review - Nilsen · review issue 15, may 2005 1916–2005 nilsen 89 years. electrical excellence

reviewISSUE 15, MAY 2005

1916–2005 NILSEN 89 YEARS.

ELECTRICAL EXCELLENCE

Welcome to this, the latest edition ofour Nilsen Review.

We are now well into this financial yearand it is with pleasure I advise that theGroup has had another year of increasingits sales, diversity of projects undertakenand geographic locations where we havedelivered them, whilst also increasing thebottom line return. Thank you to all Nilsen people for your efforts in makingthis possible.

As noted in our last Review, the threecore areas of our business we continueto develop on a national basis areContracting, Switchboards, and Service.

The Contracting teams continue to movefrom strength to strength, working onsome of the most exciting projectsaround the country and their list of neworders is also most impressive. Thediversity of work they undertake allows usto work with customers from all sectorsof the construction industry, fromhospitals, to residential towers toindustrial process plants and factoriesand commercial areas such as shoppingcenters and convention centers. We havemajor and groundbreaking projects in allmainland states, including two in Darwinthat will change the top end forever.

The Switchboard Divisions also keep onmaking their mark at the cutting edgeand we certainly believe we are one ofthe leaders in the market segments wehave chosen to operate within. Certainly,when you compare our depth ofexperience and level of skills of ourpeople, the versatility of our systems anddesigns, as well as the great breadth ofour work, it is an impressive scope ofprojects both geographically and of atype that we have assisted customerswith around Australia.

Engineering Services, including our highlyrecognized High-Energy specialistservices also keep setting newbenchmarks in these critical serviceareas. In many activities, we have set upcenters of excellence. Our specialist skills,which are in short supply in the industryare both well recognized and very highlyregarded. They ‘close the loop’ in our end-to-end range of electrotechnologyactivities. As well it is our Servicebusinesses that are often the first on thescene when unexpected failure occurs atan electrical installation around thecountry and they are able to draw on theresources of the Group to get thecustomer up and running again as quicklyas possible.

Add to all this our regional operations.Building reputations in their respectiveareas as leaders in their fields. In Morwell,Bunbury, Mt Gambier and Gladstone,each is playing an important role inensuring commerce and industry is well supported.

This combination of disciplines andlocations, have again proved ofconsiderable benefit to customers whenunexpected incidents caused seriousdisruption to operations. In at least tworecent incidents, at a major hospital and amajor manufacturing plant, our teams,through commitment, diversity of skills,ability to work around the clock and ability to mobilize numbers of people with different skills, ensured anydisruption was minimized whilst helpingrecover from disaster in the shortestpossible time.

On a more sombre note, it is withsadness that we also remember adifferent stage in the Nilsen Grouphistory, when a young man of enormoustalent was an employee of 3UZ, where hewas an instant hit with the audience,before moving to the medium oftelevision. He was always destined to bea great entertainer and we like to thinkwe played a small part in his success andthank him for the time he was part of theNilsen team. That young man wasGraham Kennedy, and we offer ourcondolences to his friends and family.

In this and future Reviews, I look forwardto sharing with you our successes andthe many exciting new initiatives we haveon the drawing board. I hope you find ourReview of interest, and, as always,welcome any feedback.

Thank you most sincerely for yourcontinued support.

Mark NilsenMANAGING DIRECTOR

from theManaging Director

our reviewIn Review

v A different view of thenew stands at theAdelaide Oval. Front cover.

v Prepare to be impressedby our recent orders.See page 3.

v Our industrial projects,real proof of our diversity. Page 4.

v Our first NMP now completed and a great success! Page 5.

v Disaster recovery in half theexpected time? Page 6 gives an insight.

v More awards, further testimony toour work quality! Page 7.

v Helping change the face of ourcities. See pages 8 and 9.

v How is your inspection and testing,like your medical? Page 10.

v A half-life crisis? Check it out. Page 11.

v Repeats on repeats, Switchboardsset the pace. Page 12.

v Nilsen Landmarks, its SA’s turn toshowcase. Page 13.

v More of our current projects acrossthe country. Pages 14 and 15.

v Nilsen people, we show the latestappointments and our new NSWoffices. Page 16.

Our website will alwaysbe a work in progress,check it out atwww.nilsen.com.au.

02 Nilsen Review v May 2005

Nilsen Review v May 2005 03

You might see the same project in two ormore issues of our Review. Sometimes itcreates an impression that not a lotchanges. But how far from the truth isthat! Sure, many projects take a year ormore to complete, but what about thosethat progress at the rate of $1M or $2Ma month! Then there are those that takethe year (or more) but progress at anaverage rate of $1M per month for allthat time! That’s certainly not standingstill, is it?

Any business doing $100M to $200M insales per annum needs $8M to $16M inorders and sales each month. Well overhalf a million each and every working dayin orders to be won and work to be done.A formidable task in anyone’s language!

It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of effort.

But, like everything else, it is somethingour people do extremely well! Yet wedon’t always take the time toacknowledge the huge effort that has togo into it at the ‘pointy end’ of ourbusiness. Well, it’s time to put that right.Think about it, our business developmentpeople and estimators perform a crucialrole in ensuring Nilsen remains a leader.No orders, no business. It’s as blunt asthat. Theirs is a most critical role!

