Ben has been a key team member with NDY’s Melbourne office for over 16 years, originally with a technical focus on hydraulic services design. As a project leader and project director, he has successfully led many complex multidiscipline project teams.
Ben is currently part of the Melbourne office executive team and is responsible for activity within the civic market sector, where he is considered a leader in design delivery and stakeholder engagements, working closely with our clients who specialise in this market.
Here, Ben reflects on his childhood fascination for how and why things work, being able to contribute to a project’s sustainability goals through good hydraulics design and he shares his thoughts on a recent career highlight, the advanced-manufacturing biopharmaceutical facility CSL Seqirus Project Banksia.
What inspired you to become an engineer?
As a child I always had a fascination with the how and why of how things work and how they are built. A natural affinity for maths and science based subjects at school made studying engineering an obvious choice for me. It was really only once I was at university that I began to fully appreciate how the breadth and depth of engineering in all its forms is the backbone to so much of the world we live in and it is exciting and inspiring to be able to say that I’m a part of that.
Why hydraulics engineering?
I didn’t set out to pursue a career in hydraulic engineering and in fact knew very little about it as a possible career pathway, but an opportunity came up when I first started at NDY to join the hydraulics team as a graduate and I haven’t looked back. I enjoy the variety of projects and challenges that I have been able to involved with in this sector, in particular, being able to contribute to the sustainability goals of projects through things such as water harvesting and re-use solutions and electrification of traditionally gas fired systems such as domestic hot water.
What’s your career highlight project?
CSL Seqirus Project Banksia is a recent highlight. NDY is the principal design consultant for this advanced-manufacturing biopharmaceutical facility in Melbourne. Working closely with CSL Seqirus, we’ve delivered a state-of-the-art facility design that will transform vaccine production and address public health demands. The project holds immense national and global significance and will enhance the global influenza manufacturing supply chain.
Tell us about the hydraulics engineering on this project.
The hydraulic services for this project needed to comply with both PC2 and PC3 physical containment requirements for laboratory spaces and selected clean room spaces as well as the requirements for Grade B, C and D clean rooms.
A key function of the hydraulic services in the flu cell culture building was to convey process waste from clean room areas to the area of the building where it is treated prior to discharging to the sewer system. The interface points between the “dirty utility” hydraulic drains and the process connection points required a level of accuracy (almost to the millimetre) that is not seen in other types of buildings to avoid the need for costly re-work of process piping systems. To achieve this, we utilised a federated BIM model that consolidated all consultant models and allowed us to run clash detection to a high level of accuracy.
What innovative new approaches are you seeing when it comes to hydraulics engineering?
As with many industries, we would expect that the use of AI tools to help streamline the design process will continue to grow. There is also a continued push on the construction side of the industry to utilise modular and prefabricated plumbing systems to realise construction efficiencies.
Where do you see the future of hydraulics engineering heading?
There will be a continuing and increased focus on hydraulic design solutions to meet sustainability outcomes in the future. In particular there will likely be a big push for buildings to achieve net zero water targets which will require the implementation of innovative building-based water harvesting, re-use and water reduction strategies as well as working with external supply authorities, council and government to realise opportunities for larger scale water recycling.
What legacy do you want to leave, when it comes to your career?
I’d like to think that I have contributed to projects that have made people’s homes, communities and workplaces happier and healthier places to be and have helped to reduce their impact on the environment. I would also like to have had a positive impact on other peoples careers by sharing my knowledge and experience with younger engineers.
What is it like for young engineers in hydraulics?
Being a young engineer in this field can be just as interesting and rewarding as the more traditional engineering fields such as mechanical or electrical engineering and provides as much of a technical challenge, with significant crossover into these other disciplines (should this be a path that you want to take). There is always going to be a strong demand for technically oriented hydraulic engineers within the industry.
