TasWater CDO Newsletter June 2020

TASWATER 

CDO 

NEWSLETTER 

JUNE 2020 

A MESSAGE 

from Ian Penman 

Hi team, reflecting on the past hundred days or so since I 

started in the role of Alliance Program Manager, I imagine 

if I were able to get us all together in one room and I asked 

you how you thought things were going, I would see a few 

shoulder shrugs. They would reflect the uncertainty that 

has surrounded us all in recent months. 

Ian Penman 

Alliance Manager 

These have been challenging 

times. With the advent of 

COVID-19 we have had to 

adjust to isolation, find new 

ways of working and for some, 

accommodate home-schooling 

as well as looking out for isolated 

family and friends. We have all 

had to find creative ways to 

support one another. While 

we are on the subject, within 

this newsletter you will find an 

update on plans for returning to 

work that may also be of interest 

to you. 

As we gradually emerge from 

COVID-19 restrictions, I want 

you to know how proud I am 

of you all for the resilience, 

determination and support for 

one another you have shown. 

Throughout these challenges, we 

have continued to team together 

to maintain momentum 

within the TasWater Capital 

Delivery Office (CDO) as well as 

implement some improvements 

along the way. Thank you. 

‘The first year of every Alliance is 

always particularly challenging 

… by working collaboratively 

together as ‘one team’ we will 

make a success of the TasWater 

CDO and the Alliance.’ 

Working in an Alliance, is testing 

at the best of times reflecting 

the inevitable ups and downs 

that come with any long term 

relationship. The first year of every 

Alliance is always particularly 

challenging. Although we still 

have work to do we are now 

starting to build some traction. 

Yes, there will be some bumps 

in the road ahead but through 

working collaboratively together 

as ‘one team’ we will make a 

success of the TasWater CDO and 

the Alliance. 

Max Rootes, Project Supervisor, conducts soil 

testing ahead of the Latrobe Sewerage 

Network Upgrade. 

Page • 1

A MESSAGE 


I want to take a few moments 

to celebrate with you where 

we are making ground and 

reflect on some of our recent 

achievements. 

From an external perspective 

there is certainly evidence 

of increasing confidence in 

our progress. This welcome 

development is partly due to 

active reengagement of key 

external stakeholders including 

the state government and peak 

industry bodies. We are currently 

focussed on re-establishing 

positive two-way communication. 

As part of a recent TasWater 

CDO website refresh, we have 

published details of our project 

pipeline with indicative Project 

Delivery start date windows for 

major projects over the next two 

and a half years. This is designed 

to assist consultants, contractors 

and suppliers to understand 

when opportunities may be 

available to them. 

There have been COVID-19 

impacts in north-west Tasmania, 

impacting Mikany Dam and also 

at Henderson Dam on Flinders 

Island. Some challenges remain 

which we are addressing as 

we plan the way forward. We 

have been proactively seeking 

opportunities for positive publicity 

to highlight the progress you have 

made on the project front. 

Over the last two months we 

have had media coverage for 

Bryn Estyn, Prince of Wales Bay, 

Latrobe and Longford (which 

TasWater has now handed over to 

us). 

By the time you are reading 

this there will also have been 

advertorial in last Advocate, 

The Examiner and The Mercury 

mentioning some of our projects 

and giving a brief overview 

about the contribution that 

TasWater and we here in the CDO 

are making to the Tasmanian 

economy. 

The progress we are 

demonstrating right now is just 

Our recently refreshed TasWater CDO website 

the tip of the iceberg. We are 

investing significant effort up front 

in Planning and Investigations 

and Project Development within 

the Project Life Cycle to maximise 

the robustness of solutions 

taken forward into construction. 

This means more time in the 

pre-construction stages than 

previously experienced. 

We are working to educate 

contractors about this approach. 

Their understanding of this 

change in anticipated timeframes 

takes a degree of pressure off us, 

allowing us to focus on getting 

the job done. 

Moving from reactive firefighting 

to identifying proactive 

opportunities for greater effective 

and efficient delivery of projects 

is critical to our future success. 

We are making ground however 

we need to remain focused and 

not drop the ball. We still have 

our challenges. We are working to 

bring forward projects of which 

Blackstone Road and Wellington 

are examples. There are other 

projects where we are looking to 

gain efficiency through bundling 

smaller projects together. 

As one team we need to work 

together more effectively, to share 

early lessons, take the learning 

from holdups encountered to 

avoid recurrence, find ways to 

refine the way we work, work 

more simply and work smarter. 

We need to achieve all the above 

while providing quality outcomes 

without compromising the safety 

of ourselves, our contractors or 

local communities. 

Continual improvement in all that 

we do needs to inform every day 

decisions, behaviours and actions. 

Although I feel greater confidence 

that we are headed in the right 

direction, as we move forward 

I anticipate and expect further 

improvements in this space. 

A great deal of time and effort 

Page • 2

A MESSAGE 


has been applied to developing 

a robust forward resource 

plan to match future delivery 

requirements. We have identified 

the additional people resources 

required to support this projected 

activity and are actively looking to 

fill those roles in a timely manner. 

A decision has also been taken 

to give accountability and 

responsibility to Project Managers. 

They are taking responsibility 

earlier in the project life cycle as 

opposed to at the TOC/PBE stage. 

This is designed to allow Project 

Managers to take ownership 

and responsibility for the project 

solution. This change should 

address some of the concerns we 

have encountered to date, lead 

to better coordination of all the 

moving parts and result in more 

effective teaming and successful 

project delivery reflecting quality 

outcomes. 

There are many other quality 

improvements underway within 

our various support functions. 

An example of this includes 

Safety, Environment and 

Quality Noticeboards recently 

launched by our Health and 

Safety, Environment, Quality 

and Stakeholder & Community 

(HSEQC) Team that are designed 

to help us find what we need 

quickly. You can read more about 

this great initiative later in this 

issue. 

I also want to confirm the current 

Alliance Program Structure. The 

associated changes were being 

undertaken before I joined the 

CDO. I understand that some feel 

that these changes may not have 

been communicated as effectively 

as they could have been. Moving 

forward there will be greater focus 

around this. 

There has been a reduction in the 

number of direct reports to the 

Alliance Program Manager to allow 

the APMT to work more efficiently 

however this does not in any way 

diminish the importance of, or 

appreciation of, the vital work of all 

areas that make up the TasWater 

CDO. 

