The Venture Smart team are proud to be contributing to the safe movement of pedestrian traffic throughout Western Australia through their work delivering projects covering the removal, installation and replacement of critical electrical infrastructure.

Clients include Main Roads Western Australia (Main Roads), and local government authorities.

The team completed a new set of split traffic signals and street lighting managing pedestrian movement on Marmion Avenue in Kinross for the City of Joondalup.

Project scope

This project involved construction of a new set of split traffic signals and street lighting.

All civil works were completed in parallel to the signals works, requiring close collaboration with civil contractors. Civil works included:

• stormwater drain modifications
• relocation of bus bay
• construction of pedestrian ramps and footpaths
• decorative concrete in fills
• tree removal
• asphalt resurfacing, and  
• signs and lines

All conduit road crossings were completed by horizontal directional drilling (HDD) prior to civil and electrical teams attending site.

^{Pictured above: Construction team installing a City of Joondalup decorative street lighting pole}

Managing delivery challenges

The primary challenge for the team on this project involved the scheduling of works, given a number of competing priorities within a compressed delivery timeframe.

Completing design development and amendments during project delivery was challenging, as they needed to ensure the team still met the set commissioning date which was dependent on the start of the new school year.

Activities that were independently organised by the client also had to be factored into the schedule to avoid overlap, including electrical delivery and Western Power pillar connection. Given the high level of civil works being undertaken, there was also a need to carefully manage site access to ensure access to site was available for the traffic signals construction team during the period of heavy civil works.

The team also contended with long lead times for delivery of certain materials, which were delayed due to disruption to interstate freight routes

Great work in the usual tight timeframes! The team are really starting to build a reputation of being able to deliver which is really appreciated.' - James Pinnington Manager Electrical Assets Main Roads WA Metroplitan Region

Delivering solutions through effective stakeholder engagement

Regular consultation with the client was key to successful resolution of challenges as they arose, ensuring that all solutions proposed by the Venture Smart team were Main Roads' compliant. This included site visits with the client to discuss progress and ensure hold points were satisfactorily met to prevent delivery delays and rework.

To avoid the interruption of pillar connection for Western Power, the team prioritised the traffic signal controller and street lighting pole installation and maintained regular contact with Western Power's project manager.

Long-lead time items were ordered within days of receiving hand over and approved work order from Main Roads. Establishment of regular communication and strong relationships with relevant suppliers meant that materials arrived on time for installation.

It was also important to develop strong relationships and a collaborative work style between crews, with frequent communication both on site and at management level to prevent any potential efficiency losses due to conflicts in scheduling or priorities.

^{Pictured above: Electrician working on the traffic signal controller cabinet.}