So, thank you to all involved in fillingour order books. Thank you estimators,business developers, supervisors,technicians, managers and everyonebringing in those extra opportunities.Your effort, in the face of some verytough and never-ending competition, isvery much appreciated by everyone in the company!

They say winners are grinners. Well ourpeople certainly win and grin often. And,is it great to see!

Here is an ‘around Australia roundup’ ofsome of the new orders won since ourlast Review.

A big ‘Thank You!’ to all who help make it happen.

v Western Australia A number of exciting new projects including largenew offices for Wesfarmers atSuburban Murdoch, in the Universityarea, for Western Australian BuildersMerit Projects.

v South Australia A real mix of projects,but the stand-out is the major new CityCentral Project for National Builder,Baulderstone Hornibrook on the cornerof King William and Waymouth Streets!Reproduced with permission fromWoods Bagot Architects.

v Northern Territory Defence,industrial and other worksincluding works at theLarrakeyah Naval Base forSteelcon Construction withSavant as project managerson behalf of the Departmentof Defence.

v New South Wales Anothergood mix, this project is forWoolworths MinchinburyDistribution Centre, aRefrigerated andTemperature Controlled40,000 sq m building withNational Builder HansenYuncken.

v Victoria Works for the GPOand many other projects,including the upgrade ofelectrical services at StationPier, a landmark andcertainly one many travellersto the ‘Apple Isle’ willrecognise.

v Queensland A wide varietyof projects, including thenew Energex substation atsuburban Newstead to meet the powerdemand of this ever-growing state.

If, as they say in contracting, “You are only as good as yourlast order”, then boy, are we in good shape!

See The Grinsfrom here!

City Central Project, South AustraliaCity Central Project, South Australia

Wesfarmers, Western Australia

Larrakeyah Naval Base, NT

WoolworthsMinchinburyDistribution Centre,NSW

Station Pier, Victoria

Energex substation, Queensland

Luckily, the rear imaging we are talkingabout is for the CitiLink project insuburban Melbourne. Our Victorian teamcompleted the original vehicleidentification project some years ago, anddid it to a very high standard. So it wasonly natural to be invited to do this lateststage. It is designed to read the rearnumber plates on the vehicles at the same time as the front plates arebeing read.

They say hindsight always has 20–20vision. If that is so, then CitiLink certainlyhas it now! The project involved work onlarge gantries over the busy freewaysacross the Melbourne metropolitan area.There was also the installation of powerand high speed data cabling, as well asthe readers and peripheral devices. Allcommunicating with the central computerand in real-time.

Is this is a typical project? Not really.But then, none of ours are. However, ithighlights the diversity of skills of ourcontracting teams across Australia. TheRear Imaging project in Melbourne, aTissue mill in the Green Triangle, Glassbottles in and just north of Adelaide,Liquefied Natural Gas in Darwin, Wharvesin Brisbane, Conveyors in the LatrobeValley, Smelting south of Perth, Telephonyand Data in Sydney and Adelaide, X Rayatom stripping in Melbourne, Cars andAutomotive parts in Adelaide.

They all appear different, yet are also similar. They are just some of our industrial projects underway around Australia.

At the same time, our contracting teams,in their usual ambidextrous way, are alsoworking on commercial buildings, retailcentres, hospitals, undergrounding (invarious places) and the like. You think ofit, our people are probably doing it anddoing it well.

No wonder it was contracting where we had our genesis. We’ve been doing it for almost ninety years! And ourexperience shows!


No, Of Course Not,darling! Any other answer, you’d be dead in the water. What’s thequestion you might ask? Well, imagine you are doing a‘Rear Imaging’ project. Could it be a little like “Does my … look big in these?”

Main pic: Giving CitiLink 20-20 vision.

1st row, l-r: Mining and processing; apetroleum refinery; a power peaking plant.

2nd row, l-r: Paper and tissue mills; a smelter.

3rd row, l-r: Contractors to Australia;communications and data.


I hope some of our readers have beenfortunate enough to hear the inspiringpresentation by Tom O’Toole, ‘The Bakerfrom Beechworth’. If there is nothing elseyou might remember, this little yarn wouldbe difficult to forget.

Tom discusses training with anothermanager, which I hope he doesn’t mindme passing on. The manager asks “Butwhat about if you train them and theyleave?” To which Tom quickly responds“Ah, but what about if you don’t train themand they stay!?!

And how true is that? Training, in anyorganisation, is critical.

That’s why training is at the heart of ourvision, mission and value statements. Inthese, we focus almost exclusively on ourpeople, our learning, our innovation, ouraccepting responsibility andaccountability, our interaction, and ourfocus to deliver value.

Our vision is ‘to be a leading electro-technology company operatingthroughout Australia deliveringinstallation, maintenance andmanufacturing services from inception to replacement, and to deliver value byengaging our people, evolving throughlearning, innovation and managing risk’.

