2009 - AIPM

Australian Institute of Project Management

Celebrating Excellence in Project Management

2009

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PMAA 2009 • 1

CONTENTS

Contents2 Message from the President

3 About AIPM

4 Sponsors

6 About the Awards8 Winning Entries

National Award Winner10 National Project of the Year

Category Winners11 Construction/Engineering < $100 million

12 Construction/Engineering > $100 million

13 Information Technology

14 Organisational Change Management

15 Small Projects

16 Regional Development

17 Community Service

18 Sustainable Projects

Individual Awards19 Project Director of the Year: Chris Carman

20 Project Manager of the Year: Geoff Gorton

21 Project Team Member of the Year: Aaron Wigley

Awards Nights22 National Awards Night

26 Australia Capital Territory

27 New South Wales

28 Northern Territory

29 Queensland

30 South Australia

31 Tasmania

32 Victoria

33 Western Australia

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2 • PMAA 2009

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Time to shineAnother year where project management excellence has shone

through, all capped off in a gala night celebrating project management achievement at the AIPM National Conference in Adelaide.

The Project Management Achievement Awards are a key way the AIPM recognises and celebrates the best of the best of those highly successful individuals and teams. It is an acknowledgement of the vital role project managers perform in business and the community at large. This commemorative booklet showcases the extent of project excellence recognised by the awards and highlights the celebrations from the state chapter and national awards nights.

Achieving excellent outcomes is not simply due to hard work, intelligence or applying knowledge. It does not simply result from experience, or unswerving commitment. It is a magical combination of all of these attributes, the alchemy of these ingredients, which some special individuals seem capable of bringing together to deliver very successful outcomes. They not only honour themselves, but honour all of us, as they promote our profession to business, industry, and the community through delivering outstanding project outcomes.

I encourage organisations and individuals to submit their projects or programs for our 2010 awards. It is never too early to start thinking about, and preparing for, the PMAAs. Review the AIPM website (www.aipm.com.au) for all the latest information on the 2009 and 2010 PMAA programs.

I will take this opportunity to sincerely thank our dedicated PMAA chapter teams across Australia, our committed state and national judges, and the South Australia Chapter team that helped put together a wonderful night of celebration of project management excellence.

I heartily congratulate all the winners and award nominees for their contributions to this showcase of the best project outcomes and team performances throughout Australia, and in some cases abroad; you are an inspiration to all of us.

Dr Bill YoungNational President

Advertisers and contributors to this magazine acknowledge they are aware of the provisions of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 and the Trade Practices Act 1974 in relation to false and misleading advertising or statements under other unfair practices and the penalties for breach of provisions of those Acts. The publisher accepts no responsibility for such breaches. Opinions expressed by contributors are their own and not necessarily endorsed by the magazine or the publishers. All material in the magazine is copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the publishers.

PUBLISHED BY Loyalty Media Pty Ltd Level 11, 80 Mount StreetNorth Sydney NSW 2060Phone: (02) 9955 6311Fax: (02) 9954 7994

MANAGING DIRECTORColin Porter

EDITORAdeline Teoh

DESIGNDanielle LattucaJulia Morris

PUBLISHED FOR THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENTLevel 9, 139 Macquarie StreetSydney NSW 2000Phone: (02) 8288 8700Fax: (02) 8288 8711www.aipm.com.au

NATIONAL PRESIDENTDr Bill Young

GENERAL MANAGERIan Baxter

EVENTS MANAGERLinda Chiarella

PHOTOGRAPHY

National PMAAs: Eventpix, Adeline Teoh

ACT PMAAs: Lauren Black

NSW PMAAs: Cathy Wagner

NT PMAAs: Richard Oppusunggu (Projecto D Photography)

QLD PMAAs: Kylie Henry (Exclusive Photography)

SA PMAAs: Daniel Trimboli (Trim Photography)

TAS PMAAs: Wayne Eastley

VIC PMAAs: Linda Chiarella, David Kernke, Olimpia Watkins

WA PMAAs: Fiona Wood (Georgiou)

I heartily congratulate all the winners and award nominees for their contributions to this showcase of the best project outcomes and team performances throughout Australia

pter and

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PMAA 2009 • 3

ABOUT AIPM

Who is AIPM?

The Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) is the peak body for project management in Australia. It is the only national project management body in

Australia with chapters in each state and territory.Formed in 1976 as the Project Managers’ Forum, the AIPM has since been

instrumental in progressing the profession of project management in Australia for more than three decades.

Our roleThe role of the AIPM is to improve the knowledge, skills and competence of project team members, project managers and project directors, all of whom play a key role in the achievement of organisational objectives, not just project objectives.

The AIPM also aims to ensure that those involved at other levels in an organisation and the community understand the key role of project management in today’s society.

Our goals are to:Increase the awareness of project management as a profession•

Progress the globalisation of project management•

Recognise excellence in project management•

Promote competency-based assessment for those working in project management•

Grow our membership•

Promote the AIPM as the peak body for project management in Australia.•

The voice of the Australian project management profession

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4 • PMAA 2009

SPONSORS

With ThanksWe would like to extend a sincere thank you to our generous sponsors for their support of the 2009 AIPM Project Management Achievement Awards and the profession of project management

National sponsor

Australian Capital Territory Chapter

GOLD SPONSOR

GOLD SPONSOR GOLD SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORSSILVER SPONSOR

BRONZE SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSORSBRONZE SPONSOR

BRONZE SPONSOR

New South Wales Chapter Northern Territory Chapter

Tasmania Chapter

SILVER SPONSORS

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PMAA 2009 • 5

SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSOR

GOLD SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSOR

SILVER SPONSOR

BRONZE SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSOR

BRONZE SPONSOR

BRONZE SPONSOR

Queensland Chapter

GOLD SPONSOR

Primal Solutions

South Australia Chapter

Governmentof South Australia

SILVER SPONSORS

Victoria Chapter

Information Technology Recruitment

Western Australia Chapter

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6 • PMAA 2009

ABOUT THE AWARDS

When naming the things that give Australia a sense of freedom and happiness, it would typically come down to a small list; to feel

safe, to be able to travel, to remain healthy, to be able to communicate and learn new things and of course to enjoy sporting events. This year’s state and territory winning projects managed to cover all of these.

You will already know that the New South Wales entry won the top honours with the amazing launch of the Qantas Airbus 380 aircraft. Their submission was a textbook example of what makes an outstanding project. More than 1,000 people worked hard to deliver the program that has made long distance travel more of a reality by making it cheaper and greener for the average Australian.

On the same theme of travel, we are all familiar with the vast distances of our island continent, particularly when we have to travel by car. Victoria’s Deer Park bypass has made the drive into Melbourne much quicker and safer, and showed outstanding improvement in construction techniques to dramatically reduce build costs and construction time.

While travel has become safer, we can also feel our country’s borders have become safer with the Australian Maritime Identification System that has been introduced into operation for the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. Securing our water supply is also essential, and Kalgoorlie, Western Australia can feel a lot safer with its new 400ML balancing storage facility.

