President’s Breakfast is our opportunity to thank our valued Partners, Sponsors and Councils for their ongoing support. The 2019 President’s Breakfast on 8 February was filled with lively conversation, and a higher attendance than ever before.

This year, we launched our inaugural satellite breakfasts, welcoming those from other regions to participate and watch the presentations remotely.

We were proud to be joined by Goondiwindi Regional Council and City of Gold Coast. We received resoundingly positive feedback from this experience, and look forward to welcoming more regions to our satellite breakfasts next year!

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Due to the extreme weather conditions at the time, Townsville were unable to be part of the breakfast but their plight was most certainly in our thoughts.

We were privileged to be joined by several of our Partners including: • A2K Technologies • Komatsu • Boral • Downer PipeTech • Ej • Fulton Hogan • Humes • Lion Systems • McBerns • McCullough Robertson • Pavement Management Solutions • Saferoads • Stabilised Pavements • Wangers Our speakers were an incredible representation of what we have achieved within the last year. Col Chandler is our MS Queensland Ambassador, the charity our President, Seren McKenzie, has

nominated to support during her term. Multiple Sclerosis affects the central nervous system, when the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks and damages the material that surrounds the nerve cells. Our commitment to raising awareness and funds for this illness is vital, as there is currently no cure for the disease.

IPWEAQ are proud to have raised $20,886 for MS Queensland.

For the third year in a row, we were delighted to be joined by our IPWEAQ 2018 Engineer of the Year.

Alton Twine, Director Transport & Infrastructure at the City of Gold Coast, gave a fascinating keynote presentation on the Commonwealth Games’ legacy, showing us a captivating snapshot of life during the Games.

We were also joined by Chris Pipe-Martin, Water Product Quality Program Leader from Logan City Council, offering an insightful look at their project to solve Logan’s

water problem. Winner of the IPWEAQ 2018 Project of the Year, this project improved water quality to the Logan South community in an innovative, sustainable and cost-effective manner.

During the breakfast, IPWEAQ also launched our 2019 Excellence Awards, through a new, more interactive online portal. Now in its seventeenth year, the awards place a spotlight on the projects and people who deliver exceptional outcomes for our communities. We’re very proud to be able to coordinate the awards program and to be promoting the achievements of our sector.

Nominations will remain open until 5 July 2018, with the winners being announced at our annual Excellence Awards Gala Dinner in October.

The President’s Breakfast was a wonderful way to start what is sure to be a very exciting year.

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sun & salt: Logan's water quality solution

2018 PROJECT OF THE YEAR

Chris Pipe-Martin is the Water Product Quality Program Leader at Logan City Council in South East Queensland. Chris is responsible for drinking water quality and wastewater discharge quality in the City of Logan.

Logan City Council has harnessed the power of sun and salt in an Australian first solution for managing drinking water quality in a remote location.

Chris Pipe-Martin explains how this $3 million project at Round Mountain Reservoir in the City of Logan’s south west combines solar power, commercial battery storage and electro-chlorination technologies to maintain water quality for residents, 24 hours a day.

Preparing for growth The City of Logan in south east Queensland is one of the largest and fastest growing cities in Australia.

With more than 313,000 residents, the city's population is set to increase dramatically in the coming decade. In part, this is due to urban development in the city's south; an area which features the Queensland Government's Greater Flagstone and Yarrabilba Priority Development Areas. These areas are currently home to about 2,000 people but will accommodate an ultimate population of around 200,000.

“To prepare for this growth, Council commissioned the 20 megalitre Round Mountain Reservoir in 2014 to provide drinking water for residents in the city's south. As this area is still developing, water from Round

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

Mountain Reservoir is retained in the water supply zone longer than desired,” Chris says.

Council was concerned that microbes in the network were contributing to low residual chloramine (the disinfectant in the bulk water supply) concentrations and a water quality that doesn’t meet Council's drinking water policy and standards of service.

“Water testing confirmed this, and a solution for improving water quality was a priority”.

A challenging location Council identified and assessed several water chlorination regimes for Round Mountain Reservoir

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- sodium hypochlorite, electrochlorination, chlorine gas and calcium hypochlorite systems.

“We looked at all the options from a range of technical, whole-oflife cost, risk, sustainability and operational perspectives,” Chris recalls.

“There were two big issues which affected all options. Round Mountain Reservoir is not serviced by a sealed road and the nearest electricity supply is 3.9km away”.

Wet weather access along the 3.1km access track is limited. This meant that chemical delivery by tanker trucks would be unreliable, particularly during summer when the risk of microbes in the water supply is highest and the need for chemicals is greatest.

sustainable long-term: an electrochlorination regime with a month’s supply of salt and brine stored on site. This option would produce enough chlorine to treat about 13 megalitres of water per day.

One 'non-traditional' chlorination option stood out as being the most

“The big advantage for Council was that this option avoided the

cost of upgrading the access road or installing a mains power supply”.

Innovation This project sets a benchmark in public works engineering as it marks the first time that large-

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to balance energy demand and supply. It is sized to allow the water chlorination system to run non-stop in all weather.

• Switchboard: The switchboard integrates the power output of the solar system and battery with the power demands of all other equipment. Operation of the entire facility is monitored in real-time using a radio telemetry SCADA system connected to Council's water operations centre.

capacity electro-chlorinators powered by solar panels and a commercial battery have been used to maintain drinking water quality in an Australian local government area.

“The project is a standout initiative as it is an unusual combination of renewable energy capture, energy storage and electro-chlorination technologies,” Chris says.

“The project's relative simplicity, safety and low operating costs makes it ideal application for utilities seeking sustainable water supply solutions – and a way they can show their communities they are making a difference”.

Four main technologies were applied at Round Mountain Reservoir: • Solar array: On the reservoir roof, 323 photovoltaic solar panels generate 87kW of energy in peak periods. This system powers the electro-chlorination, water supply dosing and control processes, with excess energy stored in the Tesla Powerpack battery for 24hour availability. Inverters convert the output from the solar array into a standard mains AC voltage.

• Tesla Powerpack: The commercial battery has a capacity of 95kWh and incorporates a cloud-based battery management system

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• Electro-chlorination: An electric current is applied to salt and water (brine) using two electrolysers and rectifiers, creating a weak solution (0.6%0.8%) of sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen gas. Once the gas is vented, sodium hypochlorite is stored in a tank until needed.

Dosing pumps then inject it into the reservoir outlet water to disinfect it. At full production, the system uses 1,000kg of salt a week. A month’s worth of brine and bagged salt are stored on site.

Performance Since commissioning in late 2017, the new system at Round Mountain Reservoir has maintained drinking water quality and reduced health risks for consumers.

Chris says that reliability of the system is high due to back up measures such as a month's worth of brine and bagged salt stored on site, five days of sodium hypochlorite stored on site, and battery back-up power for the drinking water dosing equipment.

“We’ve also achieved sound value for money. A $1.9 million capital cost for upgrading the 3.1km

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access track to the reservoir was avoided, as were costs associated with connecting to the existing electricity grid”.

“Operating costs are low, and we estimate that at least $50,000 a year is saved, compared with other other chlorination options.

This is because the salt used by the facility has a lower cost than chlorination chemicals. In addition, solar power provides 100% of the energy needed to run the electrochlorinators, further reducing operating costs”.

The system is a low maintenance asset which is safe to operate and safe for the community.

“The electro-chlorination process

is relatively simple and uses salt and low strength sodium hypochlorite which are not harmful to operators. There is also no need

to use tanker trucks to transport any hazardous chemicals through residential areas to the reservoir,” says Chris.

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Sun and Salt: Logan City Council’s water quality solution Project of the Year award accepted by Chris Pipe-Martin and Mark Vaughan.

“While not totally emission free, the solution does minimise the creation of greenhouse gas emissions through its use of solar energy.”

Ideal for other locations This project's relative simplicity, safety for operators and the community, and low operating costs makes it ideal application for smaller utilities and Councils around Australia; particularly those in remote or difficult- to-access locations where sustainable water supply solutions are needed.

According the Chris, the project is part of a changing Australian public works landscape where asset owners are increasingly turning to renewable energy solutions to achieve water security and reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

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CEO’s Report It’s going to be another big year and we’ve prepared ourselves with the recruitment of four new team members for three new positions and a replacement for Paula Paul who left us to return to family in Canberra.

We’re delighted to have an engineer back on staff with the arrival of David Thilwind who has taken on the role of Director, Product Development. It is great to have someone on staff who understands ADAC! In a nutshell, David’s priorities are to: 1. A ctively promote awareness of, and the benefits of IPWEAQ’s technical products and services to government, industry and other organisations.

2. P roactively gather knowledge and information from industry to guide future initiatives based on key needs and demand.

David lives on the Gold Coast with his wife and three sons. He has been consulting in the oil and gas industry for the past few years after returning to Australia from Hong Kong.

Nadia Marks joins us in a newly created role as Director, People & Capability. Nadia’s responsibilities are sector-wide and focussed on the next generation from university students to graduate programs and soft skill training programs on leadership, communication skills etc for our younger professionals.

‘Capability’ means not just our internal capabilities but the future capabilities of our sector. Nadia has recently returned to Australia

after four years in Singapore.

Our professional development program continues to expand each year as we gather more and more information about the needs of the sector. And with Nadia also developing new programs, we employed Kate O’Riordan in a professional development support role - Professional Development Manager. Kate comes to us from the CCF in Sydney having moved to Brisbane with her husband and two young sons.

In Paula’s place, we have Monica Robertson as our Events & Marketing Manager. You will get to meet Monica at Gatton, in Rockhampton and of course, at the annual conference in Brisbane in October. Monica is recently married (maiden name Brennan but she assures us there is no connection to Past President Ged Brennan). Monica is also a debating champion so we may see her participation in this year’s debate. Suggestions for a topic are most welcome!

Our team is expanding and so is our capability, and we aim to make a sizeable contribution to our sector. What is not expanding is the size of our premises in Albion but for now, we all have a place to sit.

Finally, please take a moment to read our proposed new constitution. It is intentionally uncomplicated so that you don’t need a lawyer to explain how it operates. I’d be happy to discuss it with you any time you’re available.

Leigh’s nephew, Jack Rycen, and his girlfriend, Lara Seeger graduating from JCU.

Leigh celebrating with her mum turning 80 in February.

Many of you have recently celebrated family members or friends graduating from university.

Our family was in Townsville in December to celebrate the end of an era with my nephew, Jack Rycen and his girlfriend, Lara Seeger graduating with an Academic Medal and a Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery from JCU. They’ve since started their careers as young doctors at Townville Hospital.

We’re very proud of them both.

And further celebrations in our family with my mum turning 80 in February. Congratulations, Mum! Leigh Cunningham Chief Executive Officer

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community news

Angela takes a Great Ocean Walk Hats off to SWQ Branch President, Angela Fry, who recently completely the five day Great Ocean Walk adventure.

The Great Ocean Walk is one of Australia’s most iconic treks, where participants walk the 50km between Elliott Ridge and the 12 Apostles.

The spectacular walk weaves its way through he remote and dramatic landscapes including national parks full of tall forests, coastal heathlands, wild rocky shores and windswept cliff-tops.

Averaging 17km walking per day over three days and staying at in shared accommodation with comfy beds and warm showers at night, Angela highly recommends it. “The trip was fantastic and not too difficult,” she said.

Congratulations to Kevin Flanagan, PSM We are thrilled for lifetime IPWEAQ member Kevin Flanagan who was awarded the Public Service Medal this past Australia Day in Toowoomba for his work with local government in Queensland.

Established in 1989, the Public Service Medal is a prestigious award within the Australian system of honours and awards. The Public Service Medal is awarded on the basis of merit, and was created to recognise, encourage and reward excellence in public service.

Before retiring, Kevin was with Toowoomba Regional Council where he led a range of water and sewage infrastructure project and he’s credited with facilitating several key water infrastructure projects including negotiating the $187 million Wivenhoe Dam to Cressbrook Dam water pipleline project with the State Government.

Key Appointments Congratulations to Romilly Madew who has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Australia, starting April 2019.

Her first priorities will be preparing to release the Australian Infrastructure Audit in mid-2019 and beginning work on the next Australian Infrastructure Plan. Important work indeed!

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Congratulations also to IPWEAQ member Kim Clayton who has recently commenced as Principal Program Development at Toowoomba Regional Council. Kim was previously Principal Engineer on the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing project at the Program Delivery & Operations Branch, Infrastructure Management and Delivery Division at Department of Transport and Main Roads.

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Riding to Fight MS A big thank you to Gleb Kolenbet and Andrew Ryan who have already signed up for the IPWEAQ team riding to fight multiple sclerosis (MS) in the Brissie to the Bay bike ride this year.

The Brissie to the Bay bike ride has been part of the Brisbane cycling scene for over two decades and this year on Sunday 16 June Gleb and Andrew will join thousands of other riders raising money to help change the lives of the thousands of Australians living with MS. To join the team or for more information see the IPWEAQ Brissie to Bay fundraising page or contact our Events and Marketing Manager, Monica Robertson. Team Captain, Gleb Kolenbet, will also be available to answer questions you may have about the ride itself.

If you’re not able to participate in the ride, please consider making a donation to support your IPWEAQ colleagues who will be slipping into the lycra to take part in this annual ride to fight MS.

New Members in 2018-2019 • Shekhar Adhikary • Sarah Atif • Adebayo Bayooke • Alan Beattie • Damion Beety • Amy Bernier • Craig Bindoff • Stephen Bolden • Madhavi Borra • Mario Brischetto • Samantha Brown • Steve Bryan • Kyle Buis • Ryan Butler • Richard Bywater • Brad Carey • Jeremy Cox • Adelaide Dadic • Niall Davidson • Trevor Dean • Mohd Deen • Marty De-wit • Seth Docherty • Ian Don • John Egan

• David Evans • Nicholas Falvey • Jeremy Fredericks • Eben Geldenhuis • Giorgio Giaroli • Darren Griffiths • Kyle Guevara • Ananda Gunawardana • Geoffrey Hamilton • Daniel Hazelman • Tim Heldt • Barry Horsfall • John Htet • Brian Jackson • Sudershan Kanthakadi • Simon Kealley • Tim Kirchen • Justin Kronk • Tessa Leggo • Zaccheus Leong • Robyn Letts • Mark Lu • Glen Luscombe • Emma Lyons • Ian Maddocks

• Rudy Martignago • Dale Martin • Vili Masibilo • Sam Mccarthy • Pat McCormack • Benjamin Mcgloin • Freeman Mcgrath • Rob Mcilwraith • Michael Mihelakis • Jeff Miles • Braiden Mulder • Steven Murnane • Matthew Murphy • Truong Nguyen • Jo O'brien • Jim O'Dea • John Oppes • Tiffany Parker • Marta Parkinson • Allan Parry • Leanna Patterson • Asrar Peer • Chris Pickford • Ray Plasto • Adam Porter

• Jay Power • Rajabu Rashid • Beau Reichert • Mario Ruckli • Jason Ryan • Tom Sanders • Sean Sandford • Anna Scott • Darcy Simpson • Craig Smit • Alpesh Solanki • Glenn Spires • Lindsay Stafford • Maddy Stahlhut • Sarah Stephen • Andrea Taft • Allan Tegawa • Andrew Thompson • Dan Toon • Haydn Watson • Janaka Weerasinghe • Renee Wise • Ying Wu • Amanda Yeates • Steven Young

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INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.

IPWEAQ Membership Join us today!

Why become a member?

As an IPWEAQ member, you’ll have all the resources you need to succeed and grow in your career in the public works sector.

Member benefits:

Regular updates on developments and issues impacting your career through our quarterly e-journal, Engineering for Public Works and e-newsletter, Connect

Discounts for our highly-regarded professional development program

Discounts for our must-attend conferences and events

Discounts on IPWEAQs leading-edge technical products and publications

MEMBERSHIP FEES 2018-19

Access to industry-specific content in our Knowledge Centre

Opportunities to contribute to our renowned technical Working Groups which deliver solutions that benefit Queensland communities

We represent your interests to government ensuring your voice is heard

Who can become a member?

Membership of IPWEAQ is open to anyone actively involved in the delivery of public works and services in Queensland including technical officers, supervisors, fleet managers, project managers, finance and HR professionals, councillors and consultants.

Young IPWEAQ discount (under age 35) Half Year $85 plus GST

Our Young IPWEAQ program offers opportunities for those in the early phases of their careers, to acquire the knowledge, skills and support required to advance in the sector.

APPLY ONLINE AT WWW.IPWEAQ.COM/MEMBERSHIP For enquiries, please contact Johanna Vanling, Relationship Manager 07 3632 3803 | Johanna.Vanling@ipweaq.com

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

Half Year to 30 June 2019 $140 plus GST

  

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WE ARE CELEBRATING YOU! 3 APRIL 2019

GLOBAL DAY OF THE ENGINEER on social media (we will 'like' and 'share') and send your photos to us to publish in the journal!

Calling all councils across Queensland to celebrate the achievements of your engineers with an afternoon tea in their honour at 3pm on Wednesday 3 April.

Why not use this opportunity to identify team members to nominate for our People awards: Engineer of the Year, Woman in Engineering, Young Engineer of the Year and Team Member of the Year (award for your non-engineers) This year DiscoverE are hosting a global survey to discover what engineers have in common, what’s different, and what it means for the future of engineering.

How to host your GDE Afternoon Tea:

They’re asking engineers everywhere to: Take the survey.

Contact Johanna Vanling so we can register your council.

Share the survey with your colleagues.

Once registered, we will send you a template invitation (just add your council's details/logo) to circulate to your employees inviting them to participate.

Take part in the first global engineer survey and check back on 3 April 2019 to see the results.

We will recognise your participation on our website, in our June journal and on social media We will send you an Engineering the Future merchandise pack - you can conduct a draw for the winner.

Provide us with details of any other initiatives planned for your day so we can share these with other GDE Afternoon Tea hosts.

Go in the draw to win an awesome IPWEAQ ‘Engineering the Future’ merchandise pack. The pack includes a range of merchandise including T-shirt, cap, coffee mug, stationery, memory stick and more!

Let the world know you’re proud to work in engineering – to enter simply follow IPWEAQ on LinkedIn. The winners will be announced on LinkedIn on the Global Day of the Engineer, 3 April 2019.

Full Terms & Conditions are available on the IPWEAQ website.

Win

an ‘Engineering the Future’ merchandise pack!

Post your photos of the event Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

20

SNAPSHO Female

Factors that would alter intention to leave*

Male

A pay increase

Median Base Salary by Responsibility*

Professional development opportunities

$200K $150K

Improved workplace culture

$100K

SNR

$50K $0K

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Above level 5

Workforce distribution by responsibility* 35% 30%

Opportunity for better management Improved work/life balance

25% 20% 15%

Flexible working arrangements

10% SNR

5% 0%

Promotion

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4

Level 5

Above level 5

Greater job security

Workforce distribution by age* 45%

A more challenging workload

40% 35% 30% 25%

Working closer to home

20% 15% 10% 5% 0%

Other 20-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

60+

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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OT OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING 16.9%

17.1%

17.2%

17.0%

17.0%

17.6%

17.5%

83.1%

82.9%

82.8%

83.0%

83.0%

82.4%

82.5%

17.0% 83.0%

17.8%

17.5% 82.5%

82.2%

16.9% 83.1%

17.1%

17.3% 82.7%

82.9%

16.9%

80%

83.1%

90%

17.3%

100%

82.7%

Gender university completions* Gender Pay Gap*

70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 25%

89% 100%

10% 0%

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

2207 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

CPD Hours last 12 months*

Engineers in Australia (2016^)

Female

12.4%

87.6%

31

HOURS

Male

4

744

86

744

Male

Female

2

123

Male

Female

8

Male

9

191

15

20

IPWEAQ Board

RPEQs

Female

Male

28

156

33

2

IWPEAQ Branch Committees

YIPWEAQ Members

Female

HOURS

IPWEAQ Ambassadors

IPWEAQ Members

Female

38

176

Male

Female

4

5

Male

^The Engineering Profession: A Statistical Overview, Thirteenth Edition February 2017 *Women in Engineering: realising productivity and innovation through diversity. Professionals Australia (2017)

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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Celebrating exceptional engineers this International Women’s Day

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY FEATURE

Marilyn Jorgensen Reece designed the San Diego to Santa Monica freeway

Nadia Marks Director, People & Capability Historically women who have found success in the field of engineering are exceptional.

