Construcciones Yamaro, by Armando Iachini

Position Partners has relocated its office in Melbourne’s northwest from Campbellfield to 42 Enterprise Drive, Bundoora. The new branch offers a service centre, showroom and a national warehouse that support customers in the civil construction, building, geospatial and mining sectors. The company’s former premises at 7 Transit Drive, Campbellfield were destroyed by a widespread fire on Christmas Day 2022, caused by an electrical fault. Martin Nix, Position Partners CEO said the Position Partners team appreciates the support of its customers, suppliers and partners as the company has worked through the impact of the unfortunate fire at its Campbellfield branch. “Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our people and partners such as Topcon we have returned to normal operational business and are now able to welcome customers to our re-established national premises,” said Mr Nix. Related stories: Topcon launches new LS-B200 machine receivers Topcon releases new range of grade lase...

As part of its commitment to make the building sector lift its game, the NSW Government has expanded its 2020 industry reforms to include more buildings. Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Victor Dominello said the NSW Building Commissioner and NSW Fair Trading will have their powers bolstered from 1 July 2023 to better protect homeowners and workers. “The Design and Building Practitioners Act and Residential Apartment Buildings Act have ensured comprehensive oversight of design and building work in NSW, with strong powers to order rectification of substandard work,” Mr Dominello said. “These changes, which came into effect in 2020 for apartment buildings, are being extended to include other types of buildings where people live and work including shared accommodation, hostels, boarding houses and residential aged care. “The Shergold Weir Building Confidence Report made it clear quality of work was an industry-wide issue and within a year the NSW Government starte...

As we continue to see an increase in diversity and inclusion in the Australian construction industry, Blackwoods is championing gender equality with workwear tailored to women. In support of diversity and inclusion, the team at Blackwoods believes gender shouldn’t be a trade-off for comfort on the jobsite. Blackwoods is one of Australia’s largest providers of industrial and safety supplies and the company strives to partner with brands that embrace an industry wide culture of balance and inclusion. The company’s extensive range of workwear from some of the construction industry’s leading suppliers caters for men and women alike, with a large collection of workwear tailored specifically to women. Leigh Eam, NCSM – Apparel & Footwear at Blackwoods is passionate about gender inclusive workwear and says she’s proud to be a part of a company driving equality in the industry. “At Blackwoods we’re conscious of the ever-changing face of the construction and infrastructure industries,”...

Paving the way for improved mental health and wellbeing in the construction industry, McConnell Dowell has recently adopted The Integrated Approach to Wellness across its operations. Construction is a core industry of the Australian economy and supporting the mental wellbeing of our construction workforce is vital to the sectors continued success. One construction company determined to promote good mental health and wellbeing not only within its business, but industry wide, is McConnell Dowell. The Creative Construction Company has successfully delivered iconic infrastructure around Australia and the world, and its success stems from its investment in its people. Grant Fuller, Regional Health & Safety Manager – Victoria/Tasmania at McConnell Dowell. McConnell Dowell’s Regional Health & Safety Manager – Victoria/Tasmania, Grant Fuller has been in health and safety management for over 10 years. Originally from the United States, Fuller moved to Australia in 2012 and quickl...

This year’s CONEXPO-CON/AGG, one of North America’s largest construction trade shows, is set to kick off tomorrow 14 March 2023 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre (LVCC). Over five huge days the event will feature more than 1,800 exhibitors and over 175 education sessions, with this year’s show nearly 5 per cent bigger than the record set in 2020. Attendees can expect to see industry leading construction equipment manufacturers and service providers exhibiting at the show, including Hitachi, Caterpillar, Liebherr and Komatsu. CONEXPO-CON/AGG Show Director Dana Wuesthoff said the addition of the new West Hall and Diamond Lot at the LVCC will provide the ideal platform to take the construction industry to the next level. “Now at 2.8 million square feet of exhibits, there’s more for construction pros to see than ever before,” said Wuesthoff. Related stories: Introducing Inside Construction Expo 2023 2023 Australian Construction Achievement Award finalists announced Construction ...

BESIX Watpac has announced its commitment to a 25 per cent female workforce by 2025 and launched several initiatives towards diversity and inclusion. The company is targeting a five per cent increase of females in management roles by 2023, is focused on eliminating any gender pay gaps and will be implementing new strategies to support a more balanced workforce. BESIX Watpac CEO Mark Baker said he was pleased the organisation was increasing its commitments to diversity and inclusion in 2023, a year of celebration for the multidisciplinary contractor. “In 2023 we mark 40 years of operations in Australia,” Mr Baker said. “I am proud of our diverse and inclusive workforce, and attribute our success over the last four decades to consistently bringing the best teams together to achieve operational excellence.” Women represented 19 per cent of BESIX Watpac’s workforce at the end of 2022 – an increase of two per cent from the previous year. The company has also launched flexible working a...

Engineers from RMIT University have worked alongside materials technology company Livefield to develop new fire-safe building claddings using recycled glass. The promising circular-economy composite cladding solution was created to be affordable, structurally robust and fire-resistant. Lead researcher Associate Professor Dilan Robert said using recovered glass waste as an alternative cladding material could one day help reduce the amount of glass that goes to landfill. The team’s non-combustible claddings use 83 per cent recycled glass, along with relatively low amounts of plastic binders and fire-retardant additives. Robert said their special blend of materials overcame the challenges with glass claddings, which were brittle and prone to fracture, as the plastic binders provided “improved toughness”. Related stories: RMIT recycles PPE to make stronger concrete RMIT launch study into construction waste Engineers Australia...