Consulting Matters June 2022

WINTER 2022

CONSULT AUSTRALIA QUARTERLY MAGAZINE FOR CONSULTANTS IN DESIGN, ADVISORY, AND ENGINEERING

SHOWCASE

24

ONECONSULT HALL OF FAME

22

ONECONSULT AWARD WINNERS

20

CONSULT AUSTRALIA 70th ANNIVERSARY

2022

ECONOMIC FORECAST An economic forecast for consulting business in design, advisory, and engineering.

CONSULT AUSTRALIA’S

2022 ECONOMIC FORECAST Consult Australia’s 2022 Economic Forecast report is an essential tool for any consulting business in design, advisory, and engineering.

Consult Australia partners with Australian Construction Insights (ACI), who authors the report. ACI is Australia’s leading provider of economic data and research for the construction industry.

Why purchase this report ?

Over 60 pages of industry insights

Purchasing the Economic Forecast will not only help you to identify opportunities, risks and threats to your business and highlight important trends in the industries and markets in which you operate, but it will also provide you with insights that are crucial to the development of sustainable, robust and achievable strategies for consulting firms of any size.

Some facts you will discover in detail:

58,000+ BUSINESSES IN 2020/21

PURCHASE THE 2022 ECONOMIC FORECAST TODAY AND DISCOVER DETAILED INDUSTRY INSIGHTS TO SUPPORT YOUR BUSINESS! BUY NOW

The total number of consulting businesses involved in engineering, architecture, and surveying and mapping, continued the upward trend it has exhibited over much of the last decade, with over 58,000+ businesses in 2020/21 – Find out more today!

$13 BILLION PER QUARTER The value of public sector work done over the last couple of quarters has still been up around 4-year highs, over $13 billion per quarter – Understand public sector demand for construction

3.9% ECONOMIC GROWTH Over the 12 months to September 2021, Australia’s economy expanded by 3.9 per cent – Discover in detail the contribution of construction to economic growth

CONTENTS

Page 56

Page 58

Î AURECON REIMAGINES MASS TIMBER

Î TRANSFORMING BRISBANE: KINGSFORD SMITH DRIVE

CONSTRUCTION WITH ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGY

INDUSTRY UPDATES

FEATURES

4

Appointments

22

2021 Awards for Excellence

4

Industry News

24

Hall of Fame

28

President's Award

29

Small Firm of the Year

30

Medium Firm of the Year

31

Large Firm of the Year

32

Champions of Change - Female Leadership

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT CONSULT AUSTRALIA 6 From the President 7 From the CEO 8 Advocacy Highlights

33

Future Leader

12 Small Business Spotlight

34

Small Business Excellence

14 Government Procurement: A sovereign security imperative

35

Innovative Design

37

Client Service Excellence

38

Collaboration for Project Excellence

39

Technological Innovation

40

People First

41

Superior Sustainability

16 Productivity Inquiry Submission 20 Consult Australia 70th Anniversary: Past Presidents

42 Highly Commended Awards 45 FIDIC Louis Prangey Award 46 FutureNet Business Leader Programme 2021 48 The value of the Consult Australia Awards for Excellence 50 New capabilities for a fast-changing world 52 Collaboration on the design of the world's largest science facility

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 54 Our people are our greatest humanitarian asset

PROJECT CASE STUDY 56 Aurecon reimagines mass timber construction with robotics technology 58 Transforming Brisbane: Kingsford Smith Drive

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the magazine contains an image of a deceased person.

Consulting Matters 3

Industry updates

Industry updates APPOINTMENTS

GHD appoints Andre Ribeiro as Chief Marketing Officer Strategic vision and deep operational experience from global technology sector strengthens company’s global growth GHD welcomes Andre Ribeiro as Chief Marketing Officer reporting to Sonia Adams, Chief Client Officer. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Andre will lead GHD’s marketing strategy to use data-driven insights that enhance client experiences, delivering significant operational improvements and further building its high-performance culture.

Sonia comments, “Technology will be an enabler of excellence as we focus on delivering client experiences that are outstanding, unique and meaningful.

Andre will help accelerate our path in capturing deeper insights into our clients’ online behaviour and lead all aspects of our marketing initiatives including: the next stage of our brand strategy, demand generation, content marketing, communications/PR, events and analytics.

We are thrilled he will be leading our global network of marketing professionals in this critical period of transformation.”

Andre brings diverse experience from publicly listed companies and private equity firms where he has had considerable success in earnings growth and revenue acceleration. He was previously at Volaris Group – an operating company of Constellation Software, one of the largest technology conglomerates in the world.

According to Andre, “With the consulting industry transforming so rapidly, the marketing function has to evolve to anticipate new ways of value creation, strong performance and sustainable practices. I am excited to join the talented marketing team at GHD and look forward to building on the rich heritage of the company as we transform the business, drive client value, and capitalise on the tremendous growth opportunities across our key market sectors.”

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INDUSTRY NEWS

AECOM awarded joint venture contract to deliver Rail Projects Victoria Technical Advisory Services for Geelong Fast Rail Delivering faster services for Victoria AECOM, the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, has announced it has been awarded a contract, in a joint venture with GHD, to deliver Technical Advisory Services to Rail Projects Victoria (RPV) for the Geelong Fast Rail Project.

AECOM GHD + (AGP) will provide technical advisory services covering Technical and Engineering, Communications, and Community and Stakeholder Engagement.

AGP is a joint venture between AECOM and GHD and has engaged Nation Partners, Grimshaw and Deutsche Bahn as key partners.

Jointly funded by the Commonwealth and State governments with $4 billion to date, Geelong Fast Rail will reduce travel times between Geelong and Melbourne’s CBD to around 50 minutes via major investments in the Werribee rail corridor.

The Geelong Fast Rail contract continues a successful and long-standing alliance between AECOM and GHD. Since 2015, the two organisations have partnered to deliver technical advisory services for major Victorian transport infrastructure projects, including the Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) and North East Link Project (NELP).

Northrop Board appoints Managing Partners Northrop Consulting Engineers announces the appointment of Mr Todd Halliday and Mr Mark Sturgess as the new Managing Partners.

“This development in the new leadership structure of our C-suite is a reflection of the direction Northrop has adopted – a partnership model where our people are enabled to bring their best to the table and have a supportive team,” said David Field, Chair of the Northrop Board.

“Northrop remains committed to its purpose to realise potential of our people, projects, clients and community and has chosen two of the business’s most influential, forward-thinking leaders to take up the mantle of evolving Northrop across the coming years,” says David.

Chief Executive Officer, Jamie Shelton is supportive of the change and has been appointed into a new role focusing on growing the Melbourne region, engaging with larger client partnerships and actively involved with Northrop’s climate change strategy.

The new strategic direction for the business supports a fresh focus on client service, employee experience and investment in digital technologies to continue delivering valuable project outcomes for our clients and community.

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia announced the retirement of its highly respected CEO Dr Bronwyn Evans AM, bringing to a close an outstanding career as a corporate leader.

Engineers Australia Chair Dr Nick Fleming said Dr Evans had lent her extensive experience and future-focussed and innovative vision to deliver outstanding outcomes for members and the broader engineering community. Dr Evans has led the organisation since 2019.

“Dr Evans will leave Engineers Australia in a position of great strength, after working closely with the board to set a bold, ambitious agenda for strategic transformation, and for personally leading investment in employee culture and experience,” said Dr Fleming.

Dr Evans’ many achievements at Engineers Australia include successful advocacy for the compulsory registration of engineers, promoting women in STEM, and climate change initiatives - including a new flagship conference - Climate Smart Engineering, headlined by Nobel laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore.

“While the board and her team will miss her enormously, we know Dr Evans will continue to be a part of the Engineers Australia community and a leading voice across all facets of the profession,” Dr Fleming said.

Industry updates

Infrastructure Australia Chair Col Murray has announced that Romilly Madew AO FTSE will leave IA at the end of July, after nearly three and a half years as Chief Executive, to take up the role of Chief Executive of Engineers Australia.

Romilly has been an outstanding Chief Executive for Infrastructure Australia and her leadership, passion and skills will be missed.

Her impact on Australia’s infrastructure assessment and policy has been positive and sustained, reflecting her passion for the sector and her strong, trusted relationships with stakeholders across government at all levels, industry and the community.

Under her leadership, Infrastructure Australia has strengthened the Infrastructure Priority List and refreshed Infrastructure Australia’s Assessment Framework, broadening the Assessment Criteria to allow for more holistic reviews of a proposal’s potential benefits, in addition to those that can be monetised through traditional cost-benefit analysis.

During her tenure as CEO, Romilly oversaw publication of the 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit, 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan and provided support to the Australian Government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all highly regarded pieces of work to drive economic growth, maintain and enhance our standard of living, and improve the resilience and sustainability of nationally significant infrastructure.

Romilly has also led a range of new initiatives for Infrastructure Australia, including our Infrastructure Market Capacity program, Regional Strengths and Infrastructure Gaps research, Delivering Outcomes and implementation of our first Reconciliation Action Plan.

Editor/Marketing Manager Daniela Bozinovska

President Rowenna Walker

Chief Executive Officer Nicola Grayson

Finance Manager Penny Clark

Engagement Manager Linda Gaunt

Head of Policy & Government Relations Kristy Eulenstein

VIC Manager Mark Rogers

Senior Policy Advisor Teone Tobin

It with great sadness that we share the news of Mandy Holloway’s sudden passing away from an anaphylactic reaction. Mandy was well known to many Consult Australia members, most recently through her involvement with our OneConsult Conference in assisting with the programme as well as presenting.

Mandy was a huge supporter of future leaders and has helped many through her participation in our FutureNet Business Leaders Course.

MANDY HOLLOWAY

She was also a courageous advocate for female leadership, diversity, and inclusion. She supported countless leaders with her aptly named business Courageous Leaders, which she founded with her husband Kevin.

Mandy was a warm, generous mentor and friend, her laughter and wisdom will be missed by all.

We send our sincere condolences to Kevin, her daughters, and family on behalf of all at Consult Australia.

NSW Manager Alison Kirk

SA, Tas & the Territories & A/g WA Jan Irvine

QLD Manager Kristine Banks

Systems Administrator & Analyst Breanna Gorrell

Corporate Designer Fredi Cueva

Accounts Guillaume Marchand-Henderson

PA/Office Administrator Karen Pooley Events Coordinator Mital Patel

Editorial submissions

daniela@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

Consulting Matters 5

What's happening at Consult Australia

From the President

“

As Consult Australia President I had an immense sense of pride to hear about the extraordinary ways in which our industry is impacting clients, the community, being innovative, and advancing technology.

”

Back in January this year whilst I was holidaying in Hawks Nest with my family, Nicola, Consult Australia CEO, and I spoke on the phone to discuss the options for the OneConsult Conference, 70th anniversary celebration and Awards for Excellence given the Covid uncertainty at the time. It was one of those moments, I am glad that we took the gamble to go ahead and bring together our industry in a much needed chance to be together and of course celebrate!

After nearly two and a half years of not being able to get together in person it was so wonderful to feel the excitement with over 350 people in the room at the OneConsult Gala Dinner, the sense of joy and pride from a lot of hard work being shared was palpable.

As Consult Australia President I had an immense sense of pride to hear about the extraordinary ways in which our industry is impacting clients, the community, being innovative, and advancing technology.

The OneConsult conference theme of ‘Collaboration is the New Competition’ showcased thought leadership and case studies, demonstrating what we all innately know, that collaboration will be the way in which we will be able to lead through these unprecedented times in our industry.

Collaboration has been a core theme for a lot of Consult Australia’s advocacy on procurement reform, Champions of Change initiatives and creating a mentally healthy workplace.

I am always inspired by the talent in our industry, in particular those in our FutureNet groups and the Future Leader’s nominated for our Awards. At the OneConsult Conference we had the pleasure of hearing from the FutureNet Business Leaders Program teams who presented their project, a feasibility study for a new Public School in Meadowbank, Ryde in partnership with NSW Schools Infrastructure. These leaders are applying holistic thinking to problems considering sustainability, diversity, community and indigenous aspects to design.

It was wonderful to reflect and celebrate Consult Australia’s 70th anniversary, showcasing our past Presidents. It was eye opening to learn about the challenges and highlights faced over the years, but the resilience and resolve of our industry has been strong to maintain an industry association that our members truly value.

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We were also lucky enough to have the FIDIC President Anthony Barry present Dick Kell with the prestigious FIDIC Prangey Award, The Louis Prangey Award, named after the founding President of FIDIC

Established to be presented from time to time to a person who has rendered significant service to the Federation and/or to the profession of independent consulting engineering, and who exemplifies the objectives of the Federation. How great to have Dick, representing Australia at this level!

One of the key pillars of our 2021-2023 Strategy which advances us towards our Vision - to be the leading voice for a vibrant and prosperous industry supporting consulting businesses in design, advisory, and engineering is ‘growing our profile’. We have had some recent media coverage in the AFR, the Fifth Estate and the Guardian.

Identifying and seizing opportunities to showcase our advocacy, contribution, potential and achievements in our industry is a role we can all play.

Finally, may I reiterate my heart felt Congratulations to all who entered the awards.

There is so much to celebrate, excite and entice – let us all go forth and showcase our value to the industry!

Rowenna Walker President

What's happening at Consult Australia

From the CEO

“

Steeped in this wonderful history, there is no night on which we are prouder to represent this wonderful industry and be part of such a rich legacy.

”

The Awards for Excellence is my favourite event in the Consult Australia calendar, made all the more special as we celebrate 70 years of association!

