Authorised Engineering Organisation

The Authorised Engineering Organisation (AEO) authorisation is Transport of NSW’s (TfNSW) attempt at creating an ecosystem where the public and private sectors can combine forces, mutually benefit from each other, and raise the bar for engineering industry standards.

In an effort to support private sector participation in the construction, operation and maintenance of transport assets while remaining confident in its supply chain’s capability to produce safe and fit-for-purpose assets, TfNSW has developed 11 Engineering Management Capability Areas (EMCA) against which AEO applicants are assessed, representing the fundamental organisational practices that are required for an organisation to be deemed capable of delivering assured engineering services effectively.

The requirement evidence states that AEOs must have the appropriate plans, processes, procedures, guides or manuals that outline how their services are consistently carried out in the absence of, or in combination with, the contractually specified relevant processes.

AEO is both an assessment and an audit process used to assess authorisation seekers’ engineering assurance arrangements to determine whether to grant them AEO status or not. After the initial AEO status is granted, AEO’s engineering outputs will be subject to periodic surveillance audits by the identified residual risk from the original assessment. The process consists of a risk-based assurance governance methodology between TfNSW and its suppliers that consistently and systematically builds on increased self-assurance and continuous improvement.

Because no two organisations are the same, there is no ‘one size fits all’ price when it comes to costing AEO consulting fees, and several elements come into play, such as the scope of the authorisation sought, the size of the applicant organisation, its current capabilities to deliver safe and fit-for-purpose assets etc.

The AEO authorisation process is no walk in the park. To facilitate this arduous process, TfNSW has broken it down into three separate sections, each fulfilling a specific purpose within the selection process. Organisations seeking authorisation should familiarise themselves with the authorisation process as much as possible to ensure they are setup for success.