EXECUTIVE
PERSPECTIVE 2020 is proving to be a challenging year for all Australians. The World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 as a pandemic. At the time of writing this article there were over 6,600 cases of COVID-19 in Australia. Over the last couple of months COVID-19 has impacted the lives and livelihoods of many Australians, and I want to assure you that my team and I are working hard to represent and support our members, as well as the Penny Cornah, Executive Director wider plumbing and gas industry, so that we can all make it through this pandemic together. In order for us to have a clear understanding of how different areas of the plumbing and gas industry have been affected, in April MPAQ circulated a survey to all members to understand the impact that COVID-19 has had on their businesses. A brief overview of the survey results are on page 8, but if you would like to see the full report, please email events@mpaq.com.au to request your copy. Thank you to all members who filled in the survey. This helps to ensure we are advocating at all levels so that we can provide the necessary support and resources to help you through this.
MPAQ has also created an online COVID-19 Awareness course for our industry. This course has been designed for plumbers and gasfitters to further their knowledge about the safety requirements needed on a day to day basis within their role. The course provides students with a broad knowledge of the physical requirements and provide practical advice for control of the COVID-19 virus. It is free for members and their employees to undertake, and more details can be found on the training section of our website. COVID-19 and the uncertainty that comes with it, may have an impact on your mental health and your employee’s mental health. During this crisis people might experience feelings of anxiety, stress, fear, uncertainty and depression. If you or someone you know needs help, please reach out to: • MATES in Construction - 1300 642 111 • Lifeline - 13 11 14 • Beyond Blue - 1300 224 636 Right now is a great opportunity to utilise your membership with MPAQ, as we have extensive resources available on our website to assist you during this time. The resources include fact sheets, policies, webinar recordings and frequently asked questions and answers. COVID-19 has brought about a lot of changes and uncertainty, but I want to reassure you that my team and I are advocating with government for our members and the industry as a whole. To contact me please call 07 3273 0800 or email penny.cornah@mpaq.com.au. Please stay safe.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE COVID-19 Forces us to Embrace Technology It only seems like a couple of years ago when we were all waiting for the clock to hit midnight on 31 December 1999 and for the world as we knew it to crash and burn. The new century was going to see a worldwide failure of computer systems and planes were going to fall from the sky. Twenty years later we know that none of these things happened, and we Kent Vickers, President are more reliant now than ever before on technology. The COVID 19 pandemic has forced us to embrace technology. The need to meet face to face is almost a thing of the past. The construction industry has embraced technology like never before. Many businesses are issuing tablets to organise their schedules and enable a better, more efficient working day. The freedom and availability of information that we all have access to on our portable devices is something that we rely on and it allows us to maximise the productivity in our working day. From the comfort of our ute we can now order materials, issue a Form 4, invoice the customer, and collect the payment. We can ask the GPS to take us to our next job and even check the bank balance. All these technologies are designed to streamline our businesses and to credit us with more free time to spend with our families; unfortunately, this is not always the case.
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| MASTER PLUMBER MAGAZINE May/June 2020
Technology in our industry has raced ahead in other areas too. The cost of energy over the past 20 years has skyrocketed, and this has encouraged the lateral thinkers to look outside of the square. The use of biogas as a fuel has been developed to the point where some companies have cut their energy costs by $60,000 per month simply by investing in the technology to use the waste energy generated by their normal daily operations. Another emerging technology is hydrogen. Hydrogen has been around for many years but has never been considered a viable energy source purely because of its reputation to explode (I think of the Hindenburg). Hydrogen has a chemical makeup that does not lend itself to be recognised as a risk-free fuel gas for use by the general public. However, if it is used to supplement our current natural gas reticulated networks, then it becomes a very attractive option. As recently as five years ago, hydrogen was still considered the poor cousin in the fuel gas stable. The stigma associated with its use was sketchy at best. As a plumber and gas fitter, I am delighted that the world has invested millions of dollars in research and development to use this valuable and renewable resource. Australia has several pilot programs dotted across the country, and I believe it’s only a matter of time before it is introduced into our natural gas networks and developed for use as fuel cell for industry. MPAQ is actively representing all our members at all levels of government, and I can assure you that our members and the Queensland plumbing and gas industry are in good hands. Please stay safe, observe the hygiene and social distancing recommendations, and we’ll all come out of this ready to pick up where we left off.
Life’s good!
