By Geoffrey Smith, Chief Executive Officer
Digital engineering integrates data and models across disciplines, supporting lifecycle activities from concept to decommissioning. It enables engineers to work in a digitised environment, fostering agility and innovation by exploring possibilities virtually. This digital environment allows engineers to test and analyse designs virtually before they're built, which can help identify and fix problems early on.
This article highlights how philanthropic partnerships helped ASA’s data analysts gain new knowledge in digital engineering, enabling our neurodivergent team and creating tomorrow’s workforce to meet the high demand for these skills.
When ASA was conceived in 2020, we focused on creating careers in the geospatial profession for young neurodivergent adults. However, we began identifying opportunities in digital engineering and discovered that our people were interested in gaining skills in this burgeoning field.
Recognising the strengths of our neurodivergent team, we built a unique foundation for our digital engineering services. Firstly, we received critical training and capability-building funding from a visionary philanthropic partner to start our Digital Engineering division. We strategically invested in our neurodivergent leaders, leveraging their expertise in telecommunications engineering with Ventia to guide the team. ASA further bolstered capabilities by providing staff with licences and training in cutting-edge technical hardware and software like Autodesk Revit, Revizto and more. To ensure long-term success, we also prioritised wrap-around support and career scaffolding, ensuring team members had the resources and guidance to thrive in their newfound digital engineering careers.
We built the team by promoting two of our neurodivergent data analysts into critical positions: Samuel Anderson (Program Manager) and Harrison Mobbs (Program Coordinator). Neither had any previous experience or qualifications in digital engineering. Sam was one of our first employees to start at ASA in 2020, working on geospatial projects. Before joining ASA in 2022, Harrison had to work multiple casual jobs to make ends meet. At ASA, he initially learnt AutoCAD to document Australia’s fibreoptic cable rollout.
We obtained new software licences, invested in new computing power, and provided staff with certified training in industry standard software such as Revit and Revizto. This has equipped the team with additional experience to enable better project delivery and career outcomes. We also provided personal and professional support via our People Success Officer (PSO) team. All staff went through neurodiversity in the workplace awareness training. A digital engineering thought leader was brought in to mentor the team. Finally, one of our board members, Emma Charlton from AECOM, provided crucial project management training.
Since then, our Digital Engineering team has flourished. ASA has supported Acciona Engineering and Design, particularly in delivering thousands of As-built drawings for various infrastructure projects. This increased Acciona's efficiency and highlighted the positive impact of employing neurodivergent people who excel in these tasks. This collaboration demonstrates the power of innovation and shared goals in achieving success within the engineering industry.
Daniel Easter, Digital Engineering Manager at Acciona Engineering and Design, said,
"Embracing diversity in the construction industry is not just essential; it's the cornerstone of building an inclusive and fair workplace. Our collaboration with ASA has not only deepened our relationship but has also empowered us to embed and transition ASA staff into our team seamlessly. This newfound approach has enabled our Digital Engineering Team to welcome new neurodiverse talent, igniting a positive transformation in our workforce. It's been an exhilarating and fulfilling journey for my team and me, and we're eagerly anticipating extending this partnership throughout our entire organisation."
ASA also assisted FSC Range with the detailed design of the St Leonards Boat Ramp. This collaboration not only benefited FSC Range with this specific project but also provided valuable work experience for ASA's young neurodivergent staff, contributing to their professional development in the digital engineering field.
Edla Ücker, Digital Engineering Manager at FSC Range, said,
“ASA analysts assisted FSC Range in updating 2D design documents and produced a 3D Revit model for the St Leonards Boat Ramp upgrade, including ramp widening, layouts and geometry. This helped us create a streamlined process for new updates, reducing future effort. We found that the ASA team learned and applied their new digital engineering skills quickly, and seeing them grow personally and professionally is exciting. We can see the technical and social benefits of working with ASA on similar jobs in the future."
3D model of the St Leonards boat ramp upgrade in Victoria
Our team is also undertaking large tranches of work for Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), recently landing a large contract. Our analysts are undertaking Building Information Modelling (BIM) for the Brisbane International Terminal, which will be critical for future air traffic growth, including that for the 2032 Olympics. For this project, ASA's digital engineering team provides BIM services for Enterprise Asset Management system import and operations. The work uses a range of inputs, including point cloud scans and as-built documentation, to develop a BIM using Revit, which covers electrical, structural, fire, mechanical, and hydraulic assets. In addition to modelling, element attributes are updated by confirming that the model's metadata meets BAC's Level of Detail and Level of Information standards.
The investment in our Digital Engineering stream has had an enormous social impact. At the time of writing (6 months post-grant injection), ASA had over 22 staff trained in 10 Digital Engineering technologies (Revit, Revizto, AutoCAD, Civil3D, Navisworks, Microstation, Solibri, Autodesk Construction Cloud, Recap Pro, and ProjectWise). This includes 10 data analysts cross-trained from ASA’s telecommunications projects, such as Harrison and Keeton. Our partner clients are also helping build capacity. For example, Acciona staff kindly donate their time so that all ASA staff are involved with digital engineering fundamentals sessions.
Nine analysts have been promoted to permanent positions. Six have also transferred to permanent positions outside of ASA independently with our support to employers such as the Australian Federal Police, Powerlink, Telstra and Sonic Healthcare. Two people are transitioning their employment to partner clients like Acciona Engineering and Design. The team has won $1.5 million worth of new business. Analysts have worked thousands of hours on digital engineering projects.
Digital engineering is transforming the engineering profession. By embracing these trends, our data analysts can develop better outcomes for Australia’s engineering needs faster and more efficiently. These technologies will provide more informed decision-making, enhance project collaboration and communication, enable time and cost savings to construction and asset lifecycles, create more sophisticated simulations, automate design optimisation, and enable predictive analytics. This will allow engineers to explore more design possibilities in less time and with greater confidence. A robust digital engineering framework will ensure that relevant stakeholders have access to the latest information, improving collaboration and efficiency.
We’re helping create the digital engineering workforce of tomorrow. We can’t wait to see what the future brings!