They have been unique in their environments and possess a unique mix of personal skills and traits. A casual reflection of these amazing women has revealed some common elements do exist amongst successful female engineers.

While not an exhaustive list and certainly not addressing every complexity found in our modern world, these traits have helped form the foundations for the positive career trajectory for these exceptional engineers.

An intrinsic curiosity and interest in the field of engineering For some, the love of engineering started at a young age by spending time with grandad or dad building

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

and fixing things in the shed.

Perhaps it was inspiration through a school teacher encouraging a young girl showing aptitude for maths and science to pursue their talent. For others, it was following a dream of building amazing structures or creating utopian inspired communities. Irrespective of when the spark, the realisation that ‘I love engineering!’ arrived, it is immediately apparent when you are interacting with someone who truly enjoys what they do. It’s in the

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topics they love to discuss, the way they talk about their work, their infectious energy that makes you want to know more.

person, as a world traveller. At age 19, she became the first woman engineering student to enrol in the Mechanical Arts program at Cornell University. While still in her 20s, she strengthened her father's business by becoming one of the first American manufacturers to expand to Europe.

Fred H. Colvin described Gleason in his memoirs as "a kind of Madame Curie of machine tools …

Gleason spent her youth learning her father's business from the ground up, both in the shop and in the field, so that when she branched out for herself as a saleswoman for her father's gearcutting machines, she knew as much as any man in the business.".

Take Catherine (Kate) Anselm Gleason, the oldest child of machine shop owner William Gleason. Gleason began reading books about machines and engineering at a young age. When her older half-brother, who had been helping her father in the shop, died of typhoid, she stepped in at age 11 to fill his shoes when she wasn't in school. Gleason, along with her brothers, made Gleason Corp. one of the world's top providers of the machines, tooling and technologies needed to produce gears found in everything from vehicles, airplanes, wind turbines and power tools.

Continuing the work for her father, Gleeson was a pioneer as an independent woman in several ways; as an engineer, as a business

In 1917, when the president of the First National Bank of Rochester resigned to serve in World War I, Gleason became the first woman with no family bank ties to become president of a national bank. Her experiences in manufacturing and financial companies sparked an interest in how to provide low-cost housing for workers. Drawing on her engineering skills, she devised a new design for affordable housing made of concrete based on a new pouring method she developed. She later wrote an article for a trade magazine, Concrete, titled ‘How a Woman Builds Houses to Sell at a Profit for $4,000.’ Her designs became a model for future developments.

For others, like Emily Roebling, the interest sparked through her husband (Washington Roebling)’s work when he took charge of the Brooklyn Bridge's construction as chief engineer. As he immersed himself in the project, Washington developed decompression sickness, it affected him so badly that he became bed-ridden.

As the only person to visit her husband during his sickness, Emily was to relay information from Washington to his assistants and report the progress of work on the bridge. She developed an extensive knowledge of strength of materials, stress analysis, cable construction, and calculating catenary curves through Washington's teachings. Emily's knowledge was complemented by her prior interest in and study of the bridge's construction upon her husband's appointment to chief engineer. For the decade after Washington took to his sick bed, Emily's dedication to the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge was unyielding. She took over much of the chief engineer duties,

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including day-to-day supervision and project management.

Emily and her husband jointly planned the bridge's continued construction. She dealt with politicians, competing engineers, and all those associated with the work on the bridge to the point where people believed she was behind the bridge's design.

The Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883. In advance of the official opening, carrying a rooster as a sign of victory, Emily Roebling was the first to cross the bridge by carriage. At the opening ceremony, Emily was honoured in a speech by Abram Stevens Hewitt, who said that the bridge was “...an everlasting monument to the sacrificing devotion of a woman and of her capacity for that higher

education from which she has been too long disbarred”.

Doing something that sparks curiosity and is genuinely interesting has a positive correlation to work satisfaction.

Importantly, when faced with distractors and challenges in the working environment, this curiosity helps to build resiliency. The focus is on the work, on reaching a solution, on making communities better for others, to the extent that the surrounding interferences begin to hold less importance.

Roebling and Gleeson’s stories help to illustrate how by being so immersed in their work, they were able to push through barriers and achieve great things. It doesn’t mean every day was smooth sailing, or they didn’t encounter

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

gender-related challenges, but love for their engineering work was stronger.

Working hard A resounding theme that came across was: successful women work hard!

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It took Martha Coston, almost 10 years to master the Coston flare.

At the time of the American Civil War, the then 21 year old and recently widowed Coston, found her ex-husband’s notebooks containing an idea for military naval signal flares. His design did not work, but Coston saw ways of improvement. With a limited knowledge of chemistry and pyrotechnics, she relied on the advice of hired chemists and fireworks experts, with mixed results. Eventually Coston devised the red, blue and white signalling systems that she patented in 1859 (pyrotechnic night signals).

‘owned’ by women, who, too often, tend to play down their successes.

The US Navy took up the idea and used it in sea-battles and emergencies. In 1871 she patented improved versions with a twist ignition mechanism. In time, every station of the United States LifeSaving Service was equipped with Coston flares, which were used to signal ships, warn of dangerous coastal conditions, and summon rescuers to a wreck scene. Many accounts of wrecks and rescues describe the use of the Coston flare, which was instrumental in saving thousands of lives. Her flares continued to be used by the US Navy, merchant ships, and yachts as a requirement of maritime insurers.

Not so for Edith Clarke, whose many accolades are a testament to her hard work and determination.

It’s hard to deny, engineering is a challenging path: difficult subjects at school, years at university, complexity in work. Success comes with dedication, but it also brings satisfaction and pride in the achievements made. Something that should be celebrated and

In Clarke’s words, “There is no demand for women engineers, as such, as there are for women doctors; but there's always a demand for anyone who can do a good piece of work.”

Following completion of her university degree, Clarke was unable to find work as an engineer. She went to work for General Electric as a supervisor of computers in the Turbine Engineering Department. During this time, she invented the Clarke calculator, a simple graphical device that solved equations ten times faster than previous methods. She filed a patent for the calculator in 1921 and it was granted in 1925.

After a brief period in Constantinople Women’s College

in Turkey, she was re-hired by GE as an electrical engineer in the Central Station Engineering Department. Her background in mathematics helped her achieve fame in her field. As the first woman to deliver a paper at the American Institute of Electrical Engineers’ annual meeting, she showed the use of hyperbolic functions for calculating the maximum power that a line could carry without instability. Two of her papers won awards from the AIEE: the Best Regional Paper Prize and later the Best National Paper Prize.

Clarke then went on to write an influential textbook in the field of power engineering.

In 1947, she joined the faculty of the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin, making her the first female professor of Electrical Engineering in the country.

Hard work is not a trait exclusive to successful women, if one was to research traits of successful men, hard work is likely to emerge there also. Perhaps hard work is putting in extra study time compared to others, researching topics in detail rather than having surface level information only, or consistently improving on work that has been done before (even if the task feels menial or underutilising skills and knowledge). Looking at the bigger picture, hard work shapes what our future looks like.

Eleanor Huntington, Dean of Engineering and Computer Science at the ANU speaks of the future needing ‘problem finders’

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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more so than ‘problem solvers’.

There will be no shortage of challenging work ahead for the sector as structures, people and technology become increasingly interconnected. Huntington’s view on what society will need from engineers and what the profession will look like is relevant, fascinating and makes for interesting listening.

Using differences as an advantage The third theme, which interestingly was not immediately obvious, was that successful women didn’t try to be like their male counterparts.

Their ideas and approaches were their own and unique.

Considering that the communities we live in are balanced in terms of male to female ratios, it makes sense that solutions should consider all needs in order to create functional and harmonious habitats. Women provide a different point of view and way of thinking, which combined with men’s ideas and their experiences has the strongest potential of creating the best opportunities for the future. Herein lies the crux of the drive for women in engineering – not just because it is ethically right to promote equal opportunities and balance, but because we have to. In order to support our growing communities, infrastructure needs and the pace of innovation, we simply need more people with varied ideas, skills and perspective to contribute to our sustainability.

A great example is Marilyn Jorgensen Reece, who designed the San Diego to Santa Monica freeway. Urban critic Reyner Banham described the 405-10 interchange in his book ‘Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies’ in glowing terms, "The Santa Monica/San Diego intersection is a work of art, both as a pattern on the map, as a monument against the sky, and as a kinetic experience as one sweeps through it."

That was by design. In 1995, Reece told the Los Angeles Times that she had designed the interchange with aesthetics in mind, putting her ‘heart and soul into it.’ “It is very airy. It isn’t a cluttered, loopy thing,” she said of the interchange, which was completed in 1964. The idea was to keep traffic moving at high speeds, and to allow drivers to go 55 mph, the roadway needed long, sweeping curves.

“That was so you didn’t have to slam on the brakes, like you do on some interchanges.”

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

Slightly left of field, but continuing with the theme, is Debbie Sterling, who after graduating as an engineer from Stanford University in 2005 and noticing how she was often the only female in many of her classes and into the working environment, decided that her path would take her in a different and unexpected direction.

One of the suggested reasons why there are fewer females selecting engineering as a career links back to early childhood development experiences. Generally speaking, young girls’ initial play exposure is to dolls, soft toys, fashion and princesses: it only takes picturing the infamous pink aisle in toy shops to get the idea. Boys on the other hand, have access to a variety of hands-on mechanical, structural and science related toys (think LEGO, insectariums, cars and mechanic shops, cranes and machinery). After noticing the lack of available engineering toys targeted at girls, Sterling decided to ‘declare war’ on the pink aisle and developed GoldieBlox.

Goldie is a girl inventor who loves to build, and the toys in the GoldieBlox series introduce engineering concepts to girls through storytelling and building.

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Sterling tried to gain support for GoldieBlox at a New York toy fair but encountered scepticism that girls would want anything that isn't princesses or dolls. Instead, Sterling launched a Kickstarter campaign that raised nearly $300,000. From there it grew to $1m of pre-orders placed in under a month and, in just under two years. Saying that one gender is better than the other is divisive and generally not very helpful. The truth is that both are effective, with a broad range of skills and

experience. During a time when we need the best of engineering skills, both are needed. Promoting and appreciating diversity is key to sustainability and success, especially allowing each individual to share and propose their own ideas without fear of being ignored, or worse, ostracised because of their differences.

Without new ideas and innovation, we don’t progress. The key is to explore many different ideas and then move forward, which is why it is important that women working within the field of engineering

establish confidence and benefit from a supportive environment where their contributions can have a real impact on all our futures.

Having a champion Unfortunately, it is still common to encounter gender bias – sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious. This limits the potential for women to grow in confidence as professionals, both in entering the workforce and when aspiring to advance to higher levels.

Aine Brazil is shaping New York City's changing skyline.

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Aine Brazil, Irish born engineer and dubbed as the lady shaping the New York skyline, explains that she was fortunate and in response to potential glass ceiling she has experienced she explained, “It has not been an issue for me, but that is not to say that it’s not an issue; I consider myself very lucky. But I’m actually quite active, right now, in finally taking a step back from my project work to try and help women to thrive. About five years ago, I realised that we weren’t really retaining all of the strong women in our firm and they weren’t progressing as well as they should.

So I’m active with several different groups trying to change this paradigm for the current generation of young talented women.”

An entertaining and uplifting article well worth a read is by Elsie Eaves, written in 1983, where she candidly shares some of the challenges and opportunities she experienced in her 35 years career as a cost engineer. Incredibly positive and resilient, Eaves didn’t let potential obstructers deter her, she turned them into allies, and once they were on side, they did all they could to support her and clear the way for her success. She successfully built an all-male support crew!

Just like tennis players have their coaching boxes, having a supporter (or even a whole team of people) behind you is incredibly important to success. Sadly, one of the typical responses of women in male dominated industries is to distance themselves from

colleagues. This may be due to an erosion of confidence over time or specific, significant set-backs of some description. Attempting to succeed solo is ineffective and disheartening, leading to exhaustion and eventually turning away from the industry completely.

Although it can sometimes feel counter-intuitive to seek support in a challenging environment, it is an important step in building the foundations for success. They say a problem shared is a problem halved, having someone champion you is even more than that. A champion helps to dissect concerns and stresses, they can be trusted to provide honest feedback, they encourage professional growth, build confidence and they can help navigate the politics, relationships and nuisances that may be present at work.

Looking back at these four themes, they could appear somewhat obvious and simplistic. However,

without these, building other skillsets, knowledge and overcoming challenges becomes a bit like building a sandcastle with dry sand Figures stubbornly continue to show less than 20% representation of women in engineering jobs.

One of the common cries is ‘there are not enough women role models for younger professionals to look up to!’. Considering the overall statistics, the picture remains somewhat grim and there is more work to be done. What is important is to showcase and applaud the role models that are out there and celebrate their successes. Taking strength and positivity from these stories and continuing on the path for balance and diversity can only make the future of public works engineering more exciting and positive. This International Women’s Day take time to think of a woman who has inspired you, or has done some great work and let them know.

Kate Gleason poured concrete construction method, 1916.

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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WOMEN IN ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS

Past winners of the IPWEAQ Women in Engineering award at the Excellence Awards Ceremony in 2018.

2016 | Angela Fry

2015 | Ellie Johnson

2012 | Seren McKenzie

2018 | Natasha Murray

2017 | Glenda Kirk

2011 | Nicole Bichel

2010 | Nadia Ives

Nominations are now open and close 4.00pm, 5 July 2019.

See our website for more information or contact Monica.Robertson@ipweaq.com Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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WOMAN IN ENGINEERING

NATASHA MURRAY

MEMBER PROFILE

Natasha Murray has been employed by Cairns Regional Council as Senior Transport Engineer for the past 11 years, including a 12-month period on secondment as a Senior Project Engineer. She currently leads a team responsible for all matters in relation to transport and traffic planning, project delivery and asset management.

Prior to this Natasha was with the City of Melbourne as a Coordinator Traffic and Transport Engineer where she was responsible for the operational management, project delivery for the transport network including major event management. In her time in this role, she also was a key Council liaison on traffic and transport matters and the delivery aspects of the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne.

Natasha was named 2018 Woman in Engineering at the IPWEAQ Annual Conference at the Gold Coast last October and recently spoke to Engineering for Public Works (EPW) about her experience as a public works engineer.

EPW: Please tell us about yourself: where are you from, what are your interests, what makes you tick?

Natasha Murray: My early life was that of a ‘defence family’ with

Natasha receives her 2018 Woman in Engineering award from sponsor GHD.

a father in the Australian Army.

I was born in Sydney however moved on a regular basis up and down the east coast. My school life commenced in Brisbane and continued in Wodonga, Melbourne, Sydney and back to Melbourne again where I completed my senior years and

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

a Bachelor degree in Engineering (Civil) at Monash University.

In 2007 I made the best move of my life getting away from the cold of Melbourne to the fabulous city of Cairns which is truly “Beautiful One Day, Perfect The Next!” as the Queensland slogan goes.

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highlights, it is difficult to just choose one. I can’t deny however that being Council’s representative on the Traffic and Transport Working Group for the planning and delivery of the 2006 Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne was exciting and definitely memorable.

EPW: What do you find most satisfying about working as an engineer in public works?

NM: The ability to make a difference!!

The opportunity to utilise my skills and knowledge to improve life for the community I live in as well for future generations. This is what makes it so rewarding Natasha presenting at the Women in Careers workshop at St Monica’s College.

What makes me ‘tick’ is nature and my love for animals. Outside of the engineering world I am an active volunteer with local wildlife associations being involved in the rescue, care and rehabilitation of our local wildlife.

EPW: Please summarise your career to date in your own words.

NM: The words that come to mind when describing my career to date are exciting, rewarding and diverse.

I started my career working with engineering challenges associated with a large capital city and from there moved to a totally different environment being that of a fast growing dynamic town.

In my time at the City of Melbourne I had the opportunity to be involved in some great projects including the introduction of the first tram ‘super stop’, implementation of leading bicycle safety treatments such as the

Swanston Street Copenhagen treatment, which was the first of its kind in Australia, and the large scale redevelopment of the Docklands precinct.

Some great moments had to be involvement in the traffic planning and management of many world renown events, such as the first Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix, 2007 World Rugby Championships, 2007 World Swimming Championships and the unforgettable 2006 Commonwealth Games.

In my time spent with Cairns Regional Council, the diversity has definitely been the highlight. From the planning, development and implementation of diverse traffic and transport projects to the management and monitoring of existing assets.

EPW: What’s been your most significant career highlight to date?

There have been many career

Being a public works engineer provides me with the ability to contribute to the wellbeing of the community, providing a place that people enjoy living in and are proud to call themselves a local!

EPW: Tell us about your experience winning IWPEAQ’s 2018 Woman in Engineering.

NM: Winning this award was a great honour, especially considering the many other female engineers out there that are just as deserving. It is always nice to feel that your efforts are recognised.

Should any of you reading this know any great female engineers make sure you nominate them next time around!!

EPW: What do you appreciate most about your involvement with IPWEAQ? NM: The first thing that comes to mind is the IPWEAQ team themselves!! The support I have received from the team on my suggestions of activities such as career workshops has been

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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to others early in their career?

NM: Take every opportunity to learn from your peers. Especially those colleagues with many years of experience behind them. They are the ones that know their area better than anyone else. These learnings will be invaluable to succeed in your career.

Natasha and the IPWEAQ/Cairns Regional Council stand prove popular at the Cairns Career and Employment Expo.

fantastic. They are always open to new ideas. It is the people that make any association great. This includes the members as well.

The professional development opportunities are fantastic, in particular the conferences. They provide the opportunity to share experiences, ideas as well as learn from others in the same area of work as you. The social events that are also part of the conference program provide networking opportunities with fellow peers something I believe is invaluable.

EPW: Tell us about your involvement with the ‘next generation’ through career fairs and other program for young people?

NM: I am a strong advocate for promoting engineering as a career choice. In May 2018 with the assistance of IPWEAQ and Cairns Regional Council I coordinated a display and information booth at the Cairns Career and Employment Expo with the focus on promoting

public works engineering as a career choice. From my experience many people, especially teenagers don’t really understand what a public works engineer actually does. They often only see the end result of our work and don’t realise that engineers made it happen.

Attendance at this event also opened up opportunities to meet school career advisors who have been in contact later requesting I present to their students. They often advised that engineering is not an area where they have been able to source presenters in the past.

I therefore strongly encourage all members to follow this initiative in their regions to promote the great field we work in and what we do.

Engineers are critical to make the world we live in the place it is. This is the message that needs to get across to the next generation.

EPW: What would be the one piece of advice you would give

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

EPW: And do you have any specific message for girls or young women who are considering a career in public works?

NM: Times are changing. The stereotypical engineer being a male in overalls, a hard hat and workman boots on a construction site is not what all engineers look like. Public works engineering opens up a world of opportunity to both males and females. It provides the opportunity for you to make a difference and do something for your community. It is not all about maths and science.

I would strongly urge any females considering engineering as a possible career choice to try seek a female mentor in the field to speak to about any doubts they may have.

(If they don’t know of any maybe a conduit could be through an engineering association like IPWEAQ to put them in contact with someone.)

EPW: Any other comments/ thoughts/wisdom to share?

NM: Being open to new ideas and ways of doing things is a critical aspect to succeed in engineering.

Sometimes it is alright to take a chance.

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INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.

NATIVE TITLE & CULTURAL HERITAGE PORTAL AND RECORD KEEPING TOOL IPWEAQ’s new native title and cultural heritage portals help you comply with the law and avoid acts that will impact on cultural heritage and native title including impairment and extinguishment. The portals establish a methodical, documented, robust process and establish that an appropriate level of thoroughness was applied in determining whether or not to proceed with works.

Section 51(1) Native Title Act 1993 - an entitlement on just terms to compensate native title holders for any loss, diminution, impairment or other effect of the act on their native title rights and interests.

i M P A C T I ntergrated M anagement

SUBSCRIPTIONS

P ortal for

½ year subscriptions open now!

