News
James Martin Institute (JMI) Policy Challenge Grant Winners
The project from Centre for Smart Modern Construction on Leveraging Digital Technologies to Boost Productivity in the Construction Sector was awarded the 2023 James Martin Institute (JMI) Policy Challenge Grant. The event was held at the State Library of New South Wales on November 22, 2023, featured a keynote speech by The Hon. Anoulack Chanthivong (Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Minister for Building, and Minister for Corrections). Over the next two years, JMI will offer dedicated support to grant recipients, assisting them in translating their insights for a policy audience and enhancing the impact of their research through targeted engagement with policymakers. This project will develop a policy framework for the digital transformation of the NSW construction sector, which is dominated by micro and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). It will use a multifaceted methodology that combines a horizon scan of emerging digital technologies and stakeholder and expert forums to explore grassroots demand. The DigiCon Policy Framework developed through this project will position NSW as a leader in digital construction practices and foster economic growth, sustainability, and improved infrastructure outcomes.
Blockchain CPD Workshop for Sydney Water
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) showcased its expertise in Blockchain Technology during a professional development event organised by Sydney Water on 12 October 2023. The event, coordinated by Mr Sanjaya Indrarathna (Contract Manager at Sydney Water) and hosted by Mr Pouya Razavi (Director of Infrastructure Procurement and Contract Management), featured Professor Srinath Perera, Director - Centre for Smart Modern Construction, as the main speaker.
Professor Srinath Perera discussed Blockchain Technology's applications and ongoing research within c4SMC. Dr Samudaya Nanayakkara explained the technology's principles, and Thilini Weerasuriya demonstrated a blockchain prototype in operation. Researchers Prasad Perera and De-Graft Joe Opoku facilitated the knowledge transfer.
The event concluded with a fruitful discussion on the potential applications of Blockchain at Sydney Water. This gathering underscores the ongoing collaboration between c4SMC and industry, fostering mutual growth and knowledge exchange.
Annual General Meeting CIB Student Chapter - 2023/2024
The CIB Student Chapter at Western Sydney University hosted its Annual General Meeting and Election on August 1st, 2023. The event, attended by distinguished figures, Professor Srinath Perera, Associate Professor Mary Hardie, and Dr. Samudaya Nanayakkara, marked a significant moment for the chapter. Professor Perera, Director of the Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC), delivered an insightful speech, emphasising the impactful journey of the chapter. Outgoing leaders, De-Graft Joe Opoku and Thilini Weerasuriya, presented the history of CIB student chapter and accomplishments. The main focus of the event was on electing new chapter members, with Dr. Nanayakkara overseeing the process.
The elected office bearers and their respective positions were as follows: Prasad Perera (President), Mathusha Francis (Vice-President), Ferose Sachindra Hewavitharana (Secretary), Iresha Gamage (Treasurer), Shashini Jayakodi (Project Leads - Events), Mona Jahangir Zadeh (Project Leads - Promotions), and Tusharbhai Gajjar (Project Leads - Membership).
The elected office bearers shared their commitment to revitalising the CIB student chapter.
Meriton International Fellows in February 2023 at the Centre
Meriton International Fellow - Professor Patrizia Lombardi, Full Professor in Decision Making for Sustainable Development Goals and Deputy Rector of Politecnico di Torino, Italy, and Assistant Professor Sara Torabi, from the Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico di Torino, attended as Meriton International Fellows in February 2023 at c4SMC. Professor Patrizia Lombardi made the keynote presentation at the Academic Roundtable in February 2023. Her keynote was focused on the European context of sustainable urban development and digitalisation. They highlighted how they are using a digitalised urban energy map to optimize energy consumption in urban planning using several case studies in the Italian context. A highlight of the Roundtable was the panel discussion with Professor Patrizia Lombardi and Asst. Professor Sara Torabi, Professor Greg Morrison (Lang Walker Chair in Urban Transformation, Western Sydney University), Dr. Kevin Yee, PhD Yee (Acting Team Leader – BASIX, Planning Policy, NSW Department of Planning and Environment), Gina Yazbek (Founder and CEO, Commnia). The discussion was moderated by Professor Srinath Perera (Director, c4SMC) and revolved around the net-zero built environment, digitalisation of the construction sector, and the importance of compliance.
