IPWEA Blogs

Position available with NAMS Canada

By Chris Champion posted 2 days ago
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NAMS Canada is seeking an Asset Management Technical Advisor to support municipalities across Canada. Asset management is a rapidly growing sector in Canada which draws from a wide variety of skills and experience to support informed decision making for both the public and private sector. Asset management links together a diverse range of skills from infrastructure engineers and operators, data management, risk management, community consultation, financial management and more. NAMS Canada is looking for a motivated individual to join our team full time commencing September 2018. As this role is grant funded tenure will initially only be guaranteed until ...
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FLEET Manager’s column: Don't be the missing link!

By intouch posted 2 days ago
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NHVR has advised that 1 October 2018 is the date Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) will be amended to provide that every party in the heavy vehicle transport supply chain has a duty to ensure the safety of their transport activities. The anticipation of these changes has impacted organisations in various ways, depending on their current systems and the organisations approach to managing compliance. For many though, the need to implement a rigorous Safety Management System has been challenging with many indicating to me that they need more support and guidance. It is with this need in mind that IPWEA has partnered with Latus to develop CORSaMS – the Chain ...
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Meet your Chain of Responsibility obligations with new IPWEA resources

By intouch posted 2 days ago
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Changes to Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) come into play 1 October 2018. The new laws impose a primary duty on every party in the heavy vehicle transport supply chain to eliminate or minimise potential harm or loss (risk) by doing all that is reasonably practicable to ensure safety. Sound familiar? Well that’s not surprising, the new laws are very much in line with Workplace Health and Safety Law. The approach to penalties also reflect WHS. Penalties for breaches of a primary duty are set at a maximum fine of $3 million for a corporation and $300,000 or five years imprisonment, or both, for an individual. The new law will also introduce enforceable undertakings ...
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Improving compliance to the Chain of Responsibility laws and reducing workplace risk

By intouch posted 2 days ago
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New laws will be implemented in October 2018 as part of an update to the Australian Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL). The changes increase the emphasis on organisational responsibility for the health and safety of both staff and the public. One of the key updates is strengthening of Chain of Responsibility (CoR) obligations, a concept that has been a focus within Australia and New Zealand for some time. Any party in the chain who has influence over the transport activity is responsible for safety on the road. This ultimately places legal obligations across the organisation to ensure health and safety compliance. The ongoing drive is to reduce workplace ...
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ARENA and CEFC release electric vehicle outlook report for Australian market

By intouch posted 2 days ago
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Electric and plug in hybrid vehicles in Australia are set to boom over the next two decades, according to a new report released today by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). The report, prepared by Energeia, forecast three potential scenarios. Under all scenarios, including under a scenario of no intervention, the report predicts that between 2020 and 2027, EVs will reach price parity with traditional combustion engines and then rapidly increase as a percentage of new vehicle sales. Model availability, registration fee reductions, procurement targets and fuel efficiency standards have been found ...
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How healthy is your fleet? Part three

By intouch posted 4 days ago
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In the last issue of FLEET intouch we discussed the important fleet management tools of policy, procedure and planning. In this issue we will consider the importance of procurement to a well-managed fleet. Procurement is a business discipline aimed at ensuring the organisation’s acquisitions are undertaken in a manner that delivers the best value outcome. Procurement does not rely on personal tastes and preferences but is an objective process focused on organisational objectives. Typically, items above a certain value require the calling of tenders. Items less than the tender threshold can be purchased by quotation. When planning tenders, it is important ...
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Internal Combustion column: Dream on, you don't need a BMW!

By intouch posted 4 days ago
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We've all heard it before or been pressured by them. Here they come! "It’s time to get my company car replaced, I’ve done two years and 40,000km in my company car. Can I have a new car because this one’s too old and doesn’t suit me anymore. Can I have a BMW, Audi or how about a Mercedes? They have great resale, trust me, my neighbour has one and it’s a great car and he got a great price on it. I got you some quotes, just to help you out. When can I order it?" How often does this happen to you? Everyone’s an expert on cars and what’s best for them at your company’s expense. We live and die by purchase costs, residual prices, running costs and FBT. It governs ...
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10 most impressive civil engineering projects of all time

By intouch posted 5 days ago
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Courtesy of: Visual Cap
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Should green assets be included in financial statements?

By intouch posted 5 days ago
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It's a hot topic of discussion on the IPWEA Ask Your Mates forum: should financial statements include green assets?  Paul Handcock from City of Melville sparked the discussion with this post:  "Hi we have been working through the IPWEA Practice Notes on Parks and have come up with some replacement costs for our park "green" assets, i.e. the landscaping, sporting fields, grass, trees, etc. A quick look around the annual reports of other councils does not show that these assets are recognised in the annual financial statements. There has been a lot of discussion on this topic over the years but, as far as I know, there has been no recognition in the accounting ...
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NAMS Canada to help municipalities across Canada make stronger infrastructure decisions

By intouch posted 5 days ago
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NAMS Canada – an affiliate of IPWEA – is proud to announce it will again be working with Canadian municipalities in their efforts to improve infrastructure spending decisions through stronger asset management. Municipalities across the country face a mounting pressure to balance competing priorities –including new and existing infrastructure – on limited budgets. Strong asset management ensures local leaders are making decisions based on the best information available. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) chose NAMS Canada to again deliver its online course leading to the award of its Professional Certificate in Asset Management Planning. Offered ...
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Australia falls further in rankings on progress towards UN Sustainable Development Goals

