THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC WORKS ENGINEERING AUSTRALIA
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FOR A WRAP OF THIS YEAR’S CONFERENCE AND NATIONAL AWARDS SEE PAGE 9
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011
STORMWATER REVIEW TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGY ROAD CONSTRUCTION & MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY IN GOVERNMENT
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WASTE MANAGEMENT
How to catch a falling rain drop. Hydrology
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THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC WORKS ENGINEERING AUSTRALIA
IPWEA NATIONAL BOARD President: Paul Di Iulio (SA) Past President: John Truman (NSW) Immediate Past President: David Harris (WA) Directors: Michael Kahler (Qld), Greg Moran (NSW), Paul Di Iulio (SA), Mark Varmalis (Vic), Ross Goyne (Vic), Brian Edwards (Tas), David Wiskar (Qld), Martyn Glover (WA)
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2011
National CEO: Chris Champion ph (02) 9639 3650, fax (02) 9283 5255 email cchampion@ipwea.org.au
Q SPECIAL FEATURES
New South Wales: Mark Turner ph (02) 9267 6677, fax (02) 9283 5255
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Queensland: Suzanna Barnes-Gillard ph (07) 3000 2200, fax (07) 3257 2392 Western Australia: John Ambrose ph (08) 9427 0870, fax (08) 9427 0871
Stormwater Review
South Australia: Jane Gascoigne ph (08) 8100 9975, fax (08) 8232 5455 email sa@ipwea.org.au
Stormwater run-off in Logan
Tasmania: Gary Neil
The challenges of a major stormwater drainage upgrade
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ph 0428 535 416 Victoria: Anne Gibbs ph (03) 9005 0860, 0417 376 930 email agibbs@ipwea.org.au
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IPWEA’S VISION OF THE FUTURE IPWEA PRESIDENT, PAUL DI IULIO
THE IPWEA’S NEW PRESIDENT SHARES SOME OF HIS THOUGHTS ON THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE ASSOCIATION.
It is a great honour and privilege to be appointed IPWEA President. It is quite humbling for me to be following in the footsteps of some great past Presidents for whom I have an enormous amount of respect and admiration. I am really looking forward to the next couple of years with a great deal of excitement and hopefully as President I can do IPWEA proud both nationally and internationally. I would like to acknowledge the enormous contribution our outgoing President, John Truman, has made to IPWEA. John has been an inspirational leader who has guided us through unprecedented growth and challenges. John has been a mentor to me and I would like to personally thank him for his assistance in “grooming” me for this role and sincerely thank and congratulate him on a fantastic reign as National President. As I said in my closing speech of the recent Canberra Conference, one of the main legacies successful leaders can leave an organisation is to ensure it’s in a better shape than they found it and John has certainly achieved that. Vision My vision for the next two years is to continue the growth and increase the significance of IPWEA throughout public works in Australia and abroad. To do this I am very keen to work collaboratively with everyone from the National Office, National Board, State Boards and members-at- large. I am a great believer that we should focus on our strengths and see every challenge as an opportunity for us to become even better. I want to think of IPWEA as one very large team and we all know what team stands for – together everyone achieves more.
