The Covid-19 crisis has seen countries around the world implement tough lockdown measures, with only essential services running for many communities. As the restrictions in Australia strengthen, there have been many questions about what is essential, and why are some industries able to continue operating as usual, albeit at 1.5m apart. So why should surveyors and engineers be able to visit job sites still? And why is the construction industry considered essential at this time? 

Site visits allow works to progress at all stages of a project, from the initial planning to the final handovers. Whether it’s a major infrastructure project or a property subdivision, having a pipeline of projects ready to go is essential to improving morale and providing important economic uplift. 

Surveyors and engineers are crucial in ensuring transport infrastructure is maintained (how else are we going to keep getting toilet paper delivered to our supermarkets if our roads fail?). Rail lines and roads need to be looked after to ensure country-to-city grain and coal deliveries can occur and food supply lines remain open. Working on site with maintenance operational crews ensures the right maintenance option is being selected, to avoid further damage down the track as the result of a quick fix which doesn’t last. 

While it doesn’t feel like it now - this isn’t going to last forever, and the economy is going to need a restart once we get through the pandemic. The construction sector and infrastructure projects are a great way to distribute wealth through communities, particularly in regional Australia. In remote areas, workers stay in hotels, buy supplies and food locally and often contractors take on local employees. In larger centres, firms are generally available  to do the project work, but a good firm knows that nothing beats a local business doing local projects. Larger, national firms normally employ a local surveyor who would know the site and have an emotional commitment to seeing the works done well. 

It’s inevitable that Federal and State Governments will roll out a number of infrastructure projects to help the recovery efforts, but it’s essential that private projects also tick along during this time. While the country looks at lockdown, there are many private projects with funding already allocated to planning and design, and surveyors and engineers can get these projects to the next stage of an approvals process while things are quiet so construction can commence at the earliest opportunity. Sometimes the change from the ordinary can lead to new ideas or concepts, and the idea for a project or new development may strike when looking at a tree in the garden. Talk to a surveyor to bounce ideas to see if the project has legs, you’d be surprised at their depth of knowledge regarding the whole process! 

In conclusion, allowing access to sites (while adhering to social distancing measures and government guidelines) ensures economic activity can restart quickly when the pandemic passes, while also keeping vital transport infrastructure networks operational. Our team may not be in the office but we are still working, talk to the team today if you have any questions regarding your project and our new arrangements. 

Australia wasn’t even two months into 2020 when many regions had experienced not just bushfires, but flood and storm damage too and now we have moved onto self distancing and isolation because if COVID 19. 

When people consider natural disasters, they often consider the physical damage and clean-up relief efforts, or the emotional toll the loss of a home can have on people. But many don’t consider that once the clean-up is finished the land can often be permanently altered, for example a new gully or a change in physical property boundaries with a landslide. This is where surveyors and environmental engineers provide assistance in rebuilding communities. 

Land surveyors can assess, confirm, or if needed remap property boundaries to ensure fair distribution of land in conjunction with existing land records. Because of the change in landscape this requires careful and sophisticated measuring techniques, including angle measurement, position determination, reference networks and datums. The introduction of drone technology into this process, especially for coastal surveying after storms, has delivered a huge advancement in this area. 

Environmental engineers can prepare and undertake a wide variety of assessments including contaminated site, bushfire, hydrology and planning studies to help regulatory bodies, builders and/or landowners determine the most appropriate steps that need to be taken to ensure the new development meets planning and environmental regulations.

Natural disasters are unavoidable, but careful planning and seeking the right advice in the design stages of your project (from large infrastructure to residential developments) can hopefully minimise the damage caused to your assets. It’s in this planning that the value of a multi-disciplined consultancy such as Hanlons is best demonstrated, with one-team able to handle all facets of a project to ensure all bases are covered.

At Hanlons we talk at length about the range professional services we provide and the talented team we have delivering them. From surveyors, engineers and rail designers to environmental engineers and drafting officers – our staff have extensive regional experience to ensure our customers get the most from us.

But what do all these titles mean? In this months blog we are going to explain these roles and how we all work together.

