The government proposes to do this by working with relevant agencies to identify suitable projects to participate in a select pilot study. Based on results from the study, a staged plan for the implementation of BIM across infrastructure construction projects will be proposed.

International experience with BIM across the globe shows that it can improve the life of building assets through more effective post-construction management. Similarly, BIM has repeatedly demonstrated how significant amounts of time and money is saved during construction with clash detection enabling more materials to be confidently produced off site and installed without modification.

A productivity enhancing tool for the commercial building industry, moves closer towards full adoption. Taxpayers will be the primary beneficiaries.

The post Andrew’s Government Supports BIM Evaluation appeared first on Brian Welch.

As the last state election has clearly confirmed, Victoria’s infrastructure development system has degenerated to the point where long-term decisions are being either delayed or brought on in an imbalanced way. The debacle of the East West Link road project is the case in point.

After years of discussion and debate across two terms of government, nothing has been built, let alone started. If anything, the whole exercise demonstrates how easily public money can be squandered by politicians incapable of compromise or effective public communication.

With the community only left with sensationalist media reporting and political rhetoric as their guides for decision making, it is no wonder the project has been dumped so unceremoniously. In the end, the collateral damage is worsening congestion, a possible billion dollar loss to Victoria’s budget, insipid job creation and irreparable damage to the State’s economic credibility (sovereign risk).

In order to avoid this situation occurring repeatedly in the future, the decision making process needs a change of leadership. But unlike the revolving door leadership changes both major parties have engaged in over recent years, this one requires the public to seize control.

If our state is make sensible, accountable and long-sighted decisions about its infrastructure future, it needs to be at the heart of the decision making process. The best way to achieve this is by putting major infrastructure decisions to public referendum. A Swiss style referendum would enfranchise the public who deserve the right to be properly informed and decide how their state will be developed. Moreover, it would ensure that decisions are adherred to without the complication of elections and political opportunism.

To achieve this, Victorians should be regularly presented with key facts and projections by a dedicated infrastructure department. This department would propose which projects ought be considered and the order of their development. Armed with options for where Victoria could be in 20-30 years, a succession of referendums on key issues would decide how to proceed and in which order to do so. By drawing the public into the heart of the process, increased engagement would inject much needed purpose and accountability to an increasingly unpredictable system.

Infrastructure projects by definition take decades to plan and implement. Further, they require considerable investment and intensive private sector involvement in order to come to fruition. If we don’t get the process right for managing our infrastructure planning, we risk imperilling our State’s economic and liveability future.

Leadership challenges are always messy. And no one wants to fight. But surely the time has come for a change in how things are done. Infrastructure development takes place to improve the lives of the people. It’s time we all had a greater ownership of it.

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Stories of criminal elements operating at different levels in the building industry are rife. Bikie gangs performing debt collection roles must also be stopped. Premier Napthine’s promise to introduce legislation to license these activities should be mirrored by the Labor Party in the lead up to the election.

The post Criminal Elements Must Be Forced Out of the Building Industry appeared first on Brian Welch.

Asher Judah, author of The Australian Century, published by Connorcourt, points out the issues he argues that will shape our future, for better or worse.

His book is not just focused on Australia’s fortunes. He queries the inevitability of Chinese or Indian ascendancy to world dominance. His reflection on factors that have contributed to the rise and fall of a raft of countries across the globe is used as a prism to look to the future in a warts and all evaluation.

There are many factors at play, but he asserts the dominant opportunity for this country, is the insatiable demand of a burgeoning international middle-class.

Judah’s book is thought provoking. His analysis of the development of our nation proposes a fresh look at Australia’s governance structures.  What could work better to the future is the question. How could we be more efficiently organized and prepare ourselves as a nation to meet the threats and opportunities that will come our way?

Doing nothing isn’t attractive. The predicted decline of Australia’s workforce participation, driven by our aging population will weaken our taxation base, challenging the viability of our welfare system and economic vitality. What measures are we as a nation prepared to implement, to avoid or mitigate what logically will be a bleak future?

Debate about our future is a healthy thing. Asher Judah offers a look over the horizon and poses a number of observations and questions. It’s a worthy read.

The Australian Century can be purchased via the Connor Court Publishing website. http://www.connorcourt.com/catalog1/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=291#.VAzcHrl–kQ

The post The Australian Century appeared first on Brian Welch.

