Infrastructure Magazine June 2017

SAFE SYSTEM APPROACH TO ROAD DESIGN TRAINS TAKE TO THE SKIES

BERNARD SALT: AVOIDING AN INFRASTRUCTURE TIMEBOMB

EDITOR’S WELCOME

It’s sometimes hard to believe we’re nearly halfway through 2017 – and as we approach the end of another financial year, businesses in the infrastructure space tend to be taking stock, conducting internal audits and preparing for another year ahead.

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Editor

Laura Harvey

Senior Associate Editor

Jessica Dickers

Contributing Editor

Michelle Goldsmith

Journalist

Lauren Cella

Marketing Director

Amanda Kennedy

Marketing Associate

Mathew Walker

Marketing Consultant

Aaron White

Production and Customer Service

Titian Bartlau

Senior Designer

Alejandro Molano

Designer Jacqueline Buckmaster

Publisher Chris Bland

ISSN: 2206-7906

Here at Infrastructure we’ve recently been through one of our most important audit processes – we’ve just had the circulation of this magazine officially audited by the Audited Media Association of Australia. It’s the first time this magazine has been through this process, and we’re thrilled with the results.

We first launched Infrastructure as a website, and moved to creating a print edition once we had reached a critical mass of 5,000 magazine subscribers. From here, the intention has always been to grow our print readership base, and I’m pleased to say that we’ve delivered on this aim, with our official figure for the period 1 October-31 March sitting at 6,660 individual print copies of each edition. As the Editor of this magazine, it’s important to me that as many members of the Australian infrastructure industry as possible are reading about the news, projects and features that we showcase in Infrastructure. Our first audit figures highlight the fact that we are well on our way to achieving this aim.

Another audit (of sorts) that has a big impact on our readership is of course the one that was recently completed on our nation’s finances. The Federal Budget, handed down on May 9, has overall been good news for the infrastructure sector.

Many believe the funding measures allocated in this budget will lead to a “golden age of rail”, with an overall $20 billion investment in upgrades to Australia’s passenger and freight rail. This funding includes an $8.4 billion commitment to the Inland Rail project, which happens to be the Commonwealth’s biggest rail project in 100 years. The high capacity rail freight link between Melbourne and Brisbane is fantastic news for so many in the sector – it will create thousands of jobs, and it will move freight from our already

stressed roads to rail, which is good news all round.

Commitments have also been made to major road, airport and utility related projects around the country. For all the details, you can read our full round-up of how the budget will impact the infrastructure sector on page 14.

As we prepared this third issue of Infrastructure for print, we were also putting the finishing touches on the speaker program for our first Infrastructure-sponsored event, Asset Management for Critical Infrastructure. The event, taking place from August 16-17 in Sydney, will gather together some of the country’s best and brightest minds when it comes to the complex and challenging task of managing our critical assets, from roads and rail to energy and water networks. If you’re involved in managing critical infrastructure, I strongly encourage you to attend this event – head to www.assetmanagementforcritical infrastructure.com.au to see the full line-up of speakers and to register for the event.

Attending industry events is a critical part of being involved in the infrastructure sector. The opportunities to network with colleagues and clients are invaluable; as is the knowledge gained in terms of industry trends, new technologies and innovative thinking. I look forward to seeing as many of you in Sydney in August as possible.

Laura Harvey Editor

I’m keen to hear your thoughts and feedback on Infrastructure Drop me a line at laura.harvey@monkeymedia.com.au or feel free to call me on 03 9988 4950 to let me know what you think.

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ASSET INSPECTION & DRONES

DRONE ZONE: GLOBAL, LOCAL PLAYERS COLLABORATE ON RPAS

The Queensland Government is partnering with global giants such as Boeing and Shell to develop remotely piloted aircraft systems – innovative partnerships that have sky-high potential for local industries.

OPINION

LET'S NOT LEAVE A CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE TIME BOMB

As debate rages in response to Australia's ongoing issues with water and baseload power supply, demographer Bernard Salt is urging the infrastructure industry to adopt a long-term solution to our energy and water supply issues.

ROAD MARKING & DESIGN

MAKING A MARK ON OUR ROADS

Road marking – it’s a critically important part of major roadworks, but it’s sometimes lost amid the breathless excitement that often accompanies the physical construction of new roads.

IMPROVING ROAD SAFETY: IT'S DOWN TO ALL OF US

At the Transport and Road Safety (TARS) Research Centre, researchers are focused on the steps we can take – as drivers, pedestrians and infrastructure planners – to make our roads safer for all users.

EME2: THE AUSTRALIAN ROAD NETWORK’S NEW TECHNOLOGY

EME2 asphalt, a new high modulus asphalt technology that is beginning to be implemented in Australian roads.

IN THE RED LANE

Dedicated red bus lanes are common around Australian cities as a way to help improve the reliability and efficiency of bus services.

END-TO-END ROAD SOLUTIONS

Following the launch of the latest Cat® Road Profiler to the Australian market and the addition of the new Weiler E2850 Remixing Transfer Vehicle, Hastings Deering is now able to offer customers an end-toend road construction solution.

MAJOR PROJECTS

FROM UNDERGROUND TO THROUGH THE AIR: SYDNEY METRO TAKES SHAPE

A century ago, Rodd Staples’ grandfather helped build the Sydney Harbour Bridge. As Program Director of the $20 billion Sydney Metro mega project, Rodd is now delivering metro rail to Australia, including new twin railway tunnels under Sydney Harbour.

DECREASING CONSTRUCTION COSTS LEADS TO AUSTRALIAN SOLAR BOOM

As momentum builds in the solar sector, there has been a noticeable decrease in the cost of building large-scale solar farms.

METRO RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE IS THE KEY TO SYDNEY'S GROWTH

The designer of Sydney’s famous harbour bridge, Dr JJC Bradfield, also designed Sydney’s rail system, but his lofty vision for a metro rail network rivalling that of London or New York could never be realised in the low-density city of a century ago.

INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT EQUALS TRAINING INVESTMENT

The NSW Government is spending record amounts on major infrastructure projects. But rather than put further demands on the market for skilled labour, the government is ensuring this infrastructure investment will leave a skills dividend.

SAFETY INNOVATION AND MENTAL HEALTH IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Free registration is now open for Australia’s leading occupational health and safety in action tradeshow, taking place on 5-6 September at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

TOLLS: NEW ALTERNATIVES FOR FUNDING

Toll roads historically have been a response to government's desires to improve infrastructure through participation of the private sector. But now, the timing is right to look at new alternatives for road funding.

THE MOST OF A WEALTH OF INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE

The world will need to spend almost $57 trillion on new infrastructure over the next 15 years. And while that’s an enormous sum, contrary to popular belief, there is no shortage of capital.

INVESTMENT OUTLOOK FOR AUSTRALIAN INFRASTRUCTURE REMAINS STRONG

A recently released report from Infrastructure Partnerships Australia and Perpetual Corporate Trust confirms Australia’s ongoing position as a globally attractive, stable destination for infrastructure investment, and a world leader on a number of measures.

ENHANCING OUR CITIES WITH TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

The concept of the smart city has been steadily gaining traction in the 21st century. From humble beginnings, we’re now moving into the Smart Cities 2.0 era – with a focus on creating platforms for data access, sharing, reuse and interoperability.

Noise from rail lines can have a significant impact on local communities. Engines, brakes and moving wheels; warning bells and horns; and vibration from rail structures all cause noise which travels directly to nearby homes when the tracks are at street level.

Contributors

John Barilaro

Deputy

Premier

of NSW and Minister for Regional NSW, Small Business and Skills

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro lives in Queanbeyan with wife Deanna and their three daughters, and shares his time between the Monaro, Regional NSW and Sydney. John is the proud Member for the Monaro and was elected leader of the NSW Nationals and Deputy Premier of NSW in November 2016. He is the Minister for Regional NSW, Skills and Small Business, bringing a unique understanding and passion to his portfolios. In our changing economy and with innovation forging the path for start-ups and SMEs to thrive, John has embraced the case for change and ensured that Government priorities are focused on creating a fertile ground for entrepreneurs and start-ups to cultivate new ways of thinking and new ways of doing business in NSW.

Bernard Salt, AM

Partner, KPMG

Bernard Salt is widely regarded as one of Australia’s leading social commentators by business, the media and the broader community. Bernard heads the Business Demographics at KPMG group which provides specialist demographic, consumer and social trends advice to business. Bernard writes two weekly columns for The Australian, he is an adjunct professor at Curtin University Business School, and he holds a Master of Arts degree from Monash University. He is perhaps best known to the wider community for his penchant for identifying and tagging new tribes and social behaviours such as the “Seachange Shift”, the “Man Drought”, “PUMCINS” and the “Goats Cheese Curtain”. He was also responsible for popularising smashed avocados! Bernard has popularised demographics through his books, columns and media appearances, and he was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia in the 2017 Australia Day honours.

Chris Johnson Chief Executive Officer, Urban Taskforce Australia

Chris Johnson is the CEO of Urban Taskforce Australia, an organisation that represents the property industry. In this role Chris has produced research papers on the structure of local government in NSW and publications on the future of our cities. He worked closely with local government as Executive Director in the NSW Department of Planning in developing the Housing Code, plans for regional cities and urban renewal generally. Before this he was NSW Government Architect for 10 years, a member of the Central Sydney Planning Committee, the Heritage Council of NSW and many government committees. Chris has written or edited over a dozen books on urban planning, architecture and cities. He has been adjunct professor at three Sydney universities and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012.

Contributors

Leeanne Enoch

Queensland Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy, and Minister for Small Business

Leeanne Enoch won the seat of Algester, in Brisbane’s south, at the 2015 state election. In doing so, Leeane – a proud Quandamooka woman from North Stradbroke Island – became the first Aboriginal woman elected to Queensland Parliament. Leeanne is passionate about community development and social justice issues, and as a mother to two sons knows how important it is for communities to be digitally connected, with opportunities to thrive in jobs of the future. Prior to entering politics, Leeanne worked with the Australian Red Cross, guiding humanitarian policy and programs to improve the lives of Australia’s most vulnerable. She also spent more than a decade as a high school teacher throughout Southeast Queensland and East London.

Simon Kennedy, Mike Kerlin and Steve Joseph

McKinsey & Company

Simon is a partner in McKinsey & Company’s Sydney office, where he serves public sector and infrastructure clients, including urban transit, airports road and rail. He has led programs on economic and jobs growth strategy, agency strategy, transportation policy, infrastructure investments and delivery, government efficiency, and productivity improvement. Mike is a partner in McKinsey & Company’s Philadelphia office. He is a leader in the Capital Projects & Infrastructure and Public Sector practices, and heads the firm’s work in infrastructure finance worldwide. He has worked with numerous private, multilateral, and public sector investors and with private and public sector developers and operators to identify, evaluate, plan and implement major infrastructure projects. He has experience in a range of asset classes, including transportation, energy and water. Steve is a client development advisor in McKinsey & Company’s Sydney office. Prior to joining McKinsey, he spent seven years advising public sector clients on infrastructure projects and transactions and served two years as a Chief of Staff to a senior government minister, advising on major public sector reforms.

David Hensher Director, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies

Educated in Kenya, England and Australia, Professor David Hensher is a Professor of Management and the Founding Director of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at the University of Sydney. Professor Hensher is Australia’s most cited transport academic, with over 38,000 citations of his contributions in Google Scholar. His particular interests are transport economics, transport strategy, sustainable transport, productivity measurement, traveller behaviour analysis, choice analysis, stated choice experiments, process heuristics, and institutional reform. Professor Hensher has advised numerous government and private sector organisations in many countries on matters related to transportation, especially matters related to forecasting demand for existing and new transportation services. He is regarded as Australia’s most eminent expert on matters relating to travel demand and valuation and transport reform.

The Victorian Government has announced a $1.45 billion package of regional rail upgrades aimed to improve services and create over 1000 jobs across Victoria.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan unveiled the Regional Rail Revival package, which includes upgrades on every regional line across Victoria, as part of the Victorian Budget 2017/2018.

The upgrades are the next stage of the biggest ever investment in regional rail – with the Labor Government now having committed more than $2.8 billion to improve regional rail services.

Mr Andrews said, “This is the next stage of our regional rail revival – because regional Victorians deserve public transport they can count on.

“This huge investment will improve services on every regional passenger line in Victoria, and create more than a thousand jobs across Victoria.”

Ms Allan said, “Regional Rail Revival will deliver better tracks, more services and a brighter future for the rail network regional Victorians rely on.”

The centrepiece of the package is a $435 million upgrade of the Gippsland Line to run more frequent, safe and reliable services and create more than 400 jobs, with a project office in the Latrobe Valley.

More than $200 million will go towards major upgrades in the Barwon South West region – including $100 million to upgrade the Warrnambool Lineto run more services.

$110 million will fund the first stage of a massive new Surf Coast Rail Project, which will prepare the corridor for duplication between South Geelong and Waurn Ponds, and reserve land for a future line to Torquay.

Passengers in Bendigo and Echuca will also benefit, with $91 million in upgrades to run faster trains, an extra daily service to Echuca, and delivery of Bendigo Metro Stage 2 with more services to Epsom and Eaglehawk.

Member for Bendigo West Maree Edwards said, “This is the next step in our record investment in public transport, to get people in Bendigo and across Victoria home safer and sooner.”

In addition to the $518 million Ballarat Line Upgrade announced in the 2016 Budget, the package will provide $39 million for Stage 2 of the project, to deliver better services for Ararat and Maryborough.

The Regional Rail Revival package also funds the signalling and station improvements needed to run new trains on the North East Line, while the Labor Government continues to lobby the Commonwealth to fix the track they are responsible for through the Inland Rail project.

$95 million will be invested in Stage 2 of the Gippsland Rail Upgrade which will duplicate the Avon River Bridge, enabling faster, more reliable services to Bairnsdale.

The full Regional Rail Revival package, which includes the Ballarat Line Upgrade, is to be funded from the receipt of Victoria’s $1.46 billion entitlement under the Asset Recycling Initiative.

NEWS BRISBANE RIVER TERMINAL MOVES FORWARD

Plans for a new mega-cruise ship terminal at Luggage Point near the mouth of Brisbane River have progressed, with an inprinciple agreement reached between stakeholders and Port of Brisbane on crucial commercial and technical issues.

Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment, Curtis Pitt, said in-principle agreement with the State Government, Brisbane City Council and Queensland Urban Utilities meant the project had taken a significant step forward in the government’s Market-Led Proposal assessment process.

“This milestone shows this government, through our Market-Led Proposals initiatives, is in the business of creating jobs and working with the private sector to facilitate good ideas,” Mr Pitt said.

“Agreement on terms between the Port of Brisbane and key stakeholders has opened the way for the progression of the detailed business case.

“Good progress has been made with these stakeholders to overcome hurdles and develop a facility that will bring a welcome economic boost and new jobs to our state.”

Mr Pitt said that planning, constructing, and operating a terminal for mega-cruise ships was challenging.

“The Port of Brisbane has had to work with key stakeholders to develop solutions that address key issues such as road access to the site,” Mr Pitt said.

“In-principle agreement with these stakeholders means that realistic solutions have been developed and the way is now clear to undertake the detailed business case to finalise the Port’s proposal to deliver a facility that will be a welcome addition to Brisbane’s tourism infrastructure.”

Port of Brisbane CEO, Roy Cummins, said the port had worked closely with the government to progress the project.

“While this does not mean a Final Investment Decision has been made, reaching these in-principle agreements was a key requirement of our PBPL Board to demonstrate the project’s viability,” Mr Cummins said.

“As a result, this now means we can progress engineering and design works. This work will inform the final business case that will be presented to government for its consideration.”

Mr Pitt said in 2015-16 a record 329

cruise ships visited Queensland – more than any other Australian state.

“The proposed new terminal will be able to accommodate the mega-ships now becoming widespread in the cruise industry,” Mr Pitt said.

“It’s estimated that over 60 per cent of cruise ships in Australia will be longer than 270m by 2020.”

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the Brisbane City Council supported plans for a world-class cruise ship terminal at Luggage Point.

“An in-principle commitment of $5 million has already been made by council, for half of the costs of preliminary works to upgrade the local road network leading to the new terminal,” Mr Quirk said.

“Council welcomes news that this $100 million investment in our tourism industry is one step closer to being completed.”

The proposal to construct the facility was submitted by the Port of Brisbane under the government’s Market-Led Proposal framework.

If approved, the project is expected to be completed during the 2019-20 cruise season.