Registered Surveyor – Surveying is the measurement and mapping of our surrounding environment, essentially they are experts in determining land size and measurement. A registered surveyor will be out in the field making calculations using specialist equipment, including geodimeters, Robotic Total Stations (theodolites), aerial scanners, high order GPS and more. Once this raw data has been collected, the surveyor then can draft plans and determine boundaries which can be used by engineers, developers, architects, designers and more. To become a registered surveyor you need to show competence in engineering, planning and all laws relating to the subdivision of land and licensed by The Board of Surveying and Spatial Information.

Engineering Surveyor- Engineering surveyors are heavily involved in major construction projects such as railways, bridges, roads etc. They will analyse initial drawings and identify any issues (for example will the terrain allow for the design as it currently stands? And how will you get equipment into a small space for a rail bridge?) and work with the engineers and designers to ensure construction will run smoothly once it commences. Teamwork and communication with site supervisors and contractors are all part of the engineering surveyors job, at Hanlons we specialise in significant infrastructure projects which require highly skilled and experienced engineering surveyors.

Environmental Engineer -  Environmental engineers are concerned with the impact on the natural world by engineering activities, so how will the project affect the environment that it’s being built on and how can we overcome any potential problems. Environmental engineers can also prepare a number of reports and assessments for large infrastructure projects to agricultural industries. 

Technical Officer - A technical officer collects, analyses data and develops plans for land Surveyors to provide the basic information required for a surveying project. This includes preparing detail surveys, engineering design for subdivisions, tender and contract management and project management. 

Rail Designer - A rail designer oversees the design, supervision and management  of railway projects. This can cover track design, signal design overhead electrical design and civil works around the tracks. 

Drafting Officer –  A drafting officer uses software to convert designs by a surveyor or engineer into technical drawings and plans. These plans are created using CAD software,and can be two or three-dimensional.  

Survey field assistant - Survey assistants help surveyors undertake projects on site, helping to maintain and use surveying equipment, assist in taking and recording measurements and pegging boundaries. 

Now that you know what they do, make learn more about our team here. 

If our homes are our castles, we should be able to do pretty much anything we want there, right? Well, not exactly. There are these things zoning codes and regulations that can influence our rights by restricting them. 

This may be so even if we are just moving dirt around on our lots. What if we want to do some landscaping? How about our own renovations or an extra flat on site?

The legal framework for land use zoning in Australia is established by States and Territories, hence each State or Territory has different zoning rules. Land use zones are generally defined at local government level, and most often called Planning Schemes.

While it’s the state’s responsibility to create the zoning laws, it’s up to local councils to interpret and apply them in the local context. If you’re a developer, your success hinges on a good working relationship with these powers that be.

Major zoning categories include commercial, industrial, mixed-use, residential, agricultural and public use. From there, more specific codes can apply as well as "overlays" relating to heritage, flood mitigation and bushfire requirements.  

Zoning will affect what changes to the property are allowed, how and when. It could also impact future values in both negative and positive ways. 

Hanlons are skilled in Surveying and Land information which goes hand in hand with zoning requirements for Land Subdivisions, Community Development work and Council surveys at a local government level. Contracting to many public, private and individual clients, our particular speciality is project surveying for major infrastructure projects such as railway, roads, commercial and public buildings, bridges and subdivisions.

We are thrilled to announce our Managing Director Mitchel Hanlon has been invited to speak at the Informa Australia and ARA Light Rail 2020 Conference, to be held in March.

Mitchel will be presenting with Michelle Blicavs, CEO of Consulting Surveyors National about Asset Life Cycle Management, with a focus on the Newcastle Light Rail. 

Mitchel and Michelle will be the first surveyors to speak at the conference, which brings together operators, manufacturers, contractors and industry and government stakeholders across the Light Rail sector in Australasia.  

Light rail investment is currently at record levels, with networks recently opening in Newcastle, Sydney and Canberra. We look forward to being part of the future shaping of these networks as Light Rail continues to grow in popularity. 

You can find out more about the conference and book your place here.

