E struct news issue 5 single page version

ISSUE

05

ONE PLACE COMPLETE SERVICE

September

ONE CHOICE

e-struct News this issue Project Profile P.1 E-struct Junior Engineers P.2-3 Professional Development P.2-3

It’s been one year of e-struct News!

Project Profile: Balwyn Retail Development E-struct, in conjunction with POZ Architects and CA Property Group, has administered a lot of TLC

Hooray! We are currently celebrat-

to this development over the past 12 months. We

ing one year of our e-struct news

have been involved from its inception, actually,

publication by devouring a custard and apple bun for afternoon tea!

Yum! Sorry that there’s not enough for everyone to share but you’re always welcome to drop into the office for a coffee if you’re passing

from the ground up with the provision of soil testing, structural design, drainage, sewage, and energy rating services. We have developed and maintained a strong rapport with the builder, owner and architect throughout the project and in turn, they

by. There may even be a biscuit on

have appreciated having one place to go to with

offer!

any queries they’ve had along the way.

The last three months have fo-

This brilliant location in the heart of Balwyn’s commercial precinct has seen a fresh update to the streetscape. Its choice of a vibrant heritage yellow freshens up the shop fronts and adds a sunny tone to an urban road. This structure has cleverly used CSR Hebel Wall and Floor Panelling. This versatile material is known for its ease in installation as it is light weight yet strong. It also has excellent energy rating properties and painting the wall panels has been a piece of cake. Work is continuing beautifully and the structure is just about completed.

cused on lots of geotechnical reporting and designing bridge and road systems which has been a lot of fun to do. People have also come to us with structural report requests with residences and commercial buildings suffering from cracking and too much moisture under footings.

Whether you’re building new, renovating or reviewing your structure, we’re here to help you by providing considered recommendations while meeting the newest codes and applying innovative materials.

With food and hospitality businesses eager to move in, we look forward to visiting with hungry bellies and will post finalised pictures of the structure soon and maybe a foodie photo to share too!

Business Planning and Strategy Build Your Business Program, Frankston City Council Stuart Lindsay from Pitcher Partners presented an intriguing look at Business Planning.

He started out by asking participants who had an actual business plan.

Only a few hands were raised. He then went on to say that this was representative of research.

It’s been found that 90% of businesses don’t plan.

He then went on to show the benefits of successful business planning, including: •

increased profits

•

increased cash flow

•

increase in growth and comparative capital value

•

increased level of

School Science for me in the 1980’s often meant sitting in alphabetical order quietly reading textbooks, answering the compreAustralian Engineering Week hension questions at the end of the chapter and not talking or fidgeting at all while doing and National Science Week so. School Science was getting your test results in order of highest performing stuWith two amazing weeks in August celebrating Sci- dent to lowest, and painfully waiting for your ence and Engineering nationally, you can’t help but turn to receive your result, heart thumping ponder how all these amazing professionals first got in your chest, cheeks reddening with shame their start. So I decided to ask our staff – what was the longer the wait. School Science was the one thing that they remember from their past copying down notes from the overhead prothat drew them to Science? Jade said it was lightjector or blackboard in silence as the teaching a Bunsen burner. James said he remembered er went off notes and sometimes off topic the time his Dad brought home magnets and iron and you wondered, out of all of it, what was filings and he was transfixed watching the patterns the most important thing to write. If you made by magnetic fields. Chris said it was Star raised your hand to ask, or spoke at all, the Trek. Mine was also TV related. teacher would throw a piece a chalk at you.

No one sought that; her aim was spot on.

As a kid born in the 1970’s, I was mesmerised by The Curiosity Show. It wasn't just the now retro hip- She was a precise and intimidating figure, ster facial hair of Dr Deane Hutton and Dr Rob Mor- statuesque on her teaching platform in her incredibly white lab coat. rison that captured my heart; it was their genuine love of all things Science and the fantastic experiOf course there were times where it was ments they broadcasted. They made rubber band brilliant! There was the time when we addpropelled cars demonstrating how potential energy ed loops of chemicals like Copper Sulphate operates. They dug out a soil sample from the gar- turning the Bunsen burner’s flame green den, placed it in a jar, added water, shook it and let while exploring different properties of eleit set to show how soil is made up of different sediments in the creation of fireworks. There mentary layers. They demonstrated the properties was the time the Physics teacher explained of gravity and invited viewers to predict which object vectors and forces drawing on a blood curwould land first when dropped from a height. They dling example of a PE teacher being pinned made Science come alive! But it was sometimes a down to the oval by a student-thrown javelin different story in my classroom.

E-struct celebrates

client satisfaction and finally •

Increased happiness in employees.

Businesses that plan

Picture taken with

Don't be left with just an onion, onions will make you cry.

