CJC Management’s third Quarterly Strategy Workshop of 2023

Fostering a collaborative environment, the team came together at our Sydney head office for the third Quarterly Strategy Workshop of 2023. This event holds significant importance on CJC Management’s calendar, offering a platform for collective brainstorming and innovation. It’s also a valuable opportunity for team members from different offices across the country to come together and share insights.

The day began with a Welcome to Country and a warm welcome to our new team members. The morning workshops focused on solidifying the business strategy and defining our 90-day goals. We also engaged in lengthy discussions about upcoming opportunities and strategies for global business growth. Our objective was to ensure the team was set up to success with the relevant knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in their roles.

One of the highlights of the day was an insightful presentation from Michael Kilgariff, former CEO of Roads Australia and Managing Director of the Australian Logistics Council. He provided valuable insights into the upcoming changes in the infrastructure sector, emphasising industry shifts and policy refinements. These insights served as a solid foundation for our collaborative discussions.

As part of our ongoing commitment to employee well-being, we introduced Foremind, our new Employee Assistance Program (EAP). This program is a valuable resource designed to support our team’s mental health both in and out of the workplace.

To add a dynamic touch to the afternoon, we facilitated a Mentor’s Walk, a popular activity that allowed for a mutual exchange of experiences and advice, ultimately strengthening our team’s relationships. After the Mentor Walk, we came back all together to our head office in North Sydney. Reflecting on the past three months, our Managing Director, Michael Eager, presented the company wins, project updates and KPI’s from the past quarter and the company goals for the upcoming one.

As part of our Employee Appreciation Program, we had a special moment to celebrate the team member who joined our 5-year Club. Our success story wouldn’t be complete without the unwavering loyalty of our team. These outstanding professionals have shown dedication for half a decade, and we are proud to applaud their achievements. The day concluded with a team dinner, marking the end of a productive and rewarding event. We extend our gratitude to everyone for delivering exceptional services to our clients and for their achievements this quarter.

With this framework in place, we eagerly anticipate what the next quarter will bring!

Celebrating International Women in Engineering Day

Promoting Diversity and Inclusion at CJC 

At CJC, we believe in the power of diversity and inclusion to drive innovation and create a better engineering industry for all. Last month, on International Women in Engineering Day (23rd June), we organised a special event to celebrate the achievements of women in engineering where we discuss the importance of breaking barriers and fostering inclusivity in the workplace. Our team gathered for Morning Tea, followed by an engaging panel discussion where Dheavini Naicker, Sarah Stante, and Rachael Oertel, three exceptional female engineers, shared their experiences and insights on diversity and inclusion.

Dhe, with a passion for site engineering and experience in the Marine sector, emphasised the value of hands-on learning and applying multidisciplinary skills to solve real-life challenges. Rachael, who knew from a young age that she wanted to be an engineer, highlighted her experiences in various projects and her current focus on constructability. Sarah, originally aspiring to be an environmental scientist, found her calling on-site, embracing daily challenges, and finding innovative solutions in her work on numerous remarkable projects.

The panel discussion brought to light the importance of diversity in the workplace and the positive impact it has on creating a more inclusive engineering industry. Dhe stressed that diverse perspectives lead to a richer work environment, enabling teams to approach situations in different ways, fostering creativity, and ultimately increasing job satisfaction.

Sarah shared her journey as one of the few female leaders in the industry, emphasising the responsibility we all share in promoting diversity and bringing more women into leadership roles, which all start with the importance of ensuring equal opportunities for all graduates as they embark on their engineering careers. Sarah encouraged identifying and nurturing talent, providing growth opportunities, and learning from the experiences of other leaders as sources of inspiration.

The discussion also touched on the significance of involving men in conversations about diversity and inclusion. Rachel pointed out that collaboration between all is essential in creating an equitable work environment.

At CJC, we firmly believe that diversity is an essential value that drives innovation and success. Our commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion is evident in our initiatives, ensuring that every individual feels valued, respected, and empowered. Click here to learn more.

Michael Eager appointed as Managing Director at CJC

Due to rapid growth across all areas of the CJC business and our continued focus on exceptional service for our clients, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Eager to the position of Managing Director at CJC.

Michael has been an invaluable member of our team for the past two years, with a proven track record of strong leadership and a collaborative and strategic approach to solving the challenges faced by our clients. With his extensive experience in the Aviation and Infrastructure sectors, working with contractors and clients and successfully leading multi-disciplinary teams and departments for the past three decades, Michael brings a wealth of expertise to this role.

Michael will report to Colin Calder, who continues as our Group Managing Director, with a focus on our global expansion efforts and building capability around innovation, technology, energy and other focus areas across the group.