These are not empty words. This isnowhere more evident than in our keystrategy, the development of our people.We want to help all achieve their highestreachable objectives. As part of thisstrategy we developed our unique Nilsen Management Program with one of the countries most respected business institutions, the MelbourneBusiness School.

The Nilsen Management program, or‘NMP’ as it has affectionately become

known, is a course comprising 6intensive live-in course modules overthree years.

Well, we are now three years on fromits launch and the first course hasbeen completed. No fewer than 10people, identified as current or futureNilsen Leaders, have successfullycompleted all the course modules.

Congratulations to all whoparticipated, we know the future ofNilsen will be in good hands.

But this is only one of a number oftraining initiatives. We passionatelyencourage completion of othermanagement and technical courses.As well, a number of our peopleattend other intense live-in courses,again to draw out that ultimatepotential. And we take particular pridein our apprentice training program, itsees many Nilsen trained people atthe top of the industry.

Is it making a difference? You bet!You see it everywhere. In our widevariety of work. In our excellenceawards. In the regard with which weare held in Industry. The commondenominator, the key difference, thatcritical competitive advantage?Our people!

but

Right, top – bottom: Victorian NMPGraduates – Stewart Joyce, GrahamBone, Kevin Gillman, Brian Steele;Western Australian NMP Graduates –Ross Blacklock, Garry Parker, TomLeitchman; South Australian NMPGraduates – Greg Hodby, David Clark.Northern Territory NMP Graduate; Mick Galletti.

Below: Some of our apprentices at work – Adam Nicholson (Contracting NT), Matthew Lockie, Daniel Dobruckie, Peter Redding and Arek Trella (Switchboards SA)and Alister Fleming (Contracting NT).

what if they stay?

What a bleak first day of Christmas forMercy Hospital! Forget that partridge in apear tree! Even Scrooge couldn’t havemade it a more miserable day.

At 3 o’clock on Christmas morning,smoke filled the basement and the threefloors above, of the 1970s hospital inEast Melbourne. About 70 firefighterswere needed to control the blaze.According to the press it was caused by afault in the hospital’s electricalswitchboard.

But fighting the fire was probably one ofthe easier tasks. Some one hundred andfifty patients had to be evacuated,including forty-four neonatal and intensivespecial care babies. Imagine all that, thesheer logistics of ensuring all weremoved safely. But where to? Think ofinstantly finding suitable facilities in analready very busy health system for thatmany, especially the little babies needingvery special high-intensive care!

Apart from that, at one stage it wasexpected more than 500 expectantmothers would also have to be diverted toother maternity hospitals whilst repairswere being done. Some possiblyinterstate. Best estimates were thehospital would be out of action for amonth or more!

But they didn’t count onthe Nilsen DisasterRecovery Team. Nilsento the rescue! Workingaround the clock, ourteam got the hospital re-opened in fourteen days.Yes, in half the time!During that time wereinstated all theelectrical cabling,designed, built andtested new replacementswitchboards andrecommissioned boththe electrical andmechanical systems. Aswell, all those thousandsof other unforeseen littlethings needed to makeit all work.

The result? No divertingneeded for many of thefive hundred mothers-to-be and no need for anybabies to be deliveredinterstate. AnotherNilsen DisasterRecovery success story!Another Nilsen mercydash. Special thanks toour Victorian ‘MercyTeam’. Things wouldhave been quitedifferent if it wasn’t for your very, veryspecial effort!

And why is it we have this ability toalmost turn the clock back whendisaster strikes? The quality anddedication of our people play animmense part. They are alwayscommitted to getting the facility‘back on the air’ no matter how. It isgood people who really make ithappen.

However, there are some otherparts to the success equation, other things that make Nilsen thenatural choice. It is because of ourtrue end-to-end service. Thisincludes our:

v Recognised project managers.v Skilled, specialist service teams.v In-house switchboard building.v Large skill resource base.v High Voltage expertise.v High Current expertise.v Substantial contracting expertise.v Ability to mobilize large teams.v Alliances with other disciplines.

It makes us the natural choice. Wehave dashed to many disasterrecovery emergencies aroundAustralia in the last few years,which has included major industrialplants and CBD buildings inSydney, Melbourne, Perth andAdelaide. Our Disaster RecoveryTeams, just another of our not-so-secret weapons in the disaster recovery war.


Mercy Mercy Dashanother Nilsen

But no partridge or pear tree!

Main pic: Sort this lot out!

Other pics, top - bottom: Birthplace for many Victorians; A mess, evenafter the clean-up; Where do youstart?; What a birds-nest!; Where isthe busbar?!; All in two weeks!; Safe working is paramount.

And also a state finalist!

During 2004, we nominated five reallydiverse projects for judging. They were:

v Next Generation Health Club, BibraLake, Western Australia.

v Kimberly Clark Major Expansion,Tantanoola, South Australia.

v Transformer Repair, BOC Gases,Hastings, Victoria.

v Automated Controls, Loy Yang MineDredgers, Victoria.

v Our South Australian OHS System.

Well, the recognition of Nilsen Excellencecontinued. Our people won another fourState Awards and one National Award.Again, an excellent result. Again, a creditto all our people. We just keep on doingwhat comes naturally, delivering workrecognised as the best in its field!

