The John Holland Report, Quarterly Newsletter, Edition 1 - Leighton ...

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTERR E P O R TEDITION 1DECEMBER 2005New dawn for Australian railINSIDESTORIES...It’s boom time for Australia’s railindustry and John Holland Railis well placed to participate indelivering new major rail projects.In the past few months, almost half abillion dollars of new work has beenadded to the company’s rail and civilportfolio, including $400 million inrefurbishment and construction workson the Melbourne to Sydney railway lineand the $40 million Sandgate rail gradeseparation project in NSW.Fuelling the rail renaissance are plans by theFederal Government and Australian Rail TrackCorporation (ARTC) to invest $1.8 billion inrail projects on the AusLink National Networkover the next five years. State governmentsare to significantly add to that figure, makingthe rail industry the most buoyant it’s been ina generation.As a national leader in rail construction,refurbishment and maintenance, John HollandRail is one of the few companies with the plant,experience, and skilled workforce to take onthe industry’s massive needs, according toRail Managing Director, David Tasker.“Rail has long played ‘second fiddle’ to roadsin Australia and has suffered from significantunder-investment over the past two decades,”Tasker said. “Governments around the countryare now working hard to save deterioratingrail networks with long-term goals of gettingmore freight off the roads and onto rail.”“Over the past few years, we’ve been ahead ofthis trend and invested heavily in our rail fleet,making us one of the few companies physicallycapable of delivering on these expectations.”Tasker said the recent award of the Sydney-Melbourne line works and the Sandgateproject, both by the ARTC, justified severalyears of investment in rail by John Holland.John Holland helpsMelbourne gear up forthe 2006 CommonwealthGames in March. PAGE 3Major projects set to drivejobs growth in Queenslandconstruction. PAGE 4-5Making inroads into Asia.Tunnelling & UndergroundMining embark on newHong Kong project.PAGE 6-7‘Passport to Safety’ initiativeleads industry in trainingand accident prevention.PAGE 8John Holland Rail works near Bunbury in WA earlier this year.

Exciting changes atJohn Holland in 20062Welcome to the first editionof The John Holland Report,a new quarterly newsletterfor all John Holland staff.For the first time, this new publicationis intended to bring together news fromacross the group and showcase ourmany disciplines.In addition to general news, each quarterwe will feature a couple of different partsof the John Holland Group – generallyone region and one specialist business –to communicate key developments acrossthe company.The coming year will see some structuraland leadership changes.As we announced last month, I will betaking up a new role at our parentcompany Leighton Holdings, and DavidStewart will become Group ManagingDirector from 1 January, 2006.David has announced several keyorganisational changes from January,including the appointment of GlennPalin as Executive General Manager –Specialist Businesses. With Glenn’spromotion, Chris Evans will take overas Northern Region General Manager.Darryn Ray has also been promotedto the post of Chief Financial Officerand will oversee Commercial and RiskManagement, as well as Finance andAdministration.I’m sure the company will continue toprosper under the leadership of David.Over the past six years, I have beenproud to oversee some exceptionalprojects and be a part of a fantasticteam that has collectively grown ourwork in hand six-fold since 2000to an impressive $3 billion this year.More importantly, we have seenmassive profit growth in this period.I’m pleased that I will still have a veryactive role and interest in John Hollandthrough Leighton Holdings. I sincerelythank everyone for their incrediblesupport and for the hard work anddedication of so many people.I would like to take this opportunityto wish you and your families all thebest for the festive season and a safeand prosperous new year.Best wishesBill WildGroup Managing DirectorNews in BriefIntroducing TheJohn Holland ReportScholarship winnerThailand-boundAfter aninternal namingcompetitionwhich receivedan incredible265 nominations,‘The John HollandReport’ was selected by senior managementas the masthead name of this newquarterly staff publication.EastLink Engineering Manager,Jason Whyte (pictured), came upwith the winning title, which wasone of several short-listed that metthe criteria of: representing the many,diverse businesses of the John HollandGroup; was simple and easy toremember; and clearly identifiedthe purpose of the publication.For his entry, Whyte, who hasmore than 20 years experiencewith John Holland, is the winnerof a $100 David Jones voucher.For the second year in a row, amember of the extended JohnHolland ‘family’ has taken out theLeighton Holdings-sponsored AFSstudent scholarship program.Alastair Abbott from Greenwood,Western Australia – pictured withhis father Hendrik who works forWestern Region – won the awardover candidates from across all ofthe LHL companies.Each year, LHL funds a student ofa group member company to livewith a family in another country.The benefits of the program includeintroducing young people to newideas and customs, to help themcontribute to internationalunderstanding and develop skills,maturity and awareness whichwill enhance their future educationand career.Alastair will be going to Thailandin April 2006 to spend a year studyingand absorbing the local culture.He is an outstanding communitymindedcandidate for the AFSaward. His community interestsinclude working with the StateEmergency Service and donatingto the Red Cross.THEJOHNHOLLAND R E P O R T