Australasian Universities Building Education Association (AUBEA) 2022 Conference
The 45th Australasian Universities Building Education Association (AUBEA) 2022 Conference was successfully held from 23 to 25 November 2022, at the Penrith Kingswood Campus, Western Sydney University. The conference was hosted by the School of Engineering, Design, and Built Environment in collaboration with the Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC). With the theme of “Global Challenges in a Disrupted World: Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Approaches in the Built Environment”, AUBEA 2022 explored the state of the art in research and development in the field of built environment in a post-pandemic world.
Western Team Mentored by c4SMC wins The Industry Award of the Fleetwood Challenge 2022
Western Sydney University has won the ‘Industry award’ at the Fleetwood Challenge 2022. This award is presented to the team who demonstrates the best use of offsite manufacturing and cross-disciplinary integration of architectural, engineering and construction-related disciplines. Our submission was designed keeping in mind a commonality strategy ‘kit of parts and ‘net-zero’.
The ‘kit of parts’ approach has enormous potential in the affordable housing market and is yet to be tried and tested in Australia. The designers of the Western have taken up the challenge and utilised a combination of typical BIM software to produce a prototype that can be replicated by the industry and in transforming ‘bill of quantities’ to ‘kit of parts’.
Our submission deconstructed ‘Net Zero’ for the proposed development in terms of north-facing daytime living areas, shallow building for natural ventilation and light, fabric, lighting analysis using Autodesk Green Studio plug-in Revit to simulate the amount of natural lighting for each unit and altering the design to allow for more and solar analysis to simulate the solar radiation that impacts the roof design and orientation thereby estimating the potential for PV panels.
This is yet another outcome of implementing BIMed 4.0, our transformational pedagogy for BIM-related curricula in Australian Universities to support the transition to Construction 4.0 conceptualised by Amer Hijazi, Prof. Mary Hardie and Priyadarshini Das from the Centre for Smart Modern Construction.
>The Mentors from the Centre for Smart Modern Construction: Amer Hijazi, Priyadarshini Das
The Students Team: Maged Khalil (captain), Izabella Gadzuric, Jamie Griffin, Frans Murad, Matthew Manarang
The launch of KPMG Origins Building Trustworthy Indicator (BTI)
KPMG Origins Building Trustworthy Indicator (BTI) is a market-led, building technology product that aims to differentiate between trustworthy and non-trustworthy buildings through the combination of information on participants (who), construction materials (what) and certificates (how) of the build. Centre for Smart Modern Construction is proud to be partnering in this development.
The launch of the BTI was on 26 July 2022 with the keynote by the NSW Building Commissioner, David Chandler OAM, talking about his ambition for the future of construction in the state. Followed by a panel facilitated by KPMG Australia’s Laszlo Peter and Max Soyref, PhD with William Payne from Mirvac, Yin Man from NSW Office of the Building Commissioner, Prof Srinath Perera from Western Sydney University and Paul Stonham from ASX.
Colloquium on Managing Construction in the 21st Century
The Colloquium on Managing Construction in the 21st Century was successfully held on 21 June 2022 as a hybrid event at Western Sydney University, Australia and online. It was organised by the Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) and the CIB Student Chapter (CIBSC), School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Western Sydney University. The Colloquium featured presentations and a panel discussion by eminent academics from around the globe on themes of resilience, capacity and capability building, sustainability, and digitalisation in construction.
Regenerating Lithgow: People, Place and Planet
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) member Assoc. Prof. Mary Hardie is involved in the Lithgow Transformation Hub, primarily with the Industry Development stream. She will be leading resilient housing seminars, as well as working on a future community expo and a demonstration site for energy efficient new build in Lithgow. The project will network with community, local government, industry and social enterprises within the Lithgow City Council area. We look forward to a positive contribution to a community led project which will inspire a more socially, environmentally and economically resilient region for the future.
Overview
Despite decades of many studies and efforts to predict and/or reduce project cost overruns or schedule delays, major projects around the world continue to be significantly affected. Consistent, effective and efficient engineering approaches to uncertainty and risk assessment help businesses to better understand and quantify the range of possible consequences and the organisation’s overall risk exposure. This empowers organisations not only to calculate the required contingency allowances for their desired confidence level but also to proactively manage the treatment and response actions for risks and opportunities, while making informed decisions and optimising their investments.
