Accountability, Transparency, Collaboration and Sustainability are the four principles cited by the Hon Jeanette Powell, Minister for Local Government, in her opening address to the delegates of the IPWEAvic Strategic Contract Management & Procurement Conference held on Thursday 6th October 2011 at Melbourne Exhibition Centre. Close to 80 delegates gathered to explore issues relating to procurement. Speakers from Victoiran Auditor Generals Office, Local Government Victoria, DPCD, State Government Department of Treasury and Finance set the scene. The program was rich in case studies with presentations from a rural shire, Colac Otway, a water authority, Barwon Water, Technologyone on getting your systems in order and GAA on standardising infrastructure design manuals. A lively panel discussion considered mechanisms to improve collaboration, roles of engineers and procurement professionals in an organisation, forward capital works planning, importance of procurement roadmaps and tips to improve procurement outcomes in organisations. The day was supported by DPCD for the third consecutive year and the sponsor for the day was Technologyone.
Just over 2 weeks until the National Works & Engineering Conference which is to be held in Bendigo Exhibition Centre, Bendigo on 22 and 23 September 2011
IPWEAvic in conjunction with Department of Planning and Community Development, Local Government Victoria and Engineers Australia will hold the third Strategic Contract Management & Procurement Conference on Thursday 6th October 2011 at Melbourne Exhbition centre (Level 5 Suite 1 and 2) Clarendon Street, Melbourne, 9am – 5pm. An event for all those aspiring to best practice in procurement and contracting, featuring presentations from:
Minister for Local Government, Hon Jeanette Powell,
Director Commercial Development, Department of Treasury and Finance,
Sector Director Local Government Performance Audit, Victorian Auditor General Officer and
case studies from rural and a metro local government authorities,
The IPWEA National Conference was held in Canberra 21 – 25 August 2011 at National Convention Centre. An excellent event for professional development, to catch up with old friends and make some new friends and take a look at some of the current products and services. There were many excellent presentations at the conference with Cliff Atkinson delivering a presentation on improving your presentations, Dr Jacqueline Baiston challenging us all to think about the effect of humans on the use of our natural resources, and Ross Butler making many shed a tear or two as he recounted the recent earthquake events in Christchurch New Zealand.
Congratulations to the Victorians who received scholarship from MEFvic to attend the conference, namely Kurt Pitts and Raj Manihar
We have also found that IPWEAvic had a pool of talent in the Rockwiz contest held at the Gala Dinner on Wednesday night with IPWEAvic Board member, Vicki Shelton, one of the stars of the night.
A great big thankyou to Komatsu the Platinum Sponsor, GMWGroup the Silver Sponsor, Caterpillar the Bronze Sponsor, Maddocks, OPUS and UMS
Take a look at the 2min opening presentation here
Congratulations to the conference organising committee made up of IPWEA National and IPWEA NSW who put this conference together.
The NZ Ingenium Conference was held 16-18 June 2011 in Wellington NZ. Smart Planning, Smart Performance, Smart Outcomes was the theme of the conference. Papers from the conference can be accessed here.
Download a flyer on the upcoming IPWEA National Conference. The Conference is being held in Canberra from 21-25 August 2011.
I thought that I would bring this to your attention as the Conference is being held in a Parliamentary Sitting Week – so accommodation can be very tight. I would therefore encourage you to register as soon as possible.
The program is very attractive with 130 technical papers across 6 parallel streams, plus 5 Plenary Sessions with Keynotes; there are two full streams and 50 papers on asset management, plus technical tours and social events.
You can obtain full details on the conference at www.ipwea.org.au/canberra2011.
Project Planning and Delivery Solutions for Sustainable Communities was the focus for the IPWEAvic 2011 conference held on 11 and 12 May 2011 at Melbourne and Olympic Park. The Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Robert Doyle opened the conference encouraging public works practitioners to find solutions to the infrastructure problems in our communities and reminding us that we are the ones with the solutions to infrastructure problems. He stated that Population Growth is the biggest issue faced by the public works sector and it is the public works engineers that will find the infrastructure solutions required. He also shared some recent research figures that showed the cost of infrastructure to service residences in new growth areas is higher than the cost of infrastructure upgrade needed to service new residences in the inner city area. He finished with an example of inappropriate infrastructure provision that did not properly allow for the social fit of the infrastructure within the community.
A lively session on leadership in public works was presented by CEO City of Greater Dandenong, John Bennie, Cr Catherine Dale, CEO City of Boroondara and John Truman, National President IPWEA. John Bennie also stated that the elected representatives will look to the public works practitioner for solutions to infrastructure problems. He reminded us that the large projects may be impressive but it is the smaller projects such as playgrounds which must be maintained and delivered in accordance with the community expectations. John’s tips included:
It’s the outcome that matters most
Never hold professional jealousies
Grow on the basis of ‘team achievement’
Manage upwards – carry a bike pump!
Apply the 1% rule to Capex – to protect the 99%!
Contribute your skills, knowledge, experience – make a decision rather than do nothing
Get out of the municipality – open your eyes and ears to other ideas
John Truman introduced the delegates to his concept of a “wicked project”, one that has political or stakeholder obstacles rendering a simple technical solution impractical. A site tour of Melbourne and Olympic Park was offered to delegates at the conclusion of the first day.
The second day opening plenary session gave delegates an international perspective in project planning and delivery with Richard Kirby flying in from New Zealand. Professor Rob Adams complemented the Lord Mayors address of the day before explain the key elements in the development of a capital city and explaining outcomes for sustainable urban design.
Delegates explored project planning. Capital works planning and funding, project delivery techniques and partnerships, contract administration and project risk management and project consultation as well as gaining tips on attracting and keeping the best employees.
The final plenary gave delegates a better understanding of the activities of the NGO Engineers without Borders.
Congratulations to Roland Rozario who won the ebook reader prize available to those who registered at the conference before 8th April 2011.
The conference was run by IPWEAvic and supported by Engineers Australia, MAV and CCF and held in conjunction with MAV Local Government Asset Management Conference. Thankyou to the dedicated Conference Committee lead by Geoff Glynn, Conference Chair and supported by Geoff Barrow, Vicki Shelton, Anne Gibbs and Jacqui Muir from the Conference Manager. Thankyou to our Gold sponsors McArthur and US utility services, our Silver sponsors VicRoads and Manheim and to all the exhibitors. Thanks you to all those who took the time to provide feedback on the conference. Feedback suggests this has been one of the most successful conferences held over the past few years.
Registrations are now open for the 2011 CCF Civil Construction Conference. It is to take place on 20th July 2011 at Moonee Valley Raceourse.
Beyond Excellence in Contract Management. The focus of this year’s annual conference is on forward works and contract management across the civil construction industry.
Improve your depth of knowledge through interactive Break-out sessions on Contract Management, Workforce Recruitment and Retention, and Writing Winning Tenders.
Program speakers include Jim Betts, Secretary Department of Tranpsort, Gary Liddle, CEO VicRoads, Edward O’Donohue, Parliamentary Secretary for Transport.
In conjunction with the Women in construction group CCF are offiering Female particpants free attendnace at the conference.
Download a copy of the program and registration details here
The 2011 Public Works Management Conference was held at Melbourne and Olympic Park on Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 May 2011. Presentations that have been made available to download can be accessed below:
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