FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019
CHLORINATION IMPACTS Cylinder failures in Christchurch
ESTIMATING & TENDERING Allowing for wastage
PRE-EMPLOYMENT CHECKS
Benefits of drug testing
More flow | More control | Easier to maintain
The next generation in performance!
2019
Arriving early
EDITORIAL
Volume 71, Number 1 MAGAZINE TEAM CEO Greg Wallace EDITOR Beverly Sellers 03 543 2008 beverlysellers@xtra.co.nz DESIGN Sally Travis Design www.sallytravisdesign.co.nz PRINT Service Printers 81 The Esplanade, Petone Wellington 6141 SUBSCRIPTIONS NZ Plumber is published six times a year by Master Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers NZ. Members and Certifying tradespeople receive all six editions. If you wish to opt out, please email beverlysellers@xtra.co.nz To order an annual subscription, go to www.masterplumbers.org.nz MAILING LIST For enquiries, or to update your details: beverlysellers@xtra.co.nz
What’s in our water? We should all expect water that’s safe to drink.
WHILE STAYING OVERNIGHT in Rotorua for the Volcanic Plateau Master Plumbers Awards (more about those on p76), I was interested to read a couple of notices in my motel room—one about the tap water having travelled through underground aquifers, the other about the local thermal energy supplying hot water and heat for the radiators. “Things are pretty hot round here” said the notice. It got me thinking about all the different regions of New Zealand and the unique water supply situations in each. Temporary chlorination in Christchurch while the council upgrades well heads is being blamed as a factor in the failure of hundreds of lowpressure copper hot water cylinders in the city—reminiscent of similar failures following the chlorination of the Havelock North water supply after two local bores were contaminated. This public health outbreak shook public confidence in the safety of drinking water, and the resulting Inquiry led to a long list of recommendations to reduce the risk of any future events of this kind. The recommendations in turn have led to the government’s Three Waters Review of New Zealand’s water infrastructure and its “regulatory shortcomings”. The government’s review has highlighted the fact that about 20% of New Zealanders on smaller supplies are exposed to water that doesn’t meet all the safety standards due to poor compliance by registered suppliers. From this March, changes are being made to the Drinking-Water Standards around monitoring and testing water supplies in an attempt to improve the status quo. Plumber Chris Snackers is equally concerned about rural properties with their own private supplies, particularly where the property changes hands and new owners aren’t aware of any water safety issues. Our technical theme this edition looks at all these water quality topics and more—turn to p20 to start reading.
Non-Master Plumbers’ members with address detail changes should notify the PGD Board direct, giving their registration number here: registration@pgdb.co.nz TO ADVERTISE Contact Alton Anamani advertising@masterplumbers.org.nz
Beverly Sellers Editor, NZ Plumber, beverlysellers@xtra.co.nz
NZ Plumber is the official magazine of Master Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers NZ Inc. Contact details for the MPGD Board, Society staff, branches and associations are available at www.masterplumbers.org.nz ©NZ Plumber 2013. Registered as a Newspaper, GPO, Wellington, ISSN 0111-4379. NZ Plumber is subject to copyright in its entirety. The contents may not be reproduced in any form, either in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved in material accepted for publication, unless initially specified otherwise. All letters and other material forwarded to the magazine will be assumed intended for publication unless clearly labelled ‘Not for Publication’. Views expressed in articles in NZ Plumber magazine are not necessarily those of Master Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers NZ Inc, or of the Editor. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information included in this publication, the publisher and the Editor take no responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences of reliance on this information. Publication of advertising material implies no endorsement of either a product or service.
Above: The sign in the kitchen at the Rotorua motel.
OVER TO YOU The best email, letter, tip or photo sent in by readers that we publish on this page wins a $50 prize voucher. Do you have a picture, story or news to share? Or feedback on any of the articles you’ve read in NZ Plumber? We’d love to hear from you. Email the Ed: beverlysellers@xtra.co.nz or give me a call on 03 543 2008. No letters this edition—hopefully a sign that readers enjoyed a well-deserved summer break. We look forward to your feedback from this edition. February/March 2019
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Inside this issue
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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019
WHAT’S ON 6
NZ Plumbing Conference 2019 in May
MASTER PLUMBERS NEWS 8
CEO Greg Wallace on HWC failures in Christchurch and progress for the PGD Act Review; new Business Partner; new quote and terms of trade resource; Best in Brand prize and more
MASTER PLUMBERS BENEFITS 12 New member resources in the spotlight
IN FOCUS 14 Proposals for change Master Plumbers’ submission on the PGD Act Review
REAL LIVES 17
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In it together A young couple juggling business and family commitments
February/March 2019
TECHNICAL THEME: WATER QUALITY
21 Christchurch chlorination Update on hot water cylinder failures 24 Private rural supplies Protecting household groundwater supply 27 Water filtration Removing harmful bacteria and chlorine taste and odour 28 Drinking-water standards Revisions coming into effect on 1 March
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT 30 Flying start Nelson company’s work on the new airport terminal
NUTS & BOLTS 34 Designing a domestic plumbing system Advice from BRANZ 38 Confined space gas detectors Rescuing those we can’t reach 40 Permanent ventilation Sharing a handy resource 41 Tech points Brief technical updates 42 Plumbing legislation & AS/NZS 3500 All plumbers should have a good understanding 44 Standards spotlight First of a regular Standards update
HEALTH MATTERS 46 Finding your happy place This apprentice has learned the hard way that mental health needs to be better understood
ON THE COVER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019
CHLORINATION IMPACTS
21
Cylinder failures in Christchurch
56
ESTIMATING & TENDERING Allowing for wastage
PRE-EMPLOYMENT CHECKS
65
Benefits of drug testing
17 INDUSTRY TALK 48 Acquisition by aqualine Aqualine acquires Forza Global NZ 48 Office talk This time of year is busy but fun 49 Voice for specialist trades NZSTCF is strengthening its profile 50 Goals! Measuring your most important KPI 52 Good use of homefit New online home health check 52 New home consents A look at how we tracked in 2018
WORLD VIEW 54 Passage to india Visiting New Delhi toilet museum
SMART BUSINESS 56 Estimating & tendering Accounting for wastage 60 Finding a good fit How to hire the right people
Chlorination of Christchurch water supplies is considered a factor in the spike in copper hot water cylinder failures
62 Payday filing It’s mandatory from 1 April
72 Earn & learn Are uni graduates financially better off?
63 Busy business systems Running a successful business in 2019
74 Stick with it Meet one of New Zealand’s first female plumbers
64 Do I need a bookkeeper? Advice for the self-employed
ASSOCIATIONS & BRANCHES
64 Biz brief Business updates in brief
76 What a blast! Winners of the inaugural Volcanic Plateau Master Plumbers Awards
65 Pre-employment drug testing Part of your recruitment process? 66 Outgrowing your systems 5 signs you may have outgrown your current job management software 67 Fatigue can kill Managing fatigue in the workplace
NEXT GENERATION 68 Delivering dreams Charity trip for young apprentice 70 Masterlink messageboard Skills for Industry case study; new Business Services Manager
SAFETY FIRST 78 Toolbox tips Health and safety messages to share with the team 79 Safest place to work Plumbing business named New Zealand’s safest place to work
PRODUCTS & SERVICES Test driving the top spec Toyota Hilux
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4WD double-cab ute
AND FINALLY 82 Dodgy plumbing Keep ’em coming!
February/March 2019
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EVENTS
What’s on
Industry events to get the year started with a bang.