Sustained Growth I believe for IPWEA to have sustained long term success that our membership needs to be more reflective of society. Therefore I am very keen to explore the opportunities and possibilities of increasing our female membership base and attracting more and younger people to become active members of IPWEA. I would be keen to hear from you if you have ideas or thoughts on how we could attract and retain more female members and younger people working in public works. Wouldn’t it be great to be at a future national conference to have half the delegates being female and a significant increase in under 30-year-olds. This is a significant challenge facing all of us as the world keeps changing and opportunities keep presenting themselves. I ask all of you to help us grow the membership of IPWEA in these two largely untapped areas. Canberra Conference The recent Conference in Canberra was an outstanding success and I would like to especially thank and congratulate the organising committee of John Truman (Chair), Greg Moran, Michelle Burgess, Chris Champion, Ross Moody, Tony Reed, John Roydhouse and Mark Turner. Who will ever forget the talents of John Roydhouse on stage the night of the Komatsu Gala Dinner in his ‘truckie style’ blue singlet. As the night progressed John transformed from a support prop to challenging Billy Miller as the main act on stage. The Committee organised a fantastic array of keynote speakers which enlightened the delegates in a range of topics. The topics ranged from a recap of the devastation caused
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by the Christchurch earthquakes as portrayed in a very respectful and emotional presentation by Ross Butler to the tips from Cliff Atkinson on how your power point presentation can really deliver the message without the many bullet points we have become used to. Awards There were many papers presented during the three days and I would like to commend all the presenters and especially congratulate Russel Bourke from Eurobodalla Shire
Council for being awarded the Ted Hooper Medal for the best paper at the conference. The conference also provided the IPWEA family an opportunity to acknowledge the achievements and contributions of some of its outstanding members. There were three Emeritus Memberships awarded, which is the highest honour that can be bestowed on any member of the IPWEA. I would like to congratulate Dawson Wilkie, Lewis Oldfield and Bob Missingham on being awarded Emeritus Membership.
These three gentlemen have all had over 20 years experience in public works, made a significant contribution to the IPWEA and are all highly regarded by their colleagues. I would also like to congratulate Gil Holmes on being awarded the Keith Wood Medal for his outstanding contribution to IPWEAQ. For over 20 years Gil has been the driving force behind LoGov and, through his determination and dedication, has ensured that it has become the most successful event on the Queensland Calendar.
COMING EVENTS Event
Date
Location
Contact
IPWEAQ State Conference
4-7 October, 2011
Maryborough, Queensland
cwarne@ipweaq.asn.au
National Local Roads & Transport Congress
16-18 November 2011
Mount Gambier, South Australia
monica.telesny@alga.asn.au
17th Triennial IFME World Congress on Municipal Engineering
June 4-8, 2012
Helsinki, Finland
www.ifme.info
Other Events
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NEW STORMWATER DRAINAGE PRACTICE NOTE LAUNCHED IPWEA CEO, CHRIS CHAMPION
IPWEA HAS PUBLISHED A FIFTH IN ITS PRACTICE NOTE SERIES WITH THIS LATEST GUIDELINE FOCUSED ON STORMWATER DRAINAGE.
IPWEA NAMS.AU has recognised the need for industry guidelines to assist practitioners with Asset Management and Financial Planning. The first three Practice Notes developed were for Condition Assessment and Asset Performance. A fourth Practice Note was published on Asset Management for Small, Rural or Remote Communities. A major aim of IPWEA is to foster a national approach and encourage consistency of data and outputs. These latest guidelines provide a basis for assessing the condition of Stormwater Drainage (SWD) assets and to determine whole-of-life cost impacts. This provides an ability to budget for the longer-term renewal and replacement costs likely to be incurred, as well as whole-of-life costs arising from any decisions to build new assets. The guidelines have incorporated material kindly provided by Pipe Solutions, the Water Services Association of Australia and Brisbane City Council. We are also appreciative to those who have willingly given their time to review and provide comment on the guidelines. But special mention must be made of Peter Way, Chairman of IPWEA NAMS.AU, for his “call beyond duty” effort in writing and developing this and many of our other Practice Notes. Scope and Purpose The guidelines are applicable for a variety of SWD systems including traditional underground conduit systems (pipes, culverts) as well as lined open channel systems. These systems include the various collection mechanisms such as gully pits and field inlets and structures for access to buried assets. Materials that would typically be encountered in SWD systems catered for under the Guidelines include reinforced concrete pipe and culverts; fibre reinforced
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“A major aim of IPWEA is to foster a national approach and encourage consistency of data and outputs.”