While I understand that change 

is often difficult, there are still 

opportunities to have your voice 

heard via your Leader at the 

APMT level. We also plan to 

explore other options for feedback 

mechanisms as well so each of you 

feel empowered to have your voice 

heard. 

On a bright note it was 

wonderful to see so many 

people nominated for 

recognition over the past two 

months, congratulations to all 

CATS and Blue Bus nominees. 

Thank you for leading by example 

and demonstrating these teaming 

behaviours that make working in 

the TasWater CDO easier, more 

productive and certainly more 

enjoyable. Congratulations to all 

but in particular to our most recent 

CATS winner, Josh Paine from our 

Project Delivery team. I encourage 

everyone to follow in their footsteps 

by living these behaviours 

every day, myself included. 

I also want to welcome our recent 

new starters,Rachael Clemens, 

Mieke Matimba, Jessica Jackson, 

Tate Smith, Aron Cherry, Oliver 

Kibbel and Lily Mickleburgh. 

Welcome to the TasWater CDO 

family. Thank you in advance for 

the positive contribution you will 

make to our overall success. I feel 

sure you will find your colleagues 

friendly and supportive as have I 

since I started here earlier this year. 

In summary; as we continue to 

work through the challenges 

we face, gaining the desired 

momentum has taken a bit 

longer than any of us may have 

hoped. Even so we are now seeing 

increasing levels of confidence 

within TasWater, evidence of 

proactive forward thinking, some 

great examples of effective team 

work and even some enjoyment 

and a sense of achievement 

happening here at work. 

I look forward to us all feeling and 

even greater sense of pride as 

we come together as one strong 

TasWater CDO team. One team 

that gets our projects delivered 

to the required standard, within 

budget, on time, while preserving 

our safety, that of our contractors 

and the communities in which we 

work. Keep up the good work. 

Stay safe 

Warm regards 

Ian Penman 

Longford Sewerage Treatment Plant. 

Page • 3

IN THE SPOTLIGHT 

with HSEQC 

In April 2020 the Health Safety, Environment, Quality 

and Stakeholder and Community functions within the 

TasWater CDO were brought together to form the HSEQC 

Group. This decision was taken to further promote strategic 

collaboration and efficiencies between these critical 

functional support areas. Until further notice, Eve Lancaster 

is acting in the role of the HSEQC Group Lead. 

The common thread within HSEQC is that each discipline maintains 

critical relationships with key stakeholders on behalf of TasWater 

CDO. They also identify and plan to mitigate risks that have the 

potential to result in significant delays in our project delivery program 

and reputational damage to the TasWater Brand. 

Each person within HSEQC has clear understanding of the legislation, 

regulations and standards within in their area of specialty, that 

we must adhere to, to work effectively together within the TasWater 

CDO while delivering our program of works. Together these functions 

underpin the work of the TasWater CDO by communicating and 

holding us all to account over the minimum standards we all need to 

achieve every day. 

Health and Safety 

The Health and Safety team, 

led by Gavin Wright, has been 

established to keep us all healthy 

and safe in our workplace. 

Gavin’s goal is to create a safety 

culture where everyone becomes 

‘unconsciously competent’ when 

it comes to health and safety. 

This team identifies critical risk 

controls essential in preventing 

fatalities or serious injuries in 

the work place, provides us with 

training, keeps us informed about 

what to be aware of in the work 

place, establishes and shares 

related policies and procedures 

to position us for successful 

project planning and delivery. 

The team actively encourages 

individual ownership of our safety 

culture. 

The work of this team enables 

us to deliver our projects 

safely; maintaining health and 

safety standards that enable 

TasWater CDO people to protect 

one another, look out for our 

contractors on site along with the 

communities in which we work. 

Gavin and his team have also 

done an outstanding job in 

recent months coordinating our 

COVID -19 response. 

Gavin Wright 

Health and 

Safety Lead 

Check out the team’s 

new Safety Noticeboard 

highlighting alerts, training 

packages and quick links along 

with detail of our critical risk 

controls, and details of Team 

members. These can be found 

in one convenient location in 

Project Central. 

Page • 4


with HSEQC 

Environment 

Quality 

The Environment team, led by Eve 

Lancaster, supports the planning, 

development, delivery and 

handback of projects and minor 

works programs. This team ensures 

environmental risks are identified 

and mitigated at the right time 

within the project life cycle. Failure 

to do so has the potential to result 

in significant delays in the project 

delivery space. 

A dedicated Environmental Advisor 

is allocated to each Project, large 

or small, to assist Project Managers 

to plan for and manage all the 

environmental aspects and impacts 

on their projects. This includes 

ensuring the required planning 

and environmental approvals are 

identified, obtained in time and are 

met in accordance with applicable 

planning and environmental laws. 

The Environment team have been 

working closely with the TasWater 

CDO Procurement team to identify, 

establish and maintain contractual 

relationships with almost 30 local 

environmental consultancy services. 

These services are essential for our 

projects to identify and manage 

environmental aspects and impacts 

of each project site. 

The Quality Team headed up by Kirsty Heron drives governance 

by establishing and maintaining TasWater CDOs integrated 

management system. This Team is building our systems to 

establish and ingrain a Quality at the source culture within the 

TasWater CDO. 

Their objective is to entrench quality assurance and control - 

construction verification - for project delivery onsite and offsite. 

The Quality Team is committed to embedding a systematic and 

seamless approach to completion, handover and close out of 

projects within the TasWater CDO. 

They have introduced and maintain training and management 

of Aconex, a cloud-based operation management solution for 

managing information and processes 

between companies on complex 

construction and engineering projects. 

Our contractors also use this system. 

This team also works to develop Project 

Charters for strategic goals and leads an 

innovation program and continuously 

look to enhance processes to deliver 

efficiency results. 

Check out the team’s new Quality Noticeboard for details of 

our TasWater CDO Quality Management System, what’s new, 

quality management plans, training, documents and useful 

links, including Quality dashboards, details of Aconex and an 

organisational chart. These can be found in one convenient 

location in Project Central. 

Kirsty Heron 

Quality Lead 

The Environment team also 

maintains the required contractual 

relationships, as well as support 

the Quality team to establish 

integrated management systems, 

environmental procedures and 

ensure appropriate knowledge 

management. 

