From the RA Membership Team
It’s a big week for RA as we announce the successful applicants for the 2022 intake of the RA Fellowship Program.
We’re thrilled to be welcoming a record 40 Fellows into the program next year – and incredibly proud that for the first time, a majority of our Fellows (58 per cent) will be female.
In this short video, RA’s Georgie Fidge, Director – Membership and Prue Northey, Manager – Membership & Programs discuss the benefits delivered by this unique industry mentoring initiative.
Welcome to GS Engineering & Construction
RA’s membership continues to grow – and this week we are excited to welcome GS Engineering & Construction Australia as a new member.
Based in Seoul, GS Engineering & Construction was founded in 1969 and has grown to become an internationally recognised company, engaged in the delivery of major infrastructure projects across the globe. The company has an office in Sydney and is currently establishing its Melbourne office.
GS Engineering & Construction is part of the Spark Consortium, which in June this year was selected as the preferred bidder to deliver the tunnelling package on the North East Link – the biggest road transport project in Victoria’s history.
Learn more about the company’s history and operations here.
CPEE Road Surfacing Education Opportunities
Roads are our largest infrastructure asset, connecting people, place, community and commerce for economic prosperity. Australia’s network consists of more than 800,000kms, with 43% paved and 57% unpaved. The Centre for Pavement Engineering Education was founded by Austroads and AfPA more than twenty years ago to meet industry educational and training needs in roads and pavements. CPEE’s programs are designed by industry for the benefit of industry.
Dr Kym Neaylon, Principal Engineering Advisor – Pavement Surfacings at CPEE is sharing his expertise later this month, presenting at the IPWEAQ conference in Cairns discussing sustainable environmental and financial outcomes from doubling the life expectancy of asphalt roads. Dr Neaylon will also be presenting in a range of short courses coming up in October for CPEE focused on road surfacing education.
To find out more about this and other upcoming CPEE courses, visit the CPEE website.
Policy
RA has recently collaborated with other leading industry organisations in calling on the Federal Government to use the Infrastructure & Transport Ministers Meeting (ITMM) process to establish a collaborative leadership group to drive reforms needed to successfully deliver the enormous national pipeline of infrastructure projects.
The 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan recently released by Infrastructure Australia includes a number of critical recommendations which, if implemented, will help to address long-standing industry concerns around procurement, skills and capacity issues within the sector’s workforce, as well as the diversity and sustainability of the workforce itself.
The joint industry letter notes that rapid progress needs to be made in the implementation of these recommendations, given the size of the national project pipeline. The letter suggests the Federal Government is best placed to facilitate such an outcome, through a clear process agreed to by the Infrastructure and Transport Ministers Meeting (ITMM).
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RA is now seeking examples from member companies of projects which can be used as examples of best practice in the sustainability project being undertaken by the recently-announced industry partnership.
The focus of the project is to showcase best-in-class initiatives that accelerate decarbonisation throughout a transport asset’s lifecycle, by reducing embodied, operating and enabled emissions.
Local and international examples are welcomed. If you know of any, please contact Royce Christie, RA Director – Policy
People
At Arcadis, Andrew Bethune has been appointed as the organisation’s Global Operations Director – Mobility. Andrew has been with Arcadis for over six years, and has a extensive professional background across the transport sector in operations and asset management roles, including with VicRoads.
Jacobs has recently made several new appointments to its digital solutions and advisory teams. Tara Yates joins as Digital Partner Manager, APAC. Based in Sydney, Tara will lead and manage the APAC Digital Partner base. Melbourne-based John Blackney has been appointed as the new Digital Advisory Lead, APAC. Nishan Dharmatileke joins as Advanced Data and Analytics Lead for the APAC region, and Sarah James is the new Principal – Data and Digital Advisory and is based in Perth. Sarah will help develop and elevate the digital and data scope of work.
Industry
In NSW, the resignation of Andrew Constance as Minister for Transport to pursue a Federal parliamentary opportunity has seen incoming NSW Premier Dominic Perrotett appoint Rob Stokes as the new Minister for Transport (in addition to his existing Planning portfolio). In addition, Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole has also become Deputy Premier.
