For the past 2 days, our cohort has been keeping a watchful eye on the heavens with the threat of rain, wind and damaging hail making the headlines, conditions that could significantly impact their ability to deliver the McIlwain Story Bridge to time and budget.
But if there is one thing we know about the teams who take part in Constructionarium Australia, it is that they have an iron will to succeed. And it was with that commitment that they approached the main build days for their Story Bridge, revamping their methodology, replanning their schedule and working tirelessly in unison to achieve their main structural elements in record time.
From traffic control to projects controls, from project management to safety coordination, the cohort has impressed us all with their approach, spirit and willingness to collaborate and, if required, challenge each other to ensure delivery.
Over the last two days, they have progressed their build fantastically well, with McIlwain’s Craig Irvine supervising their on-site performance. Catching up with Craig, he has been impressed with what he has seen, “The team are performing well. At first, they were a little slow, maybe a little too focussed on discussing a task rather than performing it, but as they gained more confidence on-site, they really progressed well. They became very efficient, and the project managers have been leading the cohort well, allocating responsibilities, ensuring a smooth approach and effectively managing the cohort so that they stayed on track. At this stage, they look like they are well ahead of schedule and, even with bad weather around, should be able to achieve their deadline for bridge opening on Friday morning.”
Today’s lunch and learn featured Constructionarium Australia board member, Alex Ibarra who provided a masterclass titled ‘Indigenous Cultural Learning’. Alex’s session provided a fantastic overview of Indigenous cultural practices, relationships, networks and covered everything from the relationship with country to the role of family. As always, Alex brought with him some native stingless bees and hives, allowing the cohort to get up close and personal with some uniquely Australian wildlife who, if we are honest, are pretty impressive engineers.
As the afternoon progressed, the team completed the lift of two bridge trusses into place and assembly of the third for a final lift tomorrow. It was then time to prepare for a very important session, the mid-build BBQ. The BBQ gives the cohort the opportunity to meet with leaders from across the sector, to build their networks and to tell the story of their bridge build. Thanks to the team at McIlwain for their fantastic hospitality and to the industry for attending in huge numbers and supporting Constructionarium Australia.
Ahead of the game, even the possibility of inclement weather should not hold them back at this stage. But, you never know…
