2017 December Consulting Matters

SUMMER 2017-18

Managing

Risk

14 Policy and

Advocacy Priorities

– the year in review

20

Attack of the Disruptors

34

RedR Report: Tristan Turner

Register now!

21-22 February 2018 Luna Park, Milsons Point Sydney, Australia

To register simply visit: www.consultaustralia.com.au/leaders-conference

Consulting Matters

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CONTENTS

14 14 Attack of the Disruptors

20 Industry updates Industry updates

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New members

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From the President

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From the CEO

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Meet the New Consult Australia Board

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Division updates

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Consult Australia's Policy and Advocacy Priorities - the year in review

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Features 16

Risky business? Why the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction industry’s tech immaturity is causing them more harm than good 17 Resilient Infrastructure: The role of multidisciplinary consultants in leading risk limitation and protecting critical infrastructure networks

Attack of the Disruptors

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Engineering for the Internet of Things – an emerging amalgam

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Business essentials

What’s happening in Consult Australia

Managing Risk and Embracing Innovation: Two Sides of the Same Coin

& ADVOCACY HIGHLIGHTS

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Non-conforming building products – the risk for consultants in Queensland

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Business Journal Technology, Risk and Leadership

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Subsurface Utility Engineering on line training course released

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Understanding Slip Resistance Laws

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Corporate Social Responsibility Tailored advice benefits Indigenous organisation

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Driving change with Engineering Aid Australia

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RedR Report: Tristan Turner

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Not a member of Consult Australia?

To find out more about how your firm can benefit from membership contact Consult Australia on (02) 8252 6700 or email membership@consultaustralia.com.au www.consultaustralia.com.au

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Consulting Matters

Industry updates

Industry updates NEW APPOINTMENTS Cardno has announced the appointment of Andy Goodwin as its new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.

Expected to start early in the new year, Andy brings more than 30 years’ international consulting experience in the energy and urban infrastructure sectors, most recently as CEO and Managing Director of SMEC. It's anticipated he will be based in the US to reflect Cardno’s growth plans in the region, however he will be spending a considerable amount of time in Australia.

To drive transformation across its built environment business, Aurecon has appointed its Chief Innovation Officer (CIO), John McGuire (top), as Global Managing Director, to lead its built environment team worldwide. They have also extended the role of Global Director of Excellence and Expertise, Dr Kourosh Kayvani (bottom) to focus on company-wide innovation as Managing Director – Design, Innovation & Eminence, giving the company’s technical experts a voice at the main table.

Beca has appointed Tracey Ryan as Business Director – Clients and Markets.

Tracey joins Beca with 22 years’ professional services experience serving energy, transport, infrastructure, legal, financial, property, manufacturing and government clients. She has a long history with ERM in the United Kingdom and in New Zealand, and joins Beca from her existing role as a Director with EY where she has been building a new service line as their Climate Change and Sustainability Services leader.

Calibre has appointed Mark Campbell (top) as Executive General Manager – East and George Nuich (bottom) as Executive General Manager – West. Mark has held many roles within Calibre—from Business Development to HSEQ—after making the move to engineering from a career in the military. He holds a degree in Civil Engineering as well as a Master of Business Administration and has considerable consulting experience across the Australasian sector. George has 30 years of experience in the civil construction, oil & gas, iron ore and gold industries and has been responsible for the delivery of a number of major projects. Prior to joining Calibre, George worked in senior positions for companies such as BHP Billiton, Fluor / SKM Joint Venture, MacMahon, Multiplex, Walter Group and Baulderstone Hornibrook.

MIE Engineers is proud to announce the appointment of AmyRuth MacDonald as its new CEO. Amy-Ruth takes over from Rob MacDonald who is retiring from the role after 32 years but will maintain a strong interest in the company as Chairman of the company Board. Amy-Ruth moves from her current role as Strategic Relationship Manager to lead the family-owned and managed company, which employs a team of 40-plus engineers, technicians and support staff in Australia and the UK. Rachel Fowler has joined Beca as Operations Manager – Australia. Rachel has 26 years' engineering consulting experience, and in October was recognised with the International Medal for her contribution to civil engineering and Australia’s infrastructure by the United Kingdom Institute of Civil Engineers. Rachel has worked for multinational engineering consultancies around the globe, including Halcrow Group

and Aurecon and held titles including Project Manager; Commercial Director, Maritime Business Group, UK & Europe; Technical Director – Resources & Manufacturing; and most recently Technical Director & Transport Advisory Lead – Infrastructure, Sydney.

Jacobs has appointed Anthony Harding as its new Asia Pacific Technical Director, Tunnels. Anthony has more than 15 years’ experience in the delivery of tunnel projects including road, rail, water and cable tunnels, primarily to the leadership of design teams and providing technical guidance. Anthony specialises in TBM tunnelling, with his experience extending to conventional and cut and cover techniques on projects like Brisbane’s Airport Link, Seattle’s U220 Transit tunnels and DC Water’s Blue Plains Tunnel.

Matthew Coleman has joined Calibre as Executive General Manager – Innovation & Advisory. With over 20 years' experience delivering technology to industry, Matt brings to Calibre significant practical knowledge of improving business performance through the implementation of technology solutions. He is particularly passionate about balancing the needs of people and society with emerging technologies and bringing people back into the technology equation.

Beca has appointed Connon Andrews as Operations Manager – International. Connon joined Beca’s Auckland civil team in 2014, and is currently their Section Manager – Transport Infrastructure. Prior to Beca, he was with WorleyParsons based in Australia, Canada and Chile where he was the Global Marine Director and later Regional Infrastructure Director for Latin America. His background and roles have enabled him to work internationally on a variety of projects with a coastal and marine focus, and equip him well to lead and continue to grow Beca’s international business.

Industry updates

Tim Mawhood has recently joined the GHD Advisory infrastructure investment and economics service in the role of Executive Advisor – Logistics & Infrastructure Policy. With more than 20 years of business management and consulting experience, Tim has advised on USD 22 billion of infrastructure transactions for major global investment funds, and developed strategic policy and plans for public and private sector clients.

Dennis Eiszele has recently joined Jacobs to lead the organisation's approach to the City and Place market in Australia and New Zealand. Dennis is a highly respected leader of project design and delivery across multiple client bases, design disciplines and business sectors, bringing more than 20 years' experience in the integration of excellent design outcomes into the rapid urbanisation of our cities. At Jacobs, Dennis will lead the organisation’s thrust in the growing City and Place market and draw on support from the Jacobs Advance Planning Group out of the United States.

WSP has made two key appointments to its geotechnical and tunnelling teams: Vincent Blanchet, who will lead the team in Queensland, has delivered projects in Papua New Guinea and led geotechnical teams in Silverdale (Auckland) and Adelaide; and Nicholas Barker, who will lead the South Australian team, and has 15 years' experience in both South Australia and Victoria.

Eric Whitfield has joined Beca as Commercial Manager.

Eric has been with Beca since 2010 where, for the last five years, he has led their Wellington Infrastructure team. He is also Beca’s New Zealand Road Transport Market Segment leader and a key client relationship manager for the NZ Transport Agency. Prior to working with Beca, Eric was the Transportation Planning Manager for NZ Transport Agency. He also held traffic engineering roles in Auckland and the United States of America.

Consulting Matters

The Federal Government has announced the appointment of Leilani Frew as CEO of the new Infrastructure and Project Financing Agency (IPFA). The IPFA is a 2017-18 Budget initiative to drive more private sector involvement in infrastructure development. Leilani, currently Executive Director, Head of Commissioning at NSW Treasury, has more than 20 years' experience providing strategic, commercial and financial advice on infrastructure, power and energy assets and businesses throughout Australia, the UK, US and Asia.

Editor

Aurecon substantially increased its Canberra Advisory practice in October, including senior leadership appointments Craig Pandy (top) (from the management consultancy and Australian Financial Review Client Choice Awards winning Nous Group), David Milo (from Deloitte Consulting), senior public sector leader James Collett (bottom) (from the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development (DIRD)), and Luke Williamson (from global consulting firms Accenture and EY).

Mark Rock

President Kiri Parr

Chief Executive Officer Megan Motto

Executive Assistant to CEO /Operations Manager Guillaume Marchand

Director – Membership & Commercial Services Kisanne Dulin

Director State Operations Manager SA & NT Jan Irvine

Director – Policy & Government Relations Nicola Grayson

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Policy Advisor Stephen Kuper

Marketing Manager

Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ), one of the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firms, has acquired Robert Bird Group with the acquisition expected to be completed by early December, subject to certain conditions being fulfilled. This latest acquisition continues SJ's growth strategy, following its acquisition of SMEC Holdings Ltd last year.

The sister-companies both continue to be headquartered in Australia.

Mark Rock

Corporate Designer Voltaire Corpuz

Editorial submissions mark@consultaustralia.com.au

Advertising enquiries info@consultaustralia.com.au Consulting Matters is produced by Consult Australia. Phone: (02) 8252 6700.

Website: www.consultaustralia.com.au

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Consulting Matters

Industry updates

AWARDS Congratulations to Norman Disney Young on Capital Square Tower 1 achieving a 6 Star Green Star rating for office design from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).

The 54,000 sq m tower on Mounts Bay Road is the former site of Emu Brewery in Perth and is set to be the new global headquarters for Woodside Petroleum.

Elouise Robinson, a Graduate Highways Engineer with Arcadis' Infrastructure team, was named the inaugural winner of the Promise, Passion and Pursuit (PPP) Award at Roads Australia’s Young Professionals Annual Gala Dinner in Sydney last week.

Congratulations Elouise!

Congratulations also to Nicole Neal, Asia Pacific Environment and Sustainability Director at Cardno, who was presented with the Individual Leadership in Infrastructure Sustainability Award from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council

of Australia at last month's Infrastructure Sustainability Awards Dinner in Melbourne.

Nicole is an environmental management and sustainability professional with over 15 years’ experience across construction and infrastructure environmental management, construction sustainability, approvals management, environmental impact assessment, and sustainability strategy and implementation.

OTHER GHD has partnered with the Queensland Government, local governments and businesses across North Queensland to open up established industry to innovation and support more entrepreneurs in the region.

Led by industry and government partners and delivered by GHD, the Innovation & Technology Adoption Program (I-TAP NQ) aims to cultivate new opportunities for young people and entrepreneurs to contribute to the region’s economic and social development.

ConsultHR ConsultHR is an online web-based subscription tool that enables businesses to comply with current Australian industrial relations laws and demonstrate best practice in their human resources, industrial relations and work health and safety management.

You can view ConsultHR here or get more information by clicking here.

NEW MEMBERS Accession Consulting BM2 Cardno Diametric EIC Activity EPIC Consulting Ingegnaria Integral Group Panel Consulting Quatrefoil SIP Advisory Pty Ltd TK Business Group Pty Ltd

Industry updates

Consulting Matters

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From the President In the current political environment, legislative change is hard to achieve, but we continue to focus on key legislation and policies that impact on our risk profiles, including proportional liability regimes and the Australian Competition and Consumer Laws.

Risk is a fundamental issue for all businesses and here in Australia we are no strangers to meeting regulatory burdens, claims and litigation exposures and aggressive procurement models and business partners.

Our industry's resilience and capacity to innovate despite this environment always inspires.

Only by coming together as an industry can we collectively challenge these risks, why they exist and what we can do about them. The risks Consult Australia is currently focused on are as varied and as diverse as our members and hopefully at least one will resonate with you.