Ask an #estructengineer.

permission: Shamelessly adapted from

It’s your

www.facebook.com/groups/ estructjuniorengineers/ travelling through their calf. And then there was the time the Biology teacher inflated a set of sheep’s lungs by inserting plastic tubing into the bubble gum pink windpipe attached and blowing them up like a

Clever Liam builds his models of The Sydney Harbour Bridge and The White House. fleshy balloon. Amazingly, the lungs expanded, but unfortunately the teacher didn’t remove the tube away from his face as he exhaled.

The class watched in transfixed horror before dissolving into waves of giggles as slimy pulmonary liquid squirted him across his face.

I went to an all girls’ school. The giggles were chart toppers and without mercy. Obviously I need to redeem my past behaviour.

understand it… do it…

skills by becoming involved in programs and workshops, by organising events and guest speakers. We decided to run some giveaways and were delighted to see so many kids are getting into their Science! This has furthered inspired us and brings us to our next bit of exciting news!

Jade and I have formed E-struct Junior Engineers on Facebook! We invite professionals, parents, teachers and educators to become a part of this new group and share it with the kids in their lives. It will be a place where you can gather and share Sciency wonders, where you have visited and what you have discovered. We will run giveaways and post hands-on kid -friendly activities to try out.

We’ll inform you of local Science happenings that you’ll want to know about.

We want to strengthen the love of Science and Engineering in kids, and we’re starting now! We would love you to join our group and share your Science and Engineering stories with us.

We’re looking forward to supporting and seeing kids’ STEM skills in action!

experience success as they consider these important factors when reflecting on their company: •

Understand the numbers’ (profit and loss etc)

•

Drive their workers, in the sense that their

Happy Ethan, pictured with Mum Jodie, wins our AEW 2015 giveaway!

Some Facebook comments:

♦ ♦

♦

♦

♦

♦

Science (metamorphic, igneous & sedimentary) rocks

employees are motivated and enjoy their job •

grow •

happening in the world, and reflect on how these big variables will

Science rocks! A colleague recommended these (Goldiblox) the other day now I can see why.

Science Rocks!! For my daughter who LOVES science & says it's her favourite subject!

Thanks for running the competition & offering this very cool prize. Well done to the winner!

by Bridie Briggs

Apply a global perspective, in terms of what’s

Science rocks! Was researching female scientists recently with my 7 yr old daughter.

Science Rocks! (as a female geographer - I can confirm this!)

Look to continually

impact both positively and negatively on their own business •

Look towards succession.

These are first steps in terms of business analysis.

The important things that I walked away from this seminar with was that great businesses help clients, are passionate about what they do, seek new opportunities to grow and have an imme-

To go some way towards redemption, we thought that e-struct could and should take the opportunity to encourage and to support kids’ interest in Science and Engineering in our community by celebrating these two fantastic weeks: Australian Engineers Week and National Science Week. Both groups support, encourage and provide opportunities for kids to build their STEM

Find

M oo rooduc Hw y Pl an Pri nt-

ing

at our

colour

or

e - struct

office. We

black & white

print

large format

diate and relatable understanding of what they do.

This may be basic to some, but sometimes we’re so caught up in doing our jobs that we forget to reflect on

plans up to

A0, scan

in

black & white

the whole.

by Bridie Briggs

www.mhplanprint.com.au

up to

A0

and

laminate

up to

A2.

Prefer to receive e-struct News via email or as a hard copy?

Let Jade know your preference and drop her a line at mail@e-struct.com.au

Dirt Diggers’ Corner— What’s the Dirt on the eDrill?

Stay in touch

Usually we make room in all our issues to profile our staff, but we have successfully finished interviewing everyone! This time we thought that we would profile

PO Box 7095 Karingal 3199

a new piece of equipment that Chris and James have built and modified over the past 12 months - their pride and joy - the eDrill. Some of you may know that James has a background in mechanical engineering, as does Chris’s father, who has since moved

(03) 9770 1738

into the field of Robotics. With all this expertise and aided by the supreme metal work skills of Frankston

1300 E STRUCT (1300 378 782)

Steel Supplies, the eDrill has been in capable hands throughout its construction.

The purpose behind the eDrill was to design a lightweight, safe and compact drilling machine enabling a fit through the smallest of side gates without damage

(03) 9770 1740

to gardens.

It has been specifically designed for

ease of operation, transportation, maneuverability and control. The motor and gear system allows for fine control of the speed and depth of each borehole.

www.e-struct.com.au

The machine has a shield of perspex in place to pro-

mail@e-struct.com.au

tect James against flying debris and is custom built to fit comfortably in our site testing vehicle.

After lots of road testing, the verdict is in and it’s a thumbs up. The eDrill is now in use on site, and is coming to a neighbourhood near you!

e-struct

From the ground up @estructengineer

e-struct’s got you covered.

How can we help you?

estructengineer one place complete service one choice

e-struct-consulting-services

e-struct e-struct News News Issue Issue 05 05 September September 2015 2015