Engineers Media

MAGAZINES ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA - back

This monthly news magazine is produced in two editions – a General edition and a Civil edition. It covers news related to all disciplines of engineering. The General Edition circulates mainly to members affiliated with the Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Biomedical, Environmental and ITEE Colleges of Engineers Australia. The Civil Edition circulates mainly to members affiliated with the Civil and Structural Colleges of Engineers Australia. Produced by Engineers Media.

Engineers Australia members can view and search an archive of previous issues. Log in at www.engineersaustralia.org.au, then go to "Resources and Library",
then "Online Library/Engineers Australia magazine".

August 2010

Included in this issue:

Cover story: Images of engineering
This year’s photo competition attracted hundreds of images from around the world, providing an insight into the vast range of projects that engineers are involved in and the multitude of locations they work from.

Material handling (General)
The lead article of this feature reveals new automation technology that is being employed in the Pilbara region by Rio Tinto for its mining operations. Other articles include a report from the Australian Society for Bulk Solids Handling, upcoming inspections for forklift licences, a plan for a conveyor research association and three new materials handling products.

Biomedical (General)
This feature includes articles on a bionic eye development; a device to help patients avoid amputations due to gangrene; and an artificial heart. A report on the work of the Biomedical College is also included.

Steel construction(Civil)
– Intricate steel forms arena
– Assistance for steel framing design
– Steel house passes trial by fire
– Tighter quality assurance
required on imported products

Bridges (Civil)
The lessons of Hurricane Katrina in the US were incorporated in the bridge design of Australia’s longest bridge, opened last month in Brisbane, as the lead article describes. Also in this feature is an article about fitting tuned mass dampers to a pedestrian bridge in Sydney to reduce excitation in the structure. In the far north, a bridge will raise the roadway above wet season flood levels and in Victoria a heritage-listed bridge has been closed.

July 2010

Included in this issue:

Cover story: Engineering focus on South Australia
While Engineers Australia has found the state’s infrastructure to be under stress, many projects are under way to improve conditions. The state is also establishing itself as a leader in renewable energy.

Recruitment (General & Civil )
The main story discusses the challenges and paradoxes that migrant engineers face when seeking employment in Australia despite a skills shortage. Other articles include the current trend of pay rises in the engineering industry, a look at why job seekers are not finding work, and the work of Engineers Australia’s recruitment service engteam.com.au.

Executive Engineer (General & Civil)
– Developing leadership capabilities
– Building teams
– Engineers Australia's Strategic Plan
– Executing your plan
– Role models for young female engineers
– Change managers add value

June 2010

Included in this issue:

Cover story: Australia's Top 100 engineers
Engineers are present in many top positions around the country. The seventh annual report on Australia’s 100 most influential engineers reveals engineering leaders in business, government and research.

Pump (General)
The main story discusses an upgrade of a wastewater system in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney. Also included are an article about an unusual water supply system recently built in Indonesia and new products.

Software (General)
The use of software to model pipe-flushing operations is reported in the lead article of this feature. Other articles include an agreement between companies to use simulation technology, why software that enforces asset uniqueness is important in enterprise asset management, and the new tools that are being used to assess recycled water quality and use, and several new products.

Façade (Civil)
A hotel in Melbourne features a façade that is like a “hood over the building”, as the lead article describes. Two other articles look into the wind modelling that helped perfect the facade designs. The use of toughened glass is also discussed in this feature, with respect to the design considerations needed to be incorporated to ensure public safety.

Positioning/GPS (Civil)
The arrival of a mobile laser scanner capable of surveying the landscape while you drive, is the focus of the lead article. The network of ground-based reference stations being rolled out around Australia continues at varying speeds, depending on the state or territory, as one article discusses, while another discusses the mapping software helping in the collation of data for the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

May 2010

Included in this issue:

Cover story: Engineering leadership
This year’s Engineering Leadership Conference, held in Brisbane this month, explored the characteristics of good leadership and the special challenges faced by engineering leaders.

