BUCKLE UP

RMIT students have designed a toolbelt for women and gender‑diverse tradies.

If you’re a woman working in trades and looking for a toolbelt, your options are pretty limited.

In a report commissioned by the New South Wales Board of Vocational Education and Training, it was found that while issues like this may seem small, they can be a daily, major irritant to women in trades.

“Coming from a female perspective, toolbelts currently available in the market are not designed for my figure,” says RMIT fashion student Charlotte Hunter. “Their anchor points are predominantly around the hips, and slide down with any excess weight.”

For non male bodies, this uneven weight distribution could cause injury if worn for long periods of time.

RMIT fashion design students recently designed a series of gender diverse toolbelts for a project involving Vocational Education Trades students.

To mitigate the potential for injury and create a toolbelt that works on a wider array of figures, Hunter decided to work with two major anchor points on the shoulders and waist.

“The symmetric design allows for even weight distribution,” she says. “And by anchoring around the waist of a feminine figure, the belt will not slide down and potentially cause injury.”

As part of the project, fashion design and plumbing trades students discussed their ideas.

“The students really captured the essence of a toolbelt and reimagined it in so many different ways,” says RMIT’s Sebastian La Rocca. “I would love to see some of these concepts become reality.”

Alas, there are no plans at this stage to take these designs to market. ■

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GREAT SNAKES!

Kyla was on a maintenance job in Edinburg North, Adelaide, when he found this.

“Brown snake is not too happy,” he says.

“I wonder if he’d completed his JSA.”

Graham says: Animals, reptiles, and insects provide constant challenges to machinery that can provide shelter and warmth.

2 Desk Job

Ross found this ducted unit tucked away in Palmyra WA. “I found it running but drawing high current,” he says. “There was actually a bird cage sitting on that shelf above covering up the rear air intake path also.”

Graham says: Many units operate with restricted airflow due to poor installation or inadequate maintenance. I suppose if people are desperate for work, they will compromise quality for an insistent customer, but there is really no excuse.

3 Access Challenge

Mick from Albury has sent in another classic. “No sir, we can’t wash those filters,” he says, “but your plasterer has a great square finish!”

Graham says: The sad thing is that whoever sold this job could have probably found a different solution rather than trying to solve every air conditioning challenge around a standard split.

4 Gone In 60 Seconds

An anonymous snapper sent us this carpark calamity. The roof mounted fan is installed as an in line fan. It’s also duct taped to the ductwork with no appropriate transition piece.

Graham says: I wonder when the handover inspection happened or was this a late addition because the system wasn’t working as required. How do people get away with this?

5 Movie Madness

Dr Dave sent us this photo of a large air handling plant room for a cinema in Sydney.

“The outside air inlet grill is located on the right‑hand side of the room,” says Dr Dave.

“The space is always at outdoor temperature conditions, brilliant on a 40°C plus day.

“Coolroom and freezer room condensing units have always been in the current locations, AC unit has recently been installed. I imagine it was selected due to easy connection of AC unit pipework that is coming out of the floor (not seen in photo) and a lazy attitude.”

Graham says: Hopefully some exhaust ventilation is also available to remove the heat.

Additional comments and observations provided by Graham Boyle, L.AIRAH, portfolio manager, heavy automotive and refrigeration at South Metropolitan TAFE. Please note that the comments are provided on the basis of the photos only and should be read with this in mind – not all issues or solutions are apparent from a 2D image.

HAVE

If your entry is deemed the winner, a 700ml bottle of Jim Beam will be on its way to your door. Please include a postal address with your entry. Entrants must be 18 or over. Send your hi res (>500KB) photos to Editor, Mark Vender at mark.vender@airah.org.au

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