The Risk Engineering Society (RES) has published its 2nd edition of Contingency Guideline in February 2019. The Contingency Guideline provides a reference document for different practical approaches and guidance for determining, allocating and managing the most appropriate contingency (time and cost allowances) at different stages of the project and program lifecycle. In Australia, under current Government policy settings a probabilistic cost estimation process must be used for all projects, for which Australian Commonwealth funding is sought, with a total anticipated outturn cost (including contingency) exceeding $25 million. In addition, the ‘Guide Note 3A Probabilistic Cost Estimation’ published by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (DITRD), establishes the principles for determining an appropriate project contingency allowance using a probabilistic methodology.
A qualified CMP is a mid to senior level practitioner with project and business experience in asset investment from development to delivery through project, program and portfolio management with strong risk and contingency management knowledge and skills: from a wide range of risk analytical methods; Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA); human decision making under uncertainty; commercial/contracts; and project performance measurement as well as business management. A CMP also has extensive technical experience in specialised tools and risk-based decision making methodologies such as: decision analysis; Quantitative Cost Risk Analysis (QCRA); Quantitative Schedule Risk Analysis (QSRA); Monte Carlo Simulation technique; Range Analysis; and Trend Analysis for assessing and managing optimum schedule and cost contingency reserves throughout the asset project/program investment life cycle.
Course Outline
The Risk-based Contingency Management Masterclass will be delivered over 4 intensive 4-hour days in a face-to-face environment with additional hours reading and undertaking some assignments. The Masterclass will qualify for 25 CPD hours from Engineers Australia. At the completion of this Masterclass and receipt of its Certificate of Completion, you will also receive a complimentary registration to attend an online exam for the CMP Certificate, i.e. a 120-minutes multi-choices exam.
On the first day of the Masterclass you will be introduced to project risk management and be provided with a detailed and broad foundation of risk and contingency management, including contingency throughout project lifecycle and Program Portfolio Effect, with the aim of providing a solid overview and bringing everyone up to speed. The rest of the Masterclass will focus on the contingency management framework and practical implementation tools for quantitative cost and schedule risk analysis, contingency allocation and controls. Over these four days, you will continuously work and learn the concepts through a practical case study while sharing learnings with other participants.
Through several case studies, the facilitator will explain the characteristics of good contingency management to quantify uncertainty; to encourage systemic thinking; and to support decision making process. An overall review of few most common software including Palisade @Risk, Oracle Primavera Risk Analysis, Deltek Acumen Fuse/ Risk and Safran Risk platforms will be also discussed.
Benefits of attending:
- Certificate of Attendance, jointly endorsed by Western Sydney University, Engineers Australia and Risk Engineering Society
- Global recognition and 25 CPD hours from Engineers Australia
- Complimentary registration to attend the exam for CMP Certificate
- Networking opportunities with industry practitioners
- A learning experience like no other, facilitating peer learning and group discussions
Course facilitators:
- Professor Srinath Perera - Chair Professor in Built Environment & Construction Management, Director, Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC), Western Sydney University.
- Pedram Danesh-Mand - President of Risk Engineering Society, Director KPMG.
- Dr. Xiao-Hua (Sean) Jin - Associate Professor in Project Management, Director of Project Management Programmes, Western Sydney University.
Masterclass delivered face-to-face over 4 days in Sydney:
23rd April, 30th April, 7th May and 14th May 2022
Morning tea and lunch are provided on each of the four days. For catering purpose, please indicate your dietary requirement when registering.
CMP Certificate examination date:
21st May 2022
Who Will Benefit?
Cost Estimators, Project Risk Analysts, Planning Managers, Bid Managers, Estimating Managers, Risk Managers, Project Controls, Project Managers, Bid Managers, Schedulers/Planners, Corporate Services, PMO Managers, Commercial Managers, Contract Managers
Contact:
Click here to register for the Masterclass (inclusive of free registration for the examination).
Click here to register for the CMP Certificate examination directly.
Latest Publication: Report on ‘Liquid waste management in the construction projects’
C4SMC recently published a report on ‘Liquid waste management in the construction projects’. It reveals the shocking state of managing liquid waste in construction projects and identifies the benefits of liquid waste management.
This report investigates the current practice of Liquid waste management (LWM) and treatment including the legislative requirements related to LWM in construction projects. The report was part of the contract research awarded to the Centre by the Geosentinel Australia Pty Ltd.
This research was led by chief investigators Professor Srinath Perera and Co-Investigator Associate Professor Mary Hardie and assisted by researcher Shiyamini Ratnasabapathy.