Check out the team’s 

new Environment 

Noticeboard for what’s new, 

environmental procedures, 

tools and knowledge, 

training, details of legislative 

bodies, an organisational 

chart and the Environment 

Team Charter. These can 

be found in one convenient 

location in Project Central. 

Eve Lancaster 

Environment Lead 

Eve Lancaster explaining silt fence installation 

methods at Mikany Dam. 

Page • 5


with HSEQC 

Community and Stakeholder Engagement 

The Community & Stakeholder Engagement Team, led by John Murray, 

maintain effective communications to communities and stakeholders that 

may be affected by CDO activities. Planned engagement activities and 

identification of issues enables the TasWater CDO to get on with the job in 

the various communities in which we work. 

A dedicated Community & Stakeholder Engagement Advisor is allocated 

to each Project or Minor Works Program. They manage the community 

support function for a number of projects concurrently during the Project 

Delivery phase. 

John Murray 

Community and 

Stakeholder 

Engagement Lead 

This team works closely with Project Manager to identify any work impacts 

or emerging issues that are likely to be of interest or concern to the local 

community. They keep community members informed of the timing and 

resolution of any project impacts that may affect householders, as well as 

communicate progress. They provide the interface between the project 

and all interested stakeholders including councils, businesses and special 

interest groups. 

This Team also manages negotiations with local landowners for property 

and easement acquisition and to gain suitable site access as required. 

They are often required to resolve issues to enable work to continue if 

an impasse occurs. They also work to identify social and reputational risk 

and position any unforeseen occurrences that may delay us in meeting 

community expectations. 

The stakeholder & Community Engagement team are effectively on the 

ground every day, ensuring work at our sites can continue unimpeded by 

public concerns while protecting our reputation and the TasWater Brand. 

Page • 6

TOP CATS 

recognised along with Blue Bus riders 

Learn about who was nominated for the April- May TasWater CDO CATS Awards, 

who won and then see our shout out to our Blue Bus recognition recipients. 

On Friday 19 June at a virtual morning tea, the nominees and winner 

of the April – May 2020 TasWater CDO CATS Awards were announced. 

Learn about who was nominated who won and then see our shout 

out to our Blue Bus recognition recipients. 

The CATS Awards recognition session was hosted by Ian Penman and 

those who submitted nominations spoke about why their nominee 

had been put forward for consideration. 

We have received some terrific nominations demonstrating our 

colleagues’ commitment to our Way of Working – each having 

reflected the desired behaviours around: 

CONVERSATION • ATTITUDE • TRUST • SUPPORT 

Each nominee demonstrated behaviours associated with each of our 

four highly valued behaviours. Every two months all the nominations 

are carefully considered and the overall CATS winner is selected 

by the APMT. Lynette Wright gets a special mention as she was 

nominated four times. 

The nominees for 

April - May are: 

Lynette Wright 

Office Administrator 

Project Services 

Oliver Heyward 

Manager Asset Planning 

Planning & 

Investigation 

Michael S Smith 

Project Supervisor 

Project Delivery 

Tristan Boan 



Suki Hopgood -Douglas 

Senior Environmental 

Officer - SHEQS 

Josh Paine 



Brian Nielsen 



David Graham 

Group Leader 

Engineering 

Engineering 

Daniel Vincent 



Page • 7

TOP CATS 


... and the winner is… Josh Paine! 

Although all the nominees received outstanding accolades from 

TasWater CDO colleagues, when it comes down to it, there can only be 

one top the CATS this time around. After some tough competition the 

CATS Award for April-May 2020 went to Josh Paine, a member of the 

Project Delivery Team. 

Congratulations Josh. 

Details of the behaviours exhibited that led to the award. 

Josh had a CONVERSATION 

with a Sub-Contractor 

indicating his concerns 

around the sub-contractor 

working unsafely on a roofing 

structure. When the subcontractor 

didn’t comply, Josh 

asked the sub-contractor to 

come down to review Safety 

Documentation. The subcontractor 

came off the roof, 

with some quite colourful 

language, proceeded to pack 

up his equipment and left 

site, leaving the structure in an 

unsafe condition. 

Josh displayed the correct 

ATTITUDE and behaviours in 

terms of Safety by performing 

the intervention, and then 

organising with the Contractor 

who was over-seeing the job to 

make the Project Area safe. 

Josh was observed and was 

TRUSTED with the appropriate 

intervention and the outcomes 

in terms of managing the 

Contractor, Sub-contractor and 

Incident notification. 

Josh demonstrated SUPPORT 

of all that was required 

of him. He took the rights 

actions, in terms of potentially 

saving a person’s life through 

the intervention and the 

subsequent actions in making 

the site safe. 

Josh displayed the 

characteristics that we 

abide by in TasWater CDO, 

especially in the Safety space 

where he: 

• Understood the Hazards 

associated with Working at 

Heights 

• Spoke Up when he saw 

events unfold with the 

Sub-Contractor 

• Got involved by performing 

the Intervention 

• Followed the rules by 

trying to get the Contractor 

to comply with Working at 

Heights Policies. 

Josh managed this whole 

incident in a quiet, calm, 

respectful but firm manner. 

He is a credit to the TasWater 

CDO. Josh was nominated by 

Peter Janisch. 

Page • 8

TOP CATS 


We also want to give a big shout out to those within the TasWater CDO who have been 

recognised as part of the TasWater Blue Bus program. 

The Blue Bus Recognition Program acknowledges our people where they display courage, 

trust and pride through the stories we tell. By encouraging and promoting these stories 

we demonstrate how much we value our staff commitment to practicing Blue Bus 

behaviours. All meetings should be starting with some safety or Blue Bus discussion. 

All Blue Bus recipients have taken the initiative to identify a potential risk and acted to 

mitigate it. We then take these learnings and apply them to leverage the great work of 

these individuals. 

We would like to recognise our Blue Bus recipients as recommended by colleagues within 

TasWater CDO. On behalf of the TasWater CDO, thank you for your outstanding dedication 

to safety and excellence. 

All these recipients have taken the initiative to identify a potential risk and acted to 

mitigate it. We then take these learnings and apply them to leverage the great work of 

these individuals. 

We will soon be adding a Rewards and Recognition page to Project Central where you 

will be able to find details of all our nominees and with the details of why they have 

been nominated or awarded. 

