Port Botany expansion
New head of Rail and Tunnels
Opportunities on the Gold Coast
PB no. 1 in industry survey
Award wins
Outstanding employment practices
PB owner’s engineer for Aviva
TCI solar panels unveiled
Two PB engineers on Top 100 list
Port Botany expansion
PB has been selected to act as Project Verifier overseeing design and construction on the NSW Government’s $1 billion Port Botany expansion.
Click here to view the press release issued by the NSW Minister for Ports and Waterways.
Click here to view our press release.
November 2007
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New head of Rail and Tunnels
PB has appointed Mike Jenkins MBE as General Manager of Rail & Tunnels in the Australia–Pacific. Formerly PB’s Director of Rail for UK, Europe and Africa, Mike has extensive experience in program and project management in the railway, highway and building sectors in many countries.
Mike was awarded an MBE for ‘Services to the London Underground’ following his work on the Jubilee Line Extension, for which he was Senior Supervising Engineer and Station Delivery Manager for Westminster Station.
Click here to view our press release.
October 2007
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Opportunities on the Gold Coast
PB has opened an office on the Gold Coast that will complement the structure, skills and services of our Brisbane and Sunshine Coast offices. The office, at 21 Lake Street, Varsity Lakes, will enhance PB’s support for clients in the region, which is one of the fastest-growing in Australia. Varsity Central is a communication, information technology and business hub.
PB’s Gold Coast Office Manager, Steve Wilson, said ‘The Gold Coast is a very appealing place for staff to live and work. Varsity Lakes is a central location on the coast, it has an excellent standard of office space, and there are a number of amenities close by.’
Click here for information on positions available in our Gold Coast office.
October 2007
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PB no. 1 in industry survey
PB has been ranked as number 1 in road and highway design, and in mass transit and rail design in a survey of North American companies conducted by Roads & Bridges magazine. PB was also ranked in the top 3 firms for bridge design, airport design, and design–build design firms. To see the full results of the survey, please click here.
October 2007
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Award wins
Overall SA Engineering Excellence Award
The consortium AdelaideConnect has won the ‘Reports, procedures and systems’ category of the SA Engineering Excellence Awards, as well as the overall Malcolm Kinnaird Engineering Excellence Award, for its work on the Anzac Highway Underpass. The consortium consists of PB; the SA Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure; Thiess; Leed Engineering and Construction; Hassell; and Kath Moore and Associates.
The underpass is the first stage in a major upgrade of South Road, Adelaide’s busiest arterial road for both freight and commuters.
The underpass is being delivered through an early contractor involvement (ECI) procurement strategy — which is only the second time such a strategy has been used for a South Australian infrastructure project.
The ECI process achieves the benefits of an alliance in the early stages by bringing together all parties to achieve innovative solutions for complex projects.
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NSW PIA award
The Tenterfield Shire Council Social Plan was awarded a commendation in the Planning Institute of Australia NSW Awards for Excellence 2007, in the Social and Community Planning category. PB developed the plan in response to council’s request for a social plan that would reflect the current community’s needs, values and expectations.
The social plan included a comprehensive consultation strategy that encouraged community involvement and identified connections between the various villages and townships of Tenterfield. A wide cross-section of the community shared in identifying and resolving social issues, resulting in a plan that is sustainable and reflects best practice social-planning principles.
A key factor in the plan’s success was PB’s innovative integration of the consultation program for the social plan with the council’s Urban and Rural Land Use Strategy consultation.
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SA UDIA President’s Award
PB and ElectraNet jointly won the 2007 Urban Development Institute of Australia (SA Division) President’s Award for Infrastructure Development for work on ElectraNet’s new $30m Tungkillo electricity substation.
Best practice environmental planning and management systems are a feature of the new 275 kV substation.
For example, PB implemented a range of environmental improvements on the substation property, including revegetating over 3 ha of the construction site with locally collected seed stock of indigenous native trees, bushes and grasses. A further 30 ha of the property will be revegetated over the next four years.
The work at Tungkillo incorporated measures that minimise potential environmental impacts, enhancing the site’s original state and improving its environmental sustainability. Advanced research and planning, and close liaison with key external stakeholders ensured that
all desired outcomes were not only met but exceeded.
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WA UDIA Judges’ Award
PB has won the inaugural Judges’ Award, for Stockland’s Newhaven Development Project, in the WA Urban Development Institute of Australia’s Excellence Awards. The judges complimented the PB team on the development’s strong focus on urban design and environmental sustainability.
The 140 ha Newhaven site, in the City of Armadale 19 km south-east of the Perth CBD, posed many challenges for the team. A significant portion of the site is classed as Resource Enhancement or Multiple-use Wetland; it is surrounded by several Conservation Category wetlands and Bush Forever sites; and the site and surrounding area had a history of drainage issues and flooding.
However, the team recognised two natural dune systems traversing the site as a potential asset. After significant consultation, they developed an innovative layout that minimised fill requirements, controlled flooding and improved drainage.
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High Commendation for EIS
PB, Queensland Department of Main Roads, and NSW Roads and Traffic Authority received a high commendation for the Tugun Bypass Environmental Impact Statement project in the ‘Reports, procedures and systems’ category at the Engineers Australia Queensland Division Engineering Excellence Awards.
The $543m, 7 km Tugun Bypass includes a 350 m tunnel under Gold Coast Airport and required approvals under Queensland, NSW and Commonwealth legislation.
