Defence-Aurecon Ascend Program, Australia
The Ascend Program is designed to support women to step into leadership roles and drive greater gender equity and inclusion within the Defence workforce.
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The Singleton Training Area firing range has been transformed from dirt mounds in open areas to facilities constructed from concrete pads covered with soft fall (rubber) overlays and covered roofs.
The refurbishment, designed and project managed by Aurecon, brings the ranges in line with Defence’s ambition to establish uniformity across all Australian firing ranges. New facilities installed alongside the ranges include an ablutions block, waiting area shelters, and an ammunition kiosk.
On this project, the main challenge for the project team was attempting to construct the ranges and facilities amid a severe wet weather event, with Singleton recording record-breaking rainfall of approximately 1.3 m.
Sophisticated coordination and collaboration with Defence, the contractor, and base Range Control Officer, meant the concrete slab pours proceeded during breaks in the weather while construction of the new facilities was undertaken in the surrounding time periods.
The existing bare dirt entrance track was covered with coarse 50 mm aggregate so that construction vehicles could continue to operate during the wet weather. Extra formwork was added to the slabs to bind the concrete, increasing its strength and reducing the risk of collapse due to wet ground conditions.
The Singleton Training Area is a large firing range covering 15,000 ha, almost three times the size of Sydney Harbour. Before this refurbishment, the range did not have ablution facilities. Now, a modern and solar-powered ablutions block with septic system services the ranges.
The new waiting shelters located adjacent to the ranges were purposely positioned uphill from the ablutions block so that rainwater captured from the roofs can be gravity fed to service the toilets. This deliberate design decision did not increase the project budget, but it does reduce the site’s operational expenses in future by reducing purchased water during periods of drought.
The mix of upgraded 25 m and 100 m ranges at the training area now provide individual firing lanes that are in line with current Defence requirements. The increased capability, and new facilities, allow Defence to increase its use of the ranges which are essential to the long-term sustainability of the training area.
Aurecon managed this project as part of its ongoing Project Delivery Services contract with Department of Defence (ADF).
The Ascend Program is designed to support women to step into leadership roles and drive greater gender equity and inclusion within the Defence workforce.
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