Health featured strongly for this year with Tasmania taking a more holistic view of its health reform program by program managing more than 130 Tasmania Health Plan projects. Queensland’s Wesley Hospital East Wing sets a new standard in patient care and accommodation.

Communications has been vastly improved in the Top End with fibre being rolled out to 8,000 people over 800 kilometres, while avoiding both environmentally and culturally sensitive areas.

Last, but by no means least, in our quest for happiness is the love of sport and this was covered by the South Australian Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar track infrastructure project that developed the largest temporary structure in the world on Adelaide’s national heritage parklands.

This year’s PMAA introduced two more categories for judging. Category 1 Construction/Engineering has been rapidly growing in entries, particularly this year with the Federal Government’s stimulus package. Therefore the category was split into two with Category 1 being for project under $100 million and Category 1A for those over $100 million.

The current international interest in climate change and caring for the environment has also led the AIPM to introduce the new Category 9 for Sustainable Projects to cover those projects that demonstrate excellence in delivering sustainable outcomes from the social, financial and environmental, or ‘triple bottom line’, viewpoints and/or projects

This year, the PMAA received 106 state and territory submissions, a record number. Forty-seven of those submissions received state and territory awards

Free to achieveChief judge Simon Woolrych highlights the year’s best projects and exposes some of the process that leads to naming winners for the Project Management Achievement Awards

that have embedded sustainability principles and practices into their project execution processes and organisational culture.

This year, the PMAA received 106 state and territory submissions, a record number. Forty-seven of those submissions received state and territory awards, and every category had at least one state winner. Nine national judges had to be used this year because of the large number of chapter winners. All of the judges volunteered their time and effort to adjudicate on a minimum of 12 submissions, which was a considerable task. Each judge worked independently and scores were entered into an Excel workbook. Each chapter category winner was judged by at least two of the same judges in that category, and the four senior judges judged each chapter’s overall winner. The combination of the awards added up to more than 120 individual adjudications.

I would personally like to thank the national judges for their service to the AIPM’s awards judging process.

SIMON WOOLRYCH

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PMAA 2009 • 7

ABOUT THE AWARDS

Guide to the categoriesCATEGORY 1: CONSTRUCTION/ENGINEERINGConstruction/engineering projects such as buildings, utilities, and infrastructure having a total project budget of less than $100,000,000.

CATEGORY 1A: CONSTRUCTION/ENGINEERINGConstruction/engineering projects such as buildings, utilities, and infrastructure having a total project budget in excess of $100,000,000.

CATEGORY 2: DEFENCE/AEROSPACEDefence or aerospace projects involving the delivery of products or services.

CATEGORY 3: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTProduct development projects such as vehicles, production line products and manufactured items. They normally involve project management for the innovation, development and production or manufacture of a new product.

CATEGORY 4: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYInformation technology projects that normally involve project management of software development and/or hardware upgrades in the information technology sector or technology component of any business.

CATEGORY 5: ORGANISATION/CHANGE MANAGEMENTResearch, development and organisational change and management projects. They normally involve business initiative projects and/or the project management of organisational change.

CATEGORY 6: SMALL PROJECTSSmall scale projects from any industry with a total project budget of less than $1,000,000, undertaken in any field.

CATEGORY 7: REGIONAL DEVELOPMENTProjects undertaken outside of major metropolitan areas. These projects must demonstrate that value was added to the regional area. Value may be achieved in many ways such as increased employment opportunities, technology, economic development, infrastructure improvements or health or education services.

CATEGORY 8: COMMUNITY SERVICE AND/OR DEVELOPMENTCommunity, cultural or volunteer-based projects as well as projects that are conducted by, underpin or promote, the education, development, preservation and well being of indigenous, disadvantaged, disabled groups or the volunteer or not-for-profit sector.

CATEGORY 9: SUSTAINABLE PROJECTSProjects that demonstrated excellence in delivering sustainable outcomes from the social, financial and environmental (triple bottom line) viewpoints and/or projects that have embedded sustainability principles and practices into their project execution processes and organisational culture.

The Judging PanelThe AIPM would like to thank the chapter and national judges for their contribution to the 2009 PMAAs.

NATIONAL JUDGESSimon Woolrych (Chief Judge)David BaccariniJohn ButtenshawPeter DechaineuxHeinz HaselroitherDavid HudsonDavid MounterStephen WhittlePeter Scuderi

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORYPeter Dechaineux (Chief Judge)Chic Henry (Guest Judge)John JacobiMike Kennedy

NEW SOUTH WALESJohn Buttenshaw (Chief Judge)Heather RiddellDavid RushtonMichelle SternLody Stewart

NORTHERN TERRITORYPeter Rogers (Chief Judge)Peter TonkinBarbara White

QUEENSLANDDavid Hudson (Chief Judge)Ian BiggsPeter FowlerMisha JovanovicDavid Mason (Adjudicating Judge)

SOUTH AUSTRALIASimon Woolrych (Chief Judge)Margaret BattyJustin ColeDavid Farwell

TASMANIADavid Mounter (Chief Judge)Choong Han ChuDale Sinfield

VICTORIAHeinz Haselroither (Chief Judge)Danelle JonesNick MassieLeh SimonelliGary Yorke

WESTERN AUSTRALIADavid Baccarini (Chief Judge)Frank KrauseJim LyonHenry Stawarz

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8 • PMAA 2009

WINNING ENTRIES

Congratulations to our 2009 WinnersNATIONAL WINNERNational Project of the Year

Qantas Airways Limited for The Qantas •

A380 Program

NATIONAL CATEGORY WINNERSConstruction/Engineering (less than $100 million)

Telstra Corporation Limited for •

Broadbanding the Top EndConstruction/Engineering (more than $100 million)

Defence Support Group, Department •

of Defence, GHD, Praeco, Codarra Advanced Systems, Thales Australia for Headquarters Joint Operations Command Project

Defence/AerospaceQantas Airways Limited for The Qantas •

A380 ProgramInformation Technology

Australian Customs and Border •

Protection Service for Australian Maritime Identification System Capability Development Program

Organisation/Change ManagementTerra Firma for Geelong Relocation •

Program – Relocation of the Transport Accident Commission

Small ProjectsACT Health for ACT Health Medical •

Retrieval Services ProjectRegional Development

NSW Department of Commerce for •

Shannon Creek DamCommunity Service/Development

Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn •

for Canberra Goulburn World Youth Day Project

Sustainable ProjectsCoffey Projects for Sunshine Electricity •

– Broadwater & Condong Bio-mass Co-generation Project

NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL WINNERSProject Director of the Year

Chris Carman•

Project Manager of the YearGeoff Gorton•

Project Team Member of the Year Aaron Wigley•

State WinnersAUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORYProject of the Year

Australian Customs and Border •

Protection Service for Australian

Maritime Identification System Capability Development Program

Construction/Engineering (less than $100 million)

GHD and Australian Sport Commission •

for Australian Institute of Sport Redevelopment Project

Construction/Engineering (more than $100 million)

Defence Support Group, Department •

of Defence, GHD, Praeco, Codarra Advanced Systems, Thales Australia for Headquarters Joint Operations Command Project

Information TechnologyAustralian Customs and Border •

Protection Service for Australian Maritime Identification System Capability Development Program

