12 November 2019 - Global engineering, design and advisory company Aurecon has been recognised for the fifth consecutive year for the calibre of its people and outstanding work, winning two Gold Awards and one Highly Commended Award at the 2019 Consult Australia Awards for Excellence held in Sydney on Thursday, 24 October.

• Gold: Project Team Collaboration – Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal (with Lendlease, CPB Contractors, and WSP)
• Gold: Sustainability in Design – Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal (with Lendlease, CPB Contractors, and WSP)
• High commendation: Future Leader – Laura Stewart

Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project

Taking the top honours in two categories, Project Team Collaboration and Sustainability in Design, the Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project (CtD) was a large-scale rail project encompassing the removal of nine level crossings on the Cranbourne/Pakenham line, Melbourne’s busiest.

Using a range of digital and face-to-face tools featuring collaboration at the centre, the project was designed to improve service reliability, lower road congestion and improve community and commuter safety.

An alliance of Lendlease, CPB Contractors, WSP and Aurecon (the Alliance) completed the CtD in conjunction with Metro Trains Melbourne.

The project involved an innovative approach to removing multiple level crossings on a busy railway line. The Alliance recognised early in the design phase that collaboration with government, and even within the Alliance, via a digital platform would be the best method to engage stakeholders. The elevated design solution developed by the project team is the first of its kind in Victoria.

The VizRT platform was chosen and augmented to perform real-time and interactive signal sighting visualisations of what train drivers would see on any given day.

One of the key objectives of the collaboration, which achieved excellent results, was in the community initiatives implemented after the contract was awarded. Many of these were developed in response to understanding specific issues and concerns, ultimately leading to a massive turnaround in community sentiment. Collaboration objectives in this area included:

• Assisting businesses to operate successfully throughout construction
• Allowing the community to understand how an elevated in rail solution would provide added benefit to them.

All nine level crossings were removed by June 2018 and practical completion of core components was achieved in October that same year. Power and signalling upgrades are ongoing.

Laura Stewart – Future Leader

Laura Stewart influences the future of the infrastructure industry as a strategy enabler, innovator and change maker by driving innovation on projects, developing new ways of bringing customers into the design of infrastructure and managing key client relationships.

Leading Aurecon’s strategic Future Ready transformation in New South Wales, Laura works across all markets and teams, while also contributing to Aurecon’s global innovation and client experience team.

“I am passionate about the art of communication and human behaviour, which has translated into a career in engagement, influence and strategy for me,” Laura said.

Laura works with Aurecon’s New South Wales Regional Director Scott Powell, and the New South Wales Leadership team to develop their responses to strategy, exploring key target clients and shaping Aurecon’s unique points of difference in service offerings.

As an example, Laura led the Sydney Metro’s first user centred design process on a detailed design at Sydenham Station and Junction. Laura worked with the client and project team to integratecustomer research into the design development and testing, ensuring that customer requirements were reflected in the final design. 

Because of the success of this design project with Sydney Metro, Laura has led the establishment of a new service offering for Aurecon: User Centred Design

Aurecon’s Scott Powell, Regional Director – New South Wales said, “Laura is driven to do things differently and challenge the status quo to find ways of contributing to shaping Aurecon’s innovation agenda and direction.”

She has also recently joined Will2Live, which is a small grassroots community group, volunteering once or twice a week to hand out food at Central Station, Sydney. This has expanded to include Laura using her skills in communication and strategy to help the CEO of Will2Live with marketing positioning.

“I passionately believe that we need to give back to our communities, even if it is in a small way by volunteering at local community groups,” Laura said.