CCF WA NEWS

The Civil Contractors Federation WA says the contractor delivering the Smart Freeways project has been unfairly targeted following a delay in reopening lanes for traffic on the Kwinana Freeway Monday morning.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said it was disappointing to see commentary questioning the competence of the contractor, BMD Constructions.

“This company has delivered many billions of dollars’ worth of major road projects all around Australia over the past decade,” Mr Graham said.

“BMD is an experienced and highly competent road contractor. That’s why they’ve been entrusted with delivering the Smart Freeways project and other current freeway widenings in Perth – projects so complex and challenging that very few contractors were even willing to bid on them.

“There has been some suggestion that the contractor should receive a financial penalty for Monday’s events. There’s a very good reason that won’t happen.

“The Smart Freeways project is without doubt one of the most complex, high-risk projects ever undertaken by Main Roads. For that reason, the Government chose to deliver the project under an alliance agreement, where Main Roads, the contractor and design consultants work together collaboratively in a ‘no fault, no blame’ framework.

“On Sunday night, the unexpected happened, as so often does on risky and complex brownfields road projects. An existing cracked drainage pipe had the potential to create a sinkhole in the Freeway. The Alliance moved quickly to excavate and fill the area with quick-set concrete – the works were planned to ensure there was enough time allowed so that the concrete could gain sufficient strength prior to opening to traffic. Unfortunately, the concrete didn’t set as intended and the result was a frustrating delay for motorists. Despite that, the contractor acted reasonably to remove and replace the patch safely based on their vast experience.”

Mr Graham said the State Government’s ambitious infrastructure agenda was transforming Perth’s transport networks.

“It’s worth reminding ourselves why these works are being undertaken,” he said. “Without them, our growing city will soon grind to a halt every morning. Four years ago, an Infrastructure Australia report warned that without action, Perth’s major road arteries would be the most congested in Australia by 2031, causing massive ongoing congestion and costing the economy billions of dollars in lost productivity. These upgrades are essential, and unfortunately it’s inevitable they will cause some inconvenience. However, we’ll benefit for many years to come.”

The Federal Government is looking to reintroduce the Ensuring Integrity Bill into Parliament following the Bill’s defeat in the Senate late last year. The Government needs the support of the Senate crossbench to get the Bill through.

CCF's National office put forward a submission last year supporting the Bill and continues urge the Senate to vote in favour of the Bill.

Rogue union behaviour, and that of individual union officers must be brought to account and the Bill seeks to address that as follows:

• By including serious criminal offences punishable by five or more years’ imprisonment;
• By including a discretionary regime that allows the Federal Court to disqualify officials from holding office in certain circumstances;
• By making it an offence for a person to continue to act as an official or in a way that influences the affairs of an organisation once they have been disqualified;
• By allowing the Federal Court to cancel the registration of an organisation on a range of grounds including in relation to unlawful or otherwise improper conduct of the affairs of the organisation;
• By expanding the grounds on which the Federal Court may order remedial action to deal with governance issues in an organisation and expressly provide that the Federal Court may appoint an administrator to an organisation or part of an organisation;
• By introducing a public interest test for amalgamations of registered organisations.

Australia’s $100 billion pipeline of civil infrastructure projects needs a level of assurance and protection from costly delays and interruption caused by unscrupulous and unlawful individuals and unions who repeatedly exploit gaps in the current regulatory framework, which in many cases occur without the consent of their members and are not in the best interest of their members, or the general public.

The CCF acknowledges that the Government was re-elected with a clear mandate to implement its commitment to effectively deal with registered organisations that are dysfunctional or not serving the interests of their members, and therefore CCF supports the passage of the Bill through the Parliament.

Chris Melham
Chief Executive Officer
CCF National

CCF WA is seeking industry input on skills shortages and priorities in civil construction in response to the annual review of the State Priority Occupation List (SPOL). Please have your say by February 17 and help CCF WA and the Construction Training Council represent the civil construction industry's skills needs to Government. 

WHAT IS SPOL?

SPOL is produced annually by the State Government Department of Training and Workforce Development (DTWD). SPOL helps the Government allocate its funding for vocational education and training (VET) in WA, including which qualifications receive additional subsidies. It also informs workforce development planning in the State and is used as a key source of labour market evidence in a number of important policy areas, including development of the Western Australian Skilled Migration Occupation List (WASMOL) and the Graduate Occupation List (GOL).