There is an enormous focus on Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in the building industry and rightly so. The industry is a dangerous place and assessing and managing risks is the key to preventing incidents that can lead to injury or death.

It is a shocking statistic that construction workers are 6 times more likely to die by suicide than as a result of an industrial accident.

Across Australian society, it is estimated that 250 people each day plan suicide and approximately 1000 think about it.

Males dominate the building industry. These blokes find it hard to communicate their inner feelings to anyone, least of all professionals who would be best placed to help them (93% of those who took their own lives did not seek professional help).

Our vigilance is required to look out for tell tale signs of those traveling the path to suicide. Moodiness, carelessness, alcohol or drug misuse, giving away possessions or putting affairs in order can be the signs that should cause your intervention. Events such as family crisis, relationship breakdown and financial stress are typical triggers.

Intervention can be as simple as asking the person “Are you OK?”. Share your observations and listen to their story. Offer assistance and get help.

The building industry is doing more in this space than ever before. Mates In Construction operates in many States and Incolink in Victoria offers Life Care for apprentices who want help, funded in part by the Federal Government.

When it gets down to it, we each must take on the responsibility of watching out for friends and work colleagues. In 2102,  1.7% of all deaths in Australia were suicide. Your intervention could save a life.

The post Men In Building Industry At Grave Risk appeared first on Brian Welch.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a better way to build. Through a merger of technologies, clients can fly through their virtual building, examine the space being designed for them and change it to suit their needs – down to the last detail. Their contractors can build virtually first, determining the quickest way to go about it. They can then order subcomponents built elsewhere with millimetre accuracy, reducing fabrication on site saving time and mistakes. Owners of the building can better manage their asset down to the last light fitting. Maintenance is entirely programmed, warranty information, details of source of supply and expected life all known. These assets last longer because they are better managed.

BIM is not the end of the road. It is part of a technological evolution that will inevitably change the industry. Clients get buildings that cost less and last longer.

Some governments, notably the UK and Singapore are mandating its use in their own projects. They wish to capture the productivity gain and get a better bang for their buck by insisting that this technology is used for community benefit. They know they can build more or better buildings for the same money.

Not all governments see the opportunity – Australia being one of them, despite being the largest client in the land.

At present, this is an opportunity wasted, with the public footing the bill. Worse, left without coordination, more and more components of our building requirements will come from overseas, destroying Australian jobs in the process.

Governments, state and federal can usefully play a role as clients, embracing new technology and helping to lead the private sector through its purchasing dictates. We have everything to gain and the risk of losing what we have now.

Technology is not the threat. The risk is not capitalising on the opportunity. With the building boom happening in Asia, why aren’t we utilising our industry know-how and expertise by exporting high quality building subcomponents?

The post BIM – An Opportunity We Must Seize appeared first on Brian Welch.

Drugs, poverty, family break down and sexual depravity are some of the causes for this surge. The outcome is greater demands on government to take care of “at risk” children and teenagers.

Government attempts to mitigate the aberrations of society by funding a variety of interventions. Options include foster, kinship and residential care – the latter receiving media attention at the moment as sexual abuse is being visited on already traumatized young children in these facilities.

Foster or kinship care is clearly the better option. Living in a loving family environment is a crucial ingredient for recovery and adjustment for these abused children. In an ideal environment, early access to therapeutic advisers providing foster parents with detailed assessment for each child aids their recovery mission. Similarly educational support compensates for learning impairments that usually comes as a direct result of a child’s abuse.

However, government does not uniformly fund therapeutic advisers or educational support for each child despite the fact that research shows this is a powerful aid in the recovery process and assisting these young people to go about a normal life.

In reality, government provides the minimum level of care, relying heavily upon the compassion of carers to somehow make do. Carers do their very best but almost always lack professional support.

If the proper level of intervention is to happen, then it must be funded by other means.

Ozchild has 163 years of experience in helping children in his troubled space, whether with disability, educational needs or foster care. Donations from the public can be made online at their website https://secure.donman.net.au/client/ozchild/Donate.aspx

For corporations wishing to make a difference, contact me to provide you with the information and insight into how to you can help. Every child deserves the right to shine.

I am a part time employee of Ozchild, keen to make a difference.

