Civil

Increasingly, civil infrastructure and site development projects are expected to satisfy sustainability missives and operational demands. They should also be elegant, economical and user-friendly while improving urban infrastructure and forging new connections between communities and cities.

SEMF is well-placed to rise to this challenge. We work with clients across a spectrum of industries on projects that range from land and commercial development and the construction of educational facilities to demolition management, stormwater management and water sensitive urban design.

SEMF’s civil engineers collaborate closely with building contractors, land developers and mining providers to provide services that span investigation and feasibility analysis, contract administration and construction management. We also offer assessments for pavement strength and road performance and specialise in the treatment, disposal and flood analysis of stormwater.

Our civil engineering expertise secured the success of the $25 million site upgrade at Moorilla Estate, in Hobart in preparation for Hobart’s world-class Museum of Old and New Art (MONA). SEMF provided site water, sewerage and natural gas reticulation and constructed 153 parking lots, a site road system and a concert stage – a technical feat accomplished in less than 23 months. 

Control, automation and instrumentation 

At SEMF, we realise systems for telecommunications and network infrastructure that enhance the way we communicate and connect. We work with investors, clients and service providers on a spectrum of power and network-related projects ranging from transmission lines, cable networks and inter-connectors to substations, distribution networks and substations.

We combine a detailed understanding of electricity transmission and distribution with a powerful knowledge of urban, geographical and industrial contexts. This allows us to deliver high-performing projects that address operational goals of our clients while responding to the issues that stem from user demand.

Our engineers and project managers partner with clients through every stage of a project from feasibility studies, initial design and commissioning to construction, risk management and ongoing maintenance. This approach sees us tailor cost-effective solutions to a complex set of challenges while providing precise, successful responses to commercial pressures and compliance requirements.z

Automation and instrumentation projects demand a high level of precision as well as a meticulous response to difficult operational demands. However, automation and instrumentation technology should also prioritise the user and provide a seamless solution to complex processes.

At SEMF, we offer a full suite of automation and instrumentation services ranging from testing, commissioning, documentation and training to machine and process design. For the industrial sector, we design systems based on thorough analysis of plant information and productivity parameters, factors that power solutions that combine high-performance with minimal cost.

We also work with clients through the plant layout and equipment selection process and assist them with every aspect of controls systems and power distribution design. This capability encompasses instrumentation selection and design specification as well as post-project services such as maintenance support.

Our engineers are well-versed in a diverse set of control systems with expertise across platforms such as Siemens, Rockwell Automation, Scheider Modicon, Mistubishi and Omron. We also have vast experience designing and configuring automation software such as HMA and SCADA along with a diverse set of design tool and packages.

Ecologically sustainable design

At SEMF, Ecologically Sustainable Design (ESD) is at the heart of our engineering offering and informs the way we approach our projects. We firmly believe that ESD principles can be achieved at the same time as commercial imperatives, and we collaborate with clients and stakeholders to reconcile both these regimes.

SEMF’s multi-disciplinary design teams and environmental specialists work to tailor design solutions that address every element of sustainable design. Our ESD services aim to reduce pollution, carbon monoxide and greenhouse emissions and address water management via rainwater harvesting, water metering and the reduction of watercourse pollution.

True to our Green Star Accredited status, SEMF implements ESD principles across every stage of the building commissioning and construction process. We also champion the use of smart lighting and daylight to enhance the quality of indoor environments and make efforts to incorporate alternative energy systems and renewable materials across our building projects. 

Electrical

At SEMF, our electrical engineering approach combines technical agility with smart, sustainable design. Our electrical engineers couple niche expertise with big picture thinking to develop solutions for a cross-section of industries – from transport, building and energy to retail, manufacturing and processing and waste.

Our stable of electrical engineering services are comprehensive but highly diverse. We provide demand assessments, energy audits and utilities consulting and design systems for lightning protection, electrical heating and emergency power generation as well as low-voltage reticulation for switchboards, sub-circuiting and submains.

SEMF draws on technical innovation and ingenuity to successfully deliver a range of electrical engineering projects. For the Royal Hobart Hospital, we developed state-of-the-art systems for patient care and nurse call and designed and installed computerised lighting for the Queen Victoria and Albert, a world-class museum in Launceston.

Environmentally controlled spaces

SEMF combines scientific knowledge and technical skills to design environmentally controlled spaces that respond to various specifications and needs. We use leading edge monitoring equipment to identify and tackle air quality issues and employ innovative modelling techniques to regulate factors such as temperature, air pressure and humidity

At SEMF, we realise environmentally controlled spaces for various projects and industries and have constructed tightly regulated facilities for a wide range of sites. We’ve built laboratories, medical centres and hospitals that incorporate precise temperature systems and have designed industrial storage centres and production facilities that are engineered to remain contaminant-free.