DISRUPTION As we know technology is changing the way infrastructure and buildings are designed, built and function. Many of Consult Australia’s members are leading the national and international shift toward digital design services and programs.

We have long been active in relation to the adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) programs and our advocacy to advance its use and for government to set benchmarks continues.

But that is by no means the end of this journey and our attention is now broadening to getting our members ready to adopt new technology and building understanding of the impact on our market, including the changing manufacturing space, digital start-ups and the automation of engineering.

We have also been lobbying government to adopt better procurement practices and in particular lobbying for the establishment for a centre for procurement excellence. And as always, we continue negotiations with individual government agencies on their specific contract terms.

PEOPLE Growing and looking after our people is key to healthy businesses. Both FutureNet and the FutureNet Business Leaders Course continue to go from strength to strength developing our future leaders. In addition, the Male Champions of Change project continues to be a strong advocate in our industry for building a diverse and strong workforce.

The launch of the first progress report on 1 November in Sydney has highlighted the ways our member firms are embracing programs to recognise greater diversity in the industry and their firms. We are also supporting the emerging conversation of mental health in our industry, and what firms can do to recognise this ever-pressing issue.

The other way Consult Australia is itself responding to its environment is by continuing to build its network and partnerships with other associations. We have much more in common with all the other participants in our industry than we have differences.

However you are engaging with Consult Australia I hope you are finding it a positive and rewarding experience. There is something for everyone in the mix I think.

RISK In the current political environment, legislative change is hard to achieve, but we continue to focus on key legislation and policies that impacts on our risk profiles, including proportional liability regimes and the Australian Competition and Consumer Laws.

Kiri Parr President

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Consulting Matters

What’s happening at Consult Australia

From the CEO Champions of Change Progress Report, where 160 attendees noted the work that has been done to date across the Champions’ network, and the numbers and aspirations to which they will hold themselves accountable in the years ahead. This program, designed to significantly shift the dial on female participation and representation in the leadership ranks in our industry is truly proving to be transformational, and I’m pleased to announce that network will be further expanding in 2018.

We also took a significant step forward in our advocacy this year, both through our usual engagement and advocacy activities and also through our inaugural Policy Dialogue Day. This small gathering of the major firm CEO’s in the back rooms of Parliament to discuss areas of interest with a range of politicians and senior departmental heads was instrumental in raising our profile and political capital in Canberra.

As another busy year draws to a close, it is interesting to reflect on the challenges and successes of the twelve months past. I can honestly say this year has certainly felt like one of our busiest yet, and we have had some great wins on behalf of our industry and members.

To name a few we had another cracker year jam-packed full of events with interesting speakers, great boardroom lunches and closed sessions with Ministers, Shadow Ministers, Department heads and senior industry leaders. In the financial year ending 2017 we ran 129 events across the country with just shy of 6,500 attendees, providing key opportunities to network with collaborators and clients and expand on the thinking and learning of our sector.

One event I’m particularly proud of was the launch of our Consult Australia Male

And yet, through all this success, there are risks ahead as well.

Our sector at large continues to be not unlike A Tale of Two Cities! On the East Coast, our members are squeezed in an environment that has a lot of work on the go (or on the horizon), but not enough human or financial resources to commit to the volume. This presents increased project risks, but also critical human risk as our staff are put under increasing pressure.

In the western States on the other hand, members are treading water until the politics, policy and planning can sustain a decent pipeline of productivity enhancing infrastructure and urban development (with the funding policy required to make it a reality). Once again this puts business owners and staff in stress, as they wonder how to limit the exposure of their firm in a flat market.

This program [Champions of Change program], designed to significantly shift the dial on female participation and representation in the leadership ranks in our industry is truly proving to be transformational, and I’m pleased to announce that network will be further expanding in 2018.

On top of the instability of markets and jurisdictions, the pace of change and challenges of disruption are also placing stress on our businesses and staff.

With these stresses in mind, Consult Australia (through our People Roundtable) will be seeking to do some work in the area of mental health in 2018. Irrespective of the technical service delivery of your firm, we are all running people businesses, and it is our people’s welfare that must be at the forefront of our focus.

We need to build the resilience of our people as much as we focus on resilience in the built environment. But we also need to support them in times of uncertainty, and Consult Australia will be focusing on this next year.

Any member looking to get involved in this important work is welcome to join our task group—please email me or anyone else on staff to get involved.

So as I sign off on this busy year I firstly say thank you to all the wonderful people who support us—our Board and Committees, sponsors, colleagues and importantly, our Consult Australia staff. Your tireless work and commitment means that we punch way above our weight in all circles.

But my final message this year to all those individuals is to have a wonderful, relaxing, re-energising break over the Christmas/New Year period. Take the time to regroup, hold your loved ones near, have a drink (and/or too much good food) with friends and family and re-connect to the reasons we work so hard in the first place.

And then I’ll see you all back bursting with energy in 2018!

Megan Motto Consult Australia

Consulting Matters

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Meet the New Consult Australia Board On Thursday 14 September, the Consult Australia Annual General Meeting (AGM) formalised the appointment of four newly elected members of the Board. Congratulations to our new Directors, Rowenna Walker (Aurecon), Brett Davis (Wood & Grieve Engineers), Eva Wood (Jacobs) and James Macneil (KBR). The AGM also noted the handover of the Presidency from Andrew Mather to Kiri Parr of Arup, who will be the Associations first female President. The meeting noted Consult Australia's thanks to Andrew, alongside other outgoing Directors James Wright, Camille McGregor, Neill Stevens and Sue Holliday for their dedication and service.

INTRODUCING THE NEW BOARD MEMBERS JAMES MACNEIL KBR James Macneil is Director, Operations and Delivery for KBR, a leading global professional services and engineering company with 34,000 staff and operations in 40 countries. In this role, James is accountable for the leadership, management and development of over 500 employees in the operations business unit of KBR’s Australian engineering and construction business. Born and educated in Melbourne, he spent 10 years in London working as a journalist and five in Auckland as a project manager working on both civil and commercial projects. In 2005, he returned to Melbourne, working in various project and business leadership positions prior to joining KBR earlier this year. James is an Alumnus of Leadership Victoria's Williamson Community Leadership programme, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and deputy chairman of the Melbourne Forum. He was chairman of the Victorian Committee of Consult Australia from 2011 to 2016.

1. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST ISSUES FACING THE CONSULTING SECTOR IN AUSTRALIA? Like many businesses in Australia, consultants face a range of challenges and opportunities in the short, medium and long term. The most immediate for many consultants is managing workload with the market threatening to overheat in Victoria and New South Wales whilst other states continue to experience a post resources boom downturn.

Beyond this, there are issues such as proposals to introduce registration for engineers in Victoria that could add cost to business and impede workforce flexibility, the need to develop future talent and workforce diversity. Another challenge is to devise commercial models that allow consultants to innovate for their clients without incurring risk that far outweighs the reward received for their services in an industry that is becoming progressively more litigious.

All these will impact the future viability of consultancies.

Ultimately, many consultants are seeking to understand what their business will look like in the future. Technologies that automate many of the processes that practices in our field have traditionally performed threaten to reduce the opportunities for firms to earn margin. Identifying where opportunities to replace this income lie is critical for organisations seeking a sustainable future.

2. WHY DID YOU STAND FOR THE BOARD AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACHIEVE? Having been involved with the Victorian Committee for almost 10-years, standing for the Board seemed like a logical next step and a great opportunity to be involved in continuing to support the consulting sector.

The firms that Consult Australia represents have skills and capabilities that are critical to addressing some of the key challenges that our country faces such as growing population, increasing urbanisation,climate change and transition from traditional fossil fuel power sources. When policy makers and legislators address issues like these, we will get better solutions for both Consult Australia members and the country generally if the organisation has a strong voice providing pragmatic and evidence based contributions to the solutions.

Taking a seat on the board will enable me to help ensure that Consult Australia remains able to do this.

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Consulting Matters

What’s happening at Consult Australia

ROWENNA WALKER AURECON Rowenna Walker is the Director for Transport Clients covering NSW and Qld at Aurecon. As a member of the global infrastructure leadership team she is responsible for maintaining strong client relationships, and securing and growing of annual revenue from that client portfolio.

With a background as a Chartered Civil Engineer, Rowenna’s career has spanned two decades and three continents, bringing a range of international corporate experience in leading teams, managing P&L, development of market growth strategies, negotiating contracts and understanding clients.

Rowenna is passionate about diversity and inclusion and in 2017 received a Highly Commended award for Champions of Change, Female Leadership by Consult Australia. A Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Rowenna is also a Non Executive Director for Bendigo Bank, Lindfield & Turramurra branch.

1. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST ISSUES FACING THE CONSULTING SECTOR IN AUSTRALIA? There are a variety of issues facing the consulting industry in the built environment sector across Australia however the current level of investment in infrastructure is a key factor for a number of these. With unprecedented levels of investment in states like NSW and Vic we are seeing a continued strain of our existing skilled resources. This is impacting retention levels and consequently putting pressure on salaries. Looking to utilise overseas skilled resources as a method to alleviate the supply issue can be challenging with the current visa requirements.

The pace of change and associated uncertainty means the goalposts are always moving. Consolidation of consultancy firms, changes to ownership structures, the longevity of Australian CEO’s and where our companies are domiciled creates a very fluid different environment. The State and Federal election cycles coupled with global political volatility create a lumpy and uncertain pipeline of work. This can be challenging for consultants and contractors alike to manage long term investment and plan resources. Technological change is rapid, that decision making around how the future of our businesses operate, the investments we make and how we provide value to our clients is challenging.

The time and effort we spend as an industry in negotiation of contracts, often around the same headline issues is inefficient. Management of risk is a key part of what we do however the allocation of risk and ability to manage that risk needs to be appropriate.

2. WHY DID YOU STAND FOR THE BOARD AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACHIEVE? I believe we are more powerful working as a collective and are better equipped to address these issues in front of us as an industry. The impact of group advocacy with a consistent noticeable voice is that we can make real and tangible change.

Consult Australia has made great steps as a collective already leading industry initiatives like the Male Champions of Change. I stood for the Board because in having a governance role you can influence and be part of that collective’s impact in continuing to address these issues. That’s exciting!

In terms of achievement I would hope that I can be part of an ever evolving professional board of an industry organisation that is adapting itself and representing its members well. Supporting the NSW State committee and being part of building on Consult Australia’s brand so that it is a leading, sustainable industry organisation that provides value to its members in delivering change would be a strong aspiration personally.

BRETT DAVIES WOOD & GRIEVE ENGINEERS Brett Davis is an Executive Director and the Perth Office Manager for Wood & Grieve Engineers. In his role as the Perth Office Manager, Brett is responsible for 160 engineering staff covering nine different engineering disciplines servicing the built environment, land development and infrastructure sectors.

His role as an Executive Director of Wood & Grieve Engineers, a position he has held for nine years, see him involved in the setting of the firm’s overall strategy and implementation of the strategic plan for the firm, which employs over 550 people across Australia.

Brett has worked at Wood & Grieve Engineers for over 20 years and is a mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Western Australia with Honours and is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and is a Chartered Professional Engineer in the college of Leadership and Management.

He is passionate about the built environment and is particularly focussed on continuously pushing for fair terms and conditions for the engagement of consultants. Brett has also been involved for the past three years as a mentor for the WA division of NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) in order to assist young females, progress their careers in the built environment industry.