SPOL is also used to inform the development of WA’s State nominated migration program (SNMP), to help target those occupations in genuine need and where local workers cannot fill such jobs.

SPOL has five priority ratings:

• State Priority 1 (the highest)
• State Priority 2
• State Priority 3
• Identified Occupation (inconsistent or conflicting evidence for inclusion – being monitored by DTWD)
• Not identified as a priority (no evidence for inclusion)

 

HOW DOES SPOL RANK CIVIL CONSTRUCTION SKILLS?

Traditionally, trade-level skills in civil construction have been assigned the lowest priority on SPOL, whereas building trades (e.g. bricklayer, carpenter, tiler, plumber) have always been assigned a State Priority level. The reasons for this disparity include:

• The building trades are generally better understood and more easily identified and classified
• The ANZSCO rating system (which forms the basis of SPOL) gives building trades a higher skill level.
• ANZSCO does not even recognise some civil construction skills, e.g., pipelayer, trenchless operator, utility worker – meaning SPOL cannot recognise them either.

In response to recent industry input, some civil construction skills (e.g.  Grader Operator, Excavator Operator) are now listed as ‘identified’ – this means that DTWD has acknowledged industry concerns but requires more statistical evidence.

If your business is affected by skills shortages, CCF strongly encourages you to contribute to the SPOL review by completing the brief survey below. Your response will assist the Construction Training Council to provide  information to DTWD on our industry's skills needs, and may help ensure that any skills shortages in civil construction are more accurately recognised on SPOL in future.

Please respond to the survey below (or click here to open the survey as a separate page) by February 17, 2020.

Meeting the growing demand for skilled employees will be the key challenge for Government and the industry as infrastructure construction activity increases in the coming years, according to the 2020 WA Infrastructure Report, released today by the Civil Contractors Federation WA and the Construction Contractors Association WA in conjunction with ACIL Allen Consulting.

Lead author of the report, ACIL Allen Executive Director John Nicolaou said infrastructure development was a key enabler of the State’s economy. “Targeted infrastructure investment can provide a significant stimulus in the short term through increased construction activity, but also over the longer term by driving productivity improvements throughout the economy,” he said.

“With engineering construction activity in WA forecast to grow at 7.7% per annum over the next four years, it’s imperative that the State Government focus its efforts on the sector’s human capital needs.”

Mr Nicolaou said vacancies for skilled construction workers in WA were on the rise, while the number of construction industry apprentices and trainees in training had fallen to historic lows.

“Current Government policy settings will limit the ability of international migration to address short-term skills needs where the supply of local labour is inadequate,” he said. “The high competition from the Eastern States for skilled construction workers – particularly skills around rail construction – is another factor affecting local supply.”

CCA WA CEO Peter Moore said the construction sector’s capability could be further challenged in the light of recent moves by the Federal and State Governments to bring some infrastructure spending forward and to provide additional funding.

“We see this as an ideal opportunity for the State Government to work collaboratively with the industry to ensure the works can be delivered efficiently and effectively, smoothing out the humps and ensuring the skills and resources are available to ensure value for money is achieved,” Mr Moore said.

The 2020 WA Infrastructure Report calls for deeper engagement by the State Government with industry to ensure the State’s approach to procurement is fit for purpose and it remains as a ‘client of choice’ in an increasingly competitive market.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the report highlighted Main Roads’ frequent and structured engagement with industry as a model that other infrastructure delivery agencies could adopt.

“Our industry has certainly seen the positive outcomes from that regular exchange of ideas, and we believe all Government agencies and corporations can only benefit from closer engagement,” he said.

Mr Nicolaou said a closer relationship with industry could help address an ongoing and substantial underspend on State Government infrastructure.

“Over the past five years, the State Government has underspent a total of $5 billion on its budgeted capital works program,” Mr Nicolaou said. “If that rate continues, the actual capital works spend projected in the 2019-20 State Budget will be $3.6 billion lower over the forward estimates.

Mr Nicolaou said some of the factors influencing the actual volume of infrastructure spending versus planned infrastructure spending were outside the Government’s control.