PORTS AUSTRALIA’S NEW CEO

Ports Australia has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer following the retirement of David Anderson. Michael Gallacher has been named CEO after an extensive nationwide recruitment process.

Mr Gallacher’s long standing interest and understanding of ports and shipping related issues, together with his widely acknowledged advocacy and policy development skills were instrumental in his successful application.

His relationship with the industry developed with his appointment as Shadow Minister for Ports following the 2003 New South Wales state election and from that time he has been the strongest advocate for the future growth and advancement of the industry.

Mr Gallacher’s list of achievements as a Minister highlights his ability to prosecute the need for policy change and then personally drive the negotiation and public debate process to achieve the required outcome.

He has a proven track record of working with his federal and state political counterparts across the political spectrum to achieve nationwide outcomes.

Chairman of Ports Australia, Vincent Tremaine, said, “There is no doubt that Michael will build on the outstanding leadership and direction set by our former CEO David Anderson to drive the public profile of Ports Australia and to strongly advocate on the issues affecting the efficiency and development of our nation’s shipping gateways.

“Ports Australia would also like to sincerely thank David Anderson for remaining in his position in a part-time capacity during this transition period. We appreciate his ten years of exemplary service as Ports Australia’s CEO and we wish him all the best for his future endeavours.”

Mr Gallacher commenced his role at Ports Australia on 18 April 2017.

SNOWY MOUNTAINS 2.0 IN THE WORKS

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has unveiled plans for the Snowy Mountain Scheme 2.0, a project that aims to increase the generation of the Snowy Hydro scheme by 50 per cent, adding 2000 megawatts of renewable energy to the National Electricity Market.

The unprecedented expansion will help make renewables reliable, filling in holes caused by intermittent supply and generator outages.

Mr Turnbull said, “For too long policymakers have put ideology and politics ahead of engineering and economics.

“Successive governments at all levels have failed to put in place the necessary storage to ensure reliable power supply to homes and businesses.

“The energy storage infrastructure should be a critical priority to ensure better integration of wind and solar into the energy market and more efficient use of conventional power.

“By supercharging the Snowy Hydro precinct, affordable and reliable electricity for Australian households and businesses can be ensured.”

The Government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), will examine several sites which could support large-scale pumped hydroelectric energy storage in the precinct.

These sites would involve new tunnels and power stations, connecting existing storages.

“Snowy Hydro was originally built with the capability to be expanded and we intend on maximising that capacity,” said Mr Turnbull.

“Every Australian should be confident that they can turn the lights on when they need them.

“That is why an ‘all of the above’ approach – including hydro, solar, coal and gas – is critical to future energy supplies.

“The Government believes sensible, considered energy decisions should be put ahead of reckless targets that cannot guarantee power supply to Australians.

“Snowy Hydro already provides back up energy to New South Wales and Victoria and that could extend to South Australia when expanded.

“This plan would lead to job creation and economic security for thousands in the construction and engineering sectors.”

It will have no impact on the scheme’s ability to supply water to irrigators in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland.

A feasibility study is expected to be completed before the end of 2017, and construction can commence soon after.

AUSTRALIAN AIRPORT WINS INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

AWARD

Darwin International Airport (DIA) has won an international environment award for its efforts in solar power, paving the way to a more sustainable future and reducing its carbon footprint.

The Airports Council International (ACI) awarded the Asia-Pacific Green Airports Platinum Award to Darwin International Airport for its $13 million solar farm project, which launched in June 2016.

Darwin International Airport’s solar farm comprises 15,000 solar panels over

six hectares and produces the electricity equivalent of 1000 households, meeting the airport’s peak energy demands in the middle of the day and contributing to 25 per cent of its overall energy needs.

The award recognises commitment in achieving outstanding accomplishments in environmental projects for all Asia Pacific and Middle East Airports with less than 25 million passengers each year.

Darwin International Airport Chief Executive Officer Ian Kew said it was great for the airport to be recognised by its peers

in the international airport community.

“Our investment in solar energy is unparalleled for an airport operator in the southern hemisphere,” Mr Kew said.

“When completed, Darwin International Airport’s solar array will be the largest airside PV (photovoltaic) system in the world and already provides a significant proportion of the airport’s solar power.

“Well done to everyone involved, this is a great accomplishment.”

Work has begun on Victoria’s biggest public transport project, with the final bids for the Metro Tunnel and five new stations now received.

Acting Premier, Jacinta Allan, said that the final bids for the $6 billion Tunnel and Stations Public Private Partnership (PPP) have been received, and are being assessed by the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority.

The bids are from three shortlisted consortia that include some of the biggest construction firms in Australia and around the world:

♦ Continuum Victoria – comprising ACCIONA Infrastructure, Ferrovial Agroman, Honeywell, Downer EDI and Plenary Origination

♦ Cross Yarra Partnership – comprising Lendlease Engineering, John Holland, Bouygues Construction and Capella Capital

♦ Moving Melbourne Together – comprising Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors, Ghella, Salini Impregilo, Serco and Macquarie Capital

Their proposals include more than 100,000 pages of detailed plans to build the 9km Metro Tunnel and five new underground stations at Arden, Parkville, CBD North, CBD South and Domain.

Early works on the $10.9 billion mega-project have also received formal planning approval, and will ramp up over the coming months.

Piling rigs are now on site at Franklin and A’Beckett Streets, and construction crews will begin driving massive concrete poles deep into the ground. These concrete poles will

BIDS IN FOR MELBOURNE'S METRO TUNNEL

reinforce the walls of the 35 metre-deep shaft where the new underground station will be built.

Early work will also ramp up at City Square over the coming months to build another underground station, which will have a direct connection to Flinders Street Station, the City Loop and the rest of the train network.

A contract for the PPP is expected to be awarded by the end of 2017, in time for construction on the Tunnels and Stations package to begin in 2018.

WHAT DOES THE FEDERAL BUDGET MEAN FOR AUSTRALIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE?

The 2017 Federal Budget has delivered a substantial investment in infrastructure, with the Government committing to $75 billion in funding for critical airport, road, and rail infrastructure projects.

The Government will also provide additional funding of $12 million over four years to Infrastructure Australia to support its future work program.

In a statement, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said, “These investments will deliver an important economic boost, creating tens of thousands of new jobs during construction.

“On completion these projects will lift national productivity and drive economic growth.”

THE RAIL SECTOR: BIG BUDGET WINNERS

A key investment in the 2017-18 Budget is a $20 billion commitment to upgrade Australia’s passenger and freight rail, which is critical to connect people to jobs, and services and goods to markets.

The Australian Government will invest $10 billion over the next decade for the National Rail Program, which will fund transformational rail projects within cities, as well as better connections between cities and regional centres. This investment is aimed to reduce the burden on Australian roads, provide more reliable transport networks, and support the Government’s efforts to decentralise the economy and grow regional Australia.

The Australasian Railway Association

(ARA) Chief Executive Danny Broad welcomed the announcement.

“The Government’s renewed commitment to rail, including through its $10 billion National Rail Program for urban and regional passenger rail, underscores its importance to Australia and is welcomed by the rail industry,” Mr Broad said.

An additional $30 million will also be provided to fund the development of a business case for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link. The Federal Government will work with the Victorian Government to access potential further funding for this project from the $10 billion National Rail Program.

INVESTMENT IN INLAND RAIL

The Federal Government is also providing an additional $8.4 billion in equity to deliver the Inland Rail project.

Inland Rail, the Commonwealth’s biggest rail project in 100 years, will provide a dedicated high-capacity rail freight link between Melbourne and Brisbane, to strengthen freight connections and with the aim getting freight off roads and onto rail.

The Federal Government will deliver Inland Rail through the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) using a combination of Government equity and a Public Private Partnership for the Toowoomba to Kagaru tunnel section.

“The $8.4 billion announced by the

Government today provides renewed confidence to all parts of the rail industry this project will be delivered,” Mr Broad said.

“Linking Victoria and regional NSW with Queensland will help get freight off the road and onto rail, address rising congestion in Sydney, and will deliver thousands of jobs; many in regional Australia.

“This project will deliver a strong economic contribution to the nation and will enhance productivity and increase consumer freight options.”

REGIONAL RAIL SECTOR INVESTMENTS

The Budget also includes over $1 billion for new and upgraded infrastructure in Victoria, utilising funding previously allocated to the Asset Recycling Initiative, despite the Victorian Government failing to meet the agreed requirements of the National Partnership Agreement on Asset Recycling.

Victoria will receive $500 million to build a better regional rail network with improvements to the North-East Line, the Gippsland Line and the Geelong Line, as well as a study into improving the Shepparton Line.

Victoria will also receive an additional $20.2 million for Murray Basin Rail, taking the Government’s total commitment to this project to $240 million. A further $460 million is available for Victorian infrastructure projects, which will be

negotiated between the Australian and Victorian governments.

MAJOR FOCUS ON WA INFRASTRUCTURE

The Government is investing $1.6 billion towards a $2.3 billion road and rail infrastructure package in Western Australia.

The Government’s record $10 billion investment in rail is in addition to $792 million for Perth Metronet.

$1.2 billion, including up to $792 million of Federal Government funding, will be allocated towards the Metronet and related projects, subject to a positive assessment by Infrastructure Australia.

Of the $760 million committed for road infrastructure, the Armadale Road/ North Lake Road (Kwinana Freeway) project will receive $189.6 million, and the Leach Highway (Carrington Street to Stirling Highway) project will receive $73.6 million.

FUNDING AUSTRALIA’S ROADS

In regard to road funding, strong gains continue to be made on the transformative Bruce Highway Upgrade Program with $844 million in program

savings enabling new projects to be agreed with the Queensland Government.

The Commonwealth will accelerate construction on the Pine River to Caloundra, and Deception Bay Interchange sections as well as additional safety works, including the upgrade of the Wide Bay Highway intersection.

The Federal Government will also provide $44.2 million towards regional road projects to improve regional road safety across Western Australia.

The Federal Government is continuing to fund the Black Spot Programme with $684.5 million from 2013–14 to 2020–21 so it can continue to deliver safety improvements, such as safety barriers and street lighting to sections of dangerous road that have a crash history.

Commitment to the Roads to Recovery Programme has also been maintained with $4.4 billion from 2013–14 to 2020–21 for the construction, repair and upgrade of local roads.

GOVERNMENT COMMITS TO WESTERN SYDNEY AIRPORT

The Federal Government has

Construction of Sydney’s second airport will go ahead thanks to funding from the Federal Government.

committed to the delivery of the Western Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek, to be operational by 2026, saying the airport is vital to deliver new aviation capacity for Sydney and the nation.

It aims to provide better access to air travel for two million people who will be closer to Western Sydney Airport than Kingsford Smith Airport.

To ensure the airport is operational by 2026, the Government will establish a new government-owned company.

The company, to be established in the 2017–18 Financial Year, will have board and management with strong private sector expertise, and will issue tenders for early works before the end of 2017.

The Government will commit up to $5.3 billion of equity to this company, to be invested over 10 years in line with the construction schedule.

The new airport is a significant investment for Western Sydney and will deliver net long-term benefits to the Australian economy, returning $1.80 for every dollar invested.

The Government is also boosting resources to the ATSB, providing an additional $12 million over five years, to continue to improve aviation safety and education.

ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE:

THE

CORNERSTONE OF MODERN LIFE

Managers of critical infrastructure, such as road, transport, water and electricity networks, have more tools available to them than ever before to ensure their safe and efficient operation. At the same time, public and government expectation regarding the management of these assets and delivery of their critical services has never been higher.

Technology moves at a rapid pace, no matter what field you’re in, and when it comes to managing critical infrastructure, there are new tools, technologies and innovations hitting the market every day.

To ensure asset managers in critical industries such as road, transport, water and energy networks can stay ahead of the trends, and best manage the assets they have been charged with, Infrastructure, together with Utility magazine, have joined forces to organise the Asset Management for Critical Infrastructure Conference, taking place in Sydney from 16-17 August 2017.

With the advent of the Internet of Things, network digitisation, and an evolving regulatory and technical standards environment, asset managers need to keep pace with the rate of change and learn from colleagues in related or complementary sectors.

Asset Management for Critical Infrastructure will bring together the utility and infrastructure industries to discuss the latest news and techniques in the sector, and explore practical applications that can improve the way assets are managed, from roads to railway lines and water pipelines to electricity networks.

The two-day conference will explore:

♦ Planning best practices

♦ Balancing the construction of new assets with maintaining existing assets

♦ The role of the asset management standard and how it has been successfully implemented

♦ Predictive maintenance – the white knight of asset management

♦ How drones/UAVs and GIS are changing the way we manage assets

♦ Implementing IoT and SCADA to enhance processes

♦ How large organisations manage a diverse range of assets across states and sectors

♦ Managing risks: how to stay ahead of the game and detect problems before they occur

♦ Budget considerations: what gets top priority?

The conference program will feature an expert line-up of professionals from the worlds of water, energy, rail, asset management, standards, consulting and more.

Confirmed speakers at the event include:

Antony Sprigg, CEO of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia; Steve Doran, Chair of the Asset Management Council’s Sydney Chapter; Paul Higham, Manager of Development Infrastructure and Portfolio Services at Sydney Water; Peter Harcus, General Manager Gas Strategy at Jemena; Jonathan Avery, National Sector Manager at Standards Australia; Ryan Wolton, Global Head of Sustainable Value Improvement at KPMG Australia; Michael Killeen, Asset Manager at NSW TrainLink; Andrew McAlpine, Asset Performance and Systems Manager at TransGrid; and Ian Boake, Principal Consultant at Jacobs.

Steve Doran Chair of the Sydney Chapter of the Asset Management Council

Michael Killeen Asset Manager, NSW TrainLink

Ian Boake Principal Consultant, Jacobs Allen Tam Senior Consultant, Relken Engineering LEARN how to balance standards with innovation

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

If you’re involved in asset management for a critical infrastructure provider, this event is a must attend. You’ll hear first hand case studies from industry experts and C-level executives about how they manage their assets; develop strategies to improve the way you manage your assets; stay up-to-date with the latest technology available to your business; and enjoy a number of opportunities to network with clients, colleagues and customers.

THE FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS

The assets of critical industries such as transport, roads, water and energy are the cornerstones of modern life. Without these assets, our societies simply would not be able to function as they do.

Best practice asset management is a critical element for any business

or organisation operating in these critical industries. By attending this conference, and learning from some of the industry’s best and brightest minds, you’ll help to ensure your critical assets are managed effectively now, and for many years to come.

Peter Harcus General Manager Gas Strategy, Jemena

Andrew McAlpine Asset Performance and Systems Manager, TransGrid

Antony Sprigg CEO, Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia

Paul Higham Manager of Development Infrastructure and Portfolio Services, Sydney Water

Jonathan Avery National Sector Manager, Standards Australia

Greg Tyrrell Executive Director, Australian Association for Unmanned Systems (AAUS)

Laura Harvey Editor, Infrastructure

Ryan Wolton Global Head of Sustainable Value Improvement, KPMG Australia

NETWORK with industry experts

SMART TRANSPORT AND TRANSFORM ING TECHNOLO GY

by Susan Harris, ITS Australia Chief Executive

OTransport in Australia is transforming at a rapid rate and so is the transport technology industry. Innovations and new initiatives are creating new opportunities for business, governments and researchers. ITS Australia has identified more than 40 opportunities for growth in its report Smart Transport for Australia.

ur report provides examples of initiatives and opportunities for the future development and deployment of intelligent transport systems (ITS). Respected Australian and international ITS leaders contributed to the report which leverages off the 23rd ITS World Congress, Melbourne – Australia’s largest international association conference of 2016 – and benefits the economy by $46.6 million.

Findings from the report will be presented at the Australian Intelligent Transport Systems Summit, 27-28 September 2017 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Brisbane Summit is an industry event, for the industry, themed ‘Transforming Transport’.

International keynote speakers will present global perspectives, and Australian insights will be provided by the local ITS industry. The Summit’s key themes are:

♦ Connected and Automated Vehicles

♦ Mobility as a Service and Big Data

♦ Transport for Smart Cities

The Brisbane Summit will also introduce Australian Innovators – a dedicated session to cutting-edge thinkers. Aligned industries and future initiatives, including solar vehicles, spatial gamification, driverless shuttle buses, and the Southern Hemisphere’s only hyperloop project, will have a platform.

In addition to the high level program, attendees will also enjoy the welcome reception, networking, exhibitions, and technical tours.

ITS Australia President, Brian Negus, said the theme, 'Transforming Transport', reflects the rapid rate of development and deployment of transport technology in Australia.