What’s happening at Consult Australia

Consulting Matters

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1. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST ISSUES FACING THE CONSULTING SECTOR IN AUSTRALIA? There are many issues facing the consulting sector in Australia currently, but I have attempted to highlight what I consider to be the biggest issues below: • Technological disruption – This issue faces many industries; however, it is a very real issue facing our industry and we need to be prepared as best we can for the technological disruption that is coming our way and harness it to the best of our ability.

• Appropriate risk allocation in contractual agreements – This is not a new issue and as a consulting industry we need to be persistent and resilient in our push for fair and reasonable risk allocation and contracting terms for our projects, which includes educating our clients as to the ramifications of inappropriate and unreasonable allocation of risk.

• Efficient procurement methods – Through our experiences as an industry we should be open to assessing the advantages and disadvantages of different procurement methods and working with other industry partners to identify appropriate procurement approaches for specific projects, which is intertwined closely with appropriate risk allocation.

2. WHY DID YOU STAND FOR THE BOARD AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACHIEVE? I am passionate about our industry. I want to contribute strongly to the industry and I see my role on the Board of Consult Australia as an effective way of achieving this.

I believe our industry does some truly amazing work and the built environment that we create will remain a part of our cities long after my generation. Careful, effective and efficient planning and design is essential to creating a great built environment.

Consult Australia is a brand that we need to keep enhancing the profile of as the voice of the consulting fraternity and to enable it to continue to do the great work that it does.

I personally would like to strongly contribute in areas such as fair allocation of risk in contract agreements and to help grow the Consult Australia membership base to enable the brand of Consult Australia to remain strong.

EVA WOOD JACOBS Eva Wood is the Director of Operations (Transport) for Jacobs Asia-Pacific buildings and infrastructure business in Queensland. She is responsible for the leadership, business performance and well-being of the Transport team. Her team consists of engineers, technical experts, planners, designers and project managers across the technical areas of; Roads and Highways, Rail, Civil Infrastructure and Aviation, Marine Infrastructure, Bridges, and Transport Planning. She is a warm and engaging leader who has accountability for delivery of engineering feasibility, planning, investigation, design and construction services for some of Queensland’s largest transport infrastructure and development projects for state, local and federal government, construction contractors and the private sector.

Eva is a Civil Engineer who has lead and delivered large and small multidisciplinary Infrastructure Projects for government and private transport entities, both locally and internationally. Throughout her career, Eva has demonstrated a strong commitment to mentoring young engineers and championing workplace initiatives targeted at integrating and retaining women within the engineering workplace at all levels. She is passionate about being able to influence the engineering profession to become a sustainable and diverse industry that supports the growth of STEM based businesses in Australia.

1. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST ISSUES FACING THE CONSULTING SECTOR IN AUSTRALIA? Disruption is occurring on all levels for our industry. This ranges from technology changes and developments to wholesale changes in the way in which organisations are structured and how they approach procurement. Globalisation drives greater opportunity for innovation and best for project approaches; however, it also places significant challenges on business to be agile in their approach to business and project delivery. Consulting businesses need to be able to quickly adjust to changes in market trends, know the needs of their client better than their clients do and look for opportunities to drive the right growth and sustainability agendas in the Australian consulting sector.

Consult Australia is an organisation that assists in that look ahead approach, and enables thought leadership to drive discussions across the industry on how to approach this constantly changing business environment.

2. WHY DID YOU STAND FOR THE BOARD AND WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO ACHIEVE? I’m driven to lift the profile of Consulting Engineering in Australia, to ensure that the industry is recognized as a trusted advisor and able to influence the direction of infrastructure planning, design and delivery to achieve positive economic outcomes for Australia. I’m passionate about being able to influence the engineering and technical based professions to become a sustainable and diverse industry that supports the growth of STEM based businesses and jobs in Australia.

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Consulting Matters What’s happening at Consult Australia

RETURNING TO THE CONSULT AUSTRALIA BOARD

KIRI PARR ARUP Kiri Parr is a Principal and Regional Legal Counsel with Arup – a global engineering design consultancy who seeks ever better ways to imagine, reimagine and reshape the built environment. Globally, Arup has more than 12,000 staff operating out of 92 offices in 40 countries and with an annual turnover exceeding AUS$1bn. With over 20 years practice, predominantly practicing as a construction lawyer, Kiri heads legal services for Arup’s Australasia region, which encompasses Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia. She has been with Arup for over ten years and her role includes advising on governance, risk and compliance issues, contract advice and negotiation, training, managing claims and general legal advice. Kiri is an officer to Arup’s regional board and the region’s ethics champion. In December 2013 Kiri was elected to the board of Consult Australia and was appointed as President in September 2017. Since 2015 Kiri has been named in Doyle’s list of leading Australian In-House Construction Lawyers. Kiri has also been included in the 2014 and 2015 Most Powerful Part-Timers List published by ProfessionalMums.net and Women’s Agenda.

GERRY DOYLE TONKIN CONSULTING Gerry Doyle is the Chief Executive Officer for Tonkin Consulting, a South Australian firm with 60 years’ experience providing engineering solutions for local government, state government and private clients. Under Gerry’s leadership, Tonkin Consulting has expanded its geographic reach from four offices to six around Australia. Gerry is a Civil Engineer with broad and practical experience in the design and project management of water supply and wastewater projects in South Australia. A number of these involved the planning, consultation and development of negotiated solutions to successfully meet key stakeholder and business needs in complex and challenging environments.

MAX BOMBEN BM2 PTY LTD Max Bomben recently established a boutique professional services firm, BM2 Pty Limited, that will provide specialist advice to the Built Environment and Construction Sectors. Areas of expertise include business management, strategic planning, leadership and succession planning, project and construction management including risk management and dispute resolution. Max’s strength is to provide personalised services which enables clients, private and public sector, to reap the rewards of his broad knowledge base and his industry networks.

Max started as a graduate engineer with a national consulting practice of 60-persons and during his tenure became the Managing Director and saw the business grow to a 650-person practice with offices nationally and internationally.

During his working career, as a senior executive, Max has implemented several key initiatives. They include; Organic Growth & Business Development Programs, Client Service Programs, Innovation & Collaboration Programs, Professional Development Programs and Gender Diversity Programs. Max understands the challenges and rewards associated with growth, whether it be organic or inorganic growth, having been through this journey recently.

Max is also an advocate of supporting the advancement of women and has a strong belief that all people, regardless of gender, should be given the same opportunities in their career path.

Consulting Matters

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Division Updates With varying market conditions around the country Consult Australia’s state and territory managers share their insights on key challenges and opportunities for our member firms.

WA

Steve Coghlan

QLD

Jillian Carney

General Conditions of Contract for Consultants Following on from our recent submission to the WA Commission of Inquiry into Government Programs and Projects, Consult Australia (CA) in WA has recently met with the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) and Local Government Minister's Office to discuss procurement concerns relating to WALGA's recent unilateral decision to move away from the use of AS4122-2010, General Conditions of Contract for Consultants. After many years of WALGA being considered a 'model client', largely in part because since 2009 this agreed standard had been used without issue, unfortunately our members were shocked to learn that WALGA had in isolation started to formulate their own bespoke contract form and are now recommending its use by local councils despite its onerous nature and costly impact. To that end CA State Manager, Steve Coghlan, has been in discussion with various stakeholders, including WALGA, to explain from an evidence based perspective how such a move will ultimately increase prices paid by local council clients when engaging our professionals. In particular evidence has been tabled to show how this onerous bespoke contract form will increase the cost of our member’s professional indemnity (PI) insurance and likely decrease competition amongst tenderers.

Despite providing such evidence, disappointingly WALGA still refuse to acknowledge the impact their new onerous contract form is having on both our members and local government clients. As such CA continue to make representations on this important issue for our members and will subsequently be making a submission to the ongoing review into the Local Government Act in due course.

Urbanisation, population growth and competitiveness are all key drivers for Australia to have a world class built environment capability. As our economy transitions to a full, knowledge-based economy, the demands upon our cities and built environment grow relentlessly.

To respond to these changes and to take advantage of the emerging digital economy we need to rethink the way our built environment is planned, constructed and managed. We must adopt a new approach—one which harnesses information and communication technology (ICT) to enhance liveability, workability and sustainability.

But while the pressing need for this new approach—and the vast possibilities it opens-up through the adoption of technology, data and intelligent design—are clear, so too are the challenges. Efforts to scale and replicate success can be difficult in markets that are often defined by heightened risk management, entrenched mindsets, siloed governments, low cost and margins, challenging procurement processes, skills shortages, and complex supply chains.

Consult Australia and the Smart Cities Council believe that these and other challenges will be most effectively managed by practitioners who have the capacity to respond to the opportunities that the smart cities movement provides. And this starts with the understanding of its definition, framework and core principles. Working in close partnership with Adam Beck, Executive Director at Smart Cities Council Australia and New Zealand, Consult Australia and the Smart Cities Council are delivering a handbook to enable practitioners to transform our cities. We look forward to this taking shape over the coming months.

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Consulting Matters What’s happening at Consult Australia

NT

SA

At Consult Australia, we believe investment in infrastructure is proven to help economies grow. We believe our young professionals within our firms are world class and they are the future leaders and innovators of our industry. We believe a diverse workforce is a better workforce.

We believe in long-term planning because great cities require decades of foresight.

We choose the sustainable over the quick fix, quality over quantity, innovation over the easy option. We believe in progress.

The challenges for the South Australian economy are well known.

Many of them stem from global factors and the impact of the strong Australian dollar from 2011 to 2014 on the manufacturing sector.

Population growth has not kept pace with other States, commodity prices have fallen, and the ageing population has slowed growth in the labour force.

Jan Irvine

The Northern Territory Government (NTG) recently announced the newly established role of Buy Local Industry Advocate. This role is an independent advocacy function to government on behalf of local NT industry, to ensure that Territory businesses are provided full, fair and reasonable opportunity to compete for government contracts, that Value for Territory is considered in all aspects of government contracting, and to promote the adoption of Buy Local principles by industry.

Consult Australia applauds the introduction of the Industry Advocate as an independent link between local business and the NTG, to influence government procurement to enable local businesses to prosper.

While it may appear that Buy Local will preserve jobs and deliver growth and employment, it can only be a short-term remedy at best.

It will not deliver long term solutions for growth and the Northern Territory must avoid falling into its trap. Protectionism can impede the flow of new ideas and capital across national and international borders. It can lead to increased costs and even lower-quality infrastructure. It compounds the skills shortages that already exist, for example in engineering, thus stretching resources and capabilities. It also creates political risk for investors which can in turn damage the long-term competitiveness of markets.

While the current 'buy local' push, including the establishment of an Industry Advocate is encouraged, we would encourage a 'develop local' policy, where we provide a competitive market place driven by infrastructure projects and services, to foster and retain local expertise, across all skills and professions. Maintaining an open and competitive economy in the Northern Territory will drive infrastructure delivery, operations and investments. In terms of infrastructure, all infrastructure projects and services create local employment and have the potential to attract and retain professional skills in the Territory more broadly. Increased national and international competition leads to improved standards and better quality through incoming expertise and capabilities. It helps reduce the delivery and operational risk of public infrastructure. It also can also lead to best practice and innovative outcomes.

Jan Irvine

Good infrastructure is needed to grow the state—you need good roads, rail, airports, ports and a good transit system to attract people, investment and business. This is why so many elected officials around the world build their platform on infrastructure spending, because it creates economic stimulus. Infrastructure investment acts as a catalyst for economic growth.