Melbourne ready for Commonwealth GamesWith the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Gamesjust three months away, Southern Region is playinga major role in ensuring two venues will be of worldclassstandard for the games.While the focus will be on the athletes during thecompetition, John Holland’s construction expertisewill also be on show to the world at the MelbourneSports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) and the StateLawn Bowls Centre and Training Velodrome.The latter project was completed last year,and finishing touches are now being appliedto MSAC’s new facilities.Champion Olympic swimmer, Grant Hackett,unfortunately out of the Commonwealth Gamesdue to injury, visited the project team in Augustto check progress on the $53 million MSACupgrade which includes:• A new 50 metre, roofed outdoor competition pool;• A permanent grandstand capable of holding3,000 people;• The construction of two temporary grandstandsto the north and the east of the pool complex toseat a further 7,000 people for the games; and• A 330 space, three-level car park.Olympic champion Grant Hackett (second from right), joined Southern RegionBuilding Construction Manager, Robert Normand (left), Simon Wetherall CEOof the State Sports Centre Trust (MSAC) and Project Manager Daryl Garlick(right) on an inspection of John Holland’s works at the Melbourne Sports andAquatic Centre. Photo courtesy of Herald Sun.The upgrade also includes a new hydrotherapy pool complexand the refurbishment of existing buildings as sports managementand marketing offices for Sport Victoria.The Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games will run from15 to 26 March.3Work under way on improving Perth’s Law CourtsPerth’s Central Law Courts are being refurbishedby Western Region.In October, Western Region began the $30 millionrefurbishment of the Central Law Courts (CLC) inPerth as part of the city’s new CBD Courts Project.The first stage of the work includes the recladding and waterproofingof the court’s exterior and the refurbishment of the building’s eight lifts.Each lift will need to be totally overhauled with new machinery, lift carsand electronics.Western Region General Manager, Kai Kane, said a key challenge ofthe refurbishment was to undertake the works while the court buildingwas occupied.”This is a functioning judicial environment which has meant that theproject has had to apply a high level of sensitivity in regard to hours ofoperation,” Kane said. “This has required the project to implement strictnoise and dust management and coordination controls.”The external, phase one works are expected to be complete by mid-2007.The second stage of the CLC project – the internal fit-out of the building– will start on completion of a new District Court building by consortiumpartner ABN-Amro in early 2008. Western Region’s work will include thecomplete internal refurbishment of the old Central Law Courts building,including the installation of a new modern IT system.The refurbished court and new building will together make up a newcourts precinct for Perth, with the entire project expected to be completeby mid-2009.QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2005

Feature: Queensland constructionNorthern RegionMore than 400 people will be employedby two major John Holland projects inQueensland over the coming year.4A buoyant construction market and two years of strategicplanning by Northern Region have delivered a mini-boom tothe Sunshine State through John Holland’s redevelopment ofthe Southbank Education and Training Precinct (SETP) andthe construction of the Green Bridge over Brisbane River.At the official launch of SETP’s construction in November,Queensland Premier Peter Beattie forecast no short-termslowing of the state’s construction growth.“I want to send a very strong signal, this is the beginningof what I hope will be a large number of PPPs (in Queensland),”Mr Beattie told the Australian Financial Review.Northern Region General Manager, Glenn Palin, said thatwith the in-house skills and experience already in place,the company was well placed to help the QueenslandGovernment deliver a significant portion of its $55 billioninfrastructure program over the next several years.“The region already has one of the most experiencedconstruction teams in the state, and Green Bridge and‘Southbank’ will only help to cement our capabilitieswith key clients,” Palin said.Palin said more than 70 people (direct and indirect staff)were involved in the construction of the $56 million GreenBridge project. Expected to be complete in early 2007,the bridge will span 390 metres across the Brisbane River,linking Dutton Park and the St Lucia campus of theUniversity of Queensland.While not green in colour, the bridge will be ‘environmentallygreen.’ Specifically designed to accommodate a two-lanebus corridor as well as a separate pedestrian and bicyclepath, the bridge is the first of its type in Australia.The river foundations for the suspension bridge werecompleted in July with crews currently constructing thebridge deck and two main towers, which will stand 70metres high.The contract also includes constructing new bus-wayterminals, road modifications, urban design, landscapingand a 10 year maintenance contract. The bridge andassociated infrastructure have been designed tocomplement the surrounding environment whilestill meeting their functional requirements.Palin said the Green Bridge team’s skills were rewardedwith the 2005 John Holland Safety award. “This teamhas an outstanding safety record of 92,074 man hourswith zero LTI’s and a total recordable injury frequencyrate (TRIFR) of 10.86 (at the end of October 2005).”Green Bridge starts to take shape over the Brisbane River.“It is a remarkable achievement for a project that is sotechnically challenging and involving such a high rangeof safety risks,” Palin added.He said the award of the Southbank Education andTraining Precinct in April this year was a milestone projectnot just for John Holland, Northern Region, but also forQueensland, as it was the first Public Private Partnership(PPP) in the state. ‘Southbank’ is also the largest buildingproject (in dollar terms) ever undertaken by John Holland.As a member of the Axiom Education Queenslandconsortium, Northern Region’s component is worth$230 million and involves the construction of fournew buildings and the refurbishment of a furtherfour existing buildings.Palin, who will take up a new role in 2006 heading JohnHolland’s specialist businesses (see right), said NorthernRegion was now clearly established as an industry leader,particularly with recent additional project wins including theRoss River Dam Upgrade ($87m) and as alliance partner forthe Gold Coast Desalination Proposal ($300m).The outcome of the company’s bid (in joint venture withThiess and Hoctief) for the North-South Bypass Tunnel inBrisbane – valued at more than $1 billion – would shapethe direction of Northern Region for years to come.THEJOHNHOLLAND R E P O R T