“The Intelligent Transport Systems industry has never been stronger and increasingly plays a vital role in the safety, efficiency and sustainability of freight and people movements.

“Australia is a global leader in ITS and the Brisbane Summit is an opportunity to explore innovations, initiatives and collaborations to improve our liveability in cities and communities, both in Australia and internationally.”

The Australian ITS industry continues to enjoy a positive transformation following the hosting of last year’s World Congress. We continue to leverage off the Congress momentum and provide opportunities for the industry to grow.

One strong indicator is that ITS Australia membership has increased and we are experiencing record attendances at our events.

With the landscape transforming so quickly and new opportunities becoming available, it is important industry keeps up with change.

For more information, visit www.its-australia.com.au

INNOVATIVE WIRELESS MONITORING SOLUTION NOW AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA

The leading wireless condition monitoring platform explicitly designed for rail, infrastructure and mining applications is now sold and supported in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia by Position Partners.

With a reputation for delivering highly accurate and industrially resilient solutions in some of the UK’s most challenging construction and engineering projects, Senceive’s wireless and mains power free monitoring technology is now available in Oceania from Position Partners.

“No matter how large or complex the job, Senceive’s FlatMesh technology can be tailored to create a highly reliable and cost-effective solution,” said Heath Low, Position Partners Business Development Manager for monitoring applications.

“Having successfully installed Senceive on a number of projects in Australia, we are confident this technology is ideally suited to our local markets and that we have the skills and expertise to support customers with all their condition monitoring needs.”

Unlike optical prism-based monitoring solutions, Senceive sensors require very little maintenance or technical support and have a battery life of up to 15 years. The system can also be rapidly installed and deployed, with patented fixings that can be used on any structure including track bed, tunnels, bridges, embankments and mine sites.

“A good example of just how easy and robust this system was to deploy, is in the monitoring of busy tunnels for London Underground (LU),” Mr Low said.

“One particular project illustrates this particularly well. On one 100m section with two tunnels, LU needed to monitor in ‘real time’ and in a highly precise and stable manner, the impact of urgent and extensive repair work needed due to soil erosion and cavities created by water leakages in the tunnels.

“Work had to be conducted in very short four-hour maintenance windows at night,” Mr Low said.

“Hundreds of nodes had to be deployed in a matter of minutes at the start of the shift and then moved as works progressed along the tunnels. Senceive is the only system on the market that could excel in those conditions. This hugely successful and award winning project has led to many

other deployments in both LU and national UK rail assets. There are today more than 5,000 sensors deployed on the UK rail network alone.”

With a range of geotechnical sensors available to suit the project requirements, Senceive FlatMesh can use either solar powered cellular network to provide a totally mains power and wire free solution, or an industrially resilient USB-based data monitoring hub communication.

The latter required where systems are underground and cannot access solar power. All transmit highly accurate repeatable movement data back to the office in real time or whatever remotely changeable reporting rates may be required.

The web-based data access system WebMonitor, provides easy to use and highly user-friendly monitoring information to users anywhere in the world on laptops or phones through secure password access. Featuring fully configurable trigger levels and email or SMS alerts, comprehensive reporting tools and network visualisation via maps and images, WebMonitor eliminates the need to install and maintain software and per-user licences.

Available now from Position Partners branches throughout Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, visit www.positionpartners.com.au or call 1300 867 266 to discuss your next project.

DRONE ZONE:

GLOBAL, LOCAL PLAYERS COLLABORATE ON RPAS

The Queensland Government is partnering with global giants such as Boeing and Shell along with small to medium enterprises to develop remotely piloted aircraft systems –innovative partnerships that have sky-high potential for local industries.

The Queensland Government provided the Advance Queensland funding in a first-of-its kind partnership with global aerospace giant The Boeing Company, in conjunction with Boeing subsidiary Insitu Pacific, Shell’s QGC project, Telstra, and locally-based small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) providing industry and technical expertise.

“The project aims to capitalise on the capabilities inherent in drones to carry out remote-monitoring and inspection of key infrastructure and data analysis to allow for better decision-making,” said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

“Drone technology has the capability of introducing greater efficiencies in a range of Queensland industries and we want to make sure our state develops an industry that delivers jobs as part of this process.”

The Advance Queensland Platform Technology Program is being used to develop a world-first remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) focused on airspace access on a broad scale, and to support key resource industries in the Surat Basin.

Since the funding investment was announced, Boeing, with the support of local Queensland businesses, has designed, built and completed preliminary field tests for a prototype unmanned aerial system (UAS) situational awareness system, along with a networked common operating picture system that is capable of transmitting aircraft data over Telstra’s cellular network to provide a remote air picture for RPAS pilots.

According to Queensland Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy Leeanne Enoch, the pace at which the project is progressing is not so much surprising as it is exciting.

“In less than a year, Boeing and its partners have produced and tested a UAS situational awareness system and developed a networked common operating picture streamed via the cellular network,” said Minister Enoch.

“This provides remote pilots with enhanced situational awareness of airspace in geographically remote operations. This progress cements Queensland’s reputation as Australia’s leading player in developing civilian UAS technologies and of growing new innovative technology in Queensland.”

ACT GLOBAL, THINK LOCAL

Boeing has fostered close partnerships with Queensland SMEs to leverage local capabilities to deliver a highly technical and innovative project. By drawing on the capabilities of big enterprises such as The Boeing Company, investment by the Queensland Government is multiplied both in matched investment and in the ability to deliver flow-on benefits for Queensland SMEs, for example, access to potential international export opportunities as part of Boeing’s global supply chain.

For many industries, there is great opportunity for the application of drone technology, and this is just the start of the journey in the potential application of this technology within Queensland’s resources industry. It is a world-first on this scale.

“The current emphasis is on developing, refining and testing the technologies needed to do the job, and they are making good progress,” said Minister Enoch.

“Safe airspace access is the biggest barrier to the application of RPAS on a broad scale, and the project has already created the ability to generate a networked localised air picture that will provide an operator with unprecedented operational awareness of an airspace.

“The potential opportunities for broad scale application of this technology will be a big feather in the cap for the industry here, and will help position Queensland at the forefront of the civilian application of RPAS globally.”

ADDING VALUE TO ESTABLISHED INDUSTRIES

One of the advantages of the project is developing a greater understanding of how RPAS technologies can add genuine value to a range of industry sectors such as infrastructure construction and maintenance.

The project is seeking to demonstrate a compelling case for the value of these technologies to these industry sectors, while clearly proving to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and other airspace users the ability to safely operate RPAS aircrafts at extended ranges.

The global market for remotely piloted aircrafts

was valued at $US10.1 billion in 2015 and is expected to account for $US14.9 billion by 2020. This is a big market, and Queensland wants to position itself to secure some of that market.

A prototype system has been developed, tested and proven in a laboratory environment, and has now moved into a field testing phase in western Queensland. Based on the success of these early tests, additional units are being sourced leveraging Queensland SMEs, in order to broaden the scope of field testing.

The project team is on track to export the Queensland-developed system by the end of 2017.

“This expected international export of the first batch of prototype systems will be a major win for Queensland and the local SMEs involved in their production,” said Minister Enoch.

“This project highlights the global export opportunities and significant flow-on benefits for Queensland businesses that can be realised when government invests in strategic partnership opportunities for major enterprises, such as Boeing, to work with local SMEs.”

BENEFITS EXTENDING FURTHER AFIELD

The project could ultimately lead to benefits for other industries, including agriculture, mining, energy, telecommunications, search and rescue, and environmental management.

Industry engagement and fostering SME innovation is a key driver for the Queensland Government’s $1 million in support for the project through the Advance Queensland Platform Technology Program – part of the $405 million

whole-of-government Advance Queensland initiative, which sets out to transform Queensland into a knowledge-based economy and help create jobs of the future.

The Advance Queensland Platform Technology Program aims to develop platform technologies – groups of technologies which form a base to take the next technological leap, such as remotely piloted aircraft, big data and the Internet of Things – in areas where Queensland has a deep scientific knowledge and emerging industry strengths.

“As a government, we see aerospace definitely as one of our emerging key industries,” said Minister Enoch. “Our vision is that by 2026, Queensland’s aerospace industry will be recognised as the leader in Australasia and Southeast Asia for aerospace innovation, manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul, as well as training for military and civil markets.”

Currently, the focus is on deploying this system in the Surat Basin to support the expansion of RPAS operations across Queensland’s natural gas resources industry. This includes integration of the system into fixed infrastructure with QGC and Telstra, creating further jobs and growth within the local economy of Queensland regions.

“The global growth of RPAS and UAS technology presents a great opportunity for Queensland, and the state is naturally well positioned, with large open areas, to further support development of these technologies,” said Minister Enoch.

“This project creates potential for growth of new technology industries within Queensland, and provides opportunities to export locally developed technology into new global markets.”

Asset Inspection Expertise

We specialise in high accuracy reality capture and high quality mobile mapping systems for the whole of your project life cycle.

We use the very latest in technology for;

● Data Capture: Asset inspection using drones/UAVs. Fixed wing for large scale projects, rotor for closer inspection.

● Data Management: Creation of survey accurate 3D models of the asset.

● Data Visualisation: Translation of data into a format suitable for video fly-throughs, virtual reality experiences or 3D printed models.

UAV Photograph

3D Model

For too long, Australians have been living on borrowed time when it comes to critical infrastructure such as dams.

Almost a decade ago, in response to the millennium drought, there was heated debate within Australia about water supply. Today, the issue is the provision of reliable and affordable baseload power to our major cities. Instead of relying on emergency responses like we did in the 2000s – like the construction of desalination plants – this time, demographer Bernard Salt is urging the infrastructure industry to adopt a long-term solution to our energy and water supply issues.

INFRASTRUCTURE TIME BOMB

by Bernard Salt AM, Partner, KPMG

At its peak, the millennium drought was an incredibly worrying time. By the late 2000s, the drought had worsened every year with no relief in sight.

The timing of the global financial crisis in 2008, followed by terrible bushfires, suggested an almost divine retribution was being wreaked upon an environmentally sinful nation.

Falling metropolitan water supplies prompted the urgent construction of desalination plants in Victoria at Wonthaggi and also in other states. But looking back, we really shouldn’t have been surprised with the situation we found ourselves in at the time. No base-load metropolitan water supply dam had been built in Australia since the early 1980s in the case of Melbourne and since the late 1970s for Sydney.

Fast forward a generation (say 25 years), toss in an extended drought that seems to occur in Australia two or three times each century, add in an accelerated rate of population growth from the mid-2000s, and you have a recipe for calamity. Which then prompts emergency responses such as the urgent – meaning cost is not the issue –construction of desalination plants. Sound familiar?

Here we are a decade later and fortunately rainfall and dam levels are not the issue.

The issue now is the provision of

reliable and affordable baseload power to our major cities. As with dams, we more or less stopped building baseload coal-fired power stations in Australia in the 1980s.

The thinking then shifted to natural gas (Queensland’s Braemar 1 and 2, for instance, which opened in 2006 and 2009) and renewables (Macarthur Wind Farm in western Victoria in 2013).

And as with dams, the shift in thinking around power supply was also motivated by environmental concerns.

The consequences of this shift in thinking about power and water supplies taken a generation ago was never going to be immediately apparent.

The reason being that sufficient capacity in water and power had been delivered into our biggest cities by, for example, Sydney’s Warragamba Dam, built in the 1950s, and Melbourne’s Thomson Dam, opened 1983; and by Sydney’s Eraring coal-fired power station, opened in 1982, and Melbourne’s Loy Yang A coal-fired power station, opened in 1985. A mitigating factor in energy and water requirements were shifts in behaviour. Australians became more water conscious, especially during the drought. Many installed water tanks.

The same shift is now under way with regard to energy usage: rising costs and concern about environmental responsibility are making consumers more measured in their use of energy.

Solar panels on suburban rooftops are

now common. What was once public responsibility, the provision of water and power, is now being shared between the state and the individual.

This is less of an issue in other countries than in Australia and the reason is growth. Over the 33 years to 2050, Australia is expected to add 12 million residents, which represents a 50 per cent increase.

Over this same period Canada is expected to add about a third to its population base, the US is expected to add about a quarter, Britain about a fifth, and New Zealand a sixth. Germany is expected to lose about a quarter of its population while Japan will shrink by a third.

Power and water supply is not a critical issue in Germany and Japan. It very much is so in Australia — and it will become even more critical if we retain our growth settings.

For a generation we have been drawing down on the power and water infrastructure bequeathed to us by the preceding dam building and coal-fired power station building generation.

We have stretched out the serviceability of this baseload infrastructure by moderating individual behaviour, by taking private responsibility for power and water through solar panels and water tanks, and by investing in renewables such as wind and solar. But our overall rate-ofgrowth cog has always turned faster

According to Bernard Salt, what we need with regard to energy is a culture of investment in the future and a willingness to make sacrifices for the pursuit of a better society.

than our power-and-water supply cog, which means shortages and blackouts a generation later.

Water security issues were exposed a decade ago; energy security is being exposed now.

If immigration was stopped altogether, Australia would still grow through natural increase by a quarter by 2050; if the migrant intake was moderated to 120,000 a year we would still grow by about a third. We are a young country careening along at a fast clip, and that will continue on this trajectory for at least a decade, even if immigration was moderated.

My concern is that we seem to have taken up the slack built into a baseload power supply system delivered a generation ago and since augmented with renewables. A decade ago, when water security was threatened the response was to “plug the gap” at whatever cost.

But if this nation is to remain young and vital, and if we are to remain generous and inclusive with respect to our immigration program, then we need to be making decisions now about future baseload power and water supplies.

Plugging a gap at whatever cost might get us into the next electoral cycle, but it doesn’t solve the long-term problem – the growth cog is spinning faster than the baseload power and water supply cog.

Although to be fair, a politician’s measure of success isn’t necessarily

solving a problem for future administrations, it is getting an immediate problem off the agenda. It is up to the Australian people, not the political class, to demand a long-term solution to these issues. But be warned, that might require Australians to make sacrifices now to make life easier for future generations.

What we really need with regard to energy, and what we needed a decade ago on the water issue, is a culture of investment in the future and a willingness by current generations to make sacrifices for the pursuit of a better society.

The easy response is to outsource responsibility to politicians whose survival depends on short-term thinking by the electorate. The hard questions that flow from this debate include whether we pursue clean coal or carbon capture options, whether we pursue the nuclear option or whether we substantially moderate our immigration policy.

But the implications of current energy security issues are broader. It was water last decade; it is power this decade; what will it be next decade? What other critical infrastructure did we slow investment in a generation ago – presumably to deliver short-term benefits elsewhere – that is now approaching maximum capacity? Defence springs to mind. So, too, does airport infrastructure.

We the Australian people need to collectively insist on better or at least more apparent long-term strategic thinking about the kind of society we wish to bequeath to the next generation.

After all, I don’t think it’s fair for this generation – from Boomers to Millennials inclusive – to harvest the benefit of preceding generations’ infrastructure investment and leave our nation maxed out in energy and water for the next generation to deal with.

This article originally appeared in The Australian.

Bernard Salt is a KPMG partner and an adjunct professor at Curtin University Business School. Research for this article was completed by Cody Phelan. Bernard can be contacted at bsalt@kpmg.com.au.

Bernard Salt.

MAKING A MARK

Road marking – it’s a critically important part of major roadworks, but it’s sometimes lost amid the breathless excitement that often accompanies the physical construction of new roads. Dean Crutchfield is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Roadmarking Industry Association of Australia, and he’s currently leading the charge to make the road marking industry more harmonised, more professional and more innovative across the country.

Road marking has been an important element within the road construction supply chain for many decades now, but it’s only been in recent years that the industry has really come into its own.

According to Dean Crutchfield, there’s now several major factors enhancing the professionalism of the industry. These include the harmonisation of standards across the country, efforts towards balancing tender specifications with the need to promote innovation, and enhanced safety for road marking professionals.

BRINGING STANDARDS TOGETHER

On the standards front, at the present time, there are several different specifications around the country that make it difficult to achieve a consistent approach to line marking from state to state.

“Up until recently there were up to eight different standards across the country,” said Mr Crutchfield. “But now, with the support from each of the state road authorities in the move towards harmonisation, we will see one minimum standard around the country.

“The intention is that by the end of 2017, all markings, lines, sizes, and minimum retroreflectivity on all roads will be the same across the country. The widths of the lines, the shapes of the markings – as in arrows, stop bars and the like – will all be consistent across the country, which has been a massive effort.