Congratulations to Hanlons Graduate Surveyor Lachlan Smith who last Friday was awarded the Augustus Alt Prize by the NSW Board of Surveying and Spatial Information.

The prize was presented by NSW Surveyor General Narelle Underwood in a ceremony at Parliament House Sydney, alongside the Association of Consulting Surveyors NSW President Michael Lamont.

"Lachlan is a Dungowan local who has shown the value of fostering regional talent. Coming through Hanlons’ cadet program and obtaining his degree by distance education, he has shown that with hard work and the right attitude you can achieve anything," said Managing Director Mitchel Hanlon.

"As a mentor I am very proud of what he has achieved."

The Augustus Alt Prize is awarded for the best result in an Engineering project for the Board of Surveying and Spatial Information's assessments. The project involved the engineering design of a housing estate, including roads, sewerage, drainage, water mains, and construction management.

"People often think of surveying as just relating to property boundaries, but really surveyors are integral to the town planning and civil engineering functions of a community. Working in a regional area Lachlan has had exposure to a variety of projects which has been extremely beneficial to his professional development, as proven by this prize," said Mr Hanlon.

The Hanlons cadetship programmes are now open! If you are interested in a career in surveying or are currently studying a Surveying/Engineering degree you can learn more on our Careers page. 

Whenever we’re at a BBQ or social gathering, one of the first questions we’re asked is “How is work going?”, and the answer for us always seems to be “Flat out!”.

A report out earlier this year from BIS Oxford Economics can shed some light on the matter of why we are always so busy. The report highlighted there is a current shortage of surveyors in Australia, with only 8,172 surveying professionals filling the demand of 9,125 positions. Of the positions that are vacant, 297 are for registered surveyors! 

The Australian Government has given the profession of Surveyor a labour market rating of  “shortage”, with only 33% of vacancies filled in the 2019 survey. While steps have been taken to encourage more school leavers to enter the industry, strong economic building data and forecasts highlight the shortfall of surveyors isn’t going anywhere over the next ten years.

Surveyors are needed for a lot of construction work. They obtain approvals, design the work, manage contracts, make sure the build is in the right place as well as complying with the design specification. Significant skill in project management is needed to juggle these needs.

What does all this mean? If you’re interested in becoming a Surveyor, the time to act is now! According to the Good Education Group 78% of graduates were employed straight out of university – the third highest rate in the country.

But there is a reason for the shortage - and particularly in regional NSW and Victoria. Surveying is hard work, with long hours and a lot of distance to cover. At Hanlon’s we can be in Manilla one day and Manildra the next, providing railway infrastructure surveys to land inventory, subdivision planning and farm irrigation design. We live and breath rural, but we know with hard work and the right people we get it done. If you’re thinking about becoming a surveyor and want to learn more there are some great resources available - visit https://www.alifewithoutlimits.com.au/.

Source: 

There are a number of routes you can take to become a trainee Surveyor in this day and age. But essentially you can start your career path right out of school! Ideally you will have an interest in Maths, English, and Geography, but within a traineeship it is all on the job learning. 

Surveyors can take on many different tasks and roles during their careers, depending on their qualifications and level of experience. 

Surveying students at TAFE and university are able to get a taste of what surveying is really like by starting out as a trainee Surveyor during study. TAFE students can then move into a Surveying Technician or Draftsperson role once they are qualified. Meanwhile, those in university complete their degree as a Graduate Surveyor, with some choosing to specialise in other related fields like geospatial information systems.

A trainee Surveyor will generally support the survey team which would consist of one or a number of Surveyors / Survey Technicians in the undertaking of surveying tasks both in the field and office environments.  

Being flexible with the willingness to travel are essential requirements of being a trainee Surveyor, as is the ability to learn a multitude of skills. Being a Surveyor, you are not chained to your desk and the best part of the job involves being out on site at different locations across the country. Being comfortable with computers as the majority of survey information is recorded, processed, and delivered digitally and working with initiative and some independence after training helps.  

If you want to see Australia while earning a living and learning new skills, maybe this is the career for you. 

Click here to see what Hanlons has to offer!