Organisation/Change ManagementACT Health for Acute Coronary •

Syndrome Patient Journey ProjectSmall Projects

ACT Health for ACT Health Medical •

Retrieval Services ProjectCommunity Service/Development

Archdiocese of Canberra & Goulburn •

for Canberra Goulburn World Youth Day Project

Sustainable ProjectsPoint Project Management for DLA •

Phillips Fox Legal Office FitoutProject Director of the Year

Guy Wilmington•

Project Manager of the YearPeter Hill•

Project Team Member of the Year Aaron Wigley•

ACT Chapter President’s AwardAirservices AUstralia for Satellite •

Transition 2008ACT Community Benefi t Award

ACT Health for Acute Coronary •

Syndrome Patient Journey ProjectACT Not-for-Profi t Organisation Award

Point Project Management and •

Schiavello ACT for Lifeline Australia Head Office Renovation

NEW SOUTH WALESProject of the Year


A380 ProgramConstruction/Engineering (less than $100 million)

NSW Department of Commerce for •

Aboriginal Health College, Little Bay


Rail Corporation NSW for Epping •

Chatswood Rail Link Integration WorksDefence/Aerospace


A380 ProgramInformation Technology

UXC Getronics Australia for RTA IP •

Telephony Transformation ProjectOrganisation/Change Management

NSW Department of Commerce •

for Project Burbank: Relocation and Co-location of 4 Business Units

Regional DevelopmentNSW Department of Commerce for •

Shannon Creek DamCommunity Service/Development

Robert Jones Project Management for •

Wingecarribee Community Services Centre, The Queen Street Centre

Sustainable ProjectsSydney Harbour Foreshore Authority for •

88 George RedevelopmentProject Manager of the Year

Geoff Gorton•

Project Team Member of the Year Janja Soldo•

NSW International ProjectCIECC Engineering Construction •

Project Management Corporation for Construction Supervision for Beijing Capital International Airport T3A Project

NORTHERN TERRITORYProject of the Year


Broadbanding the Top EndConstruction/Engineering (less than $100 million)


Broadbanding the Top EndNT Women in Project Management Award

Leanne Taylor•

QUEENSLANDProject of the Year

Aurecon Australia and The Wesley •

Hospital for The Wesley Hospital East Wing Project


QR Passenger for Fortitude Valley •

Station Refurbishment ProjectHigh Commendation

GHD and Enerflex Environmental for •

Live Fire Campus Air Pollution Control

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PMAA 2009 • 9

WINNING ENTRIES


Aurecon Australia and The Wesley •

Hospital for The Wesley Hospital East Wing Project

High CommendationCoffey Projects for Polaris Data Centre•

Defence/AerospaceAirservices Australia for Fire Vehicle •

Replacement 3 ProjectProduct Development

Queensland Health for Consumer •

Integrated Mental Health Application Project

Information TechnologyQueensland Health for North Lakes •

Health Precinct Mobile Technologies Project

High CommendationQueensland Health for Consumer •

Integrated Mental Health Application Project

Organisation/Change ManagementDepartment of Communities and Smart •

Service Queensland for State Election Call Centre

High CommendationSmart Service Queensland for •

Establishment of EPM 2007Small Projects

Smart Service Queensland for Online •

Freedom of InformationHigh Commendation

Telstra Corporation Limited for Super •

Cheap Auto – Data Network UpgradeRegional Development

RoadTek, Department of Transport and •

Main Roads, Queensland for Burke Alliance Project

High CommendationProject Services South Western •

Regional Queensland Office (Department of Public Works) Queensland Government for New Staff Quarters at Roma Hospital

Community Service/DevelopmentProject Services QLD (Department •

of Public Works) for Palm Island Government Office Building and Palm Island Mall Upgrade

Sustainable ProjectsCoffey Projects for Sunshine Electricity •

– Broadwater & Condong Bio-mass Co-generation Project

High CommendationWaterSecure for Western Corridor •

Recycled Water ProjectProject Director of the Year

Adrian Jones•

Project Manager of the YearChristiane Brendel-Berber•

Runner UpFrank Dowling•

QLD President’s AwardsAbigroup Contractors •

and SMEC Australia for PacificLink Alliance Creating Tugun BypassJohn Holland for Southbank •

Education and Training PrecinctTrackStar Alliance for TrackStar •

Rail Infrastructure ProjectsWaterSecure for Western •

Corridor Recycled Water ProjectSOUTH AUSTRALIAProject of the Year

Kellogg Brown & Root for Clipsal 500 •

Infrastructure UpgradeConstruction/Engineering (less than $100 million)

Kellogg Brown & Root for Clipsal 500 •

Infrastructure UpgradeDefence/Aerospace

BAE Systems for JP 2008 Phase 3E •

ASTIS MCE

TASMANIAProject of the Year

Department of Health and Human •

Services Tasmania for Tasmania’s Health Plan: Stage 1 Program Management


Infrastructure Policy and Planning •

Division of the Department of Infrastructure, Energy & Resources, Tasmania for Brighton Transport Hub Planning and Approvals Process

Organisation/Change ManagementDepartment of Health and Human •

Services Tasmania for Tasmania’s Health Plan: Stage 1 Program Management

Regional DevelopmentHydro Tasmania for Lake and •

Macquarie Rivers Irrigation Project

VICTORIAProject of the Year

Leighton Contractors, VicRoads and •

Tracey Brunstrom & Hammond for Deer Park Bypass – ‘One Team’


SP AusNet for Waubra Wind Farm •

Grid Connection


Leighton Contractors, VicRoads and •

Tracey Brunstrom & Hammond for Deer Park Bypass – ‘One Team’

Defence/AerospaceDepartment of Defence, Defence •

Materiel Organisation, Land System Division for C-17 Aero-Medical Evacuation Equipment Project

Organisation/Change ManagementTerra Firma for Geelong Relocation •

Program – Relocation of the Transport Accident Commission

Small ProjectsTelstra Corporation Limited for Port of •

Melbourne Corporation Telstra Asset Relocation

Regional DevelopmentTelstra Corporation Limited for Bushfire •

ResponseProject Manager of the Year

Graham Watkins•

VIC Chairman’s High CommendationBox Hill Institute for GEN Project •

Management Troika ProgramVIC Judges’ High Commendation

Airservices Australia for Instrument •

Landing System Replacement

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Project of the Year

Water Corporation of Western •

Australia for Kalgoorlie 400ML Balancing Storage Project

Regional DevelopmentWater Corporation of Western •

Australia for Kalgoorlie 400ML Balancing Storage Project

Project Director of the YearChris Carman•

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10 • PMAA 2009

NATIONAL PROJECT OF THE YEAR

NATIONAL PROJECT OF THE YEARNational winner: Defence/AerospaceThe Qantas A380 Program

QANTAS

High Achiever

When the team for Qantas’ A380 program finally began work on the project, they had already suffered three delays totalling 23 months

waiting for Airbus to deliver the aircraft. The task? To bring the A380 into service, which involved a complex web of 15 interdependent sub-projects covering software installation and the development of new materials, products and systems.

