Autumn 2015 Onsite ONTHE MAGAZINE OF THE CIVILSITE CONTRACTORS FEDERATION WA Project Profiles – York Civil, Curnow Group Industry & Training Awards Our members own an RTO. CCF WA’s training arm, Civil Train, is the market leading provider of civil construction-related Certifi cate II, III and IV traineeships, with more than 250 enrolments. Civil Train is a civil construction specialist, delivering industry-leading training services. Our unique site-based delivery model ensures trainees gain practical, real-world skills, with minimal interruption to work schedules. Furthermore, revenue from Civil Train is ploughed back into improving services for CCF WA members. That’s why it makes sense for members to support the RTO they own. We know civil. It’s all we do. Traineeships I Short Courses I Plant Operator Assessments/VoCs www.civiltrainwa.com.au (08) 9414 1486 Own an RTO.indd 1 20/04/2015 4:41:48 PM Contents 02 From the President 32 Events Mick Unger Women in Civil Breakfast Presidents Dinner 04 From the CEO Jeff Miller 36 Member Profiles 06 News 37 New Members 20 Project Profiles Curnow Group Cover picture: The North Quay Rail Terminal Stage 2 project, York Civil by York Civil for Fremantle Ports. See page 22 Above: Quinns Beach Coastal Protection Works, by Curnow 25 Industry & Training Awards Group for City of Wanneroo. See page 20. Jeff Miller Copyright Warning: All editorial and some Chief Executive Officer advertisements in this publication are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced in any form Phone: 0417 513 442 without the written authorisation of the managing Email: [email protected] editor. Offenders will be prosecuted. Privacy Information: All personal information Harmony Thuresson you General Manager – Operations provide will be used by Civil Contractors Federation and selected third parties in Phone: 0412 888 014 accordance with our Privacy Policy, which can be Email: [email protected] accessed on our website at www.ccfwa.com.au/ Civil Contractors Federation privacy. A copy can also be obtained by calling Western Australian Branch us on 08 9414 1486 or by emailing us at ccfwa@ Andy Graham ccfwa.com.au. By providing your personal 70 Verde Drive Policy Manager information, you agree to such use. Jandakot, WA 6164 Phone: 0458 737 777 Phone: (08) 9414 1486 Fax: (08) 9414 1496 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Ashleigh Skipworth Marketing & Communications Coordinator Phone: 9414 1486 Email: [email protected] CCFCCF WA WA ONSITE ONSITE Autumn Spring 20142015 1 President’s Report Market challenges provide an opportunity t was a pleasure to host the President’s Gala Dinner in February too busy to think about much else apart from getting the projects and to help present the CCF WA Industry and Training done and keeping our clients happy. Now, we have the time to focus Awards. on costs. In this more competitive market, there is an opportunity It was a great pleasure for me to present the night’s most to innovate. Now is the optimal, if not critical, time to invest time, Iprestigious honour, the President’s Award, to Spiro Georgiou, effort and resources into working smarter; being more innovative the founder of Georgiou Group. Spiro joins previous President’s and more agile. Award winners Greg Murphy, Mike Morris, Peter Rowles and Reg So it was fitting that we took time at the President’s Dinner to Toohey – all of them people who have made a selfless and sustained celebrate and acknowledge those businesses and individuals that contribution towards the betterment of the civil industry. have embraced change. Through their leadership, they are helping to Judging by the sustained and generous applause when his name “raise the bar” right across our industry. was announced on the night, it was clear there was widespread agreement that Spiro is a more than worthy addition to that honour Mick Unger roll. CCF WA President CCF WA’s other ‘big night’ on the events calendar, the Earth Awards, showcases the projects and infrastructure that we build, the inevitable challenges overcome and the successes achieved. The President’s Dinner is our turn to celebrate individual and organisational excellence. Getting the most from our people and our organisations is perhaps more important now than it ever has been. Many members are currently facing the challenges of a rapidly changing market, driven by a slowdown in resource-related construction leading to greater competition in other industry sectors such as roads and land development. But this doesn’t have to be wholly a bad thing. With the right mindset, we can treat the challenges thrown at us by today’s highly competitive market as opportunities to improve the performances of ourselves and our businesses. All of us are frustrated by government red tape, but I expect that many of us are hampered by our own red tape, in the form of unnecessary or