Transforming the everyday through local innovation

In 1872, Siemens began its journey in Australia with the installation of 36,000 insulators and iron poles stretching between Adelaide and Darwin for the revolutionary Overland Telegraph Line. Since then, the company has been involved in countless technological milestones within the region, including the southern hemisphere’s first hydro-electricity plant, and control of the Parkes Radio Telescope — responsible for helping in the beaming of the first moon landing into living rooms around the world in 1969.

Today, Siemens continues this legacy by supporting local advancements across industrial, energy, infrastructure, and other key areas of development. Celebrating a 150-year milestone in Australia offers an opportunity to reflect on the journey so far, and where this work has potential to grow moving forward.

“Technology has been at the backbone of all major transformations in Australia’s history,” said Peter Halliday, Chairman and CEO of Siemens Australia. “Electrification and digitalisation will be at the core of Australia’s next 150 years, including energy and industrial transitions.”

With new travel prizes being announced every month, the Beyond 150 Competition is an opportunity for winners to get up close with Siemens’ modern projects, exploring how they transform the everyday across iconic destinations and infrastructure. The September competition is now open for entries and will take winners to the Sunshine & Gold Coast, featuring an exciting Sea World package and helicopter flight to the HeliMods base in Caloundra.

This prize package aims to highlight how Siemens — as a global organisation — brings advanced technology to Australian innovators, giving them capacity to upscale for an international market. As a result, they experience high-value growth and export portfolio that simultaneously bolsters local industry.

One example of this is HeliMods, who operate out of a state-of-the-art facility on the Sunshine Coast. Using Siemens digital software and simulation tools, they transform helicopters into highly specialised units for emergency medical services, search and rescue, firefighting, and aerial policing. Since 2002, they have grown to become an internationally recognised and award-winning business, utilising a digital environment to facilitate complex engineering.

A key outcome of this work has been the Powered Aero Loader (PAL) — an automated stretcher loading system that has had a significant impact on the safety and wellbeing of paramedics during patient transfer. While this type of equipment was introduced for ambulances several years ago, extensive research and investment has gone into adapting it for aerial fleets.

The system is capable of loading and unloading a patient into a helicopter, mitigating the need for manual lifting. Interoperable with road ambulances, it provides a safer alternative for medical workers to achieve efficient transport of patients — particularly under emergency circumstances. It also assists in shaving off critical time during rescue callouts.

The PAL, along with other HeliMods inventions, has been developed in Queensland and adopted globally as a leading solution for everyday challenges. By investing in Siemens technology early on, they have been able to meet a diverse set of customer needs, bringing together data, business systems, and people.

Similarly, Siemens’ manufacturing centre in Yatala is home to Fusesaver — the world’s fastest vacuum circuit breaker. Now deployed in over 35 countries, this locally researched and developed product aids in eliminating up to 80% of sustained electricity outages on rural networks. From a safety perspective, it has been particularly successful in areas with high bushfire and wildfire risk, with a ten-millisecond reaction time against sparks from faulty power lines and pole fuses.

Conceptualised by engineers in Queensland, Fusesaver was welcomed into the Siemens family 10 years ago and has since generated a global demand due to its ability to increase network reliability and minimise operating costs.

“Our focus is to make digital transformation easier, faster and at scale so business and society can be more resilient and better able to adapt quickly to changing local and global circumstances,” concluded Peter.

To enter the prize draw of the Beyond 150 Competition, visit the registration page before 30 September 2022.