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a calendar of events.

2008 – Year of the Engineering Team

Engineers Australia
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Daily engineering news

29 September 2008

News

Australia and Texas open up engineering opportunities


Engineers Australia has made it easier for Australian engineers to gain licenses to work in Texas. Shown here signing the agreement in Austin are: (back row l-r) Peter Taylor, chief executive of Engineers Australia; Dale Beebe Farrow, executive director of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers; (front row l-r): Julie Hammer, national president of Engineers Australia; and Dr G Kemble Bennett, chair of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers.

Trade in engineering services between Australia and Texas was given a boost last week through the signing of a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) between Engineers Australia (EA) and the Texas Board of Professional Engineers (TBPE).
Mirroring the recent Canada MRA, the agreement with the TBPE provides for Australian chartered engineers or those on the National Professional Engineers Register (NPER) to gain a temporary renewable three-year license to work in Texas. 
In return, TBPE licensed engineers are eligible for membership of Engineers Australia at the chartered level and for placement on NPER. The MRA is the first for engineering services under the Australia /US Free Trade Agreement and does not apply to other US states.
The agreement was signed in Austin by Julie Hammer, EA national president; Peter Taylor, EA chief executive; G Kemble Bennett, board chair of the TBPE; and Dale Beebe Farrow, executive director of the TBPE.
According to EA chief executive Peter Taylor, having engineers on site in other countries cannot be substituted by the delivery of engineering services online.
“With multidisciplinary approaches to major projects being the norm, it is essential that countries streamline registration and licensing for professional services.
“Hopefully, this agreement will become a benchmark for similar arrangements for Australian engineers in other US states,” he said.

Seeking international recognition for associates

The project taskforce for the Year of the Engineering Team is supporting Engineers Australia’s efforts to accredit TAFEs and other Registered Training Organisations to the competency requirements for engineering associates. The goal is to become a full signatory to the Dublin Accord, which recognises the engineering associate level qualifications of member organisations around the world.
Engineers Australia has already signed the Sydney Accord, providing international recognition for qualifications at the engineering technologist level.
The taskforce, which has been in operation since 2007, was set up to carry out tasks related to this year’s theme which focuses on the engineering team.
One of its objectives for registration is to establish and publish a searchable Unified National Registration System for all occupational categories. 
The issue has been put to Nick Sherry, the federal minister for finance and deregulation, who is also chair of the Council of Australian Governments' Business Regulation and Competition Working Group. 
The EA National Council recently accepted a recommendation by the National Engineering Registration Board to establish a National Engineering Associates Register.
For more information on what the taskforce is doing, click here. Any feedback on the taskforce’s progress may be sent to taskforce@engineersaustralia.org.au.

Engineers can make a difference for the hungry

The CAN Voyage received an Honourable Mention in the US Canstruction Competition last year. It was made from 5400 cans by Freese and Nichols, an engineering consultant from Fort Worth, Texas.

Engineers with a taste for sculpture might like to enter the WA Canstruction Competition, a charity event where participants are required to build shapes and structures using tins of canned food.
The competition is organised by Foodbank WA, a not-for-profit organisation and is being promoted by Engineers Australia through the WA Division. It will be held at Curtin University in Perth in mid-2009 with a date yet to be confirmed.
The cans of food used in the sculptures will be distributed by Foodbank WA to the state's welfare agencies and schools' breakfast programs.
This will be the first time the competition, which originated in the US, is held in Australia. Previous competitions in the US have seen entries ranging from engineered structures like boats and trains to tortoises, polar bears and a strand of DNA. Prizes are given in areas including structural ingenuity, best use of labels and having the most cans used.
The competition is open to organisations and individuals from around the world. Entries close on 30 March 2009. For more information, email canstruction@foodbankwa.org.au or visit www.foodbankwa.org.au.

Notices

Have a say in where Engineers Australia is going

Members are invited to contribute to the development of the next strategic plan for Engineers Australia (EA). The plan will provide the framework for EA's activities over the period 2010 to 2015.
Planning sessions will be undertaken in Divisions, College Boards, and special interest groups over the next few months.  A final planning forum will be held next July, with the intention of recommending a new plan to Congress in November 2009.
The strategic plan must represent the interests of EA members and the community at large.
For more information, or to submit suggestions or comments, visit www.engineersaustralia.org.au/strategicplan2010.

Notice of annual general meeting 2008

The 88th annual general meeting of Engineers Australia will be held in the Members Dining Room 2 of the Old Parliament House in Parkes on 20 November.

Nominations sought for national deputy president

Engineers Australia is calling for nominations for the position of its national deputy president for 2009.
Current national deputy president Peter Godfrey will assume the position of national president at Engineers Australia’s National Congress meeting on 20 November 2008.
Bye-law 32.4.3 requires that the national deputy president shall be an Honorary Fellow or Fellow of Engineers Australia who has served at least one term as a delegate to the National Congress.
Voting for National Deputy President will take place at the National Congress meeting.
Eligible candidates are invited to obtain nomination and submission guideline forms by contacting the executive officer to Council on 02 6270 6509 or emailing executivesupport@engineersaustralia.org.au. Nominations close
on 17 October.