A sessment of

$5,000 plus GST for all councils, utilities, government departments, consultancies and mining companies (Yearly subscription $10,000 plus GST)

C ultural heritage and native T Title

1. Resource to undertake complex assessments in a logical framework with templates, lists, registers and geo-spatial mapping.

2. D etailed record keeping system which generates a PDF documenting all elements of the assessment including text, maps and photographic evidence which supports the reason for your decision.

3. U ser friendly portal with a step by step process to ensure infrastructure and other projects comply with legislation which will save you time and money.

4. I nteractive site which links to the latest data in government and other databases.

Contact Director, Information & Resources Mark.Lamont@ipweaq.com 3632 6806

  

www.ipweaq.com

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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‘Slow for SAM’ a Brisbane Success

2018 ROAD SAFETY AWARD WINNER

Deborah Sketchley Manager, Transport Network Operations Transport Planning and Operations, Brisbane City Council

Marie Gales Manager, Transport Planning and Operations Brisbane City Council

Brisbane City Council’s awardwinning Speed Awareness Monitors (SAM) program has combined innovative engineering and design, clever branding and an ongoing commitment to increasing road safety to positively change driver behaviour and reduce speeding in suburban streets.

Since the program launched in 2013, almost 254 million vehicles have passed the monitors. Of those vehicles, motorists travelling above the speed limit reduced their speed by an average of 8.7 km/h across all sites after passing the monitors.

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

Following the initial introduction of 26 monitors more than five years ago, Council has continued to purchase additional signs with an expanding fleet of 147 monitors currently in operation, rotating across more than 635 footing locations.

The program was recognised with the Road Safety Award at the 2018 IPWEAQ Excellence Awards for demonstrating innovation and safety improvements on our roads, which benefit the whole community.

Who is SAM? SAM stands for Speed Awareness

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Deborah Sketchley, Transport Network Operations Manager at Brisbane City Council accepting the 2018 IPWEAQ Excellence Award for Road Safety.

Monitor. The acronym is a short, fun and memorable way to encourage drivers to drive ‘Slow for SAM’ across Brisbane suburban streets.

How SAM works When vehicles are travelling at or below the speed limit, SAM will display a smiley face to thank drivers for doing the right thing. If vehicles are travelling above the posted speed limit by up to 9 km/h, SAM will display the vehicle’s speed followed by a ‘SLOW DOWN’ message, reminding motorists to reduce their speed and drive safely on our roads. If vehicles are travelling 10 km/h or more above the posted speed limit, only a ‘SLOW DOWN’ message will be displayed.

The community continues to be overwhelmingly positive about SAM. The majority of people agree the monitors have more impact on speed behaviour than other signs

and they appreciate the positive smiley face which is displayed to drivers.

All monitors are individually solar-powered and fitted with a Doppler radar, with a measuring range of 3 km/h to 255 km/h and an accuracy of +/-3%. They are limited to measuring only a single approaching vehicle at a time within its radar range. This range is up to 300 metres but is dependent on the vertical and horizontal road geometry, plus roadside objects such as trees and parked vehicles which can limit this distance. Heavy rain also affects the monitor’s measuring distance.

Data-driven success Each monitor records the initial entering speed and exiting speed of each vehicle within the monitor’s range. This data is collected to determine if a vehicle is travelling above or below the speed limit, and what change

in speed has occurred through the radar range as a result of the ‘SLOW DOWN’ message.

The monitors record continuously with a date and time stamp, allowing for vehicle speeds to be analysed by time of day such as peak and off-peak hours, and day of the week such as weekdays and weekends.

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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Data from each site has shown a marked decrease in the number of motorists travelling above the speed limit as a result of being advised of their entering speed, with an average speed reduction of 8.7 km/h.

Community engagement The program has funding allocated to each of Council’s 26 wards for the purchase of new monitors, installation of new footings and rotations to existing and new locations.

Council works closely with each ward councillor to understand local speeding issues and determine suitable locations for new monitors. The community is also invited to suggest new locations where motorist behaviour may be an issue in their area. The impacts to adjacent residents or businesses are carefully considered before installation of monitors.

Each monitor is installed for at least one month before moving

to a new location. This allows enough time to have an impact on motorist behaviour while allowing the monitors to be moved to a variety of locations, ensuring greater program coverage.

Monitors are continually returned to a previously installed location if speeding again becomes an issue.

A robust communication strategy also supports the program, with a dedicated page on Council’s website, factsheets, and regular social media and media activities to raise awareness and encourage motorist behaviour change.

As part of this strategy, Council gave SAM a Christmas makeover in December 2018 to remind motorists to get home safely during the festive season. The Santa SAM campaign, which saw the smiley face wearing a Santa hat, was warmly received by the community and helped to further support Council’s commitment to increasing road safety.

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

The future of SAM This program is just one example of Council’s commitment to improving road safety, among a number of other initiatives such as the recent Citywide Pedestrian Safety Review, Enhanced School Zone Signage program and the LED Road Signs program. These initiatives align with the safety principle that underpins Council’s recently published Transport Plan for Brisbane – Strategic Directions (Transport Plan) which has been developed to guide the evolution of Brisbane’s transport network over the next 25 years and beyond.

As the Speed Awareness Monitors program continues, Council engineers will be focusing on data analysis to determine the most effective use of signs. Potential alternatives and innovations will also be considered, such as using the signs as permanent local area traffic management devices where speeding is an ongoing issue.

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INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.

ASSET DESIGN AS CONSTRUCTED

TRANSFORMS BUSINESS

R

E F F O L A SPECI

n o i t p i r c ubs s r a e y 1/2 9 1 0 2 e n Ju until 30

While the schema for ADAC is XML based and free to download and use, we recommend that you join the ADAC Consortium to receive the following support to assist with assist with your implementation of ADAC.

Subscriptions as follows:

25,000 – 100,000 population - $2,000 plus GST >100,000 population - $3,500 plus GST 1. A complimentary in-house ADAC implementation day from IPWEAQ*.

2. Access to the ADAC specification XSD files (while subscription is current).

3. Access to the ADAC Technical Forum for community support.

4. Access to all ADAC subscribers through IPWEAQ to benefit from their shared experiences implenting ADAC. 5. Optional: ongoing technical training through IPWEAQ at a customised level to suit your council’s needs and budget. * Facilitators supplied by IPWEAQ but travel and accommodation expenses are not included.

Contact David Thilwind at david.thilwind@ipweaq.com for more information.

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Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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MAYORS MESSAGE

We have experienced strong residential and commercial development in recent years and Council is continuing to proactively invest in infrastructure that supports this growth, as well as offering influential development incentives to further stimulate new business and jobs.

Rockhampton Regional Council Mayor Margaret Strelow The Rockhampton Region is in the midst of a transformational growth period - we are maturing as a Region and becoming a city of the future. Our economic agenda is investing in smart technologies to support new and existing businesses, we are growing our tourism and event capabilities, and we are strategically focusing on defence, agriculture, and international trade opportunities.

Our Region is a place that strives to be much more than the sole sum of its parts. We have a clear and determined plan for where we want to be in the future and we are well on our way.

The Regional Australia Institute predicts Rockhampton’s compound annual growth rate between 2013 and 2031 will be 2.9%, compared to the national average of 2.7%. Rockhampton is just one of 13 regional cities predicted to outperform the national average.

We have celebrated some major wins over the last twelve months alone, with the completion of significant infrastructure and urban renewal projects that are reshaping both our landscape and our identity.

Riverside Redevelopment In March 2018, we opened the highly anticipated $37 million Riverside Redevelopment. This is without a doubt the city’s masterpiece. In the heart of our CBD, on the banks of the Fitzroy and on the doorstep of our heritage listed buildings, we delivered a world-class and award winning redevelopment.

our Victorian architecture are illuminated every night. The façade lighting is just one of many design elements capturing the attention of international companies wanting to replicate what we have achieved.

The project was jointly funded by the Australian Government ($7 million), the Queensland Government ($15 million) and the Rockhampton Regional Council ($14 million) and has received an Excellence in Urban Design commendation in the Queensland Government’s Award for Urban Design 2018 and took out top honours as the winner of the 2018 AILA Landscape Architecture Awards in the Parks and Open Space category.

Smart City In 2016 Rockhampton burst onto the Australian and international scene as a leader in transformational Smart Cities.

It includes a new restaurant overhanging the river, which you will find brimming with people by day and night, a spectacular plaza area named after our local tennis great, Rod Laver, and a children’s playground, which rivals those found in capital cities. All elements were designed to withstand flooding and to be enjoyed all year round, particularly summer.

We are driving a 'smart agenda' which permeates our organisation and determines our investments.

This agenda has been developed to plan how we use our Region’s strengths, combined with next generation technology to overcome our local challenges and provide a new focus on the jobs of tomorrow, innovation, tourism and supporting the community with more efficient services.

And with a state of the art lighting system, the heritage facades of

The Riverside Precinct is an outstanding example of how new

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technologies are being introduced to position Rockhampton as a Smart Regional Centre, and I invite you to take a look during your visit to our Region.

Smart technologies introduced in the Riverside Precinct and CBD include: • Smart pole and LED lighting, with programmable illumination and integrated speaker system for ambient music and civic messaging • Free public Wi-Fi in all areas, including connectivity to the University’s EduRoam Wi-Fi network for university students • Smart CCTV camera network • Pole mounted digital banners

and ground mounted interactive digital screens • Heritage façade lighting • Smart parking solution with sensors installed in up to 900 parking bays within the CBD and digital wayfinding banners displaying parking availability.

Cultural precinct Our city prides itself on its rich heritage and so we are taking our CBD redevelopment to the next level with major plans to further showcase and revitalise our historical hidden gems with a new Cultural Precinct.

The footprint of the Cultural Precinct will include our revitalised Riverside, Smart Hub and our

proposed $31.5m Art Gallery, all connecting through to the city’s central shopping area and eateries.

Kershaw Gardens Last year we also celebrated the re-opening of Kershaw Gardens which was hit hard during Tropical Cyclone Marcia in 2015.

Landscape designers, Urbis - who also designed our Riverside -, delivered the $16 million project which was funded by Council, State and Federal Governments.

Kershaw Gardens is now one of the most impressive recreational spaces you will stumble across in Queensland. It features play equipment originally designed for New York’s Central Park as well as a large water feature inspired by our Fitzroy River.

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Our team of experts has been working closely with local business and government to ensure our Region benefits from major projects including the construction of the $352 million Rookwood Weir, the $65 million Ring Road and the reinvigoration of the mining industry including Adani’s $16.5 billion Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail project.

These redevelopments signal a new era for our Region and set the precedence for how you can expect to see us grow into the future.

I am extremely proud to say that the feedback we receive from the community and businesses is that these projects alone have instilled confidence in those who want to invest in our Region, and in those who already have.

Innovative waste solution Of course we also have less glamourous, but equally impressive, projects happening in the background, including at our local Waste Transfer Station. The Rockhampton Lakes Creek Landfill was set to reach its capacity this year, but thanks to an innovative solution, its lifespan has been extended for a further forty years.

The ‘Piggy back’ extension project is now underway and will see 12 new landfill cells built on top of the existing landfill over coming decades, with the first cell ready

to accept waste in the first half of 2019.

The new ‘Piggy back’ cells will use the latest technology in lining systems to ensure that the liquid that is generated as waste decomposes is captured and will not enter the environment.

It includes a layer of natural clay, a layer of synthetic clay and a layer of 2mm thick plastic liner. These layers combined with geotextiles and stone aggregate as a drainage medium allow this liquid to be captured and treated. This gas will then be used in a way to produce electricity once viable.

Economic Powerhouse In addition to these core council projects, we are actively pursuing new opportunities to diversify our Region’s strengths – and we are seeing excellent results thanks to our Economic Development team, Advance Rockhampton, which is the lead economic agency for our Region.

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The State Government also recently identified over 3,600 hectares of land in our Region as suitable for aquaculture development, and considering the magnitude of economic opportunity, Advance Rockhampton has been tasked to facilitate the implementation of a significant scale aquaculture supply chain.

We are proudly the Beef Capital of Australia and we are proudly the major service centre for the Central West and remain significant players in the resources sector. But in an ever changing world we need to re-invent ourselves – standing still simply isn’t an option. Our sustained efforts and careful approach now needs to double down on efforts to ensure our community taps into the benefits of this growth today and into the future.

I am delighted to be welcoming attendees of the Central Queensland Branch conference in May, and hope that many of these projects that we are so proud to have delivered for our community can be explored in person.

Margaret Strelow Mayor Rockhampton Region

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INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.

CQ BRANCH CONFERENCE – ROCKHAMPTON 22 - 24 MAY 2019 We are very pleased to invite you to join us for the IPWEAQ CQ Branch Conference to be held in Rockhampton, 22-24 May 2019 in partnership with Rockhampton Regional Council.

Contact Events & Marketing Manager Monica.Robertson@ipweaq.com or

The conference commences with a Welcome function at the Rockhampton Bowls Club at 6:30pm. Proceedings commence Thursday morning at 8:30am with the conference dinner that evening at The Great Western Hotel. Formalities conclude Friday 24 May with an optional game of 'social' golf Friday afternoon.

We look forward to welcoming you to Rockhampton in May 2019!

3632 6802

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BRISBANE VALLEY RAIL TRAIL

$2-$5 MILLION PROJECT AWARD WINNER

Andrew Johnson Director Operators, Somerset Regional Council Project award winner: $2 million to $5 million project award for the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT), Somerset Regional Council The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail, a 157km long, off-road recreational trail is finished, with the final 27km recently completed by Somerset Regional Council. It is the longest trail in Australia and follows the disused Brisbane Valley rail corridor. Walkers, cyclists and horse riders can now experience the diverse rural landscape of the breath-taking Brisbane Valley.

The project is more than a successful engineering outcome – it has recycled a dormant rail corridor into an iconic, unique recreational trail that is attracting visitors and businesses to the Somerset region. This landmark

project for Council was delivered on time and within budget.

push by the community, local and state governments.

The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT) is an off-road, multi-use recreational trail that follows the disused Brisbane Valley rail line in South East Queensland.

The 157km long off-road trail is the longest rail trail in Australia and provides walkers, cyclists and horse riders with a unique opportunity to experience the diverse rural landscape of the Brisbane Valley. The final 27km section, Toogoolawah to Moore (T2M), was completed

by Somerset Regional Council in June 2018, after numerous rounds of unsuccessful funding election commitments, and finally realised through a collaborative funding

The BVRT T2M is an example of collaboration at its best. The trail travels through the Somerset, South Burnett, Toowoomba Regional and Ipswich City local government areas linking the towns and communities in Wulkuraka, Fernvale, Lowood, Coominya, Esk, Toogoolawah, Harlin, Moore, Linville, Benarkin, Blackbutt and Yarraman.

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The Brisbane Valley rail line was first developed as a branch line from the main Brisbane to Toowoomba line in 1884. The corridor winds its way up the Brisbane Valley from Ipswich to Yarraman, traversing farmland, forests, picturesque rural settings

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and country towns. The rail line was used to transport freight and passengers over the next 90 years.

Rail transport ceased using the line in 1988. The corridor then lay dormant with the majority of the railway’s steel tracks and bridges removed and gradually replaced by overgrown grasses and weeds.

The corridor remained wholly owned by the State Government with TMR responsible for the main head lease.

The reinvigoration of the Brisbane Valley rail corridor commenced in 1996, with the then Nanango Shire Council approaching the Queensland Government to open up and develop the rail trail for recreational use. The former Esk Shire Council (now Somerset Regional Council) was involved in these early negotiations (80% of the entire 157km corridor sits within Somerset Council’s boundary).

Nanango Shire Council was successful in securing TMR support and Queensland Government funding, and in 2006, the first stage of the BVRT was officially opened. This achievement was recognised by receiving The Queensland Outdoor Recreation Federation (QORF), Government Achievement Award (2006).

Fast forward to 2006, and the Queensland Government released the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail Plan, a long-term plan to upgrade the trail to help deliver a more relaxed, healthy and less stressful lifestyle for Queenslanders. This was a key component in the Government’s South-East Queensland Outdoor Recreation Strategy, and identified as a key regional outdoor recreation infrastructure project under the SEQ Infrastructure Plan and Program (2007-2026).

Over the next few years, incremental sections of the trail were completed. Funding for this work was limited and sporadic – opposing State Governments had different views on funding priorities and no clear plan and timeframe was confirmed for completion of the BVRT. By 2014, the trail had been extended to Toogoolawah, with 130kms of the trail now complete.

The largest section of the BVRT, 27kms between Toogoolawah and Moore, which sat squarely within Somerset Council’s boundary, remained in limbo. Labelled ‘too costly’ and ‘too difficult’, it was the longest section to construct and was technically challenging to upgrade. The corridor was so overgrown that to accurately scope the extent of the necessary works was virtually impossible.

What was known however, was that any work on this section would require upgrading three major creek crossings, at least fifteen smaller creek crossings and a major bridge structure over Jimmy’s Gully.

The community’s interest in completing the BVRT became

evident when a petition featuring 1,400 signatures was presented to the Queensland Deputy Premier’s Office in 2016. This was the second petition the community had prepared and public pressure was growing – the community realised the benefits completing the last 27km section would deliver for the region – a social media campaign was established and a series of cycling events to demonstrate the value of the BVRT as a tourism asset were undertaken.

Council, armed with the support of the local community, approached the State Government again and in 2017, was successful in securing $1.8 million to complete the final 27km section, and $2 million was earmarked to maintain the BVRT over the next 10 years. However, Council’s concept planning had identified that $1.8 million would only cover the upgrade of the three creek crossings and bridge structure – it would not provide for any work required on the paths.

Council identified they could contribute $100,000 towards the project, but no more. Whilst the State Government conveyed their desire for Council to

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commence the project, Council could not – this was the trigger point for Council to investigate grant funding options. Council prepared a business case to secure an additional $1.55 million in funding from the Australian Government’s Better Building Regions Fund. The business case was solid – community support was evident, and the cost/benefit ratio confirmed the project’s benefits would clearly outweigh the delivery cost. However, the ‘design’ of the required works was high-level and very much in the concept phase.

The business case was submitted in July 2017 and in September 2017 the funding grant was approved. Council had successfully secured a total of $3.35 million to complete the BVRT T2M. However, grant funding was dependent upon construction commencing within 12 weeks and all works being completed by 30 June the following year – a nine month construction timeframe.

Despite the technical challenges and extremely tight delivery timeframes, construction of the BVRT T2M commenced on-site in December 2017. The project was overseen by Council, administered

by GHD Pty Ltd and constructed by A&M Civil and Timber Restoration Systems. It was completed on schedule and within budget in June 2018.

The overarching objectives of the project were achieved plus much more: • The region is benefitting from the delivery of world-class recreational infrastructure that is resulting in increased visitation to the region • It’s recycled a dormant

infrastructure corridor with longterm community and economic benefits to the region • Local residents have easy access to a multi-purpose recreational trail delivering health, social and cultural experiences • Employment growth was achieved during construction, and jobs relating to rail trail operations and in the tourism sector are now being created • The visual outlook of the corridor has been improved delivering benefits for both users, and adjacent property owners • The community’s profile is flourishing from increased public exposure due to the project • And Queensland’s reputation as a cycling tourism destination has been strengthened.

Stakeholder engagement The BVRT T2M project is a shining example of the benefits of genuine stakeholder engagement. The local community played an integral role in delivering this project for the Somerset region. Their unwavering effort to harness the community’s

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support to complete the final section of the BVRT, resulting in two petitions to State Government, a social media campaign and regular interactions with Council and the State Government, is acknowledged by all involved in the project.

Council’s proactive stakeholder engagement approach, which centred around an honest and open dialogue with project funding partners, contractors and supporters, was a key element in its ability to deliver the project successfully on time and within budget.

The project’s stakeholders were far reaching and included Federal and State Government departments, Council staff and elected representatives, public utility providers, adjacent land owners, the local Somerset community (residents and businesses), the BVRT community supporters, and all members of the project team.