Launch of Digitalisation of Construction Research Report
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction (C4SMC) together with the Office of Building Commissioner NSW proudly announce the launch of the research report, titled as ‘Digitalisation of Design and Construction of Class 2 Buildings in New South Wales’ on 24 August 2021 from 8.00 am - 9.00 am, online. The Hon. Kevin Anderson, MP, Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation, the Hon. Damien Tudehope MP, Minister for Finance and Small Business, and Steffen Faurby, CEO Tafe will be special guests of this event.
Community of Practice Roundtable 2: Real-life case study analysis and competency related issues in Class 2 buildings
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction - c4SMC successfully conducted a Roundtable for the Community of Practice (CoP) in Assurance-related Professions on 17 June 2021 at 1PSQ, under the theme “Competency-related Issues in Construction Projects”. Over 80 participants attended the event. The CoP was established in collaboration with the Office of the NSW Building Commissioner and consists of key professional institutions involved in construction certification.
Blockchain: The Next Stage of Digital Procurement in Construction
Professor Srinath Perera, the Director of Centre for Smart Modern Construction, School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Western Sydney University, talked about blockchain as the next generation of digital procurement at the FCON21 'Future of Construction Summit' oganised by FuturePlace in May 2021. In this session, he explained how blockchain can enhance the supply chain and ensure the right materials are in the right place at the right time as well as how the technology works and can be applied to enable efficient procurement within the construction industry. He further discussed how blockchain can address the following areas of procurement in construction: authentication, certification, warranty, responsibility of work done, delay in payments and payment certification.
c4SMC December 2020 Newsletter
The quarterly Newsletter of the c4SMC captures significant events, announcements, achievements and industry engagements related to the Centre. There are many articles, including Roundtable Discussion on Sustainable Construction, Featured Collaborators, Featured Centre Researchers, Achievements, Presentations and Publications, Funded Research Projects, c4SMC Blockchain Buzz, CIB Student Chapter, and Project Updates. Click here for the full Newsletter-December 2020.
c4SMC September 2020 Newsletter
The quarterly Newsletter of the Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) captures significant events, announcements, achievements and industry engagements related to the centre. There are many articles, including Roundtables, Featured Collaborators, Achievements, Centre Representations, Publications and Presentations, c4SMC Blockchain Buzz, and CIB Student Chapter. Click here for the full newsletter-September 2020.
c4SMC Celebrates 3-year proud journey
The third anniversary of the Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) was celebrated 8 August 2020 as a virtual event. Since its establishment in 2017, Centre has forged ahead as a collaborative initiative between industry and academia. In the face of the global COVID pandemic, the Centre is successfully continuing to operate in achieving its goals, making the best out of virtual platforms.
September 2020 c4SMC Roundtable - Sustainability through Digitalisation
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC), on Tuesday 15 September successfully concluded its 4th bi-annual Industry- Academic Roundtable session as an online event with the participation of 237 delegates representing 31 countries. It also had over 60 attendees from industry.
The theme of this Roundtable was Sustainability through Digitalisation, where its purpose was to open a conversation to rethink digital transformation for sustainability amidst the global pandemic. In keeping with the emergent term, ‘The Great Reset’ coined by the World Economic Forum, this Roundtable aimed to provide a platform to discuss technology-inspired ways to improve construction industry performance, while facilitating environmental, social and economic sustainability. Read this article.
Community of Practice of Certification Professions
The Centre is currently organising a series of Community of Practice Roundtables on behalf of the Office of NSW Building Commissioner (OBC), together with representatives from following Professional Institutions involved in Construction Certification.
- Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS)
- The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
- Australian Institute of Project Managers (AIPM)
- Association of Accredited Certifiers (AAC)
- Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS)
- Fire Protection Association Australia (FPAA)
The initial discussion on this event was on 29January 2020 and the first Roundtable was held on 11 June 2020. Read this article.
Construct NSW - Survey on Digitalisation of Construction
The c4SMC was awarded a research project by the Office of Building Commissioner NSW titled ‘Survey on Digitalisation of Construction’ on 15th June 2020. This contract research valued at AUD$78,800 (excl. GST) is led by chief investigators Professor Srinath Perera and Associate Professor Xiao-Hua Jin and supported by researchers Kasun Gunasekara and Marini Samarathunga.
Read this article.
c4SMC March 2020 Newsletter
The quarterly Newsletter of the c4SMC captures significant events, announcements, achievements and industry engagements related to the centre. There are many articles, including Roundtables, Visit of Meriton International Fellow, Achievements, Featured Collaborators, Centre Representations, Publications and Presentations, c4SMC Blockchain Buzz, and CIB Student Chapter. Click here for the full newsletter-March 2020.