“The national harmonisation will also meet the international minimum for retroreflectivity, which is the measurement of the brightness of the line. This is measured typically by a hand held machine, although there

are some mobile units available. The minimum measurement for road marking brightness is 150 millicandela lux per square meter (mcd/m2).”

According to Mr Crutchfield, the road authorities and industry have been working together towards harmonisation on these various standards, with the efforts receiving particular support from employees at Main Roads Western Australia.

“Most of the road authorities around Australia are on-board with the harmonisation process, and after some more minor changes, it’s now almost at the stage of signing off on the process.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF INNOVATION

The other issue the road marking industry is presently grappling with is tender specification, and more specifically, balancing meeting the requirements stipulated in tenders with introducing innovative new products and services into the industry. According to Mr Crutchfield, tender documents will often specify a method in how to perform the work, without giving any leeway to new processes or materials.

“Tenders often ask the tenderer to apply a particular amount of product and glass beads, in order to achieve a given result (retroreflectivity) over a set time period,” said Mr Crutchfield.

“Unfortunately, with the road surfaces that we’ve got, especially in rural areas, that are predominantly chip seals, it’s sometimes difficult to achieve those results consistently with the given methods.

“Tender documents might also specify materials that are not always the best value for money. While it seems like a really good idea to have long-life material, in reality this may not be the

best value for that particular road or surface.”

He went on to say, “There is a strong push now for performance based contracts, where the focus is on the end result, rather than the method of application or material used.”

This leads into a major challenge for the industry – creating more room for innovation and providing the asset owner with better value for money spent.

Road authorities and asset owners need to ensure that their contractors and materials are pre- qualified at some level. Currently New South Wales, the ACT, the Northern Territory and South Australia use the Painting Contractor Certification Program (PCCP), while Victoria and Tasmania use the VicRoads Prequalification Scheme.

Queensland and Western Australia are looking to implement the PCCP scheme shortly for works on all state-owned roads. Materials should be approved according to the minimum standards set by the Australian Paint Approval Scheme (APAS) guidelines.

APAS tests and certifies paints and coatings to ensure they meet stringent performance specifications. Both APAS and PCCP are run and owned by the CSIRO.

“While it’s important to have approved products in use in the industry, it does stifle innovation somewhat, because it creates a barrier to releasing new products onto the market,” said Mr Crutchfield.

MARK ON OUR ROADS

“My personal belief is that if you’ve got a product that’s coming in from an overseas market that’s tried, tested and approved, interim approval shouldn’t be an issue. A road is a road, it doesn’t matter where in the world it is, and the products used to apply road markings successfully internationally should be able to be used here in Australia.

“Innovation is a good thing, it should be promoted, and we should be giving our contractors and suppliers the space to be able to provide us with innovative products and practices.”

According to Mr Crutchfield, the Department of Roads and Maritime Services in New South Wales is taking proactive steps in the right direction to balancing between meeting guidelines with creating room for innovation.

“In New South Wales, they have a specification (R145) which basically requires a minimum result of quality over a set period of time. The emphasis isn’t necessarily on the products used to meet this requirement, as long as the minimum standard of quality is achieved at the end of the required period. The key to the success of this though is monitoring and compliance.”

This is allowing new marking products, such as cold applied plastic technology, to gain traction here in Australia. According to Mr Crutchfield, it’s a technology that has been around for quite a while in Europe and the US, but has just started to gain momentum in Australia in the past 12 months.

“Funnily enough, it’s the Northern Territory and Western Australian governments, probably two of the most remote road authorities in the country, that have taken this new product and new technology on board and are running serious trials and projects with it,” noted Mr Crutchfield.

“The Northern Territory is just about to commence its second large-scale job with cold applied plastic, and Western Australia’s just about to start their first.”

Part of the reason these two states are trialling this new product is that they both face challenges with traditional thermoplastic materials used for road marking. Thermoplastic needs to be applied to roads at approximately 2000°C. However, with cold applied plastic, the material is applied, as the name suggests, cold. It is a totally different method of installation and should give the road authorities a functional line for many years.

“They’re trying something different, and I think this kind of innovation should be applauded and encouraged.”

WORKER SAFETY

One of the biggest challenges for everyone working in the road marking industry across the country is worker safety. The crews who are out in the field, applying the paints to mark roads, are often working at night to minimise traffic disruption, and they’re often working in remote locations.

When you add the fact that drivers are increasingly affected by alcohol, drugs, fatigue and impatience to this mix, we’re left with a dangerous cocktail.

“Part of the problem we face is that road works are often poorly signed, or left unattended, resulting in drivers speeding through our sites,” said Mr Crutchfield. “That’s a huge issue for us as an industry.”

The introduction of truck mounted attenuators (TMAs) to mobile sites has helped to improve the safety of workers out on the roads, but there’s more to be done. TMAs help to protect crews by absorbing a colliding vehicle’s kinetic energy like a giant cushion. Nonetheless, even in Victoria, where there is at least one TMA on every road marking project site, drivers still run into the back of them as a regular occurrence – and while they can absorb the energy of a colliding vehicle, damage and the potential for serious injury

The safety of road marking crews is an ongoing challenge for the industry.

Dura Products Industries (DPI) specializes in manufacturing Thermoplastic Road Marking Materials, and is Quality driven in the industry, with a proud and proven history within Australia. DPI products can be found on many major Highway around Australia with our range of High Performance Markings.

DPI supply a wide range of materials including, Thermoplastic, Preform Thermoplastic, Glass Beads, RRPM’s, Hot Melt Bitumen Adhesive, Temporary Reflective Markers and many more road products.

DPI has full APAS approval for manufacturing and our product ranges – Screed, Spray, Extrusion and Preform Thermoplastic

"Creating a Safe Environment for All Road Users"

or a fatality, is very real and a high risk facing crews.

As a result, the RIAA is continuing to do research into better ways to help protect its workers out in the field.

“We’ve looked at introducing radio interrupt technology, which sends a broadcast message out over the radio for cars approaching works; and we’ve looked at having different coloured lights around crews, and different lighting effects, where lights flash brighter and faster as cars approach them,” said Mr Crutchfield.

“The problem is, if a driver is asleep, they’re asleep, and none of this works. If they are affected by some sort of stimulant, the risk to our crews dramatically increases. We still have people speeding and ignoring our work sites. It’s a huge issue for us, and the whole road construction industry.”

INDUSTRY CHANGES

As the road marking industry in Australia has evolved it has become increasingly professionalised, and for Mr Crutchfield, he’s particularly pleased that with new training and qualifications available to all road markers. Road marking can now be seen as a career, rather than just a job.

“We’ve made significant improvements

from a career path perspective now, there’s a Certificate III in Road Marking that’s now available, and we’re working towards developing a Certificate IV aimed at the management level.

“A recent revamp of the Certificate III course, and refining our course providers to just one RTO, has improved the course and made it more valuable for those undertaking it. Our RTO is able to help employers access funding when available to assist with the cost of the training and encourage more employers to have qualified staff.

With well-trained practitioners at the industry’s disposal, the path to successful projects, according to Mr Crutchfield, lies in asset owners, product suppliers and contractors working collaboratively towards successful outcomes.

“Alliances between asset owners, contractors and suppliers is the key to more successful contracts, and ultimately safer roads,” said Mr Crutchfield. “That’s what we are all here to provide. That’s supported by various state road authorities – for example, in Victoria, Vicroads has established maintenance alliances with various contractors. These alliances work really well because it’s the outcome that is every party’s primary focus.

“Everyone’s got the same outcome in mind and the same focus – everyone is working in the one direction.”

With some of the building blocks in place for successful and sustainable industry growth, Mr Crutchfield’s current focus is on advocating for greater emphasis on innovation, and greater rewards for practitioners that achieve good results.

“The current trend in the industry is to have a performance based contract, but this is just based on meeting a minimum requirement of 150 mcd/m2,” said Mr Crutchfield.

“There’s no incentive at the moment to exceed this minimum requirement – but I do think that if there was that incentive for contractors to provide a better finish at the end of their contract, then that’s what the road authorities would get. And that would be an ideal outcome for everyone.”

Mr Crutchfield is also keen to encourage road marking professionals to take up RIAA membership.

“It’s really important for us as an industry to support our association as well – the more support the association has, the more they can offer the industry in terms of advocacy, networking opportunities and training seminars.” 6/14 Palmer Place, Murarrie QLD 4172

LINEMARKING EQUIPMENT SPECIALIST

ROAD SAFETY: IMPROVING

IT’S DOWN TO

by Professor Raphael Grzebieta,

Adjunct

Associate

Professor George Rechnitzer and Keith Simmons, Transport and Road Safety (TARS) Research Centre, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney

At the Transport and Road Safety (TARS) Research Centre, researchers are focused on the steps we can take – as drivers, pedestrians and infrastructure planners – to make our roads safer for all users. Here, three of the centres leading researchers reflect on the Australian view on road safety this century, and outline their views on how we can reduce road injuries and fatalities.

In the last few years, Australia’s road fatalities have spiked. Questions are being asked: “What is causing the spike, and how can we get back on track to meet our 30 per cent fatality reduction target by 20201?”

In 2002 the two lead authors of this article published two opinion pieces in Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper: Deadly Designs: We Can Build Roads

That Eliminate Deaths and Designs for Death. Much has happened since those days, as detailed by Mooren, Grzebieta and Job2. Australia now has a design philosophy based on safe system principles, which has been adopted internationally by the World Health Organisation, United Nations, World Bank and the OECD3

The basis of the Safe System

Approach is to recognise that humans make errors and as a result, the road system should be designed to be more forgiving of those errors. That is to say, the system should eliminate or mitigate the consequence of human errors and even if a crash is inevitable, the system should be designed so as to reduce crash severity to survivable limits. This philosophy means that

ALL OF US

responsibility for road safety is shifted from an emphasis on road users being responsible for road safety, to a greater responsibility for road system designers and managers to build safeguards into the system that compensates for human error, in order to prevent or mitigate injury-causing crashes. Despite this, as an Australian society, we continue to overlook clear safe system solutions that we could adopt immediately, if we had the political will to do so.

Our Herald Sun editorials opposed the perception at that time that there were “no more silver bullets” when it came to road safety. Instead, we firmly believed “this view is wrong, and that there are still significant opportunities as a number of ‘silver bullets’ are yet to be loaded, let alone fired. Investing in the design and manufacture of human

error tolerant roads and vehicles will introduce cost effective, permanent and sustainable road safety”.

While considerable road safety gains have been made in the intervening years, we believe that the opinions we expressed, now a decade and a half ago, still hold true to some extent today.

The Safe System Approach requires all elements of the system to be addressed, in order to harvest potential road safety gains. Safer people, travelling in and around safer vehicles, on safer roads and at safe speeds are all critical elements required to achieve deaths and road trauma reductions.

Despite the importance of having safer people, we still have drivers failing to comply with speed limits and to adjust their vehicle’s speed to the prevailing driving conditions on the

road, distractions from mobile phone and other in car gadgets, driving and riding under the influence of alcohol and drugs and more. Combined with an unforgiving, human error intolerant road infrastructure system, these have been the most frequent causes of vehicle occupant and vulnerable road user deaths in Australia. The laws of physics, and specifically the impact speeds experienced by the human road users themselves, dictate whether a road user will survive a crash or not.

For pedestrians, being struck by a car at 60km/h is the equivalent impact energy as jumping out the window of a four storey building; for a car, crashing at 100km/h into a hard object is the same as driving off the roof of a ten storey building. These crashes are not survivable for the respective road user.

The role of the road engineer is to design and install infrastructure that can forgive those errors; to reduce impact energy so crashes are survivable. An errant vehicle impacting a roadside pole or tree at high speed is generally not survivable. The same errant vehicle skidding across a cleared zone, or glancing off a wire rope barrier, or a W beam barrier, is generally survivable. Of course, managing speeds is the key to minimising crash energy in the first place.

Hence, the system must be designed so that the energy exchange during the crash is managed appropriately. That is, preferably, for pedestrians, the impact speed should not exceed 30km/h; at intersections the impact speed of a car smashing into the side doors of another car should not exceed 50km/h; and for head-on or run-off the road crashes into hard objects, the impact speed should not exceed 70km/h.

HOW CAN WE DESIGN BETTER ROADS?

So what needs to be done now to make crashes survivable in Australia?

For roads, installing median and road-side barriers, tactile median and roadside line marking that will wake drowsy drivers up, and improving curve delineation to reduce run-off the road crashes, are all examples of crash countermeasures readily available to reduce casualties.

For roads where there are no wide centrelines, median or roadside barriers, speeds should not exceed 80km/h. It is wrong to think the distances in Australia are so vast that drivers will never reach their destination at a lower speed. The reality is, some road users will never reach their destination when travelling at dangerously high speeds.

For intersection crashes, installing roundabouts to control vehicle speed and directional impact forces, or installing well-designed traffic signalisation, will reduce vehicle occupant casualties in the inevitable crashes. Regardless, the speed limit at an uncontrolled intersection (notsignalised or no roundabout) should not exceed 50km/h.

For high pedestrian activity areas, reducing speed limits to 40km/h or less, building self explaining roads that necessitate driving at a lower speed, installing good lighting and signalised or raised pedestrian crossings, installing pedestrian fencing to guide pedestrians to a highly visible crossing point or to prevent pedestrians crossing hazardous roads, and installing appropriate visual warnings for drivers are all examples of readily available countermeasures that will reduce pedestrian casualties.

It’s important to note that the road builder should not be in this alone. There are laws that could be introduced

tomorrow that would have an immediate effect on reducing road casualties. We’d like to see the following measures put in place:

♦ Introduce point-to-point speed cameras for all vehicles on all major roads

♦ Require any new cars sold into Australia to have Intelligent Speed Assist, alcohol interlocks, seat belt reminders to all seats, front seat interlocks and autonomous emergency braking systems

♦ Prohibit the sale of any new cars with an ANCAP safety rating of three stars or less into Australia

♦ Require 0.2 per cent blood alcohol content for all motorcyclists (at 0.05 motorcyclist fatality risk is 600 times that of a car driver with zero blood alcohol)

♦ Ban pay by per trip systems for truck drivers that encourages speed and fatigue

♦ Lockout mobile phone use (texting and messaging) while driving in cars and trucks

Imagine an Australia where the 1,300 or so people killed and around 35,000 seriously injured or permanently disabled could survive their crashes, with no serious or permanent injuries. We must all work towards zero together to make this a reality. We have a shared responsibility.

For any further information or Safe System training please contact Professor Grzebieta at r.grzebieta@unsw.edu.au.

There has been a recent spike in road deaths in Australia, moving against the overall downward trend.

(Source data: BITRE, 2017, Chart Australasian College of Road Safety).

1 Australia’s National Road Safety Strategy 2011 – 2020 sets a reduction target of 30% less of both fatalities and serious injuries, than the baseline results of 20082010 (ATC, National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020, http://www.atcouncil.gov.au/documents/atcnrss.aspx)

2 Mooren, L, Grzebieta, R, Job, S. Safe System – Comparisons of this Approach in Australia. Proc. Australasian College of Road Safety Conference “A Safe System: Making it Happen!” Melbourne, September 2011. http://acrs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Mooren-et-al-Safe-System-%E2%80%93-Comparisons-of-this-Approach-inAustralia.pdf

3 OEDC, Towards Zero: ambitious road safety targets and the safe system approach, 2008, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): Paris, France. http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/jtrc/safety/targets/08TargetsSummary.pdf, http://www.internationaltransportforum.org/Pub/ pdf/08TowardsZeroE.pdf

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EME2: THE AUSTRALIAN ROAD NETWORK’S NEW TECHNOLOGY

EME2 asphalt, a new high modulus asphalt technology that is beginning to be implemented in Australian roads, is garnering national attention because of its potential to reduce base course layer thickness, cut costs, and help to build stronger and long-lasting roads.

Global bitumen technology company, the Colas Group, has been associated with the development of EME2 since the 1980s in France, and when they acquired SAMI Bitumen Technologies nine years ago they became instrumental in bringing EME2 to the Australian road industry.

Trevor Distin, Technical and Marketing Manager at Colas Australia, said years of work developing and testing the technology reached a peak in March 2017 when 10,000 tonnes of EME2 asphalt was paved in the Gateway Upgrade North (GUN) Project in Queensland, a project involving upgrading 11.3km of the Gateway Motorway to six lanes between Nudgee and Bracken Ridge. This project was the largest installation of EME2 asphalt ever in Australia.

BENEFITTING AUSTRALIA’S ROAD NETWORK

The main appeal of EME2 asphalt for road builders is its potential to reduce the layer thickness of the base course for a heavily trafficked road by up to 30 per cent, depending on climatic and traffic conditions.

