Josh Clark Shares TI Dam Safety Approach in NZ

How do you simplify systems around dam safety management without compromise, using tools already available to most organisations?

That’s the focus of a presentation by Tasmanian Irrigation’s Dam Safety Engineer, Josh Clark, and Water Engineer Liam Guest from Pinion Advisory, to the peak bodies for dam safety in Australia and New Zealand.

“We wanted to demystify Dam Safety Management Systems and at the same time present a practical approach that other asset owners could adopt in their organisations,” Josh said.

“Over the past two-year period, we developed a Dam Safety Management System which aligns with all regulatory and best practice requirements, and in the past year we have implemented this utilising Microsoft SharePoint capabilities to deliver a robust whole-of-business management platform.

“What we want to share with other asset owners is that it doesn’t have to be costly or complex to implement an approach to dam safety that ensures asset integrity and the safety of communities, infrastructure and the environment.”

Josh and Liam shared their learnings at the joint conference of the New Zealand Society on Large Dams (NZSOLD) and the Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD) in Christchurch.

“It was a very proud moment to stand in front of leading Australian and New Zealand dam engineers to report that Tasmanian Irrigation’s Dam Safety Management System is a well structured, transparent and auditable framework that aligns with key industry standards,” Josh said.

“We are hoping that the managers of large dam portfolios across both countries have been able to take on board many of our learnings so that we as an industry can continue to set new benchmarks of excellence across dam safety.”

Josh and Liam detailed how they incorporated the needs of dam owners managing diverse and geographically diverse assets in conjunction with governance, regulatory compliance, evolving engineering standards and stakeholder expectations.

Tasmanian Irrigation manages a portfolio of 23 dams across the State. The Dam Safety Management System (DSMS) was designed to ensure Tasmanian Irrigation meets its obligations as a responsible dam owner, meets industry best practice standards and complies with all legislation.

Josh said 14 elements integrating technical, organisational and procedural aspects of dam safety were incorporated into the DSMS, including operations and maintenance; training and competency; asset life cycle; risk assessments; infrastructure security; and reporting.

“The system sets up a whole-of-organisation approach to effectively managing dam safety, establishing a series of accountable targets for each person, including the dam safety engineer, the chief operating officer, contractors, the CEO and others,” he said.

“We also shared with conference delegates the results of internal and external audits, which revealed dam safety was well embedded in the Tasmanian Irrigation culture and compliance was at a very high level.

“Our thanks go to ANCOLD and NZSOLD for organising this conference and helping to emphasise the importance of robust dam safety management programs, monitoring and operational measures to best manage dams across our countries.”