IPWEA Blogs

The Conscious Beginning of Cities - Our Engineered Environments

By Freda Wells posted 2 days ago
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The Conscious Beginning of Cities - Our Engineered Environments Myles Lind, Vice President of IPWEA NZ   I was looking for something to read while I had my lunch the other day. And in the pile of magazines stacked against the window of the office kitchen area was an Engineering New Zealand magazine. I grabbed it. Inside I found a great article on the engineering of New Zealand. There was one observation from a founding engineer that took my attention. They said, the cities we live in are engineered environments. The quality of life we have today is because we engineered buildings, essential services and amenities to make it that way. I’d never heard ...
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Lack of in-house engineering skills a major concern for public sector

By intouch posted 2 days ago
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A scarcity of in-house engineering ability is one of the leading workplace concerns among engineers in the public sector, an industry report reveals. Data from the Association of Professional Engineers Australia’s Professional Engineers Employment and Remuneration Report 2018 shows 53.5% of public sector respondents saw an increasing lack of in-house engineering capacity as a major issue in their workplace during the past 12 months. Speaking to intouch about the report’s findings, Professionals Australia Survey Manger Alex Crowther says a lack of in-house engineering capability had emerged as a concern in the past few years, and was recently incorporated ...
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Innovation in pavement technology on show

By intouch posted 2 days ago
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Hume City Council in Victoria partnered with Downer Group and resource recovery and recycling companies Close the Loop and RED Group to construct Australia’s first road utilising a combination of soft plastics and glass to construct a road in and around Rayfield Avenue, Craigieburn, located in Melbourne’s north. The Australian-first road construction trial diverted the equivalent of 200,000 shopping bags and 63,000 glass bottles into asphalt. Along with soft plastics and glass, toner from more than 4,500 used printer cartridges and 50 tonnes of recycled asphalt were also repurposed to create 250 tonnes of the asphalt used. The innovation demonstrates ...
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Case study: Saving a million dollar bridge

By intouch posted 2 days ago
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Relief – that was David Edge’s predominant emotion when he heard the Leslie Hills Bridge was salvageable. It certainly didn’t look like it could be saved. It was 12 September 2013, and the 72m-long, 3.66m-wide, three-span continuous steel structure had buckled under the weight of a collapsed pier that had been dislodged by fast-moving floodwaters. Edge, Hurunui District Council’s Manager Infrastructure Services, was staring down the barrel of replacing a $1 million asset that provided essential access for the community, the local dairy industry and tourists.  “It was pretty horrific. I would have thought the bridge was in dire straits, given the fact ...
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IPWEA welcomes Komatsu back as Platinum Partner

By intouch posted 2 days ago
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Komatsu Australia has reaffirmed its commitment to IPWEA, signing another two year Platinum Partnership agreement.  Komatsu’s relationship with IPWEA began when it sponsored the national conference gala dinner back in 2003. It went on to strengthen the relationship by becoming the first Platinum Partner in 2010. This partnership is primarily built around the IPWEA biennial International Engineering Conference and the IPWEA FLEET plant and vehicle management program. Phillip Atley, Komatsu Australia’s National Business Manager, Government and Construction Graders, says that the company has engaged at a high level with IPWEA for the past 18 years. ...
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Is sustainable post-closure mine development achievable?

By intouch posted 2 days ago
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By Pieter Scholtz, Aurecon Technical Director, Gauteng Resources and Manufacturing All mines will eventually reach their end of life. As engineering consultants, we need to adopt an asset-transformation mindset where we carefully consider how a mine will eventually be transformed post-closure. In its simplest form, sustainable asset transformation means identifying business opportunities that can be sold to investors by using as much of the existing asset’s infrastructure as possible. To succeed in achieving this goal, we need to navigate a multitude of financial, social, legislative, geographical and governmental constraints. If we keep these constraints ...
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Automated vehicles may encourage a new breed of distracted drivers

