IPWEA Blogs

Global Innovations, Local Applications: International Engineering Projects That Inspire

By YIPWEA Blogs posted 16-09-2025
Innovation knows no borders. Around the world, engineers are developing groundbreaking solutions to challenges that Australian and New Zealand communities face every day. From Copenhagen's revolutionary cycling infrastructure to Singapore's cutting-edge water management systems, international projects offer a treasure trove of ideas that can be adapted for our unique contexts. As young professionals, we have the opportunity to learn from global best practices, while considering how these innovations could transform our own communities. Smart Cities Leading the Way Copenhagen's Smart Traffic System Copenhagen has implemented one of the ...
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Council’s ‘Girls in Civil’ Program Builds Pipeline for Female Engineers

By YIPWEA Blogs posted 21-08-2025
Background Armidale Regional Council faced recruitment challenges in traditionally male-dominated roles. Erin Smidt, Senior People and Culture Business Partner, and colleagues identified that women were an under-tapped half of the potential workforce and began targeted engagement to address the gap. Program Overview: ‘Girls in Civil’ The council partnered with local schools to introduce female high-school students to civil construction and engineering careers through a structured three-day program delivered over consecutive Fridays to an initial cohort of 12 students. Day 1: Site exposure Students toured multiple council sites to see the ...
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Digital-Ready: The Skills Every Young Public Works Professional Needs

By YIPWEA Blogs posted 21-08-2025
As public works rapidly evolves, digital fluency is no longer optional, it’s essential. From GIS platforms and IoT sensors to data analytics and cloud collaboration tools, the infrastructure sector is being reshaped by technology. For young professionals, this shift presents a unique opportunity: to step up, skill up, and lead the transformation. By developing key technical competencies, embracing change management, and bridging generational knowledge gaps, you can position yourself not just to succeed, but to drive innovation in how communities are planned, built, and maintained. Upskill for the Digital Future Here are some of the key capabilities ...
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From Graduate to Leader: Navigating Your Public Works Career Journey

By YIPWEA Blogs posted 21-08-2025
Starting your career in public works engineering can feel overwhelming. One day you are completing your final university assignment, and the next you are responsible for infrastructure that serves thousands of community members. Every leader in our industry has walked this same path, and with the right approach you can navigate it successfully too. The Early Years: Building Your Foundation (Years 0–2) Embrace the learning curve Your first role is about more than technical skills, it is about understanding how public works operates in the real world. Every project teaches you something new about community needs, budget constraints, and stakeholder ...
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The Balancing Act: Regina’s Electric Bus Decision Highlights Smart Infrastructure Planning

By Erin Moroz posted 17-07-2025
The City of Regina faced the challenge of balancing sustainability, service quality and financial reality in a high-stakes electric bus decision. Learn how they used lifecycle analysis to navigate the trade-offs without sacrificing any of the three. Watch the webinar.  “At the heart of the discussion is a deceptively simple idea: all infrastructure decisions are trade-offs between service, risk, and cost.” This core insight from a recent NAMS Canada webinar underscores the strategic challenge facing municipalities and First Nations communities across Canada: how do we deliver critical services sustainably, affordably, and with an acceptable level ...
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Train the Whole Team: Tillsonburg, Ontario's Approach to Asset Management

By Erin Moroz posted 12-07-2025
For many municipalities, asset management is still seen as the responsibility of a single department—usually engineering or finance. But in Tillsonburg , Ontario, Director of Finance and Treasurer Renato Pullia is leading a different approach: train everyone, integrate the systems, and embed asset management into the culture of the organization.   The shift started when Pullia and six colleagues completed the Professional Certificate in Asset Management Planning through NAMS Canada. What they brought back wasn’t just knowledge—it was a framework they could use to transform how the town plans, budgets, and maintains its infrastructure. ...
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Building Capacity, Not Dependence: How NAMS Canada’s Custom Training Empowers Municipalities

By Erin Moroz posted 12-07-2025
By Nicole Allen, Executive Director of NAMS Canada A mid the fast-paced demands of municipal operations, long-term infrastructure planning often takes a back seat. Yet, effective asset management is not just about maintaining infrastructure but ensuring sustainable service delivery that meets community needs today and in the future. At NAMS Canada, we recognize that time and resources are significant constraints for many municipalities, First Nations, Indigenous communities, municipal associations and communities of practice. Our custom training programs are designed with this reality in mind. A Tailored Approach to Asset Management  NAMS Canada's ...
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Why Asset Management Matters More Than Ever

By Anirudh Sharma posted 19-06-2025
In a world of tightening budgets, aging infrastructure, and rising customer expectations, asset management has become essential. It’s not just about keeping things running—it’s about making smarter decisions that ensure long-term value. Asset management is the coordinated activity of an organization to realize value from its assets . This includes everything from roads and bridges to IT systems and buildings. By understanding the condition, performance, and risk associated with each asset, organizations can prioritize maintenance, plan for renewals, and reduce unexpected failures. A structured asset management approach improves reliability, safety, and ...
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Asset Management: A Key to Sustainable Success

