Welcome to August! This month, we delve into the varying standards of geotechnical education and training around the globe.

Australian geotechnical engineers are fortunate to operate in an advanced industry, with ample access to resources, technology and development opportunities. But not every resource-rich nation is the same. With a shortage of engineers coming through, there is a significant need to address advancement in training geotechnical engineers in resource-rich developing countries, to ensure a thriving industry globally.

We are officially past the halfway point of 2024 and so far in Friction we have covered everything from Corporate Governance to Safety in Design to Numerical Modelling and Laboratory Testing. For this edition, we dive into raiseboring and how geotechnical investigation and thorough assessment is essential to reducing uncertainty and risk in the process, but must occur without compromising how findings are delivered.

Good governance encompasses not only the system by which organisations are controlled, but the mechanisms by which organisations and those who comprise them are held to account.

This month we dive deep into corporate governance framework and look at the crucial role the board of governance plays in navigating sustainability, risk management and legislative requirements.

Safety and mining go hand in hand. With the majority of work being performed in high-pressure environments for long hours at a time and in remote locations, there are a number of factors to consider when thinking about the health, safety and well-being of all on site.

In this month’s edition, we explore the importance of incorporating safety in design and why safety measures must be featured prominently throughout the entirety of a project, from concept to closure.

As geotechnical engineers, structural geology is at the very core of everything we do. This month, I personally dive into the importance of structural geology and why it’s imperative we look at the rocks first.

As geotechnical professionals, we are responsible for providing accurate advice about mine design and operations, and laboratory testing is one of the avenues that enables us to do just that.

In this month’s edition, we dig deep into the importance of geotechnical lab testing within the mining, resources and construction industries.