How working on major projects makes our Melbourne civil estimating and project delivery stronger
At DEC Projects, we are best known as a Melbourne based construction advisory that blends civil estimating, project delivery and marketing services for the Australian construction industry. We support contractors and developers with infrastructure estimating, bid strategy, on-the-ground project support and capability-led marketing that helps them win and deliver complex work.
A big part of how we stay useful to our clients is simple. We do not just sit behind spreadsheets. Our people regularly embed within major rail, road and energy projects across Victoria. They work alongside builders, operators and government clients and then bring that experience back into our civil infrastructure estimating, project delivery services and construction marketing in Melbourne.
Right now, several members of the DEC team are seconded into large infrastructure programs. Their work spans civil works, track and signalling, structures, piling, drainage and station upgrades on some of the biggest jobs in the state. This blog shares how those secondments are helping us grow as a team, deepen relationships and strengthen our impact on the wider industry.
Why secondments matter for civil estimating and project delivery
Good civil estimating in Melbourne is about more than quantities and rates. It is about understanding how projects are actually delivered in the field. That includes staging, access, rail and road occupations, safety, environmental constraints, commercial risk and stakeholder expectations. When our people sit inside delivery teams, they see all of that up close.
Those insights feed directly into:
More realistic first principles estimating and tender strategies
Better advice on constructability, staging and program risk
Stronger relationships with designers, constructors and operators
Clearer, more authentic marketing content and case studies for our clients
In other words, secondments are not a break from our core business. They are a key part of how we stay current and keep adding value across estimating, project delivery and marketing.
Learning rail from the inside: track and signalling estimating
One of our estimators is currently embedded with a major rail operator on a freight hub package in Melbourne’s west. His remit is to support track and signalling estimating, working inside the client’s own systems and processes.
Coming from a civil background with limited rail experience, he has had to build knowledge quickly. That has involved working through internal training resources, studying standards and using tools like Bluebeam and specialist estimating platforms to complete take offs for rail systems and track components.
Two big lessons have stood out:
The complexity hidden beneath the ballast. There are many types of signalling and communications cables buried below the track, each with a specific safety and operational function.
The value of highly structured estimating workflows. Large organisations use very clear templates to document assumptions, risks and decision trails for every estimate.
For DEC Projects, this experience feeds back into our own civil infrastructure estimating services. We can bring a more disciplined, transparent approach to our tender documentation and risk registers, especially when we support contractors on rail, transport and station projects in Melbourne and across Victoria.
Regional rail and structures: collaborating on a national freight corridor
Another DEC engineer is seconded into a major regional rail corridor upgrade in north-east Victoria, working as a site engineer in the civil and structures team. The package includes structures in a flood plain, bridge and culvert works, and a significant piling scope.
Key challenges on this project include:
Managing works in an area with complex ground conditions
Adapting piling methodology when actual groundwater conditions differ from early modelling
Coordinating multiple large rigs and cranes in a constrained regional environment
Working through those issues with the constructor and client has sharpened our understanding of piling, foundations and floodplain structures on active rail lines. When we return to the office to support civil estimating and project controls, we are better equipped to identify where contingency is needed, where methods can be optimised and how to explain those choices clearly in bid submissions and client meetings.
It also strengthens our relationships with delivery partners. Having our people known and trusted inside delivery teams makes DEC a natural choice for estimating support, construction programming and independent project reviews on future packages.
Complex interfaces: enabling works for a transport hub
In Melbourne’s west, another member of the DEC team is working as a senior project engineer on enabling works for a significant transport hub. The core scope is the relocation of a jet fuel pipeline using trenchless techniques over a long alignment.
The technical work is only part of the challenge. The real pressure comes from the interfaces:
Coordinating with several rail operators to work safely in and under live corridors
Aligning with fuel asset owners and regulators
Managing risk workshops, permitting, and detailed method reviews for high risk activities
For DEC Projects, this is a masterclass in interface management, stakeholder engagement and project governance. These are exactly the topics that often shape risk pricing in civil estimating and drive delivery strategies in our project management services.
By living that complexity on a live job, we can bring more grounded advice back into our project delivery support in Melbourne, and we can help our clients better explain their approach in tender methodology, management plans and construction marketing collateral.
Live occupations and station upgrades: delivering under pressure
Closer to the city, one of our project engineers is working on a suburban station extension as part of a broader line upgrade. The team is responsible for civil structures at the station, including platforms and associated works.
This job has highlighted three things that are very relevant to our clients:
Occupation windows can change at short notice. A planned 14 day occupation was shortened, which meant procurement, planning and delivery all had to compress.
Program flexibility is critical. By sequencing precast installation around crane availability and keeping other tasks moving within exclusion zones, the team reduced the impact of weather and delivery delays.
Commercial close out matters. After the occupation, there is a heavy focus on closing out variations, credits and back charges as the final scope picture becomes clear.
These are exactly the kinds of details that make construction project delivery in Melbourne challenging, especially on rail and station works. When our team steps back into the DEC office, they can pass on these lessons to our estimating and marketing teams. That might mean more realistic allowances for possession risk, better staging diagrams for bids, or more insightful content for LinkedIn case studies and capability statements.
What this means for civil estimating, project delivery and marketing in Melbourne
Across all of these secondments, a few themes are consistent.
1. Stronger civil estimating
Working onsite on major projects gives our team real-time feedback on what worked in past estimates and what did not. It sharpens our construction estimating services, whether we are building a civil infrastructure estimate for a road upgrade, a station project or an energy development. We can:
Align quantities and methodologies more closely with what actually happens in delivery
Spot risk areas and opportunities earlier in the tender phase
Provide clearer advice to our clients on pricing strategy and margin protection
2. More grounded project delivery advice
Our project delivery services benefit every time a DEC team member steps into a delivery role. We see how procurement, stakeholder management, possession planning, safety and environment fit together on large projects. That helps us support clients with:
Practical delivery strategies that align with client and operator expectations
Realistic construction programs and staging plans
Better alignment between pre-contract planning and on-site execution
Better stories and smarter marketing for construction
Because we are directly involved in major infrastructure projects in Melbourne and across Australia, our construction marketing work is informed by real experience, not generic buzzwords. When we produce capability statements, case studies and social content for our clients, we can:
Translate technical achievements into clear, credible stories
Highlight collaboration, problem solving and safety in a way that resonates with decision makers
Show how contractors contribute to the broader transport and infrastructure network, not just a single site
Building a stronger industry, together
At DEC Projects, we believe that civil estimating, project delivery and construction marketing all become stronger when they stay closely connected to real projects and real people. Our secondments into large rail, road and energy projects are not just about individual career development. They are about building capability that flows back into the entire industry.
When our team members sit side by side with constructors, operators and asset owners, they help strengthen relationships, share knowledge and create a common language between planning and delivery. That is good for our clients, good for project outcomes and good for the broader infrastructure sector in Victoria.
If you are a contractor, developer or consultant looking for a partner who understands both Melbourne civil estimating and the realities of infrastructure project delivery, we would love to talk.
Visit decprojects.com.au or get in touch with the DEC Projects team to explore how we can support your next project and help you tell your story with confidence.
