In 2013 research by Infrastructure Australia identified that performance deficiencies in major Australian infrastructure projects was costing the public and private sectors $30 billion per annum.

Poor project governance was found to be the major contributing factor to these losses.

Engineers Australia’s College of Leadership and Management, saw an opportunity to support its practitioner cohort by creating a series of workshops to improve project governance understanding and application by engineers. This particularly applies to those in leadership positions, often of Chartered or EngExec status.

Project governance is what steers the decision-making process for all projects. It is about setting the projects direction in alignment with the rest of the organisation. Project governance involves making strategic decisions, and managing oversight throughout the project life-cycle, particularly ensuring a collaborative project culture. It’s all about making good decisions and being accountable.

A working group, within the Project Excellence Community of Practice, has been formed by Engineers Australia’s College of Leadership and Management to enhance sustainable economic ‘future ready’ projects. Dr Tom Crow FIEAust CPEng(Ret) EngExec, chair of CLMs working group, says its mission is to:

• Improve the economic, social and environmental outcomes from infrastructure projects through rigorous project governance and;
• Provide a career development path for engineers to become proficient in project governance leading to opportunities to be appointed as corporate board directors

To do this, the working group created eight project governance workshops to be run over the next two years. The aim of the workshops will be to assist engineers to become aware of project governance and its role to ensure project outcomes avoid underperformance.

From these workshops engineers will learn what their professional responsibilities are through a series of practical learning opportunities, designed by experienced engineers, that showcase how to implement project governance best practice.

The program will provide a career development path for our members to become proficient in all aspects of project governance.

Dr. Nick Fleming, Engineers Australia National President, will chair a panel of experienced engineers to launch these workshops on 5.30 pm, 16 June in Sydney. 

Engineers Australia members shape the future of Australia and these workshops will be applicable to those working across the transport, energy, habitat, manufacturing, information, telecommunications, electronics, defence, biomedical, agriculture sectors.

Dr. Tom Crow FIEAust CPEng(Ret) EngExec, chair of the College of Leadership and Management’s working group, says engineering for infrastructure involves an integrated approach, including many disciplines and spanning diverse areas from roads to robotics, - biomedics to IT and includes input from all nine Engineers Australia Colleges.

“Any investment engineers examine for better societal outcomes will have multiple technologies and alternative delivery methods. These engineers will have to consider and evaluate comparisons between low and high technology systems for best return,” he says.

“For example, the outcome desired from a physical build, or a new or upgraded product, will need to be compared and evaluated against criteria such as the UN sustainability goals. Further evaluation will then be needed based on software, demand management and non-build or social/IT systems.”

Dr. Crow says with these considerations applied, the resulting projects will generate outcomes that satisfy the service need.

You can register for the launch of the project governance workshops on our website.