If you have an event you would like to promote in a future edition of NZ Plumber, please email the Ed: beverlysellers@xtra.co.nz
NZ Plumbing Conference 2019 Date: 29-31 May Venue: InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort, Queensland, Australia Cost: $1,670 single; $2,510 double ex GST (Master Plumbers member price) . Or pay with your Plumbing World MaxPoints or Mico Trade Edge Points Register: www.conference2019.org.nz •
The #1 event for ALL New Zealand plumbers, gasfitters and drainlayers • Gain business know-how, inspiration and contacts • Includes 3 nights’ accommodation and breakfast at the luxury resort • Bring your partner and family for a holiday! The price includes all conference daytime sessions and evening social events.
Events and activities Wednesday 29 May: Mico Welcome Evening at the iconic Lagoon Beach Thursday 30 May: Marley/Dux Fun Evening (venue to be confirmed) Friday 31 May: • Mobil Leisure Activity – choose from Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary or Ambrose Golf Tournament at the Palms Golf Course • New Zealand Plumbing Awards, sponsored by Plumbing World, at MacArthur’s Ballroom.
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February/March 2019
Highlights: - Technical sessions for plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying - Keynote speaker Peter FitzSimons: former Wallaby, bestselling author and captivating speaker - Presentations from Master Plumbers, PGDB and Skills - Guest speaker Dr Mark Taylor: authority on lead in plumbing products - AS/NZS 3500 Standards update - Social events and activities - Optional PGDB and Mico CPD session. A fun-packed Partner Activity Programme will run on the Thursday, with a trip to Pacific Fair, Queensland’s largest shopping and dining destination, followed by lunch at waterfront restaurant Omeros Bros—voted Australia’s Top 10 Best Fine Dining in 2018.
Above: Partners are in for a treat with the Partner Activity Programme, which includes lunch at acclaimed waterfront restaurant Omeros Bros. Left: Former Wallaby, author and raconteur Peter FitzSimons is known for captivating audiences then keeping them hooked and laughing through to the end.
The 2019 NZ Plumbing Conference is proudly supported by Platinum Conference Sponsors Plumbing World, Mico, Marley and Dux.
Products & Materials Forum Date: 21 March
PASSIVE FIRE PROTECTION PRODUCTS NEW PRODUCT TESTING RESULTS AVAILABLE
Time: 8.30am-12.30pm Venue: Auckland Keep 21 March free for the New Zealand Green Building Council’s 2019 Products & Materials Forum, offering a packed programme with useful updates for product suppliers, designers and specifiers. Attendees will get an in-depth briefing on how products and materials are recognised in the Green Star and Homestar rating tools. Register at www.nzgbc.org.nz
BIM in NZ Conference Date: 8 May Venue: Te Papa, Wellington Cost: $776.25 inc GST (Master Plumbers members can take advantage of STCF discounts) BIM (building information modelling) is a game-changing process of sharing structured information for buildings and infrastructure assets. Using digital technologies, it gives everyone involved the ability to collaborate and share information at any stage in a project’s lifecycle. Find out more about how BIM works at this one-day conference. The event will showcase relevant and inspirational examples. Register online at www.biminnz.co.nz
DOWNLOAD THE LATEST REVISION FROM allproof.com
MASTER PLUMBERS NEWS
CEO’S REPORT I HOPE EVERYONE enjoyed the summer break and is looking forward to 2019. It looks like being another extremely busy year for the construction sector. I’m very much looking forward to our Gold Coast New Zealand Plumbing Conference in May, particularly as it has been more than a decade since we’ve taken the conference offshore. We have had strong registration numbers to date but are always looking for more members to attend. If you haven’t
there are absolutely valid reasons for self certification but the process will take time
registered, I’d strongly encourage you to go to our website and do so—it will be a fantastic event. There are a few remaining weeks for you to send in your entries for the 2019 Master Plumber of the Year and other award categories in the New Zealand Plumbing Awards. We encourage you to put your best foot forward and nominate individuals or businesses for these prestigious awards. Find the entry forms on our website. On the advocacy front, we have made our final Master Plumbers submission on the government’s review of the Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers Act and have met with MBIE to discuss the rationale behind our main proposals for change. After waiting six years for the review, we have been disappointed by the initial response. However, we will be in talks with Building & Construction Minister Jenny Salesa to ensure the review is robust and addresses our future industry needs. This month, I will be presenting to Local Government NZ on our proposals for plumber and drainlayer self-
certification and engaging with other sectors to ensure we have wider support for this initiative. There are absolutely valid reasons for self certification but the process will take considerable time. We recently consulted with Christchurch City Council Water Supply Improvement Programme Manager Helen Beaumont regarding the significant spike in HWC failures in the city. We are also working closely with suppliers and merchants on this issue. I would remind members of their obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act to install products that are fit for purpose— including taking local conditions into account (more information on p21). Proving the cause of leaking cylinders in Canterbury and similar ongoing issues in Hawke’s Bay is difficult and there are a number of factors in play, but we are working with local councils to ensure they understand the effects on consumers.
All Master Plumbers are encouraged to consider getting involved on the Board. Three Board members must stand down each year on rotation, at which point they can put themselves forward for reelection or stand down. Others can be nominated to fill Board vacancies by their Association or Branch, with the whole membership invited to vote electronically. As Chairman, my two key roles are to work with CEO Greg Wallace as the liaison between the Board and management staff, and to ensure our oneday Board meetings run efficiently.
By being part of the Board, I am learning all the time about governance and running a business. I also enjoy being in contact with a wide crosssection of people from around New Zealand, all with diverse skills. We have some robust discussions, but everyone is on the same page in wanting to work for the good of the membership and plumbing in general—tasked as we are under the Health Act to look after the general public’s health. Master Plumbers enjoys a good working relationship with MBIE, The Skills Organisation, the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board and the industry as a whole. It is heartening to see Master Plumbers in great shape, with everyone working together to identify and address industry issues as they come up.
Greg Wallace, CEO Master Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers NZ
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT THE NATIONAL MASTER Plumbers Board is charged with the governance of the Society— ensuring its proper management and mitigating any risks. A hot topic right now is cyber security, and we are tasked with making sure that the Society’s data is safe. Crisis management is also on our radar, and we will be looking at ways to ensure operations can continue uninterrupted in the event of a major earthquake in Wellington, where our national office is based. There are currently nine Board members, who meet in person around six times a year. We also have a number of sub-committees that correspond by teleconference. These include our remuneration, health and safety, audit and risk, disputes, and Masterlink subcommittees.
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February/March 2019
we will be looking at ways to ensure operations can continue in the event of a major earthquake
Craig Foley Board Chairman, Master Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers NZ
MASTER PLUMBERS NEWS
Awards entries closing soon!
Send in your entries for the 2019 NZ Plumbing Awards by 11 March. The 2019 New Zealand Plumbing Awards will be celebrated at a gala dinner on Friday 31 May. The venue will be the magical MacArthur’s Ballroom at the InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort in Queensland and is the culmination of the 2019 New Zealand Plumbing Conference. Awards in 10 categories recognise excellence in business performance, training, products, projects and individual contribution to the industry. Our trades are an essential part of the New Zealand economy and hugely in demand in the current construction climate. We also play a vital role in protecting public health. The awards are a way of growing the profile of our industry and acknowledging those who represent excellence. Entries close on Monday 11 March. Make time to apply or nominate someone you believe to be particularly deserving of an award.
NEW MEMBERS A warm welcome to new Master Plumbers member businesses: • Advanced Plumbing (Taupo), Volcanic Plateau • RHE Mechanical & Flints Plumbing & Drainage, Otago • Williams Plumbing, Auckland
2019 award categories • • • • • • • • • •
New Zealand Master Plumber of the Year New Zealand Plumber, Gasfitter or Drainlayer of the Year James Douglas Medallion New Zealand Training Leader of the Year Outstanding Projects Award Product of the Year Outstanding Services to the Industry Graeme Victor Smith Contribution to the Industry Plumbing World Scholarships Kava Cup
Find entry forms and full details at www.conference2019.org.nz
Want to join?
