A message from Lorna Rechichi, Oct '22

Welcome to the October edition of On the Hook!

The Heavy lift team are winners!! This time joint Engineering Construction (EC) innovation award winners for 2021/22 in recognition of the SPMT Davit Arm solution, developed to address a specific lifting challenge to support the installation of gas pipeline sections on a narrow and steep slope with associated safety risks. Congratulations to the team, in particular Jeff Gutierrez, one of our senior Heavy Lift engineers who led the development of the solution. Read more about this innovation in this edition, and a reminder you can at any time submit a challenge to our Monadelphous innovation platform MProve, or via your supervisor, and seek to collaborate on solutions.

Talking about innovation, I have been blown away with the new products and equipment emerging in our industry by attending the Bauma crane conference in Germany for the last week in October with Dave Muirhead (our Technical Services Manager). An invaluable opportunity to connect face to face with our multiple heavy lift and transport suppliers in one place and to see firsthand how our industry is tackling the charge towards net zero carbon emission through electrification and hybrid solutions. Most of the senior representatives from the crane industry across Australia and globally were present creating a fantastic networking opportunity. We also visited two of the Tadano factories in Germany and caught a glimpse of our new 400T crawler on the production line – standing out from the rest in its bold red colours!  We saw the 700T Liebherr on display at Bauma which will also be joining our fleet towards the end of next year. Standouts for me included seeing the manufacture of the crane sections (for example, boom and slew rings) together with the clear push in the industry for a greener future. Next month’s edition will include a specific feature on the trip.

The Monadelphous board visited Woodside Karratha Gas Plant (KGP) during October and special mention was made by Sean Bruins (Woodside Facility Manager) to the board on the quality of the people and work performed by the Heavy Lift team, standing out from the competition.  Full credit to the Heavy Lift team working at Woodside under the leadership of Matt Sprague – it is fantastic to see your hard work is recognised by the client. Scott Ferguson thought someone was pulling his leg when he received a call to let him know the board were at the front gate of Gap Ridge, if he could show them around! Totally unprepared, Scotty did the Heavy Lift team proud, by escorting the board around the cranes at Gap Ridge, demonstrating his professionalism and endless knowledge under pressure – well done Scotty!

Throughout the month of October you may have read about structural changes at the senior levels. Chairman, John Rubino, is retiring from the board and Rob Velletri will step into the role of Executive Chairman. Zoran Bebic, will take on the role of Managing Director. While Dino Foti, Executive General Manager (EGM) of Engineering Construction, will also be retiring from Monadelphous and Adam Cook will be taking on the EGM role. The legacy that John, Rob and Dino have created is embedded in the values of our business and will live on as we face buoyant market conditions with the best people in the industry. Be assured that these changes were all part of the long held succession planning and you are in safe hands!

Until next time team, stay safe and look out for each other.

Lorna