A robust integrated streamflow forecasting framework for Australian water information and management agencies. This project aims to deliver an accurate and reliable seasonal streamflow forecasting system for Australian water users by developing a flexible rainfall-runoff modelling approach integrated into a Bayesian inference and prediction framework. These scientific developments aim to significantly advance the operational capabilities of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to deliver robust ....A robust integrated streamflow forecasting framework for Australian water information and management agencies. This project aims to deliver an accurate and reliable seasonal streamflow forecasting system for Australian water users by developing a flexible rainfall-runoff modelling approach integrated into a Bayesian inference and prediction framework. These scientific developments aim to significantly advance the operational capabilities of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to deliver robust streamflow forecasts to water agencies such as South East Queensland Water and others across Australia. Accurate predictions of future water flows are of tremendous value to urban and rural Australian communities whose economic prosperity, water security and social well-being depend on reliable estimates of water availability.Read moreRead less
Microbiologically Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking in Underground Mines. Premature brittle failure of rock & cable bolts due to stress corrosion cracking can cause fatalities and serious damage, and has been reported in several mining operations across Australia and world-wide. The evidence suggests that microbial activity is a contributing factor. The project aims to implement experimental methodologies to determine the specific conditions responsible for bolt failure and develop novel prevent ....Microbiologically Induced Stress Corrosion Cracking in Underground Mines. Premature brittle failure of rock & cable bolts due to stress corrosion cracking can cause fatalities and serious damage, and has been reported in several mining operations across Australia and world-wide. The evidence suggests that microbial activity is a contributing factor. The project aims to implement experimental methodologies to determine the specific conditions responsible for bolt failure and develop novel prevention techniques applicable in underground mines. The benefits of this research will be improved understanding of the environment causing catastrophic failure of bolts and avoidance of potential hazards & economic loss in mining projects. This will lead to improved safety & increased productivity in mining operations.Read moreRead less
Employment Relations Practices and Business Outcomes in a Chain of Hotels. We will investigate links between organisational behaviour and business outcomes by using employment-relations key performance indicators (KPIs). This is significant as we will develop such KPIs (building on the balanced score card approach) and evaluate the practices of Accor, a chain of hotels in Australia. Later, we will conduct international collaboration to draw international comparisons too. This research is valuabl ....Employment Relations Practices and Business Outcomes in a Chain of Hotels. We will investigate links between organisational behaviour and business outcomes by using employment-relations key performance indicators (KPIs). This is significant as we will develop such KPIs (building on the balanced score card approach) and evaluate the practices of Accor, a chain of hotels in Australia. Later, we will conduct international collaboration to draw international comparisons too. This research is valuable because hotels are important employers, especially in regional areas. The results should contribute to debates about high-performance work systems. We should be able to help to improve the quality of working lives, organisational performance, business outcomes, competitiveness and job opportunities.Read moreRead less
Bridging the Gap Between the Provision and Utilisation of Work-life Policies. The provision of work-life policies in Australian organisations is not enough to guarantee widespread utilisation. Under-utilisation may lead to role conflict and sub-optimal work-life balance for many employees. The aims of the project are to: (i) identify the barriers and enablers of policy usage; (ii) implement a multi-level strategic intervention; and (iii) develop a comprehensive, best-practice program which addr ....Bridging the Gap Between the Provision and Utilisation of Work-life Policies. The provision of work-life policies in Australian organisations is not enough to guarantee widespread utilisation. Under-utilisation may lead to role conflict and sub-optimal work-life balance for many employees. The aims of the project are to: (i) identify the barriers and enablers of policy usage; (ii) implement a multi-level strategic intervention; and (iii) develop a comprehensive, best-practice program which addresses under-utilisation. The significance of the research is its development and evaluation of implementation strategies, using a quasi-experimental design, which will result in a program allowing employees and organisations to utlilise work-life policies for maximum benefit with minimal negative consequences.Read moreRead less
Work-life balance in the construction industry: Innovative strategies for improving employee well-being and performance in project management teams. The need to balance work and family is an important social issue facing Australia. The aim of the project is to develop specific strategies to improve work-life balance outcomes, particularly in relation to performance and well-being for employees in the highly competitive construction industry. The significance of the research is in the (i) develop ....Work-life balance in the construction industry: Innovative strategies for improving employee well-being and performance in project management teams. The need to balance work and family is an important social issue facing Australia. The aim of the project is to develop specific strategies to improve work-life balance outcomes, particularly in relation to performance and well-being for employees in the highly competitive construction industry. The significance of the research is in the (i) development of the work-life balance construct as a multidimensional one based on time, involvement and satisfaction; (ii) focus on under-researched male employees and (iii) use of an innovative, applied, experimental design. The research will yield new insights into the determinants of successful work-life balance and inform policy development which is consistent with employee needs.Read moreRead less
