The Association celebrated its ten-year anniversary with a very successful conference at the Star Hotel in Brisbane. Over one hundred and fifty attendees attended the two-day conference which featured a number of presentations from industry representatives as well as a programme of technical site tours to operational control rooms within Brisbane. Attendees were from a diverse mix of industries with sixty organisations representing Industry Regulators, Utilities (water, gas, electricity), Transport (rail, road, air), Mining, Local Government, Federal Agencies (BOM, Defence), Education, Health, Surf Lifesaving and private consultants who provide support and expertise to control room operation.
The theme of this year’s conference was Control Room Resilience. Day one was hosted by Mark Holmes who is one of the founding members of the Association. The conference was opened by the Associations president Trevor Frantz. Trevor was instrumental in coordination the conference and developing a very engaging and informative two day event.
On day one, ten presenters provided the conference attendees with their experience and knowledge in a wide range of topics. The opening keynote address was delivered by Alan Steele from AirServices Australia. Alan presentation was “OneSKY: Unifying Australia’s Skies for a New Era” and summarised the project being undertaken by Airservices and Defence Airservices to implement a national integrated capability, enabling common civil-military situational awareness through seamless sharing of airspace data and secure information. For the first time, civil and military controllers will operate from the same national air picture.
The other presenters and their topics were:
- Jordan Barlett, ProActive Design – Mission Critical Performance & Operational Capacity
- Andrew Preece, Bureau of Meteorology – From Forecasts to Foresight
- Cameron Messer, Dept of Transport and Main Roads, QLD – Building Queensland’s Transport Coordination Centre for Safer, Smoother and More Reliable Travel Before, During and After Brisbane 2032
- Mark Holmes, Circadian Australia – Sustainable Control Room Operator Shift Work Resilience
- Martin Cook, Surf Lifesaving QLD – Expanding our Reach – The Evolution of the Surf Life Saving Queensland Coastal Safety Network
- Matt Corney, Powerlink – Delivering Resilience, Reliability and Real-time Control
- Bill Webb, Australian Energy Market Operator – Keeping the Lights On in the National Electricity Market
- Brendan Eggins, Userful – Confessions of a Tech Addict: Technology Can’t Fix Everything
- Fiona McDonald, Absolute Ergonomics – Control Centre Design: Moving from Good to Great!
Following the days’ presentations the Association facilitated a networking opportunity for all attendees with drinks at The Star. One of the major aims of our conferences is to provide this opportunity to facilitate interaction between the operators of control rooms and the industries that support them.
The day concluded with the conference dinner which was attended by over one hundred and twenty of the conference participants. Attendees enjoyed a three course dinner with drinks. Following the main course our dinner guest speaker Matt Hall, a former RAAF Wing Commander, Iraq combat veteran and Red Bull Air Race World Champion. Matt provided an enlightening overview of his career and the challenges he faced and opportunities he experienced. He shares his lessons in leadership, risk management and high performance and a frequent theme of his presentation was, as a young boy, to follow your dreams and desires and not be over influenced by others. Matts’ story was a perfect way to end day one of the conference.
Day two began with the Association’s Annual General Meeting. As a not-for-profit organisation, the Association is required to hold an AGM, which also gives conference attendees an opportunity to learn more about its work. After the AGM, attendees took part in technical tours provided at no cost by supporting organisations. This year’s tours included the following:
- Energy Queensland
- Royal Brisbane Hospital
- SEQ Water
- Powerlink
- Australian Energy Market Operator
- Virgin Operations Centre
- Origin
- Brisbane Air Traffic Services (new centre being constructed- non operational)
- QLD Emergency Operations Centre
- Brisbane Traffic Management Centre, Transport and Main Roads
Participants were transported to the various sites where they toured the control rooms briefed on their operation.
Following the tours and lunch participants attended a workshop conducted by the National AI Centre – AI in the Control Room – Beyond the Hype. This workshop was facilitated byAdrian Cullen, Emma Haller and their team from The National AI Centre. The National AI Centre (NAIC) is the Australian Government’s lead body supporting industry to unlock the economic benefits of AI. The NAIC is a part of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, established in 2021. They work with businesses, not for profits and industry to support practical adoption of AI. Judging from the level of attendance and active participation in the workshop it was confirmed that AI and its use in control rooms is a very topical.
Feedback from conference attendees confirmed the importance of the association’s conference and the opportunity they provide to further enlighten the operators and supporters of control rooms on their evolving needs as technology changes.