When you join Master Plumbers, you get excellent resources, training and savings— helping you be the best in business. Special two-year membership deal available 0800 502 102; membership@ masterplumbers.org.nz www.masterplumbers.org.nz
Stop Press: NZ Plumber digital Exciting news—NZ Plumber digital is now freely available to all! Simply go to www.masterplumbers.org.nz to read it online.
NEW: Terms of trade We’ve just added some awesome new template resources to the member website.
Quotes & terms of trade We recommend that you always provide a written quote for any work you do directly for a residential client—and remember that it’s a legal requirement if the work costs $30,000 or more, including GST. Terms of trade should be attached to the back of each quote, as these govern the contractual obligations between you and the client. With the help of law firm Duncan Cotterill, we have developed interactive PDF template quotes and terms of trade for fixed price or hourly rate contracts for residential building work (including repair work) costing less than $30,000 including GST.
Find the templates in the member log-in at www.masterplumbers.org.nz (under Compliance Support). Residential building contracts As mentioned above, you must by law have a written contract for building work you do directly for a residential client when the work (including repairs) costs $30,000 or more, including GST. We have updated the interactive PDF templates available to members to
reflect the changes in the Construction Contracts Amendment Act. Find templates for: • fixed sum work • hourly rate work • part hourly rate/part fixed sum work. Please ensure you read the guidance documents before using the templates. Find it all in the member log-in at www.masterplumbers.org.nz (under Compliance Support).
February/March 2019
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MASTER PLUMBERS NEWS
Felton becomes a Silver Business Partner We’re delighted to welcome Felton as a Silver Business Partner for Master Plumbers. Established in 1968 by Max Davies in Glen Innes, Auckland, Felton products are still proudly designed and finished in New Zealand. Felton is proud to have some of the best designers in the industry, who are constantly striving for perfection and pushing water technology to the next level. The company’s vision is to be the most respected shower and tapware brand in Australasia. Felton is passionate about combining innovative water technologies with good designs and ideas. With over 1.6 million shower mixers sold to date (about one for every three Kiwis), Felton is committed to delivering even more innovation, design and technology for many more years to come.
Felton Digital range Felton Digital is for those who simply want the best that technology has to offer. By utilising full digital integration, the Felton Digital range is about bringing aspirational luxury within reach. Smartflow & Smartview are digital thermostatic shower mixers featuring Swiss technology, allowing you to alter your water temperature and flow comfortably, at the touch of a button. There are three programmable memory settings to customise your shower temperature and flow rate, as well as the ability to set a maximum temperature. The thermostatic mixers allow constant water temperatures even when other taps in the house are used, making for a safer shower, especially for children and the elderly.
Above: Felton was established 51 years ago by Max Davies.
Felton Digital Smartflow and Smartview come with a 5-year warranty and are available through specialist plumbing and bathroom distributors. Check out www.feltondigital.co.nz for more information or see the products on display at Home Ideas Auckland. www.felton.co.nz
Silver Partner
Above: Felton Digital thermostatic shower mixer.
Best in Brand
Announcing this edition’s $200 prize voucher winner… Congrats to McBeth Plumbing & Gas! We love the way you’ve displayed the Master Plumbers and Master Gasfitters branding on the rear and side of your vans to maximise visibility from passing traffic. A $200 prize voucher on its way. Send in your entries For your chance to win, send us high-res photos of the Master Plumbers branding on your vehicles, premises or workwear. Email them to Sarah Rowe by Friday 15 March 2019: srowe@masterplumbers.org.nz
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February/March 2019
REGISTER NOW
plumbing conference 2019 New Zealand
29-31 May, Queensland, Australia
Force for the Future Full programme details at www.conference2019.org.nz
MASTER PLUMBERS BENEFITS
Supporting Your Business
Resources, discounts and savings available to Master Plumbers members.
Master Plumbers is here to assist member businesses in every way possible. Discover the many benefits available to those who join. It’s all in the member log-in at www.masterplumbers.org.nz
Marketing Support Master Plumbers brand The Master Plumbers logo is available in a number of file formats and colourways, both stacked and horizontal. Use it on your company uniforms, vehicles and office signage to show clients your work is covered by the Master Plumbers Guarantee and is Quality Assured. Free decals are available with the Master Plumbers, Master Gasfitters and Master Drainlayers branding. Please follow our brand guidelines for use.
Master Plumbers Guarantee The residential Master Plumbers Guarantee protects consumers in the event of a member's substandard workmanship or
bankruptcy. It covers homeowners for up to $15,000 in labour costs and up to $5,000 in product costs. Logo and customer fact sheet downloads available.
Employment Support HR Helpline Contact the HR Helpline for advice on HR and employment issues (first 30 minutes’ free).
HR guidance and resources Workplace policies, recruitment
guidance, performance review checklist and more.
Employment agreements Executive, standard, apprentice, contractor, and volunteer contract agreement templates
Business Support •
• • • • • • •
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Apprentices—Find top quality, mentored apprentices through the Master Plumbers Masterlink apprenticeship scheme (and we take care of all their PAYE, HR and block course arrangements). Insurance—Competitive premiums on business and personal cover with Master Plumbers Insurance. Fuel—Efficient fleet management and significant fuel savings with the Master Plumbers Mobilcard. Vehicle care—10% discount (exclusive of tyres) at Pit Stop, and just $48 inc GST for a WoF. Car hire—discounted rates on Avis rental cars. Job management—20% discount on initial implementation of simPRO Enterprise software. Training—Business training from just $90 ex GST per person in the annual Master Plumbers training timetable. Office supplies—Competitive prices on office products with NZ Office Supplies plus a $25 credit when you open a new account.
February/March 2019
• • •
Debt management—Special member subscription rate on Debtorinfo debt management and collection system. Monthly deals—Regular promotions and prizes from Master Plumbers Business Partners. NZ Plumber magazine—Six issues per year in print and digital versions. Featured resource
Members enjoy a 20% discount on all general equipment hire at Hirepool. Some T&Cs apply—ask in store for details.
Hire equipment discounts
MASTER PLUMBERS BENEFITS
Health & Safety Support Master Plumbers H&S App Use the app for instant on-site H&S reporting for you and your whole team.
Master Plumbers H&S Manual Personalised for your business.
Site Safe membership A 10% discount when you join Site Safe or renew your existing membership.
First Aid training discounts First Aid courses from the Red Cross at a 10% discount.
Compliance Support Residential building contracts
Standards online
For use when doing work direct for residential clients—whether fixed price or hourly rate.
New Zealand Standards online catalogue of 19 key standards—including AS/NZS 3500 and AS/NZS 5601.
Customer letter templates
Best Practice Guidelines
Helping you limit your risk when customers supply their own plumbing products or get a hot water cylinder replaced.
Compliance advice to help you when entering and administering contracts, dealing with disputes and more.
Subcontract Agreement SA-2017 We recommend you always use this when working for a main contractor on a commercial project.
Gas certification Gas certification template downloads.
Featured resource
Use our template quotes and terms of trade whenever you Quote & terms of do residential work costing less than $30k inc GST directly for trade templates clients. (Written contracts are a legal requirement when the work costs $30k or more—and we have templates for this too.) Find the templates in the member log-in at www.masterplumbers.org.nz under Compliance Support.
Technical Support Technical helpline Our new 0800 Technical Helpline is up and running. Contact Rod Miller with your plumbing, gas and drainage queries during normal business hours.
Technical training Competitively priced plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying technical courses are all part of the annual Master Plumbers training timetable.