Community and economic contribution It was clear from the outset that completing the final section of the trail would deliver a raft

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of community and economic benefits to the Somerset and broader South-East Queensland community. By their very nature and location, rail trails are very effective recreational and tourism drawcards due the fact that there is existing or easily developed tourism infrastructure in or near townships along the rail trail. There are places to eat, places to stay, nearby destinations to explore. The best rail trails are located in highly scenic surrounds. The entire length of the BVRT, and particularly the final stretch between Toogoolawah and Moore, features an abundance of local history, and spectacular diverse landscapes that showcase the Brisbane Valley.

• A strong commitment by Council’s project team to minimize the cost of the capital works. Council was proactive in seeking a commitment from the Queensland Government to maintain the corridor and infrastructure asset once complete. Council was successful with the Queensland Government pledging to contribute $2 million towards maintenance of the rail trail over the first 15 years following construction.

The business case concluded that at five years post construction it is estimated the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail would increase direct tourism expenditure in the region by $1.5 million per annum and as a result improve employment opportunities in the region.

• Leveraging Council’s skill-base developed during the delivery of major flood mitigation works throughout the region (between 2011 to 2015), and capitalizing on opportunities to build workforce capacity and broaden Council staff’s skill-base.

The impact of the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail is expected to become progressively greater at ten and fifteen years post construction due to greater usage rates. At fifteen years post construction the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail is estimated to increase economic output in the region by $2.2 million per annum and support 58 jobs.

• Council’s role in leading the growth and shape of a sustainable Somerset region for future generations – Council need to lead by example by incorporating sustainable practices through all of its developments and activities.

Project sustainability The design and construction of the BVRT T2M was underpinned by a number of sustainability principles, most notably: • Council’s objective to deliver excellence in project management to ensure that decisions made during the concept planning and business case phase of the project

resulted in the construction of a community asset with a minimal ongoing maintenance cost to Council, and ultimately the local community as ratepayers.

• Utilising the natural amenity and celebrating local history to create an asset that is appropriate to the area, is easy and attractive to access, and is embraced by the local community. These principles underpinned the project team’s commitment to ensure sustainable practices were delivered. Examples of this include: • Designing a fit-for-purpose, multi-use recreational trail that

delivers long-term benefits to the Somerset community.

• Utilising existing and recycled materials wherever possible during construction. Identifying and utilising the original substructure of the Jimmy’s Gully Bridge is demonstrated evidence that this was a key focus of the project team. Remnants of the original rail infrastructure is present throughout the corridor – this not only celebrates the cultural heritage of the area, it adds value to the user’s experience and naturally beautifies the infrastructure corridor.

• Ensuring the design of bridge and crossing structures resulted in a functional, long-serving and sustainable infrastructure asset.

• The engineering solutions devised for all creek and gully crossings provides the infrastructure with high levels of flood resilience. Time and effort spent on identifying the most appropriate solution for each location delivered a raft of environmental and sustainability benefits – crossings align with creek banks to reduce environmental impacts and will limit deterioration over time.

• All land owner issues were resolved before project completion - there are no outstanding land owner issues for Council to resolve or tackle in the future.

• Using low-cost, low-maintenance native shrubs that would have a high chance of establishing and require minimal maintenance visits by Council postconstruction. Koala-friendly vegetation was also planted –

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Council is committed to strong sustainable fauna practices in the region that help protect the local Koala population.

• The project management systems developed and deployed to manage the delivery of this project are being conveyed back to Council’s other project delivery teams, thus ensuring continued improvement and the sharing of knowledge.

Regulator environment and environmental impact and management An integral part of Council’s role is to maintain and enhance the Somerset region’s natural assets, liveability and environmental credentials. The project team were committed to sustainable practices to meet the environmental needs of the project and the broader Somerset community.

Environmental investigations were undertaken during the project’s concept planning phase which identified a range of issues requiring analysis and management. The key environmental impacts/issues identified were: • Vegetation clearing - the extent of the vegetation clearing required was unclear upon project inception. However, it was well understood and was visually obvious that it contained 20 years of overgrown weeds and shrubs.

Council was certain it did not want to remove any more vegetation than was absolute necessary.

• Protection of private property from potential weeds and pests traversed through the site by construction traffic and/or trail users - strict usage guidelines have been developed for trail users which is effectively

managing the potential spread of weeds and pests, particularly via horses using the trail. The responsibility of weed and pest management through the corridor resides with the asset owner, TMR. • Construction impacts to Ivory, Emu and Wallaby Creeks (location of the three creek crossings) and to Jimmy’s Gully (location of the new bridge structure) – in addition to considering the impacts of installing the new infrastructure, the team needed to ensure the design of the new structures were fit-for-purpose, cost effective, complementary to the aesthetics of the natural environment, maintained water flow and did not negatively impact the area’s environmental landscape • A considerable amount of energy was invested by the project team to safeguard the environmental integrity of the area’s waterways - soil types, steepness of the banks, existing rail/bridge infrastructure, anticipated water flows and end-user needs were also considered by the team.

• The removal of vegetation and opening up the corridor for use raised a potential privacy issue for adjacent land owners - as a result vegetation screening was installed along several sections of the corridor to shield the view to private dwellings from the road corridor. This vegetation featured native tree and flower plantings that were appropriate for the local environment and provided a suitable habitat for local wildlife, particularly Koalas.

• Input from cultural heritage stakeholders during the concept

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planning phase identified the requirement to protect the culturally significant and heritage listed Yimbun Railway Tunnel this structure was built in 1910 and is 100m in the length and features local stone. The structure is visually one of the key features of the corridor that all project stakeholders agreed needed to be protected and celebrated.

The project team liaised with the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection to ensure all cultural heritage regulatory requirements to preserve this valuable structure had been met. Strict construction processes were identified that were implemented and monitored at all times during the construction process.

• While the remnants of several timber bridges were dotted throughout the rail corridor alignment, the most significant of these was the Jimmy’s Gully Crossing Bridge. Jimmy’s Gully is steep and required a new bridge structure to complete the upgraded trail. Council engaged a specialist bridge engineer to inspect the bridge to determine the condition of the existing timber components.

It was identified that the sub-structure (piles) were in reasonable condition, however, the superstructure (the deck) was in very poor condition.

Armed with this information, Council explored opportunities to retain as much of the substructure as possible – this would reduce project costs but more importantly, would retain the structure’s heritage value.

Project management To ensure the project was successfully delivered within cost,

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time and budget constraints, effective and efficient planning and control of the project’s scope, program and budget was essential.

Council invested significant time and effort in considering the most effective delivery methods for the construction of the project.

Project risks and opportunities were identified early, with a strong emphasis on finding innovative and effective methods to overcome the challenges associated with delivery.

It was evident early that a collaborative working relationship would be required by all involved in the construction task – it was front of mind that several design elements, namely the engineering solutions required for the creek and gully crossings, were yet to be fully scoped and confirmed. The project team established a management reporting structure that ensured all governance, probity and reporting requirements were effectively met, both within Council and to State and Federal Government departments.

Council engaged GHD Pty Ltd early to help facilitate project delivery and administer the civil construction contracts. Council involved GHD in the preparation of the contract documentation and they were actively involved in the tender evaluation process.

The appointment of a single Council Project Manager from inception to delivery ensured that all components of project management were understood, controlled and effectively managed.

Council’s Management Team was first hand listening to the community’s requests for action, was responsible for preparing the business case and securing funding from the Commonwealth Government. Council Project Manager then managed all aspects of project delivery, including the construction tender process and daily project management.

Attention to detail ensured that various engineering disciplines were closely managed to deliver an exceptional recreational

infrastructure solution within a constrained footprint and under challenging conditions.

To ensure the project was delivered within cost and time constraints, effective and efficient program planning and control was essential. Project risks and opportunities were identified early, with a strong emphasis on achieving project innovations and sustainable features that would deliver cost benefits and result in an asset that is fit for purpose, value for money and futureproofed to provide long-lasting returns to the community.

Construction pre-start workshops ensured that all expectations about what the team was delivering was clear – setting clear expectations about the quality of the end product, but constraints and challenges the team were dealing with was essential. It is a testament to the successful delivery of the project, entirely by Council, that construction was officially completed on 30 June 2018.

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IPWEAQ EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS

Recognising past IPWEAQ Excellence Award Winners Trevor Harvey Christopher Hegarty Patrick McGuire Murray Donald Andrew Gibbs James D'Arcy John Derbyshire

North Burnett Regional Council CARDNO Ltd Retired Retired Mackay Regional Council South Burnett Regional Council Retired

General Manager Strategy, Innovation & Assets Senior Water Engineer

President's Award President's Award President's Award President's Award President's Award President's Award President's Award

2014 2014 2014 2015 2015 2016 2018

Michael Kahler Stephen Hegedus Patrick Murphy Michael Borg Jason Deller Martin Crow Anthony Jacobs Graham Cook Gerard Read Andrew Ryan Paul Keech Mike Brady Alton Twine

Queensland Urban Utilities Shepherd Services Pty Ltd Department of Infrastructure Rockhampton Regional Council Bega Valley Shire Council Rockhampton Regional Council Somerset Regional Council Western Downs Regional Council GWR Civil Engineering Management Moreton Bay Regional Council Shoalhaven City Council Toowoomba Regional Council City of Gold Coast

General Manager Infrastructure Delivery Partner, Director - Asset Services Advisor Co-ordinator Fleet Services Manager Strategy and Asset Services Manager Infrastructure Planning Director Operations Infrastructure Services General Manager Director Director Infrastructure Services Group Director - Asssets & Works General Manager Infrastructure Services Group Director City Infrastructure

Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year Engineer of the Year

2004 2005 2006 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Nadia Ives Nicole Bichel Seren McKenzie Ellie Johnson Angela Fry Glenda Kirk Natasha Murray

GenEng Solutions Pty Ltd SLR Consulting Lockyer Valley Regional Council Mount Isa City Council GHD Mareeba Shire Council Cairns Regional Council

Professional Engineer Senior Surface Water Engineer Manager Infrastructure Planning and Design

Woman in Engineering Woman in Engineering Woman in Engineering Woman in Engineering Woman in Engineering Woman in Engineering Woman in Engineering

2010 2011 2012 2015 2016 2017 2018

Adam Sadler Justin Fischer Brett Cagney Darren Shepherd David Brooker Mitchell Bichel Dwayne Honor Ashleigh Tomkins Craig Heck Aaron Meehan Haydn O'Leary

Cassowary Coast Regional Council Cassowary Coast Regional Council Shepherd Services Pty Ltd Shepherd Services Pty Ltd Urban Utilities Logan City Council Bundaberg Regional Council Gladstone Regional Council Scenic Rim Regional Council South Burnett Regional Council Toowoomba Regional Council

Director Delivery Services Manager Asset Engineering Senior Asset Engineer Partner, Director - Technical Services

Young Engineer Young Engineer Young Engineer Young Engineer Young Engineer Young Engineer Young Engineer Young Engineer Young Engineer Young Engineer Young Engineer

2005 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018

Vincent Spranklin Brian Weeks Steven Hughes Robin Bourchier Andrew Foster Michael Eastwell Val Shannon Steven Forbes Neil Graham

Cairns Regional Council Southern Downs Regional Council Rockhampton Regional Council Somerset Regional Council Mareeba Shire Council Toowoomba Regional Council Self Employed Shepherd Services City of Gold Coast

Supervisor of the Year Works Supervisor Works Supervisor Works Supervisor Works Supervisor Works Supervisor Technical Manager Technical Officer Team Member

2004 2005 2008 2011 2015 2016 2015 2016 2018

Manager Civil Operations Manager Design & Technical Services

Manager - Toowoomba and South West Region Director Infrastructure Services Senior Transport Engineer

Capital Works Engineer Branch Manager Engineering Services Senior Engineer - Asset Management Design Engineer General Manager Infrastructure Engineer, Construction and Maintenance - South

Works Overseer Manager Works Works Coordinator Asset Manager Construction Supervisor

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INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.

EXCELLENCE AWARDS BENEFITS OF NOMINATING FOR AN IPWEAQ AWARD: N ominees and winners featured in the annual Commemorative Awards Book with the winning project featured on the cover W inners featured on the IPWEAQ website www.ipweaq.com/2018-awardwinners P roject of the Year featured in the excellence awards campaign the following year G ala awards ceremony and dinner attended by more than 450 invited guests and VIPs P hotos of award winners available for publicity purposes M edia releases on all winning projects and individual award winners issued by IPWEAQ.  I nvitations to present award winning projects at key events including branch and annual conferences Contact Events & Marketing Manager Monica.Robertson@ipweaq.com or

IPWEAQ EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2019 The awards program, now in its seventeenth year, places a spotlight on the projects and people who deliver exceptional outcomes for our communities.

Nominations close 5.00pm Friday 5 July 2019 Submit your nominations online via the new awards platform https://ipweaq.awardsplatform.com/ Gala Awards Ceremony and Dinner Royal International Convention Centre, Brisbane Wednesday, 23 October 2019 Sponsorship opportunities available.

Contact monica.robertson@ipweaq.com or

3632 6802

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3632 6802

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MAREEBA LANDFILL SURFACE WATER MANAGEMENT PROJECT

HIGHLY COMMENDED AT 2018 EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Glenda Kirk Director Infrastructure Services, Mareeba Shire Council

The Mareeba Landfill project in February 2019 (12 months post-completion)

Amy Yates Senior Environmental Advisor, Mareeba Shire Council

Morris Hamill Manager Water and Waste, Mareeba Shire Council

Mareeba Shire Council operates a regional landfill facility in Mareeba, Far North Queensland under an Environmental Authority (EA) that imposes stringent conditions for the protection of water quality.

The site presents difficult environmental circumstances to control erosion and minimise the release of sediment laden waters.

In 2017, Council undertook a rehabilitation project based on the principles of soil and water conservation, which involved construction of a system of water harvest areas and an overflow polishing pond. These measures have exceeded the original compliance objectives and integrate the functionality of

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landfilling into the environment through aesthetically pleasing ponds and vegetation.

Background The Mareeba Landfill is located on the outskirts of Mareeba, approximately 55 kilometres west of Cairns. The landfill services the region as it is strategically located away from the Wet Tropics, the coastline and the Great Barrier Reef. Domestic waste generated within the Mareeba Shire is sent to the Cairns Advanced Resource Recovery Technology (ARRT) facility which processes residential and commercial waste from Mareeba Shire, Douglas Shire and the Cairns Region. This facility turns the organic component of this waste into commercial

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compost. The residual waste is sent to Mareeba Landfill and a privately-operated landfill in Mareeba Shire.

The Mareeba Landfill site sits on the watershed boundary between river catchments for the eastflowing Barron River and westflowing Mitchell River. Sitting at the head of the catchment, surface waters flow from the site to the Barron River and ultimately to the Great Barrier Reef. Sediment loading in Far North Queensland's rivers is a scientifically recognised pollutant contributing to a decline in water quality and is considered to be a major cause of the current poor state of many coastal and marine ecosystems within the Great Barrier Reef. As a Reef Guardian Council, Mareeba Shire Council maintains a commitment to protect and conserve the Reef through its activities.

Development The Mareeba Landfill operates within a highly sodic soil environment. Sodic soils are notoriously difficult to manage due to their dispersiveness. These soils are susceptible to chemical erosion on contact with rainfall.

When eroded, sediment can remain suspended in the water column for many weeks. Therefore, suspended solids discharged in sediment laden waters leaving the site had the potential to be transported for many kilometres before settling out.

Despite using heavy hydromulch to cover exposed areas of interim capping and implementing other general erosion control measures, Mareeba Shire Council had been unable to comply with the Environmental Authority which imposes stringent suspended solids limits in the surface waters

The Mareeba Landfill project in December 2017 (during construction)

The Mareeba Landfill in December 2015 (before)

discharged from the site. Council submitted a voluntary Program Notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 as a strategic compliance action following a number of non-compliances during the 2016-17 wet season. This led to the successful negotiation with the State environmental regulator to enter into a Transitional Environmental Program (TEP) in

mid-2017 that outlined objectives, actions and milestones and permit Council to transition to compliance in readiness for the 2017 - 2018 wet season.

Whilst the use of standard erosion and sediment control measures such as check dams, sediment fences and hydromulch would have fulfilled Council's General

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Environmental Duty, they most likely would have failed over the long-term due to the nature of the in-situ soils and rainfall climate.

Council identified that a treatment solution must exist that would service the landfill into the aftercare period and would require minimal operational investment.

Implementation Council engaged a Certified Practitioner in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) to develop a Surface Waters Management Plan for the site. The CPESC program is administered by the International Erosion Control Association Australasia and represents industry best practice in erosion and sediment control. The provision of a surface waters management plan to a CPESC standard is beyond the requirement of the EA, however Council wanted certainty of achieving a sustainable compliance solution within the TEP timeframes.

The Surface Waters Management Plan identified the sources of sediment laden waters and the environmental risk of erosion from those areas. Risks to the environment were fully managed by applying the best practice principles of drainage, erosion and sediment control and then implementing the resultant design detailed in the Surface Waters Management Plan. The main principles were to minimise the amount of exposed soils, maximise groundcover and significantly increase the retention time to settle solids in stormwater.

Measures included the protection of landfill batters, construction of water harvest areas designed to cater for a 1 in 10 year, 15-minute rainfall event, a water polishing lagoon and a rock filter dam at the

The Mareeba Landfill project was highly commended at the 2018 IPWEAQ Excellence Awards.

compliance point.

The construction works were completed in late 2017, prior to the wet season. A postcommissioning review was undertaken in early 2018 and confirmed that the objectives under the TEP had been met in full.

Outcomes The Surface Waters Management Project has rehabilitated the landscape and improved the functionality of surface waters treatment at Mareeba Landfill by minimising exposed ground, providing gentle controlled drainage and managing sediment transportation offsite. The system achieves and exceeds the regulatory requirement whilst requiring nothing more than visually monitoring the landform integrity and removing a layer of geotextile on the rock filter check dam each year until vegetation is substantially established.

Council’s partnership with the State environmental regulator has been instrumental in the success of this project. It is hoped that the

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completion of this project offers some regulatory comfort to the administering authority in relation to the use of TEPs as a compliance tool. TEPs provide the opportunity for local governments to partner with the regulator to transition to an agreed environmental standard using a statutory mechanism, free from penalties.

The project has resulted in a dramatic improvement of suspended solids in the waters discharged from the site from over 1000mg/L prior to the work to less than 50mg/L. Implementation of a Surface Waters Monitoring Program continues to be used to verify the effectiveness of those controls and and the project has immeasurable benefit by creating awareness in the wider local government Reef Guardian community.

The result is an aesthetically pleasing stormwater management system that functionally integrates environmental protection with an operational landfill and ultimately protects the waterways and the Great Barrier Reef.

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ASSET MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING

SUSTAINABILITY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Asset Management Decision Making: A Leadership and Governance Approach for Long Term Sustainability “Overall, there is a lack of framework including processes and timing associated with providing asset management information for decision making purposes. There needs to be a more structured approach to improve focus on providing the right information, to the right people at the right time.”

Asset Management has a critical role in delivering Council’s corporate and community plans and to ensure long term financial sustainability. Ongoing feedback from the Local Government sector indicated that there is a current and significant need for improvement in asset management planning and data driven information to support informed asset management decision making. Further, there is increased focus on asset management practices in local government from the State Government departments across Australia, including the Queensland Audit Office.

In to the impending need to provide a platform for consistency and change in Queensland and in taking the lead in providing the first opportunity for collaboration across the sector the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) in conjunction with Peak Services developed

the Asset Management Decision Making Framework. The purpose of the framework is to reinforce the correlation between asset data, project planning and delivery of councils strategic plan with decision making that is founded on well governed process and a sustainable approach.

To assist local governments in addressing the significant challenges of maintaining levels of service through assets which meet community need and expectation, a leadership and governance focussed approach to asset management has been developed. Significant consultation has been undertaken with several participating Queensland local governments to inform and understand how an alternative approach may deliver improved asset management outcomes.

The aim of this Framework is to facilitate and develop an approach that supports tangible organisation wide asset management improvements that can be readily implemented. It has been developed to be scalable so that it can be adapted to any operating environment. It is focused on leveraging existing policies, processes, skills and resources in a repeatable, logical and robust approach that minimises change and disruption but maximises beneficial impact.

