President’s update to Canberra members cont. Friday, 29 April 2016

Continuing program of Divisional CPD events - I wish to thank all organisers and presenters of Canberra Division CPD events for their hard work, and for their valuable contribution to the betterment of our profession.  Each of the events that I have been able to attend over the last couple of years have provided valuable insights for the attendees.  My only concern is that for many of these events, the number of attendees have been disappointingly modest, which leads into the next item.

Notice/publicity for CPD events - Over the last two years, EA has been developing a new approach to CPD and other events.  Amongst other matters, EA is attempting to respond to the problem of falling attendances.

The essential components of the new approach are:

  • have fewer events, but  to make the events more relevant to a wider spectrum of EA members
  • give ample notice about each event and to effectively promote each event

Having observed the relatively low attendances at some of our Canberra Division events, I believe we need to change.  For that reason, I support the new EA approach.  This approach seems to be working well in other Divisions, some of which have been able to publish programs which set out speakers and dates for the calendar year.

I acknowledge that sometimes in Canberra, it can be difficult to pin down a speaker to a particular date, but it is almost inevitable that the attendance numbers at any event will be very small if busy people (including most of our members) do not have enough advance notice of events.   At a minimum, organisers must provide EA with details of events 6 weeks in advance.

Possible re-location of Canberra Division office – Work is underway within EA to re-consider the layout of the ground floor of Engineering House in Barton.  One serious option could be to re-locate the Canberra Division office to a space adjacent to the main reception point.  This could be a positive move because it would provide a reception/phone answering service for Canberra Division members for the full range of normal office hours. I will provide an update in a future newsletter.

 

ACT Government Business

In recent months EA Canberra Division has made two major contributions:

ACT Building Regulation System Review - In late 2015, the ACT government published a discussion paper about the current regulatory system for building works. The discussion paper acknowledged a range of shortcomings in the current arrangements, and sought input from bodies such as EA.

The EA Divisional submission was drafted in early 2016 by our Civil/Structural branch committee.  The submission pinpointed significant specific failings in the current system, which inevitably lead to short and long term problems for many building owners and occupants.  We also provided practical and constructive recommendations to overcome the problems.  I thank the Civil /Structural branch for their hard work.  We now await the final deliberations of the ACT government about how they will change the current system.

ACT Auditor General request for audit topics - In recent years the ACT Auditor General has sought stakeholder views about possible efficiency/effectiveness audits.  In 2015, the Canberra Division suggested audits of various municipal and asset creation activities, and it is pleasing to note that these types of audits are likely to commence in the near future.

In response to the 2016 request from the Auditor, we have suggested audits of the larger customer-facing IT systems of the ACT government. The primary objective would be to assess the user-friendliness of the current systems.

 

Helicopter matters worth noting

International flights to Canberra - From September 2016, Singapore Airlines will begin to fly direct from Singapore to Canberra, and then on to Wellington NZ.  Initially there will be four return flights per week. This is great news for the Canberra economy, and is also good news for travelers wishing to avoid the delays and confusion of transiting through Sydney (or elsewhere) to reach international destinations.  These direct flights may also assist Canberra engineering businesses to win overseas business.

Autonomous vehicle trials - The technology of driverless vehicles is developing rapidly. Already there have been Australian trials in Adelaide. Here in Canberra there is a strong push by the Canberra Business Chamber to conduct trials in the ACT.  The ACT Government and the opposition strongly support this initiative.  EA Divisional Committee representatives have participated in a major workshop to facilitate the trials.  An important part of the ACT trials may be to focus on how autonomous vehicles could help people who cannot drive a current car.  This would include many people with various forms of disability, who currently find it very difficult to move independently around a city like Canberra. The Divisional input to this process will be led by Nick Clarke, our Deputy President.