Meet the team

“I've always tried to understand how to use the latest bit of technology to be able to benefit what we do. And in the past year I've been thrown into the deep end given all our documentation is now derived from 3D models.”

Anthony says the new approach has been a game changer, allowing for earlier interrogation of how the different parts of a build work together, or don’t.

“In 3D, you can see all aspects of the item – where it clashes, where it doesn't clash, how it fits in, how it blends in to each other. That makes it so much easier to pick up early design hiccups to help us get our products out the door faster,” he says.

Anthony has worked on many memorable projects including the Cross City Tunnel, and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Village build, which flew the flag early for sustainable design.

A favourite part of his job is mentoring the next generation of design professionals. A number of apprentices under Anthony’s watch have transitioned from drafting to engineering roles, with some becoming project managers.

“That brings a joy to me knowing that they've taken their passion and achieved something that I saw they were capable of.”

Currently watching: The Sinner on Netflix

Favourite travel destination: New York, and Anaheim in California (to visit Disneyland)

Get in touch: 02 9465 5606, Anthony.Bayadi@aurecongroup.com

Bright focused on urban studies and Latin American studies as an undergraduate in Canada, before pursuing a postgraduate degree in the UK in Globalisation and Latin American Development.

Before moving to Australia, she worked for a think tank in London, where she completed research and engagement studies on the transformational High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project. Expected to commence operations in 2026, HS2 will eventually connect London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester.

“We were looking at the wider benefits, so we were trying to consider when people arrive at the station, what kind of experience will they have connecting to other forms of transport. The question was – how do we make a station a place, rather than just an interchange?”

Over the course of the almost five-year study, the research helped shape the conversation about the wider economic and spatial benefits of the project.

“You could see the conversation shift from being simply about a rail line, to being about regeneration and rebalancing the economy. Beyond the engineering elements, it became a discussion about how this project could help connect communities.”

While in London, Bright also saw the potential for transport planners to collaborate with telecommunications companies to source aggregated, anonymised mobile phone data to provide insights on transport paths and flows.

“You can see the patterns when people are travelling on a train, how the cell phones will all ping off the cell tower at the same time and then they'll go quiet, and then they'll ping off a different cell tower further down the line.

“You can literally see – particularly when integrating this data with the Wi-Fi data on the London Underground – the exact routes used by people to get to and from work. I think it's a really valuable data set that can be immeasurably useful to transport planners.”

Currently reading: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Currently listening to: The Urbanist podcast (produced by Monocle Magazine)

Get in touch: 0413 347 727, Bright.Pryde@aurecongroup.com

These programs focus on providing safer, more efficient, and more accessible stations across New South Wales. For Claire, rail projects are gratifying to work on, because the engineering challenges they offer have relatable outcomes.

“I can see the problems, and I can see the difference it will make when these problems are solved,” she says. 

In a previous role, she worked on the new major upgrade to Redfern Station, which recently came online.

“It was just lovely to be able to create something that was better for the community. Our aim was – let's not just put something in here that's standard, off-the-shelf that will tick the boxes. Let's talk to people and see what they like and want they want.”

After graduating from university, Claire got her first engineering job working as a site engineer – the sole female alongside “300 big brothers” on an eight-storey commercial build in Dublin. Claire and her husband visited Australia for the first time on a round-the-world trip, and while here, she picked up contract work in the design office of the Westlink M7 project.

Five years later, she decided to make a permanent move down under. After first working on smaller projects such as rail sub-station upgrades, she eventually became the go-to rail specialist in her structural engineering team. For Claire, rail projects have an element commercial and residential builds lack – the constant operational needs of customers.

“It's a really unique environment in that your design is so driven from day one by the limitations in time and space for construction. The windows for construction are usually very small and short, and leave very little room for error.”

Currently reading: Classic Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton with the kids

Favourite holiday destination: Cascais, in Portugal

Get in touch: 0410 360 198, Claire.Doyle@aurecongroup.com

“Now, we focus on ensuring that not only all of the technical requirements are met, but also the way things are designed, organised, delivered, and the way construction is staged is not only acceptable but preferable to the end user, as well as our clients.”

James is putting his skills to good use on the major upgrade of Sydney’s Central Station. In particular, he’s been working on the rearrangement of the track to help provide more frequent and efficient passenger services.

“When things are really constrained you have a chance to really chew on the problem and try and come up with a useful solution – something that meets multiple objectives as opposed to just satisfying the standard requirements. It's about identifying what the most important and most significant things to try and achieve are, and then making sure you get those addressed.”

Technology is helping to bridge engineering expertise with community expectations. James experienced this first-hand recently while working on the concept design of a new maintenance facility.