CJC is an experienced pre and post award management team. Our global civil and structural expertise provides oversight and control on major infrastructure and building projects across the globe from concept, delivery to operations. In his new role as Managing Director, Michael will focus on key growth areas and enhancing our service offering for all our existing and new clients.

As CJC continues to grow and expand our service offering, investing in our top talent and adapting to future changes are integral parts of our strategic plan.

“CJC has extensive experience across many sectors which we apply to each unique project challenge”, says Colin. “Michael’s appointment as Managing Director will help us put focus in the right areas and ensure we have the best expertise and advisors in the industry to meet our clients’ needs and deliver value. I am excited to work alongside Michael during our next exciting phase of growth”

Regarding his new role and expectations, Michael says, “Having been with the company for close to two years and seeing firsthand the dedicated people and work culture, I am extremely proud and excited to be able to lead the CJC business into the future. We have immense and varied experience within the team, and we will continue to add to this to support our business growth in new and existing markets”.

With these management changes in place, we are confident that we will be better equipped to meet our clients’ needs and deliver against project goals, each and every time.

Empowering Women in STEMM: Insights from the Women in STEMM Leadership Summit


by Sumesha Durais, Area Manager

Sarah and I attended a Women in STEMM Leadership Summit in March this year, which aims to equip emerging and established leaders with the tools and inspiration needed to become influential, visionary, and forward-thinking. Featuring accomplished women leaders from all STEMM sectors, insights offered valuable perspectives for attendees at all career stages. The conference was interactive, thought-provoking and inspiring, and I would like to share a few personal highlights from some of the speakers, including the real-time illustrative capture of the summit content.

Empowering Women in STEMM: Insights from the Women in STEMM Leadership Summit
Sarah Stante, NSW State Manager – CJC & CaSE, and Sumesha Durais, Area Manager, attended the Women in STEMM Leadership Summit held in Melbourne on the 21st and 22nd of March 2023.

Jane MacMaster from Engineers Australia shared her views on work-life integration, providing flexibility to employees while establishing personal boundaries within the workplace. She highlighted different arrangements implemented by employers and shed light on their effectiveness. This was followed by a mini masterclass on working women’s guilt which focused on identifying our personal values.  When our personal values align with those of our workplaces, we are more likely to have a satisfying career.

Mahin Sonia (AWS), presented a masterclass on practical techniques for team motivation. Her expertise and authenticity resonated, addressing common challenges faced by female leaders in the industry. I found the following speakers enlightening even though their industries were not the same as mine:

  • Kerry Louise Philips, a longstanding Qantas pilot on overcoming double standards in the workplace.
  • Brenda Denbesten, from BHP, explained sponsors and their role in her career over the years.
  • Sonia Adams, GHD CCO, on “no straight lines from A to B” as she described the squiggle that was her career path.

The panel discussion on “The role of leadership in setting a healthy workplace culture that attracts female talent” featured leaders from Arup, Aurecon, GHD, and the National Breast Cancer Foundation. This session revealed that only 11.2% of working engineers in Australia are women, and that gender equity will drive better business performance. Sarah’s key take-outs included:

  • Make inclusion and cultural safety a real and visible organisational value
  • Increasing diversity and intersectional participation is everyone’s responsibility
  • Active listening as a leader to lived experience is a key indicator on the success of inclusion initiatives is within the teams

The two-day summit featured a range of engaging activities, including bite-size masterclasses, roundtable conversations, and thought-provoking “fireside” discussion panels presented by accomplished women in various STEMM disciplines. These speakers shared insights at different stages of their careers, offering valuable perspectives for attendees to consider. The summit was a great occasion for knowledge exchange and networking, inspiring participants to forge their paths toward success in STEMM fields.

The summit also featured interactive workshops on managing intimidation, understanding the impact of gender norms, and mentoring training, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

An illustrator captured the discussions and presentations in real-time, creating visual representations that served as valuable reminders of the event’s content.

Sarah and I enjoyed the connectivity across STEMM sectors that the Women in STEMM Leadership Summit offered, and sharing the unique challenges faced in STEMM sectors. We now have some extra tools to build our leadership capabilities and ideas for increasing diversity in our business. To learn more about CJC’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, read our blog post: CJC Wins Top Award for Diversity and Inclusion.

Career progress: From undergraduate to Project Engineer

Career progress: From undergraduate to Project Engineer 

The successful journey of John Le at CJC Management

The successful journey of John Le at CJC Management 

Starting a career in engineering can be both exciting and intimidating. It’s a big decision that requires careful consideration and research.  

The fact is that choosing a company that invests in their undergraduates and fosters the development of foundational skills through ongoing support can make all the difference in launching a successful career. John Le’s story is a testament to the importance of finding the right graduate role with the right company to enable growth and career progress. 

