Embracing innovative engineering practices transforms risk management, delivering cost-effective and resilient infrastructure.
Australia stands at a crossroads in infrastructure development, pulled between rising community expectations and the necessity to deliver more with fewer public funds.
According to Ben Schnitzerling, Director at Red Fox Advisory (RFA), achieving value for money on infrastructure projects involves a careful balance of innovation, practical engineering judgment, and a clearer understanding of long-term project costs and benefits.
Well-informed innovation
There are several factors currently preventing Australia from achieving optimal outcomes in public infrastructure investment. One key barrier is the fear of innovation, which can often be perceived as taking unnecessary risks.
But when innovative approaches are well informed, this results in good pragmatic engineering design.
For example, on the Cairns Airport Eastern Aviation Precinct Stage 1, comprehensive site investigation allowed RFA to understand water flow and soil behavior accurately.
“We assessed the sand layers beneath the consolidating clay, which was crucial for understanding how water dissipates during ground surcharge processes,” he said.
While the project was initially contracted with significant fill material planned, these investigations informed the decision to reduce the extent of surcharge, providing direct savings to the client and reducing the extent of truck movements on the access road.
On a project costed at $15 million, this approach was able to save more than 15% of the budget ($2.5 million).
Yet, it’s common for comprehensive site investigation to be overlooked due to its perceived upfront cost and potential project delays.
“People tend to shy away from upfront investigation, preferring to allocate risk and contingency funds instead,” Schnitzerling said. “But insufficient investigation often leads to overly conservative or overly optimistic designs, both of which can negatively impact project viability.”
While acknowledging the pressures to commence projects quickly, Schnitzerling thinks thorough investigation not only fosters innovation but also significantly reduces risk.
“The more investigation you do, the more you can understand, appreciate and accept the risks you’re taking on and how to mitigate them.”
Cutting through the red tape
Australia has a decentralised governance system, with each state and territory tending to adopt individualised approaches to infrastructure design, construction, and regulatory standards. But this fragmented approach can hinder efficiency, innovation, and value-for-money in infrastructure projects.
“While these standards are tailored to local climatic conditions and other environmental specifics, the lack of uniformity creates significant barriers for resource mobility across regions,” Schnitzerling said.
Each state’s distinctive climate and topographical challenges inform localised design principles for roads and railways, but the outcome is a logistical nightmare for engineers and businesses that operate nationally.
“Currently, Queensland operates under the Professional Engineers Act, Victoria has its own registration system, and other states are quickly following suit,” he said. “While Engineers Australia facilitates interstate registration, the perception remains that expertise acquired in one state doesn’t directly translate elsewhere.”
For example, there’s a perception that if you’ve built a railway line in one state, your expertise doesn’t necessarily translate to the next state.
“This system is not necessarily bringing the best and brightest of Australia on these often complex projects,” Schnitzerling added.
Through a uniform approach, shared, fundamental engineering principles could be applicable nationwide. “You don’t need five ways to design a culvert – you need one standardised method across Australia,” he said.
Thoroughly scoping jobs and setting objectives
Another critical component of infrastructure project success involves rigorous upfront evaluation of budgets prior to finalising project scope and constructability.
“Ultimately, decision-makers must be fully informed,” Schnitzerling said. “If you look across the country, projects are consistently blowing out budgets. The primary question we must ask is, had we known this at the time of the business decision, would we still have proceeded?”
For example, RFA’s work on the 130-metre Birtinya Eastbank Link Pedestrian Bridge, funded by Stockland, highlights the importance of early market engagement – with contractors advising shifting from a simple steel arch design to a cable-stayed bridge after deeper investigation of local construction constraints such as access.
“Constant market engagement allowed us to integrate innovative solutions that saved significant costs,” he said.
While ensuring robustness in the initial stages of decision-making is critical, flexibility is also key.
“We shouldn’t overly prescribe or lock down solutions, as times inevitably change. Over a 10-year period, pavements and bridge design will evolve,” he said.
“We want to be able to embed new technology as we go along so we get that real innovation and value creation.”
Taking a long-term view
Australia already builds more roads per capita than most countries, each with hefty maintenance demands such as pothole and leak repairs.
The public sector’s approach is often on durability to minimise ongoing maintenance costs.
“What tends to happen is that pavements are made heavier, which comes at a direct cost,” Schnitzerling said.
“That is based on a prediction of what we think is going to happen over the next 20–40 years around the operation of that asset, but the reality is we don’t really know.”
Building overly large or unnecessarily robust infrastructure upfront is no longer sustainable or economically viable.
“Infrastructure built today must be adaptable and scalable, with designs considering future expansions or modifications without committing resources prematurely,” he said.
An effective infrastructure strategy requires a long-term vision – realistically forecasting needs 20-50 years ahead.
“We’re becoming increasingly urbanised, and building infrastructure in dense urban environments is inherently expensive,” Schnitzerling said. “We should consider greenfield areas where building railways and roads to future developments is more cost-effective.”
Proactive planning by prioritising simpler rail corridors and inland motorways enables cities to grow around infrastructure rather than retrofit infrastructure around established urban sprawl.
Sustainability should be cost-effective, not costly
There is a misconception that sustainable practices inherently increase costs.
Infrastructure projects such as roads and rail are carbon-intensive – burning diesel, and creating concrete, rock, and steel.
“But making projects leaner reduces the carbon footprint and leads directly to cost savings because burning less energy means spending less money,” Schnitzerling said.
However, there’s a need for careful consideration of initial investment versus future maintenance. “A thinner pavement might cost less today but require more maintenance down the line. It’s about finding a balance so we have a solution that’s appropriate and the ability to do additional work in the future,” he said.
In Schnitzerling’s view, innovative engineering judgment should drive infrastructure decisions rather than rigid adherence to standards. “There’s no black-and-white in engineering; it’s shades of grey,” he said. “We must use tools such as dynamics and maths to inform considered judgments, advising clients accordingly.”
Ultimately, there should be a return to foundational engineering values, with a renewed focus on principles and informed risk-taking to achieve sustainable, innovative infrastructure solutions. “We need to get back to having a risk appetite, acknowledging manageable risks today for cost and carbon savings, and leaving room for future adaptations,” Schnitzerling said. “That’s sustainable, realistic, and responsible infrastructure planning.”
Our work shows how we deliver simple solutions to complex engineering projects – Red Fox Advisory.
