Construcciones Yamaro, by Armando Iachini

Projects using BlueDeck benefit from fast lead times from order to delivery. (Images: FTI) FTI Group is turning design support, manufacturing control and coordinated delivery into productivity gains on site. According to Oxford Economics, Australia’s construction workforce is building less per worker than it did 35 years ago. The firm’s 2025 report, The Construction Productivity Challenge in Australia , estimates stagnant productivity is costing the country $62 billion in lost work each year. As industry and government explore ways to turn the tide, modern methods of construction (MMC) offer one way to improve how projects are designed, supplied and delivered. FTI Group’s building solutions align with MMC principles by moving more work into design coordination, off-site manufacture, project-specific detailing and sequenced delivery, reducing the labour, handling and decision-making left for site teams. Productivity is built into the company’s core products, says CEO Cameron Arkco...

With Deck Claw, decks can be sanded and polished with ease. (Image: Radoslav Cajkovic/stock.adobe.com) Deck Claw is bringing a cleaner finish to timber decking without slowing the job down. Australians are particular about decks. Whether it’s a restaurant terrace, a hotel pool surround or a backyard barbecue area, the finish has to present well, feel good underfoot and stand up to heavy use, weather and maintenance cycles. Hardwoods such as Merbau are popular because they can withstand high pedestrian traffic while bringing warmth and texture to commercial and outdoor spaces. Their strength and durability also make them suitable for exposed environments, including coastal locations. Achieving that result, however, often comes down to how the boards are fixed. Visible screws can interrupt the appearance of a deck, while some concealed systems limit board selection or require additional preparation. Malcolm Skuse, Townsville branch manager at Hobson Engineering, says Deck Claw was d...

Transmutation founder Brad Scott says the joint venture is producing Australia’s lowest-carbon concrete. (Images: Transmutation) Transmutation has entered a new joint venture to bring “infinitely recyclable” low-carbon concrete to the national market. Concrete is one of the construction industry’s largest decarbonisation challenges. Specified at enormous scale, its production ranks among the world’s largest industrial sources of carbon pollution. For Transmutation founder Brad Scott, concrete decarbonisation was the logical extension of a business already built around sustainable supply chains. The company sources hard-to-recycle material from Australian waste streams, processes it domestically and converts it into carbon-traceable materials engineered to construction industry specifications. After bringing SIMPac-awarded PostPrime products, made from second-use materials once considered unrecyclable, to the construction market, Scott saw concrete as a larger test of the same approa...

NexGen helps students see where a career in construction could take them. (Images: NexGen) The future workforce isn’t waiting to be found. It’s waiting to be shown what’s possible. NexGen programs do exactly that. By Lauren Fahey , executive director at NexGen . For years, I’ve heard the construction industry say the same thing: “We can’t find enough people.” But I don’t believe we have a talent shortage. I believe we have a perception problem. Every day, thousands of young people are making decisions about their future without ever truly understanding what our industry has to offer. Parents are encouraging careers they know and trust, teachers are doing their best to guide students through an ever-growing list of options, and careers advisers are helping shape futures with the information they have available. If construction isn’t part of that conversation, we can’t be surprised when students choose another path. Lauren Fahey, executive director at NexGen. That’s why NexGen exi...

Jack and Andy Divall with their new Komatsu PC170 excavator. (Images: Divalls Earthmoving) From its first Komatsu excavator to a fleet of 75 machines, Divalls Earthmoving has built a long-standing partnership with Komatsu based on reliability, support and trust. The Goulburn-based family business has always been an early adopter of Komatsu’s tech solutions and new machinery, most recently adding the new PC220LCi-12 excavator with intelligent Machine Control 3.0 (iMC 3.0) to its fleet. Managing director Andy Divall says the partnership with Komatsu began in the early 1990s with a single PC220-6 excavator that proved itself from day one. “We bought that first machine and Komatsu gave us no reason to change,” he says. “The reliability, the warranty and the support all spoke for themselves. People often ask why we keep buying Komatsu and the answer is simple – when something works, you stick with it.” Related stories: PAD Civil and Komatsu advancing civil construction Indigenous a...

