Workshops

Shaping the industry’s future direction

Wednesday, 10 Nov 2021 | 0830 – 1700

Each session will provide an opportunity for workshop attendees to provide commentary / inputs.

Session 1: Guidelines for the outlet works for dams
The safety and operational risks associated with outlet works for dams are often hard to estimate. This session will consist of a workshop where key issues to be addressed in the draft guidelines on outlet works for dams will be presented by the ANCOLD working group. Topics will include:

• Evaluating the risks associated with outlet works in the context of life safety and business risks, estimating failure modes and consequences, completing risk analyses, and estimating risk reduction and mitigation strategies.
• A discussion on “human factors”, how they influence the entire life cycle of outlet works during design, build, operation, and maintenance and how to account for them.
• Inspection and testing including; determining the inspection regime based on the dam criticality / consequence category, types of testing and the planning, processes and procedures to be considered for testing.

Session 2: Regulator’s session
This session will provide an interactive update from Dam Safety Regulators across Australia.

Session 3: Management of risks in dam procurement
In 2019, ANCOLD hosted a two-day forum where members from the Australian wide dams industry, and other industries with similar risk management challenges, shared their perspectives on current and best future practices for managing risks in dam procurement.

There were several recurring themes and general agreement that development of an informed procurement approach would lead to better outcomes for our dam projects and all stakeholders.

These themes included:

• There is not one contract / procurement best solution for all projects
• Focus on capability – right skills, knowledge transfer, site supervision, expert/peer review
• The importance of putting time and money into geotechnical investigations and estimating hydrological risks at the planning stage
• First understand the risks and then contract equitable sharing of risks – especially the known unknowns and unknown unknowns
• Contingency planning, allowing flexibility, prepare stakeholders for changes
• The importance of stakeholder relationships (Owner, Designer, Constructor)
• To become sustainable, the industry needs to move beyond a culture that places unrelenting pressure on participants which unreasonably affects personal lives.

Subsequent to the forum, a working group has been established to develop a Guidance note on procurement for dams, to inform and guide the industry  and to be applied by Owners,  Designers, Constructors and other industry participants (e.g. technical specialists, peer reviewers, procurement and legal advisors).

The workshop session will give an update on the draft practice note and develop a roadmap on the way forward.  The session will be structured to enable small group interaction and input, to canvas the wider views from the ANCOLD participants on the working document and additional ideas that need to be considered or incorporated into the draft.

 

Current practice in a rapidly changing industry

Wednesday, 10 Nov 2021 | 0830 – 1700

The understanding and implementation of all aspects of the tailings industry from design, operation, management and governance is evolving rapidly as a result of new standards, guidelines and improvement in the technologies and methodology we utilise to achieve safe tailings management. This workshop will present updates, insights and points for discussion across several key aspects of tailings management:

• Dam break and consequence assessments
• Soil mechanics
• Risk assessments
• Engineer of Record and Independent Technical Review Boards

This full-day workshop will also present updates from various industry bodies and initiatives.