oom drives jobs growth5“This is certainly one of the biggest projects inQueensland’s history, and rivals some of our biginterstate jobs (such as EastLink and Lane Cove Tunnel),”Palin said. “We’ve worked extremely hard throughoutmost of 2005 to put together the best possible bid.Submissions of this size don’t come around all thatoften, so we’ve taken advantage of the trainingopportunities the tendering experience in its own righthas offered to grow our region’s knowledge base.”The two bidding consortiums lodged their submissionsto Brisbane City Council on 7 December, with anannouncement expected in the first quarter of 2006.Premier Peter Beattie at the launch of Southbank works.Changing of the guardNorthern Region GeneralManager, Glenn Palin,has been promoted tothe role of ExecutiveGeneral Manager ofSpecialist Businesses.In this new role, Palin will oversee the Tunnelling &Underground Mining, Water, GridComm & TransmissionSystems and SMP businesses of the group.During the past three years at Northern Region, Palin hasoverseen massive growth of the Queensland business, andintegration of Northern Territory into the region.From January 2006, Chris Evans will take over the role ofNorthern Region General Manager following his promotionfrom Operations Manager. Evans has worked with John Hollandsince 1991, initially in WA in various site manager, projectmanager and construction manager roles before joiningNorthern Region in 1998 on the Noosa Hospital Project.QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2005

Feature: Major growth sees us tunTunnelling & Underground MiningIn just two and a half years, John Holland’sTunnelling & Underground Mining businesshas seen a nine-fold increase in turnoveras it undertakes some of Australia’s biggestprojects and continues its expansion into Asia.In August this year, the tunnelling team picked up aAUD$38 million stake in a major underground rail projectin Hong Kong’s Kowloon district.The AUD$340 million (HK$2 billion) Kowloon Southern Link(KSL) Project, which links two railway lines via new tunnels,is made up of joint venture partners John Holland, LeightonAsia, Kumagai Gumi and Balfour Beatty. Work is now underway with a completion date of July 2009.The new Kowloon works build on John Holland’sfour-year history in Hong Kong, which last year sawthe successful completion of the Kai Tak StormwaterTransfer Tunnel using Hong Kong’s first large diameterslurry tunnel boring machine.Tunnelling & Underground Mining General Manager,Peter Kessler, said the team was working on expansionplans in Asia.“We’ve identified several significant opportunities inHong Kong where Leighton Asia may partner John Hollandto pursue underground water and transport infrastructure,”Kessler said. “Our Hong Kong connections are strong onthe back of recent successes, so we’re working hard towin further work in the region.”6Works commence in Kowloon, Hong Kong, on new tunnels to connect two major train lines.THEJOHNHOLLAND R E P O R T

