Talk

CEO Michael Wakefield and the staff of TAPS, would like to congratulate Denis Hebbard of J H Hebbard Pty Ltd on his extraordinary career in the Industry. The Hebbard family business has served our Industry well with over 50 years of dedication, passion, contribution and commitment.

Denis has given years of his time to the Plumbing Industry, silently working within all sectors that has laid the foundations and helped formed a vibrant and committed Industry we should all be grateful for.

Now to recognise some of his many achievements, which include: • Life Member of MPA;• President of the MPA;• State & Federal representative for various

training/curriculum committees;• Sanitary Plumbers & Gasfitters Advisory

Board Representative;• Committee Member on CITB;• Representative for licensing at CBS;• Current Board Member of TAPS (since

inauguration 1997);

• Board Member on other Group Training Organisations;

• Chief Judge for plumbing at WorldSkills;• Running a very successful family

plumbing business.

Well, I believe the time has come to give Denis a well-earned break knowing his efforts has assisted with influencing the current and forthcoming pathway of the Plumbing Industry.

We wish you all the best with your recent retirement and hope and pray your golf handicap improves.Once again congratulations from all of us Denis.

Survey WinnersCongratulations to National 1 Plumbing & Maintenance on winning the voucher for the Host Employer survey and 4th year plumbing apprentice Frankie Gerace from JL & JK Bevan Plumbing on winning the apprentice voucher. Vouchers will be delivered by Field Consultants in the coming weeks.

JANUARY - MARCH 2018

Retirement of a Plumbing Legend…Jim & Denis Hebbard

Industry Safety AlertPlumbing Apprentices receiving electric shocks fromusing electrical equipment or performing restricted

electrical work

An apprentice received an electric shock from his personal battery drillcharger.

An apprentice received an electric shock from the lead of an arc welderwhilst working on a new construction. The insulation on the lead haddeteriorated leaving exposed wires.

An apprentice received an electric shock whilst removing the cover platefrom an electric hot water tank. The tank had not been isolated.

An apprentice received an electric shock while using an electric jackham-mer. The handle broke exposing the internal wiring and the apprentice’shand made contact with the terminals.

An apprentice received an electric shock while holding a piece of copperpipe against the wall to measure the required length. He received theshock the moment his pipe made contact with the water pipe system.

An apprentice received an electric shock when hacksawing into a down-pipe. Inside the downpipe were 6 sets of live electrical cables, where hishacksaw blade cut into 3 of them.

In the last 6 months, several incidents have been reported by apprentice plumbers re-sulting in them receiving an electrical shock. Each incident has a different root cause and each has a learning we can take from it.

INCIDENT RECOMMENDATIONSCheck all electrical equipment before use for safety and suitability. Ensure the equip-ment is RCD-protected (fixed, or where that is not available a portable unit) and that the electrical item is in test date (recently tested and tagged). Electrical equipmentused on construction sites must comply with AS/NZS3012 and tested on a 3-monthlybasis.

When working on a hot water service ensure appropriate isolation procedures are inplace as per your Restricted Electrical License training. Always check to ensure thehot water service is isolated before working on it . Never take someone else’s wordfor it.

Under AS/NZS 3000, the plumbing system must be bonded to the main earth of theelectrical wiring system to prevent the possibility of a rise of voltage on the waterpipes. In the event you find a rise of voltage, then SWSA and OTR MUST be notifiedimmediately, the site secured, and the fault rectified by a licensed electrical worker.

Finally, the wearing of protective gloves offers a degree of insulation from any electri-cal energy source.

Industries

Download our catalogue apps >

Waste water treatment systems• Ri-Treat - engineer-designed and SA manufactured

• FujiClean - fibreglass lightweight alternativeri-industries.com.au

Where are they now? Aaron MoncrieffYou finished your apprenticeship with TAPS in January 2012 what have you been doing since then?

Since finishing my apprenticeship in 2012 I have completed my certificate 4 in plumbing to become a master plumber. Not long after finishing my apprenticeship I started up my own business and began sub contracting. I then decided to take a 7 month vacation with my now wife to travel to America. We started in LA and worked our way through Mexico, Central America and South America. It was one of the best decisions I think I made before really settling down and getting stuck into my plumbing career/company.

Since coming back from the vacation, I have now bought a house and have started to expand the company. I now have one apprentice working for me and hopefully looking at the potential of hiring more staff in the future.