It is designed for heavily trafficked roads, and its use in the design and construction of pavements can make them stronger and longer lasting. Work can be undertaken more efficiently, allowing for significantly lower construction and maintenance costs for asset owners in the road industry, as well as owners of airport and container terminal assets.

Mr Distin said EME2 results in a more sustainable use of Australia’s natural resources and can allow roads to carry heavier loads to reduce costs of freight.

“Key to designing and producing EME2 is the access to the special hard grade of bitumen. Since the construction of the first EME2 demonstration project in Brisbane in February 2014, SAMI have been supplying 15/25 penetration grade bitumen for EME2 trials across Australia out of their Port of Brisbane facility,” Mr Distin said.

WORKING WITH INDUSTRY FOR FURTHER IMPLEMENTATION

Colas and SAMI have worked with other industry stakeholders to ensure that the Australian EME2 upholds the same high standards and specifications as its does in France.

Colas’ central laboratory in Paris has been able to compare SAMI’s EME2 Australian mix designs with French performance specifications and found that it meets all requirements.

Mr Distin said this was a crucial step to be able to show the industry that it is able to produce the same outcomes and benefits as the original technology.

The findings impressed Main Roads Western Australia (MRWA) enough for them to use EME2 asphalt on a 1,200 tonne section of a Perth road project, with a plan to also use it on Stage One of the North Link Project, which will see 12,000 tonnes of EME2 paved. This is one of many reasons why SAMI will build a processing facility at its Kwinana bitumen terminal, to produce the innovative hard bitumen technology for the Australian market.

Also, in January 2017, the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association released the EME2 Model Specification, which acts as a guide for asset owners to use EME2 asphalt mixes in their projects. The model specification includes two grades of hard bitumen which can be used, namely 10/20 and 15/25. SAMI supplies both grades to Australia with the 10/20 rendering a higher modulus value to the asphalt.

According to AS 1742.12:2000 Manual of uniform traffic control devices: Bus, transit, tram and truck lanes, coloured surface treatment is used on bus lanes to improve delineation and increase motorists’ awareness of the bus lanes. These lanes are usually coloured red to highlight the prominence of the transit system, while at the same time visually enforcing dedicated transit space.

Red bus lanes are typically provided in two ways: surface treatments placed on road pavement using specialised binders, or coloured aggregates which have high skid resistance characteristics.

THE NEED FOR FAST TURNAROUND

Chris Bauer, Head of Flooring at Hychem, said the main challenge associated with applying surface treatments on roads is that the road cannot be closed off for long periods of time.

“As these lanes are often found on busy roads, there is a need to limit the amount of time taken to apply and cure the coating as lanes need to be closed off for the work to take place. This becomes an issue during peak hour traffic with drivers becoming frustrated with increased travel times,” Mr Bauer said.

“Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) products are ideal for such projects as they are designed to be used where fast curing is required. These systems can be returned to regular service for traffic in as little as a few hours, which is generally not possible with epoxy and polyurethane systems.”

The best time to coat bus lanes is during the night when traffic is at its lightest and there is less chance of drivers being impacted by the works.

“The great thing about MMA’s is that contractors can begin installing the coating late in the evening and by the time morning peak hour begins, the contractors have finished, the coating has cured and the lane is ready for use again,” Mr Bauer said.

A DURABLE SOLUTION

Another consideration for surface treatments for bus lanes is the durability of the product used.

In the past, there have been instances where red bus lanes have been installed, only for the product to wash away just weeks after being applied due to heavy traffic use and weather. This not only becomes an eyesore but is costly as the previous coating needs to be removed and a new coating applied.

“MMA is more durable than traditional thermoplastic or epoxy resins in such applications, and has lower life-cycle costs, especially under heavy vehicle loads. It can withstand the impact of regular traffic and it has excellent weather resistance,” Mr Bauer said.

MMA also has the ability to be formulated to produce a highly flexible waterproofing solution with the advantage of having excellent crack-bridging characteristics. This allows it to be used to repair cracks in the bitumen during the application process, if required.

Additional benefits include high UV stability, making MMA perfect for outdoor applications as the colour won’t fade or change, and varying degrees of slip resistance can also be obtained.

For more information on MMA, please contact Hychem on (02) 4646 1660.

IN THE RED LANE

Dedicated red bus lanes are common around Australian cities as a way to help improve the reliability and efficiency of bus services. However, these lanes are often found on busy stretches of road which presents a major challenge with the surface treatment, as there is limited time available for the road to be coated and cured. A fast cure solution from Hychem allows lanes to be coated and back in service in a matter of hours.

AUSTRALASIA’S LARGEST RAIL EVENT COMES TO THE BRISBANE CONVENTION CENTRE

3 days of conference sessions covering the latest news and innovations from the rail industry

AusRAIL PLUS 2017 will cover the theme: Rail’s Digital Revolution Sponsorship

Plethora of networking functions including a 2000+ strong Exhibition Networking Drinks, the networking RTAA Yellow Tie Dinner and prestigious finale of the black tie Gala Dinner

Over 400 National and Global Exhibitors under the one roof (space now limited)

END-TO-END ROAD SOLUTIONS

Following the launch of the latest Cat ® Road Profiler to the Australian market and the addition of the new Weiler E2850 Remixing Transfer Vehicle, Hastings Deering is now able to offer customers an end-to-end road construction solution.

Hastings Deering, traditionally known as a market leader in the mining and construction sectors, has invested heavily in the road construction and infrastructure sectors over the past seven years and the addition of the new Weiler Transfer Vehicle and PM620 Cold Planer to its fleet is a sign of its intent and future plans in the road construction industry.

Ryan Van Den Broek, Sales Manager –Roads, Construction and Infrastructure at Hastings Deering, said the addition of the PM620 alone has created a real buzz for Queensland customers in particular.

“With the PM620, I feel like we’ve got a new quality of machine – it’s highly technical, more efficient, safer and quieter,” said Mr Van Den Broek.

“We’ve been doing demonstrations over the last few months with all the major players in Southeast Queensland. We’ve had clients come along because they’ve heard from other customers that it’s great, and they want demos now too.”

Mr Van Den Broek said many of its civil customers have also opted for the new profiler, given that their experiences with other Cat machines have been positive.

The efficiency and significantly reduced noise levels on the new machine have been two major improvements that customers have noticed, according to Mr Van Den Broek.

“Our customers love features such

as the retractable canopy, and overall, the machines are smaller and easier to transport,” he said.

One of the first PM620 profilers sold by Hastings Deering in Australia is being used as part of tunnel works on the WestConnex project in Sydney, because it’s compactness makes it suitable to go below ground.

“We demonstrated it cutting through Sydney sandstone fairly quickly and we sold the first profiler to the tunnel contractor based on that experience.

“Because it’s so compact it can easily be dropped down into the tunnel site without having parts disassembled and then reassembled – making it a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to other machines.”

The introduction of the PM620 has also put Hastings Deering in good stead to enter a corner of the market traditionally dominated by competitors, according to Mr Van Den Broek.

“There was always going to be trepidation with customers because one of our competitors has been in this space for a while, but creating healthy competition and providing alternatives is good for the customer.”

Mr Van Den Broek said the same fuel, noise and efficiency benefits are embodied by the Cat F-Series pavers, which were launched in Australia at the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association International Flexible Pavements Conference in September 2015.

“Noise levels and fuel efficiency have

been a focus for Cat, especially on the new F-Series asphalt pavers,” he said.

“We’ve had some really good feedback, especially from some of our big customers like Brisbane City Council. The council selected one of the Cat pavers to support its other machines, and it’s now their flagship machine within its fleet.”

The new Cat road construction machinery range is already proving its worth for the team at Hastings Deering, and the inclusion of the new Weiler product is bolstering its market offering even more.

“We were the first in the industry to become a Weiler dealership in Australia and the first to offer material transfer vehicles and road wideners to the market,” said Mr Van Den Broek.

The US-based manufacturing firm is the same company that builds the screeds for Cat pavers and works quite closely with Cat in its home state of Iowa.

Mr Van Den Broek said the Weiler products really complement Cat’s own machines, especially in helping to create an end-to-end solution in road construction.

The E2850 material transfer vehicle, which was launched in November 2016, provides non-contact, non-stop and offset paving while producing reduced particle and thermal segregation. It keeps the material temperature even, reduces cold spots, and when we compact the material there’s a nice even heat across the whole mat.

With a new range of products and some major road and infrastructure projects on the horizon in Queensland, Mr Van Den Broek said Hastings Deering is well positioned to provide a complete end-to-end service to its customers in 2017.

“One of the big things we’ve really got going for us is our dealership footprint,” said Mr Van Den Broek.

“We’ve got 23 business centres across our territories, which makes it very easy for our customers to get the service they need, when they need it.

“For our national customers who are coming from interstate, we are able to provide unmatched facilities, service and equipment expertise.”

That after sales support is what Mr Van Den Broek said the Cat brand and its dealerships pride themselves on.

“We make sure that when we’re dealing with a paving customer, for instance, we have the technology and parts in holding to help the customer when needed,” he said.

The new Cat road construction machinery range is already proving its worth for the team at Hastings Deering, and the inclusion of the new Weiler product is bolstering its market offering even more.

Not only does Hastings Deering ensure there are parts on-hand at local business centres for its customers across its territory, but it provides extensive after sales service to ensure even critical engines are easily sourced or on-hand for replacement.

“At Hastings Deering we are committed to helping our customers succeed. We work with all our customers to provide solutions that reduce operating costs, increase productivity and reliability.

“Hastings Deering is not only leading the way in after sales support but also

ensuring they can offer customers increased reliability and reduced costs. One example is their Fuel Edge Program, that guarantees if you burn more fuel than the committed threshold, you will get a credit.”

As for the immediate future, Mr Van Den Broek is excited about the new product innovations set to hit the market.

“The PM620 is just the first in a full product suite coming out over the next few years.

Cat is introducing a full range of rollers and pavers, which will give us a real edge in the road construction market.”

A century ago, Rodd Staples’ grandfather helped build the Sydney Harbour Bridge. As Program Director of the $20 billion Sydney Metro mega project, Rodd is now delivering metro rail to Australia, including new twin railway tunnels under Sydney Harbour. An engineer who grew up in Sydney’s south surrounded by major infrastructure construction, Rodd has worked in the fields of transport and infrastructure planning for two decades across Australia and in both the public and private sectors. Here he outlines the world-class and world-scale innovation that Sydney Metro brings to public transport infrastructure in Australia.

Whether it’s 58m underground in Australia’s longest railway tunnels or 13m in the air on the skytrain, Sydney Metro – Australia’s biggest public transport project – is rapidly taking shape.

Stage 1 – the $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest project – opens in just two years, delivering metro rail for the first time to Australia with a host of innovation and a level of customer service simply never before seen here.

Sydney’s north west will get a new fully-air conditioned metro train every four minutes in the peak – with plenty of room to grow.

The region has the highest level of private car ownership in Australia and, over coming decades, will be twice the size of Canberra with a population reaching 600,000.

That’s why we’re acting now to deliver the first stage of Sydney Metro to this booming area; 13 metro stations and 4,000 commuter car parking spaces open in 2019, running 36km from Rouse Hill to Chatswood.

From here, Stage 2 of Sydney Metro – the Sydney Metro City and Southwest project – will extend metro rail under Sydney Harbour, through new CBD stations and beyond to the south west. Services are expected to start in 2024

with an ultimate capacity of a new metro train every two minutes in each direction under the Sydney CBD.

Altogether, Sydney Metro will deliver 31 metro stations and 66km of new metro rail, integrating with existing public transport and giving customers new connections and better opportunities for work, education and recreation.

Innovation has been a hallmark of Sydney Metro.

We’re bringing technology like fullyautomated trains to Australia for the first time. And platform screen doors, which keep people and objects like prams away from the tracks and allow trains to get in and out of stations much faster.

FROM UNDERGROUND TO THROUGH THE AIR: SYDNEY METRO TAKES SHAPE

by Rodd Staples, Program Director, Sydney Metro

These are common features of rail networks right around the world but new to Australia – yet they’re integral to delivering a 21st century railway network for a city growing to a population of more than six million in the next 20 years.

The skytrain is another such innovation – and at 4km in length from Bella Vista to Rouse Hill, it’s also the most visible legacy of Sydney Metro Northwest. Almost all of the rest of the project is deep underground in twin 15km tunnels, Australia’s longest rail tunnels.

Historically, railway corridors and embankments have often cut communities in two. At an average height of 9m, the skytrain keeps communities connected – people will be free to move around underneath it, including the seven roads it crosses.

We spent a lot of time early in the design process getting the skytrain right; ensuring it would fit in as much as possible with the community it will serve well into the future.

Width and depth ratios, edge design and pier supports were scrutinised, peer reviewed and refined to ensure

Late night link: the skytrain comes together above Samantha Riley Drive at Kellyville – one of seven roads it crosses – with the final segment lift in the middle of the night.

proportions blended in. Community feedback was taken on-board, resulting in improvements like widening a major local road and realigning it to deliver a better integrated outcome for all.

A joint effort of Australian and international designers, urban design took centre stage on the skytrain to ensure its integration with local surroundings and to minimise construction and environmental impacts.

Essentially Australia’s longest bridge, it is a series of 115 independent spans linked together.

Fresh from their previous job building roads in Dubai and delivered to Sydney in 3,800 pieces in 130 shipping containers, two state-of-the art 600-tonne horizontal gantry cranes lifted and joined

together most of the 1,200 concrete segments which form the 11m-wide skytrain deck.

Adding to the complexity, the skytrain is being delivered above a community and next to a major road that carries more than 50,000 vehicles a day, with skytrain builders Salini Impregilo working hard to minimise impacts. This included major lifting activities over roads in the middle of the night with the added time pressure of getting out of the road corridor in time for the morning peak.

The skytrain also includes a new cablestayed bridge over Windsor Road at Rouse Hill, similar in design to Sydney’s iconic Anzac Bridge.

Its 40m-high steel towers – filled with reinforced concrete – make it a bridge

unlike any other in Australia: it has the unique characteristics of being a rail bridge, supported by cables and built on a curve.

Like other mega projects, the skytrain has brought challenges. A span damaged during construction in September 2016 was a significant and disappointing incident; however, our focus was to learn the lessons from it and to put actions in place to stop it occurring again.

Yet undoubtedly it also brings rewards: a 21st century railway network, the first of its kind in Australia, which will revolutionise how we get around the nation’s only global city.

Salini Impregilo’s two massive 600-tonne launching gantries were used to deliver the 4km skytrain on the $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest project.

The 4km skytrain above Kellyville in Sydney’s North West.

Sydney Metro Program Director Rodd Staples inside Australia’s longest railway tunnels – twin 15km tunnels from Bella Vista to Epping in Sydney’s North West.

DECREASING CONSTRUCTION COSTS

LEADS TO AUSTRALIAN SOLAR BOOM

As momentum builds in the solar sector there has been a noticeable decrease in the cost of building large-scale solar farms. This has led to a boom of new projects in Australia with bigger projects now able to get off the ground.

The decreasing costs of solar farm construction can be attributed to a number of factors, including international and local improvements, technology becoming more competitive, cheaper construction costs, and a more competitive solar construction sector.

In the report State of solar 2016: Globally and in Australia by the Australian Climate Council, it was found that costs for new large-scale solar projects have become cheaper than for new coal and nuclear projects.

Costs have been falling so fast that as-built costs for solar have been consistently cheaper than projections, with solar PV costs decreasing 58 per cent in the past five years.

According to statistics from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), in 2014 the grant funding needed was $1.60 per watt and by September 2016, the average requirement was 0.19 cents per watt. Additionally, it found that construction costs have reduced by around 40 per cent in this time.

With costs decreasing rapidly, more and larger solar farms are being built in Australia, and within the next 20 years the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) predicts that over 20GW of capacity will be reached, which is about a third of Australia’s current total power generation capacity of 63GW.

BIGGER FARMS ALLOWING FOR MORE ENERGY

Before ARENA announced $92 million in grant funding for large-scale solar projects in early 2016, Australia only had four commissioned solar farms. However, the funding has led to an increase in projects, with the competition helping to drive down the costs of construction.

The decreasing costs of solar construction has prompted companies to move forward with construction of large-scale solar farms, allowing them to begin with or without government funding.

One such project is a $1 billion battery and solar farm planned for construction at Morgan in South Australia. Once completed, it will be one of Australia’s largest solar farms, with 3.4 million solar panels and a capacity of 330MW solar generation. This is 228MW more than the 102MW Nyngan facility in New South Wales, which is currently Australia's largest constructed solar farm.