SEMF takes a cost-effective approach to building environmentally controlled spaces and knows how to reconcile user demands with commercial and operational goals. Our technical acumen and practical understanding allow us to provide a meticulous response to complex design briefs and we work closely with our clients to monitor and maintain long-term performance.

Fire

A precise approach to fire engineering is central to the task of protecting communities and the built environment from threat. At SEMF, our scientific knowledge and technical acumen shapes robust, strategic responses to complex fire engineering challenges.

SEMF offers a full suite of fire engineering services including sprinkler system, fire detection and fire hydrants system design. We also engineer special hazards systems incorporating gas fire, foam and chemicals and provide certification for sprinkler systems in Victoria and Tasmania.

Our interdisciplinary engineering skills see us provide specialised fire safety design services across a spectrum of structures and contexts. These strengths have seen us deliver fire prevention and fire safety systems for diverse sites including Channel Court Shopping Centre in Hobart and CSL Limited’s manufacturing facility in Broadmeadows, Victoria.

Geotechnical

A leader in the field of geotechnical engineering, SEMF helps bridge the divide between the built environment and the natural world. We provide robust, innovative responses to a range of geotechnical challenges and take an integrated approach to complex and varying briefs.

Our geotechnical engineering services address every stage of the project lifecycle and includes rock mechanics, site assessments and site investigation design for various building and infrastructure works. We also monitor land slope stability and offer land risk assessments in line with the recommendations of the Australian Geomechanics Society as well as detailed reviews that highlight issues such as the impact of groundwater on structures.

SEMF’s wide national presence allows us to access site investigation and drilling services across every state. It also sees us partner with high-quality contractors and service providers – a benefit that ensures exemplary delivery standards and levels of quality control.

We partner with clients across the building and property, manufacturing and processing and resources industries and empower them to meet stakeholder needs and commercial goals. For Air Services Australia, we conducted geotechnical investigations for control towers and emergency service facilities across the country – powering stringent safety standards and expanding operational reach.

Hydraulics

At SEMF, our integrated design skills and keen understanding of water infrastructure spark highly responsive hydraulics solutions that meet sustainability missives and operational goals. Our approach combines big picture thinking with knowledge of environmental, urban and commercial contexts, factors that set the stage for long-term project success.

Our suite of hydraulic engineering services spans concept development, feasibility studies and due diligence along with operation and maintenance training, to ensure that performance standards are met. We work with clients in the residential, retail, health, education and industrial sectors on systems for sanitation, retention, trade waste and stormwater as well as hot and cold water, natural and LPG gas.

For the retail sector, we design highly scalable hydraulics systems that adapt to shifting operational and commercial demands. We’ve engineered and delivered successful hydraulics systems for major players in the retail industry including Kmart Australia and QIC Retail. 

Hydrology and stormwater drainage

To be successful, stormwater management should seamlessly integrate with water supply, flood management systems and erosion control while significantly enhancing urban infrastructure. This is widely referred to as Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) – a practice that plays a critical role in SEMF’s hydrology and stormwater drainage offering.

At SEMF, we partner with local government, industry and mining bodies to realise and execute a range of projects related to hydrology and stormwater drainage. We offer catchment analysis and flood management services including flood modelling, evacuation planning and risk assessment and provide end-to-end design and assessment for reticulation, pipelines and channels. In the field of stormwater drainage, we design and assess a spectrum of drainage structures. These span sediment pods, bio retention systems and wetland as well as systems for stormwater collection and re-use.

Our approach to stormwater drainage and hydrology is underpinned by a focus on sustainability thinking as well as commercial goals. This has helped shape the success of a cross-section of projects, from the water management plan we tailored for Comstock Mine, on Tasmania’s west coast to end-to-end stormwater management services for the Kingborough Twin Ovals.

Mechanical engineering (fluids)

At SEMF, we apply a precise understanding of fluid dynamics to mechanical systems, structures and processes. This capability powers smart, responsive solutions to complex briefs and challenges. Our knowledge spans the entire spectrum of fluid mechanics and is focused on applications and machines that involve fluid flow  – from turbines, pumps and pipelines to compressors, waterways and hydraulic structures.

SEMF’s approach to fluid engineering combines technical acumen with best practice resource and tools. We use advanced computer simulation to understand the issues that affect inter-city pipelines and employ innovative modelling techniques to design turbines that are as high-performing as they are energy efficient.

