Uncoordinated street works can compromise asset integrity and create additional challenges for underground utility renewals.
Asset management is a never-ending commitment. Every day, utilities across Australia need to dig up roads to construct or replace critical infrastructure that delivers the essential services we all depend on. At the same time, councils and other road authorities are conducting vital re-sheeting, re-paving and beautification works to ensure that these roads are fit to service the community.
In these cases, completing works on time with minimal disruptions is a top priority, however, a lack of coordination and communication between asset owners lays the groundwork for failure.
This was the situation that one New South Wales council found itself in. After completing costly rehabilitation works to a section of a main road, the council found out that the local water authority needed to dig up that same section to renew a water main. If the two parties had the opportunity to coordinate their works, then the council could have delayed the rehabilitation work until the water authority had replaced the water main – saving significant costs and avoiding additional disruptions to the community. Unfortunately, this example is an all-too-common situation in the industry. Realising that there needed to be a better way for councils, road authorities and utilities to share their planned work programs, the Streets Opening Coordination Council (SOCC), developed a web-based, GIS-enabled platform, iWORCS (infrastructure WORks Coordination System).
SOCC CEO, Nabil Issa, said that the first generation of iWORCS was deployed in New South Wales in 2017 and its users have already seen numerous benefits.
“At the start of our journey, SOCC identified the mechanics of works coordination as an area that needed efficiency improvements to encourage wider participation. Up until then, coordinating work schedules between member organisations was done manually, and sometimes by chance, which was a time-consuming process,” Mr Issa said.
“The target set by SOCC was to have an operational system in place as soon as the concept was proven and development could be funded.
“In 2012, SOCC entered into a partnership arrangement with NSW Land and Property Information (LPI) to take this project forward. A proof of concept was trialed in the Burwood local government area (LGA) in 2013.
“I would like to acknowledge the leadership role of Mr. Michael McMahon, General Manager (then) of Burwood Council, for facilitating access to council resources and implementing the proof of concept in his LGA. The proof of concept was also supported by several other councils and utility asset owners including Jemena, Ausgrid and Sydney Water.
“Burwood Council has a geographic area of only 7km2. Despite its relatively small area, the proof of concept identified that approximately $250,000 could have been saved if all projects completed over the preceding 12-month period had been coordinated.
“The next stage in the journey was to build a scalable commercial platform. SOCC teamed up with a software service provider to build the iWORCS platform, which was completed and implemented in April 2017.”
Over the next seven years, SOCC continued to enhance the platform. In 2024 SOCC partnered with software provider, PelicanCorp, to deliver the next generation of the software and make it available across Australia.
“We chose PelicanCorp because it has been in the business of providing software solutions to councils and utility asset owners in Australia and abroad for more than 20 years,” Mr Issa said.
“SOCC has had a long association with PelicanCorp through the NSW/ACT Dial Before You Dig service. Their first business engagement was to develop the business requirements specification for iWORCS in 2011.”
Street smart
SOCC has been dedicated to reducing financial waste and public inconvenience through improved coordination of street works since it was founded in 1909.
André Aravena, Council of the City of Sydney; Stuart McDonald, Sydney Water.
Image: SOCC
With the growth of the City of Sydney’s infrastructure in the early 1900’s and the continual and independent digging of trenches to lay utility services, the need for a coordinating authority was recognised and SOCC was established under direction of the Royal Commission for the Improvement of Sydney and Suburbs. In 1995, SOCC was reconstituted to cover the whole of New South Wales.
Mr Issa said that SOCC’s mission is to foster a culture of collaboration and consensus among member organisations – and this goal was the driving force behind iWORCS.
Uncoordinated street works present several critical challenges, including financial waste, public inconvenience, and reduced asset integrity due to repeated excavation and repairs.
By improving communication among stakeholders, iWORCS ensures that everyone is on the same page, and can identify potential conflicts and opportunities for collaboration early in the project lifecycle.
IWORCS also provides early visibility of works and early email alerts to planners, designers and project managers about upcoming works.
This foresight enables better planning and coordination, reducing the likelihood of overlapping projects and associated costs.
Coordinated planning results in fewer disruptions to road users and prevents unnecessary excavation, minimising social and environmental costs and extending the lifespan of assets.
iWORCS makes light works
As a long-term supporter of both SOCC and iWORCS, the City of Sydney has been working with the platform since the initial pilot.
City of Sydney Senior Engineer, André Aravena, said that it is increasingly important for all levels of government, as well as utility authorities, to explore new opportunities to minimise the impact of underground utility works on the community and to share information for efficiency.
“iWORCS has the potential to deliver on both of these goals,” Mr Aravena said.
“Our infrastructure works programs are extensive and complex, and iWORCS is an automated online platform where government agencies, utilities and councils securely share their future works programs. The program identifies clashes and opportunities so that participants can then coordinate their infrastructure works.
“iWORCS has helped reduce disruption to communities by ensuring that we minimise the number of times works are required for a section of roadway or footway. This results in improved social, environmental and financial outcomes.”
Mr Aravena said the platform recently helped the City of Sydney collaborate with Sydney Water on its Woolloomooloo Wastewater/Stormwater Separation Project.
“As Sydney Water and the City of Sydney were both using iWORCS, we were able to derive immediate benefits for the community by improving coordination with the City’s Road Resurfacing program and avoiding the cost and disruption of any unnecessary duplicated work,” he said.
Mr Issa said that if utilities and councils don’t have visibility of other each other’s proposed works before undertaking new projects, they’re exposing themselves to unnecessary additional costs, possible delays and reputational risk.
“Works coordination should be an integral part of any project management lifecycle. The cost of joining the collaborating community is insignificant and can turn out to be the best investment councils and utilities can make,” he said.
On a national level, Mr Issa estimates that the potential savings from works coordination to run into tens of millions of dollars annually.
“I encourage road authorities across Australia to make woks coordination mandatory for all future projects involving road works,” Mr Issa said.
“iWORCS is available nationally. Given current sustainability issues and resource constraints, we cannot afford to continue to ‘fly blind’.
Having visibility of other proposed works gives utilities and councils an unparalleled opportunity to minimise risks and overall project costs.
“The uptake of the second generation of iWORCS (iWORCS II) has been swift. In less than three months, we have had 15 Councils and three utilities sign up, and the collaborating community is growing week after week.”
Mr Aravena said that while iWORCS has already resolved a very long-standing challenge for the City of Sydney Council, it has the potential to deliver even greater benefits for the industry Australia-wide.
“If more organisations sign up to the platform, we will uplift the consistency of approach across the sector and extend its benefits for the community.”
Featured image: Michael Leslie/shutterstock.com.