New recruitment services(General and Civil)
Matching talent with jobs – Engineers Australia launches its own recuritment service

Pollution control (General)
The use of wind-tunnel modelling to design air exhaust and intake systems for the Fiona Stanley Hospital is the lead article of this feature. Details on the grounding of a Chinese coal carrier on the Great Barrier Reef and emissions in the Brisbane Clem Jones Tunnel are the other stories contained.

Aeronautical engineering (General)
The feature opens with an interview with Fred Abbink, an internationally recognised leader in avionics, who was in the country for an Eminent Speaker tour last month. The feature also covers the arrival of Super Hornets to replace Australia’s aging F-111 fleet as well as the opening of new facilities in Sydney for a Defence maintenance contract.

Concrete (Civil)
An article about the rehabilitation of a hardstand area in Victoria leads this feature and discusses the problem causing the initial damage and the solution to combat it. A record-breaking pour in a mine and the construction of a new bridge in Mackay, both in Queensland, are covered. Also, we look into new technology embedded into precast concrete on the Port Botany project to determine early-age concrete strength.

Site rehabilitation (Civil)
The lead story reports on the installation of permeable barriers to clean up a toxic plume of groundwater before it enters a river in a Perth suburb. Also included are articles on a bauxite residue database, sustainable remediation and a project to remediate a floodplain on the Murray River.

April 2010

Included in this issue:

Cover story: Decommissioning Moata
The dismantling of the Moata nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights on the southern edge of Sydney is nearing completion. Moata means “gentle fire” or “fire-stick” in some indigenous languages. It is the first reactor to be decommissioned in Australia.

Executive Engineer (General and Civil)
– Reflections on leadership
– Why engineers make good leader
– Be mindful of your image

Fire protection (General)
The lead story reports on the fire engineering design of a large university building in Melbourne. Other stories report on the upgrade of fire protection systems at the Sydney Town Hall and a trial of bushfire-detecting camera systems under way in NSW and Victoria. Also included is an article outlining Engineers Australia’s Society of Fire Safety’s plans for the year ahead.

Power engineering (General)
The future development of solutions to double energy capacity in the United Arab Emirates is reported in the lead article of this feature. Details on smart grid trials around Australia, Google’s plan to provide renewable energy cheaper than coal-generated energy, and praise from first graduates of a power generation course in Queensland are some of the other stories contained.

Pipes & drainage (Civil)
The lead story reports on the completion of a pipeline connecting the Goulburn River to Melbourne’s water supply. Also included are stories about pipelines in Sydney, Queensland and the NSW Central Coast, and a study an Australian engineering firm is carrying out in Sudan and Ethiopia.

Coastal Engineering (Civil)
The lead article of this feature reports from a conference that discussed the challenges to coastal infrastructure. A dredging project in Fremantle, concrete structures in a marine environment and a planned development of the outer harbour at Port Kembla, NSW, are some of the other stories covered.

March 2010

Included in this issue:

Cover story: Building a bigger port for Sydney
The birthplace of modern Australia continues to evolve as an engineering project reclaims another 60ha of Botany Bay and installs 1850m of wharf face for the expansion of the container terminal. Advanced modelling and the latest construction techniques are important aspects of the project.

Victoria (General and Civil)
The lead story reports on an Engineers Australia assessment of Victoria’s infrastructure. Also included are articles on the National Winter Sports Centre, the Rectangular Stadium, Victoria’s desalination plant and a biosciences research centre being built in Bundoora.

Lighting (General)
A trial of LED lighting installation in commercial premises has found mixed results, as the lead article describes. Yet LED continues to be used in new buildings such as One Shelley Place where the lighting helps the building achieve six star environmental ratings, as one other article details. Also in this feature, a trial is under way at an export terminal to bathe a port in different wavelengths of light in the yellow spectrum to decrease pest infestation.

Earthmoving/tunelling (Civil)
Plenty of projects around Australia are coming up with novel solutions for building over unsuitable ground conditions encountered, like old mines or poor geological conditions. The lead article describes a mine infilling operation, while another describes stabilisation techniques to solve this problem. Articles about new rock bolt testing and mining equipment are also contained in this feature.

February 2010

Included in this issue:

Cover story: Innovative awareness campaign goes public
The latest electronic communications tools and social networks are being harnessed in Engineers Australia’s Make it So campaign, turning thousands of Engineers Australia members into active participants.