So, five more nominations, five awards!Another vintage year. Congratulations andthank you to all of you, our people, takingthe pride you take in your work and thecare in your safety! Certainly, in the eyesof the industry and the judges, your effortis not going unnoticed!

What about the 2005 Awards? We’llcertainly let you know the projects wenominated in the next Review!


Excellence Awardsfive

Transformer Repair, BOC Gases, Hastings, Victoria. A project that really shows how our High-Energy and Engineering Services teams are coming of age. They provided immediate pay-back during start-up of a new maintenance contract, detecting a serious fault in a criticaltransformer, preventing a financially catastrophic business interruption. The project was selectedas a finalist in the Victorian NECA Excellence Awards.

Next Generation Health Club, Bibra Lake, Western Australia. After our SA teamdelivered a Next Generation Health Club in SA some years ago, our WA team went onebetter. They not only delivered, but also won a State ECA Excellence Award for theirefforts! Offering a complete social environment, Next Generation Health Clubs are a wayof the future. Congratulations to our WA Contracting team for the way they completedthe most impressive Bibra Lake facility with local builder Perkins Brothers to the higheststandard and in good time.

Kimberly Clark Major Expansion, Tantanoola, South Australia. This was one of our majorprojects in 2004. It comprised a large, new tissue mill and two other major projects at onesite. All three delivered the same time. An excellent reward for our SA Contracting team’sbraving of a very wet winter in the coldest part of SA. The high quality HV and LV turnkey

installation exceeded our customers’ expectation and won our team not only a State NECAExcellence Award, but also a National NECA Excellence Award.

Automated Controls, Loy Yang Mine Dredgers, Victoria. Working smarter, not harderwas the keyword for our Morwell team. Taking on work previously the domain of muchlarger specialist companies, they used their expertise in mining and conveying to designand install a new system successfully improving efficiency for this major generator byoverlaying the existing dredger controls. The project won a Victorian NECA ExcellenceAward, one of a number of awards won by our small but very ‘switched on’ Morwell team.

OHS Systems: NECA introduced this new award focusing on OHS systems last year,recognising the critical importance of safety. Well, our SA Company, as well as nominatingthe Kimberly Clark project, nominated their OHS System for judging in this new category.Judging by the results, we have quite a focus on OHS, they were awarded the inaugural

NECA SA OHS, Large Company Award.

Many will have seen the latest advertising,‘Holden means a great deal to Australia’.A very clever slogan. Different meaningson different levels, depending where youplace emphasis. Unquestionably, Holdendoes mean a great deal to Australia, itwas there from the beginning ofAustralia’s motor vehicle industry. A littleparallel. Holden were a major force in theestablishment of the Australianautomotive industry, we would like tothink we have had some involvement withthe inception and growth of theelectrotechnology industry in these last89 years.

Holden also means a great deal to Nilsen.Only in the last few months, our teamsjust completed the electrical and datainstallation on the company’s new $200Mheadquarters in Victoria. At the sametime, we are also completing a jointHirotec facility for use by GM Holden (theHolden Company’s new name) andMitsubishi. Also in South Australia ourHigh-Energy teams provide manyswitchgear life extension services to bothcompanies and other automotiveindustries on a regular basis.

Two Nilsen companies, doing similarthings for the same customer. A co-incidence? No way! Quite the opposite!

We have many examples of differentNilsen companies working with the samecustomers. Here are just a few:

v ACI Bottle Plants in SA & NSW whereboth undertake extensive maintenanceand construction works.

v Multiplex Construction: the PerthConvention and Exhibition Centre andSydney’s World Square, Telstra Stadiumand Proximity projects.

v Hansen Yuncken: The Adelaide LawCourts and New Adelaide Airport andSydney’s Kirrawee Retirement Villageand Woolworths Warehouse are justthe latest in many projects across SA,Victoria and NSW.

v John Holland: Darwin’s RobertsonBarracks and Brisbane’s SouthbankTAFE and Wolston Park Hospital arejust a few combined projects.

v Baulderstone: Adelaide City Centraland Liberty Towers and many otherprojects around the country.

v Incitec: On-going maintenance at theirAdelaide and Brisbane Facilities.

v Alcan: Switchboards for their Gove NTand their Gladstone Qld refineries.

v Gandel: Midland Gate Shopping Centre in Perth and The ElizabethTown Centre in South Australia toname just two.

v Rio Tinto: Switchboards for Yandi andDampier Port upgrades in WA andother sites.

And so the list could go on and on. Allrespected customers. All impressiveprojects. A real sense of working togetherto make things happen.

We are in an exciting part of theelectrotechnology industry. Working withesteemed companies on all these manydifferent and impressive sites aroundAustralia. Creating change, creating thefuture, a real buzz!

I’m sure many of us find ourselves in aparticular spot from time to time to find ithas some familiarity. Then all of a sudden,you realize, “hang on, I was here someyears ago working on this very project!”It can be part of a city skyline, along aparticular city street, or out in the suburbsor the country. Then all that nostalgia hitsand you. Its almost like travelling backin time!

I’ll bet we are all proud of having madeeven only that little bit of difference onthese projects.