“It is therefore important for Government to ensure those things which are within its control are managed effectively, to ensure it meets its capital investment ambitions,” he said.

The 2020 WA Infrastructure Report says the preconditions for a return to trend growth in the WA economy have become more evident over the past year. The resources sector continues to leverage from its most recent investments, which is realising significant export income for the State, while high commodity prices are also acting as a catalyst for the next wave of major investments in the sector.

At the same time, domestic conditions continue to improve, and the stronger financial position of the Commonwealth and State Governments provides the opportunity to progress important economic and social infrastructure priorities.

The improved investment outlook – both private and public – is reflected in the size of the current and future projects that exist in WA. Based on data sourced from the Business News Major Projects List and the Deloitte Access Economics Investment Monitor, it is estimated that there is approximately $160 billion in major projects that are either under construction or under active consideration in WA in 2019.

ACIL Allen expects that Western Australia’s GSP will expand by 3.1 per cent per annum between 2019-20 and 2022-23, with both iron ore and LNG sectors likely to remain the State’s growth engines over the outlook period. Double digit growth rates are forecast in these sectors, fuelled by the combination of both increased production and the new expansion projects.

 

The 2020 WA Infrastructure Report is available for download at: 

2020 Infrastructure Report for web.pdf

The Civil Contractors Federation WA says the new road projects announced by the State and Federal Governments today will provide a much-needed boost for Western Australian businesses and help address the State’s infrastructure deficit.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said projects such as the widening of Mitchell Freeway southbound from Hodges Drive to Hepburn Avenue, the Apple Street-Great Northern Highway and Wanneroo Road-Morley Drive intersection upgrades, and three regional corridor upgrades would provide opportunities for many Western Australian contractors and suppliers.

“We’ve been calling for more contracting opportunities in the $10 million to $100 million range to put some balance into the mix, and these projects fit the bill,” he said.

Mr Graham also welcomed the Federal Government confirming its support for bringing forward the Bunbury Outer Ring Road, Albany Ring Road, Karratha to Tom Price Corridor and Tonkin Gap projects.

“The State Government has been working hard fast-tracking the planning and procurement of these important projects to get them all up and running within the next year, and it's great to know the Federal Government is on board to support the accelerated timelines,” he said.

Mr Graham said that today’s announcements would give confidence to the local industry and boost job prospects for Western Australians.

“There’s a lot more to do, though,” he said. “Australia has consistently under-invested in productive infrastructure over past decades. Our infrastructure deficit is massive and growing.

“With interest rates at historical lows, we must seize the opportunity to tackle that deficit through debt funding of productive infrastructure.

“We agree that ‘cash splash’ stimulus is not the way to go – the best economic bang for the buck will come from investment in infrastructure that will boost productivity and improve the quality of life for this and future generations.”

The winners of the 2019 CCF WA Earth Awards, Western Australia’s annual celebration of excellence in infrastructure, were announced at a gala dinner on Friday night at Crown Perth.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said the high quality of the 17 Earth Awards finalists was testament to the skills and diverse capabilities of WA’s civil contracting industry. “The Earth Awards are all about showcasing our fabulous local industry, and we’ve certainly achieved that aim again this year,” Mr Graham said. “our judges had a huge task in trying to separate all these great projects and find the winners.

CCF WA President David Della Bona said it was an honour to welcome special guest Chris Tallentire MLA, who attended representing the State Government. “It’s fitting Mr Tallentire joined us for this annual celebration of infrastructure excellence, because 11 of the 17 finalists were State Government projects. The number of Government infrastructure projects in the Earth Awards shows how important Government works are to our industry – and it also suggests that these projects are often the most interesting and challenging, and that they bring the best out of our industry.”

The Earth Award for Excellence in Civil Construction – project value $30 million to $75 million went to Civmec Construction and Engineering for the Matagarup Bridge Arches and Decks Fabrication, Painting and Transportation. Steel fabrication and modularisation for the project was brought back to WA when the overseas fabricator was unable to complete the job after working on it for almost two years. With the project at significant risk, Civmec’s highly skilled and dedicated workforce was engaged to deliver the works within an extremely challenging delivery timeframe. Transporting the fabricated steel components from Henderson to the project site at Burswood represented a significant challenge, especially the massive arch modules.

