Bush Engineering
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Transcript of Bush Engineering
BUSH ENGINEERING
Tony Brun
Director of Engineering Services
Town of Narrogin
Bush Engineering What’s this all about?
• aim of the paper is to identify what is the best course of action in terms of engineering and construction service delivery in smaller rural areas
• this has been done through a study tour of eastern states rural local government , funded through an IMEA Fellowship
• discussions held with US, UK, European and South African engineers over the Net
The Narrogin Background
• Narrogin is made up of a Town and Shire Council, which both had their own separate work forces up to January 1997
• A joint meeting in May 1996 resolved to form a single work force
• The aim was to have a Regional Council as the service provider by July 1997 (this has since been deferred to July 1998)
The Narrogin Background
• the combination of the work forces has allowed for the dispersal of sundry plant
• on-site performance has improved markedly in terms of quality and quantity
• administration of the unit is still separate and cumbersome and has some way to go, with all pays, accounts, budgets, etc. all totally separate
Narrogin - Plant Changes
Town Shire Combined Future
1xGrader 3xGraders 3xGraders 3xGraders
1xLoader 1xLoader 2xLoaders 1xLoader
1xBackhoe 1xBackhoe 2xBackhoe 1xBackhoe
• Potential plant saving grader, loader and backhoe with an approximate replacement value of $520,000
• Additional plant purchased jointly 2 x multi-tyre rollers and a self propelled vibrating roller
Narrogin - Structure
Wheatbelt South Area
• 19 Local Governments within 100 km radius of Narrogin (only including Local Governments in Wheatbelt South region)
• 3,201 km of sealed roads
• 13,884 km of gravel roads
• combined engineering budget (mostly roads) in the order of $12.4M
• Regional Road Group budget of $2.45M
Wheatbelt South Area
• one engineer in area
• limited use of RoMan and no other asset or maintenance management systems in place
• no adoption of quality systems for design, construction or maintenance
Main Roads • Use Local Government as provider of
construction & maintenance services at lower end (projects <$500M)
• scheme only for rural & regional areas
• Local Government to be used as training ground for MRWA engineers on the above projects
• increase turnover of Local Government works and to ensure local employment
Water & Sewerage• Councils in Qld identified Water &
Sewerage as being a major source of revenue through cross subsidy
• transfer of water & sewerage infrastructure to Local Government
• State Government to retain control on Regional distribution and standards
• broader revenue base for Local Government & Engineering budgets
Direction - where to from here?• broad scaled resource sharing or
amalgamation in smaller rural areas
• partnership arrangements for service delivery of Main Roads programmes
• transfer of water & sewerage infrastructure to Local Government
• the utilisation of modern management techniques including asset, maintenance and quality systems in rural areas
Engineers’ Role in Reform
• Engineers have the responsibility for the greater part of local infrastructure
• Engineers should take the leading role in reform and not leave the process to “bean counters”
• The present offers the best opportunity ever for Engineers to become the leaders in Local Government
Shire of Dryandra ?
Population - 15,600 Revenue - $19.5M Area - 19,600 sq.km
THE END
Narrogin Town Hall and Townscape Redevelopment
Country Style Living