That’s what is exciting about our industry,we help create change and hopefullyleave our mark. Sometimes we mighteven be able to say, “Well if it weren’t forus, the outcome might have beendifferent, perhaps not as good”.

City skylines, country locations, suburbanareas, we’ve certainly helped ourcustomers and their customers leave theirmark. And, if this leaves us with a feelingof some pride, all the better, it shows thatwe really believe we tried to give it ourbest shot.

And what a mix of projects they are: newbuildings, refurbishments, new processes,new technologies, new methods, newcustomers and new outcomes. We’vereally helped change the skylines of mostcapital cities in Australia.

Thanks to you, all of our customers forletting us play our part. Our teams areworking hard to make today’s projects,tomorrow’s excellence awards.

The industry we’re in is exciting, it hastaught us all to stand on our own feetand it has given and continues to givegreat satisfaction!

Here are some of the projects that havehelped define change for us:


And so do Mitsubishi, Ford, Toyota and all our other loyal customers!

means a great deal

This page: Some of theskylines we’ve helped to change.

Holden


our other loyal customers!

deal

This page, main pic: A typicalexample of our diverse skills

Left column, top – bottom: Holdenhead office; Holden Adelaide plant;Hirotec Holden-Mitsubishi initiative;Santos House Adelaide; World Square Sydney.

Middle column, top – bottom:Chinatown Darwin; Central Plaza Brisbane.

Right column, top – bottom: RACV Melbourne; Convention Centre Perth.

There’s finding the time, then gettingpoked and prodded, doing any fastingand bringing along that essential sample.Then there is the apprehension of someunwelcome news.

But when you go to all that bother, theleast you would hope is that the doctordoes the job thoroughly. It is no goodgoing through all that, then taking a shortcut doing only some basic tests, only todo the same again next time. Do one ortwo tests only, you only get a very limitedview. And that would include the testingof your sample. It might give you ananswer that you would like to hear, but inthe long run something serious might goundiagnosed until it is too late.

Don’t have all the tests done and it canbe too late to fix the problem, too late toturn the clock back.

Oh, if only...

It’s your medical, it is important to get theearliest possible warning of any problem.

So, isn’t it just as important when you giveyour critical electrical plant its medical?You go to great lengths to get the poweroff, to make safe, to get the crew there,to get the test equipment there, then todo the tests, to power back up and torecommission and restart the process.Just doing all that is a major undertaking.Then add the loss of income during theoutage and you are looking at a majorinvestment in time and money, just to dothe tests!

Doesn’t it make sense to get themaximum benefit? And that includesdoing all the possible tests to check theelectrical plant’s well-being.

So where does the specimen come in?Well, for transformers and all other oil-filled devices, regular testing of the oil must be an essential part of anymaintenance program. But the choice ofwhat tests are done, just the basics or afully comprehensive set, is up to you.Sure, there may be a slight premium torun a more detailed series, but the costdifference is negligible when weighedagainst the whole cost of the shut. And,the savings in getting that early warningcould be huge.

One of our finalist excellence awardentries was a prime example, earlywarning saved our customer majortransformer repairs and a much-extendedunexpected plant shutdown!

So what do these tests do? Here is aquick overview:

Dissolved Gas Analysis: Tests for partialdischarge, internal heating and arcing,cellulose degradation and the presenceof leaks.

Furan Analysis (with estimated Degreeof Polymerisation): Tests for anyaccelerated of paper insulation and fordetermining any approaching end-of-life.

Particle Analysis: Provides informationon deterioration of materials which assiststoward identifying phenomena such ascoking, wear and depolymerisation.

Oil quality tests: Evaluates the conditionof the insulating fluid as well as assistingidentifying faults or failure modes.

Tap-changer Activity SignatureAnalysis: A diagnostic tool specifically for tap-changers to provide conditionassessment of load path components and assists toward prioritisingmaintenance activities.

The choice is yours. But, regardless ofwho does your critical electricalequipment servicing, we can’t stressenough: ensure the tests arecomprehensive, using the latesttechnologies.


Specimenplease!Going for a medical – to most of us, even at theminimum, it is a bit of a pain.

Main pic: It also happens to switchgear.

Smaller pics, clockwise from top left: Could this havebeen prevented?; Don’t do this prematurely; Got to it intime; Call for more information; Testing helps lookinside; Get early warning!

Look at what our Morwell team is up to.

They have only just finished celebratingthe win of their third (yes third!) NECAExcellence award for a dredgerautomation project. Now they have wonan order for another, a major mid-liferefurbishment of Yallourn open cutoverburden dredger D13.

The aim of the mid-life refurbishment isto extend its life by 30 years, involvingboth electrical and mechanical disciplines.

Similar to, but far more extensive than theprevious project, it involves digger andhopper automation. It is planned tosuperimpose a state of the art PLCsystem over the existing relay system. It is designed to provide automation formulti-tier digging.

As part of the project, all the controlpanels will also be replaced with touch-screen panels and a number of motorswill be fitted with variable speed drives to optimise operation. It will make thewhole process much more efficient withmore accurate location and less manualintervention. Another example of workingsmarter, not harder.

