2024 Conference
2024 Conference
Melbourne
The Association’s annual conference is set to take place on the 23rd and 24th of October at the Langham hotel in Melbourne, alongside the picturesque Yarra River. This year’s conference theme, “Success through People, Process, and Product“, is particularly relevant to businesses and industries operating control rooms. These elements are crucial for the effective and efficient operation of control rooms, ensuring ongoing success and development.
Attendees will have the unique opportunity to engage with experts from various industries that operate control rooms, as well as businesses offering support and expertise in this field. Case studies and technical presentations will be shared, allowing for the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
A highlight of the conference is the keynote address by Malcolm Wells DSC AM, a retired Brigadier from the Australian Army with extensive experience in control rooms both internationally (including Afghanistan) and domestically (such as during the Defence COVID-19 response).
The conference dinner, scheduled for the end of day one, offers a chance for networking among industry peers, accompanied by entertainment from Shane Jacobson, a well-known Australian actor, director, writer, and comedian.
Day two will feature site tours to selected control rooms in Melbourne, providing firsthand insights into their operations. The conference will conclude with an interactive workshop titled “Recruitment, Training, Retention, and Development,” focusing on the critical role of control room staff and strategies for their recruitment, training, and ongoing support.
The Association’s overarching goal of pursuing control room best practices underscores the value of attending this conference, promising attendees both valuable knowledge and networking opportunities to advance in this specialised field.
The Association is committed to maintaining a cost-effective event that offers exceptional value for money, ensuring a high-quality experience for all participants.
The 2024 ACRNA Conference will be held at The Langham, Melbourne’s premier luxury hotel desirably located on the banks of the Yarra River over looking the City of Melbourne. Please enjoy a conference delegate discounted room rate of 15%.
The Langham
1 Southgate Avenue, Southbank, Melbourne 3006
T: 61 (3) 8696 8888
View Website
The conference registration price of $999+GST is all inclusive of;
2 Day Conference
- Conference eve event
- Keynote speaker
- Presentations
- Site Visits
- Transport to and from site visits
- Panel discussions
- Interactive workshop
Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon teas on Days 1 and 2
- Networking drinks at the end of Day 1
- Conference 3 course Dinner and celebrity Dinner Speaker evening of Day 1
Extras
- 15% Discount on accommodation at The Langham Hotel
- ACRNA Membership
Registration fees
$849 (+GST) until 31st August or $999 (+GST) thereafter Cancellation Policy: If the conference is unable to proceed the Association will fully refund your conference registration fee. This does not include airfares, accommodation or other expenses.
For all those who attended the ACRNA Conference 2024 at the Langham Hotel in Melbourne (and enjoyed Shane Jacobson’s after dinner entertainment) the one word I would use to describe the conference is… “GREAT!” A very enjoyable two days were spent with our Control Room “tribe” exploring and sharing control room trials and tribulations around the conference theme of PEOPLE, PROCESS and PRODUCT.
Malcolm Wells started by giving us some perspective on how trivial our industrial control room problems can be – I’ve personally never had to quell rioting Papua New Guinea police officers!
Hamish Duff reinforced our growing relationship with the Australian Radio Communications Industry Association (ACRIA) by presenting state-of-the-art on all things radio communications
ACRNA’s own Claudio Cardile and Sam Mackenzie (both management committee members) gave us their perspective on Efficiency and Cybersecurity in the control room, while Natasha Thomas spoke of SICE (“see-thay”?) and cutting-edge control technologies.
After lunch, Paola Gonzalez educated us on implementing change at the DTP Traffic Centre, Mark Holmes gave his annual Circadian address on effective control room lighting, and Matt Rigano presented on a fancy new control room at Energy Queensland.
Then Dr Simon Rosalie had a very interesting presentation on control room change from a human cognitive perspective, Jill Collins of Transurban told us how Alarms Management improved control room operators workday, and John Chidgey on MkIII of Origin’s BCCR re-design.
Whew! All of this with wonderful MC-ing but very suspect dad-jokes of our very own Lacey Waller.
How nice was it, after a day full of presentations, to have a drink on the lovely Langham hotel balcony overlooking beautiful Melbourne on a still spring evening? Followed by many laughs by the hilarious Shane “Kenny” Jacobson.
Day 2 started with the ACRNA Annual General Meeting where all office bearers were confirmed (President=Paul Lewis, Vice-President =Trevor Franz, Treasurer/Secretary Gary Botley and Operations Mai Vang-McCormack). We then embarked on the traditional control room site tours followed by an informative debrief. We wrapped up with Russell Kronenburg’s excellent workshop on control room engagement.
I trust you enjoyed our 2024 conference as much as I did – please let us know by filling out the conference survey that was emailed on 28 October. I hope to see you at other ACRNA events throughout the next 12 months.