Our very first Award ceremony was in fact held in 1968. The winning projects included: • Batman Bridge, Launceston • Oil Wharf, Westernport, Victoria • Expansions and Modernisation: Newcastle Grain Terminal • Murray Valley Salinity Study • Glass Walls of the Sydney Opera House • Paterson Bridge, Launceston • Anglo-Australian Optical telescope – Building and Dome Observatory Steeped in this wonderful history, there is no night on which we are prouder to represent this wonderful industry and be part of such a rich legacy.

Congratulations to all our winners, with particular mention to our Hall of Fame recipients, Arup and Tonkin, for the outstanding achievement of three consecutive wins in the ‘Firm of the Year’ category (large and medium respectively).

A truly touching moment of the night was the standing ovation given to Richard Kell, as we honoured his achievement in receiving the International Federation of Consulting Engineers highest honour, the Louis Prangey Award. This is presented to a person who has rendered significant service to the Federation and/or to the profession of independent consulting engineering, and who exemplifies the objectives of the Federation. The recipient is considered to be a role model for the consulting engineering industry.

In keeping with the celebration theme, I’d like to celebrate a win we achieved for our small business members in the Federal Budget announcements. This win has been achieved through our ongoing advocacy on the Commonwealth Government’s procurement consultative roundtable, which is attended by all the commonwealth secretaries (agency heads). We are the only sector specific industry group on the roundtable aside from the IT industry. I have consistently raised the Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance market issues in that roundtable and have been asked twice to present to them on the state of the market and issues for business. I have also presented to the standing group of over 80 commonwealth procurement officers on PI insurance.

In the Budget papers the Commonwealth confirmed that it will amend the Commonwealth Procurement Rules so that commonwealth agencies must limit the extent of pre-contract insurance and liability requirement to reflect sufficient risk sharing whilst not imposing unreasonable or disproportionate risk transfer that unduly restricts the number of suppliers who can bid.

This is great news because it’s a step towards model client behaviour, which we can now use as a signal for all other governments to adopt in their procurement. We will follow up to ensure that this commitment is adopted by the new Federal Government.

We are also celebrating our Partnership for Change collaboration with the Australian Constructors Association and the release of four papers covering, adoption of digital technology, addressing multiple design reviews, resolving the thorny issue of information reliance, and our Model Client policy. See our website for details.

I hope you enjoy this celebratory issue!

Nicola Grayson CEO

Consulting Matters 7

What's happening at Consult Australia

Advocacy Highlights Head of Policy and Government Relations

Kristy Eulenstein In this edition, I’ve got a pretty easy job to ‘showcase’ our advocacy work over the last quarter – it’s been hectic but hopefully something in here for everyone.

We were pleased to see the Federal Budget reflect some of our Pre-Budget Submission including announcements across our 4 priority areas: • Practice – measures to provide business support • People – measures on skills, education and migration • Procurement – reforms to improve small business access to Commonwealth procurement opportunities • Pipeline – investment in infrastructure, energy and resources.

Of course, our wish list was longer, but it was positive to see some of our priority areas in the Budget, and we will be advocating to see these reflected in the new Government's Budget too. Remember you can still access our Federal Budget Summary for more information.

The Final Report of the Parliamentary Inquiry into Procurement Practices for Government-Funded Infrastructure was published, with Consult Australia being quoted heavily throughout the almost 200page report, with over 80 mentions of us on risk, civil liability reforms and go slow to go fast. See later in this edition for a summary of our advocacy wins.

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Thanks to those members that completed our Industry Health Check, Pulse Survey in April/May. Please see Latest News on our website for the results report. Unsurprisingly in the current market, most responses nominated staff wages as the biggest business expense, followed closely by the cost of professional indemnity insurance.

These two areas were also expected to have the biggest impact on the business in the next six months. As in previous surveys, the increase to the insurance premium experienced by different businesses varied considerably, but most responses indicated a premium increase of between 11-30%. These results are valuable to the team in our advocacy around the country, especially in terms of the need to de-risk the market and to think smarter about skills.

We’ve also made submissions to the Department of Home Affairs on free trade agreement negotiations (stressing skills issues and business barriers) and to Infrastructure Australia on its Delivering Outcomes and Regional Strengths and Infrastructure Gaps reports.

Copies of all our submissions are available on our website here.

This is just a quick overview of our activity at the Commonwealth level, remember to watch our Policy Pulse videos, and find out more about what we are doing at the local level from the team below. See also later in this issue our Small Business Spotlight and the Summary of our Productivity Inquiry Submission.

What's happening at Consult Australia

NSW

Alison Kirk

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The NSW Committee has been strongly engaged with NSW Government advocating for more balanced contract terms, fair procurement practices, and removing the barriers to doing business in NSW. This is especially so in terms of Project Streamline with Transport for NSW. We are highlighting member concerns on capped rates proposed by Treasury – through its Supplier Input Panel Project. Alison needs more information from members participating in this project to progress our advocacy, please contact Alison if you are involved.

We remain active on the building reforms front, wanting to ensure our members understand their obligations and can meet those obligations. Please contact us with any feedback you have on the building reforms and how it is impacting your business.

VIC

Mark Rogers

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Joint advocacy is our approach to member concerns with the Construction Supplier Register – with quantity surveying and landscape architecture institutions joining us to seek a change to the onerous board obligations currently in place. Contact Mark for more information.

We have met with the Department of Treasury and Finance to get clarity on the tender process and how value vs price is assessed. We hope to continue those discussions to improve the environment for business and government.

Collaborative contracts have been front of mind with the engagement of Major Road Projects Victoria and their interest in working together with members. It is vital to understand the pros and cons of this model as other clients look to it as a template.

SA, Tas & the Territories & A/g WA

Jan Irvine ACT

1

At our regular forum inclusive of Consult Australia members with the Major Projects Canberra and the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Design Directorate, the discussion turned to procurement and contractual terms and conditions. Novation clauses were noted as a cause of concern for consultants, as when novated to a contractor, onerous contract clauses are passed to consultants affecting risk, insurances etc. The Directorate will look into this issue, and we will keep members updated.

Consulting Matters 9

What's happening at Consult Australia

SA

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Following a change in government we now look to building strong relationships at both the ministerial level and with leading bureaucrats. Our first step is a Boardroom Lunch in June with Jon Whelan, newly appointed CEO for the Department for Infrastructure and Transport. Jon previously held the role of Executive Director, Transport Project Delivery and we look forward to continuing our positive engagement with Jon and his team.

Collaborative engagement with the Department of Environment and Water is key in the successful delivery of the department’s projects. We now meet regularly with the Manager, Procurement Services, and provide an update on the state of the market, share challenges from both sides, along with solutions incorporating best practice.

NT

1

At the recent meeting of the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics and our Consult Australia Working Group we discussed the challenges faced by our members with design reviews. The Department agreed to a workshop on this topic. The aim of the workshop is to find a solution to streamline the process, so skilled resources in short supply can focus on other work, improving productivity across projects.

TAS

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As members of the Department of State Growth’s State Roads Industry Consultative Forum we are currently working on a proposed Digital Standard Framework for the consulting industry to deliver a certified model to the construction industry.

We recently provided Infrastructure Tasmania with feedback to help inform the development of the SOFIA database, which publishes forward planning of tenders by government departments and government business entities. We have advocated for forward planning information on tenders for design consultants at earlier stages of projects to be included, as this is not generally available.

WA

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With a strong pipeline of projects and the current challenges with resourcing, we have been working with the WA Government and providing information and data on market capacity. While there are constraints in some areas, we look to opportunities for our members to do early design work for those projects where construction has needed to be delayed.

The need to develop a strategy to ensure the future capability and capacity of industry to deliver WA Government transport infrastructure in an efficient and sustainable manner over the coming decades is a high priority. Through the WA Road and Rail Construction and Maintenance Industry Advisory Group (WARRCMIAG), we are working with other industry participants to develop an Industry Sustainability Framework.

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What's happening at Consult Australia

QLD

Kristine Banks

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We secured a win for small business members with legislation passing to secure the Queensland Small Business Commissioner permanently. We look forward to working with the Commissioner to improve the operating environment for our members.

In response to member concerns, we met with SeqWater and have set up quarterly meetings. Remember to contact Kristine if you have feedback on your interactions with SeqWater as a client.

Our work with Department of Transport & Main Roads (TMR) continues on the Collaborative Procurement and Delivery Model—a streamlined framework for awarding transport contracts based on capability, capacity, past performance and value for money. The expertise of the contract administrator’s network is the next focus area.

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

Consulting Matters 11

What's happening at Consult Australia

Small Business Spotlight Budget Wins for Small Business Please see our Budget Summary for Members, here are some of the wins for small business we noted from the Federal Budget: • Consult Australia is vocal about unreasonable insurance and liability provisions as a barrier to small business participation in government procurement. In response, it was announced that: » direct procurement will be allowed from small and medium businesses for contracts up to $200,000 » agencies will be required to limit pre-contract insurance and liability requirements, to avoid unreasonable or disproportionate risk transfer » officials will need to consider breaking larger projects into smaller works packages » the government’s pay on-time commitment will be extended to all suppliers, regardless of contract value » the Department of Defence will be authorised to undertake limited tenders with small and medium businesses for procurements up to $500,000 • Small business support announced in the Budget including funding to: » enhance small business financial capability through the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman » support the New Access for Small Business Owners Program delivered by Beyond Blue to provide free, accessible and tailored mental health support » extend the Small Business Debt Helpline to provide financial counselling to small businesses facing financial issues » establish a dedicated unit in the Fair Work Commission to support small businesses

Be engaged, get value!

The best way to get value from your membership is to engage with Consult Australia, be it through events and education, by responding to calls for input or just contacting your State/Territory Manager to vent about current business frustrations. n Here are some of the small business members making their membership (and the Consult Australia team) work for them:

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Consulting Matters 13

What's happening at Consult Australia

Government Procurement: A sovereign security imperative Advocacy Wins for Consult Australia On 31 March 2022, Government Procurement: A Sovereign Security Imperative was released by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities, as the final report into the Inquiry on the Procurement Practices for Government-Funded Infrastructure.

Consult Australia made a written submission to the inquiry in July 2021 and gave evidence at the public hearings in September 2021. In the final report, Consult Australia’s recommendations are reflected in the recommendations, and we are heavily quoted throughout the report.

Our wins Improved productivity through better planning and coordination To uplift productivity, Consult Australia advocated the need to create a more collaborative procurement and contracting framework for the delivery of infrastructure projects. Our comments at the public hearings on a ‘go slow to go fast’ approach where more is invested up-front for planning and design were quoted in the final report. The Committee endorsed Consult Australia’s recommendation for more effective long-term planning and coordination of infrastructure pipelines, with a greater need for stakeholder and industry engagement (see Recommendation 1). The Committee also recommended exploring opportunities for standardisation of like projects (see Recommendation 5).

Practical application of procurement rules to secure best value Consult Australia highlighted member concerns that lowest price always seems to win over best value. We argued for standardised guidelines for procurement and contracting policies for all agencies. The Committee agreed that despite procurement rules (at all levels of government) stressing the importance of ‘value for money’, the best value is often overlooked, and lowest price most often wins. The Committee stressed to need to re-examine the practical application of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (see Recommendation 2) including how the Commonwealth Procurement Rules sit with similar rules in each state and territory and the need to verify value for money (see Recommendation 4).

De-risking of the industry for delivery Given the current issues faced in the insurance market, Consult Australia called for the de-risking of the industry, including through a range of statutory reforms, and ensuring the Model Client Policy practices are followed. We are quoted in the report highlighting that the level of risk transfer is breeding a culture of disputation rather than collaboration. The Committee recommended a review of the insurance market through improved procurement practices to protect the small and medium enterprise businesses (see Recommendation 6).

Training the public service to support best practice in procurement As means of best practice, Consult Australia emphasised the training needs for government procurement officers in areas such as risk assessment and management, insurance, and contract management. The Committee agreed that opportunities should be explored to support the guidance and training for officers and that necessary approaches be adopted to maximise industry engagement (see Recommendation 2).

Increasing access to the infrastructure pipeline Consult Australia highlighted the need to adopt a smarter approach to the pipeline of projects that will contribute towards transparency and greater economic prosperity. The Committee recommended that methods be explored to maximise developing the sovereign capacity in infrastructure delivery, such as breaking up major projects into packages and partner/joint venture contracts between tier one and non-tier one companies, amongst other initiatives (see Recommendation 6).

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What's happening at Consult Australia

Digital by default To drive innovation, Consult Australia highlighted the importance of digital transformation to enhance efficiency and productivity.

The Committee agreed that a digital by default approach be adopted to facilitate the planning and post-delivery of infrastructure projects, that will help manage project risks and deliver Building Information Modelling (BIM) (see Recommendation 7).

Civil liability reform Consult Australia called out government as being amongst the worst clients, contracting out of proportionate liability and the Committee Report has a dedicated a section on this, setting out our arguments. These reforms could be seen as part of Recommendation 6 on ways to provide more opportunities in procurement and contracting to more businesses and reviewing market conditions.

The role of the Commonwealth to drive improvements at all government levels We know that while the Commonwealth government provides funds to carry out projects at the state/territory as well as local council level, there is generally limited control over the practices and behaviours of non-Commonwealth governments.

Importantly, the Committee recognised the significant barrier to change, and throughout the final report stressed the need for the Commonwealth government to drive change through all levels of government. Only by investing in changes at all levels will Australia see the productivity growth needed to deliver the infrastructure projects currently in the pipeline across the nation.