The forecast growth in the Eastern States, such as NSW and Victoria, is being driven by solid and sound long-term infrastructure plans and planning within their respective jurisdictions, and we must also look to an integrated strategic approach to infrastructure planning and prioritisation.

It is critical that South Australia has the right framework in place to enable holistic infrastructure strategies that are interconnected, integrated, and sustainable. In the lead up to the State Election in March 2018, we at Consult Australia are calling for the establishment of an independent statutory body. Infrastructure SA will be established by an Act of Parliament, which will set out its functions and structure based on four core components, independence, planning, assessment, and prioritisation.

Taking the politics out of infrastructure will deliver long-term jobs, prosperity and growth to South Australia. It’s time to unlock South Australia’s potential and get serious about a pipeline of infrastructure projects that mean jobs and growth. Taking the politics out of infrastructure through a long-term independent approach to the prioritisation of infrastructure projects in South Australia is the key, with a governance framework in place to ensure rigorous assessment and consultation.

Long term infrastructure planning, and rigorous assessment of business cases will reduce the risk of misdirecting funds. The pipeline of priority projects will bring job creation, and retention of skills in South Australia not only in the construction sector, but will also boost business spending and economic activity through the multiplier effect that infrastructure spending has on the economy.

It’s time to make infrastructure decision-making transparent and evidence-based and set out a pipeline for the roll-out of infrastructure projects that South Australians want and support, delivering jobs and growth to our state.

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What’s happening at Consult Australia Consulting Matters

NSW

Jody McGann Estimates indicate that by 2056 NSW will have over 11.2 million residents, be Australia’s first trillion-dollar economy, and that our transport network will need to handle not only more than 28 million trips a day but double the current metropolitan freight demand. In response, the NSW government has released a series of long term plans outlining an integrated strategy for NSW over the next 40 years.

With a vision of a Metropolis of three cities, the Greater Sydney Commission’s Sydney Regional plan seeks to create jobs, education, health facilities, and services within 30 minutes of where people live. This is underpinned by the Future Transport 2026 Strategy, the Infrastructure NSW’s State Infrastructure Strategy, and the Department of Planning and Environment’s regional plans.

Whist it should be commended that not only is the government undertaking long-term strategic planning but attempting to integrate and collaborate planning across a range of State Agencies, there are still many challenges that need to be addressed for a smooth and efficient roll-out of the vast number of projects that will form the foundations of these plans. Consult Australia will continue to work with and across the various government agencies to ensure that issues such as contract fairness, risk allocation, resource and skills planning, and project size are at top of mind as we move from strategic plans to operational plans.

Continuing the theme of future planning and investment, applications are now open for our 2018 FutureNet Business Leaders Course. This highly regarded business leaders course has been running annually for more than a decade with its alumni in the public and private sector sought after by employers and clients alike. The course is targeted at young professionals working within the built and natural environment and is designed to develop leadership, management and collaborative skills while allowing participants to access the latest industry thinking, knowledge and insight. The course involves sixteen structured sessions delivered over eight months tailored to build existing personal strengths, develop new skills and broaden industry networks—combined with a multi-disciplinary team project, the FutureNet Business Leaders Course provides a once-in-a-career opportunity for participating young professionals to be part of the next generation of industry leaders.

Access your 2018 FutureNet Business Leaders Application form here.

VIC & TAS Zeina Iesa

One of the Victorian Government’s priorities is establishing an integrated transport system and investing in future transport technologies to meet the needs of Victorian commuters. Head of Transport for Victoria, Dr Gillian Miles, shared with our Victorian Regional Directors at a luncheon last month, the record investment of transport infrastructure the Victorian government is making to get you home sooner and safer, and move freight more efficiently.

Through our collaboration and submissions to Infrastructure Victoria, we have discussed recommendations for today but also developing and adapting to the changing needs of the future.

As our population continues to grow rapidly, modern and reliable transport will be critical in maintaining Victoria’s strong economy.

To free up congestion and improve reliability of services, one of the states major projects—Metro Tunnel, will see five new underground stations built to improve access to destinations across Melbourne.

The urban design strategy will ensure that the Metro Tunnel integrates with the city’s existing public spaces and creates vibrant new public precincts.

Ensuring value for money is a key component, and hence the future direction of investing in improved transport modelling, through Transport for Victoria’s 10 year-plan, will consider the relative costs and benefits of individual projects. This will allow us to plan effectively for the growth of Victoria.

With a strong pipeline in place and our government agencies working with our members to ensure clever design, best practice and improved delivery; the state will remain vibrant and contribute towards a more liveable and productive state!

TAS To discuss the infrastructure challenges facing Tasmania and the nation, the Tasmanian division was pleased to host Infrastructure Australia (IA) CEO Phillip Davies to speak with our members.

Phillip highlighted the key role IA plays as an independent adviser to Government and focused on the energy, transport and water infrastructure challenges and the need for business to help Government form long-term planning policy as part of the broader Infrastructure Plan which is available here.

Interested in joining the Tasmanian Division Committee? Contact Zeina Iesa.

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Consulting Matters What’s happening at Consult Australia

Consult Australia's Policy and Advocacy Priorities – the year in review Consult Australia’s policy and advocacy is supported by long-standing, productive relationships with federal, state and territory parliaments. Our members’ substantial expertise and unique perspective on the built and natural environment informs everything we do. Six Priorities to Support and Transform the Built Environment Sector in Australia were identified by our members for 2017. Our key wins and advocacy highlights for this year are reported against each of these priorities.

1. S TRENGTHEN BUILT ENVIRONMENT POLICY AND PIPELINE • Megan Motto was appointed to the Cities Reference Group by the Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation, which will advise the Government on cities policy and foster new ideas for innovation and collaboration.

• Launched our Thought Leadership report The Good, the Bad and the Extremely Unhelpful which urges governments to embrace debt, utilise value capture as a fair form of finance, recycle assets, development road-user charging, and develop policy to grow private sector investment.

• Due to our Thought Leadership work on Value Capture, Consult Australia was invited to present at the Australian Financial Review National Infrastructure summit.

• Gave evidence to the Australian Government’s Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities Inquiry into the Australian Government’s Role in the Development of Cities. Our evidence covered the issues facing sustainable development in the built environment, including the need for greater collaboration between government and developers to ensure consistent infrastructure planning, sustainable urban development, and an increase in STEM funding to address the nation’s skills shortage.

• Gave evidence to the Senate Committee on Current and Future Impacts of Climate Change on Housing, Building and Infrastructure, advocating for a more joined-up policy approach; better collection and use of data; incorporating resilience, mitigation and broader sustainability into cost-benefit analysis; how risk is owned and managed; and financing.

• The WA Division of Consult Australia founded the WA Industry Infrastructure Coalition, a collective of eight Industry Peak Bodies, advocating for the establishment of an independent statutory infrastructure body in WA, ‘Infrastructure WA’ to better plan, prioritise and establish a pipeline of infrastructure projects in the State.

• Put forward our election priorities for the 2018 SA election, centred around the need to establish an independent statutory body in SA, ‘Infrastructure SA’ to better plan, prioritise and establish a pipeline of infrastructure projects in the State.

• The ACT Government committed to appointing a Chief Engineer to lead the territory’s engineering and infrastructure projects, in line with our advocacy for the position.

• The QLD Division has successfully advocated for Queensland Rail to publish existing panel arrangements and a 6 to 12-month Project Pipelines Report.

• Dialogue in Victoria has led to regular working group engagement with the Office of Projects Victoria, and a Regional Directors Single Table Luncheon, with the Head of Transport.

•S ubmissions have been made to key Government consultations, and Parliamentary Inquiries relevant to the built environment including, the proposed National Cities Performance Framework; the Senate Inquiry into the impact of Climate change on housing, buildings and infrastructure; the House of Representatives inquiry into Regional and Rural Decentralisation and Development; QLD Smarter Infrastructure Discussion Paper; NSW Future Transport Strategy 2056; and Greater Sydney Plan.

2. IMPROVE PROCUREMENT FOR BETTER PROJECT OUTCOMES •S elected to participate in a Cost of Tendering and Procurement Roundtable, chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Mr Mike Mrdak. This roundtable was attended by selected government procuring organisations, Treasury officials and contractors with the aim of streamlining procurement processes across all government departments.

•A fter discussions with Senator Mathias Gorman, and Rosemary Huxtable, the Secretary of the Department of Finance, we successfully advocated for the Commonwealth Procurement Consultative Roundtable to be re-established (it was disbanded in 2013).

The Roundtable’s remit is to identify best practice and areas for improvement. Consult Australia has attended both meetings held to date, chaired by Mx Huxtable.

•G ave evidence to the Joint Select Committee into the Commonwealth Procurement Framework, calling for governments to modernise procurement in Australia, so that supply channels work more collaboratively to achieve best for project and value for money results.

•E ngaged with the Department of Defence holding a joint workshop to explore ways in which Defence and Industry can work more effectively together. Six themes were identified; contracts, probity, technology, trust, politics and pipeline. There was consensus to develop an Estate and Infrastructure Division working group to focus on technology and collaboration as a next step.

•P rovided feedback on template terms and conditions of contract at the request of a number of public sector agencies including; QLD Department of Housing and Works, SA Department of Planning Transport and Infrastructure, the City of Sydney, the NT Department of Infrastructure Planning and Logistics, and the NT Power Water Corporation.

•E ngaged with the Project Director of MetroNet in WA, and the WA Local Ministers office regarding the use of AS4122/2010 – Standard Terms and Conditions for the Engagement of Consultants. Meetings also held with the WA Urban Development Advisory Committee, WA Water Corporation, WA Main Roads Industry Advisory Group, and Main Roads.

What’s happening at Consult Australia Consulting Matters

• Participated in the procurement reviews held in WA, NSW, QLD, and by the Commonwealth – advocating for a Procurement Centre of Excellence, and for Governments to consider adopting a ‘model client’ approach.

3. STRENGTHEN THE TALENT PIPELINE • Responded to the Australian Government’s Visa Simplification Issues paper, and engaged in the Government’s new approach to the temporary working visa system – the Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa. Specifically writing to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection seeking clarification on how the changes will impact our sector.

• Submitted to the Senate’s Finance and Public Administration Committee’s Inquiry into Pay Equity, presenting a series of recommendations to empower the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) through closer industry collaboration targeting pay discrepancies, occupational, position and industry segregation, salary negotiation, and promotion rates and bias.

• Assisted the Victorian Government in the design of the Victorian engineering registration scheme through the Dept of Treasury & Finance – Regulation, Planning & Local Govt. recommending a ‘light touch’ approach to ensure less administrative/regulatory burden in the transition phase. Discussions have been held regarding the potential for unnecessary regulatory burden, personal liability implications, additional fees and administration creating an increased cost to firms.

• Consult Australia successfully worked with the SA Government and the SA Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure’s (DPTI) on their Prequalification System for Professional Services Contractors, to better reflect current industry conditions and improve the system’s efficiency and effectiveness.

4. LEAD DEBATE ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT INNOVATION AGENDA • Consult Australia launched the Australian Digital Built Environment Principles, marking an important step in the adoption of digital technologies to improve the design and operation of our cities and infrastructure.

will be a report that summarises the key findings of this engagement process. This will be used to assist the Victorian Government build international trade opportunities for Victorian built environment professionals.

•C onsult Australia has taken a seat on the Board of the Australian Services Roundtable (ASR). ASR represents a broad range of professional services, aiming to secure Australia’s place in the global economy by, facilitating market opportunities for its stakeholders, advocating for efficient regulatory settings for the services sector, and exploring new international trade opportunities, investment channels, and research to improve statistical data.

