Since launching in 2010, FWPA’s WoodSolutions initiative has built a strong reputation for providing high-quality, easy-to-understand information about the benefits of timber to the development, design and build sectors.
Over the past decade, the program has continually adapted to create new ways of delivering information to an ever-evolving audience.
Most recently, in light of the situation with COVID-19, WoodSolutions customised its popular series of face-to-face industry seminars for delivery in a webinar format. More than 5500 people have attended the eight events held so far, which is an outstanding result.
Initially designed to support FWPA’s mission of increasing demand for and acceptance of timber in construction, the program has proven successful in demystifying timber and educating those involved in building-material specification about how it can be most effectively used. The information provided supports the construction sector when making important decisions around appearance, strength, workability, durability and fire-resistance.
When it comes to WoodSolutions’ educational seminars, Zoom offered a lifeline recently by providing the opportunity to continue promoting the many benefits of timber to dedicated WoodSolutions audiences.
The ongoing series of free weekly webinars takes place at 11am AEST every Tuesday, and participant feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive.
Topics are varied to appeal to both specialist and wider audiences, and delivered by local and international experts including everything from cost management for mid-rise projects, to acoustic design, and rebuilding in a bushfire prone area.
Eileen Newbury, National Marketing and Communications Manager at FWPA, said the webinars provide a great opportunity for organisations to upskill their teams and expose them to what can be achieved by using timber.
“The design and build industry has a thirst for knowledge,” Ms Newbury explained.
“Designing and building with timber is our future, not only for the forest and wood products industry, but also for the planet. Specifiers understand this, so it is of great interest to them to learn more about how to build and design sustainably using responsibly sourced wood.
“With these webinars we now reach an even broader audience. Gone are the restrictions associated with a specific location or venue seating capacity. If you are interstate or even overseas, you can log on.
“While most attendees have been local, there have also been guests from 42 different countries! This is a wonderful testament to how well-regarded the work that’s happening here in Australia is on the global stage.
“Once the pandemic is over, I believe design and build specifiers will be keen to continue attending our free webinars as they get so much value from them,” Ms Newbury said.
In the coming weeks, the WoodSolutions webinar program offers lots to look forward to, with planned topics including durability, sustainable timber designs, and fire behaviour in timber buildings.
While the webinars allow WoodSolutions to continue delivering interactive educational opportunities facilitated by leading industry talent from across the globe, the WoodSolutions.com.au website continues to be a popular and dependable source of timber-related information for the construction industry, with 30,000 registered users. It is also consistently ranked as one of the world’s top websites for timber information.
Among its impressive and ever-expanding list of resources, the website includes over 50 technical design guides, which enable engineering and design professionals to easily build their knowledge of timber-related requirements in construction and design.
Eileen said the organisation is incredibly grateful for the ongoing support of industry bodies and technical associations during the past ten years.
“This support has helped ensure our WoodSolutions program goes from strength to strength, and will mean we can continue to provide freely-available, relevant and accurate resources to the design and build sector, driving the success of our industry into the future.” Ms Newbury said.
More information can be found at WoodSolutions.com.au