The new solar farm at Morgan has not received

funding from the Government and will be 100 per cent equity funded. Construction is expected to begin in 2017.

Another such project is the Kingfisher Project near Roxby Downs in South Australia. It was a finalist for ARENA funding but missed out.

The combined solar and battery facility is expected to produce 120MW of solar power from 1.5 million panels, with construction expected to begin in September 2018.

Jeff Lawson, National Construction Equipment Sales Manager at Vermeer, said projects such as these show that the technology and experience to build large-scale solar farms is available, and by using them Australia’s solar industry can quickly catch up to international markets.

“Australian large-scale solar is still in its infancy. Until recently there were only four projects commissioned. Even with the 12 winning projects from ARENA’s competitive funding round adding 262MW to Australia’s capacity, it is still well behind the installed capacity of comparable international markets which have between one and 34GW capacity,” Mr Lawson said.

“It’s larger projects such as the Morgan and Kingfisher projects that will boost Australia’s capacity and show that these projects can be undertaken without funding support.”

Mr Lawson said there is equipment available that can help further drive down costs, and make construction more efficient, making solar projects more viable, with or without support.

“For example, Vermeer’s PD10 pile driver has been designed to meet the tight tolerance and high productivity demands of commercial solar installation contractors and the expansive solar fields for which they are responsible,” Mr Lawson said.

“It is equipped with GPS guidance, auto-plumb and a laser-controlled post-depth-control feature so piles can be installed quicker, cheaper and more accurately.

“With solar projects increasing in size the use of equipment like this will become increasingly more important in order to build strong foundations to lay panels on, while also reducing the risk of project delays or added installation costs without compromising on the quality of work.

“Australia’s solar industry is booming and if contractors can keeping pushing the costs of construction down we will continue to see larger solar farms being constructed.”

Developments in Sydney’s metro rail network are bringing the network closer to the model of the London Underground.

The designer of Sydney’s famous harbour bridge, Dr JJC Bradfield, also designed Sydney’s rail system, but his lofty vision for a metro rail network rivalling that of London or New York could never be realised in the low-density city of a century ago. But one hundred years on, as Sydney has passed a population of five million people, Dr Bradfield’s rapid metro rail proposals are now becoming a reality. The big difference over this time has been the incredible growth in population, but more importantly, it is the greater densities of housing that are bringing his vision to life.

METRO RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE IS THE KEY TO SYDNEY'S GROWTH

by Chris Johnson, Chief Executive Officer, Urban Taskforce Australia

In 1914, Dr Bradfield was despatched by the government on a research project to investigate the trends towards underground railways. He visited the leading cities that incorporated metro rail networks: New York, Paris and London. Dr Bradfield took a stop watch with him and he recorded the “headway” in each of the systems, which was the time between trains. New York had an impressive headway of two minutes, but Chicago surpassed this with 20 second headways recorded. In London Dr Bradfield found that there were 44 trains an hour giving headways of around 90 seconds.

The London Underground, as it is called even though only 45 per cent is underground, was built in 1863 as the first in the world. Dr Bradfield noted in his report on his tour that the British commuters were very well behaved. The underground sections of London’s metro were constructed with large concrete pipes or tubes which led to the more popular title for the network of “The Tube”. Most Australians have travelled on the London Tube with its Circle Line and its Central Line.

Paris followed London in 1900 with its Metropolitan Rail network and the system adopted the name of “Metro”. New York was not much later, with its network built in 1904 and the name “Subway”, which rapidly grew to an extensive network of 469 stations. The New York Subway set a record on the 25th of September 2014 when 6.1 million people used the network.

Dr Bradfield’s 1915 report on his trip included a map of his proposal for Sydney that included a Western Line with 65 trains an hour proposed. That means a train every minute. The North Shore Linewas proposed at 25 trains a minute and the unrealised Bondi route was to be 40 trains an hour. Clearly Sydney’s densities in those days did not warrant these fast headway times and an electric heavy rail network was built.

Fast forward 100 years and Dr Bradfield’s vision is now being realised. The New South Wales Government is well down the track on its North West Metro Rail, which connects Rouse Hill through Epping to Chatswood. The government has also announced the next stage of the Sydney Metro as linking Chatswood through North Sydney, Barangaroo, Sydenham and out to Bankstown. It is not hard to see how this could be extended to Liverpool, the Western Sydney Airport and out to Penrith. If this then continued to Rouse Hill, Sydney would have a Circle Line to match London’s Circle Line.

The NSW Government has also announced what could become the beginning of Sydney’s Central Line, matching London’s Central Line. Metro West has been announced as a new metro line linking the Sydney CBD with the growing centre of Parramatta. Along the way there would be stations at the Bays Precinct and Sydney Olympic Park, and at a few other locations where new high-rise development could be stimulated. So Dr Bradfield’s metro rail system is now emerging as Sydney grows from its present five million people to eight million over the next 40 years.

At eight million people, Sydney will match the present populations of London and New York with their extensive metro rail networks. So Sydney will have caught up with the cities that set the pace 100 years ago. Of course New York and London will also keep growing and no doubt set examples that a Bradfield of today could learn from.

The Urban Taskforce has developed a structure for Sydney’s future rail network with Architectus. This proposal did have a future metro rail network that mirrored London’s Circle Line and Central Line. We added to this metro rail framework a series of light rail loops that acted as feeders to the metro and

then suggested that this framework was where future urban density must be located.

Sydney, and other major Australian cities need a long-term infrastructure structure like this so that planning decisions on the location of new jobs and homes can relate to the infrastructure provision. Figure 1 shows our diagram for how Sydney’s metro and light rail networks could be located.

Very similar networks of metro rail have been rolled out extensively across Asian cities. In India, there has been a major program of metro rail projects constructed in Mumbai, New Delhi and other Indian cities. An even more impressive program of delivering metro rail systems has occurred in China’s major cities. Shanghai has built an impressive 1,000km of metro rail in only 25 years, and Beijing and many other Chinese cities are following this trend.

Singapore, which has a similar population to Sydney of five million people, has an extensive network of metro rail. Singapore has gone further in its focus on public transport with congestion tolls on cars that vary at differing times to control vehicular traffic in urban areas, and adding significant taxes to the cost of a new car. Importantly the rail network has become the framework for where Singapore locates its new density to handle population growth.

Dr Bradfield would feel positive about the roll out of metro rail across Sydney a hundred years after he produced his plan for fast headways similar to the metro rail systems he saw in New York, Paris and London. The big difference over 100 years has been Sydney’s population growth from 750,000 people to today’s five million people. But more than the population growth, it is the density of development around railway stations that is moving commuters from being car based to being public transport based.

The beauty of metro rail is that it runs every few minutes so travellers do not need to check timetables for their travel. But this rapid turnover of trains needs travellers in large numbers to work efficiently, hence the importance of greater density within walking distance to the stations. In Sydney, just like New York, London and Paris, this is leading to a boom in apartment construction as the preferred way of living for a growing percentage of the population. Sydney is moving from being a suburban city to becoming an urban city.

Figure 1. Possible locations for Sydney’s metro and light rail networks. (Drawing by Architectus)

Creating a train network similar to New York’s subway system is the key to sustainable growth in Sydney.

The NSW Government is spending record amounts on major infrastructure projects. But rather than put further demands on the market for skilled labour, they are ensuring this infrastructure investment will leave a skills dividend.

INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT EQUALS TRAINING INVESTMENT

by John Barilaro, Deputy Premier of NSW and Minister for Regional NSW, Skills and Small Business

Construction is booming in NSW. The NSW Government is investing $73.3 billion in the next four years to 2019-20, including $41.5 billion on transport projects across regional and metro NSW.

At the same time, we are facing a nationwide shortage of skilled construction workers, and I regularly speak to business leaders who ask whether they will have the workers they need for future projects.

Our major infrastructure builds are transforming the state, including Australia’s largest road project, WestConnex, and the nation’s largest public transport project, the Sydney Metro, stretching from the north-west to the city and out to the south-west.

And the private sector has shown its confidence in NSW, evidenced by the record number of cranes springing up across the skyline.

I am determined that our once-in-a-generation infrastructure investment actually increases the pool of skilled workers, rather than just soak up all the skilled workers available.

Last September we launched the Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program, introducing minimum targets for apprentices and other under-represented groups on major NSW Government projects.

The Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program is ensuring our massive infrastructure investment delivers a skills dividend, benefiting not only those who will use the infrastructure, but those who gain new skills they can apply over their working lives.

Under the program, apprentices must fill at least 20 per cent of all trade roles.

“Learning workers”, who are receiving on-the-job training to update their qualifications, must make up at least 20 per cent of the labour force.

For people living in our regions who are looking for work, there is nothing worse than hearing a fantastic new construction project announced for their area, only to see construction crews swoop in from out of town to complete the work.

As both Minister for Skills and Regional NSW, I have ensured the Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program requires contractors to identify options for local employment and training outcomes, spreading the benefits to local communities.

I have seen the Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program work well in one of its first major tests, on the Lismore Hospital Stage 3B Redevelopment.

The $180 million project is employing an average of 70 tradespeople each year, with up to 14 new apprenticeship opportunities for young people in the region.

With apprentices and trainees making up 20 per cent of the workforce, many from the local area, the upgrade will leave a legacy of skills in the Lismore region.

Women are capable at excelling in construction trades, but traditionally they have been almost entirely absent from these roles.

The Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program wants to double the number of women in non-traditional roles by setting a minimum target of two per cent of the workforce. As stereotypes are shattered, I expect we will see increasing numbers of women embarking on rewarding careers in the trades.

Our program also ensures under 25 year-olds make up at least eight per cent of the total projected workforce. This reflects the proportion of young people in the broader working population.

the program.

By April last year, Indigenous people were already representing about five per cent of the total number in the building and construction sector.

Training Services NSW, a government agency, has resources to help contractors develop training programs to increase employment and build capability for new and experienced workers, including Indigenous members of the community.

The NSW Government also has other strategies to tackle the skills shortage. We have ramped-up spending on Vocational Education and Training (VET), subsidising a record 550,000 places this year alone, including in key building, construction and civil courses.

It’s in the interest of construction companies, as well as the industry, to hire more apprentices and diversify the workforce. Our targets set a level playing field, saving contractors and sub-contractors from feeling they have to race to the bottom in their hiring policies.

When tendering for NSW Government contracts under this program, infrastructure business decision-makers know they can open their door to apprentices and those from more diverse backgrounds.

The Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program is strengthening the workforce and benefiting the industry and the wider community. Its positive effects will be felt for years to come.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who make up three per cent of the NSW population, must be supported by at least 1.5 per cent of the total contract value under

John Barilaro.

SAFETY INNOVATION AND MENTAL HEALTH IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Safety innovation and mental health and wellbeing are becoming increasingly important components of occupational health and safety management. One in five Australian employees reported that they have taken time off work due to feeling mentally unwell in the past 12 months, due to stress, anxiousness or depression. In addition, innovation, whether in processes, technology or approaches to people, is becoming more and more crucial in helping to solve ongoing problems and ensuring employees go home safely after work.

The upcoming Safety in Action Tradeshow will tap into these key health and safety topics, by introducing three new dedicated Safety Zones. Each zone will include free, tailored seminar programs to educate today’s OHS professionals. Next to the safety innovations and mental health and wellbeing program, the third safety zone will focus on case studies of current major safety projects in Australia, to stay on top of the latest developments.

“This year, to cater for extra demand, we have created three spaces on the tradeshow floor to run concurrent programs covering major projects, innovations, and wellbeing. You can attend as many as you like from across all three streams,” said Keith Barks,

Free registration is now open for Australia’s leading occupational health and safety in action tradeshow, taking place on 5-6 September at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

The full seminar program can be viewed on www.safetyinaction.net.au. Seminars are free to attend.

General Manager at Informa Australia, organisers of the event.

Free seminar sessions include:

♦ Implementing a mental health and wellbeing strategy in the workplace, Nick Arvantis, Head of Research & Resource Development, Beyond Blue

♦ Software to manage and improve Workplace Mental Health, Sarah O’Leary, Opportunity Creator, myosh

♦ The future of corporate health –current trends and future direction, Debra Villar, Director, Complete Corporate Wellness

♦ Mitigating heat stress – lessons learnt from 2017, Dr Matt Brearley, Managing Director, Thermal Hyper Performance

♦ Non-conforming building products and safety law, Katherine Morris, Norton Rose Fulbright

♦ Legal approaches, safety culture and human factors in the aviation industry, John Ribbands, Barrister and Aviation Human Factors Specialist, ALAANZ

Exhibitors confirmed include major corporate sponsor myosh Safety Management Software, technology partner Riskware, RISSB, Mix Telematics, Retailquip, QHSE Integrated Solutions, Bureau Veritas, A-Safe Australia and Converge International. Held concurrently with the trade show, Safety in Action presents three high-profile conferences focusing on safety strategy, leadership and culture, workplace wellness and return to work. With over 350 delegates and 70+ speakers and the conferences running in adjacent rooms, attendees can switch sessions and plan a track to suit their requirements.

Registration is now open for the Safety in Action Tradeshow, taking place on 5-6 September 2017 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Safety in Action opening hours are 10am-6pm on Tuesday 5 September and 10am-4pm on Wednesday 6 September, 2017. Attendance is free for bona fide trade visitors and available at www.safetyinaction.net.au.

BEYOND TOLLS: NEW ALTERNATIVES FOR FUNDING OUR ROADS

by Professor David Hensher, Founding Director, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, The University of Sydney Business School

Toll roads in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane historically have been a response to government's desires to improve infrastructure through participation of the private sector. This served to remove debt from state government accounts while opening up opportunities for private equity into what are still believed in the main to be attractive commercial investments. But the timing is right to look at new alternatives for road funding.

Many lessons have been learnt as both the public sector and private interests have grappled to understand the different (and often conflicting) objectives of social welfare and profit maximisation. Central to the understanding of how tolling works is the allocation (or sharing) of risk.

The key risk is patronage (hence revenue) risk, which has had a controversial history shrouded in optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation in order to make the numbers look good. While lessons have been learnt the hard way (i.e. toll roads going into administration, class actions being settled out of court on the day of legal decision, private equity investors feeling they have been misled), the appetite for more tolling investment remains. Sydney currently has 135km of tolled routes (or 270 directional km), increasing to 185km (or 370 directional km) with current and pending construction.

Many lessons have been learnt, but the key ones relate to:

♦ Whether society gets value for money from private sector participation

♦ Whether the toll level is appropriate for the offered travel time savings relative to non-tolled routes

♦ Whether the risks (patronage in particular) are managed appropriately

♦ Why we continue to require forecasts to reflect actual traffic so soon in the settling in period of a tolled road (ramp up)

Private equity investors want their returns under

While toll roads have traditionally funded new infrastructure projects, there are other alternatives - such as use-related pricing mechanisms for all roads - which can be equally effective.

what can only be described as badly advised expectations of early returns. Advisors to private equity investors should learn from the accumulated experiences, and promote a more realistic timeline (in my view no earlier than the fifth year), in which equity related returns start to be more reliable.

On top of this, we need to recognise that actual patronage levels, even over this period, will almost certainly be lower than typically obtained. My advice tends towards estimates closer to 60 per cent of forecasts for new road infrastructure. Indeed, I am aware of at least one major bank which acts as a banker to the equity market doing just this. This starts to resolve optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation, and will hopefully reduce the risk of administration and legal action.

Even under these conditions, there is a case to made for focusing on debt financing until the risk profile of patronage is better established and stabilises, and then inviting private equity; or writing in more binding conditions if this timing sequence is not adopted.

One of the great errors in the current tolling model has been the political decision to prescribe a unit toll rate, which is indexed over time by the consumer price index. This has resulted in ring fencing on the crucial mechanism that is capable of recognising the need to adjust the rate to ensure that the travel time savings are delivered relative to the nontolled route, given travellers’ value of travel time savings.

Consultants have struggled to establish the best outcome in relation to patronage forecasts because of this seriously problematic imposition. Added to the fact that consultants associated with the bidding consortia are often told to improve the patronage forecasts in ways that require what might be best described as imaginative futures, extending the range of time related benefits (such as the toll quality bonus) in the search for even higher patronage forecasts for a fixed toll regime.

This becomes a commercial proposition in contrast to a network efficiency solution, resulting often in the loss of network welfare gains. There currently exists a complete failure across all tolled roads in Australia to optimise the level of toll. I believe this is generally opposed by the operating companies of tolled roads on many grounds, but specifically their liking of the greater certainty of revenue flows, even if these flows are a mismatch in delivering a better performing road network.