PB’s role included community and agency consultation, environmental studies, planning studies, geotechnical surveys, traffic and safety analysis, engineering design, route refinement, environmental impact statement and preliminary design.
‘Thinking outside the square’, PB implemented innovative environmental design elements for the complex project, impressing the judges with ‘the extensive range of special treatments proposed from the wide-ranging set of environmental studies undertaken’.
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Outstanding young engineers
PB’s Simon Turner was named 2007 WA Young Engineer of the Year by Engineers Australia. Simon has achieved technical excellence in his fields of transport and urban engineering, while exhibiting strong leadership skills.
This prestigious award acknowledges the high level of achievement and involvement Simon has had in engineering and community affairs. ‘Simon is an exceptional young engineer who has a genuine understanding of the wider issues currently facing the engineering community today’, said the judges.
Simon is currently working on the South Hedland New Living project for the WA Department of Housing and Works. Part of the Department’s state-wide urban renewal scheme, the project involves construction of new infrastructure throughout the town of South Hedland.
In Victoria, PB’s Suzi Young, a chemical engineer in the Environment and Planning team, received a high commendation in Engineers Australia’s Young Professional Engineer Award. The award acknowledges and rewards young engineering professionals who have reached a high level of achievement and involvement in engineering and community affairs.
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PIA Lifetime Achievement Award
PB’s Trevor Budge has received the Victorian Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognises Trevor's lifetime contribution to planning.
Trevor is a Principal Planner based in PB’s Bendigo office, and has worked in urban, rural, regional, statutory and strategic planning throughout Victoria and Tasmania. He is widely acknowledged for his work in integrating land use planning with natural resource management plans and strategies. Trevor currently lectures at La Trobe University Bendigo, where he coordinates the planning and community development courses.
Trevor is a widely respected and highly regarded member of the planning and environment industry and was the PIA Victorian Division President 2002–2006.
November 2007
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Outstanding employment practices
PB was recently awarded the Professional Development Award by the National Society of Professional Engineers’ Professional Engineers in Private Practice (PEPP) in New York. This award is presented to employers that exhibit exceptional career development initiatives and employment practices that advance the engineering profession.
The purpose of the award is to recognise those firms with the best engineering employment practices, and to encourage all firms to adopt progressive policies and practices.
On the basis of both our current and long-term reputation, PB was selected as this year’s winner, for our commitment to enhancing career opportunities for employees through better knowledge management, promotion of training, and recognition of achievement. Example initiatives include the Professional Growth Network (PGN) which unites our emerging professionals in their career development, and the Practice Area Networks, which provide a forum for practice communities to exchange ideas.
To read the press released issued by PB New York, click here.
For further information on the award, click here .
September 2007
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PB owner’s engineer for Aviva
Aviva Corporation Limited has appointed PB’s Power Division to the role of owner’s engineer for development of the Coolimba 2 X 200 MW power station at Eneabba, 250 km north of Perth.
Mark Chatfield, recently appointed as Aviva’s General Manager Energy, said ‘PB’s experience in integrated power projects, particularly those involving air cooling, low water usage and carbon capture readiness, will be invaluable to the development of an integrated mine and power station in the mid-west region’. Mr Chatfield previously engaged PB as owner’s engineer for the recently commissioned 750 MW Kogan Creek Power Project.
Phase I of the development project is a feasibility study to be completed in October 2007. PB will undertake capital cost and plant performance estimates, electricity revenue analysis and financial modelling.
Phase 2 will begin later this year and will include engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, resource supply, regulatory approvals, project planning and off-take contracts.
June 2007
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TCI solar panels unveiled
The Tullamarine–Calder Interchange’s solar panels were unveiled on Sunday 17 June by Tim Pallas, Victorian Minister for Roads and Ports.
In a first for the Southern Hemisphere, the Tullamarine–Calder Interchange solar panels will offset up to 10% of the power demand for the freeway’s lighting.
The 210 solar panels continue for 500 m beside the redeveloped freeway. Use of the solar panels will reduce CO2 emissions by 20 tonnes over 26 years. The installation will also form part of the noise attenuation wall for the project.
Please click here to view the Minister’s press release.
Safety, sustainability and stakeholder relationships have been priorities throughout the $150 million redevelopment of the Tullamarine-Calder Interchange, on the outskirts of Melbourne. The alliance project delivery method allowed the project team to meet these priorities. Inbound and outbound lanes of the redeveloped interchange opened in February 2007.
The Tullamarine–Calder Interchange Alliance includes staff from VicRoads, Baulderstone Hornibrook and PB, working in partnership.
June 2007
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Two PB engineers on Top 100 list
PB’s Mike Wilke and Doug Maconochie have been named on the Engineers Australia Top 100 Influential Engineers list, published in the June issue of Engineers Australia magazine.
Mike, who is now President and Chief Operating Officer of PB Americas, has appeared on the list in the ‘Consulting’ category for the fourth year in a row.
The former Managing Director of PB in Australia, Mike was appointed COO of PB Americas in March last year. He is a member of PB’s executive committee, responsible for shaping the strategic direction of PB globally.
Doug Maconochie, National Leader — Tunnels, has been named on the influential engineers list in the ‘Engineering Expertise’ category.
In 2003, after many years overseas, where he worked on 11 major tunnelling projects around the world, Doug returned to Australia bringing with him his wealth of technical experience and expertise.
June 2007
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