The Western Australian Government owned Common User Facility (CUF) is a 400,000m2, integrated heavy engineering and fabrication & assembly facility, providing access for multiple users. It has been operating since 2003 and is part of the Fabrication Precinct at the Australian Marine Complex (AMC).
Common User Facility
At the heart of the AMC, in the Fabrication precinct, is the WA Government-owned Common User Facility (CUF); providing infrastructure and support for multiple users, including laydown areas, fabrication halls, workshops and offices, off-load and load-out wharves, and vessel berths.
Facilities and infrastructure at the CUF are available on a project-by-project basis. It is a safe and secure location for fabrication, assembly, commissioning, maintenance and repair activities for local, national and international projects.
Ventia Australia Pty Ltd (link) is the Operator and Facility Manager of the AMC CUF and its assets, including the Floating Dock and Transfer System. Ventia are responsible for marketing, operating and maintaining the CUF and are the first point of contact for access to the CUF.
Ventia also works with the WA State Government (through the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation) to market the facility to national and international groups across the defence, marine, oil and gas, and resource sectors, and to coordinate activities among the various users on site.
Using the CUF
The CUF is a multi-industry common user facility, and provides infrastructure to industry on a project-by-project basis. It has an open access policy and is of sufficient size for a number of different companies to manage their projects at any one time.
Companies using the CUF provide their own management and workforce and are accountable for their project execution. The Facility Manager provides access to required facilities for an agreed period. The CUF operates a pay-for-use system that enables users to control their expenditure as required by the phases of the projects utilising the facility.
To see how your project could utilise the CUF:
- Take a look at the AMC CUF Brochure to appreciate the full scope and scale of the facility.
- Look in detail at the individual facilities in the Facility Description
- Review the current Schedule of Rates
- Fill the in the Enquiry Capture Form and send to Ventia.
Access to the CUF
When a company has evaluated the CUF and wishes to lease part of the facility, it will advise Ventia and a User Agreement will be prepared. The User Agreement defines the commercial relationship between DevelopmentWA, Ventia (DevelopmentWA's agent for the operation of the CUF) and the company wishing to use the CUF.
It will define the specific facilities the company wishes to lease, the duration of the use and the schedule of rates to apply to the lease.
Before a company has access to the facility, the User Agreement must be approved and it is necessary for the company to demonstrate that it has satisfactory occupational health and safety, environment and employee management plans in place.
Upon execution of the User Agreement, the User must arrange for all personnel to complete the required AMC CUF induction to access site.