One consequence is that we observe high levels of congestion on tolled roads that are meant to deliver noticeably better travel time savings than non-tolled routes. Meanwhile the competing (as per the contract with the toll road operator)

roads tend to deteriorate to support investment commitment in the tolled routes. The criticism of this model is not in having private sector participation and a user-pays pricing regime, but in the public-private partnership model in place that has historically been used to deliver the much needed additional road infrastructure. It may be time to rethink the way we fund user-pays road infrastructure that removes the commercial imperative, resulting in a disconnect in delivering a network wide efficient road system.

A significant strategic question is whether the time has arrived to recognise that tolling has served an important (transitional) role of highlighting the need to have a userelated pricing mechanism for roads (like other utilities such as water and electricity). But specialising the charging regime to a single class of roads amounts to no more than a commercial imperative for investors in contrast to the need to ensure that the road system delivers efficient (and equitable) service levels.

This requires government to consider the next step of road pricing reform, in which tolling is seen as nothing more

than an important transition strategy to reinforce the merit of user pays. But determining efficient prices for the entire road network is an order of magnitude more complex than fixing a toll price as part of a business case for commercial appeal into the private equity market.

There have been numerous inquiries into the way roads are funded and an increasing recognition that we need to move to a broad based user-pays regime for all roads, ideally with variable distance-based pricing. We know that continues to be out of scope of political agendas, even though many politicians espouse its merits, commission inquiries, and then in the main ignore the recommendations. Meanwhile politicians (at least in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) are quite happy to support tolling of specific parts of the network as a mechanism to fund new infrastructure (broadly defined to include upgrades of old infrastructure).

I and colleagues have undertaken research over many years to find ways to get buy-in from users that can translate into appealing propositions for politicians (through growing support

at the ballot box). One reform model for passenger cars in metropolitan Sydney involves halving annual vehicle registration fees, introducing a 5c/km peak period distance-based charge, no such charge in the off peak, while preserving the fuel excise. We find that the great majority of motorists are financially no worse off (the hip pocket test), and state treasury is revenue neutral. The Federal Government is slightly worse off on fuel excise collections as a result of some reduced car use, while the peak traffic levels improve by 6-8 per cent. This reduction in the amount of traffic is equivalent to the levels of traffic and travel times experienced in school holidays, which we know is greatly improved over other times. This model involves removing the tolls on existing tolled routes and compensating the toll road operators over the duration of the concession with the distance-based revenue raised on the tolled routes and additional funding if required.

Is it time we start to seriously consider this method of funding our roads?

Use-related pricing mechanisms have the potential to reduce peak hour traffic in major cities.

Conference Themes:

• Constructing the Roads of the Future

• Perpetual and Heavy Duty Pavement Technology

• Next Generation Bituminous Surfacings

• Flexible Pavement Technology for (Air) Ports

• Resilient Regional and Local Government Roads

• Managing Road Networks in a Digitally Connected World

• Delivering the Smart, Safe and Sustainable Roads of the Future

A future with change offers opportunities, challenges and excitement. The future of transport and the role that roads play in moving people and goods is facing unprecedented potential disruption. At the same time, the Roads of the Future are the key to creating the economic opportunities of tomorrow.

The aim of the conference is to help prepare the Australian Flexible Pavements sector for future challenges, by openly discussing the possible disruption from new digital and physical environments and technologies.

Sponsorship opportunities are open to local and international organisations.

For details on packages and custom options please contact Rachel Black on 03 8416 5400 or visit conference.aapa.asn.au for more information

MAKING THE MOST OF A WEALTH OF

INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE

by Steve Joseph, Advisor, Simon Kennedy, Partner, and Mike Kerlin, Partner, McKinsey & Company

McKinsey argues that infrastructure investment isn’t held back by a lack of worthy projects; it’s often lack of expertise and, perhaps, daring.

The world will need to spend almost $57 trillion on new infrastructure over the next 15 years, according to the McKinsey Global Institute. That’s an enormous sum, but contrary to popular belief, there is no shortage of capital; in fact, there will be more than enough as both governments and investors increase their focus on infrastructure.

The past five years, for example, have seen a steady rise in the number of institutional investors allocating assets to infrastructure, as well as the establishment of infrastructure as an asset class in its own right. Over the five years from 2011 to 2015, foreign investment into the Australian transport sector has risen from just over $10 billion in 2011 to almost $70 billion in 20151. At the same time, thanks to an increased appetite for direct investing by limited partners and the entrance onto the scene of giant sovereign-wealth funds, more money is in play. Meanwhile, multilateral and development-finance institutions are stepping up their efforts. The pool of capital available is deep. Across infrastructure funds, institutional investors, public treasuries, development banks, commercial banks, corporations, and even retail investors, we estimate that more than $5 trillion a year is available for infrastructure investment.

While capital is, of course, necessary, it is not sufficient to ensure success. The money has to be focused on the right projects and then spent judiciously. Here are five principles that can help infrastructure providers make good choices.

ESTABLISH REALISTIC REVENUE STREAMS TO ENCOURAGE PRIVATE FINANCING

There are two primary sources of revenue for investors in infrastructure. The first is public funds and the other is revenue streams in the form of charges, such as tolls, paid by end users. Historically, government has assumed most of the burden, particularly in emerging markets. But the scale of infrastructure required makes attracting private investment critical.

To do so, projects in difficult-tofinance areas such as roads and water should take their cue from telecommunications. This sector manages to attract investors even in capital-poor countries because it offers a clear return on investment and predictable cash flows. In many cases, particularly in developing countries, people have become accustomed to paying little or nothing for water or roads. But they do, of course, derive benefits, economic and otherwise, from such projects; moreover, there needs

to be a way to pay for maintenance. If charging users offers a realistic prospect of covering capital or operating costs, then doing so makes sense, assuming this arrangement makes provisions for low-income users, ensuring they are not overburdened.

To replicate the telecoms model for other kinds of infrastructure, governments should ensure that charges reflect the economic costs. Even a well-structured project will fail to attract private financing if prices are set too low; in that case, the public sector will be forced to cover all the costs.

The roads sector illustrates the difficulty of setting appropriate prices. Drivers in many countries are unaccustomed to paying for using roads and therefore resist such efforts; for example, violence and mass boycotts arose in response to efforts to introduce charges for heavy-goods vehicles in France and urban tolls in South Africa’s Gauteng Province. Moreover, persuading treasury departments to set aside toll revenues for road improvements is difficult. Tolls can be insufficient, and there is always a temptation to divert them elsewhere. Because of these factors, we expect around half of all proposed road projects to go unfinanced and thus unbuilt in the years ahead. That adds costs with respect to congestion and the difficulty of moving goods.

The same is also true of wastewater; the beneficiaries of sewage systems, meaning everyone, often do not contribute to the cost of cleaning up the water. This is particularly true of developing markets, due to the inability to impose and collect charges. In too many cases, that means wastewater is left to pollute the landscape or, worse, seep back into the water supply. However unpopular doing so may be, governments need to set prices for such projects so that investors can earn a reasonable financial return. Otherwise, the systems will not get built.

Once governments have structured projects to provide stable and appropriate revenue streams, they can begin to figure out which ones to do first. Setting priorities is important. The independent body Infrastructure Australia carries out this process for the Federal Government. In February 2017, it published an update to its Infrastructure Priority List, a list of the top 100 major infrastructure proposals that it assessed to be most needed to boost

the Australian economy. These projects are then given priority for federal government funding requests2.

One way of making investments attractive is to package smaller projects together; pooling project revenues and risks in this way can attract major investors who might otherwise see the individual projects as too small to bother with. An example is the Victorian Government’s $1.8 billion Outer Suburban Arterial Roads (OSARs) program, combining eight high priority road upgrade projects with maintenance on more than 700km of road. By combining these projects, the government is seeking to attract private investors. The contract that is currently in the procurement stage will be delivered via a public-private partnership, for a five-year construction term and 20-year maintenance term.3

FOCUS ON FINDING THE RIGHT TYPES OF CAPITAL

Having a lot of capital available for infrastructure doesn’t mean the right type of money will be there. Privately financed infrastructure projects require both debt and equity to manage risks and satisfy debt investors, who typically take the lion’s share of project costs. While developed economies with mature infrastructure markets, such as Australia, have no shortage of private capital available, we forecast Brazil to have a surplus of debt for infrastructure in coming years but a shortfall in equity financing, due to public indebtedness, a devaluing currency, and highly leveraged corporate balance sheets. And Brazil is not alone. Consequently, many projects will fail to find financing simply because there isn’t enough equity to attract the debt required to complete the transaction.

Development banks can help to fill the equity gap, and in fact, many are scaling up their commitments. For example, the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) invests more than $1 billion per year in infrastructure equity and has increased its firepower in recent years by launching a global infrastructure equity fund alongside private-sector investors. As at October 2016, IFC had ten USD global transactions outstanding, worth $21.4 billion in volume; and IFC’s current annual funding program is US$17 billion.4

Capital is also flowing from nontraditional sources. Some countries require their mandatory pension

funds to invest part of their resources domestically. This has helped generate a pool of resources suitable for domestic infrastructure investing. In the small town of Glyncoch, Wales, local crowd-sourcing finances construction of a new community centre without formal government support. Eliminating the legal barriers to crowd-sourcing could ensure that personal, not just institutional, capital can help to build the future.

ENCOURAGE INVESTORS TO CONSIDER EMERGING MARKETS AND GREENFIELD ASSETS.

A sophisticated understanding of countries, regions, and projects is necessary to match capital from investors, developers, and government sponsors alike with the infrastructure projects that need it. Simply put, investors need to deal with each emerging market individually and to harness local knowledge on the way.

That may sound obvious, but it needs to be said. The fact is, many investors (or their limited partners) restrict themselves to Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) or investment-grade countries. Others will not take on “greenfield assets” – new-build infrastructure projects where investors must take on the risk of development and construction. Instead, they prefer to focus on alreadybuilt brownfield assets. But as more money flows into brownfield OECD markets (industry data provider Preqin has estimated that the number of Australian-based infrastructure investors has increased by over 30 per cent from 2012 to 20165), heightened competition is placing pressure on returns. Although measuring precise changes in such investments is difficult, many institutional investors with long track records are looking beyond brownfield OECD infrastructure assets in response to rising prices.

Investors who want to consider these types of opportunities should be aware that doing so could mean taking calculated risks in emerging markets; adopting a country-by-country approach to risk assessment is important. In addition, those investors would first need to ensure that limited-partner agreements allow them the flexibility to invest in what may be considered riskier countries, as long as these markets meet certain criteria.

Innovative funding models, including the leasing of electricity networks, are providing governments with new streams of revenue to fund projects.

For instance, if investors consider a country like Croatia, they would find that although the three major rating agencies rate the country as sub-investment grade, Croatia has an attractive public–private partnership (PPP) regime. The Economist Intelligence Unit rates it well ahead of its peers in southern Europe in many ways, and it has a more favourable legal and regulatory profile than a number of countries that do better at attracting capital. Infrastructure projects in countries like Croatia that fall just outside investment grade (rated BB+ through BB- by Standard & Poor’s) account for $4 trillion of infrastructure needs over the next five years.

Smart investors will deploy a variety of tactics – such as assessing the risk profiles of potential investments, and partnering with local sponsors and developmentfinance institutions – in order to pursue high-growth projects where fewer players are at the bidding table.

REALISE VALUE FROM CASH-GENERATING ASSETS

Many governments, particularly in developing markets, are missing the chance to tap a viable source of cash in the form of generating value from existing assets. The world’s infrastructure stock is valued at an estimated $48 trillion. Some of these assets are already profitable, while others could turn a profit if operations improved and subsidies declined. There are examples at hand. The NSW Government in Australia has successfully executed an aggressive “asset recycling” program to enter into long-term leases for state-owned infrastructure assets. It will generate an estimated $20 billion in proceeds, which will then be used to fund new infrastructure. These assets include the state-owned electricity networks and land titles office, and has previously

included port assets. By leasing these assets, the NSW Government has also received significant Federal Government incentive payments.6

Reforming or privatising state-owned infrastructure presents challenges, of course. An asset may operate at a loss, have a difficult labour situation, or need to be untangled from other businesses unsuitable for privatisation. Despite these complexities, purchasing these assets can yield greater returns from selling assets or turning money-losing assets into profitable ones. For example, NSW’s land titles office (Land and Property Information) has traditionally been integrated with the state government machinery, and thus its revenues have not been able to be easily optimised or monetised. By entering into a long-term concession (35 years) for a private operator to run this office, it has generated proceeds of $2.6 billion to the state government. It also means that an experienced consortium is providing the services to the taxpayers.7

DEEPEN PARTNERSHIPS AMONG INFRASTRUCTURE-FINANCE PLAYERS

The infrastructure-finance market is plagued by a lack of information. Governments and businesses aren’t in the habit of sharing best practices or benchmarks with each other, much less the details of what went wrong (or even right). Governments, investors, developers, and operators alike would benefit from sharing more information and in more structured ways. Many governments recognise that developers can be a valuable source of ideas – for example, about which projects would have the best economic returns or how

to attract private investment. Early evaluation of project plans can help prospective bidders warn governments if the project looks unviable.

One way to take advantage of the ideas and expertise of private-sector developers is to allow them to submit unsolicited proposals for infrastructure projects to government. In Australia, there is now a sophisticated process to receive unsolicited proposals in many states, many of which have led to successful infrastructure projects. Specifically, the NSW Government has used this process to progress major new projects, including the $3 billion, 9km NorthConnex toll road project, the long-term lease of the Ausgrid electricity network, and the new grand transit hall/public concourse at Wynyard Station in Sydney.8 As each of these approaches becomes successful, private players become more comfortable and more willing to participate, and the public sector becomes more willing to pay attention. It’s common today to hear that too much capital is chasing too few infrastructure assets. But the problem is not a lack of worthy projects; it’s a lack of expertise and, perhaps, daring. Investment opportunities need to be appraised and prepared properly, and investors need to educate themselves. Marrying investors to assets will require more effort, more innovation, and more thoughtfulness on the part of government and business, but this is vital in order to ensure that there is sufficient investment in infrastructure to support global growth.

Philadelphia office. An earlier version of this article appeared on McKinsey.com.

1 Financing Australian Transport Infrastructure: An Investor’s Viewpoint, QIC, March 2017

2 Why we must diversify the pool of funding available for Australian infrastructure investment, Infrastructure Australia, March 2017

3 Improving Arterial Roads in Melbourne's outer west, VicRoads, https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/planning-and-projects/melbourne-road-projects/outer-suburban-arterial-roads

4 IFC: Investing for Impact, http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/e3800f00421783e4bab7fe0678385eae/Investing+for+Impact+factsheet_Oct+2016.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

5 Financing Australian Transport Infrastructure: An Investor’s Viewpoint, QIC, March 2017

6 NSW State Budget 2016-17, http://www.budget.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/word_doc/0009/128628/3._Rebuilding_NSW.doc

7 NSW receives massive infrastructure boost, 12 April 2017, https://www.nsw.gov.au/your-government/the-premier/media-releases-from-the-premier/nsw-receives-massive-i

8 NSW Government Unsolicited Proposals process, https://www.nsw.gov.au/contact-us/unsolicited-proposals/

Simon Kennedy is a partner in McKinsey & Company’s Sydney office where Steve Joseph is an advisor. Mike Kerlin is a partner in McKinsey’s

LEARN

DISCUSS

Peter

INVESTMENT OUTLOOK FOR AUSTRALIAN INFRASTRUCTURE REMAINS STRONG

A recently released report from Infrastructure Partnerships Australia and Perpetual Corporate Trust confirms Australia’s ongoing position as a globally attractive, stable destination for infrastructure investment, and a world leader on a number of measures.

Infrastructure Partnerships Australia (IPA) and Perpetual Corporate Trust jointly undertook a study of the Australian market for infrastructure projects, and published these results in the Australian Infrastructure Investment Report. IPA and Perpetual produce this report annually to help the industry increase

its understanding of the drivers and inhibitors for infrastructure investors – and to benchmark how Australia is viewed as an investment destination, compared to other parts of the world.

In preparing the report, the views of sophisticated global and domestic investors, including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, fund managers, banks and other industry participants were gathered. Participants in the report collectively own or manage approximately $110 billion in infrastructure investments across the globe.

