Developing Tailored Asset Management Strategies for Ageing and Critical Infrastructure
Engineering, IT, Mathematics and Statistics
PLEASE NOTE
- This project will be undertaken on a part-time basis over six months, for a full-time equivalent of three months.
ABOUT THE INDUSTRY PARTNER
Programmed is a leading provider of Facility Management, Maintenance, and Staffing services. We employ over 30,000 people every year across a broad range of industries and partner with more than 10,000 customers, small and large.
We work in partnership with many of Australia and New Zealand’s leading businesses across major industries, including Mining and Resources, Oil and Gas, Government and Defence, Education, Aviation, Health, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics.
We provide the people, knowledge, expertise and support to help our customers and communities grow and succeed.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
- Work hands-on alongside experienced Asset Practitioners and specialists on real industry infrastructure, not hypothetical examples.
- Be part of a multidisciplinary engineering team, gaining exposure to engineering, risk, operations, and asset management.
- Use real asset data to build practical skills in data driven, risk-based decision-making and lifecycle analysis.
- Produce industry-ready outputs that strengthen employability and real-world experience.
RESEARCH TO BE CONDUCTED
The research will explore how ageing and critical infrastructure is currently managed across a range of real-world asset portfolios, and why traditional asset management approaches are often no longer efficient or effective. It will examine how assets’ age, condition, criticality, failure behaviour, and operating context influence the balance of risk, cost, and performance over time.
Using real asset data and industry case studies, the project will develop and test practical, risk-based asset management approaches underpinned by ISO standards principles. This includes building decision frameworks to help prioritise maintenance, renewal, and investment under funding, resources and operational constraints, and identifying where risk-based, condition-based, predictive maintenance or emerging technologies can provide better outcomes.
The research is strongly practice-focused, with outcomes designed to be directly applicable in industry settings. It aims to support safer, more reliable, and more cost-effective management of ageing and critical infrastructure, while protecting service levels, community value, and long-term asset performance.
SKILLS WISH LIST
If you’re a postgraduate research student and meet some or all the below we want to hear from you. We strongly encourage women, indigenous and disadvantaged candidates to apply:
- Background in engineering, asset management, infrastructure, or a related field, with an interest in ageing and critical assets.
- Comfortable working with data and data software systems, using evidence to support decisions.
- Strong problem-solving skills and curiosity to explore real-world challenges.
- Good communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to explain ideas clearly.
- Self-motivated, organised, and able to manage research tasks independently.
- Strong agility and multitasking skills, with the ability to engage and collaborate with multiple stakeholders operating at different levels of industry and systems maturity.
RESEARCH OUTCOMES
The research will deliver practical insights into how ageing and critical infrastructure can be better managed using risk-based, data-driven asset management approaches. Key outcomes include a clear understanding of where traditional asset management and maintenance practices fall short and where more targeted strategies can provide better value and risk reduction while enhancing asset performance and reliability.
The project will produce practical strategies, guidance and streamlined decision-support frameworks, informed by asset data and case studies, to help prioritise maintenance and investment for ageing assets. These outcomes are intended to be directly usable in industry settings and to inform future, longer-term research or implementation activities.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
The intern will receive $3,300 per month of the internship, usually in the form of scholarship payments.
It is expected that the intern will primarily undertake this research project during regular business hours and maintain contact with their academic mentor throughout the internship either through face-to-face or phone meetings as appropriate.
The intern and their academic mentor will have the opportunity to negotiate the project’s scope, milestones and timeline during the project planning stage.
Please note, applications are reviewed regularly and this internship may be filled prior to the advertised closing date if a suitable applicant is identified. Early submissions are encouraged.
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