Stuart Macpherson & 

Darren Meany 

Identification of a flaw with 

critical risk process in SMP’s 

Larry Smith 

Reatta Road FSA tank 

completion 

Damian Marriott 

Cygnet water main renewal 

Phil Doyle 

Swansea water main crossing 

Daniel Vincent 

Electrical issue at Wynard 

Michael Brown 

Rosebery water main 

completion 

Brian Nielsen 

Resolution of a long-standing 

service connection issue 

Michael Smith 

Urgent sewer overflow pipeline 

installation, Abbott Street, East 

Launceston; and for Benvenue 

Road, St Leonards where he 

got contractors to perform 

the cutover, on a water main 

installation which in turn 

resulted in no extra impact on 

TasWater customers 

Charlie Wilson 

Identification of design fault 

with flow meter installation 

at Arthur St Reservoir, West 

Hobart 

Tim Gibbs 

Identifying a long term (5yrs) 

predictable risk pattern so 

that action could be taken 

to address it. associated with 

the integrity of our assets 

particularly electrical and 

chemical 

Renee Batchelor 

For assisting with an urgent 

letter box drop to inform 

the community about an 

unforeseen work requirement 

that would impact their 

service 

Page • 9

PEOPLE MATTERS 

TasWater CDO 

The People & Culture Team have recently been focused 

on resource planning to support the work of the 

TasWater CDO for the coming six months. Despite the 

current recruitment freeze within TasWater, here the 

TasWater CDO it is recognised that we need to continue 

to fill a significant number of uplift requirements, so we 

can deliver the envisaged program of project works. 

Lilly Mickleburgh 

Recruitment 

Lead 

Given these recruitment requirements, we welcome Lilly 

Mickleburgh who joins us from CPB Contractors on secondment for 

the next six months as our Recruitment Lead. 

A very detailed Resource Plan in place now and will see a major 

uplift in recruitment. We are also implementing a new online 

recruitment system called TALEO which will revolutionise the way 

we manage our recruitment. 

Welcome to our new starters 

The People & Culture team have 

also been busy enhancing the 

onboarding process with an 

expanded onboarding checklist 

that includes safety and a 

planner for managers to use for 

the full six months of onboarding 

their new starter, through to the 

end of probation. 

Check out the new starter page 

in Project Central to see details 

new work mates joining our 

TasWater CDO team. Please 

make them feel welcome, 

particularly at this challenging 

time where we have people 

starting without the benefit of 

meeting each day a shared office 

space – thank you COVID19! Think 

about where they may need to 

find things – remember how you 

felt on day one. 

Welcoming Tassie 

newbies to our team 

People & Culture have also 

been busy looking out for our 

team members joining us 

from outside Tasmania. 

They have produced a highly 

informative ‘A Guide to 

Tasmania, the wild Island 

state’ profiling everything 

from our wonderful food 

and beverages, to how to get 

here, places where offices 

are based, housing options, 

school details, Tasmanian 

holiday dates upcoming 

attractions and events. 

If you would like a copy 

please email us and we can 

send it to you. 

Senior Project Manager, Rennie Brown, oversees 

the work of our team at Longford Sewerage 

Treatment Plant Upgrade. 

Page • 10



Keeping us all well 

If you choose to have one, have 

you had your flu shot yet? 

Given many of us are still working 

from home, this doesn’t stop you 

getting a flu shot at no charge 

to you. The employer-funded 

vaccination is still available to 

you from a local community 

pharmacy near you. Pharmacists 

are experienced immunisation 

providers and have been 

vaccinating in Australia since 2014. 

The Department of Health 

are strongly encouraging all 

Australian’s this year, to get 

the flu shot. Whilst there is no 

vaccine for COVID-19, there is 

for the flu. Getting the flu and 

COVID-19 at the same time can 

make you very ill. 

Engineering based training opportunities 

Through our association with Engineers Australia – Tasmania 

Chapter, as part of our commitment to enable you to meet 

your professional goals, you can join their seminars. If you 

do participate in the seminars committed to, TasWater CDO 

is happy to pick up the cost for you. When you book in to a 

seminar, be sure you can make it. 

For our engineers, participation in any webinar also 

contributes to your Continuing Professional Development 

(CPD) hours with Engineers Australia, helping you maintain 

your competitive edge. 

If you are interested to participate please contact Lynette 

Wright stating which ones you are interested to take 

advantage of. As more become available we will notify you. 

The next three are listed below. 

If you’d like to book in, it’s 

simple. Get your vaccination at a 

participating pharmacy near you 

and choose a time and date that 

suits you. To book: 

• Click on the link 

www.pharmacybookings. 

com.au/GCH/TASW820 

• Participating pharmacies in 

your selected location will 

be listed on the booking 

portal. Note you book under 

TasWater and will need your 

Payroll ID to book. 

• You will receive a 

confirmation email at the 

time of your booking and a 

reminder 24 hours before 

your appointment. 

• You can modify and cancel 

your online booking via the 

portal and entering the 

reference code from your 

confirmation email. 

Should you have any queries or 

concerns, please contact the 

TasWater coordinator or 

Sarah Young. 

Our TasWater CDO family - Looking out for each other 

This COVID19 thing has been a rough ride and while we are 

gradually emerging from the isolation, many of us are still 

working from home. 

For some it is a great outcome for others, not so good. All in all, 

many of us miss the interaction at work and the distraction from 

all that is home. It’s easy to feel a little blue once and a while 

especially on these grey winter’s days. 

So, remember your colleagues – you all did an amazing job on 

those first difficult days of shut down, we are not out of it yet. 

Have a chat, check in to see how they are getting along, organise 

a virtual cuppa or set up a get together after work with a few 

colleagues – that virtual get together can save a drive on a cold 

winter evening. Let’s keep looking after one another. 

Page • 11



Recognising our people 

We will soon be adding a 

Rewards and Recognition page 

to Project Central where you will 

be able to find details of all our 

CATS nominees and winners and 

our Blue Bus Recipients along 

with the details of why they have 

been nominated or awarded. 

TasWater Capital Delivery 

Office 

Confidential assistance and 

support at no cost to you. For 

counselling support please call or 

book online. 

TasWater People 

North & South 

Is everything just that bit too hard? 