The research that informed the report indicates that Australian infrastructure investments remain extremely attractive, with 94 per cent of participants indicating that they are “highly likely” to invest in Australian opportunities in the next two to three years, which is an increase on last year’s results.

The research also shows that many investors are willing to invest large amounts of money in Australian infrastructure, with two thirds of participants ready to invest over $1 billion in Australian infrastructure and 61 per cent ready to invest over $2 billion.

Regarding future investment intentions, roads remain the single most attractive asset type, followed closely by water infrastructure, social infrastructure, renewable energy generation and energy transmission and distribution. There has been a notable jump in interest around renewable energy generation projects since last year, reflecting the certainty provided to the sector by the reinstatement of the Renewable Energy Target (RET).

Investors identify Australia’s strong track record in infrastructure and our stable economic, fiscal and regulatory environment as key features driving the attractiveness of the Australian market; with the depth of market knowledge and ease of doing business adding further appeal.

Importantly, this research project also identifies the areas where Australia can improve current practices, in order to ensure sustained interest from global investors, beyond the current high level of interest.

The major challenge facing the Australian market at the moment is the dual and interlinked challenge of increased competition and a lack of opportunities.

Competition for assets emerged as the major challenge this year, with

50 per cent of participants indicating competition was a challenge.

This was followed by concern around the limited visibility of the pipeline and a sense that there are not enough opportunities available.

Concern around political risk in the quantitative surveys more than halved on last year’s results, with only 35 per cent of participants citing political risk as a major challenge (down from 68 per cent last year).

However, the decision last year to block the two foreign bids for a 50.4 per cent stake in Ausgrid on advice from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) occurred in the time between the quantitative survey and qualitative interviews. This meant that political risk and policy consistency were once again a common theme during the qualitative interviews.

The report indicates that there is plenty of money available for investment and a strong appetite to invest in Australian infrastructure, but a lack of opportunities means that investors have to look elsewhere (outside Australia or in new sectors) for the scale of investment opportunities required.

Renewable energy generation emerged as a strong sector that is growing globally, offering new opportunities for investment and growth.

CONCLUSION

The report paints a positive outlook for investment into the Australian infrastructure market. Demand is high and willingness to invest in Australian infrastructure is strong.

However, there are some challenges. The survey highlights the critical importance of certainty in making decisions about where and when to invest. While Australia has many strengths as a destination for infrastructure investment, the market for infrastructure investment is global.

Our economic stability, experienced industry participants and supportive governments are all positives, yet uncertainty of pipeline and a significant increase in competition for assets means we cannot assume investment capital will always be at our disposal.

Essentially investors are calling for greater transparency, a level playing field when bidding and a pragmatic attitude to regulation and compliance. Local and overseas investors make a substantial contribution to the Australian economy. They are ready and willing to invest, and welcome initiatives that give them more confidence that substantial opportunities will continue to present themselves in the Australian infrastructure sector.

The appetite for Australian infrastructure assets has become stronger

94 per cent of investors report they are highly likely to invest in Australian infrastructure; up from 79 per cent in 2015. Just six per cent of investors say they are highly unlikely to invest.

The appetite for very large individual investments appears to have fallen

The appetite for single investments above $2 billion has fallen to 20 per cent; down from 36 per cent in 2015. The appetite for single investments between $1 billion and $2 billion has halved, to 25 per cent.

Roads are the stand-out asset for nearly three-quarters of investors, then utilities

Roads remain the most attractive infrastructure asset class for 70 per cent of participants. Renewable energy generation has recorded an increase in investor appetite; rising from 36 per cent last year to 50 per cent in 2016.

More investors means more competition

45 per cent of participants identify the competition for assets as a challenge – up from just five per cent last year – making it the number one challenge identified by participants.

Australia’s mature and stable market is a major point of attraction

Australia is an attractive destination for infrastructure investment because of it’s economic stability (75 per cent of respondents); strong knowledge of market participants and partners (65 per cent of respondents); and the ease of doing business (60 per cent of respondents).

ENHANCING

TECHNOLOGY AND with

The concept of the smart city has been steadily gaining traction in the 21st century. From humble beginnings, where technology providers such as Cisco and IBM considered ways their innovations could make cities more automated and sustainable, we’re now moving into the Smart Cities 2.0 era – with a focus on creating platforms for data access, sharing, reuse and interoperability.

OUR CITIES

AND INNOVATION

Leading the charge in Australia is the City of Melbourne (CoM), which has been working on various initiatives to enhance its smart credentials for a number of years now.

The focus for CoM is working with the community (residents, workers, businesses, students and visitors) to design, develop and test the best ways to live, work and play in Melbourne. In

many cases, innovations in technology will have a role to play in creating and enhancing these experiences.

According to Councillor Dr Jackie Watts, Chair of the Knowledge City portfolio, that’s exactly how a smart city should operate – adopting useful innovation that folds seamlessly into how we live our lives to improve our day-to-day experiences.

“Melbourne’s smart city agenda

helps make our city more enjoyable and accessible for residents, workers, businesses, students and visitors,” said Dr Watts. “In many cases, innovation and technology will play a role in creating and enhancing these experiences.”

PLANNING FOR CHANGING NEEDS

Dr Watts says that CoM’s vision for Melbourne as a smart city is simple: to enhance the aspects of the city

that makes it uniquely Melbourne, and intelligently prepare for the changing needs of the community, the environment and the economy.

A wide range of initiatives have been implemented or are being developed, including:

Open data platform – the platform features over 100 unique data sets that are available to the public to view and use. One data set comes from CoM’s 24 hour pedestrian counting system, which helps the city understand pedestrian activity in the city’s busiest locations, allowing for better planning for population growth in the future. Other examples include the Bikeshare Live Feed, which provides data on the city’s bike share system, and the environment data set which contains information on shared spaces and parks.

Smart bins – CoM will install more than 360 smart litter bins in the CBD following a successful trial of 14 bins last year. This was announced in May in the city’s draft budget. The new bins hold seven times the waste of a standard

litter bin and will help to reduce garbage truck movements in busy CBD areas.

Development Activity Monitor (DAM) – the DAM monitors major new commercial and residential property developments in the city. It outlines which developments have recently been completed, are under construction, planned or proposed in the city. Data in the DAM is used to help plan for the future development of the city.

Vision Australia partnership – CoM is working with Melburnians who are blind, deaf or deaf–blind to better understand how they navigate through the city. With Vision Australia, CoM trialled beacon technology in Campbell Arcade near Flinders Street Station, which transmits location-specific information. The data from this pilot will be used to help inform possible future solutions that CoM hopes will help more Melburnians independently navigate the city.

THE ROLE OF DATA

According to Dr Watts, both data and big data will have an integral role to play in how the city plans and develops as a leading smart city.

“Data not only provides a measurable fact base to understand the current landscape of the city, it can also be used to forecast into the future and contribute to how we plan for future needs,” said Dr Watts.

For example, from the use of sensors placed throughout the city, CoM can see how comfortably pedestrians are moving and areas where footpath overcrowding is a problem.

“This type of analysis helps us plan for future infrastructure needs that solve real problems and help make our city more liveable for residents, workers, businesses, students and visitors.”

CoM has a strong focus on creating and leveraging a strong evidence base to inform city planning, utilising data from the city, other layers of government, and third parties.

One such data set is the CoM’s Census of Land and Employment (CLUE), which provides information about economic activity, tracks changes in land use and identifies key trends in employment across the municipality.

“CLUE is essential for us to understand how we are performing as a city, informs our strategy and contributes to the development of Council policies,” said Dr Watts.

“We use CLUE data to assess changes and trends in the city, and for strategic planning, economic forecasting and long-term council planning. It is also used to assist businesses with planning of new retail outlets and business relocations.”

Released in May, the latest CLUE data shows that the number of jobs in the municipality has increased by 26 per cent (93,000 new positions) in the past decade and the economy is worth 42 per cent more than it was in 2006, at $92.1 billion.

The latest CLUE report also demonstrates the importance of Melbourne’s status as a knowledge city, with more than a quarter of the new jobs (25,400 positions) in the past ten years created in professional, scientific and technical services.

It also shows that Melbourne’s construction boom is continuing, with 29,000 new dwellings and about eight million square metres of floor space added to the municipality in the past ten years.

OPEN DATA IS THE KEY

Central to CoM’s approach to establishing itself as a smart city is the Open Data platform. According to Dr Watts, by making their datasets open, CoM can increase transparency, improve public services and support new economic and social initiatives.

For example, local app developers are using the council’s open data to create innovative new apps such as NearbyNeeds. This app shows where people can find nearby facilities such as toilets, bike racks and barbecues. Essentially, the Open Data platform creates a collaborative environment where third parties are able to contribute their own ideas and innovations to the city.

Future additions to the Open Data platform include data relating to on street parking within the city. CoM is upgrading its existing on-street parking sensor technology to a real-time system, and once the upgrade is complete and data is available, it will be published to the platform.

“The idea here is that a couple of smart people out there will take the data, apply some predictive analytics, and create new parking apps that will help direct people to locations across the city where parking spots are most

likely to be available,” said Dr Watts. And it’s not just an app that will benefit frustrated city parking spot hunters.

“Given that around 30 per cent of traffic congestion is said to be created by people looking for parking spaces, a solution such as this could help reduce congestion, reduce emissions and save people’s time,” said Dr Watts.

“We also like to give all visitors to the city, regardless of their mode of transport, the confidence that they will be able to get where they need to go in a convenient and timely way.

“They’re then more likely to come back and spend more money with our local businesses, this is important for jobs creation. There’s a cycle of potential benefits here – all from putting up one data set on our open data platform.”

WHERE TO NOW?

Earlier this year the city opened its Resilient Melbourne Citymart Challenge – a global open innovation challenge, open for three months, inviting ideas and solutions to help reduce transport congestion, and/or make the experience of travel more socially fulfilling.

The challenge is hosted locally by the Resilient Melbourne Delivery Office and the City of Melbourne’s Smart City Office, and supported internationally by Citymart, a US based agency specialising in open innovation. Melbourne was one of only four cities globally to be granted Citymart’s services, valued at over USD$50,000, in a competitive offering by The Rockefeller Foundation through its 100 Resilient Cities initiative.

Submissions close on June 23, after which a panel of leaders and experts from government and the university and business sectors will select the best idea and work with the winner to explore ways to support the implementation of their solution.

Submissions received so far indicate the challenge is achieving its aim: to attract fresh thinking that is impactful, feasible, and locally suitable. Submissions to date are for a diverse range of solution types at various stages of maturity and scale, with submitters ranging from large multinational transit providers to local creatives.

Where to now for the City of Melbourne? Watch this space.

BAD VIBRATIONS:

REDUCING NOISE AND VIBRATION LEVELS ON RAIL PROJECTS

Noise from rail lines can have a significant impact on local communities. Engines, brakes and moving wheels; warning bells and horns; and vibration from rail structures all cause noise which travels directly to nearby homes when the tracks are at street level. Minimising the impacts of noise and vibration was a key consideration in the design of the Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project in Melbourne.

Demand for passenger rail services in Australian cities has grown significantly in recent years and is expected to continue. Growing populations are pushing the expansion of residential housing into areas previously used for commercial and industrial purposes, or that are, as of yet, undeveloped. These changes will put more homes closer to rail lines and expose more people to noise and vibration impacts.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR MAJOR RAIL PROJECTS

Construction is well underway on the Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project, which involves the construction of three sections of elevated rail along the CranbournePakenham line, Melbourne’s busiest.

The project will remove nine level crossings and re-build five stations. It is one of several projects being run by the Level Crossing Removal Authority, which is overseeing the removal of 50

dangerous and congested crossings across Melbourne.

Project Director, Brett Summers, said that much of the Cranbourne-Pakenham Line does not perform well in terms of noise when compared to other examples of rail lines in Australia or overseas.

“This is largely due to the poor condition of the existing track; with rickety wooden sleepers and outdated metal equipment that, in some locations, vibrates and generates high levels of noise,” Mr Summers said.

Mr Summers said achieving this noise and vibration mitigation has been an integral part of the project’s design process, and a key consideration both in the design of the permanent works, and during the construction phase.

“Where many road or rail projects rely on standalone noise barriers to screen nearby properties from noise, this project has taken an innovative approach; building in treatments that mitigate noise at its source,” Mr Summers said.

“By providing a state-of-the-art rail system, we are effectively turning the volume of the rail corridor down. And not only will trains make less noise as they travel along the tracks, but there’ll be fewer horns and no more noisy boom gates.”

Mr Summers said there are a whole range of design features that will serve to reduce noise, right down to purposebuilt fastenings and insulators under and around the tracks to limit vibration.

“Tailored screening will also be built into the façade of the structure, reducing

not only noise but passenger visibility into neighbouring properties.

“Elevating the train tracks will make a significant difference to the amount of noise and vibration experienced by nearby residents – particularly those closest to the Caulfield to Dandenong rail corridor.

“Where street level tracks can project noise and vibration straight across to nearby homes, the elevated model combined with acoustic screening will re-direct much of that noise away from those properties.”

ASSESSING NOISE LEVELS

The Victorian Government’s Passenger Rail Infrastructure Noise Policy, introduced in 2013, provides transport bodies and planning authorities with a guide for the consideration of the impacts of rail noise from improved or new passenger rail infrastructure projects, and from changes to land use near existing and planned rail corridors.

The policy provides investigation thresholds (Table 1) to be considered when assessing the impacts of rail noise on nearby communities. The thresholds

take into account residential dwellings and other buildings where people sleep, and noise sensitive community buildings. However, they are not a limit on allowable noise emissions.

Under the policy, the Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project falls under the category ‘redevelopment of existing passenger rail infrastructure’.

“The Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project has been guided by this policy in many ways, including the strategic placement of

acoustic wrapping and screening in designs for the elevated structure,” Mr Summers said.

“We’ve applied the world’s best practice to noise modelling throughout the design process.

“Early on in the project we engaged the services of an acoustic expert, and they’ve so far been involved in assessing and monitoring both the existing noise and vibration levels, and modelling the noise and vibration levels associated with the elevated design.

“Acoustic models are produced using real world data. Measurements and surveys of the existing environment are fed into specialist acoustic modelling software, which applies mathematical algorithms to predict noise impacts.

“We measure those impacts in a three-dimensional area around the elevated structure that encompasses multi-storey apartments, as well as homes at ground level. So what we see on the model looks a little bit like a heat map, using colour to correspond with decibel levels.”

Mr Summers said the modelling also accounts for future operating conditions, such as the larger high capacity trains which will run on the line from 2019.

TAKING THE COMMUNITY INTO ACCOUNT

Managing rail noise has become a real challenge facing Australian cities as urbanisation increases across the country. Mr Summers said balancing the need for progress and public transport improvements with individual expectations will continue to be an area where engineers, designers and the community need to work collaboratively.

“The community has understandably expressed some concerns to us about the short-term noise they are experiencing during construction. However, we’ve found on the whole that people are very optimistic about the end result,” Mr Summers said.

The Final Noise Report: Overview of Noise Impacts Caulfield to Dandenong will be released in the coming months.

Day (6am – 10pm)

dB(A) External

Redevelopment of existing passenger rail infrastructure

in LAmax of

or more Night (10pm – 6am) dB(A) External

or

New passenger rail infrastructure or change in land use near a planned rail corridor

Change in land use near an existing rail corridor

Day (6am – 10pm)

dB(A) External

Night (10pm – 6am)

dB(A) External

Day (6am – 10pm)

dB(A) External

Night (10pm – 6am)

dB(A) External

Table 1: Investigation thresholds for rail noise on nearby communities.

FEATURES SCHEDULE

September 2017

Deadline: 28 July 2017

Tunnels Cranes & heavy lifting

Smart Infrastructure Safety and risk management

ITS Concrete

Freight Mobility

Energy infrastructure Culverts

Cranes & heavy lifting When infrastructure intersects

Energy infrastructure

DISTRIBUTION Safety in Action ITS Summit 2017

March 2018

November 2017

Deadline: 6 October 2017

Asset management Security and critical infrastructure

Sustainability IoT & cloud communication

High speed rail Excavators/earthmovers/plant

Land access Construction standards and codes

Sustainability Landscaping & Vegetation Management

DISTRIBUTION AusRail Plus

Deadline: TBC

Bridges Signalling, tracking and control systems

Road marking Condition monitoring and maintenance

Urban transport corridors Software, communications and connectivity

Spatial & GIS

Tolling

Deadline: TBC

Asset inspection and drones/UAVs

Road surfacing and stabilisation

Road design Investment and financing

Pits and poles Skills and training

Noise and vibration DISTRIBUTION TBC