With a focus primarily on having

a balanced combination on both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ skills, supported with leadership and ‘buy-in’ from senior stakeholders, this framework is considered essential to maximising effective AMDM capability. Hard skills typically include technical assessment, analysis, data capture and authoring technical plans. Whilst these are important elements, ‘soft skills’ such as promotion, communication, consultation and understanding community needs are recognised as being equally important.

“With well over $100 billion in assets under management, local governments play a critical role in planning, construction and maintenance. The new Asset Management Decision Making Framework is yet another tool available to councils to help them manage their asset management responsibilities to benefit their local community.” Glen Beckett, General Manager Assist, LGAQ. With a release date of March 2019 to Queensland local government, organisations will be able to take advantage of this framework to be embedded as a basis for providing a platform for change.

Further information on this framework can be obtained by contacting Brian Jackson, Director Technical Consulting, Assets and Project Management for Peak Services on bjackson@wearepeak. com.au.

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RESTRICTED ACCESS VEHICLE ROUTE ASSESSMENT

CASE STUDY

Investigating the Benefits of the Restricted Access Vehicle Route Assessment Tool in Local Governments’ Decision Making Process Kieran Hay Australian Road Research Board Matthew Bereni Australian Road Research Board

Abstract: The Restricted Access Vehicle Route Assessment Tool (RAVRAT) was developed as a pre-emptive response to the implementation of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR). The HVNL requires Local Governments to perform the functions of a Road Manager to determine access for heavy vehicles (vehicles with a gross vehicle mass ≥ 4.5 tonnes). This paper presents on the background development of the RAVRAT and the assessment of its capability to aid Local Governments in assessing suitability for heavy vehicle access.

Heavy vehicle policy and legislation was reviewed to determine how access to the public road network is granted. Heavy vehicles that do not meet the prescriptive regulations set out in the HVNL are classified

as Restricted Access Vehicles (RAVs), which are required to operate under commonwealth gazette notices (notices) or authorisation permits (permits). Local Governments may be required to conduct a route assessment when RAVs request access to routes that are not permitted under an existing notice or permit. The capabilities of RAVRAT were evaluated and assessed against the requirements of the Local Governments route assessment methodology to determine if the tool provides the capability required to assess the route and determine access.

The results of the evaluation determined that the RAVRAT is a suitable tool to facilitate local government route assessments, improve road safety, and improve transport logistic efficiency.

The RAVRAT also contributes to legislative compliance resulting in better community road safety outcomes and productivity benefits to industry and Local Governments.

Introduction In 2014 The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) took over the handling of legislation pertaining to the access of heavy vehicles (vehicles with a gross vehicle mass ≥ 4.5 tonnes).

During this transition, the NHVR implemented the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), outlining the legislation for heavy vehicles,

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which includes four regulation documents. The implementation of the HVNL includes a clause in Section 12 (1)(b) which states that local governments are classified as road managers for any local roads within their jurisdiction (Queensland Government, 2018).

This requires local government to respond to access requests for their local road network and, where required, undertake route assessments to determine access.

To assist Local Governments, the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) developed the Performance Based Standards Route Assessment Tool (PBSRAT) which was later rebranded to be the Restricted Access Vehicle Route Assessment Tool (RAVRAT) when more functionality was added.

RAVRAT’s use was aimed at Local Governments with the intent to provide a consistent methodology to undertaking a route assessment using the Performance Based Standards Scheme – Network Classification Guidelines.

This paper will focus on two main points, these being: • A high level review of existing heavy vehicle legislation and regulation that is in place to determine local governments’ responsibilities and how access is granted. Demonstrate how RAVRAT can assist local

55 Table 1 Road classes for access by Scheme vehicles (National Transport Commission, 2007)

Road Class

Scheme vehicle performance level

Maximum vehicle length (m)

Similar present vehicle description

Level 1

1

20 *

From passenger cars to single articulated

Level 2A Level 2B Level 3A Level 3B Level 4A Level 4B

2 3 4

26 30 36.5 42 53.5 60

B-double Double road train (Type I) Double road train (Type II)

* Level 1 is subject to a 50 t gross mass limit, posted local restrictions and restrictions or limitations specified by the jurisdiction.

governments in the heavy vehicle access decision making process.

• A review of the development of RAVRAT and the assessment of its capabilities to aid local governments in assessing suitability of their local road network for heavy vehicle access.

This will include how RAVRAT’s assessment method compares against the Performance Based Standards Scheme – Network Classification Guidelines.

Method Existing Regulation Currently six out of eight states within Australia, including Queensland (QLD), New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC), Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Tasmania (TAS) and South Australia (SA) operate under the HVNL and its subsequent regulations. The HVNL commenced on 10 February 2014 in participating jurisdictions, with the law first adopted by QLD in 2012, and subsequently adopted in the remaining states in the following years: • New South Wales – 2013 • Victoria – June 2013

• Australian Capital Territory – 2013 • Tasmania – 2013 • South Australia – 2013 Each state and territory passed a law that would either adopt or duplicate the HVNL (QLD) as a law in that state or territory, in some cases with minor modifications.

The HVNL that was adopted in all participating jurisdictions states in Section 12 (1)(b) “The following entity is declared to be the road manager for a road in this jurisdiction for the purposes of the Heavy Vehicle National Law (Queensland)— (b) for a road controlled by a local government authority—the local government authority;” (Queensland Government, 2018).

This clause essentially states that a local government authority is declared to be a road manager for any local government roads within their boundaries. This requires local governments to respond to access requests that may have previously gone to the state road authority. Local governments may

also be required to undertake route assessment to determine suitability of access on their local road network. RAVRAT’s focus is to assist local governments undertake these route assessments using a consistent methodology that is supported by the PBS guidelines to provide them with a defensible position to access requests.

There are three main methods for heavy vehicles to access the public road network, these being through prescriptive vehicle regulations, commonwealth gazette notice or under a mass or dimension exemption permit.

Heavy vehicles that comply with prescribed mass and dimension requirements outlined in the Heavy Vehicle (Mass, Dimension and Loading) National Regulation (MDL Regulation) are permitted to operate on all public road networks in participating jurisdictions. The MDL Regulation defines the mass, dimension and loading limits of prescriptive heavy vehicles. Vehicles that exceed prescribed mass, dimension or loading are classified as restricted access vehicles which must

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Figure 1 RAVRAT 1.0 homepage (Australian Road Research Board, 2016)

operate under commonwealth gazette notice or a mass or dimension exemption permit.

Heavy vehicles that are classified as restricted access vehicles are eligible to access the public road network through the use of a commonwealth gazette notice which may exempt, for a period of not more than 5 years, a stated category of class 1,2 or 3 heavy vehicle from a prescribed mass or dimension requirement (Queensland Government, 2018).

Local governments acting as road managers must provide an access decision for the grant of these gazettes for roads within their local jurisdictions. This is stated in Sections 118 (1)(b)

“The Regulator may grant a mass or dimension exemption (notice) for a category of heavy vehicles only if— (b) each relevant road manager for the exemption has consented to the grant” (Queensland Government, 2018) and Section 139 (1)(b) “The Regulator may grant a class 2 heavy vehicle authorisation (notice) only if— (b) each relevant road manager for the authorisation has consented to the grant” (Queensland Government, 2018).

This states that a mass or dimension exemption notice may only be granted if each road

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manager, the local government in this instance, consents to the grant. Vehicles that do not exceed prescribed mass and commonwealth gazette notice mass and dimension limits must operate under a mass or dimension exemption permit.

Heavy vehicles that are classified as restricted access vehicles and are ineligible to operate under a commonwealth gazette notice may be eligible to operate under a mass or dimension exemption permit. The regulator may issue a permit which may exempt, for a period of not more than 3 years, a stated category of class 1,2 or 3 heavy vehicle from a prescribed mass or dimension requirement (Queensland Government, 2018).

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The HVNL states in Section 124 (1) (b) "The Regulator may grant a mass or dimension exemption (permit) for a heavy vehicle only if— (b) each relevant road manager for the exemption has consented to the grant” (Queensland Government, 2018) and in Section 145 (1)(b) “The Regulator may grant a class 2 heavy vehicle authorisation (permit) for a class 2 heavy vehicle only if— (b) each relevant road manager for the authorisation has consented to the grant” (Queensland Government, 2018).

This states that a mass or dimension exemption permit may only be granted if each road manager, the local government in this instance, consents to the grant. These exemption permits have caused a dramatic increase in local governments work as is there is ever growing interest in higher productivity vehicles which exceed prescribed mass, requiring route assessments to be conducted. This is coupled with a short time frame for an access decision response due to Section 156 (1) of the HVNL which states “If the Regulator asks a road manager for a road for the road manager’s consent to the grant of a mass or dimension authority, the road manager must decide to give or not to give the consent— (a) within— (i) 28 days after the request is made, unless subparagraph (ii) applies; or (ii) if this section applies because the road manager gave the Regulator a notice of objection to

the grant under section 167—14 days after giving the notice of objection; or (b) within a longer period, of not more than 6 months after the request is made, agreed to by the Regulator” (Queensland Government, 2018).

This clause limits the time that a local government can take to respond to an access request, thus increasing the strain on local governments, that may already be under resourced. While it is possible for local governments to request a longer time period to perform a route assessment this may not be sufficient due to the amount of permit applications or lack of knowledge in assessing a route. RAVRAT includes technology which is able to assist in reducing local government response times by reusing elements from past assessments in order to eliminate duplication of work during assessments.

The legislation and regulation currently have placed an onerous task on local governments, requiring them to make access decisions in a short timeframe.

While this has provided local governments with more control over access to their local road network, it also adds to their workload. RAVRAT provides a stable, easy to use system for local governments that have not previously had to assess their local road network for restricted access vehicles.

Development of RAVRAT ARRB was first approached by the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) in 2011 to assist in creating a tool that could help local governments with the heavy vehicle access decision making

process. The development of the tool in collaboration with the MAV was officially started 2011 and continued through to its initial launch in June 2012 under the name Performance Based Standards Route Assessment Tool (PBSRAT) (Austroads, 2016). This was originally envisioned as a tool specifically for assessing a route using ARRB’s (2012) PBS Network Classification Guidelines for Local Government, to determine a Performance Based Standards (PBS) classification level for the route. This PBS classification level could then be used to determine suitability of PBS or freight vehicles using the Table 1 below, which shows the relationship between PBS and freight vehicles.

In 2015, ARRB was contacted by the Local Government NSW (LGNSW) and Transport for NSW (TfNSW) to enhance the functionality of PBSRAT to accommodate oversize and/or overmass vehicles (Eastwood & Hense, 2015).

Through a consultation process with LGNSW, TfNSW, Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and users the OSOM Expert module was developed to assess road access for a wider range of heavy vehicles. When this module was released the tool was rebranded to the Restricted Access Vehicle Route Assessment Tool to indicate to users that it could now cater for any restricted access vehicle and just PBS or freight vehicles.

Figure 1 below shows the original website after the tools rebranding to RAVRAT. In September 2018, ARRB launched RAVRAT 2.0 through a strategic partnership with NHVR and assistance from Local

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Government Associations. The relaunch of RAVRAT has allowed ARRB and NHVR to provide access to the tool for free to all Local Governments and State Road Authorities in participating jurisdictions under the HVNL. Figure 2 below shows the new RAVRAT 2.0 website.

Comparison of Guidelines RAVRAT contains two main assessment modules used for performing a route assessment, these are the PBS Expert module and the OSOM Expert module.

This section will look at the guidelines used in the assessment methodology and whether these are comparable to recognised guidelines.

PBS Expert Module The assessment methodology implemented in the PBS Expert

module of RAVRAT is based on ARRB GROUP’s (2012) PBS Network Classification Guidelines for Local Government. “This document defines guidelines for the consistent classification of the Performance Based Standards (PBS) network at the local government level” (ARRB GROUP, 2012). This document is a reworked version of the National Transport Commission’s (NTC) (2007) Performance Based Standards Scheme – Network Classification Guidelines, which is targeted towards state road authorities and other major road asset owners. It has been recognised that not all guidelines from the NTC document can be applied directly to a local road network as gaps exist and some guidelines are not completely suitable (ARRB GROUP, 2012).

ARRB’s reworked guidelines were aimed to address issues found in the NTC guidelines when being applied to a local road network.

These two PBS guidelines are both recognised by the NHVR as suitable methods of determining access for both PBS and freight vehicles.

RAVRAT translates the guidelines into a simple electronic question and answer format which removes the need for the numerous tables that are used to determine PBS classification in the guidelines.

Due to the dramatic shift in how the guidelines are represented in RAVRAT it is difficult for a user to determine if all requirements of the assessment have been met. The below table shows a comparison between the ARRB guidelines and what is present in RAVRAT in order to determine any gaps that may be present.

Table 2 Comparison of PBS guidelines and RAVRAT guidelines

Classification guidelines Road and lane width

Overtaking Signalised intersections Railway crossings Approach sight distance Vertical clearance Grades Stacking distances Storage lanes Bridges, overpasses and culverts Swept path of turning manoeuvres

ARRB guidelines RAVRAT guidelines 



Unsealed rural roads missing Curve widening potential issues Bridge lane widths issues     Contained in stopping distance

    

 Contained in different module    



 Does not display the turning path templates online

  

Green Cells with a tick indicate it meets the classification guidelines

Orange cells with a caution sign indicate it partially meets the classification guidelines Red cells with a cross indicate it does not meet the classification guidelines

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Figure 2 RAVRAT 2.0 home page (Australian Road Research Board, 2018)

From this comparison table it can be seen that while RAVRAT adheres to the guidelines for the majority of the assessment, in some instances it neglects or does not correctly represent the guidelines. This is true for the following issues: • Unsealed rural roads – RAVRAT does not include the guidelines for unsealed rural roads within its lane width calculations, this can lead to inaccuracies in PBS classifications. While it is possible to assess unsealed roads within RAVRAT it produces a marginally more lenient classification. This can be detrimental for local governments that contain a high percentage of unsealed roads in their jurisdiction.

• Curve widening – RAVRAT only requests minimum lane width for the whole length of road and does not make a distinction between the curve and road itself. This could lead to stricter PBS classifications than intended.

• Bridge widths – RAVRAT does not use the correct information from

Table 2.12 of ARRB’s guidelines to determine minimum bridge width. It instead uses the same classification as road and lane width from the guidelines.

This could lead to higher than intended classifications being given for lane widths on bridges.

• Overtaking – Overtaking has not been included within RAVRAT as overtaking does not necessarily restrict the route in terms of access. Therefore, how the classification is applied depends on the needs of the local government.

• Storage lanes – Storage lanes have not been included as this does not require any significant steps to determine if it meets requirements or not. Including this would most likely slow the overall process.

While RAVRAT incorporates ARRB’s PBS guidelines for the majority of assessment criteria, there are minor gaps in the tool’s assessment process. This is evident in the issues identified above predominantly for unsealed rural

roads, curve widening and bridge widths. Overtaking and storage lane classifications, while still important to the decision making process, may increase assessment times by including them in RAVRAT and can be undertaken without the tool’s assistance.

While some functionality is not fully incorporated into RAVRAT, this does not diminish its ability to assist Local Government in the route assessment process.

RAVRAT provides a structured methodology for local government to assess routes within their local jurisdiction with confidence. The methodology used is sound as it for the main part reflects that of the PBS classification guidelines developed by ARRB and allows for local government to make informed decisions regarding their network.

OSOM Expert Module The OSOM module is the second main assessment module used for performing a route assessment in RAVRAT. The assessment methodology that is implemented into the OSOM module is based on ARRB’s report titled Assessment Criteria Guidelines – OSOM Module, these guidelines were developed in conjunction with TfNSW, RMS, LGNSW and users of RAVRAT (Eady & Chong, 2015).

These guidelines were originally developed when TfNSW’s Freight and Regional Development Division was tasked with delivering a more efficient and effective freight system in NSW through the NSW Freight and Ports Strategy (F&PS) (Eastwood & Hense, 2015).

Task 1D-5-2 of the F&PS (the OSOM guidelines) was aimed at providing Local Government with the ability to better assess OSOM movements on their local

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road network (Eastwood & Hense, 2015). This module will not be discussed in detail within this report as the guidelines used were developed specifically for RAVRAT and there are no comparable documents.

The criteria that are used in the OSOM expert module are as follows: • Horizontal clearance • Maximum incline • Pavement & surfacing • Stacking distance • Vertical clearance • Excessive road grade • Sight distance • Signal timing • Storage lanes • Structures • Railway crossings • Swept paths These guidelines met the criteria requested by TfNSW and RMS and have now been successfully implemented into RAVRAT’s OSOM module. This could be investigated further by comparing these guidelines to existing OSOM legislation, gazette notices and permits to determine any comparisons in resulting classification.

Discussion Gaps in RAVRAT’s assessment process RAVRAT’s PBS Expert Module delivers an easy to understand and use tool that incorporates the majority of assessment criteria from the PBS Network Classification Guidelines for Local Government, however there are gaps in the assessment process.

These gaps have been identified previously in the report and

reiterated below: • Unsealed rural roads – guideline not included within the tool’s lane width calculations, potential to cause inaccuracies in PBS classification level. While it is possible to assess unsealed roads in the tool, it produces a marginally more lenient classification. This missing guideline can be detrimental for local governments that contain a high percentage of unsealed roads in their jurisdiction.

• Curve widening – only minimum lane width for the whole length of road is used instead of two separate values for curve width and road. This could lead to stricter PBS classifications than intended.

• Bridge widths – the tool does not use the correct information from Table 2.12 of ARRB’s guidelines to determine minimum bridge width. It instead uses the same classification as road and lane width from the guidelines.

This could lead to higher than intended classifications being given for lane widths on bridges.

• Overtaking – Overtaking has not been included within RAVRAT as overtaking does not necessarily restrict the route in terms of access. Therefore, how the classification is applied depends on the needs of the local government.

• Storage lanes – Storage lanes have not been included as this does not require any significant steps to determine if it meets requirements or not. Including this would most likely slow the overall process.

Overall these gaps in RAVRAT’s assessment procedure do not

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reduce the effectiveness of the tool, however it may reduce local governments in rural areas uptake as it does not explicitly state that it handles rural unsealed roads. The remaining gaps in the assessment process, in most cases lead to a stricter PBS classification than expected. This should be address in the future to ensure accurate representation of the guidelines to determine the correct PBS classification outcomes from an assessment.

RAVRAT’s OSOM Expert module also delivers an easy to understand and use tool that in this case uses assessment criteria that was developed by ARRB in consultation with project partners.

These assessment criteria were approved by TfNSW and RMS to be used in RAVRAT’s OSOM Expert module. However, there are no comparable guidelines to those developed for RAVRAT, therefore it is difficult to gauge their credibility even though they are approved by TfNSW and RMS. This could be investigated further by comparing these guidelines to existing OSOM legislation, gazette notices and permits to determine any comparisons in resulting classification and conditions applied.

Use benefits of RAVRAT RAVRAT provides local government with a consistent method of assessing their local road network for the suitability of restricted access vehicles.

This tool implements the PBS guidelines contained within the PBS Network Classification Guidelines for Local Government, which are endorsed by ARRB and NHVR. The tool also implements the OSOM guidelines contained within the Assessment Criteria

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Guidelines – OSOM Module, which is endorsed by ARRB, TfNSW and RMS. The use of these documents in the development of RAVRAT provide local governments with a defensible position when using the tool to make heavy vehicle access decisions. Having this defensible position can save councils time if an access decision is challenged as RAVRAT can output a report detailing the assessment that was undertaken to come to that decision. This gives local governments confidence in the access decisions they have made.

This tool also includes the automatic reuse elements (roads, intersections, bridges, etc) of past assessed routes in any future routes that use the same elements. This means that if local government receives applications for two routes that used 80% of the same route elements, they would be able to assess the first route and all common elements would transition automatically to the second route.

This saves local government enormous amounts of time that may have been used reassessing portions of routes as they did not know it had already been assessed.

If enough of a local governments local road network is assessed through RAVRAT this could be a dramatic reduction in duplicated assessments and a decrease in response times for NHVR’s 28 day response requirement. from the incremental assessment of a local government’s road network in RAVRAT it is possible to determine routes or networks that could be gazetted for use by restricted access vehicles. Within RAVRAT it is possible to run a report that outputs all assessed routes and their PBS classification.