“The delivery date was such a key milestone that every time it changed, it was almost like starting from scratch,” says Vince Paolella, group general manager for New Aircraft Programs at Qantas.

Already under considerable internal pressure, the $2 billion program also attracted a fair bit of attention from external stakeholders such as the public and the media, making success of great importance.

One challenge was managing human resources. The initial delays meant key people were redeployed to other parts of the organisation and had to be retrieved when the project finally began. Independent of that, other forms of attrition, combined with trouble finding adequate replacements in a time of talent shortage, posed a number of problems.

Paolella says they soon learnt to implement a succession plan that boosted the success rate of each transition: “We had each project think through a succession process: if key people in the project moved on, what would they do? That helped people come up with a back-up plan.” Qantas also developed a critical resource escalation process that meant attrition from a key role would have the CEO fast track the replacement process.

Despite having the team scattered across different business units, Paolella reports a high regard for their staff engagement methods. “I am a big fan of co-location of a project team. The size of the team along with logistical constraints meant we only ever partially achieved this or achieved it for certain sub-projects,” he admits. “Despite this, other mechanisms put in place meant that we still achieved excellent internal feedback on project communications.”

“It probably only happens once a generation that you get a new aircraft type entering the fl eet”

Part of that came down to awareness that a long project required shorter milestones, which Qantas provided. “When things happened we tried to have a mini-celebration so that people could see things were moving forward,” says Paolella, paying tribute to the team who “did their job with immense pride and passion”.

The first Qantas A380 graced Sydney at an event containing Qantas staff and their families. “You could tell it was a big deal for the people who worked on the project and the culmination of a lot of work. It probably only happens once a generation that you get a new aircraft type entering the fleet,” he notes.

The A380 has since gone from strength to strength, with passengers rating the aircraft more highly than others in the Qantas fleet. Paolella is not surprised: “Combined with Qantas’ cabin product and service offering, the A380 has redefined international travel.”

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PMAA 2009 • 11

CONSTRUCTION/ENGINEERING

Top Notch

National Winner: Construction/Engineering (less than $100 million)Broadbanding the Top End

TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED

Known better as a tourism magnet, Kakadu National Park is an unlikely place to find a team of Telstra staff digging channels in hard ground to lay a broadband cable. But

laying the cable was just the visible culmination of Telstra’s Broadbanding the Top End project, which had already been through so much.

Crossing between Kakadu National Park and Arnhem Land, the 800-kilometre cable now runs from Jabiru to Rio Tinto Alcan’s facility in Nhulunbuy. This impressive feat required much consultation with the national parks authority and the Northern Land Council, which represents traditional owners of the land. “What that meant was it put significant engineering pressure into the solution to avoid areas of cultural significance,” says John Gibbs, executive director of Network Construction at Telstra Networks and Services.

Negotiations took the best part of two years. In addition to the Northern Land Council, Telstra were required to involve traditional owners at site level, those who resided along the cable route. A combination of regular meetings and flexibility proved the winning formula and the project proceeded with a number of the traditional owners hired as monitors throughout implementation. “When we showed them what we were doing and how we were going to reinstate the work after we’d finished, it solved a lot of the issues. Community education and regular interface were very important,” explains Gibbs.

However, by the time the approvals had come through, Telstra was racing time with the wet season on its way. Added to the difficulty was the lack of facilities along the route, which meant everything—from machinery to drinking water—had to be brought in.

“The teams had to be fully self-sufficient. We couldn’t always predict what we’d need, but the project managers had done well in anticipating those contingencies,” says

“Community education and regular interface were very important”

Gibbs. Compounding the lack of facilities

was the harsh environment, including high temperatures, rocky ground, and nature: “We had crocodile shooters come in, but thankfully we didn’t have

to use them.”Gibbs says while he’s proud of the dedication of the team that had

to work through the tough conditions, he’d nominate the traditional owners’ positive reaction to the project’s completion as a highlight. “At the end of the process the traditional owners were happy to acknowledge what we had done, including one testimonial: ‘The project was the best ever any white people have done on Aboriginal land’,” he quotes.

“The other highlight is we achieved the engineering outcomes of the project and did it in the time given. We met the commercial

expectations of people like Rio Tinto and exceeded their timeline of delivery expectations.”

But Broadbanding the Top End is not yet over for Telstra: this award is merely for Phase 1. The next step will be to connect nine Northern Territory

communities to the internet, some of which are on islands. Says Gibbs: “Not only is this a great project but I’m proud we’ve done something that’s facilitated the

improvement of community living both now and going forward.”

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12 • PMAA 2009

CONSTRUCTION/ENGINEERING

Success on Command

National Winner: Construction/Engineering (more than $100 million)The Headquarters Joint Operations Command Project

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE, PRAECO, GHD, CODARRA AND THALES

Australians can rest safe in the knowledge that for 24 hours a

day, the Australian Defence Force is in command, thanks to the successful completion of The Headquarters Joint Operations Command Project (HQJOC), a combined effort by the Department of Defence, Praeco, GHD, Codarra and Thales.

Considered an ambitious development, the around-the-clock command centre is the product of the Australian Government’s first Public-Private Partnership for infrastructure delivery. The process involved an integrated design development process with input from Commonwealth agencies ranging from the Australian Federal Police to the SAS, as well as the operator, the owners, and the constructor. Further complexity arose from the fact that the unprecedented partnership required a new set of contracts to deliver the specialised building.

As with most Defence projects of this nature, one challenge the HQJOC faced was that it needed to be a top security, top secret Defence facility, but at a scale that enabled it to host several hundred staff: 750 military and civilian Defence staff on a regular basis, with flexibility to accommodate more.

Eventually it brought together the Chief of Joint Operations and joint staff; Maritime, Land, Air and Special Operations staff; the Joint Operations Intelligence Centre and the 1st Joint Movement Group from Sydney; and a portion of the Headquarters Joint Logistics Command staff from Melbourne for the

“A world-class platform for the command and control of the Australian Defence Force operations”

first time. The project thus succeeded in integrating Defence staff and agencies at a strategic and operational level in the areas of joint planning, the allocation of military resources, and the command and control of operations, supported by extremely dense and highly complex data systems.

Added to the overall challenge was the chosen site, which was not only remote, but faced constraints due to its proximity to areas of Indigenous historical importance and European heritage. In response, the partnership initiated a Community Consultation Working Group and hired Indigenous monitors to oversee the earthworks; the site is currently under consideration for listing as an archaeological site with ACT Heritage.

The project was also required to meet certain environmental standards, and the resulting headquarters is testament to the achievement of those goals: a 5-star environmentally sustainable building with complete self-sufficiency in water supply and treatment.

Despite the potential for problems with the new contract arrangements, the project was completed on time and on budget within 18 months, and within just two years of entering into the contract.

Deputy Secretary for Defence Support Martin Bowles stated: “The HQJOC Project was a unique step by the Australian Government being the first building and infrastructure project undertaken by the Commonwealth using a Public-Private Partnership delivery method. The completed headquarters was hailed by the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support as providing ‘a world-class platform for the command and control of the Australian Defence Force operations around the world and within Australia’.”