Project Management Masterclass
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction in association with Masters in Project Management (MPM) at Western Sydney University hosted the Project Management Masterclass on the 19th of September 2019, with participation of over 50 MPM students and c4SMC researchers.
The Masterclass commenced with an insightful talk from James Bawtree, NSW Chapter President of the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM). James highlighted in his talk that the opportunities for project management jobs will continue to be enormous with over 14,000 project management vacancies currently available on Seek.com.au. He also elaborated the significance of professional certifications such as those offered by AIPM in a project manager’s career progression. James concluded by talking in detail about the increasing influence of technology and the need for agility in organisations and society. James also presented the 14 top performers of MPM with AIPM student membership
Meriton International Fellow Helena Lidelow visits MBS (Modular Building Systems) at Smithfield
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction organized a visit to MBS (Modular Building Systems) at Smithfield on 13 September as part of the visit of Meriton International Fellow A/Prof Helena Lidelow. Nick Luzar, State Manager (NSW and ACT) - Hansen Yuncken coordinated with the Centre and MBS to arrange the site visit. Helena leads the engineering department at Lindbäcks Bygg, Sweden, where they specialise in offsite construction, and MBS is one of the largest modular construction companies in Sydney.
3rd Industry Roundtable OSCM (Off-Site Construction and Manufacturing) and Digitalisation: Implications to the Construction Industry of Australia
The 3rd Industry roundtable was held on 17th September 2019, themed on “OSCM (Off-Site Construction and Manufacturing) and Digitalisation: Implications to the Construction Industry of Australia”. The future of construction industry is heavily influenced by industrialisation, digitalisation and globalisation. The onset of industry 4.0 has enabled convergence of technology and business creating disruptions in many industries and construction industry in no exception to this. The dynamics of disruption are enabling the construction industry to be driven towards adoption of different technologies such as Off-Site Construction and Manufacturing (OSCM), Automation, Building Information Modelling (BIM), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain and the like. These are forcing construction to re-think its mode of production by way of less dependency in onsite construction and moving towards factory-based manufacturing where there is greater possibilities of automation.
Newly appointed NSW Building Commissioner visits c4SMC
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction is extremely proud of its co-founder David Chandler for being appointed as the New South Wales Building Commissioner. Over the last few years David has been at the front end of the conversation about Australia's construction future. He believes that if Australia is to secure a viable position in the transforming global construction market place, a serious investment by industry, governments and educational institutions in that future is necessary.
Constructathon 2019
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction at Western Sydney University is proud to be associated with Australia’s first industry-wide ‘Construction Hackathon’ to be held on the 23 – 24th of August 2019 at Google’s head office in Pyrmont, Sydney. Constructathon 2019 brings together leading construction industry builders, consultants, subcontractors, developers and suppliers with those who can bring new thinking to difficult problems such as universities, start-ups, tech experts, venture capitalists and innovators. It’s simply an opportunity to collaborate over a short pre-determined period (often referred to as a sprint) to solve a problem and create a functional product or prototype which showcases your team’s idea by the end of the event. A hackathon is an incredibly electric experience where ideas are born and developed in a matter of days. Constructathon 2019 is being organised, sponsored and endorsed by Australia’s leading construction and industry bodies namely Boral, Built, Laing O’Rouke, Robert Pizzaroti, Mirvac, Stockland, the Master Builders Association, cbus, Property Council of Australia, the Centre for Smart Modern Construction, Western Sydney University and Google Cloud.
Digital Construction Meet up: Sydney
Prof. Srinath Perera presented an enlightening presentation on ‘Industry 4.0 Tech for the Built Environment’ on 30th May 2019 at the ‘Digital Construction Meetup’. Professor. Perera highlighted the innovations of Industry 1.0 to Industry 4.0 along with Construction 1.0 to Construction 4.0. Further, he discussed the research projects carried out at the Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC), which are mainly focused on blockchain and other smart technological areas that are resolving the current issues identified by the construction industry itself.
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Will the Construction Industry survive Industry 4.0?
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Next Generation Building is Systemised, Data rich and Disruptive
Now, is the greatest time in history to be a part of the AEC Industry as the disruption in the Industry gives us the greatest opportunity for transformation. With this in mind, the Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) hosted its second Industry Roundtable on the 30th of April, 2019 which witnessed overwhelming participation from industry and academia. In just over a year since a forward-looking group of industry leaders invested in the Centre for Smart Modern Construction at Western Sydney University, a momentum is building that recognises that national interest can be served by collaboration aimed at joining-up the modern construction narrative.
