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Industry Project
This industry project places your team in a simulated professional tender for Sulphurcrest Water. You will investigate, develop and present a Basic Design for a long-distance raw water transfer scheme across western New South Wales. The project combines real Australian geography with a fictional client, project requirements and operating environment.
Sulphurcrest Engineering is a Wollongong-based professional engineering practice working across industrial plant, infrastructure, water assets and multidisciplinary engineering.
Our work includes engineering advisory, design, investigation, design review, technical assurance and independent engineering opinion.
Through Sulphurcrest Learning, we use professional engineering practice to help engineers develop practical capability, judgement and confidence.
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Michael West
FIEAust CPEng NER RPEQ
Principal Engineer
Sulphurcrest Engineering is a Wollongong-based professional engineering practice working across industrial plant, infrastructure, water assets and multidisciplinary engineering. Our work includes engineering advisory, design, investigation, design review, technical assurance and independent engineering opinion. Through Sulphurcrest Learning, we use professional engineering practice to help engineers develop practical capability, judgement and confidence.
The fictional inland city of Redbank requires a reliable long-term raw water supply.
Your team will act as an engineering tenderer responding to requirements issued by Sulphurcrest Water.
The project requires development of a Basic Design for a long-distance raw water transfer system from the Murray River at Lock 10 to the fictional Redbank Water Treatment Plant in western New South Wales.
The required water transfer is 52 ML/day.
You will work with real geography and investigate the route, terrain, elevation, crossings and infrastructure conditions that affect your proposed concept.
The objective is to develop a coherent multidisciplinary Basic Design that allows Sulphurcrest Water to decide whether the proposed scheme should progress to the next engineering phase.
Your team will need to:
- understand the Principal Project Requirements;
- investigate the project geography;
- identify gaps and assumptions;
- raise formal Requests for Information where appropriate;
- research credible engineering options;
- use proportionate engineering calculations;
- integrate mechanical, electrical, civil and structural considerations;
- compare alternatives;
- recommend a preferred concept;
- consider construction and procurement;
- develop an Operational Philosophy;
- identify significant Safety in Design matters; and
- define the engineering work required during the next project phase.
The objective is not to produce the most detailed design.
The objective is to develop a credible, integrated and defensible engineering concept.
- raw water extraction;
- pipeline alignment and material selection;
- pumping;
- high-voltage electrical supply and transformation;
- civil and structural infrastructure;
- storage where justified;
- basic controls and monitoring;
- Safety-in-Design;
- construction;
- procurement;
- operation and maintenance;
- whole-of-life engineering considerations.
By participating in the industry project, students will have the opportunity to develop experience in:
- interpreting requirements issued by an external client;
- working within a simulated engineering tender process;
- distinguishing supplied information from assumptions;
- using Requests for Information to clarify Principal requirements;
- developing engineering options rather than working towards a predetermined answer;
- applying engineering judgement at Basic Design level;
- coordinating decisions across engineering disciplines;
- considering construction, procurement, operation and maintenance during design;
- identifying Safety in Design risks;
- communicating engineering reasoning clearly; and
- presenting a recommendation to a technically informed client.
These industry activities support the ENGG982 project experience but do not replace the University of Wollongong's academic learning outcomes or assessment requirements.
This operates as the simulated Sulphurcrest Water Tender Data Room.
It contains the controlled information issued for the project, including:
- Industry Project Brief;
- A real pipeline industry example;
- Instructions to Tenderers;
- Principal Project Requirements;
- Supplementary Project Information;
- returnable schedules;
- professional practice guidance;
- Requests for Information and Principal responses;
- tender clarifications and addenda; and
- tender submission areas.
The Principal Project Requirements govern the technical requirements of the simulated tender.
This project is designed to expose you to engineering behaviours that are difficult to reproduce through a conventional technical assignment.
You will need to deal with:
- incomplete information;
- client decisions;
- uncertainty;
- interfaces between disciplines;
- competing engineering options;
- procurement choices;
- project risks;
- document control;
- tender clarification; and
- decisions that must be made before every detail is known.
The project is deliberately structured so that you need to think about what information you need, where it should come from and what level of engineering is appropriate to the project phase.
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Thursday, 20 August 2026
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Introduction to the Principal, project requirements, Tender Data Room and tender process.
Thursday, 17 September 2026
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Present your developing concept, discuss significant assumptions and interfaces, answer questions from the Principal and seek clarification of outstanding client requirements.
Material clarification arising from the session will be made available to all tenderers.
Thursday, 29 October 2026
10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Submit and present your final Basic Design tender to Sulphurcrest Water.
Approach the project as an engineering team responding to an external client.
Read the issued information carefully.
Ask good questions.
Make your assumptions visible.
Use engineering detail where it supports a decision.
Coordinate your disciplines.
Be prepared to explain why you recommend the solution you put forward.
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Students enrolled in University of Wollongong ENGG982Postgraduate engineering students participating in the Sulphurcrest industry projectMechanical, electrical, civil, structural and other engineering disciplines contributing to the multidisciplinary project
The methods and behaviours practised through this project are directly relevant to professional engineering work involving:
- concept and Basic Design;
- multidisciplinary projects;
- infrastructure;
- tendering;
- client interaction;
- design management;
- technical decision-making;
- risk;
- construction and procurement planning; and
- engineering communication.