concrete pipe; glazed earthenware and vitrified clay; PVC small diameter pipe systems; galvanised steel or aluminium pipe/arches and culverts; GRP and HDPE pipe; and reinforced concrete structures. The intention of the Practice Note is to provide practitioners with the necessary principles and procedures to enable the condition and performance assessments of SWD. The main outcomes being: t 3FWJFXJOH BOE VQEBUJOH UIF SFHJTUFS PG SWD system assets and classification of assets; t $POEJUJPO "TTFTTNFOU CBTFE PO SJTL QSPGJMF and sampling; t 3JTL BOBMZTJT CBTFE PO DPOEJUJPO UP predict the timing of future renewals and replacements, and/or appropriate maintenance activity and frequency; t 3FQPSUJOH JODMVEJOH B 48% TVNNBSZ report, component schedule, valuation and depreciation report, and an expenditure profile; t 8PSL TDIFEVMFT BOE DPOTUSVDUJPO QSPHSBNT (maintenance, renewals and new works) and financial planning; and t 4VQQPSU 48% TUSBUFHJFT BT PVUMJOFE JO Asset Management Plans. The objective of a condition assessment is to provide sufficient information on asset condition to assist informed strategic asset planning and management decisions to be made. Condition assessment is but one, albeit an important one, aspect of SWD management. It is vitally important to have a good knowledge and understanding of condition to enable development of appropriate strategies and actions for maintenance, major replacements, refurbishments and possible future investment on enhancements.
“THE M SERIES SCORED TOP POINTS ON OUR WHOLE OF LIFE EVALUATION.” John Lyons – Moyne Shire Council, VIC
John Lyons has been the Manager of Construction of Maintenance with Moyne Shire Council for 17 years and oversees the procurement of new equipment. “Our most recent acquisition, the Cat ® 12M Motor Grader, scored top points on our pre-purchase evaluation, which considers a whole of life costing, OH&S and operator acceptance. The feedback I’ve had from all our operators is that the machine is very user-friendly, and the joystick controls much less strenuous. I really believe the 12M delivers significant OH&S benefits. “Caterpillar has been in the game for a long time and constantly refine their product. I’ve had dealings with them for many years now and I would hope and expect that would continue.” To hear the full story visit www.australia.cat.com/mseries or contact your local Cat dealer to find out more about M Series Motor Graders.
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Function of SWD Assets Before continuing down the path of condition assessment, the Practice Note reviews the context of why we provide SWD in the first place. Also the service outcomes expected to be achieved from a well-managed SWD system. Recommendations made by the Victorian Auditor General in his report “Managing stormwater flooding risks in Melbourne” following severe flooding in the City in 2003/04, highlights the need for better asset management of SWD assets - and particularly better condition assessment practices to be employed. The report highlights the importance of the design phase and the following construction phase. Clear specification of the level of service is important for the setting of design standards for new construction either by developers, or by the organisation concerned. For SWD, as covered in the IIMM, a Core and Advanced approach can be applied. Moving from a “core” to an “advanced” approach is one of continuous improvement. It is often prudent to start with a simple “core” approach rather than trying to commence on a more ambitious process. SWD Criticality For SWD systems, the seriousness of risks associated with these assets can vary, making some parts of the system more critical than others. Critical elements are defined as those that have a high or serious consequence if they do not meet their level of service targets and their risk rating can then be determined by also considering the probability of them failing. It is important to identify which elements are most critical as well as the possible ways in which they might fail to meet their service standards. It is then possible to target and refine maintenance plans, capital expenditure plans, and investigative activities focused on these more critical elements of the system. As part of the continuous improvement process, and to ensure currency of the risk management process, there needs to be a system in place for monitoring and review of the risks, the risk management plan and a risk mitigation plan. Implementation using a Pilot Study Consideration should be given to how the data will be analysed to satisfy the organisation’s needs. The data may need to be structured in a specific way or collected in a specific sequence to ensure the best use of the data. Aligning
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“The challenge for asset managers is to best utilise all the available data to inform their organisations and promote good practice with development of appropriate long-term financial management plans and strategies.”
