Shannon Grist

As Coordinator of Building Services at City of Greater Bendigo Council I am responsible for providing expert and professional advice to the Council, the Municipal Building Surveyor (MBS), the Manager, other departments of council and the public regarding all matters relevant to

building and construction and the Building Regulations.

Key responsibilities and duties of this role include the following –

• In consultation with the MBS, facilitate and ensure that the City's obligations are met in accordance with the relevant Acts, Regulations and Standards
• Support and guide staff on highly complex and contentious issues, where necessary taking the lead to liaise and negotiate better outcomes on behalf of the community. Liaise and negotiate with clients in consideration of highly complex and contentious issues.
• Ensure the team delivers a high standard of customer service in line with City's Customer Service Charter.
• Facilitate the identification and lead the development and implementation of policies and procedures relating to service and system efficiency improvements.
• Write comprehensive, plain English Council reports and communications on matters relevant to the team and present to informal Council and community meetings as required.
• Provide expert and professional advice to the MBS, Council, the City, other departments and the general public regarding all team matters.
• Deputise for the MBS or manager and undertake any other duties as directed by the MBS or Manager, Safe and Healthy Environments consistent with the general requirement of the position.
• Oversee all compliance activities that relate to the team including instigating and managing court and legal action relevant to the role, in consultation with the MBS or Manager and Review Officer.
• Coordinate in consultation with MBS or Manager the delivery of public health emergency management activities within the municipality when required.
• Act as Health and Safety Rep for Building dept.

Snapshot of additional responsibilities and duties undertaken as Coordinator Building at Greater Bendigo City Council -

• My current Building Surveyor Limited registration – allows me to perform the functions of the MBS through delegation within my registration category (buildings upto 3 storeys in height and with a floor area of upto 2000sqm for all class of buildings).
• My BS-L registration allows me to issue Emergency Orders through delegation to the MBS, only a Municipal Building Surveyor has the power to issue an emergency order under section 102 of the Building Act within COGB municipality. Emergency Orders are used to respond to disaster and emergency situations, including localized emergencies such as vehicle impact or building fire or larger natural disaster like fire or flood, or where the use of emergency powers require the evacuation of buildings or immediate work to be undertaken to protect public safety.
• Assess permit applications for COGB Property and Engineering departments building permits, occupancy permits and temporary occupation of commercial buildings – (note - this is a function only a registered Building Surveyor can perform).
• Undertake initial and advanced mandatory construction inspections for COGB building permits for all Class of buildings (note – this is a function only the MBS and myself can currently perform as the other COGB building inspectors are limited to Class 1,2 & 10 buildings).
• Identify and report on non-compliances with building control legislation, building regulations and the building permit issued in relation to the building work for COGB building permits.
• Issue (through delegation to the MBS) Directions to Fix (DTF) under section 37a of the Building Act, Building Notices under section 106 of the Building Act and Building Orders under sections 111,112 & 113 of the Building Act.
• Manage 4 Building Inspectors and 2 Tech advisors.
• Manage the COGB swimming pool register and oversee the staff who operate the system – the pool register is an initiative introduced by State Government on 1st December 2019 to improve pool and spa safety which requires an owner of a pool to register their pool or spa with COGB, currently we have approx. 6000 pools registered.
• Manage BAMS (Building activity Management System), introduced in 2016 by the Vic Building Authority .
• Manage VBA levy payments prior to getting building permit number, as the COGB credit card is in my name and I am a registered BAMS user with the VBA.
• Reconcile the COGB credit card VBA BAMS levy payments using the Flexi-purchase system.
• Approv refunds or part refunds where applicable for Report and Consents, Section 29A demolition Permits, Hoarding permits and Place of Public Entertainment Permits
• Approving and uploading all mandatory inspections and prescribed events onto the BAMS system, these must be reported to the VBA within 7 days after the end of each month when the event occurred. The first prescribed event is the issuance of a building permit, then every mandatory inspection after the issuance of the permit must also be recorded on the BAMS system.
• Applications for all Report and Consents, Section 29A demolition Permits, Hoarding Permits and Place of Public entertainment permits are forward to me to complete or to allocate to other staff members, these application types are then assessed and returned to me for final check and approval prior to forwarding to the client.

I begin employment at City of Greater Bendigo Council on the 15/04/2015 initially as a Building Inspector, with the aim of gaining registration as a Building Surveyor which I obtained in July 2017.

