The ASTT had its annual general meeting (AGM) on 30 April 2015. The meeting saw the filing of reports on the year that was and plans were discussed for the year ahead. During the meeting, we bid goodbye to President Trevor Gosatti and welcomed new President Steve Apeldoorn. Thankfully, Trevor remains on the ASTT board as the Western Australian Councillor.
I would like to extend a big thank you for all the achievements and efforts that Trevor was involved in whilst at the helm.
Also at the AGM, the ASTT endorsed the Special Interest Groups initiative to enable members to form relevant groups to advance trenchless topics. More information can be found via the following link: astt.com.au/about_astt/special_interest_groups
Additionally, the ASTT is getting closer to finalising the agreement with the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT) to deliver three of their trenchless courses here in Australia. It is planned to hold the first of these courses at No-Dig Down Under 2015 in early September on the Gold Coast, where I will be chairing the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) course.
Earlier in the year I travelled to the NASTT No-Dig Conference in Denver, Colorado, to attend this course. I found the course to be well delivered and its content will greatly interest clients, inspectors, contractor engineers, consultant engineers and suppliers in the HDD industry. On the whole, the NASTT No-Dig Conference was a large and impressive show containing an excellent cross-section of conference papers and exhibitors.
The Queensland ASTT Presentation and Networking Nights continue to be a success, with the third event held 20 May 2015. This quarter’s sponsor was Abergeldie Watertech, with presenters including John Bower, from Independent Civil Solutions, who delivered a presentation on geotechnical investigation planning, and Andy Holman, from Global Pipe, with a presentation on Trenchless GRP Pipe Solutions.
The next Presentation and Networking Night will be held on 19 August. Please watch out for the flyer detailing the event and contact me by emailing bencrosby@bamser.com.au if you would like to sponsor and/or attend.