Any advice you would give to young apprentices coming through?

My advice for apprentices coming through would be:• don’t be on time be early;• it’s important to learn from your mistakes;• the radio station doesn’t change from Triple J;

When we interview you in again in 2027 what is a big change we will have seen in the plumbing industry?

• apprentices will do all the digging with no complaints;

• cleaner work site toilets.

In 2027 what do you hope to be different in your current “where are they now”?

I’ll be living overseas and will have to get one of my employees to respond to the email.

Aaron Moncrieff

Industry Safety Alert Plumbing Apprentices receiving electric shocks from using electrical equipment or performing restricted

electrical work

An apprentice received an electric shock from his personal battery drillcharger.

An apprentice received an electric shock from the lead of an arc welderwhilst working on a new construction. The insulation on the lead haddeteriorated leaving exposed wires.

An apprentice received an electric shock whilst removing the cover platefrom an electric hot water tank. The tank had not been isolated.

An apprentice received an electric shock while using an electric jackham-mer. The handle broke exposing the internal wiring and the apprentice’shand made contact with the terminals.

An apprentice received an electric shock while holding a piece of copperpipe against the wall to measure the required length. He received theshock the moment his pipe made contact with the water pipe system.

An apprentice received an electric shock when hacksawing into a down-pipe. Inside the downpipe were 6 sets of live electrical cables, where hishacksaw blade cut into 3 of them.

In the last 6 months, several incidents have been reported by apprentice plumbers re-sulting in them receiving an electrical shock. Each incident has a different root cause and each has a learning we can take from it.

INCIDENT RECOMMENDATIONS Check all electrical equipment before use for safety and suitability. Ensure the equip-ment is RCD-protected (fixed, or where that is not available a portable unit) and that the electrical item is in test date (recently tested and tagged). Electrical equipment used on construction sites must comply with AS/NZS3012 and tested on a 3-monthly basis.

When working on a hot water service ensure appropriate isolation procedures are in place as per your Restricted Electrical License training. Always check to ensure the hot water service is isolated before working on it . Never take someone else’s word for it.

Under AS/NZS 3000, the plumbing system must be bonded to the main earth of the electrical wiring system to prevent the possibility of a rise of voltage on the water pipes. In the event you find a rise of voltage, then SWSA and OTR MUST be notified immediately, the site secured, and the fault rectified by a licensed electrical worker.

Finally, the wearing of protective gloves offers a degree of insulation from any electri-cal energy source.

Talk

Apprentice Profile Name: Tyrone Royal

What secondary school did you attend? Willunga Waldof

How long have you been an apprentice? 1 year

Who is your Host Employer? Remarkable Plumbing

What sort of work do you undertake? 1st fix and 2nd fix New Homes and the occasional bathroom renovation.

What attracted you to the plumbing / roof plumbing industry? The opportunity to have a trade qualification under my belt to fall back into if need be later in life. Working in an industry where if you put the hard work in it pays off.

What advice would you give to a prospective plumbing / roof plumbing apprentice? Just do it, try everything and once you’ve found the style of plumbing you like, work hard to be the best you can. Ask questions and tool up. The more tools you have the more you can do which exposes you to more things. Don’t expect it to be easy, work hard and show interest in the work you do.

Tyrone Royal

Apprentice Payroll RemindersTAFE ATTENDANCE When you attend TAFE you need to complete a timesheet at the Plumbing Office, they will forward this to TAPS on your behalf.

TAFE FEES Please make sure all invoices are checked with TAFE or TAPS before paying. All subsidies need to be applied before TAPS can refund all your money. Once paid you can send a copy of the receipt and invoices to the timesheet mobile 0408 821 060.

WEEKLY WAGES Please make sure your timesheets are signed by your Host Employer and submitted on a Wednesday to the timesheet mobile 0408 821 060, your pay day is WEDNESDAY, we will not be reminding you in the future.

Timesheets are to be completed correctly and legible in black/blue pen with your name, Host Employer name, week ending date, start, meal break and finish times.

ABSENT DAYS If you are absent from work for any reason you need to call the TAPS office before 9am on that day and any following days.

MY PROFILING Reminder My Profiling MUST be completed weekly.

ALLOWANCES If you think you may be entitle to any of the below allowances please contact the office on 8433 1200 for more information.

• Fares & Tarvel• Mileage• LAFHA (living away from home allowance)