If you are finding life a bit difficult right now, be assured you 

will not be the only one feeling this way. Given circumstances 

of recent months all sorts of pressures have been experienced 

and sometimes we can feel a tad overwhelmed. 

Help is at hand. Access confidential counselling support, at no 

cost to you through our Employee Assistance Scheme (EAP). 

You can access face to face support or get counselling over the 

phone. 

Even if it is just a chat with someone who can offer you a nonjudgemental, 

confidential ear, there are qualified professionals 

available to assist. The problem doesn’t have to be about work, 

it could relate to any aspect of you, or your family’s life. 

STRESS • LOSS • GRIEF • RELATIONSHIPS • 

ANGER • ANXIETY • DEPRESSION 

There are people as close as a phone call away – it’s worth a try if 

things are just a bit overwhelming just now. Be kind to yourself 

and get some assistance, it may just make a difference. 

Employee assistance is an employee benefit you can 

access this service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

1800 650 204 

www.newportwildman.com.au 

admin@newportwildman.com 

North West 

1800 132 098 

www.chooselifeservices.org.au 

TasWater People Directory 

Can people easily find your correct title 

or phone number? 

Are there details missing or is there a mistake in your listing 

in the TasWater People Directory? Here’s how you fix it. 

You can update your own details via one of two buttons found 

above the quick search on the top of the directory page, see 

below. To request an update to your details or to add work from 

home information. 

CPB & UGL People 

1800 650 204 

www.gryphonsych.com 

Also, to make communication easier for your colleagues, please 

ensure you have a phone number listed on which you can be 

reached or put your desk phone in the directory then arrange 

with IT for a redirect to be put on your desk phone to a mobile 

number. TasWater IT Service Centre 6333 9333. 

Page • 12

TAX TIME 

Working from home & making your claim 

Working from home reimbursement – understand what 

you are entitled to in your tax return. 

In early March coronavirus 

(COVID-19) restrictions required 

office-based employees to work 

from home. At TasWater, we 

worked swiftly to set up you up 

with the right equipment to 

work effectively and safely for 

what we knew was likely to be 

an extended period. 

Australian Taxation Office (ATO) 

recognised these changed 

circumstances for these 

employees and as such has 

amended the rules around 

home office expenses to assist 

with the additional costs. 

arrangements are currently 

in place until 30 June 2020; 

though they have indicated 

this period may be extended 

depending on work patterns 

post-isolation. We will continue 

to monitor these arrangements 

as circumstances change. 

Please note: The above 

information is provided in good 

faith, you are always encouraged 

to seek independent personal 

tax advice. 

We strongly urge each of 

you that have worked from 

home since March to take 

advantage of the support 

the ATO is providing, which is 

available here. The simplified 

Page • 13

THE GREAT TIME GRAB 

Online meetings 

WebEx; to meet, how long to meet, how to retain your sanity in the midst 

of so many meetings 

Are you getting that sinking feeling that days are being swallowed up 

with endless WebEx meetings? 

Read on to understand the July-August WebEx challenge – get involved, 

work more effectively and bag some of your valuable time back. 

Are you ‘kind of’ sick of all the meetings; are 

they getting in the way of getting your work 

done or taking that mandatory short break? 

In the words of Tom McCosker, Project 

Delivery Leader, at a recent hour-long Senior 

Leadership Team meeting that he chaired 

to completion within 30 minutes’ ‘have that 

half hour back!’ 

While meetings are an important 

collaboration tool, the talk is that meetings 

may be taking too long and perhaps could 

be run more tightly. Imagine of we could 

bag some precious time back for our day for 

other pressing priorities. 

Try out some of our suggestions to the right. 

Let us know how you go. 

Which team can reclaim the 

most amount of time in their 

team meetings from one 1 July to 

31 July? 

Keep track of the meetings arranged for your 

team and let us know if it is working for you 

by emailing us at TasWaterCDO.Feedback@ 

TasWater.com.au or simply give us some 

feedback about how you got on, what 

worked and any other tips to keep things 

moving along. 

Suggestions 

1. When booking meetings take the’ Grab some 

time back’ challenge, if you would normally: 

• book for 30 minutes – book the next 

meeting in for 20 minutes, or 

• if you normally book an hour – book that 

next meeting for 45 minutes; 

• and see how you get on. 

You may be surprised how much you can get 

through in the shorter time. Generally, we 

tend to fill whatever the allocated time is as 

opposed to planning to ensure the best use 

of the available time. 

2. Don’t commit to a meeting unless there is an 

agenda when the meeting notice is sent to 

you. 

3. Prepare for the meeting ahead of it so people 

don’t have to wait for you to get ‘on the 

program’ on their time. 

4. Report on progress or challenges by 

exception rather than covering every thing 

you could talk about. 

And finally; 

5. Who ever is the chair of the meeting, keep 

track of the time and keep the meeting 

moving through the agenda items. 

Don’t forget to let us know if you got time back 

for you! 

Page • 14

POST COVID OFFICE RETURN 

and access arrangements 

Are you itching to get back to the office? 

Read on to understand what is planned. 

There have been no new COVID-19 transmissions for the 

past 39 days, which is allowing us to develop plans for those 

of you working from home, to return to site consistent with 

new government guidelines for safe workplaces. 

Our number one priority continues 

to be the health, safety and 

wellbeing of our people, our 

customers and the Tasmanian 

community. 

To ensure we are keeping our 

people safe, and now that 

COVID-19 restrictions are being 

relaxed, we are preparing to you 

back to site in a staged way while 

maintaining physical distancing 

requirements. 

Initially a pilot program is 

being run with in TasWater. It 

began earlier this week in the 

Derwent Building in the south 

and at Rocherlea in the north. 

The pilot will run for two weeks. 

Approximately 20 per cent of each 

building will be occupied. 

Pilot outcomes will then be 

evaluated. Lessons learned will 

inform the next stage of our return 

to site program, which we expect 

will start around late July to early 

August. 

Going forward, to ensure COVID-19 

regulations continue to be met, we 

expect that most of us will settle 

on a combination of working from 

home and working from your 

normal site. 

In the interim, while these pilots 

are undertaken and various State 

Government COVID-19 restrictions 

have been lifted, there are no 

changes to the working from 

home arrangements. Access 

to other restricted sites and 

restrictions on travel i.e. one person 

per car remain in place. 

