IPWEA Vic Blog

The last Leadership Luncheon Event for the 2011 year will be held on Friday 9th December 12noon to 2pm at Ibis Hotel Restaurant, Therry Street, Melbourne.

Our speaker at the event will be MAV CEO Rob Spence.

Downlaod flyer and registration details here

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Jeff Kennet will be the key note speaker at the Civil Works Expo luncheon to be held on Frdiay 17th February 2011 at Lardner Park.  He is Chairman of CT Management Group and will speak on “Engineering for Success”.

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Margaret Abbey is the CEO at Murrindindi Shire Council.  She presented to the IPWEAvic Leadership Luncheon held on 11 November 2011 at The Gables in East Malvern, sharing some of her thoughts on the key challenges facing leaders in the reconstruction phase following natural disasters.  It is two years since the devastating bushfires in the region and a question Margaret is constantly asked is ” Are they over it yet?”   Typically year 2 to year 4 after a natural disaster are the hardest for the community with funding drying up.  The Murrindindi community however has to deal with issues relating to funding the operations and maintenance of infrastructure built by well meaning donors which has been built to a higher service level than the community is able to use and maintain.  An example is the state of the art community centre which has been built to a much higher specification than can actually be used by the local community.  Some key learnings include: –

• need a strategic plan so that construction of new assets can be undertaken in accordance with council strategies and policies which hold the councils priorities
• some gifts are not worth accepting as the legacy in maintenance and operation is too great a financial burden for future generations
• involve Murrindindi in planning decisions early
• what is the long term legacy and burden passing on to next generation
• cost of operation and maintenance of new capital infrastructure
• sharing knowledge, in funding and in disaster remediation with others
• understanding asset management systems and have theses systems in place so that the new assets can be brought into the asset register
• planning rebuild and engagement of community

The staff are very tired after 2 years of constant work and many find it hard to take leave which impacts on their health and well being.  This is one of the challenges Margaret faces as a new CEO in the organisation

Margaret suggests that working towards providing common training and common skills amongst MERO’s may assist in any future disasters as this would make swapping of personnel between organisations easier when required in an emergency situation.

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The next IPWEAvic Information Series Event will be held on Wednesday 23rd November 10:30am – 12:30pm in Boroondara Room at Boroondara Ciy Council, Camberwell Road, Camberwell

Are any of these familiar to you?

• Road safety audits cost too much
• Audit findings are so unrealistic
• The audit left us with a list of things we could never fix
• It’s too complicated
• Our people went to the audit course, so we don’t need independent audits

All these problems focus on the audits themselves.  But the issue is not ‘road safety audit – yes or no’.  The issue is ‘road and traffic designs that work – how do we get there’.

–         How can you get the most out of your organisation’s resources when it comes to road layouts and traffic projects?
–         What do you need to do at the design stage to make sure the final product is what you want and it works safely?
–         Where does road safety audit fit in to help you get there?

Road Safety Audit’s been around for almost 20 years.  It’s being used very effectively by a few organisations.
Considering the real benefits for organisations (fewer complaints, less going back and fixing it later) and communities (less road crash trauma, damage or injury), how can you get auditing to work effectively for you?

Our Two Presenters will share their knowledge of Road Safety Audits problems and solutions.

Rob Morgan is one of Australia’s most experienced road safety engineers.  He is principal author of the AustRoads Road Safety Audit guide and has been involved in audit training across Australia.  He has a decade of practical Local Government experience.  His presentation will offer practical advice about how you can get better road safety into your designs.

Rob Morgan’s presentation will cover:

• What’s the purpose and what’s the point? How audits fit in.
• Do  I always need a road safety audit? Are there better ways to use a road safety engineer?
• What to look for when engaging a road safety auditor
• What makes a useful road safety audit report
• How can we set up a road safety audit process in our office so it works?
• Responding to a road safety audit – the big road block
• Town planning proposals and new developments – why these need to be audited.

Evan Boloutis is Manager Traffic and Transport at Boroondara City Council.  He has many years experience in solving traffic safety issues.  Evan will present some case studies showing where the use of Road Safety Audits have been effective and some common road safety problems.

A light lunch will be available after the presentations

This is a FREE event for members and guests however you must register to attend.  Download registration details here

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The Annual dinner of IPWEAvic was held on Thursday 6th October at Melbourne Exhibition Centre.  Outstanding food and wine was served to the gathering over 3 courses.  David Fricke from Moonee Valley City Council gave and excellent dinner presentation on his reasearched MEFvic study tour topic of Sustainable Infrastructure.  David’s study tour paper can be found on the MEFvic website.

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Join David Powell to find

• Tips on gaining credibility through effective communication to the community
• Trends in communication tools used in local government organisations in US and UK and applications for these in Australia
• What style of writing should a public works engineer use to communicate ideas?
• Role of technology in local government communication

On Thursday 20th October at your desk between 12:30pm and 1:00pm.

Format:  David will give a 20 minute presentation and then answer questions relating to the presentation.  Slides will be made available to all participants after the session.

This is a FREE event for members and cost of $40 for non members.  There are only 25 places available so you must register to attend.  Upon registration you will be given directions to join the event.

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Wednesday 12th October 3pm – 5pm at Best Point Showroom, 514 Bridge Road Richmond IPWEAvic will hold an Information Series Event : Sustainable Pavements in Urban Design.

• Find out how different types of pavements can be used to improve urban design
•  How do you incorporate sustainability into residential and commercial developments through urban design and use of materials?
• What is Green Concrete and how does it perform in residential developments?
• Outcomes of green concrete pavement trials at the Highlands Development

Three speakers from Stockland will present on Green Pavements, Urban Design and an overview of design issues in Stockland developments.

BestPoint will present the winners of the 2012 Footy Tipping competition with their prizes following the event.  Then join us for refreshments and networking

This is a free event for members and guests but you must register to attend.

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Wednesday 12th October at Best Point Showroom, 514 Bridge Road Richmond, the winners of the 2011 IPWEAvic Footy Tipping Competion sponsored by Best Point will be held.

Come along for some fellowship and refreshments between 3:30pm – 5:30pm – loads of prizes to be given away.

Prior to announcement of footy winners Stockland will present on thier urban design philosophies.

See you all on the 12th October!

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The next IPWEAvic Leadership Series Business Luncheon is to be held on Friday 11th November 12noon to 2pm at The Gables, 15 Finch Street East Malvern.

At this lunch, Margaret Abbey, CEO Murrindindi Shire, is going to share some of her thoughts on the key challenges facing leaders in the reconstruction phases following natural disasters.

Murrindindi Shire was heavily impacted by the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires with extensive areas of the Shire burnt and the towns of Kinglake, Narbethong and Marysville destroyed.  The reconstruction efforts
have been going for over two years and there is extensive works still required.

RSVP by Monday 7th November for catering purposes would be appreciated.

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The IPWEAvic Annual Dinner will be held on Thursday 6th October 2011 6:30pm at Melbourne Exhbition Centre Level 5 Suite 2 Clarendon Street Melbourne.  Cost of the dinner is $70 per person.

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