Fee changes from October

Engineers Australia has announced changes to the services and fees for chartered status assessment and membership admission which come into effect 1 October. All prices listed exclude GST.
The fee for a chartered status assessment will increase from $400 to $500. This is the first fee increase since 2001 and reflects increased administration and support costs.
The membership admission fee will increase from $40 to $50. First year graduates are exempt from this fee.
Members seeking readmission after a lapse in membership must pay a readmission fee of $50.
A member seeking chartered status reinstatement after a period of more than six months but less than five years, will require a desktop assessment of competency, equivalent to a CPD audit which will cost $200.
For a full list of conditions, visit the Engineers Australia website.

Nominate inspiring and influential women

Nominations are invited for the next edition of the publication Who’s Who of Australian Women to be released March 2009.
The theme of the edition is “Lessons we learn”. Entrants are encouraged to share their experiences on education and who may have inspired them. The idea behind the publication is to recognise modest, quiet achievers in society alongside more high profile women.
For more information click here.

Regional members needed for survey

Do you live or work in a regional area? Then the Regional Taskforce of Engineers Australia needs your help to complete a short survey.
The group aims to improve access to membership benefits, such as access to CPD and peer support, for members living in a regional area.
Information collected from this survey will assist Engineers Australia in understanding its regional members and improve the planning of CPD activities and other services.
The survey can be taken by clicking here.

Representatives sought for standards reviews

Engineers Australia (EA) is seeking representatives for several Standards Australia Committees. Members interested in participating on the committees can email Nina Lenz for more information.
The committees are:

• AG-008 Gas Distribution
• AG-013 Components used for Gas appliances & equipment
• BD-033 Chemical Admixtures for concrete
• BD-050 Aluminum Structures
• BD-069 Accuracy in Building Construction
• BD-083 Earth Building
• CE-028 Test Pumping Water Wells
• CS-021 Swimming Aids
• EL-006 Industrial Switchgear & Control Gear
• EL-008 Power Transformers
• EL-048 Wind Turbine Systems
• EL-053 Fire Hazard Testing - Electrical Equipment IT - 007 Public Access to IT Equipment
• IT-033 eBusiness Architecture & Data exchange
• ME-002 Gas Cylinders
• ME-016 Unitary Air Conditioners
• ME-018-04 Maintenance of Diesel engine systems for underground coal mines ME-020 Internal Combustion Engines
• ME-024 V-Belt drives
• ME-037 Rolling Bearings
• ME-046 Gas Fuel systems for vehicle engines
• ME-062-11 Air & water handling for power stations
• TX-004 Ropes & Cordage.

Publications

The AMA Guide to Management Development

DR Tobin, MS Pettingell
$50.00 + GST = $55.00

This guide distils years of research, filed testing and analysis of literally hundreds of competency models by the American Management Association. The authors have prepared a best of the best in management development, the competencies and skills identified here represent a broad spectrum of key approaches applicable to typical and unusual business settings. Depending on your own and your company's particular needs you can build on the structure of competencies to develop the ideal management development strategy.9780814408995 330pp. Read more...

Coaching for Emotional Intelligence

Bob Wall
$36.32 + GST = $39.95

This book will show managers how to develop emotional intelligence in their employees - and in themselves. You will discover:
How to establish guiding principle for work, culture and teamwork; how to identify your own blindspots and those of your people; why improving your own emotional intelligence will improve the performance of your direct report; how to conduct and prepare for a formal coaching interview; how to react when your employee is not responding to correction coaching.
2007 9780814408902 220pp. Read more...

Handbook of Civil Engineering Calculations

Tyler Hicks
$200.00 + GST = $220.00

Covering all aspects of civil engineering calculations in an easy-to-understand format, the 2nd edition of this handbook has been revised and updated with more than 500 key calculations that show you exactly how to compute the desired values for a particular design. Areas covered include structural steel engineering and design; reinforced and prestressed concrete engineering and design; timber engineering; soil mechanics; surveying, route design and highway abridges; fluid mechanics, pumps, piping and hydro   power, and water supply.
2007 9780071472937 839pp. Read more...

Calendar

Engineering Education Australia will run the following short courses:

• Design and fabrication of pressure vessels (3 days) Melbourne 6 Oct, Perth 13 Oct
• Managing self and others (2 days) Townsville 7 Oct, Adelaide 16 Oct, Sydney 30 Oct
• Negotiation skills (2 days) Melbourne 7 Oct, Brisbane 21 Oct
• Asset management and maintenance (2 days) Brisbane 8 Oct, Sydney 21 Oct
• Inspection, repairs and alterations of pressure vessels (2 days) Melbourne 9 Oct, Perth 16 Oct
• Contract management (2 days) Brisbane 13 Oct, Perth 20 Oct, Darwin 27 Oct
• Managing cultural differences (1 day) Perth 13 Oct, Brisbane 27 Oct
• Relate to Aussies (1 day) Sydney 14 Oct, Melbourne 20 Oct
• Earthworks (2 days) Melbourne 16 Oct
• Creating and managing networks for successful business relationships (2 days) Sydney 16 Oct, Melbourne 21 Oct
• Project management (2 days) Brisbane 16 Oct, Darwin 30 Oct, Perth 23 Oct

• Launceston 2-3 October
• Melbourne 9-10 October
• Mt Druitt, Sydney 20-21 October
• Brisbane 23-24 October
• Canberra 30-31 October