By intouch posted 2 days ago
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Mitchell Cunningham , University of Sydney and Michael Regan , UNSW Few people pay close attention to the traffic situation unfolding around them when they’re travelling as a passenger in a car, even if they’re in the front seat. And that could make partially automated vehicles , which are operating on our roads right now, problematic. Also known as Level 2 automated vehicles , partially automated vehicles are capable of controlling steering, acceleration and deceleration. The Tesla AutoPilot system is a good example. (Cadillac, Volvo, Audi and Nissan also offer partial automation ). These kinds of automated vehicles, although designed ...
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Pigeon poo disguises real cost of bridge repair by £1 million

By intouch posted 4 days ago
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The cost of repairing a bridge in North Wales has surged from the expected £844,000 (AU $1,557,175) to £1.53 million (AU $2,823,060) because the extent of the rust damage was hidden beneath a layer of pigeon poo. Works to repair Conwy Road Bridge were sent out to tender in 2016, but a recent inspection revealed rust on the structure that had been hidden by droppings. A report by Conwy Country Borough Council's audit committee said the "considerable" extra work needed had not been found originally because of "access" problems, according to the BBC. "The additional works...significantly impacted the total cost of the works," the report said. Council ...
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Australian-first development tracker will keep community informed

By intouch posted 7 days ago
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A Queensland council has launched an Australian-first application tracking system, giving the community easier and quicker access to development information. Sunshine Coast Council's Development.i system lets users navigate, visualise, track and be alerted to development applications in their street, suburb, division or across the region. Mayor Mark Jamieson said the simple-to-use but powerful information tool would enable the community to be better engaged in the planning process. “Development.i has been developed by Sunshine Coast Council, replacing its PD Online application tracking system,” Jamieson said. “It will provide the same information in a ...
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Air filter servicing – to change or not to change?

By intouch posted 10 days ago
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Restriction measuring devices remove the guesswork from air cleaner servicing and allow you to safely benefit from the filter’s optimum performance. In this informative flyer, Donaldson Filtration Solutions explain why more is not always better when it comes to servicing air filters.  View now
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FLEET Manager's column: 2019 IPWEA Australasian Fleet Conference

By intouch posted 10 days ago
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I’m pleased to announce that registrations for the 2019 IPWEA Australasian Fleet Conference are now open. The conference will be held at the Brisbane Royal International Convention Centre on 25-27 March 2019. The 2019 program focuses on: strategy, resources and performance, and will include a broad range of content that is relevant, interesting and applicable in your business. Our international speaker is Lloyd Brierley, Division Head/ GM Fleet Services for City of Toronto (Canada’s largest city). Lloyd’s experience in North America and around the world will provide a solid basis for a presentation on how to transform fleet operations.  Duncan Ferguson ...
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Internal Combustion column: What happened to personal responsibility?

By intouch posted 14 days ago
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I want to know what happened to people taking some personal responsibility and care for the plant, vehicles and machinery that they drive at work. How often does damage happen to an item of fleet in your workplace and no one knows anything about it? "It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it." "I know nothing about it." "Oh, I think that was so and so." "It was like that when I arrived this morning to do the pre-start."  Heard any of these lately? I mean, c’mon, what’s wrong with this picture? I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t shy away from admitting to your mates that you dinged your precious 4x4 a little on the weekend while bush bashing, but when it comes to having a bit ...
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Date claimer – NHVR National Council Engineer Heavy Vehicle Access Seminar

By intouch posted 14 days ago
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In an Australian first, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator is holding a dedicated heavy vehicle access seminar for council engineers in conjunction with IPWEA. The key objective of the seminar is to provide the road access decision makers in councils with comprehensive knowledge on how to manage their local freight tasks. DATES: 22 and 23 October TIMES: Day one will be from 10.00am until 5.00pm.  Day two will go from 9.00am until 3.00pm. LOCATION: NHVR offices, 76 Skyring Terrace, Newstead, Brisbane COST: FREE (attendees will need to cover their own travel, accommodation and any other expenses) Program overview  Day one: How to use the full ...
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IPWEA FLEET is proud to announce a new corporate partnership with Formbird