duplicative policies and procedures that don’t add value to our businesses. In fact, a recent report prepared by Deloitte found that the cost to Australian businesses of administering and complying with government regulation, some $95 billion, was actually exceeded by the $155 billion cost of ‘self-imposed red tape’ – the rules and processes we inflict on ourselves. A tightening market creates the impetus to cut that red tape in our own businesses and to renew our focus on efficiency. Similarly, we have suffered chronic skills shortages that drove high turnover of labour and the need to import skills from overseas. Now, however, we have the opportunity to invest more in our people and give them opportunities to develop, without hiding behind the excuse that we’re “too busy to train”. In many ways, the paradigm has shifted from being time-driven to cost-driven. During the boom, we were 2 CCF WA ONSITE Autumn 2015 0905 CEO’s Report Time for fresh thinking CF WA welcomes the State Opposition’s reaffirmed unless the state government grasps its opportunity and builds more commitment to a 20-year infrastructure plan for infrastructure. Western Australia. So, with interest rates at historic lows and the state government We believe good policy should be acknowledged, no having access to funding at little more than the inflation rate, the Cmatter who proposes it. Labor’s infrastructure policy is aligned time is now to overcome our aversion to Government debt. with CCF WA’s on a number of key points including the need for The first step is to make this a bipartisan issue. Like a long-term, coordinated and fully transparent infrastructure plan infrastructure planning and provision, infrastructure funding overseen by an independent advisory body. needs to be de-politicised. We need political leaders with vision While opponents of “Infrastructure WA” have dismissed it who are willing to debunk the myth that any government debt is as planning for planning’s sake, the reality is that our state has undesirable. We need leaders who can persuade the public that a planning vacuum that desperately needs to be filled. Every there is no risk in taking on low-interest debt to build income- infrastructure dollar translates to increased productivity – but producing, productivity-lifting infrastructure; who can sell the idea if we pick the wrong projects, we’re wasting money and missing that borrowing to build is just good sense. opportunities for growth. Infrastructure provision needs to be timely, orderly, and based on rigorous cost-benefit analyses. Jeff Miller We would expect that if elected in 2017, Labor would make its CCF WA CEO policy a high priority, with a view to ensuring infrastructure is not politicised at subsequent elections. Infrastructure WA could also play a valuable role in examining innovative ways to fund infrastructure. The private sector is keen to get more involved, if the right mechanisms are put in place – not just traditional Private Public Partnerships, but truly innovative mechanisms such as the ‘inverted bid’ model proposed by Australia’s super funds. And thanks to current Federal Government incentives, asset recycling is an attractive option too. There’s another funding mechanism that we believe doesn’t get the attention it merits – funding infrastructure through debt. Last year I wrote in this column that the timing was ripe for governments to take advantage of the freed up capacity in the civil construction sector caused by the cooling of activity in resources-related construction. One year later, a great deal of that excess capacity is still on tap, ready to be harnessed and deliver value for money for governments. (According to a recent report in WA Business News, Treasurer Mike Nahan has acknowledged it is an opportune time to build infrastructure, with the government saving up to 20% on some projects due to bids being lower than projected.) Inevitably, however, that capacity will disappear We need political leaders with vision who are willing to debunk the myth that any government debt is undesirable. 4 CCF WA ONSITE Autumn 2015 Get the most out of your Mobile Workforce 10% discount to all CCF Members! Find out how a custom app can: • Reduce paper-based processes • Provide real time updates • Deliver real time business intelligence and reporting • Improve communication with both your customers and staff • Be customised to meet your business’ specific requirements • Integrate with existing systems • Provide a platform to continually innovate and improve your business If you would like to schedule a time to meet with Jesse Hill, Chief Business Development Officer, please contact us. 1300 277 522 www.applabs.com.au [email protected] News Georgiou founder honoured he founder of Western Australia- Georgiou was a worthy addition to the Engagement Award. based civil and building President’s Award honour roll.