nnelling our way into AsiaKessler said the push into Asia was supported by a stronginvestment program with a new eight metre diameterHerrenknecht Mixshield tunnel boring machine on orderfor the KSL Project, with delivery expected in mid 2006.However, he said that while Asia provided many excitingexpansion opportunities, the tunnelling team’s base wasstill Australia with major projects in Sydney (Lane CoveTunnel) and Melbourne (EastLink).“Over the next 12 months, our tender program inTunnelling & Underground Mining, including selectiveoffshore prospects, will top $3.35 billion,” Kessler added.“Next financial year we expect to grow a minimum ofanother 50 per cent over our present size, based for themost part on work in hand.”At Sydney’s Lane Cove Tunnel (LCT), John Holland and itsjoint venture partner, Thiess, have claimed world records inexcavation by a 300KW roadheader on multiple occasions.(Congratulations to Grant Anderson, Duncan Shires andMatt Phelan and their teams.)With LCT having completed 95 per cent of the tunnellingcomponent of works, involving 1.4 million tonnes ofsandstone excavated, the focus has substantially shiftedto EastLink tunnelling operations.Kessler said a subsidence at LCT in early November hadbeen independently investigated and was not expected tohave a major impact on the delivery of the near-completetunnelling works. He said that while the incident hadresulted in no injuries, Thiess and John Holland hadundertaken an extensive review process and workedhard to minimise inconvenience to affected residents.Kowloon Southern Link –Fast FactsWHAT:The project will link two underground rail linesin Hong Kong. The scope includes twin, onekilometre long, seven metre diameter tunnels;a section of cut and cover tunnels and a newunderground station.WHERE: Kowloon, Hong Kong.WHO:John Holland in joint venture with LeightonAsia, Kumagai Gumi and Balfour Beatty.WHEN: Completion expected in July 2009.VALUE:AUD$340 million (HK$2 billion) total, withJohn Holland’s share about AUD$38 million.7In Melbourne, tunnelling commenced ahead of programon the westbound portal of EastLink’s Mitcham section on17 August this year, with the latest generation Voest Alpineroadheader. Geologically, EastLink’s tunnels are expectedto be challenging and other excavation techniques to beemployed will include drill and blast, using some of themost advanced equipment available. The three lane tunnelswill be fully concrete lined with a number of separate invertand obvert travelling forms.At time of press, Melbourne’s EastLink tunnelling workswere on track and had progressed more than 260 metresand the ventilation buildings at the north and southportalswill have reached stage one level by this Christmas.At completion, the twin, three-lane, 1.6 kilometre tunnelswill be a key feature of the 39 kilometre toll road in thecity’s eastern and southern suburbs.EastLink tunnel works in Melbourne.QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2005

News in briefHeritage registered sites such as this 146-year-old bluestone bridge wereprotected by the upgrade works.Fast rail works preserveVictorian rail heritageThe upgrade of rail infrastructure on the Bendigo corridor as partof the Victorian Regional Fast Rail Project has seen the modernisationof the rail system while retaining the character of the mostheritage-significant sites along the 140 kilometre line.John Holland, trading as Regional Rail Link (RRL), completed acomprehensive consultation process with governing bodies andlocal community and heritage groups. The success of this consultationresulted in RRL winning the Public Relations Institute of Australiaaward for best Community Consultation in Victoria.More than a kilometre of platform walls at seven heritageregistered stations were cut back and reinstated and tracks werelowered under six bridges to improve clearances while ensuringthe character of these structures were preserved.As well as the historically significant above-ground structureson the Bendigo line, there are also several sites with historicallysignificant sub-surface features. An archaeologist monitoredthe sites during works, taking photographic and archaeologicalrecords. Where possible, many of the sub-surface structureshave been re-covered and preserved.Employees will benefit from the new Passport to Safety ExcellenceTraining Program.Going places withsafety passportMore than 1,000 employees in ‘safety critical roles’ will benefitfrom a new initiative in 2006 to standardise safety training andensure all credentials are obtained and kept up to date.Following a number of successful pilot programs, John HollandGroup will be rolling out the Passport to Safety ExcellenceTraining Program in January next year.The program objective is to assist the company in working moreeffectively and delivering safe outcomes for clients and theworkforce as part of our ‘no harm’ vision.There are currently 1,063 employees in ‘safety critical’ positionsthat will be participating in the new initiative.The training will be tailored to meet the needs of specific rolesin the company that have interfaces with safety, at all levels upto Group Managing Director.On completion, participants will have proof of competencywhich will be portable not just throughout the company, buteventually the wider construction industry.For more information on the Regional Fast Rail project pleasevisit www.rrl.com.au.Coming upEach edition features at least one region and onespecialist business of the John Holland Group.Edition #2 (March 2006) will focus on Southern Regionand Water, and will report news from other parts ofthe group.ContactsGot an interesting story about a project milestone,a personal or company achievement, hot industry issue,or other news item for the next edition?Please contact the editorial team of Daniel Moloneyand Thalia Marshall, Corporate Communications on03 9934 5360 to offer feedback and story tips.THEJOHNHOLLAND R E P O R T