John Le joined CJC Management as an Undergraduate Engineer and since completing his degree at the end of 2022 has moved into the role of Project Engineer – a fantastic opportunity for him. We invited John to share a little about his experience, journey and progress that can inspire and guide other aspiring engineers. 

Why do you believe that undergraduate roles are important?  

Undergraduate roles are important as they provide numerous new opportunities and career pathways for students and individuals who are graduating from their degrees. Undergraduate roles offer training and mentoring, delivering technical skills required for the job. An undergraduate role also presents career progressions as it will provide the given tools and knowledge, such as the training, opportunities, and leadership for the individual to succeed into another role. And lastly, networking. With an undergraduate role comes the importance of networking which will present the opportunity to build professional relationships in the office, allowing you to grow throughout the industry.  

Tell us a bit more about why you chose to stay with CJC after completing your undergraduate role.  

I chose to stay with CJC after my undergraduate role as it will allow me to expand and broaden my experience and knowledge on the purpose of constructability and how it’s further implemented into projects. I believe this experience that CJC offers me will also help me grow and develop into future roles and I enjoy the company culture and breadth of projects I can gain exposure to. 

What are you excited about with your new role?  

Working with new people within the civil engineering industry and solving problems and challenges. 

What area are you enjoying most in your new role?  

Working with the Constructability and Design Team, both areas demonstrate logical and problem-solving aspects that I quite enjoy while working with CJC.  

John’s successful journey with us demonstrates how a company’s support for its graduates can have a huge impact on an engineer’s career. At CJC, we are proud to provide future engineers opportunities to develop their skills and gain practical experience whilst receiving mentorship and guidance from our team of experienced engineers.  

If you are a graduate or undergraduate engineer seeking a supportive environment to develop your skills and learn from industry leaders, we encourage you to apply for our opportunities and start your engineering pathway with us. Complete this form on the Careers Page of our website to let us know you are interested.  

Learning More About Engaging Young Engineers From Sarah Stante’s Career Journey

Creating impact starts with daily conversations. We are taking proactive steps to inspire future engineers.

We are humbled and grateful to be invited by the University of Queensland Women in Engineering program to speak to future generations of engineers.

In April, NSW State Manager, Sarah Stante took part as the host for the virtual seminar as she shared her experience in the industry, and how important mentorships can be especially at the start of one’s career.

Let’s take a look back at Sarah’s career journey and her advice for future women in Engineering.

How did you get started in the industry?

I started working in construction project management on large-scale infrastructure projects in Sydney. I’ve always searched out and stepped up into opportunities, with career progression in mind, being respected for working hard and delivering outcomes.

I worked on the Cross City Tunnel in Sydney, a technically difficult build in a highly urbanised environment with traffic, utilities and space restrictions. This was a great experience with great people. I only recently learned that the site supervisor I worked with made a special effort to include a female toilet in our compound, something that I never thought of as being out of the ordinary in the early 2000s.

I worked on a motorway intersection upgrade in Brisbane, where my team delivered 12 new bridges months ahead of the program. This was the first project I worked on where I had another woman working alongside me in a leadership role, and it was great to have someone to bounce ideas off and provide a different kind of support. I was also pregnant with my first child during this project.

What influenced you to step into this career?

In high school, I was very interested in environmental science and accidentally fell into construction, when I started monitoring environmental requirements on site, while also being responsible for some site engineering. I loved seeing projects develop from paper to real life, and the everyday challenges that a dynamic site environment brings.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I have two beautiful children, who I try to spend as much time with as possible. Our family enjoy travelling and experiencing new things, and we are looking forward to a camping trip in the Northern Territory this year.

What’s one thing you would say to young engineers?

I’m excited by the strength, intelligence and zero-tolerance attitude displayed by women engineers joining the industry. We own our place – and contribute amazingly to the future!

CJC Recognised as Employer of Choice Finalist for Business NSW Awards 2021

We recently received recognition from the Business NSW Awards 2021 as a Regional Finalist of the Employer of Choice award. 

This is a great achievement for us as a company as it means we are being acknowledged for having implemented strategies and initiatives that create stimulating and supportive workplace environments to maximise the full potential of our workforce. 

Since day one, we have continuously worked to create a place where our employees can expand their skills. Therefore, it is exceptionally exciting for us to receive two other finalist award for our employees, Peter Brown and Lies Desaer with a well-deserved position for the Young Business Leader award. 

Here’s a recap on what our business have done over the past 12 months. 

Accessible traineeship program 

We encourage our employees to progress their career opportunities by giving them the opportunity to develop their skills and careers through further education. We offer performance development planning, career paths, and internal and external training opportunities. An example of this is our traineeship program, in which some of our employees can request to undertake a traineeship within their employment, to upskill in an area of interest.  