Next Steps Consult Australia will continue to lobby government at all levels in its effort to enhance procurement practices for government-funded infrastructure. This inquiry report cannot be another one left on the shelf with no outcomes realised, otherwise there is a real and present danger that the current pipeline of infrastructure projects will not be delivered. n

Consulting Matters 15

What's happening at Consult Australia

Productivity Inquiry Submission Every five years the Productivity Commission conducts the Productivity Inquiry, to seek feedback on how Australia’s productivity could be improved – a topic Consult Australia has a few views on! In our submission we signposted three core areas for reform (as shown below), being legislative reform, funding reform, and policy reform. We also drew on case studies to demonstrate the issues. If you would like to read our full submission it is available on our website.

LEGISLATIVE REFORM

1. Amend civil liability laws in all jurisdictions to match Queensland, by explicitly prohibiting contracting out of proportionate liability for professional services contracts.

2. All governments to endorse our Model Client Policy to drive improvements in contracting with the private sector.

4. Amend the Automatic Mutual Recognition legislation to move away from ‘home state’ and implement a digital solution to successfully implement the automatic mutual recognition/automatic deemed registration regime throughout Australia.

Deep dive case study 1

3. Amend the Australian Consumer Law, to stop sophisticated commercial entities from using protections designed to protect consumers and small businesses, not big business.

5. Amend labour hire laws in Victoria, Queensland and ACT to remove unnecessary burdens on business.

Claims against consultants

Government clients rarely understand the impact that they have in the market because of the way they procure and contract with consultants and contractors. To drill down on this, Consult Australia has collected claims data from members.

Design and construct projects Consult Australia has collected claims data on 124 disputed design and construct projects. The data shows that 57% of consultant revenue is at risk when entering these contracts. This is a devastating impact on consultancy businesses but is hidden from government clients because it represents only a very small percentage of the overall construction cost of a project (0.9%).

These claims are typically settled before adjudication in the courtroom. These claims are tactical rather than reflective of loss or damage that requires rectification, pushing the consulting business towards settlement to avoid the substantial costs of defending the claim in court.

Misleading or deceptive conduct claims Consult Australia separately conducted a sample survey of members to get an idea of the problem facing consultants from misleading or deceptive conduct claims. While initially raised by large businesses as an issue, over the past 12 months increasing numbers of small businesses have reported being faced with the same claim. The sample survey reveals: • most claims were by private businesses • the issues raised in claims rarely involves marketing or promotional activities (e.g. bait advertising) but is based on the same facts as claims for contractual breaches or breaches of the professional standard of care (negligence) • the claims infrequently make it to court • the damages sought significantly outweighs the consultant’s fees for the work – from between approximately 400% to over 4,000% of the consultant’s fee • the damages sought are not commensurate with the project fees (that is, the highest claim amounts did not attach to the project with the highest fee).

Urgent reform to the Consumer and Competition Act is needed to protect consultants from large private sector clients distorting the intentions of the Act.

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What's happening at Consult Australia

FUNDING REFORM

6. Continue to fund the Commonwealth Centre of Procurement Excellence to drive procurement reform across Australia.

Deep dive case study 2

7. All governments commit to a ‘go slow to go fast’ approach to projects, including reforming how state government and local councils receive funding/grants. Work with states and territories to simplify and streamline the approvals process for major projects and avoid duplication in the regulatory process.

8. Introduce a new model for funding engineering education with national priority places for engineering and establishing a National Industry, University and Government Engineering Council that identifies immediate and strategic needs in the national engineering workforce and that sets the annual guidelines for the national priority places for engineering.

Local government projects

Project delivery is not only influenced by government as a direct client, but also by government in their role as the financier and regulator of projects. This is especially the case for local government projects, where the allocation and spending of funds is subject to the rules of federal/state/territory government departments and ministers.

Even where local councils are committed to the go slow to go fast approach, their efforts are stymied by the rules of funding schemes/ grant applications. Funding schemes are based on individual grant applications, often in a specific stream, and this approach is resource heavy in administration with no surety of success. The time taken to undertake all these applications is a wasted resource better directed to more strategic work such as scoping the projects more fully.

Further, when funds are approved, they may not be approved for allocation to all projects identified in the application. Rarely, if ever, are similar projects grouped together in a work programme to streamline the process to create a smarter pipeline of projects. When funds are finally given to local councils, they must be spent within a set timeframe – which once again works against ensuring enough time is given to scoping and upfront design.

To increase transparency of the local council pipeline of projects for the industry, councils need greater certainty over funding allocation as well as the trust of state/territory/federal governments that local councils will apply those funds in line with their application. The improved governance of local councils around the country demonstrates that it is time to allow councils to make the decisions best for their region and unlock the productivity that is lost when too many restrictions are in place.

Several councils are moving to develop local area plans, such as the Eurobodalla Road Safety Plan 2019-22. Plans like this demonstrate that councils can prioritise spending for the benefit of local communities. Instead of using government money to continually assess individual project applications from local councils, federal/state/territory governments should allocate funding to empower this type of governance and strategic planning by councils and allocate funds for the local council to deliver those plans holistically.

Consult Australia’s Uplifting Productivity highlights how the Level Crossing Removal Project in Victoria is an exemplar in many aspects when it comes to managing a large number of similar projects into a single work programme. With 85 level crossings in total to be moved, significant productivity would have been lost if each crossing removal project was tendered and contracted separately. More importantly than the cost saving of the work programme developed in this case is the collaboration and process for continuous improvement by sharing outcomes between each level crossing removal. This approach would be of benefit to local councils that have, for example, a large number of bridges that need repair and replacement.

Consulting Matters 17

What's happening at Consult Australia

POLICY REFORM

9. Drive innovation by committing to digital by default. This includes aligning standards and disciplines and maturing governments’ understanding of Building Information Modelling (BIM). This also includes updating ANZSCO to recognise emerging skills, including those related to digital.

Deep dive case study 3

10. Implement the recommendations of the final report on Temporary Migration and the final report of the Inquiry into Australia’s Skilled Migration Program.

Small business investment in digital

For many years Consult Australia has called on governments to commit to digital investment, for example mandating Building Information Modelling (BIM) for government projects. Small business needs this commitment so that technology is an investment rather than just a cost.

While state/territory governments are now largely on the BIM journey, departments are at different stages of BIM maturity. Digital standards and requirements vary widely within and across states. Accommodating highly varied government requirements on projects is resource intensive. Not only a cost to the project that adds very little value but consumes resource time that could be invested in innovation.

Industry’s attempt to bring forward nationally consistent standards have this goal eroded by: • different terminology • inconsistent processes • having to resource a bespoke process each time to accommodate varied standards, naming conventions and requirements • the inability to apply productivity learnings from projects with one department to the next project e.g. an infrastructure team may build capacity nationally to service projects, however that team will have custom processes and requirements for every project in every state in order to meet their client's requirements.

Even within a project the requirements to collaborate and create a BIM model to coordinate between consultants may not be the actual contracted deliverable. The contract deliverable might still be a simple 2D drawing. This requires intensive work to digitally translate from highly complex BIM into simple 2D drawings.

18 Consulting Matters

For the latest Consult Australia

NEWS, EDUCATION AND EVENTS Visit us at www.consultaustralia.com.au

CONSULT AUSTRALIA MEMBERS

Have you seen all the resources available to you ?

Here's are some of the member resources you can find on our business services page: Î Î Î Î Î Î Î

Small Business Collective Bargaining Class Exemption - Guide Child Care Subsidy - Business Guide Commonwealth Paid Parental Leave Scheme - Business Guide Flexible Workplace Practices - Business Guide Overview of WHS Obligations - Business Guide Skilled Migration for Employers - Business Guide Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act - Business Guide

VIEW ALL RESOURCES Consulting Matters 19

Featurehappening at Consult Australia What's

In 2022 Consult Australia is celebrating our 70th Anniversary, meaning 70 year of success as an Industry Association. In honour of this we would like to acknowledge and thank all of our Past Presidents.

CONSULT AUSTRALIA

PAST PRESIDENTS Year

Name

Year

Name

1952 - 1954

Awdry F. Julius

1986 - 1988

John D. F. Snelling

1954 - 1956

A.W. Morrison

1988 - 1990

Roy T. A. Hardcastle AO

1956 - 1957

Geoff I. Davey

1990 - 1992

James (Dale) McBean

1957 - 1958

Ken A. Bond

1992 - 1994

John E. Miles

1958 - 1960

Ron F. McAskill

1994 - 1996

Richard (Dick) Kell AM

1960 - 1962

Frank G. Hole

1996 - 1998

Grahame Campbell

1962 - 1964

Max B. V. Anderson

1998 - 2000

Ray Young

1964 - 1966

Gerry F. Cardno

2000 - 2002

David Singleton AM

1966 - 1968

Ray L. Atkinson

2002 - 2004

Barry Nielsen

1968 - 1970

Ken A. Bond

2004 - 2006

Anthony Barry

1970 - 1972

Gordon B. Hill

2006 - 2008

Dennis Sheehan

1972 - 1974

John F. Keays MBE

2008 - 2010

Paul Reed

1974 - 1976

Dr Peter 0. Miller AM

2010 - 2012

Jamie Shelton

1976 - 1978

Harold C. Richards AO

2012 - 2013

Jamie Shelton

1978 - 1980

Ben N. Fink

2013 - 2015

Matthew Harris

1980 - 1982

Eric B. Brier

2015 - 2017

Andrew Mather

1982 - 1984

Peter Hein

2017 - 2019

Kiri Parr

1984 - 1986

John B. Laurie

2019 - 2021 Gerry Doyle

20 Consulting Matters

SAVE THE DATE

Respect at Work: Moving from Positive Intent to Concrete Action Consult Australia Champions of Change annual industry lunch with keynote speaker David Leser award-winning journalist and author of the acclaimed Women, Men and the Whole Damn Thing – a forensic look at gender relations in the #MeToo era.

EVENT DETAILS

TICKET INFO

31 August 2022 | 12:30 – 2:30pm Dockside, Sydney

Member (inc GST)

Non - Member (inc GST)

$1800 (table of 10)

$2170 (table of 10)

$190 (single)

REGISTER REGISTER HERE HERE

$240 (single)

Feature | 2021 Awards For Excellence

OneConsult

2021

AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

Proudly sponsored by Platinum Sponsor

Gala Dinner Sponsor

22 Consulting Matters

Gold Sponsor

Welcome Reception Sponsor

Silver Sponsor

Uniform Sponsor

2021 Awards For Excellence | Feature

The Consult Australia Awards for Excellence is an annual event that provides a unique opportunity to profile and promote the outstanding achievements of Consult Australia’s member firms to the industry and community. The Awards have always demonstrated the business acumen and technical excellence of our industry in project and service delivery and this mandate remains at the heart of the Awards program.

Consult Australia encourages each of its members and non-members to submit at least one entry to ensure they have the opportunity to be recognised for their outstanding work.

Winners of the 2021 Consult Australia Awards for Excellence were announced online at the OneConsult event on Thursday, 31 March 2021.

All Consult Australia member and non-member firms are eligible to enter any of the Awards categories. Winners of the large, medium, and small Firm of the Year Awards, are eligible to enter the coveted Hall of Fame, if they win a firm of the year category for three consecutive years. This is our highest recognition of achievement. Entrance in the Hall of Fame is for a two year period.

Consulting Matters 23

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

OneConsult Congratulations to the 2021

HALL OF FAME WINNER

LARGE FIRM OF THE YEAR AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

HALL OF FAME

2021 - 2023 Arup is the creative force at the heart of many of the world’s most prominent projects in the built environment and across industry. Working in more than 140 countries, the firm’s designers, engineers, architects, planners, consultants and technical specialists collaborate with clients on innovative projects of the highest quality and impact.

2020

2019

Making Cities Safer for women and girls with light

Green Square Library

Optus Stadium

Copyright City of Sydney

Copyright Sky Perth

Copyright Arup

24 Consulting Matters

2018

2021 Awards For Excellence | Feature

OneConsult Congratulations to the 2021

HALL OF FAME WINNER MEDIUM FIRM OF THE YEAR 2022 - 2024 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

HALL OF FAME

2021

2020

Tonkin are a leading provider of engineering, environmental and related sevices to private and public organisations. Since 1955, Tonkin has provided solutions and strategic advice for all tiers of government and private clients across all industries, with a focus on the buildings, environmental, land develpment, marine and riverine, transport, waste and water sectors. At Tonkin, they put a high value on curiosity and collaboration, thriving on solving complex problems and finding creative and progressive ways to exceed the expectations of their clients.

2019

Consulting Matters 25

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

Awards Categories Champions of Change - Female Leadership

Future Leader

Small Business Excellence

This award recognises a mid or senior level female professional who has demonstrated leadership capabilities and/or is championing change within her firm or in the industry more broadly.

This award acknowledges professional staff of firms aged 35 years and under who have made a significant contribution to their firm and added value in a demonstrable way.

The Small Business Excellence Award recognises firms with less than 20 FTE who have demonstrated innovation in the conduct of their business either through process, people or use of technology.

Superior Sustainability

Client Service Excellence

Collaboration for project excellence

This award recognises the achievement of sustainable outcomes on an internal or external project that go above and beyond expectations in the application of the firm’s services (e.g. through design, advice, and/or the application of sustainable materials and principles etc.).

The award recognised member firms who have delivered exemplary customer service throughout the course of a client engagement or project. Entry in this category requires firms to be either nominated or endorsed by the client.

This award recognises collaboration initiatives between project participants and the client, which contributed to project excellence.