JOHN WIESE, DOUG FOX, PETER HILL AND LESLEY BENTLEY

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PMAA 2009 • 13

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Technical Triumph

National Winner: Information TechnologyAustralian Maritime Identifi cation System Capability Development Program

AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION SERVICE

What does illegal maritime activity have to do with implementing an IT system? Introducing the Australian Customs and Border Protection

Service’s Australian Maritime Identification System (AMIS) Capability Development Program, designed to assist in the detection, identification, assessment, and prioritisation of maritime threats. AMIS is more than an IT system: it is to become an integral part of the organisation’s operations to protect Australia’s borders.

External risk was not the only thing with which the project had to concern itself. Due to a commercial partnership agreement with KAZ, the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service had to figure out who would shoulder project risk for pieces of work yet to be scoped.

The first step was to clarify the design of the system. “Sound design involving engagement with stakeholders enabled a clear and universal understanding of what the system would deliver and the parameters for managing the implementation project,” says Tony Roulston, director of Command Support Systems.

Establishing this then enabled them to solve the risk problem with an innovative contracting arrangement. “The commercial partnership agreement with KAZ involved a head agreement covering the whole of the stage, enabling work orders for discrete pieces of work to be negotiated as details became clear,” Roulston explains.

“The combination of agreed broad design principles, together with a contractual framework under which to engage KAZ flexibly in the implementation and integration stages provided both clear project direction and the capacity to respond flexibly to emergent design considerations.”

Flexibility proved to be a much-needed quality when the development team had to be relocated midway through the stage, requiring an adjustment to the “otherwise robust implementation cycle”, says Roulston. “While this adjustment enabled the project to achieve the outcomes for the stage in a timely manner, it did result in some rework being necessary. This shows how external events can easily impact on projects. While it is preferable to avoid interruptions, a flexible approach to managing challenges will always be required.”

It was the “quality and depth of the design documentation” that gave the cycle its robustness, and “provided a clear approach for implementation and also for project management,” Roulston believes. He praises the level of professionalism and dedication of the AMIS team for carrying that design through to the achievement

“The award provides independent recognition of AMIS, acknowledging its contribution to civil maritime security”

of an on-time, on-budget delivery of major system components that exceeded user expectations.

The PMAA win is external recognition of this achievement, he says, providing “independent recognition of AMIS, acknowledging its contribution to civil maritime security”. He adds: “Equally, the award reflects the professionalism of both the project team, and the project management methodologies we have employed.”

However, the AMIS can’t rest on its laurels yet, as further development is scheduled to continue until mid-2011. But, remarks Roulston, being recognised as having developed a world-leading system “provides a concrete accomplishment for the AMIS team, reflecting emphasis on project management in addition to system development”.

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14 • PMAA 2009

ORGANISATIONAL/CHANGE MANAGEMENT

employees, up threefold from the initial 20 percent. The remainder of positions were filled by Geelong residents, allowing the government to meet some of its economic development ambitions.

While Terra Firma made the PMAA submission, Nieuwenhuis says it is very much the TAC’s award as well: “The success of the project was largely based on the vision of the TAC management and the strength, capabilities and skills of the program director.”

And he doesn’t mince words when he relays the team’s feedback—”pretty much along the lines of ‘the best project I’ve ever worked on’, ‘the best project team I’ve ever worked in’”—echoing: “To think that the relocation was so successful is a source of enormous pride for me personally. It’s probably the most successful project I’ve ever worked on.”

People Movers

National Winner: Organisational/Change ManagementGeelong Relocation Program – Relocation of the Transport Accident Commission

TERRA FIRMA

Imagine if you were told your office was moving, and that it would take you an extra hour each way to commute to

and from work every day. When the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), headquartered in Melbourne, decided to move approximately 70 kilometres to Geelong, the proposal was not popular.

“When the announcement was first made, there was an outcry from among employees. We were talking 80-odd percent of people making statements that they would not relocate,” says Robert Nieuwenhuis of Terra Firma, who was the program office manager for the project. “You’re talking about people who have established lives, houses, kids in school, friends, family. Also, a good percentage of employees lived in parts of the metropolitan area substantially further from Geelong than just that one hour’s drive.”

But the Victorian Government had decided the TAC would be the organisation to lead the way in regional development, so Nieuwenhuis had to look at ways to relocate some 800 employees. Top of mind was the need to stem attrition. “When you’re likely to lose 80 percent of employees, you lose a vast amount of IP, of knowledge, of skill, of experience and of the culture,” explains Nieuwenhuis. “This was certainly a major challenge and focus for the team: ‘How do we maintain more of the employees? And how do we capture the potential drain of knowledge?’”

The TAC and Terra Firma created a team headed by a program director who had direct access to executive stakeholders such as the CEO and board. Given adequate authority to run the program, the director could then make key decisions quickly. The other key factor was having the team in constant contact with the staff to be relocated. The lines of communication were always open, and any issues were dealt with immediately, which built trust, says Nieuwenhuis: “We worked very strongly on creating a sense of involvement, ownership, and a sense of being heard.”

Despite not having a template to follow—”unless you have a very clear example sitting in front of you as to how things are to be done, it’s really hard to relocate 800 people 74 kilometres down the road”—the team managed to keep 60 percent of

“We worked very strongly on creating a sense of involvement, ownership, and a sense of being heard”

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PMAA 2009 • 15

SMALL PROJECTS

From Accident to Achievement

National Winner: Small ProjectsACT Health Medical Retrieval Services Project

ACT HEALTH

With a budget of less than $200,000, the project team at

ACT Health had a very important task on their hands: to ensure that the ACT and its NSW surrounds had medical help on call, around the clock. The Medical Retrieval Services is extremely important to the rural community as many areas lack the resources to treat severely ill or injured patients and rely on a retrieval service.

The initial scope included mapping and finding the cost of the future expansion of the medical component of the retrieval service, which would in turn provide a foundation on which to base future contracts with the ACT Ambulance Service.

With just two people in the team, but multiple stakeholders in a complex governance structure, the first challenge was to build an effective communications strategy. In developing a best practice model for medical retrieval, the team formed a working group with representatives from ACT Health, The Canberra Hospital, Greater Southern Area Health, Canadian Helicopter Corporation (Aust) and ACT Ambulance Service, and had an existing committee acting as the steering committee.

The first phase consisted of analysing the existing service, which involved direct and indirect research methods:

28 interviews and two focus groups, and data from ACT Health, Shock Trauma Service and the ACT Ambulance Service. The team then proposed a model agreed upon by the working group and then endorsed by the steering committee.

It was then up to the team to develop a business case by creating a transition plan from the existing service to the new model. The transition had to allow the service to maintain full functionality using existing staff and rostering arrangements. However, halfway through the project two medical staff resigned, throwing the service at risk of failing as there was no one able to fill the positions immediately. Escalated to the sponsor, the issue caused an aspect of the project to be brought forward, increasing the scope to accommodate remuneration changes that would mitigate the risk of other medical officers leaving.

While the key stakeholders had agreed on the new model, and the team had communicated the changes to the wider Retrieval community, they decided to prepare a discussion paper for release to invite comment from other stakeholders, including relevant medical colleges that would be involved in the future approval of training of medical officers. They reported: “Feedback received was universally positive.”