With the digital age and accessibility of information and learning, the job market has become a competitive field. Having the relevant and updated skills and knowledge gives anyone the advantage in landing jobs and promotions. Taking an active role in our employees’ professional development will be one of the keys in continuously growing their career and ultimately in achieving success.  

Implemented a new HR platform 

We wish to ensure our team is comfortable in their work environment putting employee wellbeing first, this can be corroborated by our new HR platform called Sentrient. This platform allows direct access for the employee for leave, incidents, all our policies and procedures and more importantly more than 20 courses for them to do online. These are listed on the website but include anything from WHS, to wellbeing, to COVID, to ergonomics at home. It has been a gamechanger for our company as it grows. 

Continuous fight for inclusivity 

In our business, communication is key, and we recognise the need for inclusive practices and the needs of a diverse community through our yearly events and HR policies. The engineering industry remains a heavily male-dominated industry, which is why equality and diversity in the workplace are values that we strive for every day. By creating opportunities and having open conversations that help women continue to shape the world (especially the STEM industry), CJC is determined to close this gap.  

We believe the current generation of Managers and Engineers’ responsibility is to break down the barriers preventing women excelling in the Construction Industry, among many other things we do this by creating an inclusive workspace. We are continuously working on changes within our Group. CJC is encouraging young women to look at Engineering as a career that offers more opportunities and challenges than any other vocation, which inspires them to get involved and lead from the front.  

This award is truly a humbling reminder for all the hard work we have put into our teams and a great motivation for us as a company to keep growing and striving. 

Thank you and congratulations to all the fellow finalists and winners! 

6 Qualities We Look for When Hiring a High Performing Team Member

When you own a business, every employee counts. Especially for CJC, our people-focused approach puts our team members at our core. To us, these trusted people are more than employees, they are the face of our company and define our work quality. 

We asked Group Manager, Colin Calder on what are the qualities that he typically looks for when it comes to hiring team members. 

1. Ability to solve difficult problems 
Engineers are natural problem solvers. We are trained to analyse a potential difficulty and find the most effective solution. Often in our projects, we are faced by challenges that are complex and require a couple of methods to solve, different perspectives, and multiple approaches. Having a solid team member who possess this quality and more importantly, the drive to do so is an exceptional value to the company. 

2. Communication skills and teamwork 

Besides understanding technical complexities, a successful engineer also holds qualities such as great people skills and the ability to communicate well within the team. When it comes to talking to clients and workers from various projects, it is vital that the person can get their point across appropriately. Building client relationships are important for a business to run smoothly. 

3. Depth of knowledge is a valuable discipline 

“Jack of all trades, master of none” is a figure of speech used in reference to a person who has dabbled in many skills, rather than gaining expertise by focusing on one. When you focus on a particular field not only will you be incredibly knowledgeable at it, but your peers would also highly respect you and can learn a lot from your expertise. 

4. Introspective to constantly improve 

There’s more to engineering than just technical know-how. Simply having a high IQ, prestigious degrees and awards is not going to cut it. We think a great engineer is someone who has great emotional intelligence too. Particularly when it comes to looking inward and self-motivation. Acknowledging their own mistakes and learning from them. There’s no room for big egos in the industry. 

5. Perseverance 

What would you do if you encounter a roadblock? This is a question we like to ask to all our potential employees. To no surprise, this is a profession that meets many challenges. A person with a character that’s able to respond to adversity well will be a great addition to the team, undoubtedly. 

6. Leadership 

Working as part of a team, is important for everyone to develop leadership qualities to help the team positively interact with fellow colleagues and clients. True, leadership attributes can often be innate. But recent studies have shown that a dominant variable of this is also learning and conditioning, which means anyone can be a great leader. Strong leaders are able to inspire others to take action and set a course for future success. 

The great news is that all these desirable qualities are in full control of our power. As we continue to grow as a business and individual, we need to keep reminding ourselves of how important personal growth is. The truth is that our only real competition is within ourselves. 

Interested to join our team? Head to our careers page to see our current openings. 

Moses Borland reflects on the Medway Viaduct Project (UK)

“I learned that whatever the contractual conditions, personal relations play a big part in resolving issues.” 

Medway Viaduct at night

At 1025m long the Medway Viaduct was the largest structure on Section 1 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now High Speed 1). This is the high speed railway from the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom, France and Central London.  

What did the viaduct consist of? 

The Viaduct consisted of an insitu balanced cantilever with a 150.4m main span and two 90m back spans 30m above the estuary. The approach spans were a 340m long incremental launch with 45m spans on the western approach and a 520m long incremental launch with 45m spans on the eastern approach. 

Project Manager, Moses Borland explains he still feels privileged to have been involved in this complex project. Not only did he gain valuable technical and practical skills from this experience, but he also developed life-long relationships. 