Regional NSW Level Crossing Upgrades

We were recently engaged by both John Holland CRN and ARTC to undertake survey and engineering design for the upgrade of 12 level crossings across regional NSW.

For 6 weeks, our surveyors criss-crossed the countryside performing detail and property boundary surveys at each level crossing site. This information was important. The surveys allow our rail designers (who are also surveyors) to know what railway and road infrastructure is on the ground.

Most of the crossings were in a poor state. The level crossing building program is important for public safety, operational efficiency and return on investment.

Our surveyors also provided construction support. After all, the road and the rail levels have to match and with the heavier truck loads and greater vehicle traffic, its important level crossings are done right.

Survey and Design

John Holland Rail CRN have an ongoing program of concrete re-sleepering of steel sleepers on their tight radius curves. The new sleepers will keep provide longer track stability and ride.

This means the track alignment needs to be determined or designed and analysis undertaken to make sure the available transit is sufficient for trains to pass through. Bridges such as the one on the left were assessed to determine if passing trains have sufficient space to pass safely.

This requires high-order control and track pick-up surveys followed by detailed track design.

Upon design approval, re-sleepering construction can commence, often in conjunction with the removal and replacement of fouled ballast. Survey constuction support ensures the design is achieved thereby maximising the asset life.

This project was over 1800 metres long at Newbridge near Bathurst. This is one of four similar projects on the Main West line.

We were recently engaged by Liverpool Plains Shire Council to undertake engineering design for the upgrade of the Merriwa to Willow Tree Road. Now this road traversed the Liverpool Range and meeting Austroads' design standards was difficult. A Safety in Design report was as important as the the construction drawings. After all, whilst reducing travel times is important, getting to one's destination safely is the overarching goal. The site is mountaineous and often single-laned. The new design had to allow for rural 2-way traffic. This meant rigid trucks as well as light passenger traffic.

The before and after photos says it all. A great final result for an important road link.

We've recently taken on a graduate surveyor to help out with our rail services team.

Jacky had previously worked on medium density and hospital projects in Sydney so he wasn't too sure what it was like working in a regional environment. I'm very close to his boss and had rang seeking recommendations on recruitment specialists. We traditionally recruit from the the regions we work in. Kids from the country already know of the challenges they and their families face. Coping with these challenges is in their DNA. Yet the work still poured in so we had to try a new strategy....hiring city surveyors!!

A city born surveyor was new to us. Moreover, what we do is new to Jacky. He is still wrapping his head around the wide range of skill sets we have. I know he's a bit trepidations about our expectations of all our staff. We've found over the years that some step-up and accept the challenge and others don't or can't. Either way is OK as we don't want people to hate coming to work. At the end of the day, you've got to love what we do and there is nothing worse than seeing someone hate their job.

In this line of work, you've got to love the job challenges and the work environment.

When you're on a job site doing the setting out of a railway you designed last week and you're suddenly asked about the region's socio-economic status as a result of improved freight movements, you need to think fast and not be a narrow technician. The fact that the surveyor has established the first survey control network, detailed the site, re-established the corridor boundaries, assessed the roads at the rail crossings, considered the environment and designed the track alignment and drainage is a considerable skill set. Many years of post-graduate on the job training is required followed by competency assessments by the client to gain engineering authority and the Board of Surveying and Spatial Information. All this can only be achieved through personalised mentoring and a structured training program.

I keep telling our people that we're problem solvers and that we use our surveying education, training and experience to solve problems. The client doesn't care about your qualifications, all he cares about is you being able to solve his problem and without causing any headaches. Make the client's his problem disappear and you'll continue to get work. Anticipate future problems and he'll give you more. That's how a good surveyor becomes invaluable to a client.

That's what we do and a lot of people struggle with that responsibility. Hence the need for mentoring and a structured training program. But this isn't enough without innate curiosity to learn new skills, to be challenged and to discover purpose.

We've taught Jacky how to drive a 4WD, he's met his first wombat and snake, and been taught the language of regional Australia. What's he's found is that country people are accepting and willing to give anyone a go. 

