OPERATOR Spring 2011 Edition -I-O-A Waustralia
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OPERATOR Spring 2011 Edition -I-O-A WAustralia EXCELLENCE Some of the happy winners at O P IN S ERATION the 2011 Victorian Conference – read more about them in this newsletter. Inside President’s Prattle ......................... 2 WIOA Profile. ................................ 3 2011 Kwatye Prize Winners .......... 3 Birds Eye View of Melton ...........4-5 St Helens Treatment Plant visit .... .6 2011 Kwatye Prize winner – VIC Conference Wrap Up .............. 8 Rod Curtis (L) with Rohan GVW Proud of it’s Employees ..... 8 Latham. Read all about his VIC Young Operator of the Year .... 9 project on page 3. Then and Now ............................ 10 Golf Day ...................................... 11 Practical Guide to Wastewater .... 12 Commonly Used Chemicals ........ 13 Corporate Member News ............ 14 Victorian Golf Day raises over $2K for charity – Report on Movember ................................... 15 page 11. New Members ............................. 16 Newsl ette S ASSOCIAT r o OR IO f AT N the ER OF W P AU AT O ST ER INDUSTRY RALIA North East Water – That this really is god’s country, and it’s good President’s Prattle to come home. Spring has sprung which is always a good reason to take time out to realign the work life WIOA – Now here are the biggest thanks of all to Rusty, Cynthia, balance - heard that one before! So I’ve taken The Rabbit, The Mayor, Tolsh, Tommo, Hooligan, Bazza, Wilson, a breather to share my story of my 25 years and George. To a group of people who give up a lot of their in the water industry from Lab Assistant to personal time to give back to the industry they love. I had been Operations Manager for North East Water. Of working in the water industry for some 10 years before I got course it’s not all about me, the better story is pushed into doing a paper at the Shepparton conference back in about the characters that I have worked with 1998. Although I came second to Rusty, and yes I am over being and learned from along the way; starting with my apprenticeship at beaten by a paper on how to hang a wind sock, it really started Battenfeld engineering. me off on my love affair with the wider industry and not just what went on in my backyard. The consequent learning’s at the Water It goes like this - Battenfeld Engineering - Thanks Mingo for teaching Industry Training Centre with Parkie, Wilson and Herbie, made me me that you can hang onto an overhead crane with one hand and the realise I was now a part of something very special and still love it controller with the other and surf along the concrete floor. No thanks today. There have been many other that have helped me grow as a for not telling me that you tend to get up too much speed and end up member of the water family and I just cannot fit them all into this with quite a large bruise when you hit a steel pylon. Thank god OH&S column, but thanks to you all and keep lifting the bar. is better than it was in the 80’s. Thanks to German engineering for teaching me precision measurement and all the skills I still haven’t John Day, WIOA President forgotten. Thanks to Alan Ingray for bringing me down a peg, funny when you’re 18 you know everything already. Parkinson Air Conditioning – Thanks to Mick and Steve who taught me that if you drink all weekend at expensive nightclubs when you The WIOA Board, Committee and live on the Gold Coast, you have to hitch hike to work come Tuesday Staff would like to wish a safe because you forgot to put some money aside for petrol. and Merry Christmas to all our Australian Newsprint Mills/ Fletcher Challenge/ Norske Skog – members and their families. Thanks Mick O’Callaghan, Mark Younger and Alan Argus who showed me what true mateship in the work place is all about, • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • especially when things at home don’t go so well. Thanks to some for WIOA office Christmas closure the great leadership and unforgettable mentoring like David Thurley, Eric Deloce, and Tony Burles who taught me that it’s what you do Closes on 23rd December 2011 and not what you say, something most will know I’m still working on! Thanks to those who were the worst mentors I ever had (who will Opens on 2nd January 2012 not be named) – they too taught me valuable lessons on what not to • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • do. Most of all thanks to Jim Triffid who taught me the greatest line I ever heard from a HR manager “We pay you what we have too, not There was once a great czar in Russia named what we want too”! Rudolph the Red. He stood looking out the PowerWater NT – The Alice