Technological Innovation

People First

Innovative Design

This award recognises firms who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the innovative application of new or existing technology.

This Award recognises firms that have implemented and delivered outstanding initiatives that benefit their people.

The award recognises firms who have demonstrated outstanding innovation in any aspect of the design process.

Small Firm of the Year

Medium Firm of the Year

Large Firm of the Year

The Small Firm of the Year Award recognises the sole practitioner or firm with less than 20 employees with a nomination in any of the 2021 Awards for Excellence categories considered to be of the highest standard by an independent judging panel.

The Medium Firm of the Year Award recognises the firm with 20 – 199 employees, with a nomination in any of the 2021 Awards for Excellence categories considered to be of the highest standard by an independent judging panel.

The Large Firm of the Year Award recognises the firm with 300+ employees, with a nomination in any of the 2021 Awards for Excellence categories considered to be of the highest standard by an independent judging panel.

President's award

Hall of Fame

The President’s Award recognises the individual or firm who has contributed the most to Consult Australia and/or the industry over the past 12 months.

The OneConsult Awards for Excellence Hall of Fame is the highest accolade a company can receive. To be recognised in the prestigious OneConsult Hall of Fame is the highest honour and is seen as the epitome of “Excellence” and entrants are celebrated for superiority in their field.

Special Awards

Companies are honoured by entry into the Hall of Fame if they have been awarded Large Firm of the Year, Medium Firm of the Year or Small Firm of the Year for a period of three (3) consecutive years. Entrance in the Hall of Fame is for a two (2) year period.

Judges Consult Australia would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank each of the judges on the 2021 panel for generously donating their time and expertise to support this year's Awards for Excellence.

All judges are independent and are engaged to ensure the highest possible standards of fairness and impartiality are applied to the judging process. All judges are also required to ensure the confidential nature of all submissions is maintained.

The judging criteria applied to select the Award winners principally revolves around consulting excellence. This is reflected through the originality, innovation, quality, results and impact of each submission. Community, environmental and social aspects are also considered.

26 Consulting Matters

Marlene Kanga

Kim Seeling-Smith

Standards Australia

CEO Ignite Global

Brian Yu

Anthony Manning

University of Sydney

School Infrastructure NSW

Danny Samson University of Melbourne

2021 Awards for Excellence | Feature

Awards Sponsors

Platinum Sponsor Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of 3D software for global markets.

Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries—including the last 19 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects—use Autodesk software to design, visualize, and simulate their ideas before they're ever built or created. From blockbuster visual effects and buildings that create their own energy, to electric cars and the batteries that power them, the work of our 3D software customers is everywhere you look.

Gala Dinner Sponsor Cbus is the national industry super fund for the building, construction and allied industries. The Fund is focused on maximising retirement outcomes for over 747,000 members, while also helping more than 134,000 employers manage their business superannuation needs.

With a strong focus on keeping super simple, Cbus offers employers easy administration with reliable service and support. To join up, or find out more: Call Cbus on 1300 361 784 or visit cbussuper.com.au Cbus’ Trustee: United Super Pty Ltd ABN 46 006 261 623 AFSL 233792 Cbus ABN 75 493 363 262. Figures quoted are correct as at 31 May 2017.

Welcome Reception Sponsor Gold Sponsor Unit4 offers industry-leading software for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Human Capital Management (HCM) and Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A). Our software solutions focus on People Experience, helping to free your project management, design and engineering teams from administrative tasks, to spend more time on what’s important: realizing value for your clients.

Manage your business and create a foundation for growth with a dedicated solution for the management and planning of your finances, people and projects with Unit4.

Mace is a global company of experts in shaping and making the built environment. It provides development, consulting, construction and operations services for many of the world’s most inspiring building and infrastructure projects and programmes – from Olympic parks and iconic skyscrapers to state-of-the-art data centres, schools, hospitals and homes.

The privately-owned company, headquartered in London, UK, has an annual turnover of £1.8 billion. Over 30 years, its growth has been fuelled by an adventurous spirit and the relentless pursuit of a better way. Today, the company employs over 6,000 people across five global hubs in Europe, Middle East and North Africa, the Americas, Sub Saharan Africa and Asia Pacific.

Mace is driven by its purpose to redefine the boundaries of ambition, and its vision of leading the way to a more connected, resilient and sustainable world.

Silver Sponsor NEC is a division of Thomas Telford Limited, the commercial arm of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). NEC develops and promotes standard forms of contract that can be used for the procurement of works, services and goods across all sectors. The contracts help to enable any project to be delivered on time, within budget and to the highest standards. We also offer trainings in the best practice of managing the contracts.

NEC contracts have been used on major building and infrastructure projects around the world including Main Roads Western Australia trialling NEC for its Great Northern Highway upgrade, and Sydney Water selecting NEC as its standard procurement route for construction works and services.

Uniform Sponsor With over 30 years of continuous experience in the Safety Industry, we at Safeman Australia pride ourselves on our staff’s capacity to understand the issues surrounding the safety and protection of employees and to advise customers accordingly.

Consulting Matters 27

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

PRESIDENT'S AWARD

The President’s Award recognises the individual or firm who has contributed the most to Consult Australia and/or the industry over the past 12 months.

AWARD WINNER:

MALCOM MCDOWALL The 2021 Consult Australia Awards for Excellence President's Award recipient has been announced as Malcolm McDowall.

Malcolm McDowall is a passionate leader focused on fostering an inclusive culture and creating a great place to work. He has over 30 years’ experience across the urban and infrastructure sectors and 18 years at Arcadis; including general management roles, technical leadership, and also commercial construction.

A Chartered Professional with experience in the planning, design, construction, verification, as well as re-purposing of built assets.

Malcolm’s previous roles within Arcadis include Managing Director for Environment; Advisory and Assurance; Managing Director Buildings; and also Urban Development and General Manager NSW. Malcolm McDowall was a Member of Champions of Change Consult Australia Group established in 2017 in partnership with Consult Australia. The group brings together CEOs and Regional Managing Directors of some of Consult Australia’s premier member firms. The group is committed to bringing about change and advancing equality in this traditionally male dominated profession.

For his achievements and service to the industry Malcolm joins an esteemed list of Consult Australia Awards for Excellence President’s Awards Winners and is a worthy recipient of the 2021 award.

28 Consulting Matters

Malcolm McDowall is a passionate leader focused on fostering an inclusive culture and creating a great place to work.

2021 Awards for Excellence | Feature

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

SMALL FIRM OF THE YEAR

The Small Firm of the Year Award recognises the sole practitioner or firm with less than 20 employees with a nomination in any of the 2021 Awards for Excellence categories considered to be of the highest standard by the independent judging panel.

WINNER:

PORTER CONSULTING ENGINEERS Porter Consulting Engineers has been recognised as this year’s Consult Australia 2021 Small Firm of the Year.

Porter Consulting Engineers is a small engineering consultancy firm with a combined professional and support staff of 14, operating from premises in Mount Pleasant, Western Australia. Established in 1995, Porters has become one of WA’s leading, locally owned and operated civil and traffic engineering consultancies.

Consulting Matters 29

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

MEDIUM FIRM OF THE YEAR

The Medium Firm of the Year Award recognises the member firm with 20 – 199 employees, with a nomination in any of the 2021 Awards for Excellence categories considered to be of the highest standard by the independent judging panel.

WINNER:

TONKIN Tonkin has been recognised as this year’s Consult Australia 2021 Medium Firm of the Year.

This is the 3rd consecutive Medium Firm of the Year award for Tonkin in this category and their team are to be congratulated on this result.

This also takes Tonkin into the prestigious OneConsult Hall of Fame.

The OneConsult Awards for Excellence Hall of Fame is the highest accolade a company can receive. To be recognised in the prestigious OneConsult Hall of Fame is the highest honour and is seen as the epitome of “Excellence” and entrants are celebrated for superiority in their field.

Companies are honoured by entry into the Hall of Fame if they have been awarded Large Firm of the Year, Medium Firm of the Year or Small Firm of the Year for a period of three (3) consecutive years.

Entrance in the Hall of Fame is for a two (2) year period.

Tonkin is a leading provider of engineering, environmental and related professional services to private and public organisations across Australia. Committed to serving local communities, they design intelligent solutions for the buildings, environmental, land development, maritime and riverine, transport, waste, and water sectors. With more than 150 employees in nine offices across the country, they work together with their clients to build exceptional outcomes that provide lasting community benefit.

30 Consulting Matters

2021 Awards for Excellence | Feature

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

LARGE FIRM OF THE YEAR

The Large Firm of the Year Award recognises the member firm with 300+ employees, with a nomination in any of the 2021 Awards for Excellence categories considered to be of the highest standard by the independent judging panel.

WINNER:

AURECON Aurecon has been recognised as this year’s Consult Australia 2021 Large Firm of the Year.

Aurecon is a design, engineering and advisory company that brings ideas to life to create a better future for people and the planet.

In 2020, the Australian Financial Review named Aurecon Australasia’s most innovative company and most innovative professional services company.

Aurecon works alongside their clients to co-create clever, innovative solutions to some of the world’s most complex challenges, adding value across the project lifecycle through deep technical and advisory expertise.

Consulting Matters 31

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE - FEMALE LEADERSHIP

This award recognises a mid or senior level female professional who has demonstrated leadership capabilities and/or is championing change within her firm or in the industry more broadly.

AWARD WINNER:

TIINA RATAMO FROM:

KBR

A career of championing positive change in business, industry and the community has been recognised with a major award for KBR Infrastructure Services (IS) Australia’s Chief Engineer Tiina Ratamo, being named Consult Australia’s Champion of Change Award Winner 2021.

Chartered in Electrical, ITEE (Information Technology and Electrical Engineering) and Leadership & Management and a Fellow at the Institution of Engineers Australia, Eng Exec and NER (National Engineering Register), Tiina uses her expertise to influence the future of engineering and boost the awareness of women in STEM roles.

With 35 years’ experience in the resources, industrial, commercial, government and infrastructure sector, KBR Infrastructure Services (IS) Australia’s Chief Engineer Tiina Ratamo upholds the business’s technical excellence to ensure it delivers quality solutions to its customers.

In her wider community, Tiina is passionate about empowering women and young girls by teaching Taekwondo, encouraging them to harness their strength to become strong-willed women of tomorrow.

As a qualified Electrical Engineer with an MBA in Technology Management, Tiina’s 22-year journey at KBR has seen her transition from senior engineer to leadership and management roles, working on a variety of projects ranging from high rise office buildings, utilities, tunnels, mining, hydrocarbons, and defence facilities during concept development and through to the design and construction stages.

In November 2021, Tiina was appointed to one of the business’s top technical engineering roles where, as Chief Engineer, she guides a team of Chief Technical Engineers (CTEs) in establishing and maintaining the technical standards within each discipline at IS Australia.

32 Consulting Matters

2021 Awards for Excellence | Feature

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

FUTURE LEADER

This award acknowledges professional staff aged 35 years and under who have made a significant contribution to their firm and added value in a demonstrable way.

AWARD WINNER:

JAMES LEIPER FROM:

Pritchard Francis

James Leiper from Pritchard Francis has been recognised as this year’s Consult Australia 2021 Future Leader Award Winner.

James Leiper is a dynamic Engineer and an industry-leading advocate for sustainability and innovation. Growing up in country Western Australia, James graduated as Dux of Esperance Senior High School in 2005 and went on to study engineering at the University of Western Australia in 2006. He was awarded the Pritchard Francis UWA Scholarship during his third year, which facilitated a 12-week internship at the firm, including a two-week secondment to Bonacci in Melbourne.

James completed his final-year thesis in conjunction with a project designed by Pritchard Francis and went on graduate with First Class Honours in 2009. James began a Graduate Engineer position with BG&E in 2009 and worked on the largest commercial construction project in Western Australia at the time, Fiona Stanley Hospital.

In 2011, James commenced employment with Pritchard Francis where his career has gone from strength to strength, progressing from Engineer, to Project Engineer, to Project Leader, to Associate, and then into the role of Lead – Strategic Development. James has now taken on the challenging new role of Regional Director – Great Southern, having recently relocated to Albany with his young family.

James has quickly established the new regional office from the ground up with a dynamic and steadfast approach.

Since making the move in mid-2021 James has swiftly expanded the firm’s presence in the region, building extensive relationships and introducing Pritchard Francis to new clients and unique opportunities.

As testament to James’ aptitude and acumen, the Albany office has been awarded a multitude of projects in recent months, facilitating the need for a larger office space, and expanding the local team.

Throughout his decade-long tenure at the firm, James has continually sought to improve his knowledge and develop his professional skills. He became a Chartered Professional Engineer in 2014 and is a qualified Green Star Accredited Professional. James is also an Infrastructure Sustainability Council Accredited Professional and in 2017 was awarded Engineers Australia Young Professional Engineer of the Year. Keen to improve his knowledge and professional skills, James continually undertakes professional development and hopes to complete further management courses in the future.

During his progressive career with Pritchard Francis, James has been active in contributing to the firm, especially from a business and technical development perspective. In 2019, he started and sat as the Chair of the Innovation and Sustainability Committee.

James’ knowledge of the Green Star and Infrastructure Sustainability programs, as well as his passion for sustainability and new construction methods, helped to push the firm’s agenda and ensure it remained a priority for all staff.

James has also played a pivotal role in the continuous improvement of the firms’ digital technologies. James is an active member of multiple industry groups and has undertaken significant voluntary work throughout his career. Outside of the office, he is very active at local sporting clubs and has completed several running and endurance events including the Busselton Half-Ironman and Great Australian Outback Marathon.