Access all these benefits in the member log-in at www.masterplumbers.org.nz
I want to join!
Not a member and want to access all these awesome benefits? Contact Steve Rushworth: 027 839 8398 srushworth@masterplumbers.org.nz
February/March 2019
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IN FOCUS
Proposals for change
Master Plumbers has provided MBIE with feedback on the changes it wants to see for the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act.
THE PLUMBERS, GASFITTERS and Drainlayers Act 2006 is being reviewed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The Act sets out the restrictions on doing sanitary plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying. It is also the governing legislation of the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGDB). MBIE will be seeking public feedback on its proposed amendments to the Act in due course. In the meantime, Master Plumbers was asked to contribute its views on MBIE’s existing proposals, and to provide any additional suggested amendments for consideration. Following member feedback Master Plumbers has submitted its final proposals for consideration in the review. They are:
1. Certification of work Master Plumbers’ view: The government should introduce a selfcertification regime for plumbing and drainlaying (see article in previous edition of NZ Plumber).
2. Product standards Master Plumbers’ view: A compulsory product standards regime for plumbing products should be introduced. This would involve independent third-party testing. Its recent testing of a small sample of locally purchased tapware, which saw one of five tested taps leaching levels of lead 70% higher than the allowable limit in the applicable NZ Standard, highlights the need for urgent action. Master Plumbers is participating in MBIE’s Building Products Review, which is looking at standards for building products, among other issues. However, it is concerned the review will take time and won’t take sufficient account of the risks unsafe and poor-quality plumbing products (particularly tapware) present for public health, water use and consumer costs.
3. Milking and pumping piping installations Master Plumbers’ view: The government should NOT consider introducing an exemption or special licence for sanitary plumbing work on dairy farm milking, pumping and piping installations to allow the companies installing them to carry out sanitary plumbing work. Master Plumbers believes there is potential for significant public health risks as a result of badly designed or poorly installed work, which could cause contaminants to enter the potable water supply.
4. Backflow prevention Master Plumbers’ view: The Building Warrant of Fitness regime for properties with backflow devices is not being complied with adequately—including testing by water suppliers and annual 14
February/March 2019
Additional proposals
Master Plumbers has some additional proposals it wants MBIE to consider: Issue
Master Plumbers proposal
Fit and proper test
A fit and proper test should be applied at the limited certificate application stage rather than at the registration or licensing stage, as currently.
Registration by company (currently registration is by individual)
The Act should be amended to require any company carrying out PGD work for the public to be registered, and to identify the Certifying tradespeople that will certify work for the company. They should also tell the customer the name(s) of those Certifying tradespeople. Offence provisions should also be added to support these changes.
Employer licences for plumbing and drainlaying work (currently only allowed for gasfitting)
Employer licences should be allowed for plumbing and drainlaying work, as long as they are applied in appropriates settings and with the same safety outcomes as under the current licensing regime.
Administration
The register should be available electronically and the PGDB should be authorised to publish aggregated information on industry statistics to assist industry and public understanding of the industry.
Complaints, discipline and prosecution
Master Plumbers also has various proposals regarding offences, fines, appeal rights and PGDB powers.
IN FOCUS
inspections by IQPs. Master Plumbers wants to see stronger enforcement action of this Building Act requirement to ensure the water source is protected.
not taking on apprentices would pay the levy to share the cost of apprentice training with those that do.
5. Hot water circulating systems
Master Plumbers’ view: Master Plumbers supports MBIE’s proposals for a code of ethics and a quorum of fewer than five for minor disciplinary action. However, it doesn’t think the responsibility for prosecution of non-tradespeople should shift to MBIE, as has been proposed. Master Plumbers also considers that the PGDB’s work in investigating and prosecuting illegal work by non-tradespeople should be Crown funded rather than by levying registered and licensed tradespeople.
Master Plumbers’ view: Heating and hot water circulating systems should be included in the Act, as there is significant public health risk from Legionnaires’ disease. This can arise if systems aren’t set at the right temperature or have dead legs, for example.
6. Sanitary plumbing definition Master Plumbers’ view: The Act’s definition of sanitary plumbing work needs to be clarified. The current definition covers potable water supplies where the supply ends up in a sanitary fixture or sanitary appliance. This means that work where, say, taps don’t open to a sink or drain or water fountain, is not covered by the Act. The possibility that work on such supplies could fall outside the scope of the Act is a concern.
7. Apprentice levy Master Plumbers’ view: The government should consider introducing an apprentice levy as a way of addressing the current skills shortage and investing in training facilities. Companies
8. Complaints, discipline and prosecution
9. Exemptions Master Plumbers’ view: Master Plumbers supports MBIE’s proposal to remove some legislated exemptions, such as householder exemptions. ■ The full Master Plumbers’ submission can be viewed at www.masterplumbers.org.nz MBIE is expected to release its proposals for public consultation later in the year.
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Platinum Partners Master Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers NZ thanks the following Platinum Partners for their support:
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Silver Partners Master Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers NZ thanks the following Silver Partners for their support:
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February/March 2019
REAL LIVES
In it together
Understanding different personalities and how to treat staff are vital business assets, as husband-and-wife team Aaron and Sarah Jamieson tell Matthew Lowe. AARON AND SARAH Jamieson say they quickly had to earn the respect of experienced plumbers when they started running their own business. The Rotorua husband-and-wife team took charge of BOP Plumbing and Gas in 2016. Owner-operator Aaron, 35, says the decision to take charge of his father Graham Jamieson’s firm, Gas and Plumbing Services, and merge it with his own came as his own business kept growing. Graham has been in the plumbing business for more than 30 years and continues to work alongside his son and daughter-in-law. “I was in a situation where I had too much work and not enough time to do stuff and I needed either to take on staff or turn people away—and I hate turning people away,” Aaron says. “When that situation arose, Sarah and I decided to take the plunge and start running a bigger company, and it’s
working out all right. “There were a lot of guys older than us, and it is daunting. You don’t know if they respect you or if the attitude towards you will be, ‘What do you know?’. We had to prove ourselves, show that we knew what we were doing and admit when we didn’t— being transparent is key. If you start faking it, you can have a pretty big fall.” Besides learning valuable lessons about handling staff and customers, the couple’s career choice has also created challenges on a more personal level.
Work life balance
“I was cautious about working together [with Sarah],” says Aaron. “I didn’t like the idea at first because I have seen where it can ruin relationships, but with our roles we’re not in each other’s face every day. It does have some challenges and you just have to work around those. At the same time, it is good having the same goals and
achieving them together.” Sarah, 34, is Commercial Manager at the firm and also runs her own accountancy business. She says she and Aaron have their own specific duties within the company and try to stick to those so they are not stepping on each other’s toes. “I work on the business rather than in it,” she explains. “I never came into the business with the intention of working on the day-to-day operations. I wanted to deal with the high-level stuff: where we were making money and where we weren’t making money, and building systems and processes. “I am a reasonably strong person who speaks my mind and I am one of the bosses here—not just an office person and not just Aaron’s wife. > Above: A family affair—from left, Graham, Sarah (holding two-year-old Chase), and Aaron Jamieson. February/March 2019
17
REAL LIVES
Above: The team at BOP Plumbing and Gas plan to extend their services to the whole Bay of Plenty region.
“All-in-all it has worked well so far and hopefully that continues. We do get to see a bit more of each other than some couples… and the fact we are both in the business means we understand what it involves and what the end game is.” Adding to the demands of establishing the business was the arrival of their two sons, Chase, two, and Xavier, one. “In the less than three years we’ve been running the business we’ve had two children, so that has been pretty challenging,” Sarah says. “It has been a pretty difficult couple of years in trying to juggle home life and work life. It’s been full-on and still is, but it’s a credit to the team behind us that things keep going.”