“I was really surprised how effective a 3D rendering of the proposed works helped the public to understand and engage with the proposed design. It helped them provide really valuable feedback about how they would prefer things to be.”

Currently reading: The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself by Sean Carroll

Currently listening to: Freakonomics, Planet Money, and Radio Lab

Dream travel experience: Fly fishing in New Zealand

Get in touch: 02 9465 5408, James.Lennard@aurecongroup.com

It’s an approach he applies to the Melbourne Metro project, where he provides operational advice to the Victorian Government and the Aurecon joint venture team.

Kevin’s belief is that you can create cost-effective solutions to provide the best customer experience while also achieving greater reliability for the network.

Safety is another priority. Kevin points to the 1999 Ladbroke Grove rail crash in London, where 31 people died. In the wake of that tragedy, training and competence management were improved, and signaling technology was upgraded. It’s part of a broader digital transformation that continues in rail systems around the world.

“One of the outcomes from that incident was the rollout of advanced train control systems. The enhanced safety of digital systems and train control systems have the potential to bring improvements to not only safety, but efficiency and reliability as well,” Kevin says.

Given his pragmatic approach, Kevin doesn’t romanticise diesel or steam engines as many trainspotters do, but instead has a soft spot for AC locos.

His reasons?

“They were quieter, they weren't smelly, and they were more comfortable.”

For Kevin Moloney, customer centric considerations always win out.

Currently reading: The Tao of Pooh, and The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff

Favourite holiday destination: The beaches of Fiji – Likuliku, and Vomo Island (good for families)

Get in touch: 0424 947 907, Kevin.Moloney@aurecongroup.com

“Power stations have very restricted access, whereas in train stations you have large numbers of the public coming within access of the electrical infrastructure on a daily basis which needs to be considered in the design.”

Through various traction power projects on the different rail networks, Renene has been a part of introducing best practice switchgear, remote switching, and modular buildings to reduce construction costs and time within the rail corridor.

These are examples, Renene says, of energy sector innovations that can readily be translated to rail.

“From an electrical engineering perspective, there are a lot of similarities. Electrons are still electrons.”

Currently reading: French Exit by Patrick deWitt

Favourite travel destination: Paris and Seville

Get in touch: 02 9465 5862, Renene.Windsor@aurecongroup.com

“Ultimately it's achieved what it set out to do in terms of patronage growth, which has been above expectations. Since opening in 2013, there’s been significant redevelopment all the way along the corridor, and it will also connect to a much bigger and more agile light rail system when it's completed in the city.”

There’s been something of a light rail renaissance across Australasia in recent years, and Rob has put his expertise to good use.

After four years of development, the final testing and commissioning of the Newcastle Light Rail is currently taking place. A tender submission for Auckland’s light rail project – the city’s first – has recently been completed. Rob has also been assisting on the next stage of development for the Gold Coast G:link network.

Why is light rail back in vogue?

“Light rail as an urban spine sits neatly between buses and heavy rail. I think governments see this flexibility, the quantum of people it can take as an urban collector, and find that attractive.”

It’s also a mode that embraces innovation.

Rob points to new, hybrid, autonomous systems in China that have been showcased recently. The Newcastle Light Rail, which he’s been working on for the past four years, is entirely catenary-free. When it opens in early 2019, it’ll be the first system of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

Favourite travel destination: Rainbow Bay on the Gold Coast, for a great family and surfing holiday

Get in touch: +61 405 828 015, Robert.Angus@aurecongroup.com

“I’m a visual person, and this way, instead of simply being told a design is ready, you can see it for yourself. Not just that, but how each piece fits into the bigger picture. For example, we've been able to manage complex interfaces where we've got multiple piles of one of the new Metro buildings directly on top of a large Sydney Water culvert that is underground. The digital models have helped us to coordinate these elements without clashes.”

Once complete, the new-look Sydenham Station will feature a new aerial concourse and pedestrian plazas, fully accessible bus stops nearby, and faster and more frequent train services.

Simon began his career as a road engineer, before embracing the many moving parts of rail projects. He says the SSJ project has required a comprehensive, customer-led design strategy.

“There have been surveys observing passengers as they use the station, as well as focus group discussions. We’ve also had virtual reality walk-throughs where different groups have been able to experience the design for themselves and let us know what they think.”

Feedback from this research has fed directly into the final design, including improved way finding and accessibility.

“We are confident that we understand everything from an engineering point of view, but when you talk to people and hear their frustrations, you understand how things can be designed better. It’s been an eye-opening experience.”

Currently reading: Buy-In by Julia Steel

Favourite travel destination: Hawaii, closely followed by Portugal

Get in touch: 0448 914 197, Simon.Paterson@aurecongroup.com