Consulting Matters 33

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

SMALL BUSINESS EXCELLENCE The Small Business Excellence Award recognises firms with less than 20 FTE who have demonstrated innovation in the conduct of their business either through process, people or use of technology.

AWARD WINNER:

PORTER CONSULTING ENGINEERS FOR:

Industry Representation

Porter Consulting Engineers has been recognised as this year’s Consult Australia 2021 Small Business Excellence Award Winners for Industry Representation.

Porter Consulting Engineers (PCE) is a small engineering consultancy firm with a combined professional and support staff of 14, operating from premises in Mount Pleasant, Western Australia. Established in 1995, PCE has become one of WA’s leading, locally owned and operated civil and traffic engineering consultancies.

PCE's aim is to be the consultant of choice through the personal delivery of innovative civil and traffic engineering services, working in close collaboration with their clients and stakeholders, and developing strong interpersonal relationships by providing thorough engineering analysis, high ethical standards, and personal client service. Their professional team is experienced in working within a multidisciplinary team and providing services to their clients in a seamless manner. PCE have 14 employees in total comprising of 6 civil engineers, 2 traffic engineers, 4 designers and 2 administrative personnel.

PCE's reputation as leaders within the WA Local Government engineering community, allows them to continue to be at the forefront of major project delivery and innovative design projects such as the Cecil Avenue streetscape upgrade in Cannington and the replacement of the Wastewater and Drainage Pump Station at Morley Galleria Shopping Centre. Their involvement from project inception through to design, approvals and construction completion is evidence of the highly collaborative nature of their professional team and the business.

34 Consulting Matters

However, it is their strong industry involvement and representation on various professional organisations and advocacy for better conditions and standards for the industry on behalf of all members over many years that they believe is something that is unique to a small engineering business and sees them punch well above their body weight in relation to industry representation.

Porter Consulting Engineers believe this sets them apart from other small engineering business in the amount that they give back to the industry. Most significantly, and with considerable effort, PCE has taken a lead role with Consult Australia to ensure WALGA Panel Contracts are fair and equitable for all consultants working in the Local Government space in WA. This has been a major undertaking and started back when the Panel was first established in 2012 setting the inaugural contract in place and more recently when the Panel was updated in 2021.

This has involved many reviews and meetings with various stakeholders to ensure the best possible contract conditions for their Consultant Group. It is Porter Consulting Engineer’s advocacy and industry participation in professional associations where they give back to their professional community for the benefit of all organisations.

This has been a significant part of the company culture and ethics since formation and continues to be an important factor in the way they operate their business for the improvement of industry as a whole.

2021 Awards for Excellence | Feature

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

INNOVATIVE DESIGN

The award recognises firms that have demonstrated outstanding innovation in any aspect of the design process.

AWARD WINNER:

AURECON FOR:

Square Kilometre Array (SKA) – Infrastructure Australia

This year’s Consult Australia 2021 Awards for Excellence Innovative Design Award has been won by 2 outstanding companies, Aurecon for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) – Infrastructure Australia and Tonkin for their Parramatta Escarpment Boardwalk project.

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a multinational science project to build the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope. Experts from more than a dozen countries are working together on one of the most complex science projects ever conceived to design this next generation radio telescope that will expand our understanding of the universe and drive technological development worldwide.

Engineering, design and advisory company, Aurecon, in partnership with CSIRO, formed the Infrastructure Australia consortium to project manage and design the entire site infrastructure, power distribution, and the Central Supercomputing Building for the SKA site in Murchison Shire, Western Australia. Aurecon’s Infrastructure Australia Consortium Lead, Shandip Abeywickrema, said the design team has faced many challenges, including minimising radio 'noise' created by the systems placed at the high-tech astronomy observatory. This is essential to avoid drowning out the faint signals from space that the telescope is designed to detect. "Containing the interference created by our own computing and power systems is an unusual construction requirement," Abeywickrema said. "We're trying to reduce the level of radio emissions by factors of billions.”

Teamwork was the key, Aurecon and CSIRO have worked together for decades, and the current SKA infrastructure project continues Aurecon’s previous successful delivery of world class infrastructure for the SKA precursor, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. Significant challenges are navigated with stakeholders that include government agencies, engineers, scientists and project managers across the globe, delivering nine work packages in parallel. A clear communication and interfacing strategy enabled the successful delivery of each work package.

The Central Supercomputing Building for the SKA telescope is a unique facility with the primary function of protecting the radio quiet environment at the remote site. Aurecon, in partnership with CSIRO, developed the building design to include a fully welded, double shielded enclosure to prevent the signals from the vast array or electronic and electrical equipment contained inside the building from interfering with the sensitive receiving antennas outside.

The building is designed to be prefabricated and brought to site in modules as an optimum logistics solution for the site’s remote location. This method will keep site labour costs within budget and minimise the potential quality risks associated with remote building construction. The design of the building was optimised and modelled in Building Information Modelling (BIM) software to give the client and stakeholders the ability to ‘walkthrough’ the building in a virtual environment, allowing testing and amendments to the building’s components, useability, and layouts in real time. Infrastructure over a vast site area covers a 40 km radius and includes roads and tracks, fibre and power distribution, communications, site monitoring, and buildings. Ground preparation for the antennas and the road designs will utilise construction techniques that ensure cleared areas are kept to a minimum, and existing tracks or previous routes will be retained as far as possible to minimise disturbance to the natural landscape.

Consulting Matters 35

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

INNOVATIVE DESIGN The award recognises firms that have demonstrated outstanding innovation in any aspect of the design process.

AWARD WINNER:

TONKIN FOR:

Parramatta Escarpment Boardwalk

This year’s Consult Australia 2021 Awards for Excellence Innovative Design Award has been won by 2 outstanding companies, Tonkin for their Parramatta Escarpment Boardwalk project and Aurecon for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) – Infrastructure Australia.

Tonkin and Hill Thalis worked together to develop a design underpinned by collaborative innovation, creating an outcome that is configured to subtly adjust the atmosphere along the path and designing a walkway that does not impede on the space or the surrounding natural environment.

In 2017, Tonkin was engaged by lead architect Hill Thalis to assist in design of the Parramatta River Escarpment Boardwalk. The boardwalk is a crucially important piece of infrastructure for Parramatta, and design of the new boardwalk is one of the key missing links that resolves continuous foreshore access for pedestrians and cyclists from the University of Western Sydney at Rydalmere to Parramatta Park.

Specifically, Tonkin created a structural design solution that included a range of structural elements such as piles, and precast and insitu plinths and footings that allowed for ease of constructability in the limited space. Another design consideration was the creation of a staircase that minimised visual impact and integrated with the cliff face – the only exposed shale cliff escarpment in the Sydney basin. Tonkin’s staircase design included stairs supported off reinforced concrete beams that are embedded into the natural cliff face. This design solution created an aesthetic staircase that appears to be floating and which minimises undesirable visual impact on the cliff face.

It also provides a new set of stairs up to Stewart Street and Macarthur Street to ensure safe and direct access for the public and local school students. Completed in early 2021, the project builds on City of Parramatta’s ambition to refocus the city to the river, and will contribute to waterside celebrations, activation, and recreation.

Tonkin was engaged to provide concept design, detailed structural design and construction phase services for the 225m-long, three [1] metre wide concrete walkway and cycleway. Located opposite the Parramatta River Wharf, the boardwalk was designed to provide a link to Parramatta Valley Cycleway, which connects Parramatta Park to Melrose Park through completely off-road facilities. The innovation of the boardwalk design is multi-faceted.

Design of a structure predominantly over water required consideration of flood implications and the soft river foreshore, but also potential risk of ferry impact, debris loading, user safety, and considerable design and construction site restrictions such as no land access and a very narrow waterway width shared with passenger ferries.

36 Consulting Matters

Working closely with Hill Thalis and City of Parramatta throughout the project, Tonkin provided guidance and advice, including alternatives during the project design phase. Our transparent approach was instrumental in developing a contemporary and durable design that could be constructed within Council’s fixed budget. Innovative collaboration delivered the City of Paramatta with the long awaited boardwalk that connects the city and the river. The new boardwalk is a modern architectural feature that has been designed with the local community in mind.

2021 Awards for Excellence | Feature

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

CLIENT SERVICE EXCELLENCE The award recognises firms that have delivered exemplary customer service throughout the course of a client engagement or project. Entry in this category requires firms to be either nominated or endorsed by the client.

AWARD WINNER:

ARUP FOR:

The Metropolitan Greenspace Program (MGP) Spatial Framework

Arup has been recognised as this year’s Consult Australia 2021 Client Service Excellence Award Winners for their Metropolitan Greenspace Programme (MGP) Spatial Framework.

Arup’s involvement on Canterbury Bankstown’s Metropolitan Greenspace Program Spatial Framework has won the 2021 Consult Australia Client Excellence Award. Focused on the Cooks River, Wolli Creek and the Sydenham to Bankstown open space corridors in Sydney’s Southwest, the Framework seeks to improve green space connections and public facilities for the many community members who live and work in the adjoining neighbourhoods.

Lidia Lewis, Economics Planning and Design Lead NSW/ACT, Arup, explained that from the outset of the project there was a shared understanding between Arup and the client team that bringing local government and community stakeholders together would maximise positive community, environmental and economic outcomes.

“It’s been highly rewarding to work alongside Canterbury Bankstown Council to foster collaboration towards interconnected green space corridors with partner Strathfield Council, and their local communities,” Lidia said. “By considering three corridors as one project it was possible to bring an integrated team of landscape architects, urban designers, strategic and transport planners, and ecologists, to the project – all focused on the creation of a holistic, interconnected green corridor for all community stakeholders.”

Arup led stakeholder engagement, working closely with JOC Consulting who managed community engagement for the project, collecting insights from workshops and community consultation.

With this area home to some of the most culturally, socially and economically diverse communities in Sydney, high levels of input from local stakeholders and residents were key to recommending projects and interventions that respond to local visions for the area. “The input received from engagement and the collaboration for the betterment of community was a testament to the team involved in this project.”

Building from stakeholder input, the Framework initiatives seek to prioritise culture and heritage, improved recreation and safety, connectivity to cycle networks, protection, improvement and management of biodiversity as well as improved water quality.

Run by NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, the Metropolitan Greenspace Program provides grant funding to local councils in Greater Sydney and the Central Coast. The Program supports the state government's vision to create a city within a park by improving connectivity to create a network of high-quality green space between town centres, public transport hubs, and major residential areas.

Consulting Matters 37

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

COLLABORATION FOR PROJECT EXCELLENCE This award recognises collaboration initiatives between project participants and the client, which contributed to project excellence.

AWARD WINNER:

SMEC AUSTRALIA MCILWAIN CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS FOR:

Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements – Event 20A – Binna Burra Road

This year’s Consult Australia 2021 Awards for Excellence Collaboration for Project Excellence Award winner has been announced as SMEC Australia, McIlwain Civil Engineering, Department of Transport and Main Roads for Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements – Event 20A – Binna Burra Road.

Following a destructive bushfire in 2019, the Queensland Department of Transport (TMR) and Main Roads (TMR) commissioned McIlwain Civil to design and construct remediation measures along the bushfire affected road and regain safe access to Lamington National Park and Binna Burra Lodge. McIlwain Civil then procured designer SMEC to provide design input and construction support.

This contract arrangement was deemed the most suitable due to the severe damage caused to the roadway combined with the constrained project program. The scope of the project and the number of sites that required remediation was under assessment throughout the contract. At time of initial tender, two sites were identified as requiring remediation. At project completion the number of sites to be remediated had grown to 20.

To manage the concurrent assessment, approval, design, and construction of the identified sites, the project required close, ongoing collaboration with TMR, and its emergency works responders RoadTek. The staging, combined with tight project program, resulted in the construction of many sites being undertaken in parallel with the design, requiring real-time sharing of design information between design and construction teams.

38 Consulting Matters

Transport and Main Roads' (TMR) South Coast Regional Director Paul Noonan said collaboration was key to successful delivery. "We had regular contact with McIlwain Civil and designer SMEC through the design and delivery of these remediation works," Mr Noonan said. SMEC’s Manager Geotechnics - QLD/NT Trudy Wallington said the award was unique as it recognised the importance of open and flexible collaboration on projects with a complex, evolving scope.

“Flexibility was a crucial aspect of the Binna Burra project delivery," Ms Wallington said. "We had to mitigate the safety risks to allow us to deliver design and construction remediation measures within the incredibly unstable mountainous environment.” Prior to this project SMEC and McIlwain Civil worked together on other Disaster Relief projects, and the existence of a prior working relationship ensured both parties were familiar with methods of working.

This provided a foundation that was built upon throughout the completion of the Binna Burra Road project. Design Lead Rick Martin said the close collaboration resulted in construction excellence and best practice to develop solutions that met the challenging environment and tight timeframe. "The remediation has ensured safe public access to the National Park and the heritage-listed Binna Burra Lodge, supporting local tourism and a major local business,” Mr Martin said. Eligible reconstruction works are jointly funded by the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).

2021 Awards for Excellence | Feature

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION This award recognises firms that have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the innovative application of new or existing technology.

AWARD WINNER:

MACE AUSTRALIA FOR: Digital Command Centre (DCC)

Mace Australia has been recognised as this year’s Consult Australia 2021 Technological Innovation Award Winners for the Digital Command Centre (DCC).

The Metro Tunnel is a major enhancement to Melbourne's rail network that will integrate with the existing system. The Rail Systems Alliance (RSA) is providing all conventional signalling, high-capacity signalling, train and power control systems, and operational control systems within the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project.