The transition of Victoria’s bus network to a zero emissions fleet will be accelerated via a new operator contract for one-third of the metropolitan bus network. The agreement will see Melbourne-based Kinetic introduce 36 fully electric buses to the network by mid-2025, including five by June next year. Over the term of the contract (to 2031), over half the franchise fleet (341 of the 537 buses) will be replaced with low or zero emission vehicles.
The Victorian Government has announced RA member Symal Group will deliver the Narre Warren North Road upgrade. The $62 million projects is jointly funded by the Federal and Victorian Governments, and will see the road’s capacity increased from two lanes to four between Fox and Belgrave-Hallam roads, along with upgrades to the Heatherton Road, Ernst Wanke Road and Memorial Drive intersections to help improve safety and improve traffic flow.
Still in Victoria, Indec – part of RA member Egis Group – is supporting the Department of Transport in the delivery of 25 new X’Trapolis 2.0 trains, which will gradually replace the Comeng fleet. The new modern trains are expected to enter service in 2024 and will be able to operate across the Melbourne network without the need for infrastructure upgrades. Indec’s team is providing specialist technical advisory services from early feasibility study, reference designs and procurement management, through manufacturing to testing and commissioning.
The ACT Government’s Budget this week included key investments to improve the safety and capacity of the ACT’s integrated transport network. Major transport projects to be supported through the Budget’s include the first light rail stop for stage two of light rail to Woden, detailed design and construction of the Sulwood Drive shared path and the duplication of William Hovell Drive to improve safety and congestion. The Budget also contains funding to support Canberra’s transition of Canberra’s bus fleet to electric vehicles, with funding provided to purchase an additional 90 electric buses.
RA member UGL, part of the CIMIC Group, will design, manufacture and supply new fuel efficient diesel electric locomotives to freight rail operator Pacific National under a newly awarded contract. CIMIC Group Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Juan Santamaria said: “Pacific National has a strong focus on improving the efficiency of its locomotives and its environmental performance. We’re pleased to support this strategy by delivering locomotives that lower emissions and operating costs, with improved productivity, reliability and availability.”
Industry participants are invited to join an upcoming National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP) Webinar that will explore effective ways to embed safety culture within a growing business. The event will feature insights from BINGO industries, which has grown from a family company to a multi-state leader in recycling and waste management on major projects, including the Sydney Metro. See more here.
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Remember, if your organisation has news to share with the readers of RA Insider, please send details through to Simon Morgan
Diversity & Inclusion
We are thrilled this week to be able to confirm details of the 40 talented individuals from across our industry who will be part of the 2022 intake of the RA Fellowship Program. Click here to view the full list.
As noted earlier in this edition of RA Insider, the 2022 intake will involve the largest-ever number of participants – and for the first time, the majority of our Fellows are female. This is an enormously significant outcome for our industry, given that enhancing gender diversity within our workforce was one of the core reasons driving the establishment of the Fellowship.
RA has now began the work of identifying suitable mentors for each of our 2022 Fellowship Program participants. In addition to the one-on-one mentoring, the 2022 Fellowship Program will incorporate exclusive workshops, networking events and webinars throughout year.
We are looking forward to welcoming them all to the program formally at an event to be held later this year.
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Remember, if you have news or achievements in the D&I space to share with our readers, please send details through to Prue Northey at RA.
Upcoming RA Events
8 October – Industry Webinar with Rob Sharp. Bookings now open. Sponsored by Turnbull Engineering
12 October – RA Emerging Leaders Webinar: Leading a commercial negotiation and getting a deal done. SOLD OUT Sponsored by AECOM.
21 October – RA Policy Webinar: Leading Change in Work Zone Safety. Bookings now open Sponsored by Transurban
29 October -Industry Webinar with Pete Allaway. Bookings now open.Sponsored byArcadis
New RA events are continuing to roll out all the time. Check out our Events Calendar and keep an eye on our websiteMailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from “roads.memnet.com.au” claiming to be www.roads.org.au to make sure you don’t miss out on networking opportunities.
Please contact events@roads.org.au with all event enquires.
Upcoming Industry Events/Training
Ongoing (self-paced) – Centre for Automotive Safety Research (CASR) Online Course – Safe System for Road Engineers and Managers
7 & 14 October – iRAP Innovation Workshop
18-19 October – Australia and New Zealand Driverless Vehicle (ADVI) Summit (online)
19-20 October – CPEE Online –