Tell us about your involvement in this project. 

I joined the engineering management team about 3 months after the start of construction and developed the construction methodology, temporary works schemes and liaised with the designer to achieve value engineering proposals. This resulted in being promoted to Engineering Manager. 

What was your biggest challenge? 

There were a few challenges throughout the project; one of them being a change of Government in the UK at the time. The change resulted in the incoming government nearly cancelling the whole project and the design work being stopped for a period.  

However, the Deputy Prime Minister secured funding for the project and so it being of high priority resulted in the construction starting before the design was ready.  

Another hurdle we had to cross was the contract being a construct-only Engineering Contract /Target Cost Contract which, back then, was a new way of working and required early warning of disputes. This of course caused difficult relations between the Project Management team as the lack of design work was delaying the construction of the project.  

How did you overcome the challenge? 

Something I learned and still stay by is that whatever the contractual conditions, personal relations play a big part in resolving issues. I was fortunate enough to have a new on-site Design Manager join the project at the same time as me, and we got on well. We both took a proactive approach to releasing the design before final signoff which allowed for procurement and construction planning. We also developed good relations with the off-site design team to allow construction input to the design. 

Pile Rebar

Another challenge we overcame was the cultural indifferences through the joint venture of a smaller English and a major French contractor which led to a few cultural indifferences.  

Being Irish allowed me to have a mediating role and a few necessary changes in personnel led to much better relations on the project. The French accepted that the English were not all technically deficient, and the English understood that they can actually learn a few things from the major international contractor. Unfortunately, other than a Gallic shrug my French did not improve! 

What do you cherish the most from this experience? 

After 20 years, I am still friends with the people I met on the project and although I am now on the other side of the world we stay connected. The most important experience of all is that I met my wife at the Medway Viaduct. 

Have you gained any important skills from working on this project? 

The Medway Viaduct was my first experience on a highly technical bridge construction including major marine works, tall sloping tapering piers, major bespoke temporary works and incremental launching and balanced cantilever construction.  

This experience was instrumental in my move to build major bridges in New Zealand and Australia and ultimately contributes to the skillset I bring to my role at CJC Management.  

Medway Viaduct in the morning

Craig Stoddart Celebrates 5 Years with CJC Management

“I enjoy working on a range of different projects. I also enjoy helping people to develop the projects that they are involved in.”

We are celebrating Principal, Craig Stoddart‘s 5-year anniversary with CJC Management. His leadership skills and expansive knowledge in Project Management and Civil Engineering have been truly valuable to our team. Here’s to many more years of working together!

How did you find out about CJC?

It was 2016 and I remembered seeing an opportunity to grow a consulting business from the ground up with CJC Management. CJC is a company that can offer constructability as a dedicated service which I found incredibly exciting. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.

What is the best thing about being a part of CJC?

I feel fortunate to be able to get involved in some of the biggest and most complex infrastructure projects. The opportunity to contribute and develop my skills by overcoming challenges on projects such as WestConnex 1A M4 Widening, WestConnex 1B M4 East and Sydney Gateway Upgrade is exceptionally valuable to me.

Do you have a favourite project you have worked on?

The Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link was a good project. Wonderful team to work with a challenge to figure out traffic staging for all 23 lanes of the Warringah Freeway.

What was your most memorable moment?

It would be a toss-up between climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge to look at the bridge arch maintenance units or the site inspections for the Sydney Ferries Wharf Upgrade project. The views from both these site inspections were amazing!

Do you have a project you find most challenging? How did you overcome it?

The Sydney Gateway Upgrade was quite challenging but rewarding at the same time. Notably the part of trying to understand a three-dimensional project in a very constrained environment. I managed to overcome this challenge by working through the constraints one at a time and then reviewing the proposed works one component at a time.

What do you enjoy about the work you do?

I enjoy working on a range of different projects. I also enjoy helping people to develop the projects that they are engaged in.

If you could say one thing to yourself 5 years ago, what would it be?

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Colin Calder Looks Back on His Time at Ting Kau Bridge Project

“The project taught me that working on site is one of the most rewarding experiences.” 

At 1,177 metres long, Ting Kau Bridge is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world. The bridge plays an important part of infrastructure as it connects traffic from the North Western part of the New Territories to the rest of Hong Kong.  

Group Manager, Colin Calder had the privilege to be involved in this project for his first overseas posting experience.  

Tell us about your involvement in this project. 

In March 1995, I left the UK after working in London for a year. It was my first overseas posting, employed by a company called Sandberg. At the time, they were seconding personnel into Ting Kau Bridge in Hong Kong. It was a very exciting time for me to be there both personally and historically as this was just before the handover of Hong Kong back to China.  

What was the biggest challenge? 