Leveraging Mace’s global best practice from the delivery of a digital command centre for one of the world’s leading blue-chip technology companies, Mace Australia’s team led development of a Project Delivery Framework and Governance, including planning, cost, risk, and quality integration (as well as the physical fit out and software development) for the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project.

Mace brought together a multitude of datasets across the RSA project for Planning and Scheduling, HR, Safety Assurance, Systems Engineering and Project Controls and created a range of interactive dashboards. From early discussions with RSA, they worked towards the common goal of a single cloud database in which all stakeholders have instant access to project documentation and up-to-the-minute models from any device, anywhere, anytime, to help all team members make informed decisions with trusted data.

The RSA command centre comprises 8 LCD borderless screens, infrared touch screen overlay and cruiser interactive interface to connect a comprehensive database of over 80 datasets and thousands of data connectors. The Digital Command Centre feeds into a single touch-interactive command room with state-of-the-art hardware, software, and business intelligence capability.

The system is scalable and allows seamless integration with other technology such as GIS spatial building information modelling and live site feeds. It enables project meetings to use real-time information and delve into source data during meetings, to enable issues to be rapidly corralled and resolved.

Mace was conscious in its approach to achieve this by integrating and enhancing various existing in-house data sources rather than creating new datasets to serve the system. The delivery of the DCC involved a discovery phase in which Mace liaised with key stakeholders to document the current state of project information storage and sharing.

This initial phase reviewed the availability, quality, location, existing systems, and management responsibility for data required to define, manage, monitor and analyse projects, and to identify any potential interdependencies.

A comprehensive gap analysis of project performance, schedule, cost, risk, reporting and integration requirements was undertaken, and Mace resolved gaps by tailoring our standardised process templates to suit the RSA Quality Management Framework or Project Management Framework, saving time and cost. Works involved the development of Minimal Viable Product (MVP) specification for a digital system to sit across all RSA schedules and their supporting information, including cost, risk, and quality, to provide near-real-time analysis, information, and reporting.

The purpose of this system is to ensure all project issues, risks, scope interfaces, timeline interfaces, interface dependencies, inter-department change, impacts, and others are consolidated, integrated and summarised for relevant decision-makers. In short, Mace’s DCC is a clear demonstration of the potential to reshape the industry operating norm. From project planning, design to delivery, the technology unlocks unforeseen opportunities, while enabling trust, streamlined data reconciliation, immutability, and transparency.

Consulting Matters 39

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

PEOPLE FIRST This Award recognises firms that have implemented and delivered outstanding initiatives that benefit their people.

AWARD WINNER:

DESIGNINC SYDNEY FOR:

Organisational Policies and Initiatives

DesignInc Sydney has been recognised as this year’s Consult Australia 2021 People First Award Winners for Organisational Policies and Initiatives.

As stated by DesignInc Sydney, they are driven not only by the desire to create beautiful places that are equitable and accessible for users, but they also want the people who design them to be happy and healthy – they want each member of their team to reach their personal and professional potential.

The architecture and design sector has a reputation for having male-dominated, stressful work environments with long hours. At DesignInc they believe in fairness, equity, and opportunity for all, and actively take steps to understand how stressors and barriers operate within the organisation and the broader industry, and to challenge them.

DesignInc recognise a range of hidden forces at play in the design and construction sector that make it easier for some people and ideas to succeed, and harder for others. They pride themselves on an organisational ecology where the managers listen, learn, and respond to the needs of the broader team, allowing them to understand the needs and sentiments of their team and to implement policies that address them.

Their many myriad initiatives work together to create a culture of openness and inclusion and support their people across key areas of mental health and wellbeing, diversity, disability, gender equity and cultural equity. Their initiatives are having a positive impact within the organisation and leading the way in our industry.

40 Consulting Matters

2021 Awards for Excellence | Feature

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

SUPERIOR SUSTAINABILITY This award recognises the achievement of sustainable outcomes on an internal or external project that go above and beyond expectations in the application of the firm’s services (e.g. through design, advice, and/or the application of sustainable materials and principles etc.).

AWARD WINNER:

ARUP

FOR: Melbourne Connect

This year’s Consult Australia 2021 Awards for Excellence Superior Sustainability Award winner has been announced as Arup for Melbourne Connect.

Arup has received the Consult Australia 2021 Awards for Excellence Superior Sustainability Award for its sustainable design of Melbourne’s new innovation precinct, Melbourne Connect.

Melbourne Connect is on target to meet and exceed its ambitious NABERS, Green Star and on-site renewable energy with 40-50% estimated energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Arup, working with Lendlease for the University of Melbourne, undertook the structural engineering, facades, acoustics, and sustainability design with a holistic and credible sustainability approach which focussed the whole project team on the challenge set by the University of Melbourne to have sustainability at the heart of the precinct. The 75,800m2 precinct is formed by three separate, but connected sustainable buildings arranged around a central courtyard. The design significantly improves upon standard practice in Australia with estimated 40-50% energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

Greenhouse gas emissions are further reduced through a significant provision of onsite renewable energy. Melbourne Connect is bringing together world-class researchers, government, industry, SMEs, startups, higher-degree students and artists, as well as the Science Gallery that promotes science, art and innovation in a purpose-built innovation precinct right in the heart of Melbourne.

The precinct showcases highly innovative design and technology and will be a significant contribution to the city’s iconic urban landscape.

“Melbourne Connect is a place that connects global ideas and innovations of the future and Arup is proud to contribute to a project that put sustainability as the guiding principle for the design,” said Richard Stokes, Sustainable Buildings Leader VIC/SA “It is great recognition to have the sustainability design of Melbourne Connect acknowledged in this way by Consult Australia, which represents consulting firms in the built and natural environment.”

Strategies embedded into the project by Arup’s sustainability team at project inception reduce the demand for energy through massing, optimisation and façade design that responds to each orientation, tenant agreements and energy efficient building services including LED lighting and a precinct heating and cooling network.

Consulting Matters 41

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

HIGHLY COMMENDED

“

FUTURE LEADER

FUTURE LEADER

AMY CLARK

SAM LINKE

FROM: Aurecon

FROM: Aurecon

CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE - FEMALE LEADERSHIP

CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE - FEMALE LEADERSHIP

CANDICE LAM

OLIVIA OLIVER

FROM: KBR

FROM: Tonkin

CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE - FEMALE LEADERSHIP

INNOVATION DESIGN

LARA KRUK FROM: Jacobs 42 Consulting Matters

ARUP FOR: Challenging convention with Innovative Design

2021 Awards for Excellence | Feature

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

CLIENT SERVICE EXCELLENCE

” AURECON

HIGHLY COMMENDED

CLIENT SERVICE EXCELLENCE CARDNO AND SPRINGFIELD GROUP

FOR: The new Powerhouse Parramatta

FOR: Greater Springfield

COLLABORATION FOR PROJECT EXCELLENCE

COLLABORATION FOR PROJECT EXCELLENCE

AURECON

TONKIN

FOR: Square Kilometre Array (SKA) – Infrastructure Australia

FOR: Greening the Desert

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION

GHD DIGITAL AND SYDNEY WATER

ARUP

FOR: Geospatial Water Planning Tool

FOR: Science Gallery Melbourne, Digital Bricks

Consulting Matters 43

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

HIGHLY COMMENDED

PEOPLE FIRST

SUPERIOR SUSTAINABILITY

CARDNO

AURECON

FOR: People First

FOR: Monash Woodside Building for Technology and Design

SUPERIOR SUSTAINABILITY

SUPERIOR SUSTAINABILITY

CARDNO LIMITED AND WSP AUSTRALIA

DIGITAL TWINNING AUSTRALIA

FOR: Cedar Grove Environmental Centre

FOR: Renewable Energy System Digital Twin as an Educational Tool

44 Consulting Matters

2021 Awards for Excellence | Feature

FIDIC LOUIS PRANGEY AWARD The Louis Prangey Award, named after the founding President of the Federation of International Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) was established to be presented from time to time to a person who has rendered significant service to the Federation and/or to the profession of independent consulting engineering, and who exemplifies the objectives of the Federation.

Dick was President of FIDIC in 2003-5. In his FIDIC roles, he travelled extensively to meet with consulting engineers throughout the world.

He also negotiated with the multi-lateral banks, which adopted and paid FIDIC for the use of the MDB Harmonised Contracts. The FIDIC CEO, Dr Nelson Ogunshakin has recently negotiated new arrangements for the use of the 2017 Suite of Contracts.

Last September, the FIDIC Past Presidents chose Dick Kell to receive FIDIC's most prestigious award, the Prangey for Award 2021.

Dick has been quite influential in steering FIDIC in new and exciting directions. Among other achievements, he helped FIDIC build strong relationships with Asian countries, including China, expanded their training programs and supported the development of their strategic plans.

Dick is a Civil Engineer, an Honours Graduate from the University of Sydney, Australia, 1959. He joined Sydney based consulting civil engineers McMillan & Britton when the staff numbered eight only. He worked on bridge and building structures and project management.

His firm's involvement in the Sarawak (Malaysia) Bridges Project commencing in 1964 launched his long career on projects outside Australia, principally in the Asia/Pacific Region, one of the first Australian engineers to do so.

Dick became Managing Director of McMillan Britton & Kell Pty Ltd in 1975 as the firm grew in numbers and scope of services. MBK merged with the Queensland firm Cardno & Davies in 1999, and Dick Kell became Chairman of Cardno Group and set about with others to grow the combined firm while he continued managing major engineering projects. Cardno now has more than 7000 staff in offices throughout Australia and worldwide. Dick was chairman throughout Cardno's successful IPO listing on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2004.

Dick retired as a director in 2006 but continues to work on Cardno projects as a Senior Consultant in international work. Cardno has most recently become part of the Stantec Group.

Dick Kell has spent his working life as an engineer, project manager and director on infrastructure engineering, specialising in commercial and public buildings, site developments, bridge, road, marine, and industrial facilities.

He has been convenor of the FIDIC Governance Task Force, Business Practice Committee, and Strategic Review Task Force. He was also an ex-officio member of the Contracts Committee, in which role he was responsible for the FIDIC MDB Harmonised Contract.

He was an inaugural member of the Advisory Board FIDIC Training Centre, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. Dick was instrumental in the development of the FIDIC Certified Consulting Engineer Pilot Program in China involving over 1500 Chinese Consulting Engineers, which was completed in 2020. FIDIC Credentialing is now a global offering. Dick was President of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Australia 1994-5. Dick continues to serve on the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation Region 3 Board as the Consult Australia representative.

Dick was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1998 for services to Australia in Engineering, particularly Bridge Engineering and International Affairs. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. He was the recipient of the Institution of Engineers Australia John Connell Medal for Structural Engineering 2000 and an Australian Centenary Medal in 2001.

Dick has been a director of public and private companies. He is a rugby fanatic outside engineering and business and enjoys opera, skiing, and relaxing at his beach house.

While not part of the official citation, I can add many stories about Dick a great raconteur, a wonderful host, an insightful mentor and a wonderful rickshaw racer.

Anthony Barry President, FIDIC Consulting Matters 45

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

FUTURENET BUSINESS LEADER PROGRAMME 2021 Highly regarded across the industry, Consult Australia’s FutureNet Business Leaders Programme has been running annually for more than a decade.

Through sixteen sessions delivered over eight months the programme builds on existing personal strengths, identifies and develops new strengths and skills, and broadens networks.

Course participants also complete a multi-disciplinary team project supported by an accomplished industry mentor. The project takes participants out of their comfort zone and puts into practice the skills and knowledge developed through the course.

Winning project teams are selected based on both a public vote and their presentations to a panel of expert industry judges.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD 99 Problems But a DA Ain't One The Meadowbank School project is a sustainable learning hub which will act as a connector between primary, secondary, vocational education and the local community. The primary drivers for this development is to support Department of Education's Strategic Plans and City of Ryde’s 2028 Community Strategic Plan by way of an integrated community-school campus, that will address increasing population pressure, celebrate City of Ryde’s multicultural background and unique identity, provide more green spaces for the local community and revitalise the surrounding areas.

The development aims to inspire the students and the local community by demonstrating environmental, sustainability and wellbeing leadership and protects the local environment. The design will target a 5 Star Green Star rating and operation will be net zero carbon. Environmental initiatives such as PV power generation, rainwater collection, electric car/bike charging points will be showcased publicly. The colours and design of the school are inspired by the local native flora, and the construction materials are chosen with durability and reducing embodied carbon in mind. In response to COVID-19 and student wellbeing, classrooms will have the facilities and flexibility for remote learning, perimeter rooms will be naturally ventilated to flush out contaminants and high contact areas will be sterilized regularly, and ventilation systems will have UV sterilization.

JUDGES AWARD More Than Textbook The NSW Government has announced a $6.7 billion investment scheme over four years to provide new and upgraded schools to support communities across NSW. Population forecasts predict a growth of 30.58% over the next 20 years within the City of Ryde.

To service the changing population, the greater Ryde community is facing an ever-growing need for a precinct to service community, government, and business. The project aims to connect education, culture, and business into one community precinct, promoting lifelong learning not just for students, but for the whole local community. The Meadowbank Learning and Cultural Precinct creates an environment that is liveable, sustainable, and productive.

The precinct features a community and cultural centre that includes a 21st century library with multimedia spaces / recording studios, a gallery and function space to house revolving exhibitions and events, community gardens and a co-working hub which caters to the flexible working community and promotes the growth of small businesses. Ancillary facilities include a café and childcare facilities to support the fully integrated community precinct.