Should it be required, how to 

arrange for access to Wellington, 

Birdwood, Charles Street and 

Steele Street: 

Access to TasWater offices; 

Wellington, Birdwood, Charles 

Street and Steele Street, is by 

exception only. If you need to 

attend one of these offices: 

Step 1: You need to seek 

written approval, via your line 

manager, from Ian Penman, 

four working days in advance. 

Step2: If access is 

approved, alarms have been 

reconfigured so that the 

buildings are armed 24/7. 

Therefore, you need to contact 

Rachaelle Downey or David 

Sutton, TasWater Facilities, 

with a minimum of two full 

business days’ notice with full 

details including proposed 

access times so that: 

• your access fob can be 

reprogrammed; and 

• disarming of the alarm can 

be arranged. 

Step 3: Once you have entered 

the building, or any site, it is 

essential you sign-in and out 

in case a consolidated contact 

list needs to be provided to 

the Department of Health. 

Want more information? 

Check out the 

Business Recovery Team 

Information Hub. 

To ensure you don’t miss out 

on updates, we have created 

the BRT Information Hub. 

This SharePoint site will 

provide a central location on 

communications relating to 

our company’s recovery back 

to operational health. Click 

here to take you to the site. 

Page • 15

POST COVID OFFICE RETURN 

and access arrangements 

Are you itching to get back to the office? 

Please fill out your details below if you wish to seek office access. 

Use this email template to seek approval for office access 

Remember your line manager requires four working days’ notice. 

Hi 

I am planning on coming in to the office. Please let me know if there are any issues with approval. 

Request to work from (building) 

Name 

Team 

Dates for which access is sought 

Between the hours of 

State which desk is proposed for use 

Link: CDO Desk register - Wellington, 

ground floor 

Justification for access 

Line manager endorsed/declined 

Regards, 

Page • 16

IN THE PIPELINE 

Our Project Delivery news 

The tremendous work continues in closing out the PTC projects 

within the TasWater CDO. This includes achieving practical 

completion on another four legacy projects in May- June. 

The first TasWater CDO project to commence, 

Adventure Bay WTP interim works, has now 

completed proof of performance testing. This testing 

has identified complexities with SCADA interfacing 

at the bore head, and work to resolve this issue is 

ongoing. The great news is the water quality risks 

associated with the plant have now been minimized 

substantially, ensuring the medium-term operation 

of the plant. 

The latest projects to land in Project Delivery 

(PDEL) are Wellington St SPS in Georgetown 

and Blackstone Rd SPS in Blackstone Heights, 

Launceston. The Latrobe Sewerage Network 

Augmentation is also set to start work within the 

next couple of weeks. 

Booth Avenue has undergone a midterm review and 

will follow later in July 2020. 

Final reviews were being undertaken for Smithton 

SPS, however due to the size and complexity of this 

project further optioneering has been proposed to 

ensure we are delivering value for money for the 

community of Smithton. 

We are also preparing for the second Project 

Management Forum which is happening in early 

August. Given COVID_19 considerations, this forum 

has been held over until then so that we can meet 

face to face to work through various exercises. This 

will be a great opportunity for the PDEL team to get 

together and reflect on what we have learned to 

date and what we can improve on into the future. 

Initial progress was good on our two large dam 

projects, Mikany Dam and Henderson Dam, 

however COVID-19 restrictions forced work to stop 

on both sites. Prior to the regional shutdown, site 

mobilisation was underway, including site facilities 

and laydown hardstand, tree removal and clearing. 

The winter hiatus is now upon us so watch this space 

to see when works will recommence on a major 

New Digester roof being successfully fitted at Prince of Wales 

Bay on 17 June. Well done to Greg Aimer and his team. 

scale at these two sites. 

While we are talking about Mikany Dam, in April a 

mitigation strategy for discovery of acid sulphate 

soils at the dam site was implemented quickly to 

ensure potential weather events would not lead to 

an environmental incident. 

Minor Works Programs Overview 

It has been another challenging couple of months 

for the MWP team with the unprecedented 

impacts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Team members worked closely with the relevant 

contractors concerning onsite hygiene and physical 

distancing guidelines. 

It’s been a big couple of months for ‘Celebrating 

Success’ as we acknowledged quite a number of 

‘Blue Bus’ stories relating to MWP team members, 

some of which are detailed in the rewards section of 

this newsletter. 

All team members are ‘Working from Home’ which 

has identified a number of unique challenges, 

like access to printing and pool cars. Despite this, 

Page • 17


Our Project Delivery News 

the Programs Team continues to progress and 

deliver capital works during the COVID-19 event 

which is being effectively managed by the Project 

Supervisors with solid support from Service Delivery, 

Communications and the Testing Laboratory. 

The MWP Team are excited about the first TasWater 

CDO project commencing which is the six x 

Reservoir reline package with an estimated value 

of $2M. The first reservoir in this package of work 

was Exeter which started in early June and is being 

managed by Dan Ford. 

A pleasing number of Linear Renewals completions 

have been achieved, a few of which dealt with 

some complex challenges. These were located in 

Rosebery, Forth, Swansea, Dover, Huonville, Cygnet, 

Mt Nelson, Berriedale and New Norfolk. In addition, 

the SPS Safety Grates Lid Installation Program was 

successfully completed by Jo Randall, the Programs 

Graduate Engineer. 

SCADA standardization, which is bringing TasWater 

onto one SCADA System, continues to progress well. 

well. The introduction of new and well qualified staff 

has allowed work to be accelerated with greater 

oversight. 

The challenges for the final FY19/20 quarter have 

been: 

• Reduced workloads for Minor Works Program 

staff based on slow progress of design to enable 

delivery 

• The PBE process and the resources for their 

development. Need to understand the 

process moving forward, Estimation vs Market 

Quotation. 

• Understanding expectations of the Quality 

Management System, its fitness for purpose and 

application for some minor works 

• The unlikelihood of meeting expected budget 

spends for a number of Programs based on 

delays in engaging with market and flaws with 

some of the current CDO workflows 

Projects Under Construction 

Mikany Dam, Lower Smithton Area, NW Tasmania 

We are now seeing work being sent to market 

under the TasWater CDO banner: 

• Maydena Water Renewal (+$2M) 

• 6 x Reservoir Relines (+$2M) 

• CCTV & Sewer Reline rolling 3-year program 

tenders (+$2M each) 

• Electrical & SCADA panel and 15 new 

switchboards 

• Various WTP/STP projects. 

