IPWEAQ

Raad Jarjees (Branch President)

Technical Lead - Infrastructure

Cardno

Gleb Kolenbet (Vice President)

Principal Integrated Transport Engineer, Moreton Bay Regional Council

Jessica Kahl (Ambassador)

Civil Engineer, Aurecon

Weena Lokuge 

Senior Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland 

Larry Griffiths

Principal Engineer, Department of Transport and Main Roads

Michael Pattinson

Road Construction Program Leader, Logan City Council

Chris Mantell (YIPWEAQ)

Senior Civil Engineer, Cardno

Sarah Hausler

Senior Associate, McCullough Robertson Lawyers

Jo O'Brien

QLD Program Manager

Tonkin

For the June 2020 SEQ Branch President's Report, Branch committee members were asked to respond to three questions. 

Raad Jarjees, Branch President Technical Lead – Infrastructure, Cardno

What has been the biggest challenge for your council/ organisation?

The biggest challenge is the slow economy and its impact on the private sector.

Is the way we work about to change forever?

Most definitely, life after COVID-19 will never be the same but in a positive way. COVID-19 has accelerated the following initiatives:

1. Work from home was not widely accepted before COVID-19 but will be from now on.
2. Paperless workplaces and schools will become the norm sooner than expected.
3. The need for a face to face meeting will be challenged with an online meeting preferred in most circumstances.
4. Reliance on products from other countries will diminish.
5. Holidays within Australia will be the first option before considering travel abroad for holidays.
6. Cultural changes will impact on future transport particularly planning for town centres.
7. Courses, conferences and training will mostly be done online without the need for travel.
   
   

Is your organisation resourced and ready for an infrastructure boom? If not, why not?

Cardno is a large international company and in a good position to respond well to an infrastructure boom.

Jo O’Brien, Senior Engineer, Tonkin

What has been the biggest challenge for your council/ organisation?

The biggest challenge has been communication and sustaining our collaborative approach with clients. Without the ability to hold face to face meetings and workshops we have had to learn how to collaborate differently. In particular the loss of networking opportunities has been tough (not to mention missing out on all those networking breakfast mini-muffins!).

Is the way we work about to change forever?

Now we all know we don’t necessarily need to be in an office all the time to get the job done, office-hours flexibility is here to stay. We have been forced to hone our remote working capabilities and let our clients and colleagues into our homes through video conferencing. I’ve definitely seen more colleague’s cats in the past couple of months than I ever thought I would! The line between work and home-life has never been more blurred.

Is your organisation resourced and ready for an infrastructure boom?

We have seen a large amount of variability in how our clients are dealing with the pipeline of works as an outcome of a changed work environment. There is now a large government infrastructure pipeline, however a ramp-up in private and mining sector involvement would also be needed for a real boom – we would love for that to happen.