the data to match the required analysis is a fundamental requirement but is often overlooked in the haste to start collecting data. The Practice Note suggests that data collection and supporting processes should only be implemented after successful completion of a pilot study. Implementation of a pilot study is a cost-effective way to test assumptions of the Information Management System before committing a full approach across the entire portfolio. Rating system for SWD Condition Assessment The most commonly adopted condition rating system across many asset classes is the basic 0 or 1 to 5 where Condition 0 caters for “not rated”, Condition 1 is very good or as new and Condition 5 is very poor and approaching being unserviceable. This is the rating system recommended in the guidelines in the interests of fostering national consistency and to aid in developing benchmarking opportunities between organisations.
Life cycle analysis and Long Term Financial Planning Lifecycle Analysis is all about ensuring sustainability of the SWD assets. This sustainability can be achieved by ensuring adequate investment in short-term maintenance needs and long-term replacements, renewals, upgrades and new works. The challenge for asset managers is to best utilise all the available data to inform their organisations and promote good practice with development of appropriate long-term financial management plans and strategies. As with all good asset management, and consistent with all the work of the NAMS.AU material on sustainability, a long-term financial planning approach of at least 10 years forward planning based on desirably 20-year asset management plans is strongly recommended. These guidelines follow that methodology. Material from Practice Note 5: Stormwater Drainage has been used in preparing this Report. For more information and to order a copy, visit www.ipwea.org.au/practicenotes.
CANBERRA Conference Wrap AWARD WINNERS Keith Wood Medal – Gil Holmes Public Works Leader – Warren Sharpe Public Works Project – Wide Bay Water Emerging Leaders – Joshua Devitt, Nadia Ives, Adrian Wiguna, Daniel Summers, Kurt Pitts, Kim Sedgewick Emeritus Members – Dawson Wilkie, Lewis Oldfield, Bob Missingham
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PLATINUM SPONSOR Komatsu IPWEA is pleased to have Komatsu Australia as the Institute’s major national conference sponsor. The national support from Komatsu dates back to 2003 and Komatsu is committed to continuing this close liaison into the future. Komatsu has been in Australia for 44 years servicing the local government and the construction industries. This means they know and appreciate the demands of the Australian market and they understand the competitive environment in which local government operates. At the conference Komatsu featured its Hybrid Excavator.
Right: David Small, Komatsu General Manager Construction Division addressing guests at the Komatsu Gala Dinner.
Above: From left Chris Champion, IPWEA National CEO, IPWEA National President John Truman, David Small Komatsu General Manager Construction Division and Incoming IPWEA National President Paul Di Iulio at the Komatsu Gala Dinner.
Komatsu’s Hybrid Excavator Launched in 2008 in Japan as the world’s first hybrid excavator, the PC200-8 Hybrid is now being used in all 47 prefectures around the country, and has since become available in China and North America. According to Komatsu the hybrid concept achieves significant reductions in both CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. It is based around a capacitor that converts energy into electricity during slew deceleration and reuses this stored energy during the return acceleration of the slewing upper-structure. The stored energy is also used to boost the excavator’s engine to operate the hydraulic system. Some PC200-8 Hybrids have clocked up more than 10,000 hours, including sites requiring round-the-clock operation. It is said that across the board, these sites have seen fuel cost reductions of more than 40%. Following the introduction of the hybrid concept in Japan and China in late 2009, Komatsu began test marketing the PC200LC-8 Hybrid in North America. One of the key objectives in carrying out test marketing in North America was to determine how well the machine would be accepted in a region where fuel costs are lower than in Japan or China. Hybrid hydraulic excavators have so far been tested in Illinois, Ohio, New York, Texas, Virginia, Louisiana, Missouri, Wisconsin and California, as well as Quebec and British Columbia in Canada. Komatsu America Corp has an ongoing program to collect responses to the PC200LC-8 Hybrid.
