42067 Underground Construction and Management
Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a
particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): 120 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Degree owned by FEIT OR 120 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Honours Embedded Degree owned by FEIT OR 120 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Degree owned by FEIT OR 120 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Honours Degree owned by FEIT OR 120 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Degree co-owned by FEIT OR 120 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Honours Degree co-owned by FEIT
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. See access conditions.
Recommended studies:
48370 Road and Transport Engineering; 48340 Construction; 48352 Construction Materials; 16912 Construction Project Management Principles; 16314 Construction Technology 3; 16422 Construction Technology 4
Description
This subject provides students with an overarching introduction to tunnelling and underground construction and focuses on the technical and managerial skills required for professional practice. Students are exposed to the main types of tunnelling projects and equipment. The subject also covers tunnelling parts and systems (ventilation, lining, etc) as well as a number of managerial aspects (scheduling and programming, quality, risk and options management). This subject supports the development of key capabilities for the collaborative delivery of projects within tunnelling and underground construction.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Evaluate the socio-enviro-economic and technical issues affecting the construction and delivery of tunnelling and underground projects. (B.1) |
|---|---|
| 2. | Apply fundamentals of production planning and control for developing a tunnelling schedule/program. (D.1) |
| 3. | Communicate and work collaboratively for the successful planning of tunnelling and underground projects. (E.1) |
| 4. | Reflect on lessons learned in the context of student’s own professional practice and industry. (F.1) |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):
- Socially Responsible: FEIT graduates identify, engage, and influence stakeholders, and apply expert judgment establishing and managing constraints, conflicts and uncertainties within a hazards and risk framework to define system requirements and interactivity. (B.1)
- Technically Proficient: FEIT graduates apply theoretical, conceptual, software and physical tools and advanced discipline knowledge to research, evaluate and predict future performance of systems characterised by complexity. (D.1)
- Collaborative and Communicative: FEIT graduates work as an effective member or leader of diverse teams, communicating effectively and operating autonomously within cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural contexts in the workplace. (E.1)
- Reflective: FEIT graduates critically self-review their own and others' performance with a high level of responsibility to improve and practice competently for the benefit of professional practice and society. (F.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies
This subject contributes to the development of the following Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies:
- 1.3. In-depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge within the engineering discipline.
- 1.6. Understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of sustainable engineering practice in the specific discipline.
- 2.4. Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and management of engineering projects.
- 3.2. Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay domains.
- 3.5. Orderly management of self, and professional conduct.
- 3.6. Effective team membership and team leadership.
Teaching and learning strategies
Teaching in this subject will involve workshops. Guest lecturers from the tunnelling and underground engineering industry will co-deliver the workshops to ensure industry relevance.
Learning materials (i.e. workshop slides, readings and videos) will be made available in advance of the workshops for students to self-study.
The workshops will involve: 1) a review of pre-work activity completed before the class 2) delivery of new subject materials 3) in-class discussion of the materials delivered 4) discussion on how to integrate class materials into assessment tasks.
Students will be given the opportunity to present work in progress to an industry panel as part of the consultation sessions for the subject. Students will be given the opportunity to obtain formative feedback on work in progress during the workshops. Summative feedback on assessment tasks will be provided within two weeks of submission.
Content (topics)
Tunnelling types and parts, tunnelling techniques and equipment, management requirements (including safety, risk, quality, time, cost, and stakeholder), procurement strategies, options management, fundamentals of production planning and control, scheduling/programming, tunnelling maintenance and operations.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Tunnelling programming exercise (group)
| Intent: | Apply fundamentals of production planning and control in the collaborative development of a tunnelling schedule/program for a simple case study. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2 and 3 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, D.1 and E.1 |
| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Group, group and individually assessed |
| Weight: | 50% |
| Length: | 3000 words |
Assessment task 2: Tunnelling programming exercise (individual)
| Intent: | Apply fundamentals of production planning and control on the development of a tunnelling schedule/program for a complex case study. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2 and 4 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, D.1 and F.1 |
| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 50% |
| Length: | 3000 words |
Minimum requirements
In order to pass the subject, a student must achieve an overall mark of 50% or more.
Required texts
ATS Journal, Tunnelling Journal, and Tunnels and Tunnelling.