By intouch posted 5 days ago
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John Thwaites , Monash University and Tahl Kestin , Monash University Australia is performing worse than most other advanced countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to the global SDG Index , which compares different nations’ performance on the goals. According to the SDG Index, released this month in New York, Australia is ranked 37th in the world – down from 26th last year, and behind most other wealthy countries including New Zealand, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. The best-performing countries are the northern European nations of Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Germany, all of which have ...
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Smart cities aren't just a buzzword, they're the solution to our problems

By intouch posted 5 days ago
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Every city and town has a problem it wants to solve. For Darwin, it’s improving safety for the community. For Liverpool City Council, it’s keeping the city moving as its population grows.  Catherine Caruana-McManus, Director of Sales and Strategy for Meshed – an Australian-based company specialising in Internet of Things integration –  says smart cities are the key to solving a multitude of tricky municipal problems. “Smart city is no longer just a buzzword – the fact of the matter is that every council in Australia is really interested in what they can do to reduce costs,” she says. “Local governments have huge constraints now; the issue of not being ...
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What will your commute to work look like in a connected and automated future?

By intouch posted 6 days ago
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By Peter Damen, CEO of Level 5 Design Pty Ltd Imagine this possible scenario in 2040. Jessica wakes up a little earlier today as she intends to go into the office rather than working remotely, which she does at least several days per week. Jess lives in a seaside outer suburb, which is about 90 minutes' drive from the city. Jess and her family decided to live there for the lifestyle at the beach and because the distance isn’t really an issue for her as she has the choice to work from home in a virtual environment or to make good use of the commute time by being productive on the way in. Because Jess and her family live in the outer suburbs, they still ...
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Infrastructure Australia calls for priority list submissions

By intouch posted 6 days ago
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Infrastructure Australia has called for submissions for the next update of the Infrastructure Priority List, which will be published in February 2019. Australian governments and non-government bodies are invited to identify infrastructure problems and opportunities of national significance. All types of infrastructure can be nominated, including programs of related works and programs for network optimisation. To submit an initiative to Infrastructure Australia, a Stage 1 Template (Problem Identification and Prioritisation), must be prepared. The  Assessment Framework  provides further detail on each submission stage, and how to complete each template. ...
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Free ticket to Bauma 2019! *Sponsored post

By intouch posted 6 days ago
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Get a free ticket to Europe’s premier construction expo, courtesy of Topcon Positioning Group and Position Partners. From 1st July 2018, the first 20 customers to purchase two 3D machine control systems from Position Partners will be eligible for a ticket to Bauma 2019, with flights and hotel transfers to Munich, Germany and seven nights’ accommodation at the Novotel Munich City. Guests will have unlimited access to Topcon and Position Partners events during the week, so get in quick and speak to your local Machine Systems expert on 1300 867 266 or visit www.positionpartners.com.a
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CPEE second semester enrolments now open *Sponsored content

By intouch posted 6 days ago
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Supported by its foundation members, AUSTROADS and the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association (AAPA), these CPEE courses are designed to enhance capabilities within the workforce. These practical courses encourage the direct application of the skills and knowledge learned and are aimed at producing students with the knowledge and skills to fill senior positions in these specialist areas:        Through the choice of electives, these programs can be tailored to suit the needs of individuals wishing to focus on a particular speciality or those working to gain a better understanding of a specialist subject matter. Practical in nature, our online ...
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CEO's column: The future for asset management

By intouch posted 6 days ago
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When Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Hon Michael McCormack MP, accepted our invitation to deliver the signature address at the upcoming IPWEA Asset Management Congress in Canberra (14-15 August 2018), we knew that the Federal Government was serious about engaging in dialogue with IPWEA about the future of asset management for the communities of 2030. Is your council prepared for the onset of digital management of its assets? Do you have protocols for the large amount of data to be crunched to improve your asset management? Are you prepared for less government funding? Do you have a sound understanding of ...
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Bridge engineering researchers recognised

By intouch posted 20 days ago
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Researchers from Swinburne University have won ARRB’s 2018 Research Impact Award for their work on strengthening bridges with carbon fibre reinforced polymers. Professor Riadh Al-Mahaidi and Dr Robin Kalfat have developed fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) to extend the life of existing concrete infrastructure through innovative research into: Innovative anchorage systems that have achieved a greater degree of strengthening using less material New methods for shear and torsion retrofitting of box girder bridges using FRP techniques The use of near-surface mounted FRP combined with epoxies and cement-based adhesives to increase the strength of reinforced ...
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Case study: Missing freight link the key to productivity and safety

By intouch posted 20 days ago
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Filling a missing link in South Australia's freight network has improved efficiency for local grain producers and created safer roads for the community.   Located 100km northeast of Adelaide, Eudunda is home to about 700 residents, many of whom opposed freight vehicles using the town’s main street to travel between Worlds End Highway north of the town, and Thiele Highway to the south. This created a gap in the local 26-metre B-double trucking network; freight access to the local grain handling facilities was limited to general access vehicles with a maximum length of 19-metres. Grain growers therefore weren’t able to take advantage of the efficiencies the ...
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PlasticRoad inventors announce first trial site

By intouch posted 20 days ago
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Remember that crazy story about a concept road made entirely of plastic? Aptly dubbed PlasticRoad, the idea is for a prefabricated, modular and hollow road structure made from recycled plastics. Its inventors say it will last three times longer than traditional road paving, speed up construction by 70%, and have the ability to house underground infrastructure, plus store water during flood events. Crazy, right?   Well, maybe not – its inventors have announced that a 30 metre trial PlasticRoad bike path will be built in the Dutch municipality of Zwolle, with installation scheduled for September. Another will be installed in a second location a few months ...
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