We also apply this skill set to challenges relating to ventilation and airflow – from engineering airconditioning systems that make optimal use of energy to designing ventilation systems that are adaptable, inventive and easy to maintain.

Our engineering methods integrate advanced analysis with a powerful command of mechanical design - factors that have seen us construct irrigation systems based on crop demand and realise heating and cooling systems that enhance the comfort and value of commercial properties.

Mechanical engineering (machinery)

Mechanical systems should strike the balance between resource efficiency, performance and best value. They should operate effectively and seamlessly and contribute to the long-term value of a building asset.

At SEMF, our approach to mechanical engineering gives rise to carefully considered solutions to a complex range of problems. We design energy efficient cooling systems for multistorey residential developments and provide building services and structural design for sites including universities, leisure centres and hotels.

SEMF draws on a vast knowledge of building sites to construct mechanical systems that address evolving specifications. We also skilfully deploy design tools such as building information modelling to craft precise responses to complex technical problems.

Our mechanical design services span every stage of the project lifecycle and benefit from an integrated focus that translates across different industries. For the retail sector, we develop scalable mechanical systems that address both customer needs and commercial change and we partner building developers to provide mechanical engineering services to sites such as Hobart’s Salamanca Mews luxury development.  

Process and chemical

SEMF is at the forefront of the process and chemical engineering industries in Australia. Our engineers, scientists and project managers couple niche expertise with a holistic focus– a combination that sparks innovative, rigorous solutions to the industry’s most urgent problems.

SEMF partners with clients in the food, chemical and processing industries and works with them to deliver solutions to a range of complex and technically challenging projects. We take an analytical approach to project and construction management and draw on interdisciplinary knowledge to resolve the food and hygiene-related aspects of design.

Our process and chemical engineering services are based on leading edge technology and systems and include sectors that range from mining and manufacturing to chemical, processing and food. Our service suite spans mass and heat balance, risk and hazard analysis, facility planning, zoning and process modelling and encompasses process specifications, utilities flow and materials selection and advice.

The success of the Greenfield development for United Milk in Spreyton Tasmania is proof of the strength of our capabilities. We engineered and constructed butter and lactose manufacturing plants, laboratories and a coolstore for the $60 million facility and ensured that the site could respond to the future scalability of the business. 

Structures

At SEMF, we combine technical expertise with big picture thinking to design structures that address a diverse set of demands. We take an integrated approach to structural engineering projects and deliver intelligent, innovative responses that address practical challenges and commercial restraints.

SEMF joins forces with clients across the manufacturing, infrastructure, mining and mineral processing industries to provide design, construction and project management for structures including concrete timber and steel. We design process tanks, roads, bunkers and silos that stand up to harsh environmental conditions and construct hospitals, airport terminals and apartment complexes that achieve exemplary levels of structural performance as well as business and operational goals.

Our engineers employ design tools such as virtual modelling and 3D software to improve structural efficiency and optimise use of space. We also understand the ways time, cost and material choice can impact a project – an asset that set the stage for the success of the piled foundations and underground pits we designed for Melbourne’s Dandenong Glass.

Telecommunications and network infrastructure

At SEMF, we realise systems for telecommunications and network infrastructure that enhance the way we communicate and connect. We work with investors, clients and service providers on a spectrum of network-related projects from combined voice and data infrastructure, IT and voice networks, to nurse call systems, security systems and intercom systems that address operational goals as well as user demand.

Our engineers and project managers partner with clients through every stage of a project from feasibility studies, initial design and commissioning to construction, risk management and ongoing maintenance. This approach sees us tailor cost-effective solutions across a range of projects, including the design of an innovative nurse call and telephone reticulation system for St Anne’s nursing home, in Hobart’s Compton Downs. 

Vertical transportation

From bustling medical centres to high-rise office towers, carefully considered vertical transportation systems can enhance the safety and performance of a building structure. SEMF is  on the forefront of vertical transportation design and builds elevators and lift systems that increase the value and longevity of a building asset.

At SEMF, we collaborate with architects, builders and designers to realise vertical transportation systems that work seamlessly with building design. Our knowledge of safety practices, leading edge technology and building codes sees us provide smart, versatile responses to multifaceted and difficult briefs.

We also work closely with clients to help them realise inventive, cost-effective solutions to their vertical transportation needs. Our integrated skills have seen us deliver state-of-the-art vertical transportation systems for sites such as RACT House in Hobart and Melbourne’s North Park Hospital.