“The ACT Health Medical Services for Retrieval Project delivered a service model which will enable the Retrieval services to continue to deliver high quality services as well as provide a platform from which to evolve to meet future demand,” says Mark Cormack, chief executive of ACT Health.

He acknowledges the difficulty of implementing this small but complex project, recognising the incredible stakeholder management involved. “Retrieval services are complex in nature as to maintain a service requires ongoing collaboration of a diverse group of stakeholders across multiple agencies,” says Cormack. “It is a testament to the skill and dedication of the project team that these challenges were met and successfully managed using robust project management methodology processes.”

“To maintain a service requires ongoing collaboration of a diverse group of stakeholders across multiple agencies”

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16 • PMAA 2009

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Liquid Asset

National Winner: Regional DevelopmentShannon Creek Dam

NSW DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Planning for the Shannon Creek Dam had barely begun when the NSW Department of Commerce (now NSW Public

Works) encountered its first obstacle: furious correspondence. “We had a few people write letters to the editor attacking the project, and we had to manage that side of publicity,” says Vincent Joseph, strategic project manager on the project.

Fortunately for the team, opposition was short lived, as they had bigger things on their plate, such as the enormous amount of work required to pass environmental compliance at council, state and national level. Joseph says they took a proactive approach, inviting agencies such as fisheries and the Environmental Protection Agency to the site to inspect their progress. This served them well when they were subject to audit. “The Commonwealth realised they’d been issuing conditions but hadn’t done an audit. We prepared everything we thought they might ask for, and it was successful meeting. We passed the audit with them saying we had a very high level of compliance with their conditions,” he explains. “We had a virtually full time environmental officer on the project to make sure we complied with everything.”

Environmental concerns included management of quarantine practices when a damaging soil fungus was found on site, and also care with regard to Aboriginal artefacts found in the area. This, combined with an inability to conduct the comprehensive geotechnical investigation they would have preferred, made the project more difficult when they discovered variable foundation conditions, a delay that required a more costly workaround, though the project remained on budget.

In hindsight, Joseph says he would push for a more thorough geotechnical survey, but praises the team for working well “to come together at short notice and work through those issues”. A weekly ‘issues’ list identified any potential problems and allowed everyone to collaborate on solutions, a process that involved open communication between the team and the client, and a key factor in their success. “The client was always involved and happy to hear our fearless advice and work through the issues,” he notes.

The result is a dam that now serves two councils’ water needs, and will serve them for decades to come considering the inbuilt provisions for future upgrades. “We’ve thought of future issues,” says Joseph.

And as for those letter-writers? They were flooded out by the amount of public support the dam received throughout construction. Dam open days attracted more than 800 people, with fortnightly tours heavily booked. Staff volunteered to coordinate the tours, which Joseph says is testament to the dedication of the team, and a confirmation of public support: “We’ve built an asset out there that people are genuinely interested in.”

And the award is a great way to commemorate the dam in an otherwise busy schedule, he believes: “We move from project to project; as we finish one, we quickly start up the next. By working through the award process we get to reflect on our achievement.”

“We’ve built an asset out there that people are genuinely interested in”

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PMAA 2009 • 17

COMMUNITY SERVICE/DEVELOPMENT

Almighty Achievement

National Winner: Community Service/DevelopmentCanberra Goulburn World Youth Day Project

ARCHDIOCESE OF CANBERRA & GOULBURN

Contrary to popular belief, the Catholic Church is not a monolithic organisation rolling around in money. So when Shawn Van

Der Linden, director of CatholicLIFE, and his team had to deliver the Canberra Goulburn World Youth Day Project, they had no organisational event template to follow and a shoestring budget with which to undertake a huge event.

“We were dealing with an event with a very strong local element, combined with a national element, combined with an international element,” Van Der Linden remarks. “It was all a success, the 18-month preparation program, the 35 events related to the journey of the cross and icon and then the actual Days in the Dioceses week, bringing in 4,000 internationals, feed them, clothe them, transport them.”

The project began almost two years before Pope Benedict XVI graced Australian shores in July 2008, starting with just one and a half people in preparation. The nature of the event was already complex: inability to predict pilgrim numbers obscured the main cost drivers and forced the archdiocese to build scale into their plan. Furthermore, Van Der Linden had just taken a role in a new pastoral position with a new Archbishop at the helm, so the organisation was in a state of transition. “Morale was low at the diocese at the time,” he admits.

An injection of project management put them on track. With consultation help from Cordelta, the archdiocese applied project principles that gave them clearer roles and responsibilities, of particular assistance when the team grew to include people offering volunteer support. “Boyd McCarron [of Cordelta] came in at a critical time for us,” says Van Der Linden. “The work he did around roles and governance was incredibly helpful. There were many people who were very passionate and highly committed to the cause, and we needed a structure to guide that passion and energy.”

While the success of the visible side of the project, World Youth Day and the activities surrounding the event, is well noted, Van Der Linden flags another area where

the project had a win: the adoption of project management principles for the organisation. “The application of project management principles in a non-project management environment had a dramatic impact on the archdiocese and community. It saw a highly decentralised, diverse community come together and have a coordinated approach to something,” he says.

“We probably bit off more than we could chew, but it was that combination of people just choosing to work together and having a gritty determination to make something that looked impossible happen, combined with the application of some important project management principles, which got us over the line.”

Given this, Van Der Linden says he wants to use a more project-based approach for future events and activities in the diocese, though acknowledges some resistance to project management in a faith-based context. “We have to strive for that fit that does exist, it’s nothing to be scared of,” he says. “Reading through the Bible on some of the things Jesus did, I think he was a pretty good project manager.”

“We needed a structure to guide that passion and energy”

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18 • PMAA 2009

SUSTAINABLE PROJECTS

National Winner: Sustainable ProjectsSunshine Electricity – Broadwater & Condong Bio-mass Co-generation Project

COFFEY PROJECTS

Sweet Victory

Ask anyone with a toddler and they’ll tell you that sugar equals energy—but also that there’s a high before

a crash. Producing sustainable energy involves a more technological undertaking, which Coffey tackled when it modernised two old sugar mills located in the townships of Broadwater and Condong in northern NSW to produce biofuels to power 60,000 homes in the Northern Rivers region.

“In effect we were combining 1900 [era] buildings with state-of-the-art technology currently available,” says Dave Mason, Coffey’s projects manager in Queensland. “There was very old technology in the mill going to be integrated into a very modern facility.”

Out of scope was the refurbishment the mills required to comply with fire, health and safety regulations, which Coffey and the engineer, procure and construct (EPC) contractor had to deal with before they could proceed with the new power station. “The

“The best resolution was always obtained when we could get the parties together to talk about a project-fi rst approach”

contract was in regard to the new project and didn’t include any upgrades on the old building,” Mason explains. “As with all projects, no one wants to spend any more money than budgeted. We had to work through each problem, making sure all the approvals were in place and that it was adequately funded.”