2022 FUTURENET BUSINESS LEADER SCHOLARSHIP Scholarship Winner

ESTHER SOON From: SMEC

46 Consulting Matters

Feature

16-18 August 2022 | Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

Source explore cutting-edge products Share unrivalled expertise and solutions Connect network with industry leaders A must-attend event, ARBS 2022 features an outstanding line-up of 200+ national and international manufacturers and distributors. Don’t miss your chance to explore the largest range of HVAC+R and building services suppliers, products and solutions under the one roof.

Held over three massive days ARBS 2022 includes access to the highly regarded Seminar Series, now expanded to include the new Intelligent Buildings Technology (IBTech) seminars. The event also incorporates the celebrated ARBS Industry Awards program and gala dinner.

Register online now at arbs.com.au Consulting Matters 47

Feature | 2021 Awards for Excellence

THE VALUE OF THE CONSULT AUSTRALIA

AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE “

As our industry becomes busier and more competitive, we must seek ways to stand out from the crowd

”

One of the easiest and most effective ways that your business can distinguish itself from your competitors within the industry, is to enter a relevant and professionally facilitated industry awards programme. Consult Australia can provide you with this through our Awards for Excellence.

The Consult Australia Awards for Excellence programme is highly credible, and to ensure this credibility the awards application process is comprehensive, providing you with the further advantage of an appraisal of your business. The value that entering and becoming a finalist, highly commended or winner is undeniable.

At Consult Australia we believe industry awards recognition is one of the most valuable marketing tools to have in your business strategy.

Here are the top six reasons why you should consider entering the Consult Australia Awards for Excellence:

01

02

03

EASY MARKETING

PRESTIGE

CREDIBILITY

Winning or being a finalist in an awards programme is a professional and perfect way to market your business. You can promote your win through press releases, sharing on social media platforms, and more, and these initiatives in turn can increase the organic traffic to your website. Consult Australia will also provide you with an award-winning logo to add to your company website, email signatures, business cards and sales collateral.

Anytime your business has the ability to be named alongside the best and brightest in the industry, creates a sense of prestige and brand awareness.

The more awards you submit, the more opportunities your business can appear amongst the elite.

Third-party substantiation is critical for any business in our industry. By nominating your company for an award, you can help provide a stamp of approval evidencing that your company genuinely is all that you claim it to be and more.

Outcome: The Consult Australia Awards for Excellence programme can expand your PR and Marketing Opportunities.

48 Consulting Matters

Outcome: This added prestige can help when networking and pitching to new clients.

Outcome: Stand out from your competition.

2021 Awards for Excellence | Feature

04

05

06

APPRAISAL FOR YOUR BUSINESS OFFERINGS

EMPLOLYEE MOTIVATION

CELEBRATION

The Consult Australia Awards for Excellence application process is detailed and thorough, asking critical questions pertaining to how you do business. Completing the application provides you with a great way to get an evaluation of your offerings and encourages your team to look at your business from a different perspective. The awards submission itself can open up team discussions like “What is our company impact”? and “What sets us apart from our competition”?

By reflecting on the questions in the application, your business may well identify its strengths, as well as areas for ongoing improvement.

Not to be overlooked is the fact that receiving award recognition can help boost your employee morale. It is really important for employees to feel that their work is recognised. By nominating deserving individuals, teams, or projects for the Consult Australia Awards for Excellence you can instil a sense of pride in the culture of your business. We all know that increasing employee motivation has a direct impact on productivity.

Every business should relish a cause for celebration. By entering the Consult Australia Awards for Excellence, you can join our industry celebration, announcing our finalists, highly commended and winners.

Be at the annual celebration where your business could be announced and receive well-deserved accolades, celebrate with your team, and showcase your success to the industry at large.

Outcome: Celebrating success.

Outcome: Increased employee engagement and connection.

Outcome: Thorough appraisal of your business.

Now that you know what entering the Consult Australia Awards for Excellence can do for your business and brand, why not start creating a list of Consult Australia Awards that your company could enter? Get ahead of the crowd and start planning now.

Awards categories for 2022 will include:

• •

Future Leader

•

Small Business Excellence

• • • •

Champions of Change – Female Leadership

Innovative Design Client Service Excellence Collaboration for Project Excellence

• • •

People First Superior Sustainability Business Leader Scholarship

Technological Innovation

KEY DATES 2022 AWARDS CALL FOR ENTRIES

SUBMISSIONS CLOSE

AWARDS EVENT

Thursday 1 September 2022

Wednesday 30 November 2022

Thursday 23 March 2023

“We believe industry awards recognition is one of the most valuable marketing tools to have in your business strategy” Consulting Matters 49

Feature | New capabilities for a fast-changing world

NEW CAPABILITIES

FOR A FAST-CHANGING WORLD The world is changing faster and perhaps more, this decade, than any other in living memory. While the forces of change are mostly coming from outside our businesses, we need to ‘future proof’ ourselves and indeed seek advantage from the changes by adapting and proacting at both the firm level and as individuals.

Forces acting exogenously on our economy and professional service firms have included the pandemic, revolutionary new technologies, geopolitical elements, climate-induced changes and generationally changing cultural expectations of new entrants into our workforces.

At the firm/ business level, most organisations have long realised that there is not much point making five year plans anymore, because the inherent assumptions within such plans will always become invalid within a year or two, rendering such plans invalid, and indeed sometimes destroying value. Instead, it seems more sensible to make one year plans, relate these to operational capabilities and the order book, and focus on developing key capabilities. These capabilities should be the focus of investment in our professional service firms, being aimed at coping with the fast-changing world referred to above. Specifically, these are agility and resilience, that refer to the firm’s ability to flex as conditions around it, such as market forces and technology, change, and the ability to anticipate, cope with and achieve advantage from such changes. These capabilities require great leadership and a ‘growth’ mindset, culture to suit, and flexible systems that will deliver the services that remain at the cutting edge of meeting clients’ requirements in our dynamic circumstances.

At the individual level, we should all enhance our own personal competitiveness and contribution, by ensuring our personal capabilities make us each ‘fit for purpose’ for the new world volatility.

50 Consulting Matters

Some key elements1 are: 1. Self-leadership, sometimes called distributed leadership, or as labelled in one of my client firms, ‘leadership at all levels’, this means having the right behaviours in place, accountabilities, responsibilities being devolved and accepted by all, for making decisions and delivering on commitments: for everybody. When everyone exhibits these self-leadership behaviours strongly, culture and people management become easy.

2. Marketing, where indeed everybody in the firm is involved in marketing, being the positioning, profiling, client matching, pitching and profiting from the work. If it’s not a direct marketing role or client facing activity of service delivery, it is an indirect or support role, with a clear ‘marketing orientation’ for everyone to bring to work.

3. Strategy and operations, involving contributing to and implementing the firm’s vision and strategic priorities, linking these to our everyday activities, and pursuing ‘operational excellence’ in terms of right first time, waste reduction and lean / flow work systems in what we produce and deliver to clients.

4. Sustainability/ ESG (environmental, social, governance) represents a growing opportunity for contributing at the individual, project and firm levels to a broader set of outcomes than purely financial, finding win-win solution for all stakeholders, through ‘doing well by doing good’, and engendering a ‘sustainability orientation’ in firm culture.

5. Innovation, including digitalisation-enabled transformations are sweeping through industries and economies, driving efficiencies and service levels to new heights, and leaving laggards behind, requiring us all to be capable of getting on board.

New capabilities for a fast-changing world | Feature

"At the firm/ business level, most organisations have long realised that there is not much point making five year plans anymore, because the inherent assumptions within such plans will always become invalid within a year or two, rendering such plans invalid, and indeed sometimes destroying value.”

6. Implementing change and improvements, critical in these times of volatility, because of the agility and resilience needs of our firms, requiring open minds in all our staff, and indeed a hunger for improvement and a rejection of the old, outdated approach of ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’. In 2022 and beyond, we must break ‘it’ and transform it to something much better, ahead of the exogenous driving forces and our competitors.

Some great examples of well-established businesses in other sectors I have recently researched are Rolls Royce (jet engines), Netflix and Bank of America, that have ‘remade’ their business models based on innovation and business model transformations, all of which required their workforce to be highly dynamic, open minded and able to bring a ‘growth mindset’ to work. Rolls Royce changed its whole business model, from selling jet engines to ‘power by the hour’, using artificial intelligence and cloud technology to servitise its offerings, and create significant new value for customers. Bank of America came out of the GFC essentially broken, then revitalised its whole business using digital technologies that created much new value for customers, employees, and shareholders. Netflix transformed and grew using AI and cloud from snail mailing DVDs to the global streaming giant and content producer it now is.

For professional service firms such as consulting engineers, the forces of change that are upon us can be seen as an opportunity to transform, at the business strategy and business model level, the project level, and this requires us to each re-equip personally to achieve new levels of personal and business resilience and dynamism.

These elements, detailed above, are forecast to increasingly be the ones that decide who wins and who loses over the next decade.

The six aspects of personal development outlined above deserve reflection and commitment to take on alongside our technical (e.g. engineering) skills, as we deal with what is now being labelled VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) in our business environment. Engineers and others who are strong in these six aspects will be able to contribute strongly to the future of their firm’s trajectory. Our sector’s business leaders will find that investing in these capabilities in their workforce is one of the best strategies they can possibly employ.

Dr Danny Samson is Professor of Management at the University of Melbourne, and Director of Consult Australia’s Professional Services Excellence short-course.

Consult Australia's Professional Services Excellence short-course covers these topics in depth

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Consulting Matters 51

Feature | Collaborating on the design and delivery of the world's largest science facility

COLLABORATING ON

THE DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST SCIENCE FACILITY Look up at the sky after sunset and the familiar panorama of bright stars emerge. It’s a sight people see on countless occasions, yet so often with intrigue, as the tantalising opportunity to expand our understanding of the Universe continues.

The international SKA project will enable us to do just that. A global science and engineering effort to deliver the largest science facility on the planet, the SKA will comprise two of the world’s largest radio telescopes, built in Australia and South Africa. It will deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation and enable astronomers to address gaps in our understanding of the Universe – including the formation and evolution of galaxies, fundamental physics in extreme environments and the origins of life.

Collaboration on a global scale The SKA radio telescopes will be built and operated by the SKA Observatory (SKAO), an intergovernmental organisation composed of member states from five continents and headquartered in the UK. The low-frequency array, SKA-Low, will be built in Western Australia’s Murchison region on Wajarri Yamatji country, and the mid-frequency array, SKA-Mid, will be located in the remote Karoo region of South Africa.

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Image: SKAO/ICRAR

International engineering, design and advisory firm, Aurecon, in partnership with Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, formed the Infrastructure Australia consortium for design and construction management of the Australian component of the site infrastructure, power distribution and on-site computing buildings for the SKA-Low Telescope.

SKA-Low Telescope infrastructure The SKA-Low Telescope will be an array of more than 130,000 twometre-tall antennas grouped into 512 stations, spanning a distance of 65 km. Associated infrastructure includes roads and tracks, fibre and power distribution, communications, site monitoring, and buildings.

Ground preparation for the antennas and the road designs will utilise construction techniques consistent with general practice in the remote area. Cleared areas will be kept to a minimum, and existing tracks or previous routes retained as far as possible to minimise disturbance to vegetation, the natural lay of the land and Indigenous culturally significant sites.

Collaborating on the design and delivery of the world's largest science facility | Feature

"Hindsight helps us understand past challenges but, when we are in the midst of new ones, the pathway forward is often laced with uncertainty.”

Image: SKAO / ICRAR

Central computing building

"It will deliver benefits to society through global collaboration and innovation and enable astronomers to address gaps in our understanding of the Universe – including the formation and evolution of galaxies, fundamental physics in extreme environments and the origins of life.”

Critical to the future operation of the SKA-Low Telescope will be the on-site central computing building. The central building has been designed to prevent radio frequency signals (or noise) from the vast array of electronic and electrical equipment contained inside the building interfering with the sensitive receiving antennas outside.

Digital design and pre-fabrication Design of the control building was optimised and modelled in Building Information Modelling (BIM) software and then converted into a virtual reality simulation to immerse stakeholders inside the building to test useability and layout in real time. The building and associated facilities will be pre-fabricated and brought to site as the largest possible modules as an optimum logistics solution to minimise truck movements to the remote location.

Award-winning designs The design of the SKA-Low site infrastructure took out the 2022 Consult Australia Awards for Excellence Innovative Design Award, and received a highly commended for Collaboration for Project Excellence.

Construction on the SKA-Low Telescope is due to commence in late 2022.

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Corporate Social Responsibility RedR Australia

OUR PEOPLE ARE OUR GREATEST HUMANITARIAN ASSET RedR Australia roster member and engineer Neil and a UNHCR colleague prepare a COVID-19 treatment centre in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

From designing dams to refugee settlements, RedR Australia’s expert roster members are lending their technical and soft skills to humanitarian crises and conflict globally.

When civil engineer Neil deployed to Bangladesh in March 2020, he was initially tasked with helping to flood-proof the Rohingya refugee camps ahead of monsoon season.

Deployed through humanitarian response agency RedR Australia as a Hydraulic Engineer to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Neil was on the ground in Cox’s Bazar when COVID-19 struck. Quickly shifting his focus to the construction of isolation and treatment centres, Neil oversaw the repurposing of camp facilities as the disease threatened to infiltrate the settlement’s already-vulnerable population.

Neil has since gone on to complete a further two deployments in as many years – working with Timor-Leste’s Secretariat for Civil Protection in two separate roles to assist the government to improve its disaster risk reduction efforts.