So, how big is this project?

Well, just imagine, these are not just thesort of machines you roll off the back of atruck or the type you assembleunderground. These digging machinesoperate in huge open-cut pits, as anyone

who has been to the ‘Valley’ well knows.They are huge, totally integrated miningmonsters. The type of thing that would doany science-fiction movie proud. To giveyou some idea, if you could sit one in theMelbourne Cricket Ground, or Sydney’sTelstra Stadium (ironically two more‘Nilsen’ projects) even putting themachine length-wise, you would haveconsiderable overhang at each end!

Imagine the automation on something sobig, travelling under its own power,digging away with a very high degree ofaccuracy and keeping connected to itsconveyors as it is going along. A veryformidable task in anyone’s language.

Project design is well under way and the team hopes (with any luck) we may not have to be commissioning onChristmas day!

Our modest Morwell team has certainlybuilt their own centre of excellence inlignite mining, conveying and theassociated activities. They have taken onwork that used to be the exclusivedomain of much larger, often multi-national companies and completedprojects as far a field as Thailand. In doing all this they have earnedthemselves the highest reputation in this highly specialised field.

Congratulations to the Morwell team, weare all proud of you!


Mid-life crisisin Morwell? Is it only people who have them? No, we found dredgershave them too!

Top – bottom: Dredger 13; You lose perception of scale; Another house-call;Twenty-four-seven mining; Controls; More controls; A dredge at work


Reruns are certainly not good repeats!But that’s not to say there are none. Ourswitchboard businesses definitely havesome classic examples of repeats theyreally, yes really, like.

So, are they sitting around watching theTV? No way! They haven’t the time! Why? They are building too manyswitchboards. So where does this fit inwith repeats? Well, they are counting allthe repeat orders!

The list of repeat orders reads like awho’s who in the serious switchboardbuyers guide. CSC stage 2, repeat ordersfrom Latrobe Valley power generators,works for major Telco’s Telstra in Adelaideand Nortel in Sydney, works for Shell andBP, two major petroleum refiners, moreworks for alumina refiners, more worksfor a major car plant and so the list goes on.

The mere fact of getting repeat orders isalready brilliant. But, it’s more than that.Some of the repeat orders are fromcustomers and sites to which we’ve beendelivering switchboards for the last thirtyand forty or more years!

And that is worth bearing in mind. TheseNilsen switchboards have been in servicefor those many years. Obviously they areperforming to expectation (or better) forthe customer to have sufficient faith toaward repeat orders! Our teams are wellaware that the switchboards they arebuilding today, are also expected toprovide equal service with the right

maintenance program. That will take themout to the 2030s, the 2040s and beyond!

Who knows what the world will look likethen? But regardless, it will be reassuringto know today’s Nilsen switchboards willstill be performing to expectation.

Our switchboard teams are proud of theNilsen history in manufacturingswitchboards. Proud, knowing their workwill still be performing in the middle ofthis century. Few companies have

delivered major switchboard projectsnationally for the last 30 or 40 and moreyears. Fewer are still here to support theirequipment. Fewer still now have a widermanufacturing base!

How have we done it? It’s our people!Well done, your efforts have seen ourswitchboards become an industry leader.

Main pic: A stacker-reclaimer unit.

1st row, l-r: We also package substations; Ourspecialty, major arc-fault design; Installation at

site is all part of the service.

2nd row, l-r: For another new glass plant; TheVersatile N Series; The widest range, MV and LV.

More repeats?yes please!If you were a television executive, you might think all your Christmaseshave come at once! Given the creativeness shown by some TVprogrammers (not!), it’s a wonder we are all not subjected to the twohundred and twelfth re-run of ‘I Love Lucy’.

The Roma Mitchell Arts EducationCentre on Light Square. This is one of anumber of educational facilities in thecities ‘West End’ for which we havebeen the electrical contractors. All arewithin a stone’s throw from one anotherand include the Adelaide TAFE, the oldLion Factory and the City West campusfor the University of South Australia.

The University of South Australia City West campus. Only by standing well back can you appreciate the immensity of this project. The campus is on North Terrace, a one-mile (1.6km in the new language) boulevard, which, for all the projects we’ve been involved with on it, should possibly be renamed Nilsen Terrace!


LandmarksNilsenChanging the world, usually meansleaving our mark. We are proud of themarks we leave, especially the landmarkprojects we have been involved in. In eachReview we try to show Nilsen landmarksin a particular State. We have beenaround the country a couple of times nowand this time it is again South Australia’s

turn. Here is just a glimpse of some ofthe work done by our SA team. And whata broad spread; hotels, offices, railwaystations, theatres, sporting venues,universities, colleges and law courts. Ifyou can think of it, we’ve probably done it!We hope they impress.

According to cricket buffs, AdelaideOval is one of the prettiest in the world.Definitely it must rate very highly. Ourassociation with it is certainlyconsiderable, only recently have wedone the lights and the new stands.Here is a view looking back to the city and yes, all the buildings in thebackground have also had that Nilsen touch.

