Melbourne Water – September 2019

Melbourne Water: building water services infrastructure safely

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Melbourne Water is leading on safety and social procurement to keep the water flowing

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Melbourne Water’s commitment to encouraging best practice for safety across all its assets, allied with a strong commitment to social procurement, is helping the Victorian governmentowned statutory authority secure sustainable communities for future generations 04

M

elbourne Water manages $15bn worth of assets that span the entire water cycle, from waterways and wetlands, drainage

and flood management to water supply and sewerage assets – a unique model compared to most other major cities across Australia. It relies on strong collaboration with Melbourne Water’s retail water sector (for water and sewerage services) and 38 councils (for stormwater management).

Melbourne Water looks after all major infrastructure, dams, pipelines and treatment plants on the supply side, and also manages the major treatment works on the sewerage side and the sewerage network down to approximately 300mm pipes. “We then interface with a number of retailers across the Melbourne metropolitan region,” explains Eamonn Kelly, General Manager, Major Program Delivery at Melbourne Water. “South East Water, City West

Western Treatment Plant, Werribee, Victoria

$1.9bn Approximate revenue (AUS)

1891

Founded as Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works

1,200

Nutrient Removal Plant project, Western Treatment Plant, Werribee, Victoria

Approximate number of employees w w w.me l bo urne wa te r. com . a u

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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MELBOURNE WATER’S STRATEGIC DIRECTION’ 07 Water, Yarra Valley Water and Western

paramount. But, in 2015 – when Kelly

Water deal with all the individual,

returned – the business was struggling

residential, and commercial customers.”

to deliver its forecast capital works

Melbourne Water also acts as the

programme. More importantly two of

custodian of protected catchments

the biggest tier-one contractors in the

of natural parkland waterways.

country, CPB Contractors and John

“We manage the closed catchments

Holland Group (JHG), were running

that supply the bulk of Melbourne’s

the highest total recordable injury

drinking water,” confirms Kelly. In total,

frequency rates in their state-wide

we are responsible for the health of

business units under the Melbourne

around 25,000km of waterways

Water Framework.

across the greater Melbourne Region,” confirms Kelly.

Across all of its operations Melbourne Water’s commitment to safety is

Melbourne Water’s response was swift and decisive. Kelly spoke with senior leaders at CPB and JHG about what was driving these behaviours and w w w.me l bo urne wa te r. com . a u

Taking care of every drop.

Communities depend on safe, easy access to clean water, from breakfast time to bath time, industrial use to irrigation, the efficient capture, storage and management of water helps keep life flowing.

Since 2013, the John Holland/KBR joint venture has worked with Melbourne Water to deliver its capital works program.

Working together and thinking differently is transforming our approach to safety, wellbeing and social procurement to improve the programs outcomes.

We are market leaders in providing solutions in water infrastructure that address the future needs of communities and our customers.

Our strong track record of delivering critical water infrastructure is a testament to our commitment to transforming lives.

johnholland.com.au kbr.com

how to fix the problem. “We weren’t just pointing a finger at the contractor to improve safety performance,” explains Kelly. “We wanted feedback to learn what it was about our framework that was causing this.” A number of interventions were designed to collectively fix a number of issues but the main problem was that the commercial model in place was driving the tier one contractors towards a heavily subcontracted model.

“We were pushing a lot of risk on the

“ We push each other to achieve zero harm and produce quality projects second to none. Our team is accustomed to the diversity that Melbourne Water projects bring along with the collaborative and inclusive partnership we all feel is a recipe for success” — David Harry, Director, Delcon Civil

subcontractors, and their way of managing that was passing that risk on

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to their subcontractors,” he explains.

“We were seeing a highly transient workforce across all of our projects,

joint venture and Downer/Abergeldie/

with three or four levels of subcontrac-

Stantec (this Safety Focused Perfor-

tors on some of our work sites.

mance joint venture also includes

Basically, you never knew what you

Downer) to deliver the bulk of the

were going to get on site in terms of

framework. “We also switched to a self-

people turning up with the right

performed model on the lower end of

behaviour and mindset in such a

our capital delivery framework for

high-risk environment.”

projects below $2mn,” says Kelly.

