Q&A with Kristina Machena
When Kristina Machena moved to Australia from Lithuania, she had never spoken English. Fast forward to today, where she leads planned works at South East Water and has recently taken up IWN’s Pipeline Intelligence Program Manager role. Here’s a chance to get to know her.
Kristina Machena
LET’S START WITH THE PERSONAL. TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
I come from Lithuania – a small European country. The only people from this side of the equator who have heard of it are either World War I/II enthusiasts or basketball fans. It makes for interesting conversations, usually in reference to what other countries border my homeland.
I have been calling Australia home since 1998. Having never spoken the language beforehand and with just two years of English tuition under my belt after migrating to Australia, I attained the third highest VCE result in my high school. It’s maybe not my biggest achievement, but one I’m very proud of.
I’ve been an avid reader since I was young. I’ve belonged to a book club for the last five years. My favourite book is George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. The fact that it was written in 1949 yet talks about issues facing us today is fascinating and terrifying at the same time.
WHAT’S YOUR CURRENT WATER CORPORATION ROLE?
I lead the planned sewer and water works team at South East Water, responsible for managing construction of externally funded network alteration works driven by developers and other authorities. I have been in this role for the last four years. Previously, I was heavily involved in operations and routine maintenance of sewage network assets.
WHAT’S YOUR PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND?
I have 12 years of professional engineering experience, involving reliability planning, design, operations and maintenance, project engineering and management roles.
My most challenging project and biggest achievement was writing a Bushfire Management Plan for South East Water. This was very topical after the royal commission when companies realised that metropolitan Melbourne was not exempt from the threat and devastation of bushfires. Our approach to planned works on total fire ban days, identifying high risk fire areas within our catchment but most importantly staff deployment to fire affected areas to protect water supply had to change drastically. It was an incredibly hard task to change the mindset of internal stakeholders with the help of external stakeholders, such as CFA and DELWP.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO EACH DAY (BUT TO YOUR GRANDMA)?
My job is to make sure that when you turn on your tap, clean water comes out just at the right pressure and when you flush the toilet, you don’t need worry about where it goes!
It’s my job to make sure that all new customers can get their water and sewer services at the most cost-efficient compliant way.
WHY DID YOU JOIN IWN?
I’ve just joined – three months ago. I’m the Pipeline Intelligence Program Manager.
I think that the water industry is finally ready to embrace change. I am excited at the prospect that innovation is finally front and centre. That, and the fact that we now also have leaders in our industry with experience from the world’s leading high-tech and innovative car manufacturers, is exciting. For a long time, we were using the same problem solving techniques and expecting better outcomes. With ageing infrastructure, we are no longer in a position to do that without passing on increasing maintenance costs to our customers.
I want to be part of the journey of the new and exciting industry, where we can have multiple solutions to an age-old issue and be in a position to choose for a change.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE WITH IWN?
Professionally, I want to collaborate with like-minded people in the industry, and find innovative solutions to asset management approaches.
Personally, it’s a luxury to take a step back from my daily role and broaden my perspective and understanding of emerging trends and technologies in the asset management space. The possibility of being one of the first people to look into and test some of these technologies is very exciting.
WHAT GETS YOU OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING?
My two-year-old daughter at sun up each morning, without fail. The nature of my workday can be unpredictable at times, while managing a number of contractors who are performing construction works all over Melbourne. Tackling issues as they come keeps me on my toes and reaching satisfactory solutions for all parties involved gives me genuine satisfaction.