By intouch posted 14 days ago
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Formbird Pty Ltd is an Australian Application Platform as a Service (aPaaS) company, based in Victoria, Australia. Formbird has nearly two decades of experience developing applications in customer relationship management, asset management and mobile work force management. Formbird’s aPaaS technology supports the rapid development of applications, are highly flexible and are portable across desktops, pad computers and mobile phones. As part of the partnership, Formbird will continue to assist and support IPWEA FLEET deliver tools to our fleet community, such as the Whole of Life Cost Calculator and Best Value Analysis tools and the Maintenance Management ...
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5 tips for creating an effective fleet maintenance program

By intouch posted 14 days ago
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Do you have a firm understanding of your service, maintenance and repair (SMR) costs? If you don’t, you’re not the only one.  SMR costs are one of the more obscure fleet management expenses, lost in the busy cut-and-thrust of daily business driving, and as a result often companies don’t have a clear picture of what is really going on under the bonnet – so what steps should be taken to implement a robust fleet maintenance program? Here's our five top tips:  1. Understand the scale of the issue  First things first: it’s important that you have a firm grip on your SMR costs – even if you have maintenance packages as part of a lease – because, at the end of ...
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Bundaberg leading the way in plant and equipment safety *Sponsored content

By intouch posted 15 days ago
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Bundaberg Regional Council was formed in March 2008 when Bundaberg City Council, Burnett Shire, Isis Shire and Kolan Shire Councils merged to become one entity. Strategically situated at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef the Council covers 6451 square kilometres and is home to almost 100,000 people.  Andrew Railz, Fleet Manager at Bundaberg Regional Council has been responsible for transformation of Council’s approach to machinery and fleet safety since 2008. In that time, he has implemented a comprehensive fleet management system and formulated a fleet management strategy based upon sound asset management principles. In March 2012, Andrew attended ...
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A solution for ageing concrete roads

By intouch posted 15 days ago
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Crack and seating methods are being brought to Australia after a long history in the US and elsewhere. What are they and when are they useful? In July a Badger vehicle began its work, making its way along part of the M1 Pacific Motorway. The much-used road already sees a good deal of punishment from travellers, with an estimated 70,000 vehicles going between the Central Coast, the Hunter and Sydney every day. The Badger will undertake in situ demolition of concrete pavement between the Tuggerah and Doyalson interchanges, where the motorway is being widened to provide three lanes in each direction. The Badger rambles along at a human’s walking pace, pounding ...
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Girls are just as good at STEM as boys, study says

By intouch posted 15 days ago
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A new study has shown girls perform just as well as boys in STEM subjects, disproving the stubborn stereotype that the underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering and maths disciplines is due to a lack of aptitude. The UNSW study assessed 1.6 million grades, both STEM and non-STEM, of school-aged children across Year 1 to university from 268 different schools or classrooms, with the majority based in North America.   Published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications , the analysis showed girls and boys perform very similarly in STEM – including at the top of the class. “We combined data from hundreds of studies, and used ...
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Round 3 funding of the Building Better Regions Fund is open

By intouch posted 15 days ago
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Applications are open for Round 3 of the Federal Government's Building Better Regions Fund, with $45 million of the $200 million available earmarked to support tourism related infrastructure projects. Deputy Prime Minister, Nationals' Leader and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack MP said, “We have had fantastic outcomes over the first two funding rounds of the Building Better Regions Fund and I expect Round 3 to deliver more of the same with up to $45 million earmarked to increase tourism and—importantly—create even more local jobs. “In previous rounds, projects have ranged from building new community-based aged ...
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CEO's column: Road safety barrier accreditation

By intouch posted 15 days ago
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The quest for ever increasing road safety measures to reduce the incidence of harm and road trauma is taking another step forward. Austroads have requested IPWEA inform the industry of this new requirement. Austroads said: “A new national scheme is being developed to ensure the people who design, install, and maintain road safety barriers on Australia and New Zealand’s road network are appropriately trained. Austroads has partnered with Lantra (UK) to develop a national accreditation scheme that will require the certification of all people engaged in the design, installation, and maintenance of any road safety barrier system used in New Zealand or Australia."  ...
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