From this a local government

could select routes which are appropriate to be gazetted, this would in turn reduce the required number of permit applications that the local government would have to respond to.

Australian Road Research Board, 2018.

RAV: Route Assessment Tool. [Online] Available at: http://ravrat.com/ [Accessed 20 September 2018].

CONCLUSION From the review of RAVRAT and heavy vehicle legislation and regulation it can be determined that RAVRAT has the potential to provide great benefits to local governments and assist them in meeting their legislative requirements. While the tool does have some gaps in its assessment capability, these are not hugely detrimental, and the tool is still very beneficial.

Eady, P. & Chong, L., 2015. Assessment Criteria Guidelines - OSOM Module, Vermont South: s.n.

RAVRAT provides local governments with a recognised and consistent methodology for route assessments leading to a defensible position for the access decision. Local governments can also expect a reduction in response times and permit application numbers if using the tool to its full potential. This can be achieved by making use of the tool for the majority of route assessments to ensure automatic element reuse happens and using the tool to determine routes that can be gazetted to reduce permit applications.

References ACT Government, 2018. Heavy Vehicle National Law (ACT) Act 2013, s.l.: s.n.

Austroads, 2016. Expansion of the Performance Based Standards Route Assessment Tool (PBS RAT), Sydney: s.n.

Eastwood, B. & Hense, D., 2015. Proposal Over-Size Over-Mass (OSOM) Assessment Criteria for Local Governments, Vermont South: s.n.

Government of South Australia, 2018.

Heavy Vehicle National Law (South Australia) Act 2013, s.l.: s.n.

National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, 2018. Heavy Vehicle National Law and Regulations. [Online] Available at: https://www.nhvr.gov.au/ law-policies/heavy-vehicle-national-lawand-regulations National Transport Commission, 2007.

Performance-Based Standards Scheme Network Classification Guidelines, s.l.: s.n.

New South Wales Government, 2018.

Heavy Vehicle (Adoption of National Law) Act 2013 No 42, s.l.: s.n.

Queensland Government, 2018. Heavy Vehicle (Mass, Dimension and Loading) National Regulation, s.l.: s.n.

Queensland Government, 2018. Heavy Vehicle National Law Act 2012, s.l.: s.n.

Tasmania Government, 2018. Heavy Vehicle National Law (Tasmania) Act 2013, s.l.: s.n.

Victoria State Government, 2013. Heavy Vehicle National Law Application Act 2013, s.l.: s.n.

Ai, U., 2015. OSOM Module Manual Route Assessment Concepts and Logic Rules, Vermont South: s.n.

ARRB GROUP, 2012. PBS Network Classification Guidelines for Local Government, Vermont South: s.n.

Australian Road Research Board, 2016.

RAV: Route Assessment Tool. [Online] Available at: http://ravrat.com/ [Accessed 1 August 2018].

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NEXT GENERATION

BENJAMIN ASH

MEMBER PROFILE

Benjamin Ash is a Civil Engineer with George Bourne & Associates and is based at Barcaldine. We’re pleased to introduce Ben as our new IPWEAQ Ambassador and CQ Branch Committee member. Ben recently spoke to Engineering for Public Works (EPW) about his pathway to public works engineering and his experience working as a remote and regional public works engineer.

EPW: Please tell us briefly about yourself, where you’re from, your interests are and what makes you tick.

Benjamin Ash: I am 23 years old and grew up on the Gold Coast. I graduated from Griffith University at the end of 2017 and moved to Barcaldine in Central Queensland immediately after.

Throughout school I loved mathematics and science, so much so that I often helped my classmates and younger students with their math. Back in grade 10, I originally wanted to become a pilot, but I was advised I would most likely have to go to Canberra to pursue that goal. At the time I could not imagine leaving the Gold Coast, family, friends and lifestyle for a career. So instead, I decided to put my desire to solve complex problems to use and

become an engineer. Fast forward to today, I have been living in central Queensland for over a year now for my career. Pretty ironic if you asked me.

I originally moved to Barcaldine because I knew it would be a great opportunity to gain a wide range of experience in multiple fields of engineering. This was especially appealing to me as I didn’t know what field of engineering I wanted to specialise in. My favourite part of living in the outback is the drastic change in lifestyle, moving from a city of nearly 600,000 people to a small country town of 1,500. Although I have given up my long time hobby of surfing, I have picked up some of my old

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interests like cricket, touch football and basketball.

EPW: Please summarise your career to date.

BA: In my final semester of university, I completed my work experience at the City of Gold Coast in the City Assets sector.

During my time at council, I wrote my thesis on the effects of climate change on revetment walls and stormwater outlet pipes and the proposed asset management plan.

From this I was able to experience what it would be like to work in the public sector. From my short time at the council, I knew I would like to work kick start my career in the public sector. Towards the

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end of my time at council, I began applying to some council jobs.

However, one stood out more than the rest, a graduate engineer position at George Bourne & Associates (GBA) in Barcaldine.

After flying out for my interview, I was fortunate enough to get offered the position.

My role at GBA has been to design, deliver and project manage a range of projects for rural councils such as the Barcaldine Regional Council, Longreach Regional Council and the BlackallTambo Regional Council. I have been involved in a range of projects, from local line marking to multi hundred thousand dollar projects such as the restoration/ reconstruction of concrete floodways. I am glad I made the choice to move out to the outback, because I feel it has already given me such a wide range of experience in many fields of engineering. I am looking forward to gaining the most I can from

my time in Central Queensland and look forward to its future challenges.

EPW: Why or how did you choose a career as an engineer in public works?

BA: Throughout my university studies, asset management was unfortunately never touched on, and it wasn’t until after working at council I understood how essential asset management was for the community. From this I knew I wanted to pursue a career in public works to help contribute with providing the local community with quality infrastructure, facilities and other assets. Through my short time in Central Queensland, I have been able to see firsthand the difference I have made to its residents.

Maintaining and improving the safety of assets after events such as a flood is important to me, as the safety of our close community is something I feel strongly about.

EPW: What are you looking to achieve in your role?

BA: For the same reason I decided to work in the public sector, I strive to maintain and construct new infrastructure for the community.

The main goal I am aiming to achieve in my role is to help benefit rural councils with advice and project management them to provide the best resources/ facilities possible for their small populations. For example, as we all know North Queensland has recently experienced devastating floods, these floods have also affected the regional shires of Longreach and Winton. The team at GBA including myself will be heading out to pick up flood damage when safe to do so.

From this, it is my responsibility to collect as much damage as possible, then claim for the appropriate treatment through DRFA (Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements) funding. It brings me a great sense of achievement when these roads and assets such

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as floodways have been repaired back to its pre-disaster condition.

EPW: What’s been your most significant career highlight to date?

BA: Over my short time as an engineer, I have a few career highlights. Firstly, one highlight would have to be getting a substantial amount of funding from the DRFA for Longreach Regional Council last year. I have been able to talk to property owners first hand to hear their concerns and then later down the line, know I have helped rebuild these roads which are essential to these property owners and their industry.

Secondly, my first project as an engineer was to project manage a multi-hundred thousand dollar project to restore several large floodways across the Barcaldine region. This gave me firsthand experience into contract

management and has provided the building blocks for myself to create other AS2124 and AS4300 contracts.

Finally, a new highlight for me which is still in progress is project managing the design and construction of the new waste facility in Barcaldine. This has been a project that has had a few speed bumps in order to get it going such as the environmental side of it, and the actual design of the waste transfer station. I was able to provide design ideas to make it more practical and affordable for the Barcaldine Regional Council.

I am looking forward to finally seeing this projects completion at the end of the year.

EPW: How has being a Young IPWEAQ member helped you in your career?

BA: Being an IPWEAQ member has helped my career by being able to engage and meet many other

young engineers in Queensland from the conferences I have attended. It is great being able to make new connections with other engineers as it helps build connections within the public works community. I look forward to reading the quarterly EPW journal to keep up to date with projects and innovative ideas across Queensland. This year I am looking to further improve my asset management knowledge and skills with one of the many IPWEAQ programs that are made available to all its members.

However, I think being an IPWEAQ member will help me even more in the future, compared to what being a member has already done for my career. I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that will be presented to me by accepting the role of Ambassador for IPWEAQ, as I know it will give me opportunities to help other young engineers and promote

Ben (back left) with his YIPWEAQ colleages at the 2018 CQ Branch Conference in Barcaldine..

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Ben participating in the 'best paper' vote at the #IPWEAQ18 conference.

engineering in the public works sector.

I worked with during my work experience.

EPW: What do you appreciate most about your involvement with IPWEAQ? BA: There are many things I appreciate from my involvement with IPWEAQ such as the online discussion groups, the quarterly EPW and all its further education programs. However, the thing I appreciate most is the conferences held throughout the year. I loved the conference held here in Barcaldine but was blown away from the Gold Coast conference. I cannot stress enough how helpful and informative it is to hear what is going on in the public works sector across Queensland. I am looking forward to attending this year’s conference in Brisbane.

My favourite part of the Gold Coast conference was the presentation given by the two founders from Orange Sky Laundry. It was amazing to hear the story of how two young men were able to improve the lives of many homeless people not just in Australia, but now in New Zealand as well.

EPW: Please tell us about your experience at the IPWEAQ annual conference.

BA: I had a fantastic time at last year’s Gold Coast conference at the Mariott hotel in Surfers Paradise. Not only was I able to come back home for a brief few days but I was also lucky enough to meet up with all the staff from the City of Gold Coast that

Another one of my personal highlights was the presentation on the ‘Use of Waste Recycled Glass in Concrete as a Partial Cement and Fine Aggregate Replacement’ by Josh Flanders from Cairns Regional Council. At the time, I didn’t know was also an IPWEAQ Ambassador.

I found this presentation quite interesting as I love innovative ideas that have the potential to find a use of waste and use it as a resource in order to help protect the environment.

EPW: Are there any specific challenges for young people in this sector and what do you think could be done to address those?

BA: The biggest challenge for me was adjusting to what I thought

being a young engineer would be like during university, compared to actually being a young engineer.

I am fortunate enough to get firsthand experience at GBA, as there is a lot of responsibility put on your shoulders from the get go.

There is a lot of senior experience at GBA, so you aren’t left in the dark. I know a fair few graduate engineers that are in a similar job but arent given big projects or even different kinds of projects. I think it is important for councils and companies involved in the public sector to allow young engineers to take on more responsibility and a variety of projects in the early stages of their career.

EPW: What would be the one piece of advice you would give to other young people considering a career in engineering and public works?

BA: My advice is based from the slogan from Nike, ‘just do it’. It is something I have committed to and will never look back on.

Being able to see your projects go from concept to completion is a great feeling. But it is even better knowing the services you have provided to the community, that most people just take for granted.

I encourage young people who are considering studying or currently studying engineering, to apply for those undergraduate positions in engineering and public works as soon as possible to help further grasp which way they would like to steer their career. I was very fortunate to be able to work at the City of Gold Coast during my work experience and wish I could have stayed for longer before I graduated. However, it gave me a taste of what it would be like to continue my career in this sector and I feel privileged in the direction it took my career.

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YIPWEAQ Report Leigh Cunningham CEO We'd like to introduce you to our newest IPWEAQ Ambassadors!

Benjamin Ash, Graduate Engineer at George Bourne & Associates based in Barcaldine. Benjamin presented a paper at the CQ Branch conference, Graduate Engineers out West. Visit our globally recognised Knowledge Centre and search for Ben to view his presentation. Find out more about Ben in our Next Generation Profile on page 62.

Maddy Stahlhut won the 2018 Futures Challenge and was featured in the December issue on pages 58-59 and 64-66 with her winning presentation on page 61.

Maddy has just started her career

with GHD in Toowoomba after undertaking an internship with Toowoomba Regional Council.

Maddie wants to motivate young women and men to become involved in engineering and showcase the benefits of what an engineering career in public works can offer.

With Ben and Maddy joining our original IPWEAQ Ambassador’s Jessica and Joshua, we now have an Ambassador representing each branch: Jessica Kahl, Civil Engineer at Aurecon based in Brisbane. Jess is our first Ambassador, nominated

by CQ University to receive a scholarship to attend the 2016 IPWEAQ conference in Brisbane.

She impressed us with her commitment to making the most from the opportunity, engaging with speakers and delegates and

YIPWEAQ Ambassadors: Jessica Kahl, Joshua Flanders, Benjamin Ash and Madison Stahlhut.

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regularly posting useful program updates on social media.

Joshua Flanders, Graduate Civil Engineer Design Services at Cairns Regional Council. We met Josh at the NQ Branch conference in Cairns in April 2018 and were impressed with his ability to expertly navigate a media interview then competently delivered a paper on the use of waste recycled glass in concrete as a partial cement and fine aggregate replacement.

The role of an IPWEAQ Ambassador is to be the face and voice of engineering for the public works sector, and to engage with new graduates and other members under the age of 35 to ensure we offer initiatives that respond to your career development and your social needs.

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We choose our Ambassadors on a range of valuable skills and qualities including their ability to engage easily with others, public speaking capabilities, potential as a future leader and preparedness to make the most of every opportunity.

Our YIPWEAQ members receive a 50% discount on conference registrations. If you submit an abstract for a conference program which is then accepted, your registration is complimentary. The Call for Papers for the CQ Branch conference in Rockhampton is now open so please take this opportunity to enhance your public profile and develop your

public speaking skills - see 10 reasons to present a paper at an IPWEAQ conference on page 72 We aim to include at least two YIPWEAQ in each conference program.

To further ensure we are focussed on you as our future industry leaders, we have created a new position at IPWEAQ for a Director, People & Capability (Nadia Marks).

Nadia together with Craig Moss, our Director, Professional Services are working on a program offering soft skills training on leadership, communication, effective networking and influencing. Please contact Nadia to discuss any

additional courses that would help you with challenges you face on the job.

And if you would like to join our campaign to spread the word about engineering for the public works sector and why it offers a rewarding career, please contact Nadia at Nadia.Marks@ipweaq. com If your IPWEAQ membership has lapsed, you can re-join this month for just $85 plus GST to 30 June 2019! We look forward to your ongoing participation in our thriving community of public works professionals.

Young IPWEAQ Program •

Career Pathways

Contact our Director, People & Capability, Nadia Marks to design a pathway to your career destination including RPEQ.

Discounts

Young IPWEAQ members receive a 40% discount on their membership subscription and 20% discount on the IPWEAQ annual conference registration and 50% discount on branch conference registrations.

Young Engineer of the Year

At our annual excellence awards ceremony, we acknowledge a young engineer who has achieved excellence.

Futures Challenge

Final year students studying engineering and related disciplines are invited to present their thesis or research project at the IPWEAQ annual conference.

Emerging Leaders Dream Big Project

Jessica Kahl’s award-winning project to encourage high school girls in Years 1012 to consider a career in engineering.

We recognise four emerging leaders in public works each year. See our journal, Engineering for Public Works.

Conference Program

Members under 35 years of age (YIPWEAQ) are encouraged to submit an abstract for inclusion in IPWEAQ’s annual conference. If successful, their conference registration is complimentary (value $1,700)

Welcome Function

We invite our YIPWEAQ members to join us for a special welcome at the annual conference where you have an opportunity to meet IPWEAQ Board members and your conference buddy.

Buddy Program

Our Buddy program introduces our younger members to a more senior member who will introduce them to colleagues and offer advice on the conference program.

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BUNDABERG MULTIPLEX SPORTS AND CONVENTION CENTRE

PROJECT OVER $10 MILLION AWARD WINNER

Aerial view of the new Bundaberg Multiplex Sports and Convention Centre.

Taking out a number of design and construction awards reinforces the claim the Multiplex Sports and Convention Centre provides a facility to meet the current and growing needs of the Bundaberg Region.

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Bundaberg Regional Council’s branch manager of major projects Adam Wyatt said construction of the $30 million facility was a once in a generation opportunity.

“The Multiplex is a purpose-built facility that caters to community needs and unlocks opportunities

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for economic and community growth,” Mr Wyatt said.

“This precinct offers a multitude of sporting, social and cultural opportunities and houses the PCYC providing a hub for the region’s youth to learn, play and grow.

“It is equipped to host major events and is positioned as the premier venue of the Bundaberg Region.”

Mr Wyatt said the unprecedented devastation caused as a result of Cyclone Oswald in 2013 highlighted the need for a central evacuation centre with appropriate facilities, a role which the Multiplex can fill.

“The Multiplex is a cornerstone project to cultivate liveability throughout our region by strengthening community interaction and improved health outcomes while progressing Bundaberg’s response and resilience to future natural disasters.”

Recipient of the Project over $10 million award at the 2018 IPWEAQ Excellence Awards, Mr Wyatt said the Mulitplex was an innovative building.

“The visual effect of the various angles, incorporated in the design, ensures the structure does not appear commercial or industrial.

“The design incorporates innovative energy reducing features and water conservation measures.

“The Multiplex can be easily reconfigurerd to provide modern facilities to attract conferences, cultural shows and large scale social events but remains relevant on a daily basis for smaller

Bundaberg City Council takes out the 2018 Excellence Award for Projects over $10 million.

community activities.

“The design displays further innovation in its ability to be transformed into a scalable evacuation centre for future natural disasters. Traditionally, these uses would have been provided by multiple buildings and to have a single, fit for purpose building to meet all of these community needs, shows innovation in design.”

He said the Multiplex, which attracted State and Federal Government funding support, was designed with excellence in mind, particularly when it came

to the conservation of water and reduction of energy.

“Rainwater is collected into underground rainwater vaults which are plumbed to the amenities on site as well as irrigation of the landscaped areas.

“294 solar panels have been installed on a 1900m2 roof area at 3° with excess energy stored in a 100kva Tesla Powerpack.

“Fully expandable, this system currently services the center’s electricity needs as well as two electric car charging points.

“In the event of a natural disaster

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or other emergency, the system will provide a renewable energy source to assist the backup generators.

“Solar tubes have been installed to provide natural light. Dimmers have been included in the solar tubes as a pilot project.

“This commitment to sustainability significantly reduces water and energy consumption.”

The Multiplex offers a multipurpose function and theatre facility with dance floor, dressing rooms and backstage facilities.

The 1500m2 multi-purpose sports court and civil hall features a stage, scoreboard, projector and retractable theatre style seating for approximately 1000 guests - all of which are complemented with commercial kitchen and amenities.

Bundaberg Stage Scoreboard Projector.

Mr Wyatt said facilities of this caliber would attract large scale conferences and cultural events for the region.

“Hosting these events will be an economic driver for the region,” he said.

The $30 Million project was successfully staged to meet State and Federal Government funding opportunities.

The Multiplex was designed by GHD with stage one built by Oasis Constructions with the assistance of local subcontractors and stage two built by local construction company Murchie Constructions.

Stage two of the facility also took out both the Wide Bay and State 2018 Master Builders Association of Queensland Community Service Facility awards, ahead of similar projects right across the state.

Bundaberg Function Rooms including purpose-built dance floor.

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CQ Branch President’s Report Planning is underway for #CQ19 to be held in Rockhampton, 22-24 May 2019. The Call for Papers is open now and closes 13 March. Don’t miss this opportunity to record up to 45 CPD hours for preparing and presenting a paper at a conference.

The conference will commence Wednesday 22 May at 6:30pm with a Welcome function. The Tech Tour is scheduled for Thursday afternoon leading into our conference dinner. We’ll conclude the official program with lunch on Friday and social golf on offer Friday afternoon.

Unfortunately owing to the change to the dates for our conference, the General Meeting of members to decide on our new corporate structure and supporting constitution will now be held in Brisbane, 6 June. However, you can still ‘attend’ by proxy to be sure your vote is recorded. Proxy forms are available for download from the website.

We encourage our YIPWEAQ members to submit an abstract as we would like to include at least two of our younger professionals in the program. Please contact Craig Moss, our Director Professional Services if you require any assistance with a topic.

