When an aircraft crashes, or there is a near-miss, the airline industry rushes to learn the lessons so as to keep planes flying safely across our skies. Why doesn’t the construction industry take the same approach to project failures? In this podcast, Jaclyn Smith is joined by her fellow SoCLA directors, Dr Sean Brady (Brady Heywood), Matthew Bell (Melbourne Law School) and Kara Vague (Downer) to discuss the human element in construction projects. We explore the role of lawyers in doing more than just getting the contracts right, and why Australia’s distrust of authority can help avert disasters on site.
Connect with these SCL Australia Directors on Twitter (@SCLAust):
Matthew Bell: @MelbConstrucLaw
Dr Sean Brady: @BradyHeywood
Kara Vague: @KaraVague
Jaclyn Smith: @jaclynlindsay
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.
Laws are supposed to keep things in order. How, then, do they get so complex that they cause headaches - or worse - for the construction industry? In this podcast, Jaclyn Smith is joined by her fellow SCL Australia directors, Matthew Bell (Melbourne Law School), Dr Sean Brady (Brady Heywood) and Laina Chan (3 Wentworth Chambers). They focus on construction industry security of payment laws: brought in to crack a seemingly simple nut of keeping cashflow moving, these laws have mutated into a multi-headed beast in Australia. There does, however, finally seem to be some hope that this monster might be tamed by way of a federal review being undertaken during 2017.
Connect with these SCL Australia Directors on Twitter (@SCLAust):
Matthew Bell: @MelbConstrucLaw
Dr Sean Brady: @BradyHeywood
Laina Chan: @LainaChan1
Jaclyn Smith: @jaclynlindsay
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.
Kara Vague is the current Chair of the Society of Construction Law Australia, having had an extensive involvement spanning a number of Committees over the last few years.
In this interview, Director Jaclyn Smith (@jaclynlindsay) asks Kara to reflect on her career and time with the Society, and share some of the current and upcoming activities.
For those looking to get in contact with Kara:
Twitter: @KaraVague
Email: Kara.Vague@downergroup.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kara-vague-b471b420/
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.
Jaclyn Smith, Director of SCL Australia, interviews Andrew Stephenson (Partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth) and Craig Macaulay (Executive Director at KordaMentha Forensic) on updates to predictive coding and technology assisted review, and what this means for construction disputes.
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.
Melissa Yeo, Director of SCL Australia, interviews Wendy MacLaughlin, Senior Vice President of HKA Global, about her journey to becoming an internationally sought after construction programming expert, her advice for people working in the construction disputes space and the key features of the new SCL Delay and Disruption Protocol.
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.
Raisa Conchin and Elizabeth Conlan discuss how to manage the pre-allocation of risk in the era of proportionate liability.
Raisa Conchin is a Partner of Wotton + Kearney and Elizabeth Conlan is a Senior Associate of Wotton + Kearney.
Kindly sponsored by Baker McKenzie, this SCL event was held on 8 March 2017 in Brisbane.
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.
In this episode Melissa Yeo sits down with Teagan Dowler, the author of the newly released book Rules of the Game - Women in the Masculine Industries.
Teagan is also the founder of the Blue Collared Woman, a community that supports the development of initiatives to achieve greater diversity and inclusion within the engineering, resource and construction industries.
Melissa and Teagan talk about the issues facing women in these industries and discuss how by understanding the concept of the filing cabinet - a cause of many of these issues - women can better navigate their way to success and pave the way for future women to do the same.
Rules of the Game: Women in the Masculine Industries can be purchased at:
Hard copy: www.thebcw.com.au/shop
e-book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Rules-Game-Women-Masculine-Industries-ebook/dp/B01F2Y4RAC
You can connect with The BCW at the following accounts:
Instagram: thebcw
Twitter:thebluecw
Facebook: The Blue Collared Woman
LinkedIn: The Blue Collared Woman
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.
In this episode , we hear from two Directors of the Society of Construction Law Australia. Marianne Rose, Commercial Manager (Mouchel) interview Professor Ian Bailey SC (Wentworth Chambers) to gain insight into some of the key features of the new AS 11000.
Representatives from the Society of Construction Law joined with other leading construction industry associations to draft AS 11000.
AS 11000 introduces an obligation to act in good faith onto the parties, as well as an obligation to give early notice of matters that may lead to a dispute. This is an introduction to a softer approach to contracting, and a move away from strictly combative approaches.
AS 11000 works alongside the new dispute resolution standard, AS 11004 which introduces a radical (for Australia) role for someone to assist the parties to deal with matters as they arise, based on the Hong Kong DRA system which is extraordinarily successful.