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Following the country’s most severe floods in 50 years in April 2021, Neil’s coordination skills enabled 40,000 affected locals to evacuate to 41 centres. He also made recommendations for future mitigation efforts, work he’s continuing in his current role with the Secretariat as it looks to elevate its operational response processes.

Neil is one of close to 800 technical specialists on RedR Australia’s humanitarian professionals roster – a register of skilled people who can be called upon to help partner organisations and communities to prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies including tropical cyclones, floods and drought.

As a member of the United Nations (UN) Standby Partnership, RedR Australia has deployment arrangements with 15 UN agencies as well as a number of national governments, regional and civil society organisations.

In FY21, RedR Australia deployed 114 humanitarians to support 31 partners in 30 countries – the equivalent of 539 months, or almost 55 years, of continuous professional humanitarian assistance in just one year.

RedR Australia | Corporate Social Responsibility

RedR Australia CEO Kirsten Sayers and roster member, and Monitoring, Evaluation and Communications Specialist Rob in Za’atari camp, Jordan.

In providing support to these host organisations, RedR Australia’s roster is an invaluable resource of people who are experts in their fields. Many of our roster members come from the engineering and consulting sectors – with skills spanning public infrastructure, site planning, logistics and procurement, hydrogeology and climate change adaptation.

Our specialists are known not only for their technical expertise, but also for their soft skills and ability to hit the ground running. They work in collaboration with local colleagues and systems, building relationships to understand the needs on the ground and find solutions.

The roster is an asset to both RedR Australia and the global humanitarian sector – for skilled people are needed to help effectively and efficiently mitigate, recover and rebuild in the event of disaster.

Like Neil, roster member Rob also lended his skills to UNHCR’s work with refugees, with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Communications Specialist working alongside a team of electrical engineers in Jordan to support the ongoing operations of solar plants for the Za’atari and Azraq camps.

It also enables firms to meet their environmental and social governance aspirations through supporting work to build capacity in communities and make cities and settlements more safe, inclusive, robust and sustainable.

Whether it’s selecting and assessing infrastructure in communities or assisting governments to improve their disaster risk reduction initiatives, consulting professionals have a lot to offer, and gain from, the humanitarian sector.

By joining the RedR Australia roster, you’ll be helping to address rapidly increasing humanitarian need while also learning skills, developing networks and gaining insights into what safe social and physical infrastructure looks like in different contexts.

To learn more about the roster and using your skills to save lives and build resilience, visit: https://redr.org.au/humanitarian-roster/what-is-it/ Christie Long, RedR Australia

As the first two camps in the world with renewable energy, the plants are providing refugee families with increased access to electricity – meaning better lighting of shelters and streets, increased safety at night and more power in homes for refrigeration, cooking and homework.

Rob’s work helped to measure the impact of this electricity on communities’ protection, health, security and nutrition outcomes – also helping UNHCR to harness key learnings to draw upon when implementing similar projects.

RedR Australia’s roster provides the opportunity for skilled engineers and professional services consultants to use their skills to help communities be physically and socially connected to support, trade and livelihoods before, during and after a disaster.

When firms enable their staff to deploy with RedR Australia, it supports employee engagement, retention and leadership opportunities – with employers benefitting from the insights that staff bring back.

Consulting Matters 55

Project Case Study | Aurecon

AURECON REIMAGINES MASS TIMBER CONSTRUCTION WITH ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGY International design, engineering and advisory company Aurecon has introduced robotics technology into constructing Murdoch University’s Building 360 in a world-first trial, in collaboration with major partners Murdoch University and University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

The building is set to become Western Australia’s largest massengineered-timber (MET) building upon completion.

Conceptualised by Aurecon, the robots have been uniquely designed

by UTS researchers to deliver cumbersome screw fixings. This task can cause fatigue and injury in workers given the repetitive and labourintensive nature of this work.

A technology-rich building to accommodate up to 60 per cent of the university’s teaching requirements, Building 360 will be a demonstration of Murdoch’s commitment to sustainability, aiming for a 6 Star Green Star rating once complete.

Aurecon’s Managing Director, Built Environment Australia, Tim Spies, said the pilot robotics project with Murdoch University and UTS showed that by thinking more innovatively the timber industry could lead the way in improving project outcomes across the broader construction industry.

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“The project’s immediate objective is focused on proof of concept, to demonstrate the robot’s capability of installing screw fixings in an accurate manner,” said Spies.

“The long-term objective is to prove that the modular nature of timber construction will benefit from the automation of some on-site construction activity, helping to increase productivity, reduce cost, improve workers' OH&S, and advance innovation in the construction industry.”

Murdoch University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Andrew Deeks said Building 360 would transform the student and staff experience through offering new, digitally enabled teaching and learning spaces in an environmentally friendly design.

“MET is a completely renewable resource and a more sustainable construction material than conventional steel or concrete, which is a huge contributor of greenhouse gas emissions globally. The building will also have a large array of photovoltaic cells to supply its power needs,” Professor Deeks said.

“Working with our design, engineering and advisory partner Aurecon, we set out to determine where technology would add value to the construction process – an opportunity to modernise an industry that, by and large, is yet to take a significant leap in innovation.

| Industry Comment Aurecon | Project Case Study

"The pilot robotics project with Murdoch University and UTS showed that by thinking more innovatively the timber industry could lead the way in improving project outcomes across the broader construction industry.”

Aurecon Managing Director, Built Environment Australia, Tim Spies

“The concept was developed to trial robots installing screw fixings – an important, but labour intensive task, that’s essential on MET construction sites.”

Distinguished Professor of the UTS Robotics Institute, Dikai Liu, said intelligent robots are changing construction.

“Construction sites are varied, complex and changing – and that can be a real challenge for a robot to navigate and conduct operations such as drilling a screw into the right position,” Professor Liu said.

“What we have been able to design is an intelligent robot that can focus on an important task even amidst this disruptive environment.”

There are around 200,000 to 300,000 screw fixings on the Building 360 construction site and the robots have been trialled installing approximately 50 to 100 fixings as part of the proof of concept.

Tim Spies, Aurecon Managing Director, Built Environment Australia

Consulting Matters 57

Project Case Study | SMEC

TRANSFORMING BRISBANE:

KINGSFORD SMITH DRIVE Delivering transformative infrastructure able to provide growing metropolitan areas with long-lasting community value is only possible through the establishment of strong, collaborative relationships.

Local experience and strong collaboration key to success

As a A$650m project, Kingsford Smith Drive was a priority project, but it is so much more than just a critical road upgrade. It has transformed one of Brisbane’s key transport corridors into a subtropical boulevard creating an enhanced urban design as the eastern entry to Brisbane. This is in keeping with Brisbane City Council’s vision for the city.

As the Independent Verifier (IV) for the design and construction of the Kingsford Smith Drive Upgrade, SMEC’s role was to independently verify that the Design and Construct (D&C) Contractor complied with the Project Deed requirements. SMEC was well positioned to provide our client with experience, capability and knowledge with many of our team members having worked on other major Brisbane City Council projects including the Clem 7 and Legacy Way tunnels.

Importantly it has delivered significantly improved pedestrian and cycle facilities, including a 1.2km cantilevered Riverwalk, as well as upgraded access to the Brisbane River. It has also considered and met the future transport needs of a growing city and has reshaped this busy urban corridor by providing increased road capacity, improving public transport access, reducing congestion and accommodating future traffic volumes.

The 3.5km Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade is now complete, with six lanes opened to traffic in late 2020. The corridor is a major gateway to Brisbane’s Central Business District connecting with the Brisbane Airport, Trade Coast industrial area and the urban renewal area of Northshore Hamilton.

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Chris Demartini was SMEC’s Design & Construction Manager for the Independent Verifier throughout the project and transitioned to the Independent Verifier’s Representative for the completion works.

“In a verification role, stakeholder relationships are the key to success.

We are often dealing with difficult issues that can have significant impacts on the Contractor’s program and budget. It is important to be able to maintain positive relationships with both Contractor and Principal so these issues can be pragmatically worked through to develop, where possible, win/win solutions,” explains Chris.

“One of our unique capabilities has been to provide our client with a trusted advisor to help navigate the challenges which naturally present themselves in projects of this magnitude.

| Industry Comment SMEC | Project Case Study

Specialists like Andy and Ken, in collaboration with the contractor, our client and our team of contract administration professionals was key in finding effective solutions,” explained Chris.

Continuing the transformation on Brisbane Metro As completion activities on Kingsford Smith Drive wind down, we are now well into the next Brisbane City Council major project in the role of Project Verifier for the Brisbane Metro.

Brisbane Metro is another city shaping project providing a highfrequency, high-capacity public transport system that will better utilise existing busway infrastructure. The Brisbane Metro Project consists of upgrades to 21km of existing busway connecting 18 stations. The aim of the project is to reduce congestion, create a turn up and go public transport system, reduce emissions with cleaner and greener all electric vehicles and create 2600 design and construction jobs.

The project supports a new fleet of 60 battery electric metro vehicles with zero tailpipe emissions, saving an estimated 50,000t of greenhouse emissions over 20 years. The all-day electric operation has flash charging in under six mins at end of route. The Bi-articulate design; provides three spacious passenger compartments, three large double doors for quicker boarding, Low-floor design for a high level of accessibility and three large mobility aid bays with automated onrequest ramp access. The vehicles have capacity for 150 passengers in comfort and 170 in event mode.

Some of our specialists have worked with other major Council projects and have established a trusted working relationship with the client. Many situations involve proposed solutions outside the normal specification requirements and our advice is often sought and well regarded.

As the IV providers SMEC are in a role which facilitates and aligns the objectives of the client and contractor. Chris said, “We are there to ensure that quality, durability and contractual requirements are met while balancing this against the contractor and client needs to remain on program and within budget.”

Unique challenges solved together There were numerous and significant challenges on this project, with many relating to the unique and difficult geotechnical conditions.

These included very soft soils, steeply sloping rock profiles including paleo channels, an unstable riverbank and areas of highly fractured and variable strength rock.

Chris was incredibly proud of the team’s collaboration and expertise in providing solutions, “A number of these challenges arose particularly with the piling and the ground improvement works. Significant temporary works were required, and unique piling methodologies adopted to overcome the difficult ground conditions and allow the project to continue. The IV team was able to collaborate with the Contractor and Principal in the development of solutions to these issues and assess design, durability and verification risks. The extent of ground movements and their effects on the constructed works was also a challenge that needed to be overcome and required timely input from the IV team and SMEC’s technical specialists, said Chris.

“SMEC’s established verification team is drawing on decades of experience to help deliver the community benefits anticipated from projects such as these. The team is ensuring the Brisbane Metro project is delivered to the state-of-the-art specification requirements and providing the quality infrastructure that the community and other stakeholders expect. We are incredibly proud to help continue to transform our transport network to meet the future demand in a sustainable and conscious way,” said Chris.

About Chris: Chris Demartini has over 35 years’ experience in the design, construction and rehabilitation of transport infrastructure works including bridges, tunnels, roads, highways and marine works. Over recent years Chris has held senior roles in the verification of major infrastructure including the New Gateway Bridge, Legacy Way Tunnel and Kingsford Smith Drive Upgrade. He is currently the Design and Construction Manager for the Brisbane Metro Project Verifier.

Facts: • 3.5km roadway • 6 lanes constrained by river and cliffs • 1.2km cantilever Riverwalk

SMEC’s breadth of technical specialists meant that we were able to be incredibly agile and responsive to our client’s needs. “We were able to draw on the expertise of people like Andy Law and Ken Ross. Andy is a Chartered Geologist and Engineer with 35 years' experience in geotechnical engineering. He has global expertise and is a published specialist in the fields of site investigation, piling and ground improvement and is currently on the QLD Committees of the Institution Civil Engineers and Australian Geomechanics Society. Ken is a highly regarded structural engineer with over 50 years’ experience and has led the design of many major bridges and structures around the world.

Consulting Matters 59

Visit our public training courses here!

THINKING ABOUT

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Consult Australia offers a range of in-house Professional Development courses that can be tailored specifically to suit your firm’s requirements. In-house training encourages greater team work and builds awareness and understanding of each other’s roles in the organisation by enabling group discussion to be based around real examples that are specific to your business environment and policies.

CONTRACTS FOR CONSULTANTS This intensive 2.5 day training seminar is aimed at those who are regularly confronted with client contracts. The course provides essential advice and insight on managing and controlling contractual rights and obligations. It is conducted in a small group interactive format and has helped those with both limited and extensive experience to deal more effectively with contracts and their various terms and conditions. Tools and advice are given on how to develop fair and reasonable contractual relationships with clients.

ROLE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT The Superintendent’s role is a complex one. It requires a sound understanding of the law of contract, substantial engineering skills, and in particular, an understanding of the provisions of the particular project outcomes. This intensive and interactive training program teaches you how to confidently manage the various Superintendent duties, the dual roles of the Superintendent, and how to avoid common legal traps.

MANAGING PROJECTS FOR DISPUTES AND CLAIMS Claims and disputes are a common feature of construction projects in Australia and every business needs teams who are alive to this risk and have the skills that can respond.

This intensive 2 day interactive workshop is designed to provide the participants with the knowledge and practical skills and tools needed to understand and navigate this very real risk.

The workshop is ideal for both those delivering the projects, technical leads, project managers and commercial managers, as well as your in-house legal, finance and commercial teams.

An overview of the courses and standard rates for our inhouse courses can be at following link beside

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MORE INFORMATION For more information about education opportunities, please contact the Consult Australia on 02 8252 6700 or email education@consultaustralia.com.au.