Part of the Adelaide skyline from the river Torrens.There are at least ten separate buildings in thispicture, the Casino, the Hyatt, Parliament House, theMyer Centre, the Adelaide Railway Station and theRiverside Complex to name but a few. And we’vedone major works on all ten! As well as at the FestivalTheatre Complex just out of the picture!

The almost completed CommonwealthLaw Court is becoming a majorlandmark just off Victoria Square. It ischanging the city-scape in the Adelaide‘courts precinct’. Again one of a numberof major buildings in the vicinity wehave worked on.

Here is the latest collection of pictures.Another two pages from our ‘AroundAustralia’ album. More of our projectscurrently under way. As you can see, ourteams in the different states have againbeen very busy delivering quality and

variety. Versatility remains our byword, justlook at the different projects weundertake. Another nineteen projectsacross these pages that highlight ourpeople’s skills across Australia.


Album Keeps Filling!our

City East Mercy Hospital Cape Lambert

First Aviation Command Bent St Apartments Yarra Edge

Shaol Bay Station Entertainment Centre


Adelaide Casino Woolworths Distribution The Alfred

Caltex Lytton Larrakeyah Naval Base Dandenong Hospital

World Square Retail Queensland Alumina Vaughan Place Apartments

Scots Church Redevelopment Moreton Bay Aged Care Police forensic

Nilsen Electric (SA)100 Regency Road, Ferryden Park, SA 5010Phone:+61 (08) 8440 5300 Fax:+61 (08) 8347 0347Email: [email protected]

5 Pyne Close, Mt Gambier SA 5290Phone:+61 (08) 8725 2442 Fax:+61 (08) 8725 2327Email: [email protected]

Nilsen Electric (VIC)43 Sheehan Road, West Heidelberg, VIC 3081 Phone:+61 (03) 9450 1300 Fax:+61 (03) 9457 5261Email: [email protected]

71 Princes Drive, Morwell VIC 3840Phone:+61 (03) 5133 9127 Fax:+61 (03) 5134 4631Email: [email protected]. No. REC 6.

Nilsen Electric (WA)4 Park Place, Bibra Lake, WA 6163Phone:+61 (08) 9434 2311 Fax:+61 (08) 9434 2322Email: [email protected]. No. EC000982

5/1 Halifax Drive, Bunbury, WA 6230PO Box 5022, Bunbury DC, WA 6230Phone:+61 (08) 9726 0800 Fax:+61 (08) 9726 0866Email: [email protected]

Switchboards34 Wellard Street, Bibra Lake, WA 6163Phone:+61 (08) 9494 2499Fax:+61 (08) 9494 2488Email: [email protected]

Nilsen Electric (NSW)Unit 26/38 South Street Rydalmere NSW 2116Phone:+61 (02) 9898 9355 Fax:+61 (02) 9638 0343Email: [email protected]. No. 106784C

Nilsen Electric (QLD)2/53 Southgate Avenue, Cannon Hill, QLD 4170Phone:+61 (07) 3899 8866 Fax:+61 (07) 3899 8766Email: [email protected]

Gladstone, QueenslandPhone:+61 (07) 4979 4943Fax:+61 (07) 4979 4943Email: [email protected]

Nilsen Electric (NT)Unit 2/43 Berrimah Road, Berrimah NT 0828Phone:+61 (08) 8947 1134 Fax:+61 (08) 8947 3173Email: [email protected]

Oliver J Nilsen (Australia) Ltd37 Sheehan Road, Heidelberg West, VIC 3081Phone: +61 (03) 9457 5566Fax: +61 (03) 9459 5966

www.nilsen.com.auEditor - Peter Vandenheuvel

NilsenOur people, one of our key points of difference. On this page we like to recognise those who havejoined and those who have achieved. It is our people that make Nilsen great. Again, some newappointments, some career milestones, some transfers and some promotions. As well, and verynice to see, there are some coming back, a very good sign indeed! Here are the latest:

people

Paul Bailey: Joins our VictorianSwitchboard Division as a ProjectsCoordinator and has more than 20 years ofelectrical industry experience,predominantly in switchboards. Welcomeaboard, Paul. Rex Ball: Joins our very successful (andvery busy) Northern Territory team as anEstimator, a frontrunner at the pointy endof our business, keeping those orderscoming in. Welcome Rex!Ross Blacklock: Has been manager ofour very successful WA Service,Switchboards and High-Energy Divisionsand has now taken on the most senior rolein that state, General Manager of Nilsen inWA. Best wishes Ross! Ross is also one ofthree of our WA people to havesuccessfully completed the NilsenManagement Program and joins nineothers to be one of the first ten to do so.So double congratulations Ross!Graham Bone: Construction Manager,Contracting Vic, is one of four of ourVictorians to have successfully completedthe Nilsen Management Program and isalso one of the first ten to do so.Congratulations Graham!David Clarke: Senior Estimator,Contracting SA, is one of two of our SApeople to have successfully completed the Nilsen Management Program and isone of the first ten to do so.Congratulations Dave!Dave Coates: Was awarded the ‘SafetySupervisor of the Year’ award by MultiplexConstructions and Jonson BusinessConsulting Services on the World SquareProject in Sydney. Congratulations and welldone, Dave!Damien Cole: With the increasingworkload in Contracting Queensland, wewelcome Damien who has joined the teamin the important role of ContractsAdministrator. Welcome aboard. Damien!Adrian Creeden: Adrian has reached avery significant milestone with our SAContracting Division, clocking up twenty-five years and helping make SAContracting Number 1! Well done andheartiest congratulations, Adrian!Sean Drennan: Has been appointedPrincipal Electrical Engineer for ourVictorian Switchboards Division, includingproject design and management to helpkeep us at the cutting edge. Welcomeaboard, Sean! Mick Galletti: Is the only Territorian in the‘top end’ to have attended and successfullycompleted the Nilsen ManagementProgram and is also one of the first ten todo so. Congratulations Mick!Jacqui Gillman: Recently moved from ourVictorian Engineering Services Division toour Switchboard Division in that state. As Office Administrator she bringsconsiderable knowledge in this area. Welldone, Jacqui! Kevin Gillman: Senior Estimator,Contracting Vic, is another of fourVictorians to have successfully completedthe Nilsen Management Program and isalso one of the first ten to do so.Congratulations Kevin!Gary Glenn: Made the move from theSouth Australian Engineering Servicesoperations team to become AssistantOperations Manager to help the team copewith the increased orders. Good luck, Gary!Andrew Gray: Andrew Gray joins the NTteam as Contracts Administrator, keepingthose jobs running smoothly. In what lookslike it is going to be a busy place for sometime. Welcome aboard, Andrew.Rick Hobson: In the past has been one ofour key communications and data peopleand we are pleased to welcome him backas Victorian Contracting DivisionCommunications Manager. Welcome back, Rick!

Greg Hodby: Formerly Manager,Contracting SA, has now been appointedManager SA and NT. It is proof of ourpolicy to promote from within wherepossible and an exciting time for ourpeople in SA. Congratulations Greg! Gregis also the other of our two SA people tohave successfully completed the NilsenManagement Program and is also one ofthe first ten to do so. So doublecongratulations to Greg as well!David Holland: Joins our New SouthWales Contracting Team as ConstructionManager and will be looking after a widevariety of different work in this exciting city.Welcome aboard, David.Stewart Joyce: Sales and MarketingManager, Contracting Victoria is another ofour four Victorians to have successfullycompleted the Nilsen ManagementProgram and is also one of the first ten todo so. Congratulations Stewart!Geoff Masterton: Has returned to Nilsento take up a key role as the Estimatorwithin the Contracting Division. Geoffbrings back with him enhanced skills inautomation. Welcome back Geoff!Andrew Moulton: Joins our VictorianSwitchboard Division as ProjectCoordinator and Designer, two roles wherehis 24 years industry experience will be ofgreat help. Welcome aboard, Andrew!Chris Perez: With more and more focuson water management, joins our VictorianContracting Division in a BusinessDevelopment role to further develop thisarea of our business. Welcome aboard, Chris!Rob Schnitzerling: Has been promoted toManager of Queensland, to grow ourbusiness in this go-ahead state, from hisprevious role as Construction Manager ofthe Queensland Contracting Division.Congratulations Rob!Justin Shute: Joins our WesternAustralian High-Energy Division asSupervisor. He brings with him a greatdepth of knowledge servicing our largercustomers, especially in remote WA.Welcome aboard, Justin! Joe Smith: Twenty-five years with our SASwitchboard division, Joe is one of thoseunsung heroes that have helped makeNilsen Switchboards one of the industryleaders! Thanks for all those many yearsand many to come, Joe!Brian Steele: Manager of our VictorianSwitchboards operation is the other of ourfour Victorians to have successfullycompleted the Nilsen ManagementProgram and also one of the first ten to doso. Congratulations Brian!Arek Trella: Is one of the manyapprentices we train throughout Australia.He has the distinction of being our SouthAustralian Switchboards ‘Apprentice of theYear’ for 2004. Well done Arek!Neil Williamson: Joins our SA ContractingDivision as Estimator. Neil joins the verysuccessful estimating team, in theimportant ‘getting them’ area of ourbusiness, to keep those orders coming.Welcome aboard Neil!Fawad Yaqub: His16 years industryexperience will be very valuable to ourVictorian Switchboard Division as ProjectCo-ordinator and Estimator and will beinvolved with both the getting and doing.Welcome aboard, Fawad!Bernie Zappia: Joins our New SouthWales Contracting Team also as SeniorProject Manager to further build ourcapacity to deliver the wide variety ofdifferent work we do in the Sydney area.Welcome aboard, Bernie!

Our Sydney Officehas moved!With the continued growth of our SydneyOperation we have again outgrown ouroffices. You will now find our team at: Unit26/38 South St. Rydalmere NSW 2116.And to keep it all simple, there is no changeto our phone or fax numbers! How is that!

Just look on South Street for the buildingwith the big N!

review - Nilsen · review issue 15, may 2005 1916–2005 nilsen 89 years. electrical excellence

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Transcript of review - Nilsen · review issue 15, may 2005 1916–2005 nilsen 89 years. electrical excellence