Regional geothermal considerations
When Aaron was working for himself, he covered all of the Bay of Plenty, but since establishing BOP Plumbing and Gas the company has concentrated on Rotorua. The business has 13 full-time and one part-time staff member and the Jamiesons plan for the firm to start “steadily venturing out further” and take on work across the Bay of Plenty region. A number of plumbing projects in the area require some extra thought because of the geothermal nature of the surroundings. “In Rotorua you can be dealing with problems of corrosion by sulphur and 18
February/March 2019
you have to think carefully about what piping systems you can put in,” Aaron says. “It’s not too difficult but you have got to be aware of your in-soil conditions in Rotorua and the same in Taupo. It’s just about knowing your environment and using the right products.”
Organising the local awards
Aaron is also President of the Volcanic Plateau Master Plumbers and, along with Sarah, organised the first Volcanic Plateau Master Plumbers Awards Dinner, which was held at the Blue Baths in Rotorua in November and attracted 92 people. They drew inspiration for the night from the Waikato Master Plumbers and hope to make the event even bigger in 2019. “I wanted to recognise excellence in our area,” Aaron says. “We got invited to the Waikato dinner and awards night, and it was everything I had been thinking of. I realised that we should be doing something like this ourselves. “We have a good community of plumbers in town here and it is good to be able to get together, have a beer and a bit of banter with each other. I was hoping for 60 people for our first awards so to get 92 was outstanding. “We are in a trade where you do not get a lot of recognition for your achievements and having something local is good. We also want to have a graduation night for
we want to create a workplace that people enjoy being a part of apprentices in the area and we will do that as part of the awards in the future.”
Company focus on apprentices
Sarah says the company is especially committed to helping apprentices get qualified after struggling to find suitable staff to join the business. “We have been advertising for more staff for about the last year and a half, but having not had much luck we have come to the conclusion that we will train from the bottom up and just keep training apprentices. “We have four at the moment and, as they become qualified, we will try to get a new apprentice in. We hope they will stay around once they are fully qualified. If we can create that environment where they do not need to go and work for someone else or themselves, but will stay with us, we all reap the rewards. “We want to create a workplace that people enjoy being a part of. We don’t want our staff not to want to come to work every day—we aim to be a business that people want to work for.” ■
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TECHNICAL THEME
WATER QUALITY With chlorination issues for Christchurch, and lessons being learned from the Havelock North water supply contamination event, potable water supplies are a hot topic in New Zealand. In this section
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Christchurch chlorination Private rural supplies Water filtration Drinking-water standards
February/March 2019
TECHNICAL THEME
Christchurch chlorination MASTER PLUMBERS CEO Greg Wallace met Helen Beaumont, Christchurch City Council Water Supply Improvement Programme Manager, last December to express the organisation’s concerns about the extent of low-pressure copper hot water cylinder failures in the region since the Council’s decision to chlorinate the water supply in January 2018. A written response from the Council was expected as NZ Plumber went to print. “Master Plumbers has spoken with a number of manufacturers and suppliers, with one major hot water cylinder manufacturer indicating that it was manufacturing hundreds of copper cylinders for Christchurch each month— at a rate six times higher than usual— and that the rate of replacement does not appear to be slowing down,” says Greg. “Whilst it seems to be mainly older cylinders failing, there have also been reports of occasional failures within the warranty period. “Given this information, Master Plumbers consider the addition of chlorine to the water supply to be the key triggering factor.”
Master Plumbers has met with Christchurch City Council to discuss its water chlorination concerns.
Figure 1: Sample 31337 from the Canterbury University report.
Temporary chlorination timeline The Council intended to chlorinate the water supply for up to 12 months, but by mid-January 2019, 38 of the city’s 140 well heads had been upgraded—meaning only 25 percent of the city’s drinking water was unchlorinated. Helen Beaumont told NZ Plumber in early February that the Council was working as hard and fast as it could to upgrade the wellheads and to reduce the chlorine dose across the city wherever possible. “Chlorine appears to be one of the factors in accelerating pitting in copper cylinders, so there should be less damage if the chlorine is removed,” she said. “We have been reducing the dose progressively and are not seeing as
Figure 2: Sample 31337 (180˚ rotation)
many cylinder failures in our own social housing units as we did initially.” According to the Council’s website, interim upgrades were expected to be completed by May on 19 below-ground wells and another 41 raised above ground, bringing the total number of secure wells to 98. This should be enough to supply untreated water to the city over the winter months. Of the nine distinct water supply zones
in the city, the central zone supplies 42 percent of the population and is apparently the most challenging to work on. As well as upgrading the wells in this zone, the Council is working on treating water with UV at the pump station that supplies most of this zone’s water. “We are confident that seven of the nine city supply zones will be chlorine free by May,” said Helen Beaumont. >
February/March 2019
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PAGE TAG THEME TECHNICAL
Figure 3: Close-up view of Sample 31337 - Site D1 (left)
Impact on hot water cylinders Following the meeting with the Council, Master Plumbers has advised members in the city to install VE cylinders wherever possible for clients needing new or replacement cylinders. If this is not possible due to space or location restraints, householders should be made aware that replacing their low-pressure copper hot water cylinders with an identical or similar product may carry risks of pitting corrosion and a shortened product lifespan. Pitting corrosion in the bottom dome of the cylinder has been the most common cause of cylinder failure, with the resulting pinholes in the copper causing the cylinder to leak. According to a recent Canterbury University report, commissioned by cylinder manufacturer Superheat, pitting corrosion of domestic water pipes and hot water cylinders is acknowledged to be poorly understood and difficult to predict. Pitting has been associated with chlorinated, high pH, low alkalinity water, as well as to microbial induced corrosion, noted report author Professor Milo Kral.
A nationwide issue? Chemical composition of water supplies around the country differs significantly— as do water supply sources. According to the Christchurch City Council website, “Places like Auckland and Wellington use surface water (from rivers and streams), which generally develops a protective film when in contact with copper plumbing. In Christchurch we are using groundwater (from aquifers). Pitting corrosion leading to pinhole failure happens more commonly in some bore water (underground) supplies. 22
February/March 2019
Figure 4: Sample 31337 - Site D1 after removal from cylinder
“In Hastings and Napier, for instance, they have bore water supplies and also experienced a rise in hot water cylinder failures following chlorination of their water networks.” Superheat Managing Director Trevor Edwards says that in areas of the country that get their water from large reservoirs, sunlight dissipates the chlorine, reducing high concentrations.
Time will tell Master Plumbers welcomes the fact that Christchurch City Council is working with manufacturers and suppliers to gain a better understanding of the issue. However, it has concerns around some of the Council’s public statements, which suggest the failure of hot water cylinders is not likely to be an ongoing problem. “We have some reservations about whether this will in fact be the case for hot water cylinders that were exposed to the initial introduction of chlorine,” says Greg Wallace.
In his report, Professor Kral notes that, even if chlorination of the water supply ceases, the damage may already be done. “In my opinion, due to changes in chlorination, pitting corrosion of copper hot water cylinders is likely to become more frequently observed in Christchurch, and the average life of cylinders will be reduced.” Once pitting has started, it generally does not stop, he says. He also believes that pitting in copper pipes in the region will become more frequent. Master Plumbers agrees with this conclusion but considers that corrosion of new cylinders is likely to continue to be a risk only if above average levels of chlorination continue. “The addition of chlorine to the water supply in Napier and Hastings also caused higher hot water cylinder failures there. However, this seems to have affected older cylinders, as we’re not aware of any warranty claims on cylinders under five years old,” says Greg Wallace.