6. I MPROVE THE REGULATORY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT FOR FIRMS • Held our first and highly successful Policy Dialogue Day at Parliament House, Canberra. CEOs from Consult Australia’s large member firms group met with key Government and Opposition Ministers: The Hon Angus Taylor MP, Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation The Hon Darren Chester MP, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport The Hon Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Unban Infrastructure The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development The Hon Craig Laundy MP, Assistant Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science The Hon Pat Conroy MP, Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy, and Shadow Assistant Minster for Infrastructure The themes covered included: Growth and connectivity of cities, population, and infrastructure; Infrastructure funding, particularly road user changing, and value capture; and the role of Infrastructure Australia as a trusted institution and the importance of long term planning.

• I n response to our advocacy the NT Government has announced the appointment of the first ever NT Buy Local Industry Advocate.

• Partnered with the Smart Cities Council to produce a Smart Cities Guide for Engineers. The purpose of the guide, which is now in development, is to share the vision of how technology can transform our cities, and the goals that engineers, architects and planners should aspire to, including the features and functions to be considered.

• Formed the Consult Australia Innovation Roundtable to develop thought-leadership exploring innovation opportunities in our sector, and removing barriers to innovation, taking a customer facing approach.

• Advocated for the simplification of the R&D Tax Incentive by submission to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.

Our submission makes recommendations to reduce compliance costs, amend the terminology, and improve the accessibility of the Incentive, so that R&D in our industry is better recognised and rewarded.

5. CONNECT AUSTRALIAN FIRMS TO THE REGION AND THE WORLD • Engaged in the Liveability Victoria Initiative, which will explore current activities and identify opportunities and challenges for Victorian built environment professionals to provide liveability expertise overseas.

Eight Consult Australia VIC members are participating. The outcome

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Top left: Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Megan Motto Top right: The Hon Anthony Albanese Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development Above: The Hon Paul Fletcher Minister for Urban Infrastructure

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Consulting Matters Features

Managing Risk and Embracing Innovation: Two Sides of the Same Coin

BY ADOPTING SOPHISTICATED, STATE-OF-THE-ART RISK MANAGEMENT TOOLS, TECHNIQUES AND MODELS, INNOVATION CAN FLOURISH.

Risk management is a key business survival tool. Many large organisations seek to reduce uncertainty in project delivery by using a stage-gate process (the public sector being a good example).

Stage gates are designed to identify the strongest ideas by putting them through multiple reviews, or gates. Stage gates provide a discipline and a structure for identifying problems early in a project’s life, and allow the project’s sponsors to keep constant track of the evolving business case.

The problem, however, is the evaluation criteria typically used at each gate. Few decision makers want to take responsibility for a failed experiment, so extreme caution usually prevails when new ideas are assessed. Opportunities tend to be defined narrowly.

Innovative ideas that do make it through the gates are typically low risk and as a result offer low returns. They are incremental improvements rather than transformational change.

Yet clients want increasingly innovative solutions to their problems. For example, the Australian Government sees innovation as critical to driving productivity (stated in its response to the Australian Infrastructure Plan November 2016).

An organisation’s attitude to risk can often be determined by: • Size and age of the company • Organisational structure • Clients and the marketplace A good indicator of risk aversion is an organisation’s size and age—the larger and older tend to be more risk averse. This is because larger and older organisations develop formal ways to identify and avoid risk, so that risk aversion becomes embedded.

Organisational structure also influences the ability to assume risk. The more hierarchical

and formal the structure is, the more likely it is to reduce risk at each level of the hierarchy (in the same way as the stage gate process for projects). While a hierarchical structure has the advantage of clear accountability for expenditure against outputs, this more siloed approach to delivery can act as a disincentive to collaboration and innovation. Smaller organisations with flatter structures can be more agile and less risk averse because they have less formality.

Clients and the marketplace are also indicators of an organisation’s risk aversion.

Clients have a significant impact on the types and pace of change that consultants may find themselves adhering to. If the client base and marketplace is characterised by risk avoidance and distrust, then risk aversion will be strong.

So, what are some of the tools being employed to encourage innovation, and manage/mitigate risks?

PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS A corporate culture that only celebrates success can discourage innovation by making people worry about taking risks.

Organisations that allow teams to make strategically intelligent mistakes, within a clearly understood governance framework, encourages a culture that embraces failure as an integral part of the innovation process.

Key to this is encouraging openness about failures and rewarding those who share the lessons they have learnt. There should be a strong sense of ownership of innovation and risk management across the organisation as a whole.

SYSTEMS Decision making can be facilitated by risk management methodologies and tools to measure uncertainty, positive and negative, and to provide realistic estimates of outcomes.

By continually assessing value against multiple variables and scenarios, predictive analytics can help guide these complex decisions. Use risk dashboards, visualizations, and scenario analysis to empower through data, and to make riskinformed decisions. Risk scenario analysis, for example, is a structured, forward-looking process designed, unlike a traditional SWOT analysis, to discover how multiple factors combine to create both vulnerability and opportunity.

PROCESS Speed is a factor in successful innovation, particularly where a solution needs to be found to keep a project on time. This requires a risk management process that can shorten learning cycles, recognise failures early and make timely course corrections, i.e. a process that facilitates a company-wide dialogue around which risks are acceptable and how much risk is appropriate, based on potential outcomes. Agile and iterative processes, that are well aligned to the needs of clients and the community with risks well managed, can increase an organisation’s ability to achieve a successful programme of innovation.

Nicola Grayson Consult Australia

Consult Australia’s Innovation Roundtable has been established to explore the barriers and opportunities for innovation in our sector, specifically looking at organisations / people / systems / processes. If you are interested in this work and the issues raised in this article, please contact Nicola Grayson, Director of Policy and Government Relations (nicola@consultaustralia.com.au).

Features Consulting Matters

Risky business?

Why the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry’s tech immaturity is causing them more harm than good The biggest risk is not taking any risk. Fact.

Australia has the lowest percentage of high growth companies, which is down to their inability to harness the opportunities that come their way.

For too long the word ‘risk,’ when put in the same sentence as ‘business’, sets the hearts and minds racing of CEOs, COOs, and not to mention CFOs. It implies danger, caution and failure—when in actual fact, when managed, risk can open up a whole world of opportunities.

It can be a differentiator and a competitive advantage for businesses. This is especially true for firms that operate in the built environment industry, such as architecture firms and engineering consultancies.

Defining risk The AEC industry is currently facing many new pressures, from the rise of big data, globalised markets, to increased financial pressures attached the growth of legislative compliance, and digitalisation. All these risks demand stronger control over projects so it is now more important than ever that firms look at ways to improve their businesses from the inside out to give them the edge.

Clients are a lot savvier than in the past and a lot more demanding. Structures for project delivery are becoming more sophisticated from multiple stakeholders to increased competition, defined KPIs to a shift to value based pricing. Every firm has to be better, faster and cheaper than the last. Architecture, construction, and engineering projects are simply too complicated not to have such systems in place.

The consequences of poorly managed risk in the AEC industry can come in many forms; it can be missed deadlines, budget over runs, poorly managed change requests, uncontrolled versioning of drawings, sub-contractor failures and regulation non-compliance, to name but a few. Ultimately, the repercussions are financial failure and unhappy clients. But, why does the concept of risk really shake this industry’s foundations, and hold them back from truly innovating? It all comes down to their inability to adapt and innovate in an everchanging world – their tech immaturity.

Risk = reward Calculated risk can be a key driver of business competitiveness, it divides the winners and the losers. To calculate risk effectively however, businesses have to have clear visibility, transparency, control and foresight of their

inefficiencies to ensure that risk really turns into reward. AEC firms require a robust management framework within which the company’s project decisions are made, encompassing all aspects of the business, including operations, outsourcing and supply chain, HR, financial management, and IT. A technology platform that pulls every aspect of project, client and operational data together— the end result being clear, consistent and unambiguous information. If firms are delivering well, monitoring project progress closely and have project financials under control, they will naturally begin to win and deliver.

Manage positive risk The high-growth firms of today all have one key commonality in their business model— they manage the risk effectively. The architecture, engineering, and construction industry has long sought techniques to decrease project cost, increase productivity and quality, and reduce project delivery time, but they seem to be missing the mark. AEC firms need to prove they have the systems in place that allow them to optimise workflows, offer operational control and compliance adherence, and measurable time and money savings. Now is not the time to bury their heads, it is time to embrace these changes, and turn to technology as a mitigating force to make their practices agile and drive a competitive advantage.

There are six key steps firms need to consider when planning to implement technology to manage their project risk profile: 1. R eview how the business is currently running projects, including operations, outsourcing and supply chain, HR, financial management, and IT. 2. Invest in the right expertise, systems and technology.

3. Assign change leaders and champions.

4. Make the internal change within the team.

5. Implement regular reporting and feedback loops.

6. E valuate the return on investment and, continually, review how the business runs its projects.

To find out how to start your better project and information management journey speak to Deltek on +61 2 9911 7740, or visit their website www.deltek.com. https://industry.gov.au/Office-of-the-Chief-Economist/

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Publications/Documents/Australian-Innovation-System/2016AIS-Report.pdf

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Consulting Matters Features

Resilient Infrastructure: The role of multidisciplinary consultants in leading risk limitation and protecting critical infrastructure networks Australia, like every developed and developing nation, is increasingly dependent upon a system of integrated, symbiotic critical infrastructure (CI) networks. These are responsible for providing economic growth and stability, quality of life, and societal stability.

Climate change, physical and cyber acts of terrorism, and human error, each present significant challenges to the resilience and performance of Australia’s infrastructure networks now and into the future.

Critical infrastructure failures in North Queensland, the southern United States, Japan and parts of Europe as a result of manmade or natural calamities have highlighted the vulnerability of critical infrastructure networks. There is a need for governments to engage design consultants to stress test existing and future critical infrastructure networks.

This growing risk has given rise to the field of ‘resilient design’ and ‘resilient engineering’.

Design consultants play a key role in ensuring that critical infrastructure networks are 'capable of absorbing or withstanding the overall impact and consequences' on the economy, services, and the community’s day-to-day functions.

to risk assessment, as it relates to planning, design and procurement across the breadth of national critical infrastructure networks.

In providing this capacity, through supporting multi-disciplinary design, consultants can provide a dynamic and proactive perspective

i. The evolution of infrastructure system performance during contingencies promoting undesired conditions; and

Defining the core role multi-disciplinary consultants will play in enhancing infrastructure networks, depends on understanding:

This growing risk has given rise to the field of ‘resilient design’ and ‘resilient engineering’.

Design consultants play a key role in ensuring that critical infrastructure networks are “capable of absorbing or withstanding the overall impact and consequences” on the economy, services, and the community’s day-to-day functions.

ii. The variables (known-unknowns) or (unknown-unknowns) which will impact the levels of survival, performance and resilience of critical infrastructure networks.

This provides consultants with the opportunity to develop comprehensive strategies to inform governments’ ability to strengthen existing network response and resilience. It will also further integrate key material, design, procurement and operational advancements into the development of future critical infrastructure networks.

Successfully developing and implementing long-term strategies provides consultants with a pivotal role to play in transforming the nation’s critical infrastructure networks, and informing global best practice, through technical focus on: i. Futureproofing during the design phase with robust optimisation against any number of uncertain, potential future scenarios. This also provides the opportunity to plan for future network expansion, providing the basis for the

Features Consulting Matters

design of resilient critical infrastructure improvements and networks. ii. Recognising that as design, construction processes, and materials evolve, so too does the resilience, adaptability and functionality of our critical infrastructure.