Springs team of John Pengelly, Ron windows of his palace one day while his wife, the Markovic, Darren Davies and John Varney who showed me even the Czarina Katerina, sat nearby knitting. He turned smallest of teams working in remote areas can provide service equal to her and said, “Look my dear, it has begun to or better to any large utility. To Simon Brisbane who taught me to rain!” Without even looking up from her knitting go fast on the Finke Track and it’s when you go slow that you fall off. she replied, “It’s too cold to rain. It must be Goulburn Valley Water – To Neville Whitaker and Darren Sharman for sleeting.” The Czar shook his head and said, “I teaching me that three good District Managers working in isolation am the Czar of all the Russias, and Rudolph the can be good, but work as a team and you can be great. To those who sat next to us at the local coffee shop where we regularly met Red knows rain, dear!” on neutral ground - I can recommend a good ear specialist for your hearing loss. To Bruce Anderson who taught me that “you might have a budget but at the end of the day it’s not your money, it belongs to those that pay their rates”. Thanks to Peter Quinn for showing me that after big change can come great change. But most of all to the Central Water Treatment team who taught me - you’re only as good as the team you lead and they made me look good. PAGE 2 WIOA PROFILE 2011 KWATYE PRIZE WINNER WIOA is pleased to The 2011 Kwatye Prize winner was announced at the Victorian introduce our newest staff Conference - Congratulations are extended to Rod Curtis. member Craig Mathisen Rod is employed by Western Water in Victoria and plans to who joined us in late investigate the following: July. Craig has taken on WASTE RECOVERY – NOT JUST SLUDGE STABILISATION a challenging and diverse role as Chief Operations The project will investigate anaerobic digestor plant Officer. Let’s learn a operating practices in Europe, specifically to look at digestion little about him and what optimisation to improve biogas generation and recovery for he hopes to bring to our energy reuse. Association. European countries have a long history of optimising sludge Age: 48 digestion. With the recent concern about climate change, Nickname: Kermit these efforts are increasingly focussed on maximising energy recovery to lower carbon emissions. This is now an important Family Status: Married to my lovely wife Trish and area for focus in Australia and many of the European learnings we have three wonderful children Christopher 21, Kate 19 can be transferred to Australia. and Emily 17. Processes such as gas capture from released sludge, Pets: 15 month old Maltese Chitzu who now runs the optimisation of the calorific value of the biogas, cell lysis house – named Scully as he was the first picked from the technologies, co-digestion of other waste products and litter by the girls but l am seriously considering having to digestor stability operating parameters will all be investigated. change his name! The applicability of these processes to the new micro-turbine What’s your background? I have spent nearly energy recovery technology will also be investigated. 29 years in the TAFE sector in a number of roles such as a graphic designer, multimedia developer, manager and my The outcomes of the investigation should have wide last role was as the commercial and operations manager applicability to Australian treatment plants and operational of GOTAFE’s two Shepparton campuses. My background staff. is predominantly in the design field but l also have a business degree that l am putting to good use in my new The Kwatye Prize is proudly sponsored by Thermo Fisher role with WIOA. Scientific and is now in its seventh year. All WIOA Members are eligible to apply for the Prize which is valued at $6,000 for You’ve been in the role for over 3 months a project to benefit the Australian water industry. To find out now – what do you think of the water more about this prize visit the WIOA website ‘Awards’ section. industry so far? I did not realise how big the water industry is. Not coming from the industry l was naive in my understanding of the issues and processes that provide me with safe drinking water when l turn on the tap. AUSTRALIAN A U S T R A L I A N It is a very complex, changing industry and the differing WATER WATER structures across state borders makes life for a national MANAGEMENT association interesting and challenging to say the least. MANAGEMENT REVIEW The water industry’s greatest resource is its people and l have had some fun meeting a range of fantastic people REVIEW who work in a range of areas of the industry and look forward to getting to know many more.