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A new EBA (Enterprise Bargaining Agreement) for the Victorian commercial building sector is due for replacement by March 31, 2015. Discussions between the industrial parties can commence six months earlier and can continue until a new one is agreed. Protected industrial action (strikes and lockouts) may also begin in March 2015. Neither government nor union will back down.

The traditional pattern for negotiations is that the CFMEU works with a handful of building companies that see no merit in having a prolonged and harmful industrial dispute and offer to help develop an agreement. The outcome is traditionally a wage increase of between 5-6 per cent per annum, plus this, plus that. Once this deal is done, the rest of the industry throws up their hands and laments the fact that they can’t all stand together. Shortly after, they capitulate as well.

The CFMEU’s leadership know that margins are tight and projects are struggling to be viable, but they feel they cannot appear to be weak to their own shop stewards by either surrendering a more sustainable increase, or by giving real productivity increases in exchange for improved remuneration. Negotiating such an outcome is not in their DNA. If they tried, they would be thrown out of office. Never mind the fact that they are playing chicken with the livelihood of their members and thousands of employers. In the building industry, it is more about testosterone than intelligence.

The majority of builders welcome the fact the current system makes them “competitively neutral” where wages/conditions are concerned. “Learned helplessness” is how one industry figure describes the situation. The end result of this ‘purchased peace’ however, is a union led wage surge which cannot be justified on productivity grounds and sits far above what average workers would responsibly negotiate.

Unions routinely scoff at increases in building costs through new EBAs and say you can’t tow a 20 storey building in from overseas. They assert that developers have always made a fortune off the back of workers and they simply want a fair share for their members.

Any student of history can tell you that this whole sorry mess is heading for a crisis. Sadly though, there is an absence of maturity to do anything about it.

What makes this Victorian EBA round even more challenging is that John Setka, the Victorian CFMEU Secretary, with his credentials well established through criminal convictions and a solid determination to ignore any “unjust” law, is up against the Abbott Government’s determination to bring the union’s lawless nature to account. While the public and media have clearly turned against the building unions, the CFMEU in particular, the endgame is far from clear.

Cultural change takes time. Commonsense says that it should happen. Experience says that a major conflict is brewing and is about to erupt. The Labor Party ought be worried. Whether at a state or federal level, the battle that will unfurl is much more likely to harm them than the Coalition.

But what of the hapless souls that populate the building industry? Who is looking after their best interests? The resounding answer is no-one. Politics and stupidity are combining to create an atmosphere that will change the face of the industry and how it operates forever. Ask the militant ship builders in Glasgow, or the coal miners in the UK if their ruthless tactics were really worth it in the end. We have been exporting our jobs in the building industry for years. Another surge is about to happen. It is not the kind of export any of us should like.

The post Industry Building For The Wrong Kind of Surge appeared first on Brian Welch.

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I have worked in this sector for 30 years and in that time have seen many industry groups fail, many more will follow. The two dominant reasons for their failure was poor leadership (at both the board and staff level) and not providing sufficient value to retain their membership base. What worked 5-10 years ago may not have any relevance to what their members want or need tomorrow.

Other NFPs are dependant upon government funding which can change or stop in an electoral heartbeat. One well known charity, almost failed when state government cut their funding by 75% without warning.  With the former core role of collating information for members largely usurped by the internet  and today’s youth demanding a strong return on their (membership) investment, what role then for industry groups and trade associations?

Developing and remodelling worthwhile strategies is the main game. The RACV is a glowing example. One would have thought that their business model of roadside service would in trouble with more new, better-designed and more reliable cars. So great is their value proposition today with their resorts, insurance and handyman help that last year they plowed $160 Mill of benefits back into their membership. With over $1.2 Bill in retained earnings and $90 Mill profit (EBIT) last year, it’s a hard act to follow and worthy of examination for any NFP.

The NFP sector provides enormous benefit to society. Whilst youth are reluctant payers they are also eager to see a better world. Channeling their enthusiasm and giving them sufficient opportunity to not only sit at the table but allowing them real responsibility will sorely challenge NFP boards and their ageing leadership. Youth may not do it perfectly, but in all probability they will be more switched on to changing trends. The smart operators will find the blend where both can add value through engagement and robust dialogue. What’s at risk is the viability of many fine and noble organizations and the potential loss of their contribution to society.

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