Manganese in Napier supply High levels of manganese were reported in Napier’s water supply in December, with residents complaining of brown water running from their taps. Napier City Council maintains the discolouration is due to cleaning the 481km mains network and stirring up sediment, and that it sends written warnings to affected householders of likely water discolouration before a scheduled cleaning run. On its website, the Council says it regularly tests the samples of dirty water to understand any potential health implications. “Analysis of these
tests show that there are elevated levels of manganese in the dirty water.” It goes on to say that to have any health effects from drinking this water, you would need to ingest it frequently over a long period of time. “Our recommendation is to avoid drinking dirty water and to flush the water until clear before drinking.” In December, Dr Belinda Cridge from the University of Otago recommended a precautionary approach for vulnerable groups—including babies, pregnant women and the elderly—whilst concluding the risks are likely to be low for most of the population.
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PAGE TAG THEME TECHNICAL
Private rural supplies Is it safe to drink? Sarah Johnson takes a look at protecting household groundwater supply on rural properties.
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GROUNDWATER
OWNERS OF RURAL properties might assume that their household water is safe to drink because it comes from a bore or well, it looks clear and tastes OK. This is not always the case, though. Many of the contaminants that make their way into a groundwater supply are not easily detectable based on the water’s taste or appearance. Common contaminants include salmonella, E. coli and campylobacter, which can enter a supply when the top of the bore or well is insufficiently secure. Other sources of contamination include sewage and faeces, when the water source is near a septic tank or stock. Chemicals can also leach into water, whether from fertiliser or the ground itself. Nitrates, arsenic, manganese, boron and iron are all common groundwater contaminants.
Secure Groundwater bores and wells for safe household water
Above: Useful guidance is available for download on the Ministry of Health’s website. 24
February/March 2019
Above: Animals, fertiliser and compost must be kept away from bore and well heads.
The health impacts of drinking contaminated water can be severe and pose particular risks for pregnant women, babies and the elderly. Chris Snackers, Director of High County Plumbing and Gas Ltd, says the issue is one he encounters relatively frequently in the rural Canterbury region his company services, particularly when a property has recently changed hands. “Property owners having a new well or bore created on their land must usually have the water tested as a condition of their consent,” says Chris. “But subsequent owners and occupiers don’t. There’s no mandatory provision to have the water tested, either before or after the sale, and new owners may be drinking the water thinking it’s pure, when in fact it’s not. Plumbers aren’t always alerting new owners to the issue either, and may be reconnecting or sorting issues with an existing supply without recommending the owner has it tested first. The question is, where does responsibility lie?” Master Plumbers Board member Jon Lewis confirms that the quality of potable water drawn from wells and bores on
any plumber called to work on a domestic groundwater supply on a rural property should be checking in with the owner about when they last had the supply tested rural properties is an ongoing issue that the organisation is working to raise awareness of. “It’s correct that plumbers in New Zealand are sadly lacking in this area of knowledge and, while responsibility does fall on the property owner, as plumbers we also have a level of responsibility when connecting to a water supply, whether new or existing, to ensure our clients understand the risks. The Ministry of Health produces some useful guidance in this area, and plumbers should be
TECHNICAL THEME
upskilling so they can recommend the correct system designs for their clients’ needs.”
Taking responsibility for water quality
Understanding who is responsible for the quality of a private water supply is a good starting point. The obligation to create a potable (ie, drinkable) water supply derives from the Building Act 2004 and Building Code. Clause G12 of the Building Code imposes performance requirements on water that is intended for human consumption, food preparation, utensil washing, or oral hygiene. Such water must be potable, and its supply must be protected from contamination. The Building Code applies when a new dwelling is being created, and in certain circumstances when an existing dwelling is being altered. It does not, however, impose fresh obligations just because an existing building is changing hands. In this situation, section 39 of the Health Act 1956 states that anyone selling a dwelling must ensure it has an adequate and convenient supply of potable water. The section places responsibility firmly on the vendor for ensuring that a water supply is not contaminated. At $500, though, the offence of failing to do so is not particularly onerous and the provision is not widely known. Having purchased the property, responsibility then passes to the new owner. The Ministry of Health’s Drinkingwater Standards for New Zealand (2008) contains comprehensive guidance for owners and operators of public and private drinking water supplies. Although the standards don’t apply to individual supplies, the associated Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality Management for New Zealand (2017) contain useful information for maintaining a high-level of water quality and direct owners to other, equally useful, resources. Key points from the guidelines include the need to treat groundwater supply systems as if they were surface sources,
and hence susceptible to contamination and likely to require treatment. The guidelines recommend regular sanitary inspections, routine system maintenance, adequate disinfection, and ongoing monitoring and testing to maintain the microbiological quality of the water. Councils have powers under section 123 and 124 of the Building Act to require an owner to fix an insanitary building, which includes any building without a supply of potable water that is adequate for its intended use. Likewise, medical officers of health and councils that become aware of contaminated drinkingwater supplies on private properties can take steps to assess the supply and warn owners not to use it. Clearly, an authority would first need to be aware that there was an issue with a private water supply before it could act in either situation. The bottom line is that property owners are responsible for testing and maintaining the quality of their own water supply. Many owners are unlikely to know this, and this is where the role of their plumber comes in. As a matter of good practice, any plumber called to work on a domestic groundwater supply on a rural property should be checking in with the owner about when they last had the supply tested and, with the owner’s consent, having it re-tested if required.
Keeping water supplies secure
Preventing bore and well water from becoming contaminated in the first place is the starting point for maintaining water quality. The Ministry of Health’s pamphlet Secure Groundwater: Bores and Wells for Safe Household Water (2000) is a useful resource for property owners wanting to create a new bore or well, or look after an existing one. The pamphlet recommends locating bores and wells away from contamination sources and from groundwater that could carry those contaminants into the supply.
a water supply can change over time and it’s good practice to be able to compare water tests from one year to the next Bore and well heads must be properly secured by: •
• •
•
sealing any gaps between the casing and the surrounding ground, and any hoses or cables that penetrate the casing using a locked protector cap and backflow preventers, where required keeping rubbish, pesticides, fertiliser, animals and compost well away from the area regularly checking the head to make sure it remains secure.
Where there are concerns that a water supply could be contaminated, laboratory testing will be able to confirm whether or not this is the case. Some laboratories don’t test for arsenic unless specifically asked, so, where necessary, get this as a separate test: high arsenic levels over time can increase the risks of cancer and heart conditions. Treatment options where contamination is detected may include filtration, ultraviolet light, aeration, chlorination, reverse osmosis and ion exchange. Another Ministry of Health publication, Treatment Options for Small Drinking-water Supplies, informs homeowners about the various options available to them. Be aware that a water supply can change over time and it’s good practice to be able to compare water tests from one year to the next to ensure a supply is remaining safe. Understanding the results from testing will be key to good water system design. February/March 2019
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TECHNICAL THEME
Water filtration
Reputable filtration products can remove the taste and smell of chlorine from mains water, as well as harmful bacteria, as Puretec explains. WHETHER IT’S TASTE and odour, safe and healthy drinking water, protecting your appliances, or reducing staining and deposits, quality water is an important part of our everyday life. Many people receive their water from a mains or town water supply, the benefit here being someone else is doing the work to make that water meet drinking water guidelines and protect public health.
Chlorine smell and taste There are a few advantages of chlorine when treating large volumes of water (for distribution to a city, for example) but, there can also be a few undesirable side effects for the end user. The reason for adding chlorine to the water is to kill bacteria and provide a micro-bacteriologically safe supply of water to consumers. Chlorine is cheap, relatively easy to manage and is a great disinfectant. Unfortunately, the treatment plant is often a long way from the consumer, so high doses of chlorine can be required to try to ensure it remains effective all the way to the tap. If you’ve ever noticed a ‘cleaning chemical’ smell or taste in the town water, or have experienced stinging eyes or dry skin after a shower, you have probably used chlorinated water. Also, chlorine often reacts with the natural organic materials in water to create trihalomethanes, amongst other things, which are not so good for our health. With a good quality carbon filter, all of these can be removed, leaving great tasting water that is also healthier for you.