So, who wants to be a regional surveyor? I can guarantee you'll never be bored and you'll discover how good you can be.

PS Jacky made the mistake of trying to drive one of the survey vehicles in front of 20 railway workers. At the time, he wasn't familiar with the manual gears of the ute. The resulting kangaroo hops automatically endeared him to the team. In a world where no one is called by their actual name, Jacky's is now "Skip". If Jacky isn't on a job site, we're asked "Where's Skip"? You gotta love Aussie humour.

Ever wanted to know what Hanlons are up to when we are out of the office and "on site''? 

After completing the original design on the rail line near Bathurst, Hanlons completed the construction survey to make sure the track was put into the right position. 

If any of our measurements are off, the trains can't reach the design speed, timetables aren't met and the life of the hardware (i.e. rail and sleepers) is reduced. The exactness of the measurements and calculations comes into play from beginning to end, ensuring the maximum return on public investment in infrastructure is achieved.  

We are lucky that we can travel this great land and see what it has to offer, while doing the job we love. 

WR Connect is the freight terminal at between Leeton and Griffith at Wumbulgal  The masterplan, launched on 30th June 2018, showcased the master plan and road linkages study for the WRConnect.  

WR Connect is an operational freight terminal built on a budget to aggregate grains, cotton and hay for export via rail. The masterplan project is a joint venture of five Councils (Leeton, Griffith, Carrathol, Narrandera and Murrumbidgee), NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet and Transport for NSW.

The site sits in Leeton Shire on the boundary with Griffith City Council. It's located within NSW’s most productive agricultural region, the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. The establishment of an expanded, efficient, state-of-the-art and common access intermodal freight terminal at WRConnect will support the modal shift of containerised agricultural and manufacturing freight in the Region onto rail and allow the economic benefits to be realised.

The project aligns with the NSW government’s 20 Year Economic Vision for Regional NSW and the Western Riverina Regional Economic Development Strategy. It also reflects Leeton Shire Council’s Community Strategic Plan which recognises the importance of good road and rail connectivity and, as the demand for freight doubles by 2031, highlights that the facility at WRConnect will need to be expanded to accommodate this. Government funding will enable the vision is achieved.

We were tasked with the privilege of project managing the technical matters with the masterplan and with authoring the road linkages study. We worked closely with all parties to ensure that the project will be a success. This is another opportunity for our firm to bolster the economy of a great part of regional NSW.

For over 30 years, the people at Hanlons Consulting have been involved with a number of projects that are transformative to their local economy. With projects ranging from poultry farms, bridges, housing estates, main roads, railways, bio-digesters, air training academies and freight terminals the Hanlons team are proud of their input. The ever changing landscape nationally has allowed us to drill into the socio-economic data and regional economic development strategies for many projects and communities.

As a firm of country people with a regional focus, the numbers and prose in the many policy and strategy documents resonate in both a good and bad way. They always have good intent but their implementation leaves much to be desired. Good policy can have immediate impact in creating stable jobs and building sustainable communities. As for bad policies, well let’s just say the organisations who develop bad policies get to hear quickly from us that their “grand plan” isn’t as good as first thought.

Our team has been far and wide and when we really start thinking about it, there are few inland country towns where we don’t know someone. Many of their stories are the same but each has their own country twist, from the black soil in the west to the sand in the east.  

Hanlons work is complete when we see our projects contribute a positive effect across our own communities. We have a vested interest in seeing Hanlons projects succeed, as we are part of the end result. Our projects successes affects us personally just as they affect our friends and our families.
 

The Hanlon re-brand is featured on page 27 of this month’s edition of The Surveyor. Thanks to the team at KEO for helping us on the journey. 

Our very own Mitch Hanlon, Managing Director of Hanlons, has written a very thought provoking article in The Surveyor on page 20 of the December Edition. 

Mitch brings to light the importance of building networks based on knowledge, guidance and government for the future of Railway Surveying and Track Design. Hanlons have joined forces with like-minded surveyors across Australia to form the Railway Surveying Working Group to focus on what lies ahead for the rail industry. 

Have a read, have a think, make a comment. We want to know your thoughts.