Melbourne Water set about changing

“We targeted smaller contractors with

that, which led to retendering the

the means to self-perform to come

framework in 2017 with a view to reduc-

together. AquaMetro Services started

ing subcontracting levels to nominated

off delivering around $20mn in its first

like-minded companies while keeping

year. Last year, it delivered $33mn of

trusted consortia like the JHG-KBR

total work for us. In the first two years w w w.me l bo urne wa te r. com . a u

M E L B O U R N E W AT E R

“ We switched to a self-performed model on the lower end of our capital delivery framework. In the first two years, we didn’t have one recordable injury” 10

— Eamonn Kelly, General Manager, Major Program Delivery, Melbourne Water

we didn’t have one recordable injury, predominantly due to the fact they started small, handpicking the people that they would use to self-perform on their jobs. Get good people on your work sites, build a level of trust and capability in that safety performance, then safety should look after itself.

We’re seeing that, even in our major framework. Our safety performance indicators came down from levels up around 15; now they’re at two to three.

There’s still room to improve, but we’re in a better place than three years ago.”

Mal Shepherd, General Manager Water Services at John Holland adds. “We

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MELBOURNE WATER GENERATIVE SAFETY CULTURE EVENT’ 11 started the generative safety culture

Water. “We role-played what a good

journey with Melbourne Water with the

pre-start meeting should look like,”

purpose of together moving the

adds Kelly. “We gave staff a line in the

dialogue toward a more mature

sand around our expectations, and

approach to how work is planned and

what could happen if they’re not met.

undertaken by the workforce. But,

It was a very powerful tool for our

more importantly, to create an environ-

supervisors on-site so we’re keen

ment of trust where we could learn

to continue that process with our

more deeply from our mistakes.”

construction workers.”

Recent interventions to improve

Melbourne Water is planning further

safety protocols have included staging

initiatives like these to promote a truly

a mock incident, followed up with court

generative safety culture rather than

scenarios featuring professional police

simply focus on the stats: “We can

prosecutors, to further educate staff

learn from others, they can learn from

on what’s expected at Melbourne

us. We need to continue the conversaw w w.me l bo urne wa te r. com . a u

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tion, that’s how I think we can get better

feedback is a gift – positive or negative,

as an industry in this safety space, with

it’s a learning opportunity.”

a collaborative approach,” he says,

Delcon Civil (now under the JHG

noting that pushing towards these

consortia) has worked with Melbourne

safety goals at Melbourne Water has

Water for the past 15 years, sharing the

not been without its challenges. “We’ve

same expectations around safety.

had to develop trust around the safety

“We push each other to achieve zero

leadership table to allow open and

harm and produce quality projects

frank two-way feedback. Contractors

second to none,” says Director David

and consultants are always happy to

Harry. “Our team is accustomed to

receive feedback from the client, but

the diversity that Melbourne Water

don’t like biting the hand that feeds

projects bring along with the collabora-

fearing the client could take their

tive and inclusive partnership we all

feedback negatively. One of the

feel is a recipe for success.” Quality

phrases we coined was that all

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E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Eamonn Kelly A former General Manager of the Infrastructure Group at Melbourne Water, where he previously worked for seven years, Kelly left to pursue challenging infrastructure roles with Connex Melbourne, Black & Veatch and Thiess Services where he was General Manager for Water. Returning to Melbourne Water in 2015, his experience bringing people together to build high performing teams has collaboration at its heart: “I focus on trust, respect, and the ability to give frank and open feedback. If you can do that, you’ll run a successful project.”