By Anirudh Sharma posted 19-06-2025
In today’s dynamic environment, effective asset management is more than just keeping track of physical assets—it's about maximizing value, minimizing risk, and supporting strategic decision-making. Whether you're managing infrastructure, facilities, or digital systems, asset management provides a structured approach to ensure assets perform efficiently and reliably throughout their lifecycle. At its core, asset management involves the planning, acquisition, operation, maintenance, and disposal of assets. A well-designed asset management system aligns physical assets with an organization’s goals, ensuring they support business needs while remaining cost-effective. ...
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Stonewall, MB, Builds a Bright Future Through Collaborative Asset Management

By Erin Moroz posted 11-06-2025
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Building Capacity, Not Dependence: How NAMS Canada’s Custom Training Empowers Municipalities

By Erin Moroz posted 11-06-2025
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NZ looks for a new funding fix for infrastructure

By Anirudh Sharma posted 27-02-2025
New Zealand has a well-recognised infrastructure deficit impacting transport, productivity, housing and the nation’s quality of life. The most often quoted figure for the deficit, from the Infrastructure Commission, is that New Zealand needs to spend NZ$210 billion over the next 30 years as many of the public assets built in the 1950s and 1960s near the end of their lifecycles. Funding to address that deficit is a challenge. It is a complex mix, and the current problems with New Zealand’s infrastructure funding and financing model are multi-faceted. While local authorities hold a key role in the delivery of infrastructure projects, historic underinvestment ...
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Infrastructure pipeline lower, but capacity and costs still an issue

By Anirudh Sharma posted 20-02-2025
Infrastructure pipeline lower, but capacity and costs still an issue January 21, 2025   Skills shortages and increasing material costs are impacting Australian infrastructure. Demand for infrastructure continues to outstrip supply in Australia even though the major public infrastructure pipeline for the next five years is down 8% on projections made 12 months ago. This is one of the findings in the   2024 Infrastructure Market Capacity Report   from Infrastructure Australia released in January. The report says the five-year pipeline out to the 2027-28 financial year is at $213 billion, which represents ...
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In case you missed it, here's a recent post in the Ask Your Mates Forum

By FLEET e-news posted 12-12-2023
In case you missed it, here's a recent post in the Ask Your Mates Forum Topic: Does anyone track costs per km for passenger vehicles and light commercials?  Marc: Hello everyone, I've been asked by a member of the IPWEA Fleet community if any other members can provide running costs per kilometre for popular passenger and light commercial vehicles? I know many people have WOLC for the procurement evaluation purposes, but does anyone have it calculating costs per kilometre in their FMIS? Marc Sibbald, Director Fleet, IPWEA Australasia Steve: While I have nothing to offer, I am very interested ...
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IPWEA FLEET Plant and Vehicle Management Professional Development Opportunities

By FLEET e-news posted 12-12-2023
IPWEA FLEET Plant and Vehicle Management Professional Development Opportunities IPWEA Australasian Fleet Conference .  The IPWEA Australasian Fleet Conference is IPWEA’s premier event for the Fleet industry with an impressive range of practicing fleet professionals and industry leaders presenting on issues relevant to you today. You will have the opportunity to catch up with industry colleagues and attend important and relevant presentations, a trade exhibition and networking opportunities. This must-attend event will be held at the Royal International Convention Centre and Showground in Brisbane QLD from the Monday 25th to Wednesday 27th March 2024. ...
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Fleet Management Maturity

By FLEET e-news posted 12-12-2023
Fleet Management Maturity by Ken Goldberg, Consultant, IPWEA Fleet A Fleet Management Maturity Model is a way to identify how effective your organisation is at actively managing the fleet to ensure value for money, meeting operational objectives and delivering on organisational goals whether that be public works, transport or other necessary uses. I recently presented the IPWEA Fleet Management Standards at a TechnologyOne Workshop that focused on Excellence in Asset Management. It was a terrific event that explored ways to achieve financial sustainability and service delivery. I covered a number of fleet-related areas in the talk including ...
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Fleet Director's Column

By FLEET e-news posted 12-12-2023
By Marc Sibbald – Director IPWEA FLEET Preparing your fleet for 2024 It’s funny how December can be one of the busiest months of the year when you realise there’s things on your ‘To Do’ list still to complete. For most Fleet Managers in 2023, there’s probably two that are pending. One would be considered critical; the other involves electric vehicles. The first critical task that could be outstanding relates to the 3G network shutdown which will make most older telematics systems obsolete. IPWEA Fleet and industry suppliers have been spreading the word for 18 months to encourage organisations to take action on this issue. However, as the deadline ...
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Take some responsibility, please!

By FLEET e-news posted 12-12-2023
Take some responsibility, please! By: Anonymous Fleet Manager How annoying it is when staff use the excuse “It’s not my fault” and make out like the fleet group had something to do with their careless actions? Fleet supplies the vehicle and, more often than not, operations provide the drivers and operators. The reality is that – although Fleet usually own the asset – the fleet group has limited input on the day-to-day usage/management of the asset and often only see the asset when maintenance is required. So why is it when an infringement for overloading or an unsecured load is enforced the driver says, “I had nothing to do with it. It’s not ...
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