These changes alter the planning, design, construction, and performance calculations for critical infrastructure networks. iii. Using forward planning strategies, following significant incidents, to define key performance indicators and expectation milestones for critical infrastructure networks. This will inform the plan for the impact and recovery in response to any potential contingencies.

These capability developments will be enhanced through the increasing national push toward data collection and analysis throughout the planning, design and delivery stages of the procurement cycle of critical infrastructure projects.

The Australian Government’s Smart Cities Agenda and National Data Collection Dissemination Plan provides such an avenue for consultants to build on their central consulting role, from ‘smart design’ to retrofitting existing infrastructure networks, while integrating lessons learnt, materials, and design advances into future projects.

This public policy drive provides the opportunity for consultants to take a leadership role throughout the integrated upgrade, planning, procurement, design, and performance cycles of critical infrastructure networks. This will ensure that Australia emerges as a world leader in resilient, sustainable and adaptable critical infrastructure.

Recognising this opportunity to develop world leading capability, Australia’s multidisciplinary consultants can embrace the unique conditions and requirements of Australia’s critical infrastructure networks, combined with national ‘smart cities’ and ‘smart design’ policies to inform the best-

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practice technical response. , The goal is to ensure that infrastructure networks are “capable of absorbing or withstanding the overall impact and consequences” with minimal economic, social and service disruption.

Steve Kuper Consult Australia

For further reading on resilient engineering and national and international response to infrastructure please see below: •N SW Critical Infrastructure Resilience Strategy Discussion Paper •E ngineering Resilience in Critical Infrastructures •C ritical Infrastructure, interdependencies and resilience

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Consulting Matters Features

Attack of the Disruptors BUSINESS LEADERS ARE INCREASINGLY FOCUSING ON RISKS THAT THREATEN TO DISRUPT THE FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTIONS OF THEIR ORGANISATION’S STRATEGIES. IF MANAGED WELL THE RISK OF DISRUPTIONS CAN RESULT IN STRATEGIC CHANGE TO DRIVE ORGANISATIONAL SUCCESS. Globalisation, advances in technology, the increased volume of demographic and behavioural data, and the increase in user demands/expectations, have paved the way for disruptors to attack traditional methods of business practice.

These charts are sourced from KPMG’s 2017 Global CEO Outlook based on a survey of 1,261 chief executive officers (CEOs) across a broad range of sectors (including infrastructure) from Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK and the US. It can be argued that the consulting engineering and related services sector is no stranger to substantial disruption, the cyclical ‘boom and bust’ nature of project expenditure is an issue that has dogged the sector for a long time. Consolidation has been one way of managing this for the big end of town, as firms have looked to enter new geographic and vertical markets to diversify their services, become more vertically integrated, and to increase their skills base. The ongoing challenge of attracting and retaining skills remains a significant vulnerability.

Firms have sought to increase efficiencies in their operations by designing offshore, and consolidating design centres. Building Information Modelling has become more widely adopted, and the use of drones and 3-D modelling has also been picked up. The application of Artificial Intelligence is also being considered. However, the sector needs to consider whether new technologies are being adapted and absorbed quickly enough, or whether this is potentially another area of vulnerability? In an industry where there are low margins, is there enough investment in new technologies, tools and training?

In January 2017, the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group published: Shaping the Future of Construction, Lessons from Leading Innovators and Disruptors. It includes learnings from disruptive start-ups and pilot projects such as: •C hinese construction company Broad Sustainable Building, which made international headlines by constructing a 57-storey skyscraper in only 19 days; •M X3D, which uses robots to 3D-print a steel bridge in Amsterdam; •A ditazz, based in Silicon Valley, which uses design-automation principles from the semi-conductor industry to revolutionise the design of health-care facilities.

Features Consulting Matters

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The report finds nine key success factors for innovation in the construction system: 1. D evelop a vision and instil an innovation culture that challenges the construction industry's status quo; 2. Create multi-disciplinary teams, and devise an agile organisation to accelerate innovation; 3. T ake a customer-centric approach to devising innovations, starting from the pain points of construction clients and asset end-users; 4. E stablish product platforms rather than taking an individual project perspective, to create the business case for innovation; 5. Develop pilot projects and prototypes to demonstrate the potential and provide proof of value; 6. N urture the broader ecosystem necessary for implementing the innovation, by developing the (local) supply chain and partnerships; 7. Embrace business-model innovation alongside technological innovation in engineering and construction; 8. Advocate new ways of contracting to enable effective collaboration with project owners from Day One; 9. S hape the regulatory environment proactively to enable and promote adoption of the innovation.

In looking at your own organisation’s approach to managing the risks of disruption, consider the following:

1. Assess the risk appetite of your organisation and its approach to innovation, to ensure that there are no cultural barriers to transformational change. a. Do you have the right people, capabilities, and organisational structure? b. Does your organisational structure empower innovation across the business? c. How is innovation and risk managed?

2. Assess your organisation’s approach to corporate strategy development to introduce more agility, adaptability, and responsiveness to emerging trends and threats.

d. W ho monitors emerging trends and threats, how are these reported and responded to?

3. E mploy tools and techniques such as realtime monitoring, scenario planning, stress testing, and simulations to drive higher levels of sophistication in managing risk.

4. C ontinuously monitor the changes in the environment to determine which could be significantly disruptive.

a. What is your organisation’s approach to strategy and planning?

Following this approach doesn’t necessarily need to result in huge organisational changes that need significant investment. Small, practical improvements in multiple areas can prove effective in terms of increasing agility and preparedness.

b. Who owns the strategy, and who is responsible for its implementation?

Nicola Grayson Consult Australia

c. H ow well does your organisation execute the strategy?

Discover our online education portal!

http://bit.ly/ConsultED

Online learning courses are available through Consult Australia for only $40 each for members!

ConsultED is an online platform that provides access to a variety of interactive short training courses tailored specifically for our industry and available from the convenience of your desktop!

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Consulting Matters Features

Engineering for the Internet of Things – an emerging amalgam The emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies has not only introduced a new cyber security playing field for traditional IT but has touched on once traditional industries that had little concern for cyber attacks and related threats. The Construction and Engineering industry is one of those that will be significantly disrupted as IoT transitions from a new technology into a standard feature of the built environment. While the benefits of a building that can fully integrate with your preferences and activities offers almost limitless opportunities, this shift will also expose buildings—and all those associated with them—to the increased likelihood of cyber attacks.

Industry predictions suggest that by 2020, there will be an installed base of 30.7bn devices. Many of these devices will be deployed within smart buildings, critical infrastructure and public works. Engineering professionals have previously been largely ignored by cyber criminals and Internet based security threats. But as engineering firms find themselves requiring a much greater online presence, and as the technological integration of occupant and the built environment gains momentum, cyber criminals are now placing a much greater focus on buildings as targets for attack.

THE SIEMENS PLC THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING Prior to the Stuxnet attack very few outside the engineering profession had heard of a PLC, let alone what its purpose may be. In 2010, the Stuxnet virus targeted industrial computer systems across the globe and

caused significant damage to critical infrastructure, notably to the Iranian Nuclear Power plant. Suddenly, everyone knew, and were justifiably concerned.

Stuxnet specifically targeted programmable logic controllers (PLCs), which allow the automation of electromechanical processes such as those used to control machinery on assembly lines, HVAC systems, or centrifuges for separating nuclear material.

Exploiting system flaws, Stuxnet targets systems using the Microsoft Windows operating system. Once established on the network Stuxnet sought out Siemens Step7 software. The compromised Iranian PLCs, caused the Plant’s centrifuges to behave erratically. The resulting damage forced the centrifuges offline and caused a major delay in Iran’s nuclear program.

Increasingly, organisations are looking at designers and engineers to factor these concerns into their engineering designs and specifications. Clients know they are exposed. The continued growth in organisations seeking comprehensive and expensive Cyber Insurance clearly highlights this point. It is not solely whether the end product is functional, innovative and cost effective that drives the client’s selection process. It’s increasingly about their risk profile. How will it hold up to a cyber attack?

And if it does not, how will this effect baseline operation?

Features Consulting Matters

IoT CYBER FRAMEWORKS – A NEED FOR CYBER INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT Many Cyber Security experts have long identified a need to bring more than just words to the critical infrastructure and IoT security design table. Urban planners and engineers need the collaboration tools and methods to make their building more cyber safe. These frameworks are long overdue.

Industry bodies such as the not for profit Internet of Things Security Foundation (IoTSF) have established working groups to address key industry requirements. A recent addition is the Cyber Safe Smart Building working group tasked with developing a global, publically available IoT cyber security framework for buildings and critical infrastructure. The objective of such Foundations is to open the channels of communications between engineering, designers and urban planners when it comes to cyber security challenges effecting build environments.

The cyber security industry is establishing a presence within the smart building and critical infrastructure markets. The future of smart urban planning will usher in an era of possibilities, functionality and convenience resulting in unprecedented opportunities.

These opportunities will need to be protected.

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The cyber security industry is establishing a presence within the smart building and critical infrastructure markets. The future of smart urban planning will usher in an era of possibilities, functionality and convenience resulting in unprecedented opportunities.

As the public and private sector transition to smart city eco-system, the insistence and maintenance of cyber safety and privacy will be critical. Whether at the HVAC system, smart parking station, industrial plant or a child’s internet-connected smart toy. As the IoT becomes a common part of building design, businesses that work in the built environment will give cyber security as much consideration as they would the structural integrity of the building.

Alan Mihalic NDY

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Consulting Matters Business essentials

Non-conforming building products – the risk for consultants in Queensland person in the chain of responsibility to the next person in the chain. It is vital that the information passed to each party in the chain of responsibility is correct and accurate.

All persons in the chain must notify the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) within two days if they are aware or suspect that a product is non-conforming, or if there is a death, injury or illness or risk of serious injury or illness, which may have been caused by the use of a building product.

If the QBCC suspects that an offence has occurred, it has powers to stop work, seize property and require documents and information be given, including requiring relevant parties to attend interviews.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR CONSULTANTS?

In response to events such as the fires at Grenfell Tower in London earlier this year and Melbourne’s Lacrosse Tower in 2014, the Queensland Government has introduced new legislation targeting non-conforming building products: Building and Construction Legislation (Non-conforming Building Products—Chain of Responsibility and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2017 (Qld) (the Act).

The Act came into effect on 1 November 2017 and is the first of its kind in Australia.

It has been designed to prevent nonconforming building products from being used on building projects in Queensland by holding everyone in the chain of responsibility responsible for the safety and use of building products.

With the introduction of the Act comes substantial new risk for all players involved in the design, manufacture, importation, installation, or supply of a building product (i.e. the chain of responsibility).

WHAT IS A BUILDING PRODUCT AND WHEN WILL IT BE CONSIDERED ‘NONCONFORMING’?

A building product is any material or other thing associated with, or that could be associated with, a building, i.e. generally a

structure with a roof and walls.

To some extent, this will depend on each consultants’ actual role. Project managers for example may not fall within the chain of responsibility.

Hindsight being 20/20, this could have a very wide application.

Senior executives of a company within the chain of responsibility must exercise due diligence (which is defined) to ensure that the company complies with the duties imposed on it, including gaining an understanding of the safety and non-compliance risks associated with the products that the company designs, sells or installs. Merely having processes however will not be enough. Active management of building product compliance is likely necessary. The consequence of failure could be significant.

