The alliance, which comprises Link Water (client), McConnell Dowell Abigroup Joint Venture (constructor) and KBR (designer), has recently received the National Australian Contractor Excellence Award from Infrastructure Partnerships Australia for its work on the $1.2 billion water infrastructure project.
Infrastructure Partnerships said that the alliance won the award because of its reputation for delivering on time and on budget, which was particularly pressing because of the severity of diminished potable water supply. Additionally, the team successfully dealt with the challenges of especially diverse topography and restrictions on land access due to the impact of equine influenza.
The construction philosophy was based around a quick-start approach, matrix organisation structure, effective risk management and developing a culture of one integrated project team, which was required with a relatively short project time-frame of 30 months.
To address any shortage of construction industry capacity, SRWPA mobilised staff early entering into strategic agreements with the key subcontractors; organised early procurement of key items and designing items to minimise on-site works; and adopted a program strategy to mobilise and transfer the workforce readily. A common pipeline warehouse was identified ensuring resource delivery across the water grid.
The project also used technologies such as the Global Information System to map pipe-laying progress and land acquisition; an electronic tracking interface between procurement, deliveries and installation and an electronic alert system for incident management.
Frequent and ongoing risk and analysis workshops were held and analysis was conducted through a “˜Monte Carlo’ risk simulation analysis and six environment impact statements were achieved in eight months ahead of the typical two years.
SRWPA engaged communications specialist Rowland to deliver communication strategies with stakeholders. Community consultation reached more than 15,000 stakeholders and an independent stakeholder survey indicated satisfaction of the program of works.
The alliance’s efforts in engaging the community and managing risk have also been recognised by the Queensland Major Contractors Association, recently awarding the SWRPA its Safety Excellence Award.
The alliance has also won two awards at the Civil Contractors Federation 6th annual Queensland Apprentice/Trainee of the Year Awards presentation in Brisbane.
Pipe-laying crew member Aaron Lauina won the 2008 Hitachi Plant Apprentice of the Year Award.
Aaron is also an excavator operator who completed his Certificate III in pipe-laying and his Certificate III in plant operation in ten months while working for the SRWPA and is now a head excavator operator on the SRWPA’s Northern Pipeline project.
“The first pipe that Aaron laid on the Alliance was a technically complex dual-lift 1,290 mm diameter pipe with two lengths totalling 16 tonne and 26 m. This demonstrates the confidence his supervisor had in him from early in his time on the project,” said Georgina Day.
SRWPA Training Coordinator Steve Lawson has won the 2008 Coates Outstanding Commitment to Training and Skill Development Award.
Steve leads the training team implementing the SRWPA’s training and development management plan and ensures that the project meets its training obligations, particularly those imposed by the Queensland Government’s 10 per cent training policy.
Steven leads a team of three permanent staff with three classrooms on site and a range of plant and equipment available for training. He has implemented several training initiatives including, trainee of the month awards, a monthly training newsletter and wet day training. Between them they have completed in excess of 100,000 training hours in more than 110 courses offered.
A number of other SRWPA employees were also nominated for awards:
- Andrew Murphy – Rocla Pipelaying Trainee of the Year
- Michael Tonna – Boral Apprentice/Trainee of the Year
- Matthew Graham – Buss(Q) Apprentice/Trainee Encouragement Award