Nominees named for CCAA 2021 Innovation Awards Victoria

The spotlight is about to shine brightly on Victoria’s heavy construction materials industry, with the winners of this year’s CCAA Victorian Innovation Awards to be announced this month.

The Awards celebrate the best examples of innovation across four categories - Environmental, Health and Safety, Diversity and Inclusion, and Community Engagement. In the Environmental Innovation category, this year’s nominations are:

  • A carbon dioxide (CO2) dosing system developed by Boral to treat concrete plant wastewater;
  •  watercourse diversion project at Hanson’s Wollert Quarry and a floating bird refuge at its Lysterfield Quarry;
  • n environmentally sensitive upgrade to the wash plant at Boral’s Bacchus Marsh Sand Quarry;
  • A weir upgrade at Fulton Hogan’s Tynong Quarry to improve the control of water discharge and the successful realignment of an environmentally sensitive creek at the company’s Tylden Quarry; and
  • Boral’s implementation of an electronic blast Ignition system at its Lysterfield Quarry that has resulted in reduced vibration readings.


On the Health and Safety Innovation front, the nominees are:

  • Hanson’s introduction of wearable SMART technology to identify high risk movements and opportunities to reduce tipper, tanker and agitator drivers’ exposure to hazards;
  • A proactive COVID Mental Health Plan introduced by Holcim;
  • ICL’s implementation of a pressure gauge and relief valve on silo infeed pipes;
  • A dust mitigation strategy implemented at Boral’s Lysterfield Quarry;
  • A safety micro learning system developed by Boral;
  • Hanson’s use of drones and survey quality software to analyse edge/bunding protection at its Southern Region Quarries;
  • The installation of a sight glass on the crusher lubricant tank at Hanson’s Lysterfield Quarry to reduce operator exposure to oil and ‘pinch’ points;
  • A COVID site entry hub at Fulton Hogan’s Tynong Quarry that incorporates temperature screening, a hand sanitising station and mask dispenser; and
  • A Safe Transport program introduced by Adbri that has resulted in a 34% reduction in the number of vehicle related incidents.


Community Engagement nominees:

  • The roll-out of Structured Workplace Learning (SWL) for schools at Hanson’s Kilmore East Quarry;
  • Boral’s transfer of a 3.6 hectare parcel of land at its Waurn Ponds site to the local Traditional Owners;
  • A 50-Year birthday celebration for the Hillview Quarry involving the local community; and
  • A fencing solution developed with a local wildlife community group to protect fauna from crossing a busy road outside Boral’s Wollert Quarry.

This year’s Diversity and Inclusion Award has three nominees:

  • The creation of a Reflection Room at Boral’s Lysterfield Quarry where the employee spectrum of beliefs and religions can be respected and embraced
  • A grassroots program at Boral that empowers women with the skills to be better leaders; and
  • Hanson’s Warrnambool Women Driver program, offering regional women an opportunity to get a Heavy Rigid license and be employed as agitator drivers on the Ryan Corner Wind Farm Project.


CCAA CEO Ken Slattery says the nominations in the Diversity and Inclusion Category are a welcome indication of how the industry is transitioning from what was once male dominated to an increasingly gender diverse and culturally inclusive workplace.