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Seminar on Building the Foundations of a Secure Offsite Industry in Scotland
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) of the Western Sydney University organised a seminar focussing on the future of offsite construction, in collaboration with Wood Solutions, Australia. The event was hosted at Kartsens, Sydney on 19, March 2019 in the form of a joint CPD seminar. It provided insights in to the offsite construction practice in in Scotland, UK. Guest speaker, Ms. Lucy Black who is the Head of Business Relationships at Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) presented a detailed outline of their Centre activities. The purpose of the seminar was to bring academic and industry experts together to discuss and share ideas on how offsite construction practices can be effectively applied in Australia and to learn from the experience and exposure of the Scottish construction industry. The seminar provided a valuable platform for knowledge sharing and networking among the participants who were from both the industry and the academia. The presentation by Lucy was followed by a though provoking panel discussion along with audience question and answer sessions.
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C4SMC Industry Round Table 2019
In just over a year since a forward-looking group of industry leaders invested in the Centre for Smart Modern Construction - c4SMC at Western Sydney University a momentum is building that recognises the national interest can be served by collaboration aimed at joining-up the modern construction narrative. The first Industry – Academic Round Table of 2019 takes forward the conversation that began at the inaugural version in 2018 by envisioning a smarter, better and more effective industry. It is a quality opportunity to bring industry and academia together and discuss how both see a modern industry taking shape and how best to prepare the academic program to help deliver future-ready modern constructors who have envisioned Industry 4.0.
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Meriton joins the Centre for Smart Modern Construction at Western Sydney and becomes the foundation supporter of the Meriton Academic Fellowships
The Centre is delighted to announce that Australia’s largest residential builder Meriton will be the foundation supporter of the c4SMC visiting academic fellowship program for the next 3 years. The program will be named the Meriton Academic Fellowships. And, the Centre is excited to announce that Helena (Johnsson) Lidelöw Assoc Prof, Timber Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden has accepted to be the first visiting fellow and will take up this role in September 2019. This is part of the Centre’s strategy to fast track the transfer of leading edge, applied modern construction knowledge into Construction Management at Western Sydney University. “This will be of huge benefit to our teaching team, researchers, students and industry” said Associate Professor, Mary Hardie – Director Academic Programs.
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WoodSolutions and Western Sydney University c4SMC Seminar
WoodSolutions has partnered up with Western Sydney University’s Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC). The centre aim is to maximise the potential of the construction industry in Western Sydney, and beyond, as it responds to the challenges of sustainability, digitalisation, industrialisation and globalisation.
Presenter Ms Black, Head of Business Relationships at CSIC will take us through the journey of this emerging industry in Scotland, articulating the challenges it has faced, the progress it is making and the strategic, technical and skills initiatives that are in place to help the industry grow quickly through collaboration to meet the challenging build and sustainability targets put in place by the Scottish Government.
In addition to Ms Black there will be a panel of experts in construction fabrication to discuss their experiences and answer questions.
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c4SMC Inter-University Academic Rountable 14 November 2018
The inaugural Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) inter-university roundtable brought together nine universities to discuss the future of construction in Australia and how each was developing new insights into an industry that is slowly embracing the fourth industrial revolution (colloquially referred to as Industry 4.0 and in our context, Construction 4.0). The focus was on how our institutions are preparing to ensure tomorrow’s construction professionals are future ready.
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6 December 2018
International Workshop on Use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects
An industry workshop was organised by the Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) on 16, November 2018 at Parramatta City Campus, Western Sydney University. The workshop titled “Use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects” was organised as part of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Research Trust funded research project. It aimed at understanding the practice of BIM in Australia, UK, and China with respect to estimating in PPP projects.
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2 December 2018
PAQS Conference in Sydney, 2018
Navodana Rodrigo along with the supervisory panel comprising of Prof. Srinath Perera, Dr. Sepani Senaratne and Dr. Xiaohua Jin published a research paper titled “Blockchain for Construction Supply Chains: A Literature Synthesis” at the annual ICEC PAQS Conference on 19th November 2018 in Sydney. The ICEC PAQS Conference is a world renowned peer-reviewed annual conference where a majority of local and international construction managers and quantity surveyors participate to demonstrate their research work. It was indeed a fruitful platform to present the research paper and receive feedback from such an expert audience consisting of intelligent and experienced industry practitioners.