Other key points of note in the Programs 

space are: 

• Electrical/SCADA virtual testing, alarm and 

graphic reviews continue in response to 

COVID-19 

• A package of a number of linear renewals are 

nearly completed in Queenstown 

• Linear Renewals design works/engagement is 

enabling linear works to be progressed through 

to TasWater CDO contracts 

• Civil panel to be finalised and released to 

market. 

• COVID-19 has impacted Service Connections 

workloads and a decision has been made to 

assign this work back to TasWater Development 

Services. 

Access Road - CH 150 - 450 

First Layer of fill 

Project progress: 

• Construction of the permanent access road 

works occurred in April including the placement 

of the first layer of general fill 

• Spillway excavation on the left-hand side of the 

existing spillway including shaping of batters 

and installation of environmental controls also 

too place. 

Challenges experienced: 

Stockpile Area - ASS Treatment Pad 

& Stockpile (Imported and Site Won) 

• Management of water on site to allow progress 

of works (containment, treatment and testing) 

• Excavating fault zone batters in the rock in 

Page • 18



accordance with geotechnical engineer 

recommendations 

• Externally imposed regional shut down 

due to COVID-19 

Ongoing works: 

• Conformance testing of materials for 

construction of Embankments 

• Preparation for works to begin Outlet 

construction and further excavation on the 

left-hand side of the spillway 

Spillway Excavation - Dam Crest 

Road looking to LHS Spillway 

Embankment excavation on 

left-hand side of the spillway 

Projects delivered 

Prince of Wales Bay STP Digester Upgrade by 

PM Greg Aimer 

Budget: $5M 

The current scope includes replacement of the 

Sludge Heater & Heat Exchanger, all biogas 

pipework and pressure management equipment, 

biogas sparge compressor and the biogas 

waste flare (which ensures that we do not emit 

greenhouse gases to atmosphere). Related works 

were to degas and empty the digester, which is a 

significant task in its own right. 

A parallel project will deliver a new Motor Control 

Centre, PLC, SCADA upgrades and new electrical 

field wiring and controls. 

Installation Method: Replacing the 50T floating 

roof off a 16.4 metre diameter digester in the 

confined and hilly site that the POWB STOP sits 

on was no easy feat. It is pleasing to report it was 

completed successfully on 17 June. 

Inside the digester 

showing the missing 

truss section 

Old 50 T 16.4 M wide digester roof is 

lifted clear 

Scope: The project was conceived after the partial 

collapse of a similarly designed digester floating 

roof at the Cameron Bay STP in 2015. Given the 

2 digesters were of similar age and operating 

under similar conditions, it was considered highly 

probable that similar issues may arise in the near 

future with the POWB STP digester. 

As the project matured, the scope was 

broadened to include the replacement of 

supporting infrastructure to improve plant 

safety (particularly with the biogas systems), 

operational capability (particularly being able to 

process higher trades waste volumes (FOGG)) and 

equipment reliability. 

The methodology adopted had to allow for: 

• The continuous operation of the STP, 

albeit processing non-digested sludge 

for an extended period – this required a 

reconfiguration of the sludge handling 

and dewatering systems prior to works 

commencing – a joint operation between the 

Service Delivery & Project Teams along with a 

willing contractor (MS Civil); 

• Fabrication of a replacement roof on the 

site (16.4m diameter is too large for road 

transport and nearly too large for the site) – 

the contractor chose to fabricate the roof in 

Queensland and truck 32 major sections to 

site which were then assembled and fully 

painted on site (largely under a huge tent); 

• Construction of ground level support pads for 

2 cranes that weighed 200T each when fully 

loaded was undertaken – Pfeifer Cranes 300T 

Page • 19



& 400T cranes were deployed in a master class of 

heavy lift management; 

• Emptying and dewatering of the 1.8M litre 

digester contents (primarily biosolids and 

heavy grit collected over the previous 20 years 

of operation) – what the contractor (Conhur) 

thought would take 4 weeks turned into a 

10-week odyssey which removed 800T of 

dewatered solids; 

• To enable the existing roof to be safely lifted and 

laid down close to where it was installed – cranes 

can only stretch so far. 

• And all the other issues that arise on any 

construction site: keeping everyone safe, 

keeping a separation between operational and 

construction zones, keeping the occasional 

spectator out of trouble, maintaining good 

relations with your neighbours, maintaining 

progress across all weathers 

been undertaken by the Project Manager, 

Site Supervisor, CDO/PTC safety and PD 

management; 

• AQM and TasWater COVID-19 management 

protocols & SWMS have been implemented 

on site. 

Wall section assembly 

Trades waste 

diversion signage 

Liam McDonald inspecting 

the labyrinth of equipment 

required to empty and dewater 

the digester contents 

Safety: Safety management has been built into the 

design and construction methodology with the 

following initiatives: 

• Fencing has been installed between the 

operational and construction sites; and between 

the site carpark and the construction, site to 

ensure entry is controlled; 

• A purpose-built car park and site hut lay down 

area was constructed to provide level, secure offroad 

parking and equipment laydown; 

• Extensive HAZOP, SiD and risk assessment 

workshops were held well before construction to 

identify design & installation risks; 

• The Principal Contractor (Aquatec Maxcon) has 

maintained a very diligent site induction and 

daily Pre-start Meeting protocol, leading into 

effective safety management of all hazardous 

activities; 

• Regular safety audits and safety walks have 

Challenges: The project has been replete with 

challenges, including: 

• Designing a crane lift methodology and lift plan 

to suit the confined area available; 

• Locating and working around an extensive 

collection of pre-existing underground services; 

• Emptying and cleaning the digester was a far 

greater task than we had imagined with many 

tonnes of hardened grit and large knots of felted 

rags causing the contractor (Conhur) much grief; 

and requiring considerable effort and ingenuity 

to finally empty the vessel; 

• The POWB STP Service Delivery team have 

had to dewater non-digested sludge since the 

digester was bypassed, which has required 

much lateral thinking and daily attention to 

the dewatering and sludge handling process. 