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M E L B O U R N E W AT E R

Focused Performance consortia and

and building capacity in the workforce

its General Manager Bruce Kerr

to be agile, more risk conscious and

echoes that positivity: “I’m not aware

adapt work plans to suit change in the

of many clients that constantly drive

work environment.”

communication in the safety space like Melbourne Water. It feels inclusive,

procurement, Melbourne Water is also

they want to work with all of their

facilitating a number of initiatives

contractors so everyone can buy into

aligned with the Victorian Govern-

the culture.” This culture was recog-

ments Local Jobs First policy. One

nised with a WorkSafe award for safety

such initiative was started within JHG.

leadership in 2018, and has resulted

The Pathways Program began in

in Melbourne Water being shortlisted

response to Victoria’s infrastructure

once again for 2019.

boom by exploring different avenues

Kelly believes the key to engaging 14

Through its commitment to social

the workforce lies in developing

for the recruitment of talent. “Migrant professionals were a relatively

relationships, and by employing authentic safety leadership in every site interaction. “You can’t do that at one forum with 300 people in a room, you have to get out and about. It’s not about documentation and apportioning blame. We’re always getting new people on site so you can never take your eye off the ball. You have to talk to people, be visible on site and be seen to be taking their safety seriously.”

Shepherd adds: “We want to make working safely a habit across the water industry. This requires bridging the gap in our thinking away from more rules and tools, to decluttering our approach

Niru Gosavi, Melbourne Water’s Program Delivery Director (center) is championing the Pathways Program and is pictured here with participants Evelyn Mugisha and Chris Daramola

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MELBOURNE WATER PATHWAYS PROGRAM’ 15 untapped resource,” recalls Kelly. “JHG formed a partnership with Jesuit Social

“ Social responsibility is integrated into our business model.

To us it means fulfilling our duties and responsibility towards society, especially the Traditional Owners of the Country Australia” — Marcus Wade, Director, Aqua Metro Services

Services, a not-for-profit social services organisation supporting the migrant workforce entering Australia.

Jesuit Social Services used its network to advertise for project and construction engineers, leading to JHG taking on 21 new team members. Glenn Crisp, Regional Construction Manager for JHG says: “The John Holland Pathways Program was one of the most rewarding experiences of my professional life.

We know there are benefits in a diverse workplace. It was certainly a positive w w w.me l bo urne wa te r. com . a u

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We utilise our in-house Design, Civil and Mechanical/Electrical Construction teams to provide turnkey D&C solutions for the Australian Water Industry. We work to establish long term relationships with our clients based on outstanding safety records, high performing teams, exceptional stakeholder management, strong social responsibility and an open and honest leadership that promotes safety, trust and transparency.

Melbourne Water: technology Melbourne Water is eager to embrace new solutions to maintain and enhance its infrastructure. Kelly concedes that, like most major infrastructure organisations, there are still challenges to overcome in the adoption of technology and process to support a mature and progressive adoption of digital engineering. “We’re catching up now with 3D design and VR for design reviews,” says Kelly.

“We’re focused on leveraging automation and IoT for monitoring, 3D visual representation of our assets and automation, which is much easier now with the use of local monitors, drones and VR. Utilising VR for design reviews is now common practice” he adds. In the construction or built asset space, the corporation is aiming to

implement BIM (Building Information Modelling) “throughout the asset lifecycle” on future projects to improve the efficiency of Melbourne Water’s assets.

Meanwhile Melbourne Water is also making use of real-time controls across its drainage network to address potential blockages. “We are the custodians of the waterways so we have to look after both the quality of water and how it’s drained to minimise the impact of f lood” adds Kelly. When heavy rainfall occurs “we have to respond quickly, so we’re utilising IoT devices with the ability to perform real-time monitoring of blockages of our drainage network to enable us to respond quickly to minimise any potential impact on our customers.”

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M E L B O U R N E W AT E R

20 experience for the candidates but the

“ When you build a passion in people that makes them want to come to work, and you look after their wellbeing, they will repay you in spades and your projects will be all the better for it” — Eamonn Kelly, General Manager, Major Program Delivery, Melbourne Water

energy that these people brought to the workplace was more than I expected. We ended up with some very capable and competent engineers that before this were unable to get an opportunity in the workplace”. Kelly adds: “We’ve just kicked off our first cohort of eight Pathways participants.

Some of them had been applying for jobs as civil engineers, for over three years, and never got to interview. The fact they were still applying shows a great level of resilience and tenacity.

The energy and passion they now bring into the business is just incredible.”

ment to bring young indigenous graduates through the system, and – as part of our long-term initiative – hopefully put them through college to give them a future in their chosen discipline within the construction industry, whether that’s civil, electrical or mechanical.”

