Dear members and colleagues, I hope you’re all staying safe and well as we endeavour to stay vigilant, yet connected through this ongoing pandemic. Since my last update, the circumstances have changed for all of our branches, some improving, some worsening, as this continues to be an uncertain time for us all.
In Victoria, where the ACA head office is located, they have moved into stage-4 lockdown, features of which include a 5km travel restrictions radius, the closure of all non-essential places of business and an 8 pm curfew. As the ACA activities do not fall under the designation of essential services, our staff are now not only working from home full time but unable to visit the head office facility. This has prevented our head office team from being able to carry out some relatively commonplace activities, like processing incoming mail, so please communicate with our team using digital means wherever possible.
These restrictions have also had an immediate effect on some planned training courses as our ability to prepare and redirect the required equipment has been restricted. We are still delivering online blended courses and if you’d like to be kept informed regarding new face-to-face courses you can fill our an expression of interest here, to get notified when a course matching your requirements is scheduled.
We’re still keeping up our online webinar content, with Corrosion Careers – Keeping up-to-date with Industry, hosted by the YCG and a Cathodic Protection of Concrete Structures – Guest Panel Q&A Webinar, hosted by the NSW branch in the upcoming weeks, with many more to follow.
On the other end of the COVID spectrum, the NZ branch has scheduled their first face to face event Durability Deficiencies Found in Building Construction and NZ AGM, to take place in September, which hopefully will end a roughly four-month drought of ACA in-person events, and I’m sure our NZ members are looking forward to getting together again at last. I also want to extend my congratulations to esteemed NZ ACA figure Les Boulton on his retirement from full time consulting.
As we all deal with constantly changing and increasingly localised responses to COVID, we ask that if our branches look to begin their own, in-person local activities, that organisers keep informed on their local regulations and government advice and act accordingly. When organising a new event, we ask that you submit our Branch event set up form and include all pertinent safety information, so we can make sure everyone is aware of what will be expected of them at the event and so our attendees are able to make informed decisions on whether on not they will attend based on their personal circumstances. Obviously, if you have been in contact with anyone exposed to the virus or you are showing any symptoms please do not attend these events.
I want to once again thank all of our ACA members for their ongoing support. Special thanks also to all our volunteers and staff for their efforts in continuing to provide as many ACA activities and services as possible and for their willingness to adapt and provide new ways to ensure we all stay connected through this difficult time.
Best Regards and Stay Safe
Dean Wall
ACA Chairman