Webuild’s engineering-led approach to infrastructure delivery brings globally sourced expertise to Australia, strengthening the capability to deliver some of the nation’s most complex and technically challenging infrastructure projects.
Australia is experiencing an infrastructure boom, with $242 billion currently being invested in the nation’s five-year major public infrastructure pipeline.
That’s the highest level since Infrastructure Australia began tracking infrastructure investment, and with productivity and labour challanges affecting the construction sector, engineering and delivery partners with the capability, technical expertise and global experience to deliver complex infrastructure are more important than ever.
According to Juan Gamarra Duten, Engineering Infrastructure Director with international engineering and construction company Webuild, the evolution is apparent in the growing incentives from clients to deliver against increasingly complex technical, commercial and stakeholder requirements.
“Stakeholders are more informed, they are requesting more information, and communication is more important today,” Gamarra said.
“You need to understand them, to listen to them, and to make sure their requirements are incorporated into your delivery of the infrastructure.”
Gamarra said engineering-led approaches to infrastructure delivery, such as those used at Webuild, help enhance project predictability and delivery confidence.
“Our focus is on the engineering delivery: the most important thing is to find a more efficient engineering solution,” he said.
The best possible outcome
It’s a demonstration of how Webuild’s successful project outcomes are underpinned by engineering intelligence, not just construction capability. According to Gamarra, the company sets out at the beginning of every project to choose the best engineers available, according to the disciplines that are needed, to deliver each job.
And to do that, it’s important for those engineers to be involved as early as possible in a project, ensuring their expertise informs every stage of delivery, from planning and design through to construction and commissioning.
For example, Gamarra pointed to a $1.8 billion hospital project Webuild is delivering in Western Australia. Undertaking the project as the managing contractor, the engineering team developed the design jointly with procurement responsibilities with the client.
“The documentation and data are shared with the client monthly so they can make the relevant decisions,” he said.
“We are now finalising the design, but at the same time we’ve started construction. We have finalised the piling and poured the bottom slab slab, and this is due to the coordination and cooperation with our client.”
As a result of this collaboration, Webuild is able to optimise delivery and ensure that all stakeholders can provide input into the design.
“I have delivered many challenging projects, and it’s always best to be transparent with stakeholders right from the beginning,” Gamarra said.
“We implement procedures from the beginning to make sure that every change has a reason behind it so we can be sure it delivers value to the project. We don’t implement any changes that don’t fit the stakeholders’ requirements unless they are negotiated and agreed with them.”
Global expertise
Webuild’s track record for delivering complex infrastructure is built on robust engineering capability embedded at every stage of a project.
By combining its engineering capability developed around the world with local project experience, Webuild has built a strong track record of delivering outcomes for clients and communities.
“Webuild’s global network of experts are able to provide expertise from all around the world to our projects here through global knowledge-sharing platforms connecting experts across the business” Gamarra said.
“Collaborating at a global scale allows us to take lessons learned from other projects around the world.”
That broad-based experience means Webuild is able to provide engineering expertise in a broad range of disciplines, including rail, roads, marine, water infrastructure such as dams and pumped hydro and tunnelling, as well as water treatment and desalination, oil and gas, and major projects such as hospitals, stadiums and airports.
The company’s digital engineering tools are standardised across the business, providing strong procedures that integrate the different disciplines working on each project.
“It is very important to bring in the expertise from the region in which you are working,” Gamarra said.
“Drawing on local knowledge is what makes your project a success. We combine global expertise with local presence and experience to deliver the best outcomes for our clients. Strong engineering solutions also contribute to improved safety outcomes by reducing construction risk and enhancing delivery efficiency.”
To find out more about how Webuild’s engineering-led expertise combines global expertise with local delivery experience, visit the website.
