Trenchless Australasia will replace the 6 monthly newsletter produced by ASTT through our hard working Secretary/Treasurer, Jeff Pace. I take this opportunity to thank Jeff on behalf of all our members for the considerable effort and dedication that went into producing the many newsletters over the past 12 years.
It is appropriate that this first publication devotes some space to our upcoming 6th National Conference and Exhibition in Melbourne from 27 to 29 of September. This event follows the last ASTT National Conference in Auckland New Zealand, involving the very successful combination of the New Zealand Water and Wastewater Association, the Pacific Water Association and ASTT to produce an innovative major new event in Australasia. The Melbourne Conference and Exhibition will be an event that anyone with an interest in the life of underground assets will be attending. It is for those associated with the planning, designing, installing, operating, maintaining and financing of underground pipelines, drains, tunnels, ducts and cables. You cannot afford to miss this Event if you or your organisation has a responsibility for preserving our environment, streetscape, roadways or transport systems.
The Conference and Exhibition will bring together leading Trenchless Technology users, specifiers, suppliers and researchers for three days of workshops, paper presentations, demonstrations, and networking – mixed with some fun and socialising of course! The Conference attracts delegates from all around Australia and overseas and provides a wonderful opportunity to keep abreast of developments in this rapidly progressing industry.
The progress that ASTT has made in a number of key areas in Trenchless Technology over the past 18 months will also be of enormous interest to those in the Trenchless industry and will be outlined at the Conference. In particular, the development of a nationally recognised framework of competencies in Trenchless Technology, and the proposed means of applying a nationally recognised training program will be introduced for the first time. This will help our industry to establish itself more firmly, and help promote its professionalism and uniqueness as an industry in its own right.
Another area of interest will be the progress made in the establishment of Standards and Guidelines for Trenchless Technology in Australia and New Zealand. The preliminary findings of a consultancy initiated by ASTT to progress this matter will be enhanced by an interactive Workshop at the Conference to explore the application of Standards and Guidelines in our industry. Both these areas are expected to attract a lot of interest at the Melbourne Conference and Exhibition.
Once again, welcome to this first edition of Trenchless Australasia. I am sure you will agree that this impressive journal, the official magazine of the ASTT, will be a feature of the Trenchless industry down under for many years to come. I congratulate Chris Bland and his staff at Pipeline Publications Australia for a truly professional publication and look forward to many years of Trenchless Australasia as the flagship of our industry.
Menno Henneveld
Chairman, ASTT
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