Environmental sustainability, cycling, safety and social factors are becoming ever more important considerations in the development of new projects around NZ, as is the improved efficiency of freight logistics. These and other industry trends were explored in the recent Transportation Group Conference attended by Steve Griffith and Sharon Wilder.

Steve also noted increased coverage on how the transport needs of the future are becoming integrated with the ways in which we share and access information to work and play, especially in areas such as autonomous vehicles and V2X (vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure) development.

The event also marked the 100th anniversary of engineering in New Zealand. Comparisons were made with past engineering ”revolutions” to suggest that this recent move towards the integration of information technology might signal a significant paradigm shift.

How far has this technology come? The video below shows BMW’s new Self-Driving 330i smash Stig’s record round the Top Gear track. It’s pretty impressive.

Michael Kwok and Rob Lorden gave a presentation at the Auckland Transport Infrastructure Forum, held at the end of November. The forum’s focus was on ways Auckland Council, Auckland Transport management, contractors, public transport service providers, consultants, construction companies, Auckland businesses and academics can work towards the planning, implementation, management and achievement of the best possible transport outcomes for Auckland.

Their presentation, on Intelligent Procurement, analysed the latest innovative and imaginative procurement models and assessed which worked best for different types of work. It also explored the ways in which the client can think creatively in terms of procurement based on obtaining successful outcomes, while avoiding legal ramifications. They drew particularly on their experiences of Early Contractor Involvement contracts and looked at how Intelligent Procurement can be used to improve procurement processes for professional services and physical works contracts.