Integrated processes for fine coal treatment. This project is concerned with new processes for the treatment of fine coal which forms an export market in excess of A$2 billion a year. The aim is to improve the separation of fine coal from silt and clay, and especially the recovery of larger particles in the flotation process. Further aims are to increase the ease of filtration and dewatering of fine coal, and to reduce the dust that is generated when fine coal is handled during transportation on ....Integrated processes for fine coal treatment. This project is concerned with new processes for the treatment of fine coal which forms an export market in excess of A$2 billion a year. The aim is to improve the separation of fine coal from silt and clay, and especially the recovery of larger particles in the flotation process. Further aims are to increase the ease of filtration and dewatering of fine coal, and to reduce the dust that is generated when fine coal is handled during transportation on land and sea. A laboratory-scale process will be developed and tested at a larger scale. The new knowledge that is gained will be essential for the successful introduction of the new technology into the Australian coal industry.Read moreRead less
Avoiding catastrophic failure of rock bolts in underground coal mines. This project will examine the factors responsible for the emerging problem of catastrophic failure of rock bolts in underground mines in order to develop strategies for resisting such failures. The consequences of rock bolt failure are potentially enormous from both a mine safety and economic standpoint. The strategies developed are expected to not only reduce the likelihood of injury and death from rock falls but to also red ....Avoiding catastrophic failure of rock bolts in underground coal mines. This project will examine the factors responsible for the emerging problem of catastrophic failure of rock bolts in underground mines in order to develop strategies for resisting such failures. The consequences of rock bolt failure are potentially enormous from both a mine safety and economic standpoint. The strategies developed are expected to not only reduce the likelihood of injury and death from rock falls but to also reduce very expensive mine downtime and avoid costly replacement of broken rock bolts. Australian Rock Bolting Technology is now used internationally and the work will be of substantial significance both nationally and internationally. It will help maintain Australia's international prominence in this field.Read moreRead less
Maintenance Optimisation in Rail Infrastructure Systems for Coal and
Iron Ore Exports. Coal and iron ore exports, worth around 55 per cent of Australia's export earnings, critically depend on the transport capacity provided by Australia's rail infrastructure. Maintenance plays a crucial role in ensuring that infrastructure components are in a condition to provide safe, reliable, and efficient transport. However maintenance activities also reduce the system capacity, and are costly. It is thus c ....Maintenance Optimisation in Rail Infrastructure Systems for Coal and
Iron Ore Exports. Coal and iron ore exports, worth around 55 per cent of Australia's export earnings, critically depend on the transport capacity provided by Australia's rail infrastructure. Maintenance plays a crucial role in ensuring that infrastructure components are in a condition to provide safe, reliable, and efficient transport. However maintenance activities also reduce the system capacity, and are costly. It is thus critical to sustaining the growth and competitiveness of Australia's coal and iron ore exports that maintenance is optimised so as to maximise system efficiency and delivered capacity. The project aims to achieve this by the development of new decision support technologies embedding innovative decision-making models and algorithms.Read moreRead less
Sustainable copper metallurgy and recycling – saving energy and resources. This project aims to develop new, powerful and sophisticated, computer-based models that can reliably predict the results of chemical reactions in complex, high temperature metal production processes. This project expects to use these models, initially applied to copper smelting systems, to enable the improved recycling of other valuable metals. These models should be able to be applied to a wide range of technologies use ....Sustainable copper metallurgy and recycling – saving energy and resources. This project aims to develop new, powerful and sophisticated, computer-based models that can reliably predict the results of chemical reactions in complex, high temperature metal production processes. This project expects to use these models, initially applied to copper smelting systems, to enable the improved recycling of other valuable metals. These models should be able to be applied to a wide range of technologies used in the metallurgical industry as most of the world’s metals are produced by these pyrometallurgical processes. This should provide significant benefits such as substantial improvements in productivity and process efficiencies, whilst at the same time delivering energy savings and improved use of valuable metal resources.Read moreRead less
Creating wealth from new resources - High temperature extraction of metals from complex copper ores and recycled materials. Most of the world’s copper is produced using high temperature chemical processing (smelting). Both primary ores and recycled raw materials contain valuable elements and also potentially harmful impurity elements. To unlock and utilise current and new resources, and also minimise the environmental impacts the industry has identified the need for new fundamental scientific da ....Creating wealth from new resources - High temperature extraction of metals from complex copper ores and recycled materials. Most of the world’s copper is produced using high temperature chemical processing (smelting). Both primary ores and recycled raw materials contain valuable elements and also potentially harmful impurity elements. To unlock and utilise current and new resources, and also minimise the environmental impacts the industry has identified the need for new fundamental scientific data that describe the chemical behaviour of impurity elements in these systems. The project aims to then use the data to develop powerful computer-based thermodynamic models that can predict the products of complex industrial processes. These sophisticated tools are intended to then be used to improve the performance of existing industrial operations and assist in the development of new process designs.Read moreRead less