During my secondment, I switched from being a Materials Technician to a Site Engineer on one of the main towers on the bridge. I was working with several very experienced Engineers from Flint & Neil (which is now part of COWI). Managing the transition to be a part of the Engineering team on site was the biggest challenge for me at the time. Particularly the language barrier with the locals and the other 32 different nationalities on site. 

In addition, it was also my first time being such a long way from my home in Scotland. I had to grow up a fair bit in life admin skills which were very new to me at the time! 

How did you overcome this challenge? 

I learned a valuable lesson that helped me manage the transition, which was to be present on-site as much as I could and to be proactive in asking questions. It also taught me that working on site is one of the most rewarding experiences when you follow the rules: be the first onsite, be the last to leave and give the project all the respect it deserves. When you work hard and value all the people involved, your experience could be truly remarkable. 

How was your experience in being an expat? 

The language barrier was overcome by speaking slower! My accent used to be more Scottish than it is now – which a good friend of mine called “mid-Atlantic.” I learned to minimise phone calls too if I want to be understood, which meant meeting people face to face wherever possible. 

On adapting to life as an expat, I think those in a similar position would agree that you must make a lot of hard decisions. Eventually, you will realise that you will miss family, friends, and a lot of occasions from back home. In dealing with this I find that when I meet up with any of my friends from the past, the conversation starts where it finished last time we met. You never really say “goodbye” when you leave, only “see you later.” 

Any significant memories? 

In all honesty, the part that impressed me most was the work ethic of people on the project. Especially the Australian contingent there who had just come up from the Glebe Island Bridge (now the ANZAC Bridge). They worked incredibly hard and played hard, and I have tried to do the same my whole career. It successfully convinced me to move to Melbourne to start on the Western Link Project, following several Australian colleagues I worked with. 

What skills have you gained from this project?  

It was the ability to engage with people. I was told from early on that respect goes a long way. Everyone in the team is valuable, from the concrete placer, steel fixer to the Alimak Driver. A tip that always worked for me is to prepare some talking points that may be relevant to them. It is important to be aware that the labourer/tradesman is working a lot harder physically than me on site. They work in extreme conditions, so they deserve the utmost respect.  

Sarah Stante Celebrating the Success of Female Engineers

“Let’s step-up what we can achieve for each other now and in the future.”

We talked to our NSW State Manager Sarah Stante on her journey as CJC Management’s #engineeringheroes.

What does Engineering mean to you?

I enjoy being able to contribute to the well-being of our community as the users of infrastructure, incorporating value for money solutions and innovative construction techniques. Engineers are problem solvers, and it’s exciting to find solutions to complex problems while collaborating with exceptional people! I am proud of my achievements in construction and when I was recognised with a NAWIC Award during a Brisbane-based project, it was an honour.

What are your hopes for the future of Women in Engineering?

I believe that a diverse workforce provides the best platform for business success. My hope is that as the percentage of women in STEM careers grow, so will the capacity to embrace change and recognise unique contributions.

  • For us, it means engaging early, having a career plan and finding supportive workplaces.
  • For industry, we need real opportunities for meaningful roles to retain knowledge and experience in a growing market.
  • For future, take every opportunity to encourage excitement for maths, science and engineering with generations to come.
  • Most importantly, it means supporting each other and celebrating our successes!

Why Engineering?

I enjoyed studying science at school and found that engineering was a practical way to find solutions to societal issues – for me it was a growing concern for the future of the environment. I pursued my interest in environmental issues and completed a Civil and Environmental Engineering degree. My first on-site role combined environmental monitoring with site engineering. After my first concrete pour, I was hooked!

What is a typical day at work for you?

For most of my career I’ve worked on site delivering infrastructure projects, focusing on concrete structures and bridges. Today, I provide advice on project constructability to both government and industry clients, by looking wholistically at construction staging, traffic requirements, utility and stakeholder interactions, program and risk including workshop facilitation. I also support business operations in NSW, from recruiting to tendering, mentoring to business strategy.

What was an exciting project you worked on?

On the Cross City Tunnel, I was part of the team delivering the westbound exit cut and cover tunnel structures. We cut the intersection of Druitt St and Sussex St in half to complete the tunnel where it became too shallow to continue in rock. I gained so much experience from this project from concrete structures to major utility relocations, working in constricted city sites requiring smart traffic and temporary works solutions and the importance of collaborative teams. 

Do you have any great career advice?

Not so much advice, but a great leadership example – a GM who visited site regularly knew everyone’s name and something about them, from the PM to the leading hand. It fostered a culture of being seen and belonging, which is so valued in an industry of mega-projects today.

Do you have any final words for fellow or aspiring women Engineers?