NAORA managing director Dale Hann (left) and general manager Carley Phillips. (Image: NAORA) NAORA gives project teams visibility into concrete performance, turning live field data into evidence that supports confident decisions. Concrete programs have traditionally relied on off-site test results to confirm when the next stage of work can begin. Cylinders are cast, transported, cured and tested away from the element, with results often returning after the concrete in place has reached strength. When confirmation is delayed, contractors may have to hold back stripping, stressing, loading or the next sequence of work, even when the concrete in place may already be ready. As an approved Converge delivery partner operating across Australia, NAORA brings in-situ monitoring into the concrete program and quality assurance (QA) process. Converge builds real-time concrete monitoring technology and software to optimise concrete operations, while NAORA manages planning, sensor placement, ins...

Tanuj Juneja is leading McConnell Dowell’s remediation works at Swanson Dock West. (Images: McConnell Dowell) At McConnell Dowell, Tanuj Juneja brings composure, commitment and conviction to the pressures of complex infrastructure. There are moments on a project when the answer is obvious to project director Tanuj Juneja. He can see the problem, the solution and the pressure building around the team. But after two decades in construction, he also knows leadership isn’t always about being the first person to step in. At Swanson Dock West, where McConnell Dowell is delivering remediation works, that restraint is tested daily. The project is technically demanding, staged around an operating container terminal and complicated by marine conditions. Juneja’s role is to look ahead, clear roadblocks early, and give his team the space to work through problems with confidence. The making of a project leader It’s a long way from where his construction career began. His father, now retired...

NAWIC’s Cathryn Greville with State member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp, who delivered the opening address at the launch event. (Images: NAWIC) The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) brought construction leaders, government representatives and industry members together in Newcastle on 31 July for the first in-person event of its Off Site, Not Out of Mind campaign. More than 70 people from Tier 1 construction firms through to small businesses attended, with discussions focused on the experiences pushing women out of construction and the changes needed to keep them. NAWIC CEO Cathryn Greville said the campaign responds to one of the construction industry’s most pressing workforce retention challenges. “Pregnancy is one of the biggest risk points for losing experienced women from construction,” said Greville. “It’s bigger than any one employer or individual. It’s not just a personal cost; it’s a workforce issue the industry cannot afford, particularly as it faces ...

AI impression: The planned student accommodation at 10 Valentine Avenue in Parramatta. (Image: Holdmark) A $100 million adaptive reuse project will transform a vacant commercial building in the Parramatta CBD into student accommodation for up to 600 Western Sydney University students. Holdmark Property Group has partnered with the university to deliver the purpose-built facility at 10 Valentine Avenue, beside the Parramatta rail and bus interchange. Construction and refurbishment work is expected to commence in August 2026, with the first students scheduled to move into the building in the fourth quarter of 2027. The project will retain and convert the existing 14-level building, which contains about 16,000 square metres of commercial space and was completed in the late 1980s. The property previously accommodated NSW Government offices but became vacant after several departments relocated to newer premises in Parramatta Square. Related stories: Refurbishment transforms 400 Geor...

Adam Copp, CEO of Infrastructure Australia. (Image: Infrastructure Australia) The Australian Government has reappointed Adam Copp as CEO of Infrastructure Australia for a further three-year term. Copp has served as CEO since July 2023, leading the organisation through a period of change, including embedding a new strategy following the amendments to the Infrastructure Australia Act. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he held a number of senior roles at Infrastructure Australia, including chief operating officer. Related stories: Australia sets expectations for data centres and AI infrastructure Engineers Australia calls for underground infrastructure investment FBIS26 to tackle construction’s productivity challenge Copp has a Master of Global Law from the University of Sydney and a Master of Business Administration from the University of New South Wales. He also serves as a director of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council . Federal Minister for Infrastructure, ...