Left to right: Chris Tallentire MLA; Civmec Fabrication Superintendent Angelo Campisi; Allwest Plant Hire Managing Director Ian Priday; CCF WA President David Della Bona

The Earth Award for projects valued from $10 million to $30 million went to BMD Constructions for the Bow River Bridge Upgrade. BMD constructed a new 249m-long concrete bridge, approach embankments and road, improving safety and enhancing flood resistance. The project was a cultural and social success due to BMD’s focus on meeting unprecedented targets for Indigenous engagement by supporting reconciliation and making valuable contributions to leave a lasting legacy within two Indigenous communities.

Left to right: Chris Tallentire MLA; BMD Constructions Site Engineer Thomas Hiles; CCF WA President David Della Bona

The $5 million – $10 million Earth Award was won by Downer EDI Works for the Murdoch Health and Knowledge Precinct Stages 1A and 1B Civil Works. Downer developed six commercial lots within the Fiona Stanley Hospital Precinct, a highly visible and heavily congested brownfields environment presenting a wide range of environmental, safety and stakeholder management constraints. A major challenge was extending the existing freeway drainage storage basin, which was bordered by the freeway and off ramps, with minimal access for the removal of excess material. The impact of the complexities and challenges that arose on the project was significantly minimised in part due to strong communications, planning and relationships.

Left to right: Chris Tallentire MLA; Miniquip Director John Fenton; Downer EDI Works Project Manager Rod Findlay; Downer EDI Works Project Engineer Jiri Jilek; CCF WA President David Della Bona

The $2 million – $5 million category winner was Degrey Civil with the Utah Road Rehabilitation Stage 1 project. Rehabilitation of the road would require high environmental, safety and quality standards and could not impact export operations. The surrounding mangroves and soft ground meant that putting diversions and side-tracks in place was not an option, so traffic had to be carefully managed. The Pilbara Ports Authority chose a Foam Bitumen Stabilised (FBS) basecourse pavement that lifted the bar on design criteria and construction compliance to levels not normally seen in WA. DeGrey Civil completed the project safely, to a high standard, on time and on budget.

Left to right: Chris Tallentire MLA; Alcolizer Technology CFO Shannon Bell; DeGrey Civil General Manager & Director John Swioklo; CCF WA President David Della Bona

The Earth Award for projects valued up to $2 million was won by Cape Utilities for the 450mm PE Wastewater Pressure Main Upgrade. The pipeline corridor passed through a Bush Forever site that is also a wetlands catchment. To minimise the need for clearing and disturbance of potential acid sulphate soil, Cape’s EcoPlough was chosen as the most environmentally friendly option to install the pipeline underground. Cape achieved a first for WA by installing a large diameter, high wall thickness PE pipeline with a high degree of accuracy. Through the constant diligence of all involved, the Cape team accomplished the complicated project through a highly important sensitive ecosystem with no environmental damage.

Left to right: Brooks Hire Service Operations Manager Lenore Brooks; Chris Tallentire MLA; Cape Chief Operating Officer Greg Hutchinson; CCF WA President David Della Bona

On the recommendation of the judges, a special Highly Commended award was presented to the Water Corporation, Georgiou Group and BG&E for the Ellenbrook Water Tank project. With a diameter of 91m and height of 13m, the 80 million litre Ellenbrook Water Tank is the largest tank in the southern hemisphere. In a first for Water Corporation, the Ellenbrook Tank incorporates a vertically tapered tank wall, enabling improved material utilisation without compromising on durability or functionality. The base slab was constructed in a monolithic 92m-diameter pour, with concrete continuously placed over an 11-hour period involving 110 personnel, four concrete pumps and 30-plus concrete trucks.

Left to right: Chris Tallentire MLA; Georgiou Senior Project Manager Johnathon Lestone; CCF WA President David Della Bona

The five WA Earth Award winners will represent WA at the National Earth Awards, to be presented at a gala awards night in Canberra on November 22.

CCF WA thanks our Earth Awards Gala Dinner sponsors FT Workforce; Dial Before You Dig; Lavan; TFI Tyres; Allwest Plant Hire; MJB Industries; Brooks Hire; Alcolizer Technology; CR Kennedy; Ledge Finance; Miniquip Hire; and AV Partners.