On 15 April, 20 lucky attendees took a behind the scenes tour of Transurban’s nerve centre of tunnel systems in Melbourne.
“The event was fully booked and the atmosphere friendly and open,” says event organiser, Cristian Biotto, Chair of ATS’s Tunnel Systems, Operation and Maintenance group (ATS-SOM).
“Transurban representatives responded to lots of questions and gave us a unique insight into their operations and how they are trying to improve them both for a user experience and to improve the work environment for their employees,” continues Cristian, who is a Principal at Aurecon.
Cristian says the speakers were very knowledgeable and the presentation well received. “It had the right balance between background information and specific details,” he says.
“Having the presentation in a room with windows to the control room (an environment that is usually off-limits for the public) was exceptional as we could see in real time what we were discussing.”
A highlight of the event was how Transurban shared how data from various sources are used to improve the operation of the road network, maximising the resources available and making use of machine learning. The human factor side of the work was also very interesting, with discussions about shift time, fatigue and screen sizes.
“The explanation about the Burnley Tunnel Green Pacemaker Light Project drew lots of attention as it is perhaps the most user-related change that happened lately on that tunnel. As more and more road infrastructure is added to the network, it’s important to gain a greater understanding about the challenges of keeping the network alive and operating efficiently,” continues Cristian.
“It’s important for designers and contractors to understand what the pain points are from an operator perspective to improve the way new roads are delivered and old roads maintained.”
The feedback from attendees was very positive with contractors from West Gate Tunnel project commenting on how interesting it was to see how the control room is operated and the ventilation system used and optimised.
“These attendees are currently constructing these systems so it was very useful for them to see what their work will look like once in operations,” says Cristian.
Attendees currently involved on Melbourne’s North East Link were also very complimentary saying they gathered a lot of valuable information for their design too.
The limited number of places available on the upcoming visits to Transurban’s control centres in Sydney and Brisbane are filling fast, so to secure your spot on them, jump into the events tab on the ATS website and book now!
Since its formation in 2021, ATS-SOM – a national subgroup of the ATS – has grown to incorporate a diverse committee of consultants, vendors and constructors from the infrastructure, water and resources sectors. Their mission is to demonstrate the importance of systems, operations and maintenance in the life cycle of tunnel projects and showcase the research, innovations and expertise of the Australian tunnel systems community through interesting events and knowledge sharing activities.