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24 November 2018
Professor Tuan Ngo makes the keynote presentation at the October 2018 Colloquium in Construction Management
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21 October 2018
Professor Albert Chan delivers the Keynote at the August Construction Management Colloquium at the c4SMC
There are interesting parallels between the Construction Management Programs at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University and Western Sydney University. Both have grown with their local economies.
Prof. Albert Chan, Chair Professor and Head, Building and Real Estate at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Professor Chan was the guest of the Centre for Smart Modern Construction’s academic colloquium held at University’s Parramatta Campus in August. Albert’s visit was part of an Australian construction industry goodwill tour where he shared with us his department's research, job opportunities in HKPolyU for PhD graduates and potential research collaborations in Hong Kong. He also took the opportunity to talk about the CIB World Congress 2019 (opens in a new window) which will be hosted at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
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12 October 2018
The Australian construction industry has amongst the lowest rates of investment in research and development in our economy
If ever there was at time to turn this around, this is the moment according to Data 61’s Business Development Manager, Tom Durick who gave last week’s opening keynote address at Western Sydney University’s Centre for Smart Modern Construction Industry Roundtable (opens in a new window). Durick presented to a group of industry and academics on the work Data 61 is doing in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Supply Chains, Blockchain and Modern Construction space.
‘Our opportunity is in this moment of time, but its perishable’ - Tom Durick, Data 61
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7 September 2018
Property developer investing in a smart modern construction industry
Residential property developer Dahua Group is investing in the future leaders of the construction industry by supporting construction students at Western Sydney University.
Mr Eric Li, CEO of Dahua Group Australia, NSW & QLD, attended a recent function hosted by the Centre for Smart Modern Construction at which the first group of Dahua scholarship recipients were acknowledged.
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25 July 2018
Building industry capacity through undergraduate scholarships
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) is a university and industry collaboration investing in the future readiness of smart modern construction graduates and the enterprises in which they will work.
Part of its mission is to work with industry contributors to fund undergraduate scholarships for high achieving students studying Construction Management.
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20 July 2018
Driving innovation in the building industry through collaboration with PhD researchers
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) is a university and industry collaboration investing in the future readiness of smart modern construction graduates and the enterprises in which they will work.
Part of its mission is to collaborate with industry contributors on PhD research to help face current challenges of sustainability, digitalisation, industrialisation and globalisation with an impact focus of 3 to 5-years.
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20 July 2018
Vice Chancellor challenges industry to identify jobs of the future and make tomorrow's constructors future ready
Mark Farmer's presentation to over 200 Western Sydney constructors and academics at the recent 'Construction Opportunities in Western Sydney - Modernise or Die' conference carried a strong theme about the need to re-skill the industry's workforce for the jobs of tomorrow. Farmer drew on extensive research that informed his 2016 report to UK construction.
The Conference was co-hosted by PrefabAUS and Western Sydney University's Centre for Smart Modern Construction - c4SMC. Mark Farmer was enroute to the PrefabNZ, CoLab the following week.
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23 April 2018
Where do young constructors go to hear about amazing careers in construction?
There is a growing band of construction and construction related organisations who are investing in the Centre for Smart Modern Construction - c4SMC at Western Sydney University. These organisations understand that the modern construction era presents new challenges as the industry transforms into its future-self, they also see the amazing potential for the best of tomorrow's construction professionals to make a difference.
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23 February 2018
Stop Press - the first c4SMC PhD scholarships are now being advertised. Applications close on the 31st March 2018
Candidates looking to establish their future credentials as leaders in the Modern Construction era, now have the opportunity to join a dynamic team in the Centre for Smart Modern Construction - c4SMC at Western Sydney University. Four scholarships are being offered. If you are looking to be part of helping to write the book on how the modern construction industry is transforming, to evidence the industry's progress and to deliver important new insights to the university's Construction & Project Managements programs and industry, then this is a unique opportunity for the right candidates. The Centre is keen to attract researchers who have an enthusiastic interest in the knowledge themes now offered and are willing to be active members of the Centre.
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17 February 2018
Australia's Construction Industry lacks a shared view of its future self - its time to uncover that future and invest
Western Sydney University's Centre for Smart Modern Construction in collaboration with Australia's leading voice on off-site construction manufacture PrefabAUS will host an important conference on Construction Opportunities in Western Sydney - Modernise or Die in Sydney on the 2nd March 2018. This is a unique opportunity for the industry, policy makers and the university to hear from the UK's industry leader Mark Farmer and key NSW clients who will deliver important future capital works programs.
