After a busy three days, our cohort enjoyed a well-deserved break over the weekend, recharging their batteries ahead of build week, the week where the rubber hits the road and construction commences on the Victorian Big Build Bridge.
To kick off the day, we were joined by BMD’s Peter Anusas, who put the cohort through their paces with a pre-start exercise session to stretch out muscles, get the blood pumping and blow the cobwebs away. Delivered to the soundtrack of the Clash's London Calling we're not sure if the cohort recognised the tune, but it certainly got them moving.
Warmed up and ready to go, Harry, Alex, Tanya and Dan took the team through feedback sessions on their tenders. With so little between both teams’ submissions, the session was focused on the slight differences that can make all the difference highlighting potential areas for improvement instead of areas of weakness. From an industry perspective, we believe this is invaluable if everyone is to improve the process – for clients’ feedback enables their future needs to be met, and contractors and suppliers can see how their approach can be adapted to enhance their approach to winning future work. Given our cohort had zero tender experience before last week, their remarkable efforts provide a great base from which they can expand their knowledge as their careers develop.
We welcomed Kennett Sinclair of McConnell Dowell to Constructionarium Australia’s Victorian Big Build for a masterclass on lean construction principles methodologies and the last planner. Armed with butchers’ paper, a rainbow of post-it notes and a wealth of experience, Kennett took our team through their construction schedule, breaking it down into clearly manageable steps, tasks, roles and responsibilities. Given the tight construction deadline – the completed structure must be handed over to the client for the opening ceremony at 10:00 am on Friday – Kennett’s session enables our cohort to plan their activities for the week ahead logically, clearly road mapping the actions they need to undertake to succeed. With inclement weather on the horizon, every minute will count, and we think our team are in a strong position to thrive thanks to their newly formed plan.
Today’s lunch and learn focused on the harsh realities of construction commercial performance. The financial sustainability of our sector is often in the spotlight and is a key driver of the move to a more collaborative approach across the industry.
The afternoon was focused on safety and the environment ahead of the first day of construction. BMD’s Heidi McKinley and Brodie Aumont took the team through their roles, responsibilities and obligations. From SWMS to Inspection and Testing Plans and from Quality Plans to Environmental Control plans, every aspect of our cohorts’ activities was put under the microscope to ensure that they would stand up in the real world and work through the project’s construction phase.
Cost controls and project controls rounded out the day as our good friends at Bentley Synchro worked with the team to develop their daily costs and progress reporting. Remember, our cohorts’ performance matters – they need to make a profit not just for the industry’s future sustainability but also because their end of build celebrations depend upon it. Make a profit and we treat them to a night out, make a loss, and Friday evening will not be quite so much fun.
The final element of the day was the role reversal. At the end of each day, we reshuffle the cohorts’ organisation chart so that every member can experience the variety of roles on offer within a project. This pushes our cohort out of their comfort zone, but it also helps build empathy and understanding of the pressures and perspectives of the diverse roles in construction.
Another great day; we can’t wait for tomorrow.
