Day 2 of the 2022 Constructionarium Australia Seymour Whyte All-Female Story Bridge build meant an early start for our cohort who were invited to attend Queensland Major Contractors Association’s International Women In Engineering Day Breakfast. With over 230 guests in attendance, the breakfast was a fantastic opportunity for our cohort to network with professionals from across the industry and to hear from female leaders about their careers and the changes that are still needed to increase female participation and retention within our industry.
Thank you to our long-term partners at QMCA for their ongoing support and for making our cohort feel so welcome at their event.
Following breakfast, the cohort headed back to the site and into their respective teams to get on with the task of developing their tender in a session with Neil, Rychelle and Alex on construction methodology. Bentley Synchro’s Luke Read was also on hand, running a session with each team on project controls and how to successfully utilise Synchro in their tender and through project implementation.
Brendan McGillion from Fission joined the cohort for our Lunch and Learn focusing on the all-important discipline of estimating. Passing on his significant experience from his contracting and estimating background, it was a great opportunity for our cohort to understand the critical elements that they need to factor into the pricing and scheduling components of their tender.
As part of our International Women in Engineering Day celebrations, we will be commencing our All-Female Build with Seymour Whyte and welcoming students from Ripley Valley Secondary College and MacGregor State High School to meet our cohort and learn about opportunities for a career in infrastructure and engineering. Thanks to Kate Watson QUT (Queensland University of Technology) Student STEM Ambassador and to the QUT (Queensland University of Technology) Power of Engineering Program for allowing Constructionarium Australia to be part of your work to inspire the next generation of STEM students.
As the afternoon progressed and the teams’ first deadline approached we caught up with the bid managers from Team Merle and Team Else to see how they are tracking.
Team Else - Christie
How is your tender progressing?
It’s going great so far. We have a good variety of skills and experiences so have been working out the best way for us to work. This has involved looking at our interests and experience and partnering experienced team members with those looking to learn more about a discipline.
What do you think the client wants to see from your tender?
They want a good solution. I think it's important that we can show them that we can meet their deliverables and objectives and deliver a structure safely and cost-effectively.
Are you confident that you will be successful?
Yes, very. We’ve taken a very collegiate approach to our tender, we are hitting our deadlines and are working really well together.
What sets you apart from your competition?
We obviously have the best mascot. Quigley isn’t so great on the tools, but he makes up for it in off-duty cuddled. But seriously, I think we have built a strong team and are working well together, with good communication and everyone focussed on the goal.
Team Merle - Monica
How is your tender progressing?
It’s good, it’s pretty full-on, but we are learning a lot in a very short space of time. We are working well as a team, checking in on each other, allocating resources to ensure we hit our goals and have set up regular reviews to check progress and ensure we’re going to deliver what the client wants.
What do you think the client wants to see from your tender?
A bridge!
They want a high-quality structure delivered on time and as efficiently and safely as possible.
Are you confident that you will be successful?
Yes – we think so!
We’re on track at the moment to hit our deadline today and there may be some review work in the evening, but we’re feeling good.
What sets you apart from your competition?
We are very thorough; we feel we have a good idea of what we need to achieve. We are also a pretty diverse mix of ages and experience from across client, design and contracting. We are a team that you want to work with.
How will they fare? Find out when we announce the winning contractor to build the Constructionarium Australia Seymour Whyte All-Female Story Bridge on Friday.
