Constructionarium Australia is delighted to be back on site with McIlwain as the lead contractor for our latest Story Bridge Build as we welcomed a cohort of undergraduate and emerging career professionals to The Construction Training Centre in Salisbury. Over the next eight days, they will complete a unique training program, culminating in constructing a scale replica of one of Brisbane’s most iconic structures.
Constructionarium Australia’s Executive Director Harry Hartman welcomed McIlwain’s involvement, “We are delighted to have McIlwain support our latest Constructionarium Australia cohort. As principal contractor, McIlwain will be an active part of the program. We thank them for their support of Constructionarium Australia and their commitment to supporting the next generation of infrastructure and engineering professionals.”
As part of the project, McIlwain will support the cohort with project management expertise and mentoring as they tackle the many challenges they will face as they form a team capable of delivering their project on time and to budget.
Paul Robson, McIlwain’s Precontracts and Strategic Development Manager, outlined McIlwain’s support for the program, “Everyone at McIlwain is thrilled to be involved in Constructionarium Australia. As an organisation, we are proud to be involved in supporting the next generation of industry talent, and we look forward to supporting the cohort throughout their build.”
“When you think about industry programs that involve practical experience, you often think about structures built on a micro-scale with lolly sticks or Lego; this is not the case with a Constructionarium Australia build. The replica Story Bridge is not a toy; it is a 4-tonne structure of 30m in length and will require the cohort to work in a live site environment with crane lifts, traffic switches, safety plans and more. The program will challenge the cohort to work as if they were delivering an asset for a client in the real world.”
“We cannot wait to be involved; for most of us at McIlwain, we wish we had access to a program like this at the start of our careers. The real-world experience, networks and thinking the cohort will be exposed to is invaluable.”
Day 1 Commenced bright and early at The Construction Training Centre, and with introductions over it was down to business as Alex Ibarra welcomed our participants to country, acknowledging the leaders past, present and emerging of the lands on which we met.
Harry Hartman provided an overview of what participants can expect and a discussion into the Constructionarium Australia philosophy, and an overview of Harry’s logic using the tradie/Bunnings model as an example of inefficiency, which causes a lack of ongoing industry sustainability.
McIlwain’s Safety Manager Leon Krelle joined the cohort for the vital session on safety. We cannot stress enough the importance of safety to Constructionarium Australia. Leon’s session left the cohort in no doubt about their roles and responsibilities in ensuring they come to work and complete their duties to the highest possible standards. Unlike most training courses, the team operates in a live environment, using power tools, cranes, traffic management strategies, and more. Like on a major project, there is a level of expectation in performance that has to be met.
Social Beast’s James Flaherty then took the cohort through a session on storytelling and the role it will play in the careers of our cohort, but critically in the development of their tenders ahead of Friday’s deadline.
And then it was all systems go. The cohort was split into its two teams, Merle and Else, who will compete to win the McIlwain Story Bridge build contract. Our teams are named after Cross River Rail’s tunnel boring machines – Else’ after trailblazing engineer Else Shepherd AM, and ‘Merle’ in honour of pioneering feminist Merle Thornton AM),
Armed with their RFT, it was then time for their first site visit, as the teams took their first look at the location, conditions, materials and tools available to them during build week.
Paul Robson and Harry then took the team through the realities of preparing a tender, the process for questions, the importance of understanding the needs of the client and the realities of bidding for work and being successful.
Long term friends Adrian and Christine from Bentley Systems joined the cohort in the afternoon for a critical session on Project Controls. Part of the team’s evaluation will be their ability to deliver their structure to time and budget, and Bentley’s Synchro system acts as the tool which underpins the performance of all of our build programs. And there are consequences for failure, with a post-build celebration on the line, if the project does not achieve the margins and profits our cohort outlines in the winning tender.
With the clock ticking to Friday’s 12-noon deadline, day one wrapped up. A fantastic start to our latest build, we are in for a fantastic 8-days.