Hats Off and many thanks to Scott Tatnell, Lian 

McDonald, Greg Bonnett, Rodney Rowe, Brett 

Stokes and Mark Hills for their significant efforts 

in keeping an alternative process in operation; 

• Thanks also to the Trade Waste Team for getting 

on top of and managing the trades waste access 

restrictions that have arisen from isolating the 

POWB digester; 

• The advent of COVID-19 has brought significant 

challenge to the project. The Principal Contractor 

(AQM) is based in Ipswich, Queensland along 

Page • 20



with the majority of their site crews. Aside 

from implementing COVID-19 management 

protocols, the introduction of travel restrictions 

limited AQM’s ability to cycle their site crews. A 

combined team of 9 persons (AQM & Conhur) 

were forced to remain on site until their work 

packages were complete, working continuously 

for up to 8 weeks including through the Easter 

holiday period. Their efforts were formally 

acknowledged by TasWater. 

Learnings: A complex project is necessarily a 

Team Effort. It can only succeed with the support 

and commitment of a wide range of people 

and effective leadership. This learning has been 

reinforced on this project to date. 

Onsite roof fabrication - 

early stages 

Onsite painting of new roof 

inside its encapsulation 

New roof awaiting installation 

New digester roof safely 

installed 


Installation of SPS Safety Grate Lids in the Huon 

and Hobart Regions under the SPS Renewal 

Program by Programs Graduate Engineer, Joseph 

Randall 

Contractor: Saunders & Ward (Huon Region), 

Austral (Hobart Region) 

Budget: $90,000, total cost: $80,802 

Scope: Install new Safety Grates in various locations 

around Tasmania to meet TasWater requirements 

• All Lids under the limit of 20 kgs for lifting 

• All safety lids have 4-sided protection 

Installation Method: Removal of the existing lid, 

concrete cut and sit the new safety grate in. 

Safety: No safety issues, no incidents or injuries, 

SWMS’ reviewed by Matt Prendergast. 

Challenges: Inexperience, found inadequate design 

early so changes needed to be made, getting 

contractor to refine their SWMS’, scheduling 

installations around Easter & COVID-19. 

Safety grate 

installed in Venice 

Street, Howrah 

Safety grate installed at Little Cleve 

Court, Howrah 

Learnings: How to deliver a project, incorporating 

community & safety, thorough prior planning 

results in good outcomes, for instance, supplying 

traffic management plans upfront and ensuring 

that SWMS address risks not tasks. 

Page • 21




Bayview Road Dover 63mm Water Main 

Upgrade by Project Supervisor Damian Marriott 

Budget: $58,371 

Scope: Properties in Bay View Rd, Dover are 

supplied via a DN40 GI pipe constructed in 1963. 

It has suffered a moderate number of leaks and 

WQ issues recently, bringing this to the attention 

of TasWater. TasWater is due to begin a major 

project to install new inlet and outlet pipes to the 

tank supply the bulk of Dover. As such, TasWater 

is taking this opportunity to also include this 

straight forward renewal to occur in line with 

these works. 

The site of the 63mm Water Main Upgrade in Bayview Road, Dover 

Small diameter, small bore galvanised wrought 

iron pipework created ongoing issues of WQ, 

failures and pressure reduction. Given this 

pipeline was constructed in 1963, it is no surprise 

that it has started to become problematic and 

will only continue to do so. 

The aim was therefore is to renew the full 100m 

length in 63OD HDPE. 

Installation Method: Open cut trench with 

Excavator and Vac Truck, the job went well with 

no issues, other than TasWater’s plans not being 

correct. 

Safety: There were no major safety issues. 

The Spotted Pardalote nests in coastal banks of Southern Tasmania 

Challenges: On day 1 we were approached by 

a resident who alerted us to the presence of 

an endangered bird species that burrows into 

the banks in the area we needed to dig in. After 

receiving this information, we chose a new line for 

our trench, making sure we kept clear of the birds 

and their burrows. 

Learnings: When planning any works at Dover 

or south of Dover, we need to be aware of the 

Spotted Pardalote bird species which nest in the 

coastal banks. 

Water Main Renewal at Saddle Road, New Norfolk 

Page • 22




Saddle Road, New Norfolk Water Main Renewal by 

Project Supervisor Josh Paine 

Budget: $ 278,218 

Scope: To replace approximately 1 km of existing 

galvanised and PVC pipe which was consistently 

leaking, causing dirty water and low flow rates to 

customers. 

Installation method: Open trenching, excavation and 

poly fusion welding. Over one kilometre of pipe was 

installed, spoil removed, trench filled and packed, not 

one compaction or pressure test failed! 

The narrowness of Saddle Road necessitated road closure 

Safety: Closing of the road became a necessity as we 

could not maintain a safe working distance from the 

traffic. We did not receive one customer complaint 

around our inter-actions, inconveniencing and 

isolating of supply. 

Challenges: Maintaining a consistent depth of the 

trench and progress of the work due to the amount 

of rock encountered. The amount of poly customer 

service connections to be proven, located and 

reconnected was on ongoing challenge as most of 

these had not been documented on our plans. The 

discovery of a High Voltage cable, via a vac truck and 

locator that was not on a dial before you dig plan and 

was followed up on and celebrated. It now appears 

on the DBYD plan. 

An unmarked High Voltage Cable posed a serious safety issue 

Another 50mm PVC sub discovered just under the 

surface. As we could not locate these (non-metallic) 

it took considerable effort to investigate, locate and 

excavate without damaging the existing supply. 

Learnings: TasWater plans were inaccurate, New 

Norfolk, council legacy) possibly some further preworks 

on scope may or may not have resolved this. As 

many customers had their connections feeding into a 

supply tank first it was difficult to determine who was 

losing supply. Communication from the contractor 

in the final stages of the project’s completion was 

lacking and needed to be improved. 

Celebrations: No complaints, after over a kilometre of 

pipe was installed, road closed and more than typical, 

water isolations due to the complexity of the existing 

assets. At times these isolations were the entire zone 

of 197 customers. 

Unmarked PVC mains created 

further project issues 

Some of the challenging existing 

assets at the project site 

Got any feedback for us? Ideas? 

We hope you have found the information 

shared here of interest. Our next issue of the 

TasWater CDO Internal Newsletter is due to 

be released in late August. In the meantime, 

if you have any feedback, item ideas or 

suggestions for what you would like to see 

covered, please forward them through to us 

no later than 1 August 2020. Thank you. 

Page • 23

TasWater CDO Newsletter June 2020

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