Above: Puretec Hybrid M1, an undersink pointof-use filter system.
Bacterial contamination With large distribution networks also come issues such as broken pipework or damaged infrastructure. This means in instances where repairs and maintenance have been undertaken, the water quality can be compromised with dirt and bacteria after it has been deemed to meet drinking water standards. So, though the water authority may have done it’s best to treat the water with chlorine or another method, bacteria and dirt can still arrive at the point of use.
Above: Puretec Hybrid G12 point-of-entry filter system, which filters water for the whole house. Below: The PureMix Z7 system is designed for applications with higher sediment and harsher water quality.
Filtration options There are two key ways to approach chlorine and bacteria removal in your mains water, which are: • •
point-of-use systems (eg, undersink filter systems) point-of-entry systems (eg, whole house filter systems), which are used at the point of entry to the house.
Understandably, we want to avoid taste, odour and harmful impacts of chemicals like chlorine in our drinking water, but by the same measure, we want to be protected from harmful bacteria jeopardising our health. Puretec’s Hybrid Triple Series provides sediment filtration, down to a fine level and it also utilises a high capacity carbon block filter. These systems not only provide chlorine and sediment removal for a whole house, but they also include a UV system at the end, so that any other bacteria making it through the pipework is treated. This system is equipped with a lamp countdown timer and failure alarm (audible and visible) so homeowners can be certain it’s working, and can keep track of when a UV lamp change is required. If a point-of-use system is preferred, Puretec has also recently developed a new Hybrid Mini, which connects quickly and easily to any mixer tap. This system also uses UV technology to kill 99.9% of bacteria while also removing sediment, taste, odour and chemicals.
Do your research Puretec has an extensive range of WaterMarked products, which means they have been thoroughly tested to ensure they are fit for purpose and appropriately authorised for use in plumbing and drainage installations. In recent times, some New Zealand water filtration suppliers have been fined for misleading claims about the capabilities of their products. It’s essential to do your research on the household’s water source and what kind of water filtration product is right for the circumstances. Puretec offers water testing kits for you to collect a sample that can then be sent to your nearest water testing facility. They will also help you understand what the results indicate. Different people may have different issues with their water quality, depending on the water source and application, but whatever the scenario or personal preference it is important to purchase a system bearing the WaterMark symbol, as these have been certified to filter out exactly what is claimed. The Puretec team is always happy to discuss the particular circumstances to ensure the right fit. Give Puretec a call on 0800 130 140 or visit puretec.co.nz for more information.
February/March 2019
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TECHNICAL THEME
Drinking-water standards New Zealand’s Drinking-Water Standards are being reviewed, with initial changes being introduced from this March. THE HAVELOCK NORTH Inquiry sent a clear message that this country must up its game on drinking-water standards. Towards the end of last year, Health Minister David Clark announced changes to the 2005 New Zealand Drinking-Water Standards, with the 2018 revision coming into force on 1 March. Aside from minor clarifications or corrections, there are a couple of significant changes for the way water is monitored and tested: 1. The requirement for water suppliers to routinely monitor the total amount of
coliform bacteria in water. (Coliforms are a broad class of bacteria found in our environment, including those found in soil, water influenced by surface water and human or animal waste.) A high reading doesn’t necessarily mean drinking-water is unsafe, but can act as a warning to suppliers that further testing is needed. 2. The requirement for enumeration testing for E. Coli and total coliforms. Under the previous Standards, it was sufficient to carry out a presence/absence test for E.coli as part of routine monitoring of supplies. If present, the Standards then required
an enumeration test to better assess the risk level. This can create a delay of one or two days. Doing enumeration tests from the start would improve efficiencies in responding to a contamination event. The government is consulting on this testing proposal to ensure laboratories have the capacity to provide the service. A comprehensive review of the DrinkingWater Standards is also being carried out, with proposed changes to be released for public consultation by mid-2019.
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PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Flying start The team at Tuffnell Plumbing Drainage & Gas turned to Google for some help sourcing products essential for completing work on a new terminal at Nelson Airport. By Matthew Lowe. FOR THE FIRST part of Nelson Airport’s $32 million redevelopment, staff from Richmond-based Tuffnell Plumbing Drainage & Gas had to find some speciality materials. The terminal opened in October last year and Tuffnell’s is also involved in the next phase of work, with the old terminal building being demolished and replaced with a similar structure to the new one. The whole project at New Zealand’s fifth-busiest airport is due to be completed before the end of 2019. 30
February/March 2019
Seismic challenges Jacob Olykan, Tuffnell’s Plumbing and Gas Contracts Manager, says sourcing products that met both the project budget and the required seismic standards was a fresh challenge for the firm. “Design plans are a guideline for how to get things through. It Above: Nelson Airport’s new terminal is part of a $32 million redevelopment of the site.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
“After looking around to see what was best, we used a copper crimp pipework for sections originally designed to be done in copper. It meant we did not have to worry about hot works permits and it made things faster—as a product it was more expensive but it cut down our working time.” Tuffnell’s Managing Director, Chris Downey, says the tender process for the work was pretty hard fought and it was a challenge finding and using newer products on the market, or products that don’t get used very often, which would allow for expansion and contraction and for seismic movement. “A challenge from day one was the high specification for seismic rating. It really pushed the boundaries and we had to seek out ways to overcome that.” Nelson Airport’s previous terminal was built in 1974 but was due for an upgrade as annual passenger numbers have passed the 1 million mark and more airlines now use the site. Earthquake risks were also a factor after Nelson City Council deemed the old terminal an earthquake-prone building in 2014 and gave the airport 10 years to strengthen it. Jointly owned by the Nelson City and Tasman District councils, the airport company began the redevelopment in June 2017, with Tuffnell’s staff on site from September that year. “We had up to 10 staff on site at times and that was a mix of drainlayers, plumbers and apprentices and administration staff,” Jacob says. “It stretched our resources at times and we had our own challenge with trying to keep other clients satisfied.”
a challenge from day one was the high specification for seismic rating looks easy on paper, but when areas of the building are designed to move 70 to 80 millimetres and we have a rigid pipe going through, you have to think outside the square,” he says. “We had a good guy at [construction firm] Gibbons. It tickled his fancy finding random products, and there were a lot of Google searches between us. Sometimes it was a case of whether we could find products in New Zealand but, if not, whether what we did find would comply with our regulations. “It’s not just about finding a product that works but one that has passed the WaterMark and can be used in this country.
Above: Jacob Olykan, Tuffnell’s Plumbing and Gas Contracts Manager. February/March 2019
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Above: Pipework at the new terminal.
Above: The terminal is designed to better handle earthquakes than its predecessor.
Useful learning experience It’s also been a great learning experience, according to Jacob. “Some of our staff had not dealt with backflow prevention because of the reduced pressure zones involved at different sizes. The guys do not normally work with that every day, but now they have that skillset. “Even the experienced guys who have been working for years were on new projects and learning new ways of doing things, which is great for everyone involved.” Features of the new building include its use of locally produced laminated veneer lumber for the timber structure, natural ventilation using solar chimneys, and the utilisation of natural light. Large, chevron style awnings are fitted to the exterior of the building for sun protection and to provide heat for the ventilating system. There was plenty of compliance paperwork each day for the plumbing and drainage teams—partly through health and safety regulations as the airport continued to operate as usual—and because there were smaller projects on site that were also being undertaken simultaneously.