DUTIES IMPOSED BY THE ACT

The Act imposes significant penalties on duty-holders for failing to comply with the Act, including:

Information about the suitability and use of a building product must be provided by each

•M onetary penalties, in some cases up to $126,150 (1,000 penalty units);

A building product is non-conforming if: • Its intended use is not or will not be safe, or not comply with relevant regulations (such as the National Construction Code); or • It does not perform, or is not capable of performing, for the intended use to the standard it is represented to perform.

If the QBCC suspects that an offence has occurred, it has powers to stop work, seize property and require documents and information be given, including requiring relevant parties to attend interviews.

Business essentials Consulting Matters

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Although you cannot transfer your duties under the Act onto a third party, you can ensure that appropriate indemnities are in place in your contracts so that you may recover losses as a result of a breach of the Act by another • Recall orders for the removal, repair or modification of non-conforming building products; • Stop work orders; and • Cancellation or suspension of QBCC licences.

MANAGING THE RISK Whilst you cannot contract out of your obligations under the Act, some ways that you may manage the risk of non-compliance, include: • Checking your insurance policies to ensure you are appropriately covered for your liability as far as possible. Since the Grenfell Towers disaster earlier this year, insurers

across the globe have sought to impose exclusions in relation to non-conforming building products. You should note that directors’ and officers’ insurance policies usually do not cover fines; • Knowing and auditing your suppliers; • Reviewing internal processes and building products used to ensure compliance; • Although you cannot transfer your duties under the Act onto a third party, you can ensure that appropriate indemnities are in place in your contracts so that you may recover losses as a result of a breach of the Act by another; • Making sure that the intended use and relevant information for the building product

is clearly described in your contract (at least for high value / high risk components); and •S eeking legal advice on all future consultancy contracts, and on managing risk under contracts that are already on foot.

Troy Lewis Partner Holding Redlich Sarah Shirley Lawyer Holding Redlich

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Consulting Matters Business essentials

Technology, Risk and Leadership The genuine business risks associated with this situation—where the leaders are not actively engaged in IT (and Systems) — won’t be identified if you ask your IT or Risk Management 'experts'. Some say that truth hurts, but in business the truth can open your eyes to problem areas as well as to opportunities that are being missed. Let’s look at what this means and ask yourself what are you doing about it.

THE ROLE OF THE LEADER There are some things that are universal to successful and consulting companies. One of these is solid business foundations built on systems and technology. Your role as a business leader is to set, drive and enhance these business foundations—this is not something that can be delegated or assigned to 'IT Management'.

You know that Information Technology plays a critical role in your business—after all it’s how you produce work and how you communicate with clients, consultants, builders and the industry. It’s the systems that underpin your financials, operations, marketing and communications.

And no doubt, you will be aware of the common business risks associated with technology such as hardware and software failure, spam, viruses and malicious attacks, as well as natural disasters such as fires, cyclones or floods. There is any amount of advice and material on how to manage these types of risks and typically the approach and advice will be that you need to “develop a risk management plan”, or a “response plan” in the event of an IT crisis. Or that you can manage IT risks by “completing a business risk assessment”.

But based on experience, and working with engineers and other built environment consultants for many years, the risks associated with technology go far deeper than these typical examples and recommended solutions.

At Management for Design we have invariably found that the biggest risk with technology and business is associated with the leadership of the business. Your dilemma as a leader of your business is that you are typically busy generating work, designing and delivering projects, working with clients and managing your people.

Consequently, it’s easy to rely on your IT team to drive, manage and improve your IT systems and infrastructure, generate the IT budget, manage costs and implement BIM. Sadly, that’s not the solution in today’s technologically dependent industry.

It is incumbent on the leaders / the principals / the directors to ensure the IT strategy is aligned with your overall business strategic objectives. You need to be clear about how you want to be positioned in the industry.

Is your objective to be a leader or follower in technology and can you articulate to your team why this is and what this means?

As a minimum, you should know why you are using your current software solutions, why you are working in Revit and AutoCAD or another system solution and what this is delivering for your business. You need to invest your time to understand these key issues so that you can work effectively with, and challenge your IT team. It’s your responsibility to ensure the expectations are delivered, and if not, why not—and what needs to happen differently.

Test yourself and ask these fundamental questions •W hat should your IT expenditure be as proportion of revenue?

Business essentials Consulting Matters

The opportunities (and challenges) related to the application of technology are immense and increasing. Don’t leave it to the next generation to grasp the opportunity.

• Can you clearly articulate why your business is going down the Revit and BIM path?

• Do you know what generative design can do for your clients?

• Do you understand why you are using a VPN? • Do you know the average technology spend for similar businesses in your industry?

• Do your financials clearly itemise your technology expenditure?

• Do you measure the effectiveness of your IT? And if so, how?

• How do you assess the performance of your IT team?

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Subsurface Utility Engineering on line training course released NATIONAL ENGINEERING CONSULTANCY FIRM WOOD & GRIEVE ENGINEERS (WGE) IN CONJUNCTION WITH ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA, CONSULT AUSTRALIA AND OPEN LEARNING HAS CREATED AN ON LINE TRAINING COURSE TO LIFT THE UNDERSTANDING AND IMPORTANCE OF SUBSURFACE UTILITY ENGINEERING ACROSS THE COUNTRY. Consult Australia’s March edition ran an article about the work that Wood & Grieve was doing working with Engineers Australia and Standards Australia to upgrade AS5488 which is the Australian Standard relating to the classification of subsurface utility information.

The Standards Australia committee has been formed and is being led by former Queensland Department of Main Roads Director General Bruce Wilson. The primary aim of the AS5488 upgrade is to incorporate the engineering management of subsurface utilities to bring it into line with five other countries (UK, USA, Canada, Malaysia and Ecuador) that have effective equivalent standards in place.

• What plans do you have in place to enhance the IT expertise in your business?

In an attempt to mirror similar international standards relating to underground utilities, its subject matter is largely survey based but has neither the breadth, nor industry buy-in of its international counterparts.

• Is your IT strategy aligned with your business strategy? In what way? Can you articulate this to your people?

WGE’s National Underground Utility Manager Rob Sansbury, in association with Standards Australia and Engineers Australia is working to change this.

• How are you enhancing your knowledge of the IT solutions in and available to your business?

• Have you considered how you could leverage VR & AR to gain a competitive advantage If you aren’t clear, lack knowledge or interest in these fundamental issues in relation to your business then you should have a plan in place to get up to speed. The opportunities (and challenges) related to the application of technology are immense and increasing. Don’t leave it to the next generation to grasp the opportunity.

Robert Peak Management for Design

“In short, we want SUE to be recognised as a specialist area of engineering and we want there to be a rulebook for all design engineers,” Sansbury says.

Sansbury notes that the upgraded AS5488 is likely to be released to the market in late 2018 or early 2019.

“A key factor in the success of the upgraded AS5488 will be if it is released to an informed marketplace. The current AS5488 has not been well adopted and we realised that, in parallel with upgrading AS5488 we needed to create a training course that was accessible to all.”

The on line course is not expensive at $285, takes only 8 hours to complete and gives a strong overview of SUE as well as some detail about what the upgraded AS5488 is aiming to achieve. Course attendees are able to directly input what they think the upgraded AS5488 should include which is a first of its kind.

“It has only been released to the market for a few months and the feedback that’s been received has been overwhelmingly positive” Check out the online course here Rob Sansbury Wood & Grieve Engineers

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Consulting Matters Business essentials

Understanding Slip Resistance Laws In a recent article, we looked at how to reduce public falls and accidents. One point we championed for the reduction of public falls was the need for small slotted slipresistant grates in public areas. Well, it looks like legislators agreed with us, because new legislation surrounding slip resistance has been implemented. In this article, we’ll examine the real life implications of the test methodologies defined by recently released AS 4586 Slip resistance classification of new pedestrian surface materials, and explore how they are relevant to your next project.

The classifications are explained in the handbook HB 198 Guide to the specification and testing of slip resistance of pedestrian surfaces with a view to aid the designer in assigning the correct level of slip resistance for an application.

These tests determine ratings of slip resistance that are important to understand when undertaking a commercial or industrial project that requires drainage systems to be installed. They ensure that the appropriate level of slip resistance is applied to avoid slips and accidents.

Which level of slip resistance is right?

NSW Angel Place Sydney photo courtesy of ACO Australia.

When are slip resistance standards required?

All slip resistance standards and safety requirements must be rigorously adhered to in commercial and industrial projects in order to maintain public safety, increase access and avoid compensation claims. Pedestrian areas such as walkways, shopping centres, hospitals and other public areas require various levels of slip resistance as outlined by the classifications in HB 198. But it pays to keep in mind that standards for one project, for example an outdoor architectural installation, might be vastly different to, say, those for an indoor food service environment. Furthermore, the compatibility of floor finishes with adjacent grates is critical to avoid undesirable trip hazards. The safety requirements for such spaces will also vary greatly depending on WHS and disability access requirements.

ACO’s Heelsafe® Anti-Slip grates cover a range of slip resistant ratings to cater for drainage projects in a wide range of sites.

What are slip resistance ratings?

In order to assess the slip resistance of a grate or floor surface, three tests are specified in AS 4586 which measure slip resistance in various areas.

• The wet pendulum test can be applied for areas that become wet in the rain, such as stormwater grates.

• The wet-barefoot inclining platform test is designed for wet areas where shoes are not worn, such as water parks and beach areas.

• The third kind of test is designed for commercial and industrial areas that can become dirty with oil or grease. It is called the oil wet inclining platform test and is applied in internal industrial and commercial environments such as kitchens and food processing areas.

With the increase in litigation and compensation for injuries caused by slips and falls, designers must now closely consider specifying grates and floor surfaces that comply with the appropriate standard for slip resistance. However, this does not always mean installing a grate with a high level of slip resistance. Specifying a grate which is too slip resistant can be dangerous for the public and in fact contribute to an increase in public accidents and compensation claims.

Designers need to weigh up slip resistance ratings against other potential hazards.

For example, if a grate has a higher slip resistance rating than the surrounding floor surface, it could catch a toe or heel and cause a trip hazard.

The important thing is for designers not to lose sight of the main objectives when installing grates: ensuring the safety of patrons and providing exceptional surface drainage solutions.

How can I make my project slip resistant?

To help prevent public injuries, ACO believes that slip resistant grates should be implemented where possible. Each of our commercial grates complies with AS 4586 legislative requirements for slip resistance.

Our Heelsafe® Anti-Slip grates are available in stainless steel, ductile iron and plastic designs to suit applications in a wide range of projects. The grates feature raised mechanical nodes for tread durability and are designed to prevent small heels from becoming trapped. These industrial, residential and commercial grates comply with a number of Australian and international standards for pedestrian, wheelchair, bicycle and cane use.

To learn more about proper slip resistant grate specification, refer to www.heelsafe.com.au or call ACO on 1300 765 226.

ACO's Stainless 5 Star Heelsafe® Anti-Slip grate.

Consulting Matters

Heelsafe ® Anti-Slip trench drains

ACO’s pedestrian-friendly trench drains ACO’s extensive range of pedestrian-friendly grates ensure public safety by reducing potential falls and injuries. The grates comply with AS 4586 for slip resistance and AS 3996 for load rating requirements.

Heelsafe® Anti-Slip grates are available in a choice of stainless steel, ductile iron and plastic designs.

All grates are available with ACO’s modular range of sloped V-profile trench drains to ensure safe and efficient drainage.

