ALDE has put forward a proposal in relation to the revision of the minimum experience levels for sewer and water construction auditing with the goal being to provide individuals with an opportunity to progressively gain competencies while learning on the job.
Many auditing tasks do not require the same level of expertise currently mandated, therefore by adjusting the minimum experience levels, resources can be better allocated, focusing on the areas that genuinely demand higher expertise.
Easing the minimum experience requirements enables individuals to gain hands-on experience more readily, fostering a continuous learning curve, which will produce auditors who are more adept and knowledgeable over time, positively impacting the overall quality of auditing services.
Maintaining an adequate number of accredited auditors in the industry. Many individuals aspire to advance from construction roles to project management positions, leading to a scarcity of experienced auditors. Allowing for a more accessible path to auditing will attract new talent and mitigate the shortage of skilled professionals.
The Water Industry Liaison Committee (WILC) has stakeholders represented from water authorities in the metro and regional areas, and industry associations (ALDE, Civil Contractors Federation (CCF), UDIA, ACSV and contractors that undertake significant capital works for the water authorities.)
ALDE raised the following for discussions at WILC:
Lowest acceptable tender for reimbursement
Reimbursement for sewer works is being based on the lowest priced tender, even though the Contractor does not have capacity to commence work in a suitable timeframe.
Cost difference can be significant and due to budget constraints, the lowest conforming tender must be appointed.
Significant delays can be attributed to this which have an impact on the project and extra eduction time.
The MRWAs expectation with ALDE members is to deliver assets to the highest level of quality and safety but reimbursement is to the lowest possible price, with a claim that this is because their hands are tied with respect to tendering.
Current tender assessments undertaken by water companies is purely on price, without consideration of capability, capacity, safety, timeliness, contractor history & experience, relationships (eg. with head works contractor or Council), personnel, or tendency for variations.
Requirement for minimum of five (5) years’ experience for construction auditors, ALDE put forward a number of options for consideration which included;
An auditor having all the necessary qualifications and evidence of 12months mentoring from a suitably qualified auditor to be provisionally approved.
Full accreditation could require a further 2 years of experience post provisional approval.
The company would still be required to have at least 1 fully accredited auditor so that the more complex issues can be resolved.
Melbourne Retail Water Authories (MRWA) have launched a Safety page and are seeking feedback on the content.
If you would like to contribute, please direct any feedback to our executive officer Karen Leoncelli.
Yarra Valley Water (YVW) has news for the land development industry in relation to an Eduction Review, Redeye Cad Drawings and the move to GDA 2020.
Yarra Valley Water Eduction Review
YVW is undertaking an eduction review along similar lines to Greater Western Water due to the following:
significant time taken in discussing feasibility of eduction sites
eduction is taking longer than anticipated
issues in forecasting risk profiles
eduction occurring near occupied houses which can result in customer complaints.
Redeye CAD drawings
YVW has recognised issues in relation to CAD drawing requirements for development works and are currently working through with the Redeye administrators to address them accordingly. ALDE will be providing feedback on the drawing standards for YVW.
If you would like to contribute to the ALDE response, please get in touch with our executive officer, Karen Leoncelli.
Yarra Valley Water GDA2020 update:
Yarra Valley Water has moved its spatial GIS data from GDA94 to GDA2020. While consultants can still submit as-constructed data in GDA94, they prefer for all data to be supplied in GDA2020 from now on.
A combined communication from all Melbourne water retailers will be provided to the land development industry shortly and will allow consultants time to shift in work practices from GDA94 to GDA2020.
The MRWA made changes to the design drawing templates in response to the new legislation.
The Professional Engineers Registration Act 2019 & Land Development Engineers
The requirement for a civil and structural engineer to be registered in Victoria came into effect on October 2022.
Engineering Professionals must register with the Business Licencing Authority if they wish to continue legally providing Professional Engineering Services unless they are working under the guidance of a registered engineer or working only within a prescriptive standard.
MRWA supports the Victorian Government’s initiative to recognise the importance of engineers through a statewide registration process and considers the preparation of sewer and drainage documents as Professional Engineering Services.
Changes to MRWA designs due to the Professional Engineers Registration Act
MRWA proposes changes to the ‘Title Blocks’ MRWA design drawing templates to clearly identify the Registered Engineer involved in the process and abide by the PER legislation.
The MRWA design drawing template now includes:
1. Registered Professional Engineer’s name and registration number
2. Sign-off on each design revision by the Registered Professional Engineer (instead of the authoriser).
MRWA Title Block Template Change Example Professional Registered Engineers April 2023
The 100 Series water and sewer design standards drawing examples (PDF and AutoCAD files) have been amended on the MRWA portal website and are ready for use on projects.
All designs submitted from 1 July 2023 will be expected to adopt the new template and show the Professional Registered Engineer on the drawings.
The MRWA will be checking this requirement is being met on design submissions and after 1 July 2023 will not accept designs that do not include these changes.
