Article written by Engineers Australia Victorian Division Manager, Herve Carlos.
As a Division of Engineers Australia, our role is multifaceted. Not only do we support the Board and a (new) CEO navigate the engineering challenges of our time, we are also charged with the responsibility of meeting the aspirations of a legion of members.
From the sporting fields, to the world of entertainment, to the halls of academia, to the corridors of power, Victorians have never shirked the issues that matter most to the people of this great State.
As the number of infrastructure projects start to reshape our State, it is more critical than ever that Engineers Australia’s voice is heard. Our role is not only to advocate on behalf of our profession, but just as importantly, we must continue to put the safety and well-being of our community above all else.
This is why we will continue to be vocal when it comes to the built environment. Our hig-hrise buildings cannot be constructed in a way that put residents in danger! What happens half a world away impacts us more than ever before, and therefore we must look at tragedies such as the Grenfell Tower fire and say, ‘this must never happen here’.
How do we prevent such a catastrophe from happening?
By ensuring the greatest diligence when enacting our building codes. And embedding into the fabric of those codes, assurances that properly trained and qualified engineers are tasked with the responsibility for signing off on all structural and safety works.
While tragedies such as Grenfell are splattered across our television screens, those eventually found responsible are never given as much attention. Perhaps that is a remnant of our news media, or the reluctance to accept collective responsibility for the decisions we make.
Government’s ‘no objection’ and industry’s economic motivations should be considered more carefully when enacting legislation around the build environment. The lack of objection and the motivation of profit is what needs to be looked at, if we are to prevent our tragedies from being splashed across the world’s media.
The peace of mind that engineers - trained and qualified to standards specified in the Washington, Dublin and Sydney Accords - have oversight of such constructions will allow all of us to marvel at the grandeur of what we create, confident that we have met our responsibilities to the community we serve.
Engineers Australia has been invited to be on the Victorian stakeholder reference group, established to investigate the extent of non-compliant cladding on Victorian buildings and will be called upon at the Senate Inquiry into cladding and building materials in Australia.