IPWEAQ has a keen desire to involve our younger professionals in our community. We offer

considerable discounts to members under age 35 including a 40% discount on their annual membership subscription, a 50% discount on branch conference registrations and a 20% discount on the IPWEAQ annual conference registration. Additionally, there are opportunities for YIPWEAQ members to present papers and receive complimentary conference registrations. See the 10 Reasons for Presenting a Paper at an IPWEAQ Conference.

There are two features in our quarterly e-journal, Engineering for Public Works aimed at raising the profile of our up-and-coming members: Emerging Leaders and Next Generation.

Previous ‘emerging leaders’ have won Young Engineer of the Year, been awarded an international study tour scholarship and become an IPWEAQ Board member.

Our CQ-based IPWEAQ Ambassador, Benjamin Ash is featured in this issue in ‘Next Generation’ – impressive students or recent graduates.

Congratulations, Ben! And to further focus our attention on the future, IPWEAQ recently appointed a new Director, People & Capability, Nadia Marks whose role is to connect us with universities to help the understanding of what it is to be an engineer in the public works sector and to

Celisa with fellow Board member, Gerard Read.

assist with the development and career progression of our recent graduates. Nadia’s goal is to ensure our sector has the capabilities it needs to deliver infrastructure projects and services to our communities well into the future. Welcome, Nadia!

And finally, for those of you needing to complete CPD hours, we are holding a Queensland Urban Drainage Manual Workshop in Rockhampton, 16 June with up to 7 CPD hours available.

Celisa Faulkner CQ Branch President

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INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.

TEN REASONS FOR PRESENTING A PAPER AT OUR CONFERENCES oost your personal brand – build your professional 1 B

ake connections and meet new people – delegates 6 M will want to discuss your experience with you in more detail.

mprove your ability to engage and influence as your 2 Ipublic speaking capability and confidence increases.

G ather information and feedback from other subject 7 matter experts and public works professionals.

nhance your knowledge as you undertake research in 3 Epreparation for presenting and possible questions.

dvocate for your profession – help convey the 8 A importance of your work to a wider audience.

hare your expertise and experiences with fellow 4 Spractitioners to broaden their knowledge.

ncrease your digital visibility – papers are published 9 Ionline, building your credentials as a subject matter expert.

profile and your reputation.

evelop your technical writing skills, formulating a 5 D coherent story on your project or case study and writing a

arn up to 45 CPD hours for preparing and presenting a 10 Epaper at an IPWEAQ conference.

succinct abstract.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR BEST PAPER AWARD WINNERS FOR 2018!

ANNUAL CONFERENCE, CAIRNS October 2018 MATTHEW TILLEY City of Gold Coast More than a sporting event: the transport legacy of GC2018

CQ BRANCH CONFERENCE, BARCALDINE June 2018 STUART GRALLELIS Dileigh Consulting Engineers Public buildings for post disaster function - structural engineering design experience

NQ BRANCH CONFERENCE, CAIRNS April 2018 GARY EVERSON Cairns Regional Council Technology - Tried, Tested and Reviewed

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SWQ BRANCH CONFERENCE, GOONDIWINDI March 2018 JOSEPH MARSTELLA TMR Safety and Freight on the New England Highway Darling Downs District’s strategic approach

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SWQ Branch President’s Report The 2019 SWQ Branch conference is now just days away and we have another high quality program with nine CPD hours over two days.

Our YIPWEAQ program offers an opportunity for our younger professionals to deliver presentations at all our conferences and we are delighted to have the current Young Engineer of the Year, Haydn O’Leary from Toowoomba Regional Council presenting a paper on project learnings.

As you would be aware, we regularly address the issues surrounding the long-term financial sustainability of local government particularly as they relate to engineering decisions made by councils. Our panel session for the Gatton conference sees an engineer, a councillor and a consultant take on this issue. Please be ready with your challenging questions!

We have presentations from local government: • Andrew Johnson, Somerset Regional Council, Brisbane Valley Rail Trail • Brendan Sippel, Lockyer Valley Regional Council, Cemetery Operations Improvement Project • Mike Brady, Toowoomba Regional Council, heavy vehicle reforms at the local roads level • Michael Kinion, Somerset Regional Council, Unsealed

Roads Prioritisation Process Presentations for water: • Mark Page, Engeny Water Management, Strategic Stormwater Infrastructure Planning for Future Growth in Regional Townships • Andrew Thompson, Dude, Where's My Yard?

I ssues surrounding our roads: • Peter Reynolds, TMR, Managing Geotechnical Risks during Construction - A Case Study TSRC Project • Isaac Kirsch, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Toowoomba Second Range Crossing – Constructing the Viaduct • Andrew Burbridge, Affiliation: Queensland University of Technology, The road safety barrier dilemma revisited: balancing capacity against flexibility Technical products: • Rob Vos, AAPA, bituminous materials – improving their sustainability • Joe Ash, Wagners, FRP Hybrid Structures And a number of other papers of interest including: • How Unique is your Council?

Sean Rice, ProTerra • Native Title compliance - where do you stand? Mark Lamont, IPWEAQ

• Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, Jimmy Scott, Queensland Reconstruction Authority • Mechanisms to control poor contractual performance, Joseph Jones, McCullough Robertson The Keynote address this year will be delivered by TBA from LGAQ on the future of waste management.

And of great importance to all of us, please be at the Gatton Bowls Club (Sage on Hickey) for barefoot bowls and a couple of cold drinks.

It is $5 to play with proceeds going to the President’s Charity, MS Queensland.

We will also be launching the IPWEAQ Bike Club with the inaugural ride over the awardwinning Brisbane Valley Rail Trail! The 30km ride starts at Toogoolawah and finishes in Moore in what should take most of us about five hours.

So join us and more than 120 other delegates from all 14 councils in the SWQ Branch region.

And thank you once again to the Goondiwindi Regional Council for hosting a satellite breakfast for the President’s Breakfast on Friday 8 February 2019!

See you in Gatton!

Angela Fry SWQ Branch President

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INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.

RURAL ROAD MAINTENANCE & REHABILITATION FORUM The Rural Roads Forum is being held on 28-30 May 2019. Set in the old gold mining town of Croydon, attendees will be able to live like a local in what is set to be a bush experience like no other.

In conjunction with Croydon Shire Council, the forum will cover pertinent topics including an Introduction to Road Maintenance and Road Rehabilitation, Road Stabilisation and Modification, Draining Maintenance, Sealing and much more. The forum will cover ‘best industry practice’ through discussions on local techniques and practices and suggested alternative processes, equipment and technologies that will add value through improved efficiencies.

But it won’t be all work and no play. The community of Croydon have put together a social calendar to showcase their town in true country style.

A welcome function on the Tuesday evening will include a bush style BBQ with drinks and networking for all registered attendees.

After a full day of informative talks from key note speakers and experienced experts in the field on Wednesday, attendees will meet at the train station in town where they will board “The Gulflander” train and embark on an historic journey through savannah country to the Golden Gate Siding where children from

the local primary school will be the night’s entertainment along with dinner and drinks.

On Thursday attendees will be taken on a Technical Tour of the Beef Roads Project as well as a visit to some sand sealing projects to get the day moving.

A farewell dinner where attendees will be entertained by the locals will be held on the Thursday evening down at Lake Belmore.

Guests will be wined and dined while being entertained by local talent and if you’re up for the challenge you can try your hand at a spot of barramundi fishing.

MARK YOUR DIARY 28 - 30 MAY 2019, CROYDON

In partnership with Croydon Shire Council

Registrations are now open through the IPWEAQ website.

Accommodation options include the Club Hotel, Road House and Caravan Park.

Croydon also operates a freedom camping area where you can bring along your camp trailer and make it a trip for the whole family.

See Website for further details.

We look forward to seeing you in Croydon!

Contact Professional Development Manager Kate.O’Riordan@ipweaq.com 3632 6807

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NQ Branch President’s Report Our thoughts remain with our colleagues in Townsville who now have the challenge of repairing damaged infrastructure and affected services including road networks, dams, sewers and water pipes. We have set up a Forum on our website, Natural Disasters – Flood Recovery where you can post questions or ask for help.

Coming up in May, we have the Croydon Rural Roads Forum with 10 CPD hours on offer. This forum will discuss existing strategies and investigate alternative methods for those involved in road maintenance and rehabilitation and associated drainage issues in northern Queensland. You can register online now with registrations limited to 80.

In June, we’ll see the highly successful IPWEAQ roads symposia in Cairns with the inaugural Northern Roads Symposium. This follows on from the Western Roads Symposium (Longreach) and the Southern Roads Symposium (Toowoomba). No prizes for guessing where next for the roads symposia.

If you’re struggling to attain or maintain your CPD hours for RPEQ, we also have the following workshops scheduled: • Road Safety Audit Workshop (up to 16 CPD hours), Cairns: 2-3 April 2019 • Erosion and Sediment Control Workshop Level 2 (up to 8 CPD hours), Cairns: 7 March 2019 • Erosion and Sediment Control Workshop Level 2 (up to 8 CPD hours), Townsville: 17 October 2019 • Erosion and Sediment Control Workshop Level 2 (up to 8 CPD hours), and Darwin: 11 November 2019 The vast majority of the courses delivered by IPWEAQ are private courses delivered in-house, tailored for local conditions and for the audience and their skill level. Our training may also qualify for a funding subsidy through your RRTG under the Roads & Transport Alliance SCDF Fund.

We are also keen to deliver more courses in remote areas, so please do not hesitate to contact Craig Moss, Director, Professional Services to discuss particular areas

of improvement you need to see in your region.

The 2019 Excellence Awards are now open and ready for your submissions. There is a new online platform this year to make it easier for you to make a submission and to obtain sign-off. There’s also a new category for projects under $1 million and we’re hoping to see a nominee from NQ in all 16 categories – people and projects – to be featured at this year’s awards ceremony and dinner.

Nominations close 5 July.

Our colleagues in Central Queensland have also invited us to attend their conference to be held in Rockhampton, 22-24 May 1029.

The Call for Papers is now open.

UP to 45 CPD hours are available for preparing and presenting a paper at a conference. YIPWEAQ members are also encouraged to submit an abstract and if successful, your conference registration is complimentary.

Bruce Gardiner NQ Branch President

Call for papers We are currently seeking submissions for papers to be presented at the CQ Branch Conference, Rockhampton, 22-24 May 2019.

UP to 45 CPD hours are available

Submit online

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INFORMS. CONNECTS. REPRESENTS. LEADS.

CONSTITUTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC WORKS ENGINEERING AUSTRALASIA QUEENSLAND 2019

Have you read the proposed new IPWEAQ constitution?

Our new constitution has been designed to serve us well into the future during periods of growth and turbulent times. It offers IPWEAQ the flexibility needed to adapt and respond quickly to changes in our environment.

What is a constitution?

The constitution sets out the rules that govern the operation of the Institute for the benefit of its members. It is a contractual obligation between the Institute and each member and between members.

Inviting all financial members of IPWEAQ to attend a General Meeting, 4pm Thursday 6 June 2019 at 4/43-49 Sandgate Road, Albion.

If you are unable to attend the General Meeting, please download the Proxy Form on the IPWEAQ website and return it to the CEO by 4pm Thursday 30 May 2019. If you have any queries about the proposed new constitution and corporate structure – a Company Limited By Guarantee – please contact the CEO directly or complete the form on our website.

Contact CEO Leigh.Cunningham@ipweaq.com

3632 6810

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SEQ Branch President’s Report We are very pleased to announce the formation of TEAM IPWEAQ! Please join us for our inaugural MSQ bike ride, Brissie to the Bay on 16 June. We’ll be looking to raise monies for the President’s Charity, MS Queensland through your sponsorship of our team.

Everyone is welcome to join TEAM IPWEAQ – register your colleagues, your family members and your partners. IPWEAQ cycling jerseys will be issued to all team members.

Please visit our website for details on how to register and how to secure the IPWEAQ discounted registration fee which is available until 8 March 2019 for just $35.

General Meeting, there will be a professional development session from 2pm to 4pm (details coming shortly) followed by the General Meeting then celebratory drinks.

10-25km ride: B198OFF 50km ride: B1913OFF 100km ride: B1918OFF

There are multiple CPD opportunities available in Brisbane over the next few months including:

Let’s raise $1,000 for the President’s Charity. I have volunteered to ride 100kms so your support would be most welcome!

The General Meeting of IPWEAQ members to adopt the new constitution will also now be held in Brisbane, 6 June 2019 at IPWEAQ offices in Albion. I encourage you to take a moment to read the new constitution and if you’re happy with it, please make a diary note to attend the General Meeting on 6 June or download the Proxy Form from the website and register your vote. In conjunction with the

• Bridge Inspection workshops, Levels 1 & 2 (up to 18 CPD hours) • Type A, B & D Sediment Basin Design (up to 8 CPD hours) • Erosion & Sediment Control Level 2 (up to 8 CPD hours) • Erosion & Sediment Control Level 3 (up to 16 CPD hours)

DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS FOR ENGINEERS SEMINAR (2 CPD hours) 3.00 – 5.00pm, Thursday 9 May Followed by wine tasting sponsored by McCullough Robertson McCullough Robertson Level 11 66 Eagle Street Brisbane

Please also contact Craig Moss, our Director Professional Development to tailor a program for your team.

Raad Jarjees

SEQ Branch President Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

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Relaunching the RPA Gateway Ready for Waste Levy Readiness!

Peak Services have been investigating the possible re-launch of the RPA Gateway following numerous requests from Queensland councils. The increasing need for ‘Drone Age’ utilisation, coupled with the impending changes from the result of the waste levy, the team at Peak are in the process of revitalising this service.

RPA use can achieve significant efficiencies in waste, asset and disaster management, coastal surveillance, pest and weed management and compliance management. Drones bring a great many benefits to enhancing council operations, not least in terms of efficiency with reduced man hours, reduction in workplace hazards and increased accuracy and consistency in data capture.

In addition, the increase of productivity and accessibility to the visualisation of assets, as well as an overall increase in quality, quantity and speed in which information is available to decision makers, is why the ‘Drone Age’ has become a reality.

What is RPA Gateway?

The RPA Gateway Service combines procurement, contractor coordination, specification standards, quality assurance, provider market management and data

management. It will also ensure RPA activities are properly scoped, timely scheduled and efficiently carried out to achieve further cost reductions and highquality outcomes.

This then reduces the risks and barriers for council to engage RPA providers and delivers a simplified consistent drone management solution. Peak will have leading RPA operators who are all fully trained, fully qualified and fully insured, and will be able to recommend the right operator for the job at hand.

With the introduction of the new waste levy, there will be a significant increased need for volumetric surveys. Peak has identified landfill, quarry management and other areas requiring geospatial mapping and analysis as areas to significantly benefit from RPA’s. The service can be readily applied to carrying

Engineering for Public Works | March 2019

out extensive site surveys and volume calculations, making them more accurate, efficient and a safer tool to monitor landfill sites and quarry volumes.

By capturing a mosaic of images, a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) can be produced that can then be assessed to calculate and compare volumes of stockpiles.

As waste management regulations increase, landfill operators have a constant struggle with the efficient management and reporting of their landfill operations.

Planning of landfills is reliant on accurate and reliable data to make informed decisions on tip face movements, design (batters, drainage, roads stockpiles, etc), when future cells will be required and the remaining capacity and life of the facility.

For more information contact Jessica Jones on jjones@ wearepeak.com.au.

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TECHNICAL PRODUCTS UPDATE

PORTFOLIO REPORT

Craig Moss Director, Professional Services

changes have been made. This will provide a more robust process for managing our drawings in the long term.

Standard Drawings The final meeting of the Standard Drawing Working Group for 2018 was held at the IPWEAQ office in Albion with a good representation from the majority of the members.

This group continues to make significant progress on addressing and closing out the relevant items identified for review.

The group is investigating the benefits of developing standard drawings for Shared Path Basic Entrance to address the inconsistent approach to this topic across councils. Once approved, this will be added to the current drawings.

A common issue that has been occurring on a more regular basis is access to the standard drawings is lost. The cause of this is generally the ip address of your organisation has been changed. As access to the standard drawings is linked to each organisations ip address, this needs to be updated.

The solution is to send your new ip address to mark.lamont@ipweaq. com with a request to update our platform. To find your ip address, go to your search engine and type “what is my ip address” and your relevant details will be displayed.

One of the key points of discussion was development of a formal revision register to support the review of the standard drawings.

This register will not only include changes to a drawing, but will also provide information on why the

If you have any drawings you would like to see reviewed, please forward your comments with proposed solutions to Craig Moss by email: craig.moss@ipweaq.com Street Planning and Design Manual After a short hiatus over the Christmas period, the work on the Street Planning and Design Manual has ramped up quickly into what is shaping to be a very busy year with an anticipated launch in October 2019. It is encouraging to observe the continued high level of interest in this initiative from across our sector and also witness the proactive and passionate input from those directly involved in the committees and working groups.

One or the significant activities currently being undertaken is the development of the key guiding principles that will provide direction and structure to all of

the subsequent work. Another important initiative is working to identify potential contested issues that will help prioritise work activities. To support this, a workshop involving key stakeholders and content matter experts from across the sector has been planned.

The ongoing support and commitment shown by the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning is a major factor in the successful development and implementation of the Street Planning and Design Manual. At the Steering Committee meeting held in early February 2019, it was reported that the Minister is aware of the initiative and acknowledges that the intent of the manual compliments the departments Model Code and aligns with the State Governments Cross Government Health Strategy.

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KNOWLEDGE CENTRE

PORTFOLIO REPORT

Mark Lamont Information Resources Manager It’s been heartening to trace the response to the Knowledge Centre collections from IPWEAQ’s annual conference late last year on the Gold Coast.

To date, over 600 people have taken advantage of the conference proceedings, using the wide array of information delivered in the presentations to inform themselves of recent developments in their areas of interest. For the first time the presentations are offered in audiovisual format so that knowledge centre users can watch the speaker and /or PowerPoint slides as they were presented. Until now, we have been able to offer mp3 audio recordings with a separate collection for the accompanying slides. Now it’s possible to ‘attend’ the conference retrospectively and watch it the way it unfolded.

IPWEAQ’s conference and event season for 2019 is already well underway, with a very successful President’s Breakfast having taken place in early February.

Our ‘engineer of the year’ Alton Twine gave a keynote address at that event, in conjunction with two other speakers. Col Chandler, representing MS Qld, offered a

historical account of public works engineering through the ages, and Christopher Pipe-Martin from Logan City Council took the audience through the innovative Round Mountain Reservoir Solar Electochlorinator, which took out project of the year at IPWEAQ’s 2018 award ceremony last October.

All these presentations, as well as photographs from the event can now be viewed in the ‘Other Events and Occasions’ collection in the Knowledge Centre.

The first branch conference of the year is only weeks away and will be hosted by out South West Queensland branch in Gatton on 7-8 March. A full record of that event including presentations, papers and photographs will go up in the ‘Conferences’ section of the knowledge centre soon after the conference is completed.

Other new additions have been a collection of documents around our Professional Development department with information on all the courses we offer, and materials from those courses for the use by participants. There is also a collection of related reports and articles which speak directly to current issues in professional development.

Finally, there is a collection in knowledge centre called ‘Media’ which is well worth keeping an eye

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on. We file away video, audio and text documents, sourced from a wide range of media, and covering subject areas as diverse as latest developments in geo-spatial mapping; the repercussions of the Ponte Morandi bridge collapse in Genoa in 2018; or the rising need for engineers within the fashion industry.

As always, we welcome any articles or presentations from our readers that might be of interest to the engineering community. If you read or hear something of interest send it across to me at the contact information below and we’ll find room to share it on the knowledge centre.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

PORTFOLIO REPORT

Nadia Marks Director, People & Capability We are in the throes of the 4th Industrial revolution and the pace of change and innovation can feel staggering at best, overwhelming at worst.

Numerous articles on the future of technical professions predict that the skills needed tomorrow will be very different to the skills needed today.

For instance, 70% of young Australians are starting their first job in roles that will either look different or simply won’t exist in the next 10-15 years. The World Economic Forum has identified 16 ‘crucial proficiencies in the 21st century’; 10 of these are non-technical. Two thirds of jobs will be soft skill intensive by 2030 (engineering, for example, is classified as one of these soft-skill intensive professions).

But what does this mean for us now? How can we prepare for a relatively unknown future?