Working in construction is not an easy journey, with very few female role models.  It is an honour to be considered an #engineeringhero, and I’m looking forward to encouraging fellow engineers in their journey. I am inspired by the new generation of engineers, like Zahra Khorami, who convinced her all-girls high school to add physics to the curriculum so she could study bio-medical engineering. My own children challenge me every day to re-write the diversity narrative with their passion for STEM and their unblemished expectations and limitless ideas for their futures. Let’s step-up what we can achieve for each other now and in the future.

Jonathan Davies’ experience working on ANI Osborne Naval Shipyard

Jonathan Davies:

Supporting Australian Naval Infrastructure Pty Ltd (ANI) in the Osborne South Development Project (OSDP) has been a really rewarding experience for both myself and the other members of the CJC team. With sections of the project now complete and handed over I have written a summary of our involvement on this successful project.

When I was asked in early 2018 if the concept of strand jacking the walls of the ‘ship erection hall’, the largest building on the project at 50m high, from horizontal to vertical was possible I thought back over my years of strand jacking and temporary works experience. I very quickly replied: “of course it is possible but you are going to need a good team as it is definitely out of the norm.”

ANI was established by the Federal Government in March 2017 to acquire, develop and manage the development and construction of new infrastructure, and the modernization of existing infrastructure, at the Osborne Naval Shipyard (ONS) in Adelaide, South Australia.

Lendlease was engaged as Managing Contractor by ANI in October 2017 for the first expansion project, the Osborne South Development Project. The OSDP comprises new infrastructure constructed on a greenfield site and will be used to produce nine Hunter-class Frigates as part of the Commonwealth’s $89B Naval Shipbuilding Plan.

ANI engaged the team of myself, Rachael Oertel, Craig Stoddart and Quoc Phuong at various stages through the project to provide construction management support services, heavy lift specialist advice, temporary works advice, design management and QA management for various engineering aspects of the project.

CJC’s main role was to provide construction management services for three large, new industrial buildings – a steel fabrication and unit assembly hall, a block assembly hall, and a block outfitting and ship erection hall – as well a new paint and blast hall, small ancillary buildings and an industrial canteen.

When the complexity of the temporary works to raise the walls and roof was understood, Structural Design Engineers, including Florian Dieterle and Richard Lamb, were brought onboard to provide peer review services for all large temporary works on the project, specifically the strand jacking schemes.

We provided specialist personnel for on site support and reviews of lifting operations and structural steel design and fabrication.

The lifting operations required to construct the block outfitting and ship erection hall, being the largest building on-site at 50m high 87m wide and 187m long, involved building the walls and roof in modules at ground level, rotating the wall modules into position using a davit system with hydraulic strand jacks , then lifting the roof modules using strand jacks supported on top of the erected wall modules.

The heaviest roof section lifted weighed 900T and was successfully completed in December 2019, taking nine hours to lift fifty metres above ground. Once the building was complete, two 200t capacity portal cranes were erected inside the hall, again using strand jacks, this time mounted outside on the completed roof.

One of the final tasks CJC carried out was assistance in the completion role in the lead up to project completion. This included the coordination of completion meetings with consultants and the Managing Contractor, independent review of quality documentation for piling, concrete, structural steel and cladding, and elevation of critical issues to ANI management.

I would like to give a warm thanks to ANI for allowing us to be involved in the delivery of this spectacular project.

CJC Management Team Celebrates Opening of Westconnex M4 Tunnels

WestConnex[1] the 33-kilometre predominately underground motorway scheme currently under construction in Sydney, New South Wales opens its tunnels section known as M4 East on Saturday 13 July.

The M4 East stage began construction in mid-2016 and opened to traffic in July 2019. This is the second stage of this $16.8B project with the final stages, the M4–M5 link, the Iron Cove Link and the Sydney Gateway to be completed by 2023.

The CJC Management team, led by our Group Managing Director, Colin Calder, have been a key part of Westconnex Transurban delivery team providing construction management, surveillance engineers, quality engineers, post-approvals coordinators, project and site engineers to this project during the past four years.

Congratulations and thank you to the following people for their dedication and hard work that contributed to the success of this project.

Well done to every single one of the CJC Management team for the contribution they’ve made to the success of this project.

Video courtesy Westconnex.

CJC Management’s Group Managing Director Out In The Cold

Get behind our Group Managing Director Colin Calder who is braving the cold to experience homelessness for the CEO Sleepout in Sydney on 20 June 2019.

Every night, thousands of Australians experience homelessness. But it doesn’t have to be that way. This year our Group Managing Director is taking part in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout to raise money for the St Vincent de Paul Society to support Australians in need. For one night, he’ll be sleeping outside as part of an eye-opening experience to raise awareness and bring home the realities of homelessness. One would think, hailing from Scotland he won’t have too many issues with the cold, but Colin has been in Australia for over ten years and become accustomed to our beautiful Sydney weather and the luxuries of ducted heating.