Ph: 1300 765 226 | sales@acoaus.com.au | www.acodrain.com.au

ACO. The future of drainage

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Consulting Matters

Want to talk insurance with someone who knows your industry?

Working you way through your businesses insurance requirements, particularly when it comes to professional indemnity, can be like navigating your way through a forest.

That's why, way back in 2009, Consult Australia created the PI Pathway and partnered with brokers that we were confident not only knew our industry, but would also provide our members with the level of service that we would be happy to endorse.

Bovill Risk IC and Planned Insurance have been partners on the pathway since its inception, and nine years later they are continuing to help our members find their way through the insurance forest for not just PI insurance but across all their business insurance needs.

To make sure you have the best available insurance for your business or project contact our PI Pathway Partners now.

Protecting Professionals

Bovill Risk & Insurance Consultants www.bric.com.au

Planned Cover www.plannedcover.com.au

Darren Pavic, Broking Manager PO BOX 1020 Richmond North Victoria 3121 1800 077 933 bw@bric.com.au

Simon Gray, State Manager PO Box 1983, North Sydney New South Wales, 2059 1800 077 933 sydney@plannedcover.com.au

Photo courtesy of Seb Zurcher

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Consulting Matters Corporate social responsibility

Tailored advice benefits Indigenous organisation

As part of the GHD in the Community program, GHD provides pro bono services with the same management systems and quality controls that it uses for chargeable work.

The Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) represents the Aboriginal people of the homelands and outstations surrounding Maningrida in West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.

About 20 years ago, BAC built six shelters to provide temporary accommodation to homeland residents who moved into Darwin during the wet season or stayed overnight during the dry season. Over the years, the shelters became permanently inhabited and now provide accommodation for a large group of people. They are in generally poor condition.

In partnership with Engineers Without Borders (EWB), GHD carried out a pro bono visual structural assessment of the shelters to determine their condition and make recommendations for remedial works.

BAC had received limited funding to refurbish the shelters but required structural engineering input to inform decision making on how best to allocate the available funds.

Before commencing work, GHD had many discussions and introductions with EWB and BAC. This helped GHD to better understand the challenges they were facing, and to tailor proposed services given the limited timeframes and budgets for implementing the outcomes of GHD’s assessment.

GHD provided recommendations for each of the shelters that could be carried out in both the short and the long term. They also identified the shelters that could most readily be repaired to assist with prioritisation of the works.

As a result, BAC now has the necessary information to direct funding towards refurbishment, which will have an immediate impact on the wellbeing of the residents.

Sheila Olandria GHD

Corporate social responsibility Consulting Matters

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Driving change with Engineering Aid Australia

As an industry, one thing that we can definitely do better is support, reflect and promote the diversity of the communities that we work in. As Chairman of Engineering Aid Australia and former Chair of Consult Australia’s Male Champions of Change, it’s something I’m very passionate about. But to me, it only matters if we actually act.

So, how do we act? How do we drive change and improve the quality of life in the communities we help design, build and develop? One way is to partner with the right organisations and, Engineering Aid Australia (EAA) is one such organisation that is driving strong, positive change in our communities.

Its purpose is to encourage Indigenous high-school students bridge the transition from school to University to pursue further education and a career in engineering. Now if you think this is a very specific purpose, then you are right. If we are to help communities, we must identify specific issues and work together on bespoke solutions. After-all, it’s what many of us as consultants get paid to do.

Ben Lange, 1999 Indigenous Australian Engineering Summer School Alumni, First Indigenous Engineering student to graduate from UNSW, A member of the EAA Board of Directors since June 2015

EAA shows students more practically what it might be like to become an engineer by immersing them in the world of engineering through its Indigenous Australian Engineering Summer Schools. The program provides students not only with a peer network of current students, but also connects them with academics and established engineering professionals as part of a wider support network if they choose to go to university.

Being a part of the programme, which is competitive amongst applicants, gives the students more visibility and confidence to access potential scholarships and financial assistance, and to build relationships with professionals and mentors in leading industry organisations Now running in its twentieth year, over 500 students have attended the summer schools in Perth and Sydney, with more than 85 per cent of those students continuing to year 12. Approximately 10 students per

EAA shows students more practically what it might be like to become an engineer by immersing them in the world of engineering through its Indigenous Australian Engineering Summer Schools.

year continue on to an engineering degree, creating a significant increase in the number of Indigenous students becoming engineers.

There are three main levels of partnership involvement: Principal Partners, $30,000 annual contribution; Major Partners, $20,000 annual contribution; and Partners, $10,000 annual contribution. Becoming a partner not only helps EAA support more students but also brings organisations closer to the community through site visits with students during Indigenous Australian Engineering Summer Schools, opportunities to talk career paths with students, recognition of commitment to Indigenous participation in the industry, and the chance to celebrate the achievements of the students through annual events.

I strongly encourage you to make yourself aware of EAA, what they do (http:// engineeringaid.org) and ask yourself how you can help. We as leaders are privileged to be able to make decisions that matter, and it is through simple actions that we can make a real difference.

For more information, please get in touch with Greg Steele, CEO Australia Pacific, Arcadis Greg.Steele@arcadis.com Greg Steele CEO Arcadis

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Consulting Matters Corporate social responsibility

RedR Report: Tristan Turner

The first Gabion is sunk Photo courtesy of RedR Australia

When the first food truck drives across a newly built bridge over a river, in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, Australian engineer Tristan Turner will be cheering from the riverbank.

The RedR Australia engineer designed the emergency low-water bridge and has supervised its construction because he knows what a huge difference it will make to alleviating the suffering of the Rohingya refugees on the other side, who have fled violence in Myanmar.

can open new food distribution points and provide easier access to the population that’s sprung up on the other side of the river.

“What started out as a river ford point for tractors has gone through many design iterations, a time as a causeway and now the current design is a proper bridge; albeit a low water bridge,” Tristan said.

The refugees, mostly women and children, are amongst 600,000 who have recently crossed the border into Bangladesh, many carrying only their trauma and fully dependent on humanitarian assistance for food, water, shelter and other essential needs.

“It’s been a very fast tracked design and construction process. It is not designed to provide a surface for high flows that we’ll see in the monsoon (next year) but it’s quick and simple to build and suits the purpose right now, of getting WFP food and aid deliveries to the hardest to reach; the most vulnerable of the people we are here to help,” he explained.

RedR Australia deployed the humanitarian engineer to support the World Food Programme’s (WFP) response to what has become the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis and a major humanitarian emergency.

For the past ten days, he has supervised the construction of the 28 metre low-water bridge over the Bakkhali River so that WFP

“I had 37 labourers yesterday in three teams, and at the height of works that are coming soon, I expect to add another team today and potentially maxing out with a fifth soon. It’s backwards from most construction principles of my training in Melbourne, but I tend to look to find a solution with labourers, rather than with heavy machinery.”

Tristan has drawn the labourers from the families who have had to relocate their makeshift bamboo and tarpaulin shelters to accommodate the new road. And although, he would have liked to spread the paid work opportunity widely, he knew it wasn’t practical to do so as he needed the bridge constructed quickly.

“It’s very much an emergency build so I need efficiency and quality work from my team.

For example, I can't rotate new people in each day to spread the assistance to all and still get efficiencies from a tight team for the quick construction I demand of them. In fact, it takes many days for a team to learn the quality nuances I want.”

The bridge will open access to thousands of families on the other side. Women and children who come to the WFP food distribution points to collect rice, lentils and vegetable oil, are currently walking several kilometres over a small bamboo foot bridge to reach the food.

“They might have to walk several kilometres carrying their 25 kilograms of rice, several litres of oil and lentils and might be carrying

Corporate social responsibility Consulting Matters

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a child too and have another by the hand.

The food alone is half their body weight.

Sometimes, it might be a 10 year old child trying to carry this back to the family.”

Working 14 hour days, seven days a week in an emergency setting is a far cry from supervising the installation of portable classrooms for the Victorian education department or doing fit outs of office buildings, which was what Tristan was doing this time last year, but the rewards are great.

“When it opens, the World Food Programme will be able to send food trucks across it and open new distribution points on the other side of the river,” he said, adding that this would greatly reduce the distances the refugees need to walk to collect food.

In many cases, the food collectors have to leave vulnerable young children at their makeshift shelter or, in the case of child headed households, vulnerable younger siblings. The trek for food can also place women and girls at risk of gender-based violence.

Tristan is using local labour from Bangladesh as well as Rohingya refugees to build the bridge which involves steel mesh gabion baskets filled with rock, and a metal mesh deck for the road surface and he expects the works completed and to see the first truck roll across before the end of November.

“I'm pretty passionate about good humanitarian construction. It’s quite hard to do well and some procurement systems even prevent it due to their complexity but it’s not impossible. I feel that construction professionals and builders that come from the pressure cooker of the Melbourne construction industry, have gone through the perfect preparation training to enable them

to do top work over here, and that the more I can convince to get over here the easier it will be to improve the systems to do better work,” Tristan said.

RedR Australia has deployed seven people to the Rohingya refugee crisis and they are all playing critical roles supporting United Nations agencies like the World Food Programme. Tristan's deployment is funded by the Australian government which is also supporting key deployments in logistics, child protection and camp management.

Tristan previously supervised construction of health facilities in Nepal after the earthquakes and water and sanitation facilities in Lebanon for Syrian refugees.

Katrina Peach RedR RedR Australia deployments are funded by the Australian and UK governments and public appeals. If you would like to help RedR Australia send more experts like Tristan to help the Rohingyas, you can donate to their public appeal at: www.redr.org.au/donate/myanmar-appeal/

In-house training available!

Thinking about professional development?

Consult Australia offers a number of intensive training programs to provide consultants with invaluable skills, knowledge and advice. This powerful training puts you in control and allows you to better protect your business.

For more information visit: http://bit.ly/caeducation

Learn vital information about: • Designer duties under current legislation • Hazard identification tools • Risk assessment, control, and management

2018 dates: QLD: 8-9 Mar SA: 5-6 Apr WA: 3-4 May NSW: 10-11 May VIC: 31 May - 1 Jun

• Safety in design procedures and documentation

Includes the Safety in Design Tool Kit which is free for members.

• The dual roles of the Superintendent • Decision making and conveying information

2018 dates: VIC: 28 Feb QLD: 14 Mar SA: 16 May WA: 23 May NSW: 20 Jun

• Liability of the Superintendent • Insurance issues Facilitated by Tony Horan - one of the most knowledgeable and experienced barristers working in the construction industry in Australia.

Member price: $1,300 Non-Member price: $1,550

• Contractual relationships • Liability & Insurance • Onerous contract terms

2018 dates: VIC: 1-3 Mar QLD: 15-17 Mar SA: 17-19 May WA: 24-26 May NSW: 21-23 Jun

• Dispute resolution

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• Scope of duties

• Contract formulation & terms

Facilitated by Tony Horan - one of the most knowledgeable and experienced barristers working in the construction industry in Australia.

Member price: $1,800 Non-Member price: $2,680*

Topics include:

Learn vital information about:

• Professional indemnity insurance

• Best practice examples

The Role of the Superintendent

Contracts for Consultants

Member price: $2,900 Non-Member price: $3,770

ConsultED ConsultED is an on-line platform that has been developed to provide Consult Australia members (and others) with access to a variety of interactive training courses from the convenience of their desktop.

• Legal,Standards and Codes • Business Practice • Health and Safety • Human Resources

Member price: $40 Non-Member price: $52 Nov 2017

Safety in Design