A Friday Note - 14 October 2016

Dear all

We continue to recognise National Safe Work Month - see how you can get involved.

The tragic death of a young man in the River Murray is a reminder of the need to be safe on our waterways, which are particularly dangerous at the moment after the floods with strong currents and a lot of debris lurking beneath the surface.

This week also highlighted the risk on construction sites not only for workers but for members of the public when two women were seriously injured at the Adelaide Medical and Nursing project site on North Terrace after a gate malfunctioned and fell on them.

Our thoughts are with the injured people and the family of the young man.

Children across South Australia are heading back to school on Monday - slow down to 25 km/h and take care around schools and school buses.

CHIEFS PLANNING MEETING

We continue to focus on improving, modernising and optimising the department.  As we move forward there will be new opportunities.  We continue to discuss these and more information will be provided through the Senior Leadership Group in coming weeks.

WORLD CONGRESS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS (ITS)

Department staff presented our Addinsight system at the 2016 ITS World Congress in Melbourne this week to some 9 200 delegates. The Addinsight and Australian Driverless Vehicle Initiative stands have attracted a huge number of visitors from all around the world.

Minister Mullighan used the conference to announce the South Australian Government’s $10 million investment to boost testing, research and development of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies in South Australia. Find out more here.

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF THE EYRE HIGHWAY

A function was held last week marking forty years since bitumen was laid down on National Highway One connecting East and West Australia and completing the sealing of the Eyre Highway.

WELL DONES

Congratulations to our department’s graduates and trainees who were recently awarded a Diploma of Government through their participation in the Jobs4Youth SA program. More in news below.

Residents near Klemzig Interchange recently wrote to me expressing their appreciation for our maintenance staff working near the O-Bahn track. Special mention to Brenton Hurst who went the extra mile helping an elderly resident find her walking stick which had been lost in the nearby bushes.

Performance Support Services has achieved a great deal in a short amount of time.  Jane Fitzgerald has been central to that success driving a number of positive outcomes.

Have a good weekend

Michael Deegan