The contract had already proved complicated, with the project principal, Sunshine Electricity participating in a joint venture between NSW state-owned Delta Electricity and the NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative. “At times these parties had a very different set of objectives and didn’t have strong alignment on certain aspects of the project. In addition, the EPC contractor was a joint venture and we also had three separate funding organisations that also monitored the project very carefully,” says Mason of the varied stakeholders. As a result, the project required a high level of communication and collaboration.

The project’s major achievement was the maintenance of open dialogue “through a protracted period and under some fairly tight and onerous contractual negotiations,” Mason says. “We really had to work hard at keeping the channels of communication open, making sure the parties didn’t retreat into their various corners to fight a battle on legal matters. The best resolution was always obtained when we could get the parties together to talk about a project-first approach.”

Another source of pride was turning the community’s unfavourable opinion of the project into alignment, including attaining the endorsement of the Aboriginal Land Council. “Getting the community on side was a very big plus,” Mason confirms.

The Sustainable Projects category is new, so winning the first one was very satisfying for the Coffey team, which prides itself on delivering environmental solutions. “Coffey Projects is using this project to help us leverage into other areas where different biofuels are being used to generate electricity in different parts of the world,” says Mason. “It has put us on the map in terms of how to create alternative fuel sources.”

He adds it’s also a win for collaboration between big business and local communities, showing that a partnership of that nature can produce a positive outcome: “To think sugar cane farmers are now producing electricity is out of the box, it’s really the way of the future.”

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PMAA 2009 • 19

INDIVIDUAL AWARD

Setting the Benchmark

National Winner: Project Director of the YearMandurah Ocean Marina

CHRIS CARMAN

“I like managing the process of changing something”

Chris Carman is a patient man. The managing director of Benchmark

Projects started work on the Mandurah Ocean Marina, Western Australia, in 1998 and only now, more than a decade later, has he collected the title of Project Director of the Year for transforming a sleepy fishing village into “an international standard integrated mixed-use marina complex for tourism and residential and commercial retail activities around it, as well as 550 moorings for boats,” he says.

Carman admits he knew little about marinas in the early days, so given the responsibility to deliver, he took off on a study tour around the world. “Not only did I study how they were designed, I spoke to people who managed them, operated them, and asked them ‘what are the shortcomings in the marina that you find difficult to operate?’ I came back with a pile of information on best practice.”

The result is exactly what client Landcorp, the WA government’s development agency, asked for and more: a world-class marina that has not only improved the environmental management of the area, but has increased jobs and tourism, and enhanced the community’s standard of living.

The first challenge was obtaining stakeholder agreement. According to Carman, redeveloping Mandurah “had been debated by the community for 30 years” and there were a number of stakeholders with widely diverse views. “Once I was given the project it was up to me to get those people all talking the same language. That took me 12 months,” he says. “There’s almost always a solution to the technical stuff. When you add people, that’s when real complexity comes in. The challenge is what’s enjoyable.”

Another big task was tackling various environmental problems, including an uncontrolled marine repair facility, the caravan park’s leaky sewer pipe, and behaviour that saw sailors “just toss things over the side whenever they felt like it”. Add the area’s abundant marine life such as dolphins, crabs, stingrays and fish, as well as migratory birds, and Carman highlights how strict they were with the environmental side of the plan. Not only did they relocate the birds’ nesting habitat away from the site, they did the same with sea life by de-watering the harbour in halves. “We had fishermen go into the area and physically relocate the marine life over the top of the temporary dam walls that we built. We did that twice. That was to prevent death of marine life, having them sucked up in pumps,” explains Carman.

Now the water quality is better than ever and the accolades continue to roll in for the marina. This individual award is something Carman regards particularly highly, however, as it has been judged by his peers on his project management skills, rather than on a construction level. “It gives me enormous professional pride. It also humbles me,” he remarks.

And his community-changing deeds aren’t likely to stop any time soon: “I like managing the process of changing something. It gives me tremendous satisfaction to take something from its pre-existing state and deliver a product that enhances people’s standard of living. But I’m also pretty passionate pursuing things in sustainability; not just the environmental bit, but the ongoing ability of something to keep giving.”

CHRIS CARMAN WITH DAVID HUDSON

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20 • PMAA 2009

INDIVIDUAL AWARD

High Five

National Winner: Project Manager of the YearClarence Valley Council’s Sewerage Augmentation Program

GEOFF GORTON

NSW Department of Commerce (now NSW Public Works) senior project manager Geoff Gorton had

his work cut out for him when he took on the Clarence Valley Council’s Sewerage Augmentation Program more than five years ago. Due to an amalgamation of five separate councils into one in 2004, Gorton had to develop a program that would accommodate five independently designed projects.

“The individual councils all had jobs on the books that were in various stages of construction, so when the Clarence Valley Council was formed, Public Works was engaged to see how we could deal with those,” he explains. “My key task on day one was to schedule all those projects, check on their status and build them into a program so councils could prioritise them and afford to do them all.”

Gorton had to retrofit the five individual projects into a complete sewerage infrastructure works program with a budget of $150 million, to be delivered over four stages by 2012.

One of the early challenges was the booming economy, with the mining industry attracting a lot of the contractors they needed. As a result, Gorton and his team had to devise a way of securing contractors while keeping under budget. The first step involved conducting a review of their procurement strategy, including surveying the construction industry about how they would like the works to be packaged for tender. The result was the creation of an innovative contract method he says will serve them well throughout the whole program.

“We as a team identified where we believed the contractual risk was in the packages. We brought the contractors in and shared where we believed the risks should be fairly allocated,” Gorton explains. “As a result of these workshops we repackaged our contracts so when it came to the tender phase they knew where to price risk, they weren’t pricing undue risk. The early contractor involvement process allowed us to attract suitable contractors and come in under budget.” The program now considers the update and review of their procurement strategy foremost in developing contract packages.

NSW Public Works selected Gorton to represent the organisation at the PMAAs, which he says was humbling in itself, but he is further grateful for the support he’s received from colleagues and his client, and the recognition offered by his peers in being awarded the title. Most of all, he acknowledges his wife’s role in his win. “The most impressed people are my wife and family. Without the support of my wife, my career wouldn’t be where it is now and I wouldn’t have reached this pinnacle.”

And it may not be over yet; Gorton still has until the fourth stage reaches completion in 2012 to nominate for another title. Finishing will be reward enough, he says: “It’s immensely satisfying to be involved with the client from early development right through the delivery. A pure project manager gets to see his baby conceived and delivered. I’ve been here since day one and I’ll be here until it’s handed over.”

“A pure project manager gets to see his baby conceived and delivered”

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PMAA 2009 • 21

INDIVIDUAL AWARD

Rising star

National Winner: Project Team Member of the YearDLA Phillips Fox Legal Offi ce Fitout

AARON WIGLEY

Just three years ago, Point Project Management was an ACT microbusiness with five people; now, the

organisation has a few dozen employees on its staff across Australia. It’s fitting, then, that one of its rising stars has grown with them. Aaron Wigley, named Project Team Member of the Year at both chapter and national level, worked on the DLA Phillips Fox Legal Office Fitout, which was a national finalist in the new Sustainable Projects category.