High schools and universities are starting to remodel curriculums to increase applicability of learning post studies. They are broadening the skill-sets students are learning to include more non-technical elements and incorporating more practical placements and ‘real-world’ exposure to complement theory.

For those already in the workforce, diversifying personal development in both technical and non-technical areas is key.

The below competency areas are central to building a well-rounded professional repertoire and these skills will only become increasingly critical in the future. They are also skills needed to progress from a pure technical professional to team leader to strategic contributor to the organisation.

Soft skills Technology enhancements and globalisation have intensified the need for people-centred skills.

Areas to focus on developing include self-management, emotional judgement, communication skills, teamwork and leadership. Technical professionals are increasingly exposed to work environments where the success and impact of their core work relies heavily on their ability to master a fundamental set of human-related competencies.

Enterprise skills Enterprise skills are businessrelated competencies such as commercial acumen, innovation, professional ethics, digital literacy and problem-solving skills. Like many other professions, Public Works professionals in technical roles are expected to become true business partners and active contributors to the success of

their organisation. This means understanding the business environment beyond their immediate field of expertise. The development of these skills are also a pathway to perhaps seeing more technical professionals in C-suite roles.

Collaboration People in engineering professions help solve people problems using their knowledge of maths and sciences. Our world is currently experiencing subtle but significant shifts in technology, society and economy, which similarly to previous industrial revolutions, create uncertainty and anxiety. Some of today’s big problems include climate change, mass urbanisation, liveability, sustainability, ageing populations in some countries whilst others have disproportionately younger populations and a suite of technological innovations: blockchain, artificial intelligence, wearable technology moving towards implantable technology.

Technical professionals of tomorrow cannot work in silos, rather they need to extend their connections and become active listeners and networkers within their communities, industry sector and the global engineering community to better understand the real problems at hand and apply their skills accordingly.

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Vale Graham John Brandon

29 September 1941 to 1 January 2019

Remembering a ‘living legend’ of local government and engineering circles, Graham John Brandon Born in the town of Brandon near Ayr in North Queensland, Graham married Cath in Roma on 23 February 1968. Over the years Graham and Cath travelled extensively throughout Australia and New Zealand with the Queensland Freemasons, and built up and extensive collection of Australia art and rate art books.

Having graduated from Queensland University in 1962 Graham was a scholarship holder with Main Roads prior to employment with the Department in Mackay, Roma and Charleville.

In 1971 he turned to local government work as Shire

Engineer with Warroo Shire Council, then chaired by Alec Nason, and began a career path which brought him to the attention of Gerry Calder and led to him joining as junior partner in the firm of Calder & Brandon at the end of 1974, bringing the Councils of Warroo Shire, Bungil Shire and Roma Town as clients.

When Gerry Calder died in March 1975, Graham dived into professional, political and financial deep water to maintain the practice and its client base.

With a great deal of hard work and eventual addition of support staff the firm stabilised and settled into a pattern of slow but steady growth, to the point where he has for the last few years been able to spend time on travel, his other business concerns and his interest in collecting Australian Art.

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In early 2003, Graham relinquished the position of Managing Director to Ray Hicks, but continued to provide active advice on Company affairs.

Brandon and Associates has offices in Chinchilla, Roma and Toowoomba and continues to serve a broad client base across western Queensland.

Known for his love of business and learning, Graham amassed an array of licences, registrations and post nominals including B.E., F.I.E. Aust, C.P. Eng., L.G.E., R.P.E.Q., F.I.M.E., F.A.I.M, J.P. Graham was a keen supporter of IPWEAQ for a very long time and we valued his contribution to our community. He will be remembered fondly by many in our community.

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ipweaq NEWS

NEWS IN BRIEF decisions are made in compliance with the Professional Engineers Act 2002.

As an assessment entity for RPEQ registration we are proud to be part of a process that makes a vital contribution to public safety and the quality control of public works infrastructure projects throughout Queensland.

TMR Driver Safety In 2017 there were 37 deaths and 1,124 hospitalised casualties in Qld as a result of crashes involving distracted drivers or riders. TMR has commenced a multi-stage project investigating the causes of driver distraction from drivers using their mobile devices while driving and developing solutions to address the road trauma caused by these risky behaviours.

To build understanding of potential solutions, IPWEAQ has initiated a simple feedback mechanism in a two-question survey: Do you have potential solutions to minimise mobile phone usage while driving either from an engineering or social perspective?

Do you have potential solutions to minimise driver distraction while driving either from an engineering or social perspective?

The information you provide can be as simple or detailed as you like and we can submit supporting documents. We will collate all feedback and lodge a formal response to TMR on behalf of IPWEAQ stakeholders.

To participate please visit our TMR driver safety survey webpage.

Recent RPEQ news With $45 billion invested in infrastructure over the next four years by the State Government, we need to ensure Queensland has the capabilities to deliver on that investment. Only registered RPEQs are legally entitled to carry out professional engineering services in Queensland.

Increasingly both government and private sector employers are making RPEQ status part of their procurement strategy so that they can be confident their engineering

David Sexton spoke to EPW in a recent issue about the very positive experience he had in undertaking the application process with IPWEAQ and becoming an RPEQ. You can read David’s thoughts on the process in this article.

If you would like more information on the RPEQ assessment service please visit our RPEQ website.

Congratulations to this highly specialised and skilled group of people below – the most recent group of IPWEAQ RPEQ alumni: • Bishweshwar Pokharel, Senior Engineer at TMR in Townsville • John Moray Falconer, Director at Moray Consultants Pty Ltd • Steven Murnane, Traffic Signal Design Manager at Brisbane City Council • Darren Carlson, Lead EngineerStormwater Planning at Moreton Bay Regional Council

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meet the team - Engineering

LEIGH CUNNINGHAM

BELINDA SMITH

CRAIG MOSS

Chief Executive Officer  Leigh.Cunningham@ipweaq.com

Director, Marketing & Communications  Belinda.Smith@ipweaq.com

Director, Professional and Career Development  Craig.Moss@ipweaq.com

DAVID THILWIND

NADIA MARKS

KATE O’RIORDAN

Director, Product Development  David.Thilwind@ipweaq.com

Director, People & Capability  Nadia.Marks@ipweaq.com

Professional Development Manager  Kate.O’Riordan@ipweaq.com

CARLA CARO

CELINE GILDFIND

JOHANNA VANLING

Management Accountant  Carla.Caro@ipweaq.com

Management Accountant  Celine.Gildfind@ipweaq.com

Relationship Manager  Johanna.Vanling@ipweaq.com

MARK LAMONT

KEVIN MILLER

MONICA ROBERTSON

Information Resource Manager  Mark.Lamont@ipweaq.com

Learning & Development Manager  Kevin.Miller@ipweaq.com

Events & Marketing Manager  Monica.Robertson@ipweaq.com

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meet the team - Water DAVID CAMERON

ROB FEARON

RYAN COSGROVE

CEO  dcameron@qldwater.com.au

Director, Innovation Partnerships  rfearon@qldwater.com.au

Project Coordinator and Researcher  rcosgrove@qldwater.com.au

CARLIE SARGENT

DAVID SCHELTINGA

DIANA KISLITSYNA

Project Coordinator – Skills  Carlie.Sargent@qldwater.com

Manager, SWIM  dscheltinga@qldwater.com.au

Project Administration  DKislitsyna@qldwater.com.au

DESIRÉ GRALTON Manager, Communications  dgralton@qldwater.com.au

qldwater is a business unit of IPWEAQ

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qldwater ceo’s report Dave Cameron CEO, qldwater It’s 2019. As I write this I’ve fielded several calls from members on drought management issues and am watching the news reports for North Queensland as it is decimated by flooding. We often talk about how diverse and special Queensland is in our attempts to advocate on behalf of members. We know that some of our members are impacted and obviously wish them the best with recovery efforts, but as a resilient bunch, by the time you read this they will likely be well through the clean-up and reaching out to share stories and learnings about what could have been done better for the benefit of the broader industry. Or there might be another cyclone or something; we live in a crazy place.

Our event program this year kicks off with a Skills Forum in Brisbane on 7 March and with our Biloela safety training trial and mini-conference 26-28 March.

Why are we dabbling in safety when councils already invest a lot in compliance and other safety training (and we are unlikely to recover costs)? In my view, qldwater has a role in anticipating future needs and bringing new things to the market to support

those needs. In this case, it’s responding to a growing number of incidents with specialised water and sewerage equipment like high pressure water jetters and bringing a respected trainer up from NSW, then assessing whether trainees and their managers can see value in expanding the effort.

I commend people like Anthony Lipsys from Banana Shire (featured in a recent story about operator shortages) for always being prepared to share ideas and talk about these emerging issues.

But 2019 also sees a key shift in our strategic direction. In September 2018 I reported that we would be using 10 strategic priorities to “shape our advocacy, work program and event themes.”

Remember Data transforming the water sector Strategic sector-wide investment Regional innovation Harmonising water regulation Resource recovery and renewables Catchment resilience in a changing environment Understanding and exceeding customer expectations Building jobs in a changing industry Next gen water Small, remote and nimble?

Since then we’ve held our annual forum at the Gold Coast – it had many highlights but some

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of the panel sessions looking at the future sustainability of the sector made very clear that the sector needs to step up and take a leadership role in determining its own future. Our Technical Reference Group has tasked us with developing a roadmap/ strategic plan around the priorities, and the concept is gathering significant momentum with support from the Australian Water Association Queensland Branch and other stakeholders.

So, our goal is to have completed a member and stakeholder consultation process and have a document published by the end of 2019, hopefully with some demonstrated progress towards addressing some of the initiatives identified through consultation.

The proposed structure is simple: Section 1: The qldwater work plan This part isn’t particularly difficult as it represents a tidying up of existing materials, but we haven’t historically produced an annual planning document for external consumption. We believe it’s important to improve our transparency to members, but also make expectations clear around what is feasible to be delivered with a modest annual budget.

I’m obviously biased, but I think qldwater subscriptions are a nobrainer, and we punch well above our weight.

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Section 2: Opportunities, including coinvestment opportunities More difficult, but we have plenty of ideas. Activities that respond to needs identified through the priorities where members and others may be interested in a joint consultancy or other activity to stimulate faster delivery of a solution. We will be gathering more ideas at every event, and trying to work with our TRG to come up with a few more focussed ones through some brainstorming.

Section 3: Policy recommendations, enabling both our work plan and opportunities This is in some ways the section which carries the greatest risk.

We strive to represent consensus views among our membership but our diversity makes it simply impossible for some issues, and typically there is no one answer.

One of a few mechanisms we intend to use more is event polling; the theory being that if it’s contentious, it’s at least balanced enough to show a range

Do now

of well-considered views. Here’s an example: Armed with the results of a prior survey, we conducted a poll at QWater at the Gold Coast in late 2018 with one of the questions and responses detailed below.

Q– Assuming 90% of you may think the current governance model for regional utilities can be improved, which of the following should be prioritised?

A– 1. T ransparent reporting of cross-subsidisation to reveal market failures and benefits of alternative models 10% agree 2. F inancial incentives for councils to self-determine future governance 27% agree 3. F und QWRAP-style initiatives that more strongly encourage regional maturity 41% agree 4. B oldly take over water and sewerage services where there are identified risks 21% agree

Do with further investment

qldwater work plan Opportunities

5. I’ve changed my mind – the current system can be sustainable 1% agree We don’t have the resources or the political grunt to ensure appropriate change happens and there is no right or single answer to a question like this, but it’s clear from the responses that we need to find a way of creating a dialogue and tackling some of these hard questions. After living through the extended process to develop a potentially useful State water strategy (WaterQ) only to see it fall victim of politics, our process aims to develop a strategy for industry and by industry. We will involve qldwater members, stakeholders and our colleagues in State agencies. Fundamentally the same process we use to develop all the work qldwater does applies, but hope to enlist your help identifying the issues and solution that will drive our sector in the coming decade.

Dave Cameron CEO, qldwater

Do with appropriate change

Policy recommendations to enable work plan and opportunities

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QLDWATER NEWS

NEWS IN BRIEF

Annual Forum 2018 qldwater finished the 2018 events season on a high with a great turn out at the Annual Forum held on 5 – 6 September at the Gold Coast Turf Club. As our signature annual event, the forum brings together around 100 water industry professionals representing a wide range of councils, utilities, industry and government agencies to share ideas and knowledge to improve services and build value for customers.

The event kicked off with a visit to key Commonwealth Games sites to hear more about the technical and strategic challenges, including the legacy the Games has left for the city and its water and sewerage services.

The keynote by Associate Commissioner John Madden reflecting on the National Water Reform Inquiry Report set the scene for discussions on Day 2, leading to interesting panel discussions on strategic sectorwide investment. Other topics included data transforming the water sector, catchment resilience in a changing environment, resource recovery and renewables, understanding and exceeding customer expectations and more.

There were no prizes for the best presentation, but based on the feedback forms, Kris PardoeMatthews’ talk entitled “Planning, implementation and execution of CoGC's water quality management

Full house at the 2018 Annual Forum.

strategy for the Commonwealth Games period” would have been hard to beat.

Other highlights included Ian Roberts and Gary Faulkner’s dinner presentation about manufacturing excellence, continuous improvement and customer service at Lion Beer. It was also great to have Councillors David Schefe from Maranoa and Anne Maddern from Fraser Coast tackling questions around sector investment and biosolids and the proposed End of Waste Code respectively.

The Annual Forum is also where we select Queensland’s top drop for the year, and we congratulate Mackay Regional Council which took out the 2018 Ixom Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test.

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National Taste Test Toowoomba Regional Council had the opportunity to host the WIOA Ixom National Water Taste Test for 2018, with more than 150 Toowoomba residents judging the winning samples at the Grand Central Shopping Centre on 18 October.

The grand finalists were: • Queensland Livingstone Shire Council – Yeppoon • New South Wales Port Macquarie Hastings Council – Port Macquarie • Tasmania TasWater – Bryn Estyn (Greater Hobart) • South Australia SA Water – Woolpunda WTP • Victoria Wannon Water – Hamilton WTP

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Congratulations to Wannon Water, Victoria, with the sample from Hamilton Water Treatment Plant taking out bragging rights for the year. The winning sample will be entered in the International Water Taste Test to be held in Berkeley Springs, USA. Congratulations also to WIOA and Ixom for taking the taste test to the next level and continuing to raise awareness of the good work done by water service providers in delivering a great quality product to our homes 24/7.

DNRME Drinking Water Quality Forum qldwater supported the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy in a Drinking Water Quality Forum on Tuesday, 13 November to discuss common challenges and common solutions for the Queensland urban water industry.

Dr Peter Mosse provided excellent insights from his years working in the industry, discussing water quality awareness, the current “state of the nation� and common themes in water supply assessment projects across rural and remote Queensland.

Andrew Healy from Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council gave an overview of the challenges of delivering services in a remote community dealing with weather extremes on an ongoing basis.

Toni Veronese from Torres Strait Island Regional Council and Amy Barlow from the Tropical Public Health Services Unit in Queensland Health presented on collaboration and engagement activities which are clearly delivering positive outcomes in their communities.

The day concluded with qldwater presentations on the capabilities of SWIMLocal and other collaborative opportunities through the Queensland Water Skills Partnership and QWRAP. Thanks to Tony Cover from Goondiwindi Regional Council for taking the time to present on their experiences using SWIMLocal for operations and maintenance.

2019 Events The 2019 events season starts with a focus on skills with the Queensland Water Skills Partnership Forum on 7 March. The event is the result of strong industry interest in

sharing knowledge and experiences in relation to recruiting, retaining and upskilling staff, and will include presentations from industry representatives from across Queensland.

Other regional events include Regional Mini Conferences in Biloela on 28 March, Townsville on 5 July, Hervey Bay on 26 July and the 2019 Annual Forum in Logan on 11-12 September.

Our events calendar is available online at https://www.qldwater. com.au/Events

Dr Nicole Davies accepted the 2018 Best of the Best Qld Water Taste Test award on behalf of Mackay Regional Council.

Participants in the National Taste Test in Toowoomba.

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Engineering for Public Works

MEDIA KIT 2019 IPWEAQ is the peak body representing those working in the public works sector in Queensland.

Our purpose is to enhance the quality of life for all Queensland communities by advancing the skills, knowledge and resources available to those involved in the planning and provision of public works and services.

F EATU R E AR TI C L E

M EM BER N EW S

BI G Q U ESTI O N S

SU STAI N ABI L I TY

EXC EL L EN C E AWAR D S

F eatu r e ar ti c l e

l egal ar ti c l e

Water A rticle

THE GOLD COAST’S GOLD MEDAL PERFORMANCE

MEMBER PROFILE: TOM BRADSHAW

BRIDGE ASSET MANAGEMENT

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

NEW LOOK BUILDING TELLS AN OLD STORY

TRANSFORMING ROADS FOR SUPERCARS

QLD CONSTRUCTION LAWS OVERHAUL

SILVER LINING IN THE SEWERS

The Games showcased some amazing athletic feats – and the seven year marathon run by the City of Gold Coast was also an epic journey. p.10

Meet Tom Bradshaw, a specialist water infrastructure engineer with over 20 years’ experience in the public sector and private consulting firms. p.18

Bridge asset management can feel like a fire fighting exercise.

ARRB asks, is it time to consider the issue from a different perspective? p.24

Over the next 10 years, the forecasted replacement cost of local government infrastructure assets is expected to grow by 18.6%. p.59

Cairns’ oldest public building has been restored to its original beauty as part of a $8.69 million project. p.10

Maintaining City of Gold Coast’s Surfers Paradise street circuit for the Supercar motorsport spectacular. p.22

All participants need to understand how the new laws will affect their organisation.

Better management of sewerage systems for Wide Bay Burnett Region. p.61

ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS

ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS

www.ipweaq.com

ISSUE No.10

Publication dates Four issues per year: • March • June • September • December (conference feature) • PLUS February (Excellence Awards commemorative book)

QUEENSLAND URBAN DRAINAGE MANUAL

www.ipweaq.com

ISSUE No.9

E XC E L L E N C E AWA R D S

F e at u r e a r t i c l e

l e ga l a r t i c l e

Wat e r A r t i c l e

FEATURE ARTICLE

S pecial Feature

technical focus

Water Article

CITY OF GOLD COAST’S AWARD SUCCESS

TO B-DOUBLE OR NOT TO B-DOUBLE

LAWFUL POINT OF DISCHARGE

MAREEBA’s WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT UPGRADE

Countdown to Gold Coast 2018

State Conference Preview

Transform your business with ADAC

Water at the heart of smart cities

The historic Sarawak Avenue Steel Footbridge awarded for engineering innovation and excellence. p.18

How a rural council is planning for its aged road network to meet current and future needs.

The updated Queensland Urban Drainage Manual removes confusion about LPOD requirements. p.78

Award winning innovation strikes the balance between environmental and financial sustainability. p.86

A regional city’s efforts to deliver the best games ever.

A look at what to expect from Townsville, October 2017.

The strategic benefits from the release of ADAC version 5.0.

Cairns regional Council’s investment in smart water strategies. p.72

p.10

FOURTH EDITION

ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS

Bookings due 1st day of prior month eg 1 February for March issue.

Artwork and editorial due 15th day of prior month eg 15 February for March issue.

p.46

ISSUE No.8

p.10

p.12

p.57

ENGINEERING FOR PUBLIC WORKS

www.ipweaq.com

ISSUE No.7

www.ipweaq.com

Why advertise with IPWEAQ? Your connection to thousands of professionals delivering projects for state and local government across Queensland.

Engineering for Public Works

is the primary professional publication for the public works and civil engineering community in Queensland.

Distribution:

Online journal with over 93,000 digital impressions; is circulated to approximately 5,500 sector professionals and government officials.

Content:

Each issue features major projects, technical and academic articles, member profiles plus branch news and news from qldwater.

Readership: Anyone actively involved in the delivery of public works and services.

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Multi-bookings 10% discount for bookings in two consecutive editions Front Cover - $3,490 per issue  F ront cover image Advertorial - $1,200 per issue D ouble page spread with 800 word feature article in H alf page 350 word editorial with one high first ten pages resolution image/photo and logo  F ull page display ad C irculated to up to 500 contacts provided by you

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