Hari Boppudi

Multitasking in the North WestAs a boy growing up in India, Hari Boppudi had his sights on becoming either a doctor or a civil engineer. Circumstances propelled him towards the latter and he is now responsible for multimillion-dollar roadworks and a range of other projects that keep the Flinders Shire in North-West Queensland running smoothly.Mr Boppudi started work with the Flinders Shire Council in 2010 as a project engineer and has been the shire’s director of engineering since 2016. He said he was attracted by the diversity of the role and the multitasking skills it demanded. “When accepting the position with the FSC, I had a choice to go to Melbourne or to come to Hughenden,” he said. “I have chosen Hughenden as I felt this role was challenging compared to the other one.” Mr Boppudi is from Andhra Pradesh in southern India and says his native place is Guntur. “My dad is a bank manager, and my mom is a housewife, and my parents always encouraged and supported me to pursue higher studies,” he said. “My grandfather was a municipal inspector, and my uncle is an architect and runs a construction company.” With good academic results, he says his two favoured options were to become a doctor or a civil engineer. “My financial prospects didn’t encourage me to become a doctor, but the environment around supported and encouraged me to become a civil engineer,” he said. After finishing his Bachelors of Civil Engineering at Acharya Nagarjuna University in 2006, he decided to come to Australia for further studies and completed a Masters in Structural Engineering at the University of Southern Queensland in 2008. Mr Boppudi said he had worked for various companies while studying to cover his day-to-day expenses and help improve his communication skills. “In 2009, I started my engineering career with Ipswich Water as a graduate trainee. Later on, I was promoted to a project officer for pressure and water leakage management,” he said. He worked there until securing his FSC role in June 2010. As director of engineering his duties include operational and capital works delivery on buildings, roads, water supply, wastewater, parks and gardens, and he is also responsible for council fleet management. “Most importantly my department is responsible for the delivery of the contract works,” he said. “During my time, annually council has delivered anywhere between $5 million and $25 million-valued projects for TMR as a contractor.” This has included the council team completing a total of 70km of sealing of the Hann Highway. He also works with chief executive officer Graham King on the council’s economic development projects including the 15 Mile irrigation project and advancing plans for a meat processing plant at Hughenden. Achieving success with these would change the town’s prospects ‘big time’ and attract up to 300 new employees, he said. Living and working in a relatively small and remote community like Hughenden brings its challenges. These include having to be prepared to drive 10 hours or more to see a specialist and living without the convenience of services such as takeaway food deliveries or a local cinema. On a professional front it means having to cover a large area with only a small rates base and inadequate outside funding, while still trying to meet local residents’ expectations regarding council services. Mr Boppudi said more planning was required to complete any specific works on time in a remote location and skills availability was often an issue. “(There are) many challenges, but the extent depends on how the individuals deal with them. I mean the perception and the outcomes mainly depend on how we adapt, how we plan and how we implement,” he said. On the plus side he said he enjoyed a challenging role, job satisfaction, a good working environment and being part of a friendly community. “Most importantly my wife and kids like this place,” he said.

Hari Boppudi

Industry Queensland

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