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This feedback covers not only fuel savings and CO2 reduction, but also the machine’s productivity and performance. Further information: Komatsu Australia, ph 1300 KOMATSU (1300 566 287), website www.komatsu.com.au, e-mail info@komatsu.com.au.
The 2013 IPWEA International Public Works Conference will be held in Darwin, Australia’s tropical Harbour City with a laid-back sense of nearby Asia. Visitors to the Northern Territory’s capital are always beguiled by the city’s natural surroundings, laid back multiculturalism, quirky sense of humour and cosmopolitan yet quintessentially Australian way of life. With the highest daily average sunshine hours of any Australian capital, you’ll love Darwin’s relaxed tropical, outdoor lifestyle. Darwin’s greatest surprise is how much there is to see and do there. From some of the world’s best sport fishing to exploring the nearby natural wonders, there’s plenty to look forward to when the business day is done. Its colourful history has contributed to Darwin’s cultural diversity - more than 50 nationalities make up its 100,000 population, including the area’s traditional landowners, the Larrakia Aboriginal people. The cultural and culinary benefits of such a melting pot are best experienced at Darwin’s weekly markets, variety of restaurants and through the annual calendar of festivals and other Darwin events.
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SILVER SPONSOR The GMW Group The GMW Group were the Silver sponsor for the Canberra conference. The company was also a major sponsor at the 2009 Melbourne conference. IPWEA is pleased to have this level of continuing support from GMW and we look forward to continuing this into the future. According to Peter Shields, General Manager COMPLETE Urban Pty Ltd; “There is nothing better than working for an organisation that is obtaining real results, in the real world for the benefit of the community. The GMW group, originating in Sydney; and expanding into other States including Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, provides such a working environment. Many of the staff have prior experience working for councils and like public works organisations, some in very senior roles. Our objective is to meld together our various disciplines into a single integrated solution. We also strive to make your job, project or outcome easier for you to achieve� Shields said. Three related companies make up the group.
COMPLETE Urban Pty Ltd Consisting of local government engineers, landscape architects, architects and project managers, the group has certainly created a niche position in the public works and local government engineering industry. Having had prior experience in councils and like public works organisations allows COMPLETE to understand the culture of local government and respond appropriately to the drivers that motivate it. The spectrum of areas covered includes town centre design, traffic and transport design, stormwater and WSUD, road and streetscape design, aquatic centres, administration buildings, libraries and depots, park masterplans, airports, asset management and various organisational management and regional procurement projects.
HUB Street Equipment Makes high quality street equipment you can place in the centre of any city or town to make a statement of quality, fine design and functional utility. Look out for the 20/20 bin as used by State Rail in Sydney designed by HUB, the University of Technology-Sydney and the NSW Police for safe rubbish disposal. Also, look at the fantastic Multi Function Streetscape Poles, seats, bins, bus shelters as well as bespoke civic art melded into functional civic furniture and equipment designed and installed in some of the most progressive areas of Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East.
GMW Urban Makes the designs come to life. GMW constructs all manner of civic infrastructure from toilet blocks, main streets, city cycleways, bus rail interchanges, major depots to transfer stations. GMW Urban also has the benefit of understanding the drivers that motivate councils due to the close relationship with the local government industry. The group can carry out all of these services and can also combine to provide a complete package from concept, detailed design, estimating and specifications to build and finance up to $30M.
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The group supports this new funding package for medium to large capital projects for councils under strict probity obligations. Such projects as aquatic centres, community centres, administration centres and libraries. We call this program the Community Asset Partnership or CAP for short. The GMW group is committed to supporting the local government industry to achieve its objectives within the legislative framework under which it operates. According to Peter Shields, the company is a great place to work and is open to opportunities presented to it by smaller, medium and large councils alike. Contact the GMW Group through its web s or phone on (02) 9282 9900 to find a helpful GMW staff member who can help to make your job easier. www.completeurban.com.au www.hubstreetequipment.com.au www.gmwurban.com.au