AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM CONFIRMS BUILDER
comment Murray Freeman Chief Executive Officer RIB Asia Pacific and Exactal Group
LEVERAGING HISTORICAL DATA IN THE DIGITAL AGE Minister for the Arts Don Harwin has announced Kane Constructions as the successful tenderer to develop the next stage of the Australian Museum’s $57.5 million redevelopment known as Project Discover. “This major investment will ensure the Australian Museum has world class museum exhibition spaces and new education facilities for visitors to our State as well as residents to enjoy,” Mr Harwin said. “As the NSW Government continues to deliver our visionary infrastructure plan, I am thrilled the Australian Museum can now take the next step towards becoming a leading scientific and cultural icon for the nation.” The $57.5 million renovation will significantly expand the Museum’s public floor space
and deliver a better experience for visitors including a major new touring exhibition hall; new flexible education spaces; Grand Hall and more public amenities. Director and CEO of the Australian Museum, Kim McKay said the project is running on time for its blockbuster opening exhibition. “Project Discover will deliver a new experience at the Australian Museum, ensuring we will be ready to host the internationally acclaimed Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh exhibition in early 2021,” Ms McKay said. Kane Constructions previously built the Australian Museum’s award-winning Crystal Hall glass entry pavilion and is a multi-award winning company.
‘POWER OF TWO’ PARTNERSHIP Two global leaders in providing secure and streamlined access to buildings and facilitating movement around public and private facilities have joined forces to enhance security while streamlining pedestrian traffic flows through lifts. Schindler and Royal Boon Edam have combined their expertise to produce a security speed gate system that integrates with lift and pedestrian access destination technology to provide users with a seamless journey that reduces waiting times by up to 50%. The new global partnership, known as ‘The Power of Two’, delivers an integrated system
that greatly enhances transit efficiency, especially in high rise buildings with multiple lifts, and including public and private facilities throughout the Asia-Pacific and Australasia. The time between entering a speed gate and reaching the lift (typically 5-10 seconds) can now be utilised to call the correct elevator, using Schindler’s industry leading destination algorithm. Security is enhanced throughout the entire process, with Boon Edam Speedlane Lifeline speed gates preventing unauthorised personnel entering a waiting lift, said Michael Fisher, Managing Director of Boon Edam. “The new partnership has considerable benefits to customers throughout Australasia, by combining the best technologies from leaders in their individual fields and making them readily available from one source. Specifiers, architects, builders, refurbishers and security specialists will now have access to the harmonised technologies through the national and global networks of both organisations,” Michael said.
Our industry has seen huge leaps forward in the methods, materials and processes used across its history, from rudimentary structures through to modern day skyscrapers. Despite this, decision makers are often still reluctant to invest in transformative technologies. In the race for competitive advantage however, the enterprises that apply the right innovations are seeing improvements throughout the value chain. Historical project data is a perfect example of an underutilised asset in present day construction. Many of those tasked with producing conceptual estimates and benchmarks are currently trawling through their stored data to find relevant past projects. From here, it’s a case of performing manual calculations to ensure figures are up to date, or else relying on spreadsheets with their inherent propensity for errors. Estimators in 2019 can streamline this process by centralising all their historical data in a single digital repository, where each estimate can be enhanced with supplementary information related to project attributes. It’s then a simple case of selecting relevant projects and automatically applying indices to adjust for time and location factors. What was once a laborious and imprecise process can now be tackled in minutes with the right digital tools. It’s not just early stage estimating that can be improved by historical data; owners and project managers can access such information to inform their decisions as the build progresses. By placing our faith in the right innovations, I’m confident we can secure a more productive future for the Australian construction industry.
ANCR CONSTRUCTION NEWS
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