AquaMetro’s Director, Marcus Wade believes that every organisation, regardless of scope, has the power to make a difference to the world around it. “Social responsibility is integrated

Melbourne Water Pathways Program participants

into our business model,” he says.

“To us it means fulfilling our duties and responsibility towards society especially

Another progressive social procure-

the Traditional Owners Of the Country

ment initiative is focused on lifting the

Australia. We are deeply invested in the

level of indigenous participation within

financial success and economic

the construction industry. “Due to the

independence of Indigenous Australians.”

pressures of recent history we just

Melbourne Water has incorporated

don’t see enough indigenous workers

a number of social procurement KPIs

in the mainstream workforce,” notes

into its new framework agreements.

Kelly. “We’re trying to promote new

“the more entities that are actually

pathways by supporting AquaMetro

driving in the same direction, the more

Services with the creation of a 100%

successful we’re going to be,” says

indigenous subcontractor. We will

Kelly. “Our contractors realise they

assist with schooling and training to

need to contribute also. It’s proven now

enhance their capabilities so they can

that the more diverse your workforce,

start their own business and operate

the more successful you’re going to be

as an independent contractor. This will

and the more we reflect the make-up

provide a safer, more trusting environ-

of our communities, the more we can w w w.me l bo urne wa te r. com . a u

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M E L B O U R N E W AT E R

John Holland Group & KBR Promoting Safety & Diversity

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John Holland Group ( JHG) is among Australia’s leading contractors and plays a key role in helping Melbourne Water deliver an ambitious capital works program. Mal Shepherd, JHG’s General Manager, Water Services praises the efforts made by Melbourne Water to promote a positive safety culture where the workforce is inspired to take ownership of work plan solutions: “We want to make working safely a habit, not only for John Holland but across the water industry. This requires bridging the gap in our thinking away from more rules and tools, to building capacity in

connect with them.”

Looking to the future, the JHG-KBR

the workforce to be agile, more risk conscious and adapt work plans to suit change in the work environment.”

Addressing the need for diversity in the workforce, Glenn Crisp, JHG’s Regional Construction Manager in Victoria, cites the JHG Pathways Program as among the most rewarding experiences in his professional life: “The energy these people brought to site was more than I expected. We ended up with some very capable and competent engineers that before this were unable to get an opportunity in the workplace.”

JHG’s joint venture with KBR has

highly collaborative model within a competitive framework,” explains Kelly.

joint venture and the Safety Focused

“Therefore, in the safety and social

Performance consortia will compete

procurement spaces, you get both

for the bulk of Melbourne Water’s

consortia working together and

capital works program (approximately

sharing ideas because it helps them

$200m/annum). “The model’s interest-

attain their KPIs with us. That’s what

ing because it’s not an alliance but a

we’ve nurtured with them, and they

there’s a lot of collaboration that works across and underpins that.”

Kelly is proud of the initiative which has fostered a high level of trust within thrived with Melbourne Water’s long-term approach, bringing value to customers via a programmatic mode of delivery. “The benefit is realised through continuous improvement, standardisation, consistent development of people, and the supply chain, to deliver innovative solutions,” explains Wayne Nolan, KBR’s Vice President, Infrastructure Services, Australia.

“We began providing services to Melbourne Water in 2013 and over this time formed strong and positive relationships with Eamonn Kelly and his team. We look forward to continuing to safely deliver a high standard of customer outcomes.”

the framework. He’s keen to develop long-term partnerships like these to be able to meet the needs of Melbourne’s “overheated” infrastructure boom. “We don’t want to lose their input because when we get it right it becomes an effective self-fulfilling model; one founded on keeping those contractors and subcontractors with an amount of work that makes their business sustainable.” It’s a major reason why the future looks bright for Melbourne Water pledges Kelly: “When you build a passion in people that makes them want to come to work and you look after their wellbeing, they will repay you in spades and your projects will be all the better for it.”

realise that success for the two consortia is very much dependent on the success of their competitor, because if one of the consortia starts outstripping the other, the whole model fails, and we’ll be back out to market.

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