Haiti (General and Civil)
How better engineering could mitigate similar disasters. The lead story discusses reconstruction challenges in Haiti.

Corrosion prevention (General)
Early signs of corrosion in the desalination plant on the Gold Coast have led to a number of different solutions to ensure the plant reaches its full design life, as the lead article describes. One article talks about Prof Robert Melchers being commended for his work on modelling corrosion, while another discusses maintenance work on carbon-in-leach production tanks at a gold mine in Western Australia to ensure continued production.

Testing instrumentation (General)
Two stories in this feature deal with testing of composite materials. The first discusses the manufacture of composite airplane parts, while the other reports on a method to check existing composite structures for damage. Other articles describe the sensors at Sydney’s desalination plant and preview the Chemeca 2010 conference.

Timber (Civil)
Businesses, universities and research organisations across the Tasman are collaborating in projects seeking to explore, develop and encourage the use of timber in long span multi-storey construction, as the lead article describes. The design used in old lighthouses along the Queensland coast is covered in an article on heritage. The development of structural timber from laminated veneer lumber and forest thinnings is also discussed.

Cladding (Civil)
- Retractable roof for tennis arena
- PVC materials under review

January 2010

Included in this issue:

Cover story: Engineering a sustainable world
– Reports from Copenhagen
– Cars of the future
– Green jobs and economy
– Geothermal energy

Liability/Risk (General and Civil)
The lead story discusses how organisations can repeat mistakes if they fail to learn from them, sometimes with serious consequences. This feature also covers a guide to resolving construction disputes, the risk aspect of engineering performance, a new Australian standard for risk management, the positioning of Australia as an arbitration destination, landslide risks and reporting circumstances for professional indemnity insurance.

Minerals processing (General)
Africa seems to be a growing market for Australian mining engineering companies. This feature contains two reports on Australian companies operating there. Also included is a story on the work of an Australian consultancy in India.

Mining (Civil)
Africa seems to be a growing market for Australian mining engineering companies. This feature contains two reports on Australian companies operating there, as well as a related article discussing how mining and minerals projects in southern Africa are stimulating other industries. Also included is a report on New Zealand’s largest underground coal mine.

December 2009

Included in this issue:

Cover story: 2009 Engineering Excellence Awards
A record number of entries were submitted in the annual awards that recognise outstanding projects, innovations and individual contributions to the profession.

Safety (General)
Australian states and territories currently have different health and safety laws, but the plan to harmonise them may not eliminate all the differences, the lead story reports. Other articles describe recently released standards and report an engineer’s concern that trying to eliminate all accidents in the workplace is counterproductive.

Computers/Communication (General)
The installation of wireless broadband on the remote Elcho Island is covered in the lead story of this feature. The other articles delve into the importance of the digital economy, the technology behind the digital radio, the ratification of a wireless standard, mesoscale modelling on computers, the launch of a broadcasting joint venture, Australia’s new supercomputer, an information system across several coal handling and preparation plants, and the new policy agreements on ewaste.

Safety (Civil)
Australian states and territories currently have different health and safety laws, but the plan to harmonise them may not eliminate all the differences, the lead story reports. Other articles describe recently released standards and report an engineer’s concern that trying to eliminate all accidents in the workplace is counterproductive.

Stormwater (Civil)
The lead story summarises the National Stormwater Excellence Awards presented by the Stormwater Industry Association while the other articles cover government funding for national stormwater projects, related news and projects in Sydney and Canberra, research into improving wetlands, a winning carpark project in Victoria and a new product to help control flooding.

November 2009

Included in this issue:

Cover story: Incoming national president
Professor Doug Hargreaves will take over from Peter Godfrey at the Annual General Meeting in Canberra on 26 November. Leadership will be the main theme of his presidency.

Maintenance (General)
The lead story reports on the dangers of relying too much on statistical predictions of when components are likely to fail. It is based on a paper presented at a recent asset management conference in Sydney. Also included are a discussion of a new online approach to condition monitoring and an update from Engineers Australia’s Asset Management Council.

Process Engineering (General)
The lead story reports on a project to reduce gas and electricity use in cotton manufacturing. This feature also discusses Chemeca conference proceedings and describes a combined slurry analyser being developed by the CSIRO.

