2023 Award Winners

Brian Richardson

As a well-known figure in the electrical safety industry, Brian is currently serving as the Director of Equipment Safety & Licensing at the Queensland government Electrical Safety Office. A committee member for over three decades, his involvement has spanned participation on committees concerning electrical accessories, lighting, audio visual and information technology safety (with a period as Chair) and continued participation on committees for household equipment, switchgear, secondary batteries, welding plant, protective enclosures, renewable energy power supply systems and equipment and QR-012, Conformance Marking to Regulatory Requirements. He remains an active contributor to critical safety projects, such as the direct current (DC) isolator standard, the current inverter standard project, the photovoltaic (PV) installation standard, and the battery energy storage installation standard.

Brian is a tireless advocate for electrical safety and has made significant contributions to standardisation both nationally and internationally. Having worked with electrical safety standards since the early 1980s, he recognises the value and importance in use of standards to drive uniformity and improvements in electrical safety.

Brian’s contributions to the development of standards have been invaluable, particularly in emerging technologies such as renewables, where new risks have emerged. He played a key role in drafting the standards for DC isolators and the standards for PV solar systems installations, which contributed to a reduction in fires and increased community safety in the PV solar renewable industry. His work has been instrumental in improving community safety through the national framework of the Electrical Equipment Safety System (EESS).

The Standing Committee of Officials (SCO) of the EESS recognises Brian’s extensive work, with the Chair of the SCO nominating him for the Standards Australia 2023 Awards for his contributions to improving electrical safety standards. His wealth of experience, technical knowledge, and integrity have earned him the respect of both government and industry alike.

Bruce Cannon

Bruce has had a career spanning over 25 years in welding engineering and standards development. He was seconded from his employer, BHP Steel (now BlueScope), to the Welding Technology Institute of Australia (WTIA) in 1993 as their Welding Engineer, which involved representation on a number of committees relevant to the fabrication of structural steels. Bruce has seen some of his work rise from development through to implementation via input to standards, for the betterment of Australian industry. This led to a secondment on an international project, which included working with subsidiaries in Asia and North America.

Currently, Bruce is active in the revision of 5 standards across a range of committees, including numerous direct text adoptions of ISO standards to update Australia’s aged welding and related standards. His involvement in standards development has given him the opportunity to represent Australia’s interests at ISO in the revision of ISO 9606, Qualification testing of welders – Fusion welding, and provide feedback to the drafting committee on the Australian experience with this standard. He has also been involved in the alignment of the welder qualification standard AS/NZS 2980, Qualification of welders for fusion welding of steels, with the core requirements of ISO 9606-1, Qualification testing of welders — Fusion welding — Part 1: Steels, which led to New Zealand co-joining the standard in 2007.

Bruce’s work has gained in importance within the transport and pressure equipment sectors, in addition to its primary use within the steel structures sector. He has had the unique opportunity to provide input and feedback to Australian Standards through other nominating organisations such as Bureau of Steel Manufacturers of Australia (BOSMA), ensuring that standards remain current, technically sound, and practical to implement. He is an invaluable member of the Weld Australia team, with technical expertise that is second to none.

Dr Tafline Ramos

Dr Tafline Ramos is the Global Practice Director for Quality Engineering and Assurance at Planit, an NRI company. She has over 20 years of experience in IT, specialising in software quality engineering, lifecycle optimisation, governance, test management, risk reduction, audits and training. With a PhD in software testing, she has a proven track record of delivering quality engineering and testing for large, complex and distressed programmes of work, including those with team sizes of over 80 resources.

As a leader in international standards development with ISO and The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Tafline became chair of the Australian Software and Systems Engineering Committee (IT- 015) at Standards Australia in 2014 and is leading Australia as Head of Delegation at international meetings with ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7, Software and systems engineering.

She is also a founding member and secretary of the international Software testing working group (ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 7/WG 26), led the establishment of the Agile and DevOps working group (ISO/IEC JTC 1/ SC 7/WG 29) and has been project editor and co-editor of numerous standards, including the ISO/IEC/IEEE 29119 Software testing series.

Tafline was recently appointed as a Professor of Practice in Computer Science and Information Technology (part-time) at La Trobe University, and was a recipient of the 2015 Women in Technology’s Professional award for her leadership of international standardisation with ISO.

Jason McGee

Jason is an experienced Compliance Engineer and Director for E-x Solutions International Pty Ltd, with a background in developing and applying IEC standards for explosive atmospheres. He has worked with various stakeholders, including certification bodies, equipment manufacturers, installation designers, and end-users for over a decade. Jason has participated in both the Standards Australia Young Leaders Programme and the IEC Young Professionals Programme, showcasing his commitment to the field.

As a Class “H” Licensed Electrical Inspector with Energy Safe Victoria, Jason is qualified to inspect prescribed electrical work in hazardous areas. He is involved in the development of explosive atmosphere standards as the Chair of Standards Australia committee EL-014, Equipment for explosive atmospheres, and the Vice Chair of IEC committee TC 31, Equipment for explosive atmospheres. Jason is currently the Alternate member on the IEC Conformity Assessment Board and also worked with Standards Australia staff to support the Cambodian National Committee as part of the IEC affiliate country mentoring program.

With significant contributions to the IEC and a strong reputation as an expert in his field, he is equally comfortable working with large and small clients, providing services on all aspects of hazardous area compliance.

BD-002, Concrete Structures

The BD-002 Committee is a dedicated group responsible for the development of AS 3600, Concrete Structures, commonly known as the ‘Australian Concrete Structures Code.’ Their primary objective is to establish a set of unified regulations for the design and detailing of concrete building structures, based on the principles of structural engineering mechanics.

Led by Jim Forbes, the Independent Chair for almost two decades, the committee has published the AS 3600-2009 and AS 3600:2018 editions of the Standard and associated Commentaries. Comprised of around 30 members, the BD-002 Committee draws expertise from various organisations in the construction industry, including consulting engineers, contractors, material suppliers, software developers, universities, and industry organisations.
In a significant move towards embracing the digital era, Jim Forbes initiated discussions on the digital transformation (DT) of AS 3600 after recognising that other industry products offered more advanced features. These discussions led to the formation of a DT Working Group in late 2022, tasked with brainstorming ways to improve the standard PDF format. The outcome was a list of DT initiatives, including the integration of in-built calculators for formulas and the establishment of collaborative online forums where users could openly discuss the standard and ask questions.

The list was presented to Standards Australia during a BD-002 committee meeting, where certain items were identified as immediately implementable. The BD-002 committee is actively collaborating with Standards Australia to ensure the successful implementation of these initiatives.

Pictured: Jim Forbes, Chair of BD-002 Concrete Structures accepted the award on behalf of the committee.