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11 February 2018
c4SMC Industry Engagement provides a wealth of Smart Modern Construction insights - into a transforming industry
Over the University Summer members of the academic teaching staff have been visiting sites where the modernisation of construction is unfolding. They have found a number of Western Sydney University Construction Management Alumni at the leading edge. It has been pleasing to find c4SMC investors demonstrating why its time to modernise the industry.
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10 February 2018
Professor Chimay Anumba as keynote speaker for the Construction Management Colloquium
Professor Anumba’s current visit to Australia was too good an opportunity for the Centre not to invite Chimay to share his insights in the field of Cyber-Physical Systems in Construction with the University’s academic team and invited guests.
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18 January 2018
c4SMC Industry Investors are Making a Difference at Western Sydney University
We commence 2018 with some impressive achievements by the Centre for Smart Modern Construction. There is a lot to do, to ensure the right investment is made in preparing the next generation of constructors to be future-ready. This means ensuring that a committed academic staff has the resources to deliver what's needed. The Centre has now received commitments from industry to invest over $500,000 into the Construction Management program. It is firms like Hansen Yuncken and Weathertex that are stepping up to invest in the future of construction in Western Sydney.
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14 January 2018
Western Sydney business leader David Borger launches the Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC)
Western Sydney University's Construction Management academic and research team hosted 100 leaders at the recent industry launch of the Centre for Smart Modern Construction. Western Sydney Business Chamber Director David Borger officiated. The event was testimony the growing engagement the Centre is having with industry.
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18 December 2017
Take a bow Associate Professor Mary Hardie - Director Construction Management Undergraduate Programs
Associate Professor Mary Hardie's academic standing and commitment to professional construction education was recognised by Western Sydney University last week. This will be great news for the hundreds of young constructors who look back fondly on their time at the University and the foundation that Mary Hardie has given them as they build their careers in the construction industry. And it will be wonderful recognition of the academic team Mary has worked with to help build Western Sydney's Construction Management Program to the largest in Australia. This recognition comes on the heels of the AIB's 2017 award of the Ron Swaine Medal for academic teaching achievement.
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26 November 2017
The industry launch of Western Sydney University's Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) is on next week
‘If you want to be part of the Western Sydney construction economy over the next 20 years this is the time to invest in building the industry’s capabilities for a smart modern construction future. If you want to be part of contributing to building those capabilities, engage with the Centre for Smart Modern Construction at Western Sydney University’. David Borger
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6 November 2017
The Centre for Smart Modern Construction at Western Sydney University - officially launched
Industry Engagement is at the heart of this initiative. Western Sydney is set to be Australia's construction hot-spot for the next 20-years. Centre for Smart Modern Construction (c4SMC) will create a hub for Smart Modern Construction research, new academic leadership in modern construction, a source of future ready graduates and Western Sydney industry capability building.
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10 September 2017
Related Articles
Modern Construction Transformation needs an evidenced business case
To much is taken for granted in construction. The view that construction's traditional chaotic practices and culture will prevail is still as dominant, just as the opposite views tendered by those who voice a future which is smarter, better, safer, faster, more reliable and cheaper.
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10 November 2017
Construction of the Western Sydney Airport must set-up a viable Modern Construction Industry in NSW
This week will see the first of many important conversations about how this important new addition to Western Sydney's future will unfold. The project is bold and rich with potential. It is important that the Western Sydney construction industry does not feel disengaged from this project, or by it being too big and beyond their capacity to contribute.
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29 October 2017
Smart Construction is now needed to make tomorrow's Smart Buildings
There is little doubt, that across today's worldwide construction industry the traditional way of specifying, designing, procuring, making, assembling, accepting and using buildings have passed their use-by date.
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27 September 2017
Smart Buildings, Resilience, User integration, Big-Data, Traceability & Assurance, Construction, energy and Effectiveness the keywords of today
Builtworlds's conference next week shows how industry worldwide is taking hold of the global construction agenda. Their Building 2.0 conference in Chicago is not dissimilar to the conversations that will be shared at this week's PrefabAUS conference in Melbourne. Industry leaders gathering to to share their intel on why the modern construction era is now re-defining the wasteful and uncertain traditional past.
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11 September 2017
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