Alliancing Contracting Excellence summit
CCF members can receive a 10% discount to attend this summit which is to be held from the 23rd to 26th November at the Langham Hotel, Melbourne.
Details can be found at: www.alliancecontractingsummit.com/Event.aspx?id=202028&MAC=CCFEM
It features case study presentations from a variety of perspectives including: treasury, owner, client, contractor and vendors.
A broad range of industries will be represented, including transport, government, construction, engineering, utilities, defence, legal and finance. It will cater to varying skill levels. So it will be suitable whether you are considering alliance contracting as a viable method of project delivery, are about to embark upon an alliance contract, are into your second alliance (or higher), want to reassure yourself that you are applying best practice or you wish to remain innovative and ahead of the game.
I will be making a presentation on the results of the branch’s recent research project Achieving Civil Infrastructure Best Practice.
Future residential and industrial land supply
The State Government’s Urban Development program (UDP) provides a detailed assessment of the residential and industrial land supply into the future.
A full copy of the UDP report, updated based on current projections, appears on the UDP website. It includes an interactive mapping program, that has the ability to search for specific projects, generate user defined reports, and to print or download maps and statistical tables. The address is
www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/urbandevelopmentprogram
If you require further information contact Rodney Wright, land analysis manager, in the Department of Planning and Community Development on (03) 9637 9605.
New local government inspectorate
The Premier has announced changes to separate the policy leadership and enforcement roles of Local Government Victoria. This announcement responds, in part, to the recommendations from the ombudsman’s report into Brimbank Council, that were accepted by the government to better resource LGV to meet its statutory requirements and to introduce a dedicated investigations team.
The new Local Government Investigations and Compliance Inspectorate, will be headed by a chief municipal inspector and will ensure compliance with the Local Government Act, by conducting systematic spot audits, monitoring of governance requirements, investigating breaches and undertaking prosecutions where breaches occur. It will also make recommendations to the minister that a council be suspended or dismissed for cases of serious failure in corporate governance.
In addition, the premier announced that the Essential Services Commission will develop a new performance assessment and benchmarking regime for local government. The CCF welcomes these initiatives.
The 2009 Ken Edgley medal
Struck in recognition of the outstanding contribution life member Ken Edgley has made to the branch over a considerable number of years, it will be presented again at the President’s Lunch in November.
The medal will be presented to a company and/or individual in recognition of their contribution to the branch or the civil construction sector over a long period of time. Guidelines for the award and the nomination form are available on the branch website at www.civilcontractors.com.
A copy of the guidelines and nomination form, may also be obtained from the branch by contacting Gaye Shillinglaw, 03 9819 5170 or gshillinglaw@civilcontractors.com.
Modernising Victoria’s Planning Act
As previously advised, the branch made a comprehensive submission in relation to the review of the Planning and Environment Act.
The Department of Planning and Community Development has now prepared five papers in response to the submissions received. These may be accessed from the Department’s website at www.dpcd.vic.gov.au/planning.
In summary, the headline reforms proposed in the papers are:
• Update the objectives of planning in Victoria;
• Improve the operation of the amendment process;
• Improve the operation of the permit process;
• Introduce a new procedure for the consideration of projects declared as state significant major developments;
• Improve the operation of s173 agreements;
• Provide for monitoring and reporting on the performance of the planning system through annual reporting; and
• Make a range of miscellaneous changes that will improve the operation of the act.
We will be making a response to the proposals set-out in the papers.
In late November, the government intends to make available a draft bill that sets out the proposed changes to the Act, to give an opportunity to make further comment on the detailed proposals before the bill is considered by Parliament.
Round two: CCF Vic Federation Cup
CCF members and fellow contractors, are invited to register for round two of the CCF Federation Cup. It will be on Friday October 16 at the Victoria Golf Club. The cost: $185.00 pp inc GST, breakfast, green fees and a gourmet BBQ lunch.
Sponsor a hole for $500 for the Ardoch charity, which we proudly support, and have a company representative at your hole.
Registrations start at 7am for a shot gun start at 8am in the Ambrose competiton.
More information: Gaye Shillinglaw, gshillinglaw@civilcontractors.com, 9819 5170.
Workforce sustainability
Earlier this year the CCF convened a skills summit to add impetus to the work commenced following the Skills Summit conducted in 2006 to draw attention to the impending critical shortage of skilled workers, particularly experienced civil engineering professionals. The threat of skills shortages impacting on our industry’s ability to deliver the services required to develop new infrastructure and to maintain existing services has not diminished since the 2006 Summit.
Regardless of the global economic financial crisis, an ageing workforce will have significant effect on our industry’s workforce in coming years. Our industry is accessing a shrinking skills pool. It is important to remember that irrespective of the current downturn, skills will need to evolve due to technology, demand and industry standards.
Accordingly, the CCF has undertaken a range of initiatives to assist members in addressing workforce sustainability issues. These are summarized in our letter to members of 1 September which included sources of funding, apprenticeships, SkillsDMC tools such as Skills Maximiser and Future Workforce Manager and the Skills for Growth Workforce Development Plan.
A discussion paper on Workforce Sustainability has also been prepared and can be obtained from Neville Kelly, General Manager, Training and Development on 9819 5170 or nkelly@civilcontractors.com
Melbourne School of Engineering: company profile sessions
The MSE is offering industry stakeholders, opportunities to present company profile sessions, in 2010. Designed to strengthen the connection with the MSE by profiling your company to students across all engineering disciplines and year levels, the sessions are intended to show students what practicing engineers actually do, and how they make a contribution to society. These sessions greatly help students make informed decisions about their careers.
MSE will shortly start planning their program for next year.
More information: Marina Mateos, careers program officer, mmateos@unimelb.edu.au, 8344 8309.
Material testing seminar
More than 130 people from across the civil construction sector, attended a seminar/forum on September 10, to discuss issues relating to the quality and quantity of material testing.
It identified a growing concern that some current practices, the technical skills and knowledge available, as well as the understanding of material testing processes, is not delivering the best quality outcome for Victoria’s road network.
Presentations from Peter Mitchem, executive director, Technical & Information Services, VicRoads; Arthur Apostolopoulos, major projects division, VicRoads; Ernie Gmehling, president, Victorian Construction Materials Laboratory Association; Paul Dall’Oglio, project manager, BMD Construction; Rob Gilpin, project director Monash Section, Monash-CityLink-West Gate Upgrade and Bettina Poxleitner, construction materials testing manager, NATA, may be accessed on our website at:
www.civilcontractors.com/victoria/membership/meetingpresentations/materialtestingseminar10.09.09.
VicRoads will be preparing a synopsis of the outcomes of the seminar, and will consult with the CCF and the civil construction industry, to drive improvements in the construction of road pavements.