Notification of changes to the ARCUS accreditation system will be advised in the near future.
Should you have any questions or wish to discuss these requirements further please contact
the relevant water retailer representatives:
Ryan Leon (ryan.leon@yvw.com.au ) – Yarra Valley Water
Bruce Johnson (bruce.johnson@sew.com.au ) – South East Water
Nick Rhoden (nick.rhoden@gww.com.au ) – Greater Western Water
Greater Western Water (GWW) has successfully switched its geographic system map base to GDA2020 (Geocentric Datum of Australia 2020).
The change, which took place on 19th of February, ensures the alignment of the locations of building developments on GWW’s asset maps. The initiative is being led by Land Victoria and all Victorian water corporations are required to make the switch.
This project forms part of GWW’s program of work, aimed at transforming the way GWW captures, uses, manages and shares spatial information about its assets.
Supporting partners through the switch
GWW’s project team is on stand-by to provide any additional support its partners and contractors may need. GWW will support the submission of as-contracted plans in GDA94 to allow business partners to transition to GDA2020.
Please ensure all as-constructed plans submitted clearly state datum.
A workshop focused on Unconscious Bias, facilitated by Warwick Cavell of Profitable Conversations was held Thursday 20th October by the Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee. You can access the presentation here
ALDE and its members are committed to creating a more inclusive and diverse industry and enabling a sustainable and equitable business landscape where people feel pride and belonging. The event provided awareness to help identifying biases within our own thinking, to assist in breaking down unconscious patterns.
The Diversity Council Australia Inclusion@Work Index showed the incredible impact that inclusion can have on people and culture, showing that workers in inclusive teams are:
4 times less likely to leave their job in the next 12 months
10 times more likely to be very satisfied
4 times less likely to feel work has a negative or very negative impact on their mental health.
5 times less likely to experience discrimination and/or harassment
11 times more likely to be highly effective than those in non-inclusive teams
10 times more likely to be innovative
6 times more likely to provide excellent customer service
4 times more likely to work extra hard
Diversity Council Australia also provides infographic of the state of inclusion in the Australian workforce here
The ALDE Safety and Environment Subcommittee is pleased to release the 2022/23 Safety Booklet.
This booklet is a safety guide for engineers and visitors to sites where land development works are in progress.
It is an introduction to onsite safety for engineers and site visitors who are not familiar with land development and is also designed as a refresher or reference guide for those who may have substantial experience in land development.
Land development sites can pose serious risks, with potential hazards created by deep trenches or holes and slippery surfaces that can cause serious injury or even death. These sites are typically of a large scale and contain powerful vehicles and equipment.
South East Water has advised that they will be transitioning to GDA 2020 in October 2022.
As per their statement:
“The transition from Map Grid of Australia 1994 (MGA94) to (Geocentric Datum of Australia 2020) GDA2020 is in full swing across Australia as demonstrated by;
– In October 2017 GDA2020 was formally defined as the national datum for Australia
– Victorian cadastral surveys (with limited exceptions) must adopt GDA2020
– The Victorian Digital Asset Strategy nominated GDA2020 as the datum for the management of spatial information
How South East Water is managing the change
At South East Water, to keep our spatial information consistent, we’re migrating our internally managed spatial systems from a datum of MGA94 to GDA2020 in October 2022.
To best support transition to GDA2020 we’ll accept spatial data and asset information on both MGA94 and GDA2020 datums. Our preference is that data be supplied on GDA2020.
Supporting specifications and standards will continue to be revised into the future to reflect this transition from MGA94 to GDA2020.
“As GDA2020 is now our official datum, the transition to GDA2020 is something every organisation needs to make. At South East Water we’re doing so at a time reflecting the requirements of our many stakeholders,” said Manager Asset Information System, Heath McMahon.
The future of MGA94
At the moment we haven’t made a decision on how long we’ll still accept data provided on MGA94 but we’ll give the industry as much notice as possible when we do decide. In the short term we’ll continue to accept data on MGA94.
Need to get in touch?
If you have any questions or need more information, you can contact Heath on heath.mcmahon@sew.com.au
The 28th edition of the ALDE Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday 6th September attended by General Members at the Wine House in Southbank.
It was a great opportunity to reflect on our achievements for the year in the various areas of interest based on the work of both the Executive Committee and the organisations’ themed Subcommittees.
Full board nominations and positions will be published shortly.
Ways in which ALDE have served our members in 2021/22 are;
YEiLD events, and in particular Mental Health Workshop
Diversity & Inclusion panel events
Regional Subcommittees (Geelong & Gippsland)
To further work to our mission of “representing the voice of our consultancy members, to raise the profile of our profession and guide the technical standards.”
You can view a copy of the Annual Report to Members here
A transcript of the speech on the night by President Sehon Pellew can be viewed here
To enquire about renewing or starting a membership, please contact our Executive Officer Karen Leoncelli.