To help Colin and the St Vincent de Paul Society break the devastating cycle of homelessness, Colin needs your support for the CEO Sleepout. Donating 55 dollars will feed a family for a day and make a huge difference to people who need it most. Every donation made in the next 48 hours will be matched by Vinnie’s Sleepout sponsors so click this link now and help reduce homelessness in Australia. Your support is very much appreciated by Colin, the St Vincent de Paul Society and people who are homeless in Australia.

Director, Colin Calder recognised as an Engineering Executive by Engineers Australia

Director, Colin Calder was this week recognised as a leader in the engineering field by Engineers Australia receiving the title of Engineering Executive.

As an additional level of recognition of his impact on the industry Colin will also hold the title of Chartered Engineer.

An invitation only opportunity, the recognition as Engineering Executive is a credit to Colin’s years of experience leading teams on some of the most complex projects around the globe.

Read more about Colin here. Congratulations Colin!

Did You Know: WestConnex

Did you know that WestConnex will provide a bypass of up to 52 traffic signals once complete and add more than 18 hectares of new recreational green space for communities?

We’re proud to be involved in major infrastructure projects are less about creating a concrete jungle and more about the sustainability of a city – driving green space and liveability for a city. Check out some of the plans for the green space in just one section of the project here.

p.s. CJC are currently contracted to deliver WestConnex M4 Widening Stage 1A & 1B but proud to recognise the full scope of this city changing project.

$8.3b Sydney Metro Northwest

Why the $8.3b Sydney Metro Northwest rail link has a feel of the Anzac Bridge

THE fast developing rail bridge, similar to the Anzac Bridge, over Windsor Rd is the talking point of motorists and residents in Rouse Hill.

In all, 16 massive cables are being attached through pipes between each of the 45 metre tall towers and the deck, which is part of the $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest rail link.

The pipes range between 15m and 62m long and are installed by cranes high above Windsor Rd.

According to Transport for NSW, the iconic structure is an Australian first — a cable-stayed railway bridge built on a curve.

Following the installation of the towers in May, the distinctive cables which will hold the bridge up are being set in place.

“This Australian-first bridge is not only a new landmark but also a critical piece of railway infrastructure that allows us to deliver metro services to all of Sydney,’ Transport Minister Andrew Constance said.

A few weeks ago, the last of the 9km of track and 9km of overhead wiring were put in place at Metro HQ in Rouse Hill, meaning the track laying is complete there.

The headquarters at Cudgegong Rd, Rouse Hill, will be the stabling yard of the massive project which, when completed in the first half 2019, will see trains running every four minutes in both directions.

The driverless trains will be maintained and cleaned at the Rouse Hill centre.

The completed railway tracks at the Rouse Hill facility sit on 11,500 sleepers and 26,000 tonnes of ballast.

The Windsor Road bridge was a design solution to community feedback which means any future upgrade of the Windsor Rd and Schofields Rd intersection will not be impacted by the new metro railway.

Sydney Metro services start in the first half of 2019 with a new metro train scheduled to run every four minutes in the peak.

Railway Bridge over Windsor Road

First tower in place for railway bridge over Windsor Road at Rouse Hill

The first tower for Sydney Metro’s railway bridge at Rouse Hill has been lifted into place in a precision operation.

Two large cranes lifted the 210 tonne tower on to the bridge deck over Windsor Road, before it was bolted into place.

The 29-metre tall steel tower was made in Western Sydney and delivered to Rouse Hill under police escort because of its size. It required a 55-metre long, 18-axle truck and trailer combination for the 17km trip.

Next, 16 steel cables will be installed from the tower to the bridge deck.

A second tower will be installed soon.

The top of the bridge towers will be 45-metres above road level once complete.

The landmark railway bridge, similar in design to Sydney’s Anzac Bridge, is an Australian first – a cable-stayed railway bridge built on a curve.

The Windsor Road bridge was a design solution to community feedback which means any future upgrade of the Windsor Road and Schofields Road intersection will not be impacted by the new metro railway.

Sydney Metro Railway Bridge

The deck of the Sydney Metro railway bridge over Windsor Road at Rouse Hill is complete

The deck of the landmark Sydney Metro bridge over Windsor Road at Rouse Hill is in the air, bringing metro rail services one step closer.

Inspired by Sydney’s Anzac Bridge, the 270m long bridge is the first ever cable-stayed railway bridge on a curve built in Australia.

The deck is made of 88 massive concrete segments each weighing between 70 and 140 tonnes.

The delicate engineering operation to put them in place occurred 7 metres above ground and mainly at night, resulting in minimal disruption to local traffic.

More than 4,600 people have worked on the Skytrain project so far.

Over coming months, twin 45m bridge towers and steel cables will be installed.