• My role within the organization is to ensure compliance with the City's statutory functions and responsibilities through the administration of the Building Act, in performing these functions I am responsible for assessing and issuing council building permits and unauthorized works permits, undertaking mandatory inspections for council issued building permits, inspections for acceptance of unauthorized works, issue building notices and orders, provide legislative and regulatory advise in adherence with the COGB Customer Service Charter, investigate customer requests, issue Report and Consent applications to vary building regulations, issue and inspect Place of Public Entertainment permits, provide customer service where required and to undertake any other functions as required by the Municipal Building Surveyor.

I begin employment at Bendigo Building Services on the 20/04/2013 after successfully applying for a position as a Building Inspector/Building Surveying Cadet, with the aim to become a Building Surveyor, my role within the business required undertaking mandatory inspections on a rotation basis with other building inspectors, with most of the time allocated to learning the performing functions of a Building Surveyor.

• The role allowed me to undertake plan checking for legislative and regulatory compliance prior to issuing building permits, honing my ability to read and interpret plans and other relevant documentation as required and approved by relevant building surveyor's, including architectural drawings, structural plans, and services lay-outs for building projects.
• Whilst at Bendigo Building Services I was involved with building designs from small scale pergolas and sheds, extensions to existing dwellings through to new dwellings, commercial shops & offices, factories, and industrial buildings.
• Previously being registered as a Commercial Building Practitioner, and as a registered Building Inspector, I completed the Advanced Diploma of Building Surveying at Holmesglen, Chadstone whilst serving my appointment and employment at Bendigo Building Services.

Building Issues is a Bendigo based Building Surveying firm, joining the team in 2008 my role at Building Issues initially began as an assistant Building Surveyor Cadet / Building Inspector, this position introduced me to the role of Building surveyor, allowing me to be directly involved, under supervision, in most building inspections for the nine hundred plus building permits Building Issues, issues each year.

• I Completed my Diploma of Building Surveying in 2012, gaining registration as a Building Inspector – Limited in 2012, working alongside, under direct supervision of fellow building surveyors and building inspector colleagues; this allowed me to develop and enhance my skills in performing my function as a qualified, registered Building Inspector.

Walsh and O'Meara Builders is a Bendigo Based building and construction firm specialising is commercial and industrial building construction projects.

During my employment with Walsh and O'Meara Builders I undertook the following -

• Performed general labor and carpentry duties on commercial projects.
• Aided the site supervisor for daily project completions and coordinating trades.
• Assisted the site supervisor with quality control measures and meeting deadlines.
• Assisted in accurate and correct interpretation of plans and construction drawings.
• Buildings consisted of small-scale domestic works from pergola's, extensions, and new dwellings through to 3 story office buildings with additional underground car parking, commercial and industrial buildings consisting of concrete tilt panel and portal frame construction, school refurbishment, elderly care and hostel facilities catering for up to one hundred plus people.

Liquid Plastics is a Melbourne based epoxy coatings manufacturing and application firm. Employed within the company as a supervisor for the application of epoxy coatings for commercial and industrial projects my role included the following duties -

• Managed and supervised staff on-site with the preparation of commercial and industrial existing concrete floor slabs and application of specialized epoxy floor systems.
• Managed and supervised staff in-house at Liquid Plastics manufacturing plant, producing epoxy floor coatings and specialized epoxy/sand products.
• Responsible for all stages of preparations and applications on-site, including employee Occupational Health and Safety, workmanship quality control, meeting deadlines and quantity allowances and safe storage of hazardous goods.

Grist Builders was my family owned and operated business, specialising in the design and construction of residential, commercial and industrial buildings, at Grist Builders i gained my qualifications and registration with the Victorian Building commission as a registered commercial builder - unlimited.

My role within Grist Builders included the following duties -

• General office administration – Overseen administration of all matters to do with the general day-to-day running of the organization and the day-to-day management of employees.
• Assisted in the design and drafting of residential and commercial projects.
• Assisted with estimating project costs, performing take-offs for estimating and ordering materials, prepared budget, and cost breakdowns for review.
• Responsible for the planning of all stages of construction, including employees, equipment, materials and Occupational Health and Safety strategies.
• Responsible for accurate and correct interpretation of plans and construction drawings.
• Responsible for all aspects of the construction phase, including site inspections, checking workmanship, materials, and measurements.
• Responsible for all stages of construction, including foundation and slab preparation, framing, lock-up and completion/hand-over.
• Responsible for the day-to-day activities of the construction site, including project management, management of staff and coordinating trades, procurement of equipment and material, initiate and adhere to Occupational Health and Safety responsibilities.
• Liaised with clients, architects, surveyors, building inspectors and sub-contractors.