| Dear Colleagues
Some of you may be aware that I am now a regular contributor to Sourceable, an online magazine that delivers Architecture, Construction, Engineering and Interior Design news and analysis from Australia, Canada and around the world.My latest contribution talks about how Australia’s construction industry needs to leverage its global connections. Our world is changing and our industry needs to adapt to these changes. In the past year numerous international firms have acquired or merged with a number of big Australian design and construction companies. These acquisitions have many implications for how our industry competes both domestically and internationally. Critically, we need to ensure we are undertaking research that has a global as well as an Australian bent. This will allow Australia to be leading practice in the global space. You can read the full article here. New SBEnrc videos on YouTube As part of our commitment to better communication, we are stepping up our short video productions for industry dissemination. Recently Professor Peter Newman, Charlie Hargroves and the Program 1 team created a series of videos to showcase some of the Program 1: Greening the Built Environment projects. These can be viewed on the SBEnrc YouTube channel: • The Future of Roads You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don’t miss out when future videos are uploaded – https://www.youtube.com/user/sbenrcvideo SBEnrc funding and new projects I am pleased to announce that the Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works has rejoined the SBEnrc as a Core Member and will be represented at the Governing Board level helping to shape the strategic direction of our Centre as we grow into the 2016-18 triennium. Queensland’s housing and public building agency will significantly strengthen the national focus and complement other states’ input into applied research in these important areas. Our year on year research budget and core members has continued to grow, and our Board has recently approved the development of eight new project themes: 1. Valuing social housing I encourage anyone interested in investing in these projects to get in touch with me prior to 30 June, as we seek fresh investment and input in shaping industry-relevant well-resourced new projects. Completing projects Six of our projects are due to complete by 30 September 2015, with valuable outcomes across housing, building and infrastructure resulting in linking partners with new ways of doing things. More details will be provided in the next newsletter, however updated project information is now available on our website: 1. Strategies and Solutions for the Future of Roads Recent events Swinburne University hosted two SBEnrc industry events in Melbourne on 12 May 2015. The first was the launch of the Alcohol and Other Drugs Projects website, https://www.safeconstruction.org.au/. This site is designed to guide and educate industry about how alcohol and other drug consumption can drastically affect performance and safety on the construction site. The website provides information as to how organisations and workplaces can develop alcohol and other drug consumption awareness, policies, and practices of overall health, safety and welfare benefits to individual employees. This was followed by a most successful evening session called Public Private Partnerships: Pinnacles and Pitfalls. The PPP event featured a panel of thought leaders and practitioners who have significant expertise in dealing with public private partnerships. Participants were able to learn about some of the latest issues around cost and benefits of public private partnerships. Upcoming events Construct15 – Global Knowledge, Global Solutions – Construct15, incorporating the 23rd IGLC conference, is to be held from 28 – 31 July 2015 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. The IGLC conference is a world leading conference on advances in construction practices, innovative technologies and first class research. The theme for Construct15 is “Global Knowledge – Global Solutions” which reflects the importance of shared knowledge for industry improvement. Over four days Construct15 will bring together the best of world lean construction experts and practitioners who will share how they are addressing the major challenges confronting the construction industry. For more information and to register go to https://www.lcia.org.au/construct15. Best regards Keith Dr Keith Hampson, Chief Executive Officer Our challenge is to grow the value and impact of our applied research more deeply and broadly across Australia and to leverage Australian research globally. The Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc) is acknowledged as an excellent example of a CRC that has graduated into an independent organisation delivering unique value to its industry, government and research collaborators. |
Dr Keith Hampson
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