Roads/Road Maintenance (Civil)
Sydney’s motorways could be owned and controlled by a single government/private sector partnership under a proposal discussed in the lead article. This feature also reports on the recent completion of the New Perth Bunbury Highway, highway upgrades in the Melbourne and Sydney regions, a new ring road for Bundaberg, road quarry expertise and some new products.

Concrete (Civil)
The Concrete Institute of Australia recently announced its biennial Excellence in Concrete awards, the subject of the lead article. Also in this feature are reports on the Concrete Solutions 09 conference, concrete retaining walls and a fire resistant and energy efficient house in Adelaide constructed from precast concrete sandwich panels.

October 2009

Included in this issue:

Cover story: United Arab Emirates
Construction in the United Arab Emirates and other countries along the Gulf is continuing at a fast pace, despite the global economic downturn. Shown on the cover is the Aldar headquarters at the Al Raha Beach development in Abu Dhabi.

Defence Equipment (General)
There has been further progress with the Australian Navy’s air warfare destroyers, with new contracts recently being let. Other articles focus on military vehicle development, the LHD ships and the first delivery to Australia of Super Hornet fighter aircraft.

Building Services/HVAC (General)
The lead discusses the effect of urban heat islands on building design. Other articles discuss the crucial role smart lighting plays in energy efficiency, an upcoming exhibition, a recent fan installation project, innovation awards and some new products.

Water Supplies/Wastewater (Civil)
The lead story reports on an Australian firm retrofitting gates to a dam in Colombia. This feature also looks at a second desalination plant for Western Australia, Orange’s stormwater recycling scheme and a dam being built in the ACT.

Civil Engineering Software (Civil)
The lead article expounds on a new business process system for the construction industry. Other articles in this feature report on several new releases of civil engineering software, the use of calculation and design software in a hospital project, the software used for the West Gate Freeway upgrade, design software for a landscaping project and implementation of a new ramp signals software on Monash Freeway.

Executive Engineer
– Improving ethical behaviour by reducing time pressure
– The varied roles of an Army engineer officer
– Guide to becoming a leader

September 2009

Included in this issue:

Cover story: Queensland
Some of Queensland’s new and recently-completed engineering projects are discussed in this special feature. In addition to construction projects, it includes articles on solar power and cutting-edge research into hypersonic engines.

Railways/Rolling Stock (General)
The lead article argues the case for a central planning authority to coordinate rail reform. Other articles report on new passenger and freight initiatives around the country, a recruitment initiative for railway workers, the RTSA’s perspective on rail reform and a smart ticketing system already proven in Perth.

Railways (General)
The lead article argues the case for a central planning authority to coordinate rail reform. Other articles report on new passenger and freight initiatives around the country, a recruitment initiative for railway workers, the RTSA’s perspective on rail reform and a smart ticketing system already proven in Perth.

August 2009

Included in this issue:

Cover story: 2009 Photo Competition
Engineers Australia magazine’s second annual national photo competition received 135 submissions, many containing more than one photo, resulting in a total of about 400 images. Shown here are the 15 finalists, including the winner and two high commendations.

Materials Handling (General)
Melbourne Airport has redeveloped and expanded its baggage-handling system as the lead article reports. Other articles cover new software for analysing bulk flows, research into conveyer belt trajectories and some new products.

Process Control/Instrumentation (General edition)
The lead story reports on a recent installation of new process control software at a liquid hydrocarbons plant in South Australia. Also included are stories on laser sampling, a contract in New Caledonia and an international automation award presented to an Australian engineer.

Steel Construction (Civil)
This feature provides news on the steel industry and recent steel constructions. It also delves into the topic of imported steel and the sustainability aspects of steel construction.

Bridges (Civil)
The lead article discusses a new bridge over the Victoria River in the Northern Territory, which has been elevated so that it remains passable in wet season floods. Other articles report on a new bridge across Bramble Bay in Brisbane’s north, a RedR assignment in war-torn Somalia, the installation of control measures for Tasmanian Devils at Denison Canal Bridge in Tasmania and the nearly complete Incheon Bridge in South Korea.