Sean Robinson has worked at Central Highlands Regional Council in Queensland for two and a half years, and currently holds the position of Infrastructure Project Engineer.
He started at Council in June 2012 with a month’s work experience, and returned in November that year to close out procedures required following the 2010/11 natural disaster event in the region.
He was later given the role of Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) Technical Officer, where he developed new tools for Council’s flood management.
“While working with supervisors after Tropical Cyclone Oswald, I developed the data capture and management procedures Council now uses as an approach for all flood events.
“Following on from this I was directly involved in the generation, consultation and delivery of the 2013 Restoration and Betterment Submissions.”
Councillor Gail Godwin-Smith nominated Sean as a high achiever for his work on an upgrade of the Arcadia Valley Road.
“This was his first big job and in a very remote part of the council area.
“This involved a pave and seal project and required him managing a team and living in a makeshift camp in the very remote but beautiful Arcadia Valley.”
The upgrade was funded through Royalties for the Regions programs and is nearing completion.
Sean said the scope of this project has expanded during his time working on it as new funding sources became available. The project’s budget now totals $13.57 million.
“The project is aimed at upgrading the existing unsealed road to a standard that will cater for future traffic demands inclusive of gas exploration and pumping infrastructure movements.
“The final delivery will result in 37km of road upgraded to a sealed road, both improving access for industry but also providing improved all weather access to local landholders.”
In April this year Sean graduated from James Cook University with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering.
Sean said that the support he receives from council is second to none.
“Recently through the support of Council I have obtained a Diploma in Project Management.
“As a requirement for the diploma, through support from managers and colleagues alike, I was able to develop a model through investigation of both current and past activated events representing a significant benefit of the current NDRRA Betterment program through the elimination of repetitive restorative treatments.”
Sean said that the highlights of his career have been helping local communities recover from natural disasters.
“In the early stages of the 2013 NDRRA restoration as a result of Tropical Cyclone Marcia, I worked closely with a number of consultants in order to accurately define the restoration sites based on the newly released guidelines and procedures.
“This developed processes and procedures outlining the manner in which Councils approach, manage and close out NDRRA projects.
“These documents have now been documented in Council’s Quality Assurance systems and have been verified by Queensland Reconstruction Authority.
“This was a specific challenge given that in the past Council did not have the resources to effectively manage the NDRRA program.”
