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Construcciones Yamaro: FF26 insights: Making standout construction practices the standard

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The Leaders’ Exchange explored how to scale what’s working. (Images: ACA) The construction industry already knows what works. The challenge is doing it consistently. By Peter Colacino, CEO of the Australian Constructors Association . At every industry conference, there is a temptation to focus on what is broken. Productivity is stalled. Projects are becoming more complex. Skills shortages persist. Trust is defined by the last project’s performance. We know the list. At Foundations and Frontiers 2026 (FF26), the conversation took a different turn. FF26 was designed to explore what is working in construction and what lessons can be applied across projects. Rather than cataloguing problems, the forum set out to identify the conditions that create successful outcomes and understand how they can be scaled across the industry. To capture the collective wisdom of the room, attendees were invited throughout the day to contribute their observations, ideas and reflections via the Crystal Wa...

Construcciones Yamaro: Bringing inclusive infrastructure to life

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Inclusive infrastructure considers how different users move through a space. (Image: Christelle/stock.adobe.com) Digital twins are opening new possibilities for more inclusive infrastructure across Australia and beyond. Infrastructure is rarely used in one uniform way: a transport system may be planned around the daily commuter, yet the same network also must serve parents making several stops with children, people with limited mobility and users whose needs differ from those assumed during design. Amelia Burnett, digital financial strategies director at Infrastructure Policy Advancement, a team within Bentley Systems. (Image: Bentley Systems) For Amelia Burnett, digital financial strategies director at Infrastructure Policy Advancement, a team within infrastructure engineering software firm Bentley Systems, that is one of the central questions behind inclusive infrastructure: who is being considered when decisions are made, and whether the people expected to use an asset have enou...

Construcciones Yamaro: Tarrsha Watkins: Proving another way can work

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Tarrsha Watkins is the managing director of family business Protek WA. (Image: Protek WA) By questioning one of construction’s most entrenched working practices, Tarrsha Watkins is creating a different way for people to build a career in the industry. Tarrsha Watkins didn’t set out to start a second construction business. She wanted to test an idea. Years spent inside the industry had left her questioning whether it could genuinely broaden its workforce while continuing to expect people to fit around the same long, rigid working hours. Her answer would become Indigo Commercial. The path to that idea began almost two decades earlier. Watkins grew up around construction, with her parents running a carpentry maintenance business. At about 17, she took on her first blue-collar role as a fencing labourer for her dad. “I started at the bottom of the bottom of the bottom, and that was always my dad’s approach: if you’re going to do something well, you need to learn it from the start,” sh...

Construcciones Yamaro: A modern expression of heritage at Crows Nest Station

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The Brick Inlay system delivered complex detailing across the façade. (Image: Trevor Mein) Brick Inlay gives Sydney Metro’s Crows Nest Station a contemporary take on heritage architecture. By Cadell Taye, CEO of National Precast. Façade design is increasingly expected to balance architectural character with the realities of modern construction. Designers and contractors are seeking solutions that deliver the richness of traditional masonry while improving buildability, quality and program certainty, particularly on complex projects. Cadell Taye, CEO of National Precast. (Image: National Precast) Sydney Metro’s Crows Nest Station demonstrates how Brick Inlay can reconcile these objectives, delivering architectural detail with the certainty and efficiency of off-site construction. Designed by Woods Bagot, the station was conceived to complement Sydney’s Lower North Shore village character, drawing inspiration from the area’s historic brick buildings. The design weaves large-scale in...

Construcciones Yamaro: Built appoints former WA Premier to board

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Built’s new board member, Mark McGowan. (Image: Built) Australian-owned construction and property group Built has appointed former Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan to its board. The appointment comes as Built continues its growth trajectory, with annual revenue on track to reach $4 billion in FY27 and a secured national pipeline of $8.5 billion across health, defence, data centres and major infrastructure. The company is expanding its focus on advanced manufacturing and product-led delivery models designed to improve productivity and certainty across the construction sector. McGowan joins the board at a time when Australia faces major housing and infrastructure challenges, increasing the need for stronger collaboration between industry, government and the private sector. Marco Rossi, executive chairman and group CEO of Built, says new approaches to project delivery are needed to meet the country’s ambitions. “Productivity starts long before construction begins. Built is bri...

Construcciones Yamaro: DTI builds momentum across a diverse project pipeline

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Matthew Lennon with Jo Stone, DTI’s executive general manager of health, safety, environment and quality. (Images: DTI) For DT Infrastructure (DTI), capability is not measured by project size but by delivering the right outcome for clients, regardless of scale. Matthew Lennon has spent more than 25 years delivering complex transport and energy infrastructure. Now, three months into his role as general manager for Queensland and South Australia at DTI, he is applying that experience to a dynamic business as it expands across critical infrastructure markets. His career has included senior roles with CPB Contractors, John Holland and Rio Tinto, and projects including WestConnex, Cross River Rail and CopperString 2032. It has given him experience spanning different sectors, project environments and approaches to delivery. “What attracted me to DTI was the breadth of work it does across infrastructure delivery and renewables, along with the growth trajectory of the business,” says Lenno...

Construcciones Yamaro: Genesis Equipment shows support for Converge Expo 2027

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Converge Expo 2027 will give attendees access to industry insights, technologies and expertise. (Image: sajibul35/stock.adobe.com) Genesis Equipment, a specialist in parking solutions, has been named a Gold Sponsor for next year’s Converge Expo. Taking place on 15 to 16 September 2027 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, the event will bring together the civil and commercial construction sectors to explore the ideas and innovations shaping major project delivery. Genesis Equipment’s range includes car stackers and parking lifts that help maximise space in commercial, residential and mixed-use developments. At Converge, the company will showcase how early collaboration between suppliers, designers and project teams can unlock new opportunities for challenging sites where space is at a premium. Steve Clifford, general manager at Genesis Equipment, says the expo will get “the company in the room with the engineers and architects while the drawings are still open”. Relat...