This year’s SEQ Branch conference was held at the Logan Metro Indoor Sports Centre with the theme 'Building on Smart Solutions'. The conference began on Tuesday 9 May with a technical tour of the Logan Metro Sports Park which is currently under construction.

The conference was officially opened following the Tech Tour with a welcome address from Logan City Council Mayor, Councillor Luke Smith. This followed a keynote presentation, 'Technology and Transport - from horse and cart to smart places (learnings from the IPWEA International Study Tour)' from Andrew Ryan, Director Infrastructure Services, Sunshine Coast Council and recipient of the 2016 International Study Tour scholarship. Glenn Browning, a civil engineer with Healthy Land & Water presented a framework for encouraging strategic planning and adaption in the management of our waterways.

Jason Fiddes, founder of Podium Training & Consulting closed the first day's proceedings with a thought-provoking presentation on mental well-being reminding us of the importance of mindfulness and work-life balance. Delegates then mingled with exhibitors at a cocktail function with an opportunity to 'shoot a hoop' in aid of the President's Charity, the Cancer Council Queensland.

The Wednesday morning program was opened by Silvio Trinca, Director Road & Water Infrastructure, Logan City Council. Silvio discussed the use of smart technology for flood management and how this was utilised in recent floods in Logan. The program then split into four streams on: adaptation, technology, assets and operations. Papers delivered in the streams included papers from local councils, TMR, the AARB Group and IPWEAQ Partners: McCullough Robertson, Fulton Hogan and Lion Systems.

Professor Jean Palutikof, Director National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) closed the conference program with a presentation on 'Solutions for climate change in a rapidly changing world'.

A number of papers were nominated for the Best Paper award (excludes keynote presentations) from a well-received program:

Marty Wallace, Manager Road Construction and Maintenance, Logan City Council - Flooded Road Smart Warning System
Ari Craven, Principal Engineer, Engeny - Australian Rainfall & Runoff 2016 - Local Government & Development Perspectives
Bryan McSweeney, BIM Project Manager, TMR - How TMR is Implementing Digital Engineering
Craig Young, Manager Civil Asset Management, Sunshine Coast Council - What Does the Customer Experience Mean in Civil Works Delivery?

And the winner of the Best Paper award is Ari Craven! Ari will present his award-winning paper at the state conference in Townsville, 24-26 October 2017.

We also announced the winner of the 2016-2017 IPWEAQ Grand Slam award – Greg Kennedy, Regional Sales Manager of Steel Mains. Greg, together with nine other delegates attended all four branch conferences and the state conference held in Brisbane in 2016.   

Delegates achieved nine CPD hours for their attendance at the conference and Tech Tour.

Thank you to all those who attended the SEQ Branch conference in Logan including our dedicated Partners and exhibitors for their valued ongoing support of IPWEAQ. A special thanks also to our sponsors, Logan City Council, C-M Concrete and EJ Australia.

We look forward to seeing you at the 2017 IPWEAQ state conference in Townsville 24-26 October!