AS 11000 limits the length and legalistic nature of the language, with a focus on rights and obligations. ‘Must’ also replaces ‘shall’ in the substance of the clauses to assist in making the clauses more readable.
For more information please head to www.scl.org.au or find us on Twitter @SCLAust
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.
In this episode of our podcast series, we meet Alex Hartmann, Partner at Baker & McKenzie, who presented at the recent Society of Construction Law Australia National Conference. The Conference brought together lawyers and construction industry professionals to discuss ‘Building Australia’s Future.’
Alex presented on what happens to office waste when offices are stripped out. There are 25,000 tonnes of office waste generated in Sydney each year alone, and only 25% of this is recyclable material. Alex’s presentation looks at drivers of this issue, including the need in commercial office leases for space to be returned ready for next tenancy. Time pressures are the enemy of recycling.
Alex notes that the energy ratings of buildings often only factor in design, and don’t look at reuse or recycling of construction waste.
Alex introduces us to the Better Buildings Partnership, which aims to bring about best practice relating to sustainability in managing construction waste, including via the Waste Guidelines.
Alex Hartmann is a Partner of the Sydney office of Baker & McKenzie and is regularly engaged in high-profile construction matters. He advises government and private sector clients on engineering contracts, construction projects and infrastructure-related legal issues. Alex's practice focuses on all facets of project delivery — from contract structuring, drafting and negotiation, to advice on contract administration and dispute resolution.
For more information please head to www.scl.org.au or find us on Twitter @SCLAust
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.
In this episode of our podcast series, we meet Kiri Parr, Regional Legal Counsel, Arup, who presented at the recent Society of Construction Law Australia National Conference. The Conference brought together lawyers and construction industry professionals to discuss ‘Building Australia’s Future.’
Kiri speaks on the significant challenges of delivering successful projects and looks at some of the concurrent factors impacting our world. This includes how we use cities and buildings, the move from a labour to a knowledge economy, and the increase in collaboration and innovation.
Kiri asks whether the business norms we have adopted as construction professionals are allowing lawyers to deliver advantages to our clients. Kiri notes that this includes adversarial contracting, market power, no standardisation, and the obsession with perfectionism as lawyers.
Kiri posits that data analysis will drive efficiency in the future, and looks at ways that the construction industry and lawyers will need to work together to manage risks in this space. Kiri looks at what Toronto (Canada) and London (UK) is doing in the geotechnical engineering space, where borehole data is shared on a public database. This drives better risk management of geology, and is a space with opportunities for the Australian construction industry to improve.
As Regional Legal Counsel for Arup, Kiri leads the delivery of legal services to the business in the region, which encompasses Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Indonesia. Prior to joining Arup in 2005, Kiri worked for 10 years in private practice specialising in construction law. Kiri has a Bachelor of Arts and Law is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
For more information please head to www.scl.org.au or find us on Twitter @SCLAust
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.
In this episode, we meet Ashley Brinson, Executive Director of the Warren Centre. Ashley delivered the keynote address at the recent Society of Construction Law Australia National Conference. The Conference brought together lawyers and construction industry professionals to discuss ‘Building Australia’s Future.’
Ashley speaks on the innovation of opportunities, and looks at how can we improve and react to the situations around us. Ashley focuses on two key opportunities, the first being the AU$30 million opportunity to raise performance in the construction industry, and the second being global trade and engineering services.
Ashley looked at risk allocation across project levels and the potential to manage cost savings, demonstrating this by discussing the large cost blowouts on large energy projects in Australia in the LNG space.
A key takeaway from Ashley ’s presentation includes that we need policy, technology and law to work together to reduce infrastructure waste.
Ashley is dually qualified in law and chemical engineering, and is a Fellow and Chartered Professional Engineer of Engineers Australia, and a Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers.
To read more about The Warren Centre head to http://thewarrencentre.org.au/ and Ashley can be found on twitter @jashleyb
For more information please head to www.scl.org.au or find us on Twitter @SCLAust
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.
In this introductory episode, we introduce you to the Society of Construction Law Australia podcast.
The Society provides a forum for industry participants and thought leaders to connect and together initiate positive change in the construction industry for the benefit of the construction industry and public as a whole by influencing changes to legislation, policy and practice.
Be sure to subscribe for regular updates on technical and legal issues facing the construction industry. You can also find us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram – just follow @SCLAust for updates.
This podcast is for reference purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. You should always obtain legal advice about your specific circumstances. The views expressed in these podcasts are the speakers' own. They should not be taken as recommendations of the Society of Construction Law Australia.