Annual Report 2013
A vibrant and innovative construction industry is critical to Australia’s future. We depend on a healthy construction industry to build and maintain our homes, roads, hospitals, schools, retail and recreational facilities, in addition to our mines and industrial facilities; these underpin our quality of life.
However the industry has challenges: it must improve productivity and efficiencies, reduce contributions to landfill and wastewater; and improve workplace safety. Initiating the changes to solve these problems takes courage; delivering the innovations that will transform the industry requires conviction; and advancing the built environment can only be achieved through collaboration.
Our Centre aims to be an enduring world-class research and knowledge broker in sustainable infrastructure and building design, construction and management. In 2013 we began the second three-year phase of our Centre
– building on the reputation of our predecessor the CRC for Construction Innovation and embedding lessons learned as an independent national research centre. We continued our commitment in collaborating with our
core members, project associates and other industry stakeholders to grow the value of SBEnrc research for our partners and our industry.
Our challenge for the 2013-15 phase is to grow the value and impact of our applied research more deeply and broadly across Australia. In early 2013 we relocated our national headquarters to Curtin University, Western Australia to embrace the opportunities of continuity and growth. We have maintained our Brisbane offices to continue servicing and growing our Queensland, New South Wales and Victorian partners. The proven CEO-Chair partnership has been reinforced with Keith Hampson maintaining continuity in leadership as CEO and John V McCarthy AO re-committing as Chair of SBEnrc’s Governing Board. Ross Guppy from Queensland Transport and Main Roads and Ryan Harry from John Holland very ably served in the pivotal role of Research and Utilisation Committee Chair.
2013 saw our Centre successfully expand our research network and the quality of research undertaken. This would not have been possible without our members’ support, research leadership and the commitment of the
industry, government and research collaborative teams involved in our three programs of activity:
- Program 1: Greening the Built Environment, led by Professor Peter Newman, Curtin University
- Program 2: People, Processes and Procurement, led by Professor Russell Kenley, Swinburne University of Technology
- Program 3: Productivity Through Innovation, led by Professor Xiangyu Wang, Curtin University.
We are delighted to have been able to confirm on-going funding with a new round of industry-focussed projects started following the Phase 1 2010-12 projects completing in late 2012.
The valuable research outcomes have largely been due to the commitment and support of our core members and we thank you wholeheartedly: Curtin University; John Holland; NSW Roads and Maritime Services; Queensland Transport and Main Roads; Queensland University of Technology; Swinburne University of Technology; Western Australian Government agencies: the Department of Commerce (Building Commission), the Department of Treasury (Strategic Projects), the Department of Finance (Building Management and Works) and Main Roads WA.
In December 2013 we said goodbye to Queensland University of Technology as a partner. We acknowledge our appreciation of the foundation support that QUT offered in serving as the institutional base for the CRC for Construction Innovation (2001-09) and for the first phase of our Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (2010-12) as we successfully transitioned from a CRC to an industry-funded national research centre. I would also like to thank QUT’s professional team of researchers and their high level of research commitment.
Internationally, the SBEnrc is extending its reach as it matures through its projects and partnerships. SBEnrc continues to play an active role in the CIB – the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction. As our Governing Board Chair John V McCarthy AO stepped down after three active years of service as CIB Global President, SBEnrc and QUT co-hosted the triennial World Building Congress 2013 in May in Brisbane. A majority of SBEnrc projects were profiled and the SBEnrc and its partners were well presented to the world. This Congress was acknowledged as a
notable success with Australia’s friendliness and professionalism a central contributor to this outcome.
In addition, the CEO has served as Coordinator for a number of CIB Task Groups this past seven years. The most recent engagement has been through TG85: R&D Investment and Impact. This TG has achieved considerable success in building valuable global collaborations and last year was acknowledged as making “the most remarkable contributions to the CIB from amongst all the Commission and Task Group Coordinators and Members”.
SBEnrc values its relationships with international collaborators in Stanford University, University of Virginia, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, University of Salford, Centre Scientifique Et Technique Du Batiment (CSTB), Constructing Excellence UK, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and Chalmers University of Technology. These key relationships provide important global perspectives on our research as we share information and collaborate to improve the quality and application of our research. These relationships and others assist in diversifying the Centre’s research funding sources, aid industry and academic dissemination and strengthen our Centre’s research impact.
Our challenge is to continue growing the value and impact of our applied research more deeply and broadly across Australia and to secure a more durable financial base. The Sustainable Built Environment National Research
Centre is acknowledged as an excellent example of a CRC that has graduated into an independent organisation delivering unique industry, government and research collaboration.
We look forward to maintaining our joint commitment and working with core partners, project associates and other industry stakeholders growing the value of SBEnrc research for our partners and Australia’s built environment industry well into the future.
Dr Keith Hampson CEO, SBEnrc and John V. McCarthy AO Chair, SBEnrc