Engaged as the project management contract administrators, Point procured everything from the design to the construction of the legal firm’s new Canberra office. The new lease required tenants to maintain a 4.5-star NABERS rating, which meant identifying and minimising operational impacts such as resource usage. In developing a plan for the fitout, Point discovered that DLA Phillips Fox did not yet have a sustainability agenda.

“We encouraged them to set a new standard for their offices and put that forward to the engineers and architects to better the 4.5-star rating,” says Wigley, the assistant project manager.

He took responsibility for development of an environmental agenda, and by liaising with the client, convinced them to reach for a 5-star rating, which would enable them to not only meet requirements but also attract good public relations for the project.

Part of the project used a world-first innovation for power management that split circuits into an essential and non-essential stream. The non-essential circuit is designed to turn off automatically at a time of the client’s choosing, while the essential circuit stays on to run electrical items such as computers. This, in addition to a sustainable lighting solution, saw Point win the PMAA for Sustainable Projects at the ACT awards.

For Wigley, being involved in the whole project lifecycle was its own reward. “The good thing about this project was that I was there right from the start from putting a proposal together, conception, development, management, then handover,” he says. “I personally take pride in the fact that I was able to assist in delivering a project where I can see all the end users sitting in the office working business as normal.”

Wigley further expresses his appreciation for everyone involved in the project, from the client to the contractors, and says interaction is one of things he enjoys most about project management. “As the project manager we get to deal directly with the client, other consultants and contractors, architects, engineers, builders, all with different perspectives and different skill sets right down to the end user level. I’m a people person, I like to meet different people all the time and learn different things,” he says.

And in keeping with this high regard of his colleagues, Wigley dedicates this individual award to them: “I see this award as more a sign of a successful project and a project will only be successfully completed by all the team members in it, and the client. I’m only as good as the people I’m working with.”

“I like to meet different people all the time and learn different things”

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22 • PMAA 2009

NATIONAL AWARDS NIGHT

THE ADELAIDE CONVENTION CENTRE

ELIZABETH AND HEINZ HASELROITHER

BACK: WAYNE WILSON, KIERAN KELEHER, COURTENAY BLAND, MARK JACKSON, HUW JONES

FRONT: JAMES READ, STUART GRANT

BILL YOUNG

RED. WHITE & SPARKLING

ALEX CHEN, PETER IND, LYNETTE BRYAN, BOB ELLETT

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PMAA 2009• 23


ANDREA GOODWIN AND PAUL MURRAY TREVOR BAIGENT AND MARTIN ELLIOT

BRONWYN CROSS AND SHARYN WHITE

TOM ALGEO, CHIVONNE WATT, BILL YOUNG

ALL LAID OUT


24 • PMAA 2009


BRENDA AINSWORTH AND KEITH O’SHEA

PETER RICHTER AND PETER DECHAINEUX

GEOFF GORTON AND STUART HUGHSON

GARY WARNER, VINCE PAOLELLA, BILL YOUNG

GARY KENNEDY AND PETER MEYER

PARTY TIME!


PMAA 2009• 25


IAN HENSCHKE

GUY WILMINGTON AND ERIC GASCHK

A GALA NIGHT

SHAWN VAN DER LINDEN AND SIMON WOOLRYCH

JUMPING JACK FLASH AS THE BEATLES

DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY


26 • PMAA 2009

CHAPTER AWARDS NIGHTS

ACT Project Management Achievement Awards

Hotel Realm, Barton26 August 2009

SHAUN MARTENS, LUCIANO FABRIZIO, CAINE BARLIN, IAIN DAVIDSON

BOB JENKINS, PETER TENNYSON, GREG HUTT, TERRY RICHARDS MARK CORMACK, SHERRY HAMISH, IAN THOMPSON, LINDA COX, DAVID FOOT

ARCHDIOCESE OF CANBERRA AND GOULBURN PROJECT TEAM

DOUG FOX, IAN WARWICK, PETER MOLLISON

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PMAA 2009 • 27


NSW Project Management Achievement Awards

Doltone House, Pyrmont17 September 2009

SAM JONES AND CAROL HOPPER

VINCENT JOSEPH AND CATHY WAGNER

NSW AWARD WINNERS

FRANCIS D’LIMA, GREG PHILIPPE, GREIG SCHUETRUMPF, JANJA SOLDO, GEOFF GORTON, VINCENT JOSEPH, PETER HOGAN

VINCE PAOLELLA, GARY WARNER


28 • PMAA 2009


NT Project Management Achievement Awards

Pee Wee’s at the Point, East Point4 September 2009

SUNSET AT PEE WEE’S

MINISTER CHRIS BURNS

JASON THOMSON, STEWART LINES, MICK AUMULLER, ANTHONY VERNA, LEANNE TAYLOR, PETER MEYER

GUESTS ARRIVE FOR PRE-DINNER DRINKS OVERLOOKING THE BEAUTIFUL TIMOR SEA

TIMOR BEHIND THE TABLES


PMAA 2009 • 29


QLD Project Management Achievement Awards

Sebel-Citigate King George Square Hotel, Brisbane4 September 2009

ANTHONY AND KATE HICKS

DAVID HUDSON

GEOFFREY MOORE, RICHARD ROBINSON, DAVID HUDSON, TERRY O’SULLIVAN

DAVID HUDSON AND MIKE ANSTEE

ROB AND CAROL ANN HARSTEDT


30 • PMAA 2009


SA Project Management Achievement Awards

National Wine Centre of Australia, Adelaide11 September 2009

CINDY WADSWORTH AND CHARLES IRVING

ANGELA AND RALF RICCIARDI STEVE MILNER, JOHN DOMINO, SIMON WOOLRYCH

RICHARD AMATO, ROB SNOWDON, SIMON BLOM

STEVE MILNER


PMAA 2009 • 31


TAS Project Management Achievement Awards

Tattersall’s Park Function Centre, Glenorchy28 August 2009

MITCHELL KNEVETT, KATH WILSON, STUART HUGHSON

ANDREA MOUNTER, STUART HUGHSON, DAVID MOUNTER

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES PROJECT TEAM

BRONWYN CROSS AND SHARYN WHITE

MARTIN MACKOWSKI AND PHIL KLYE


32 • PMAA 2009


VIC Project Management Achievement Awards

Shed 14 Atlantic, Docklands27 August 2009

ROBERT NIEUWENHUIS AND JANE CLARKE

KEVIN SCOTT AND PETER STUART

STANDING: TONY TANNER, NATALIE BAKAS, GARY LANE, PAUL GOSS, GRAHAM WATKINS, KIERAN CONNELL; SITTING: RICK SAGE, KARLA ARRIETA, SID SIMON, KYLIE OWEN

CON EVRIPIDOU, GEORGINA STAVRINIDES, ROB MCCATHIE, DANELLE JONES.

GARY YORKE, BERNARD LAUINGER

TERRI CLEMENTSON, PETER SEXTON


PMAA 2009 • 33


WA Project Management Achievement Awards

The Old Swan Brewery, Perth28 August 2009

WA WATER CORPORATION PROJECT TEAM

GUESTS ENJOY THE NIGHT

PRESENTING THE PRIZE

DINNER AT THE BREWERY

SETTING THE SCENE


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2009 - AIPM

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