University of Wollongong

The University of Wollongong (UOW) provides an innovative learning environment for more than 22,800 undergraduate and postgraduate students. UOW covers an area of 82.4 hectares with 94 permanent buildings including six student residences. The UOW management and employees strive to achieve an environment that minimises risk and has safety as a core value.

IA Group was commissioned to support the upgrade works for the expansion of the University’s Wollongong Campus “Safety Camera Program”.

These works were aimed at enhancing the UOW’s policy for providing a professional service that enhances their association with the NSW Police and provides a safer environment for staff, students and visitors. It also allows the early detection of potential criminal activity by deterring potential offenders and assists with the apprehension of offenders.

The project implementation involved liaison with the authorities, coordination and submitting concept design to support the necessary approvals required from key stakeholders including:

• Wollongong City Council for the DA submission

• Integral Energy to negotiate power supply to equipment

• Submission of concept plans to RTA

• Wollongong TAFE for alternative power solutions

Key hurdles encountered during the project included:

• Due to the high volume of vehicle and pedestrian traffic along the F6 and footbridge timely coordination of activities and traffic management on UOW, TAFE and council property was critical.

• Civil works required extreme care as major power grid cables servicing the Wollongong township were located in close proximity to the camera poles

• The graduating height of the footbridge and the approach ramp made it a challenge to position and mount the cameras for maximum coverage. The height of the pole and the wind speeds in the area required the pole to be securely fastened

• Determining the most effective fibre cable route that spans from the TAFE across the F6 to UOW required a significant amount of planning and discussions with key stakeholders

• Fine tuning of the cameras to accommodate night vision and street lighting on the F6

Throughout the process close cooperation was maintained between IA Group, the security contractors, civil works sub-contractors, UOW, TAFE and the Wollongong Council to successfully complete the project.