As any member of a tender team will tell you, you don’t just get a clear run at preparing a tender; you still have to do your day-to-day role and somehow fit in the successful bidding for a project around it.
The same is true at Constructionarium Australia, where our two teams must deliver a complete tender submission including costs, methodology and schedule while working around the presentations and training sessions included in the Constructionarium Australia program. It is our way of replicating the real-world environment and pushing our participants out of their comfort zone.
So on day two, the pressure was on.
For our first session, Martine Harkins joined the group to discuss leadership and how to form a team, a critical skill for anyone in construction and engineering where people, projects and places can change at a moment notice, and the ability to seamlessly form is essential.
HDR’s Scott Blake provided his insights, experience and knowledge of BIM to the cohort in a session designed to ensure our teams are across the latest technologies and methodologies being implemented across projects.
Long time Constructionarium Australia partners Bentley Systems’ Luke Read joined the team to provide essential training on their Synchro platform, which we use for all cost control and scheduling on all builds. Luke’s focus was on how Synchro can support tender development. It is also important to note that with Synchro acting as the project’s source of truth, there is a lot riding on the teams’ tracking of performance. Their end of program celebration is reliant on delivering their bridge to schedule and budget, a result determined by Synchro.
In one of our most popular Constructionarium Australia sessions, Day 2’s lunch and learn was presented by HDR’s Nelson Ganhao, who took the teams through the history of the Story Bridge and the fundamentals of bridge design.
In the afternoon, we were joined by Tom Williams, Seymour Whyte’s Survey Manager, who, along with some cool GPS technology, gave the cohort a chance to see a real-time visualisation of our Story Bridge. This session was a great follow on to Scott’s session linking theory to practical on-site execution. To further embed the concepts, Copnstructionarium Australia board member, Seymour Whyte’s Amandine Daniel joined the cohort to pass on her experience of integrating BIM into the construction process and schedule – practical advice for the tender process and build week.
Around all the learning opportunities, the teams busily worked on their methodology, costing and tender presentations, and as the clock reached late afternoon, we caught up with each team to see how they were progressing.
For team Merle, we caught up with Tracey Thein.
Are you confident of securing the contract to build the Seymour Whyte Story Bridge
Yes! We are keen to win this contract and add it to Team Merle’s vast portfolio.
What do you think the biggest challenge of the build?
The rain forecast for three days next week during the build making site conditions unsafe.
What will set your team’s tender apart from the other team’s?
We have developed an extremely detailed and practical construction methodology as well as minimising cost.
What do you think the client wants to see in your tender submission?
Detailed methodology and low cost.
How is progress on the tender going; will you be working late tonight, or are you comfortable everything will be done by the deadline tomorrow?
A bit of homework to supplement the extra working time tomorrow.
Are you enjoying the program so far?
Yes! Very engaging and interesting content, and it’s very informative seeing the project in the entirety of its lifestyle.
From team Red Hot Chilli Flakes (they are the spicing up construction), we had a chat with Lavinia Lamipeti.
Are you confident of securing the contract to build the Seymour Whyte Story Bridge?
Hell yeah, we have got the team to succeed.
What do you think the biggest challenge of the build?
Making sure that we get everyone involved and ensure we all collaborate effectively to be as efficient as possible.
What will set your team’s tender apart from the other team’s?
We think we have an innovative approach to the construction methodology and know where each dollar will be spent.
What do you think the client wants to see in your tender submission?
We need to clearly hit the brief and deliver value for money while trying an innovative approach to construction.
How is progress on the tender going; will you be working late tonight, or are you comfortable everything will be done by the deadline tomorrow?
We are pretty good. No long nights ahead, we think we can do the job and be balanced.
Are you enjoying the program so far?
Yes, it has been great. Good to see everyone involved and to have a mix of people, backgrounds and experience.