Above: Copper crimp pipework was used for the sections designed to be done in copper.
it presented a lot of learning opportunities–especially for our apprentices to cut their teeth on a larger scale project Above: Completing compliance paperwork each day was a key task for those involved in the redevelopment. 32
February/March 2019
All photography except copper pipework and Tuffnell team photos courtesy of Nelson Airport.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
the main contract involved bathrooms, supplying water to areas of kitchens and kiosks and the airport lounge upstairs Above: The team at Tuffnell Plumbing Drainage and Gas.
terminal and the effort put in by his staff, and they are now looking forward to the second stage of the project. “The quality is very high, the products we put in are high spec… and the guys have done a great job considering the late nights, deadlines and compliance issues faced,” he says. “It was a highly contested project because it is a centrepiece of Nelson. There was some hot competition bidding for the work and we got through on price and our reputation, given the company is 105 years old, and we have worked on large projects locally before. “We feel very privileged to be involved and it presented a lot of learning opportunities—especially for our apprentices to cut their teeth on a larger scale, more challenging project than they may normally encounter each day.” ■
Photograph by Beverly Sellers.
“The main contract involved bathrooms, supplying water to areas of kitchens and kiosks and the airport lounge upstairs. During the project we were also approached by the café and civil contractors to do work for them,” Jacob says. “It’s been interesting because there have been projects within the central project, such as Air New Zealand Portacoms and the cafés. It’s been exciting to be a part of but it’s also been a paperwork and email nightmare! “I think it’s going to be a real asset to Nelson and Tasman. There perhaps wasn’t a great deal of plumbing work in the grand scheme but, because of the nature of it—with time demands, health and safety and other constraints—it was unique, and that made it a really cool project to be a part of.” Chris says he is proud of the work Tuffnell’s has done at the
Above: The exterior of Nelson Airport's new terminal. February/March 2019
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NUTS & BOLTS
Designing a domestic plumbing system Considering the key requirements of a plumbing system early in a house design can lead to a smoother consenting and building experience, fewer call-backs and happier clients. By David Hindley. WHEN BRANZ ARRANGED inspections of 200 new houses under construction, some of the most common problems involved plumbing. In over a third of the houses, there were framing cut-outs to accommodate pipes that were larger than permitted in NZS 3604:2011 Timberframed buildings. Cladding penetrations for pipes that were not properly sealed to the wall underlay—a potential weathertightness risk—were also among the top 10 defects.
Plan well to avoid problems
Poor planning can lead to problems with both compliance and quality, such as: • the maximum length of unvented discharge pipes may be exceeded • valves and hot water cylinders may end up being difficult to access • discharge pipes may have insufficient fall because of a high invert level at the outfall • there may be difficulty in achieving minimum discharge pipe gradients or installing floor waste gully traps because of insufficient depth in floor joists • pipework may need to be surface mounted because wall framing is not deep enough to allow concealment • plumbing fixtures may be located with the waste outlet directly over a joist, bearer or beam • pipe runs may be long and complicated to navigate nonpenetrable building elements such as steel beams • pipe and drain noises may be heard in living and sleeping areas.
Basic requirements
For hot and cold water supply and sanitary plumbing, systems must: 34
February/March 2019
•
provide water when needed at a flow rate that allows all fixtures and appliances to work correctly • ensure that the potable (drinkable) water supply remains potable • not harm occupants—for example, through hot water services scalding or exploding. The overarching requirements are set out in the New Zealand Building Code, in particular, clauses G12 Water supplies and G13 Foul water. The key plumbing standard is AS/NZS 3500 Plumbing and drainage. A new version was published in mid2018 but is getting a long roll-out—the older 2015 version must still be used until the new version is referenced.
Above: What not to do—unreinforced cut-out in timber framing.
Design and planning pointers
Thinking through a few key areas in the early stages of design can make the rest of the process run more easily: • Group wet areas (bathrooms, toilets, laundries) together for shorter pipe runs, easier discharge pipe venting and fewer exterior wall penetrations. • Locate wet areas on an upper floor above wet areas on the ground floor. • Design waste and discharge pipe systems to run in the same direction as floor joists to reduce framing cutouts. • Consider specifying 140mm wall framing instead of 90mm. While typically done to fit higher grades of insulation, deeper framing also allows more flexibility with plumbing. For example, services that would otherwise be surface mounted may be concealed in the wall with deeper framing. • Calculate the depth of floor joists
Above: Another bad job with an unreinforced cut-out in the wall framing.
required to allow for good pipe gradients and to accommodate required fixtures, such as floor waste gully traps.
NUTS & BOLTS
Think about the water supply layout
Problems can be avoided by good planning of the cold and hot water supply layout: Keep pipe runs as short as possible. Pass pipes close to fixtures to minimise the number of branches and unnecessary elbows, tees and joints. Having longer pipe runs and more fixtures will reduce flow rate, increase heat losses and increase use of materials. • Specify mains water point of entry into the building through a utility space such as a garage or laundry. • Locate the water heating system close to where hot water is required to reduce the length of pipe runs to fixtures—longer pipe runs require more water to be drawn off before hot water is discharged. Specify a separate point-of-use water heater (such as a continuous-flow heater) for fixtures more than 6-10m from the main water heater. • Where possible, avoid setting water supply pipes under concrete floors.
Above: Figure 1 - Floor waste gully trap.
Pipework installed in locations that are difficult to access, such as under a concrete floor, must meet a minimum 50-year durability under the Building Code. Many pipe and fixture manufacturers will not guarantee
50-year durability in this situation. Maintenance is impossible, and degradation will be undetectable. Avoid running pipes over or near bedrooms and living areas to reduce the risk of noise problems. >
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February/March 2019
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NUTS & BOLTS
Gradients and floor joist depth
Check the invert level of the connection at the property boundary to ensure that sufficient fall can be incorporated within the site. The minimum permitted gradient for any graded 100mm discharge pipe is 1:60. To find the actual fall in mm per metre required, divide 1,000 by 60 (16.6mm/m). Make allowance for bends, junctions and fixtures such as floor waste gully traps. For example, if a 100mm discharge pipe offset between floors is required to travel 3.5m to a toilet, how much clear space is required? DN 100mm pipe outside diameter
= 110mm
3.5m travel @ 1:60
= 58mm
Allowance of offset bends
= 100mm
Total
= 268mm
Looking at the joists supporting an upper floor, standard 250mm joists would not be deep enough. The space required may be significantly greater if a floor waste gully is specified. Remember, this is just the minimum. It is best to design gravity discharge and sanitary pipelines at greater than the minimum gradients. Increasing the gradient can significantly increase the load-carrying capacity of a sanitary or discharge pipe. The pipe will also run cleaner due to the higher water velocity, meaning less maintenance and reduced potential for blockage.
Floor waste gully traps
Floor waste gully traps (Figure 1) are prudent in all bathrooms, especially on upper floors, but again, sufficient depth for them must be considered at the design stage. The clear depth required for a 100mm floor waste gully trap can be around 200-350mm. Check with the manufacturer. These traps act as a floor drain while also receiving connections from wastewater fixtures in the same room. The rules around positioning and sizing these traps are set out in AS/NZS 3500.2. Advantages of floor waste gully traps include: 36
February/March 2019
Above: Figure 2 - Schematic drawing showing sanitary plumbing vent in a 2-storey house.
• • • •
fewer connections needed to the discharge pipe shorter length of wastepipe overflow protection easy cleaning.
Drainage, sanitary plumbing and venting a 2-storey house
Upper-floor plumbing fixtures normally discharge to a soil stack. The single stack option (Figure 2) is the simplest and most economical to install. Each fixture discharge pipe connects to the stack. There are restrictions on the length of individual pipes, so distant fixtures must be vented separately. The stack should be straight without offsets, with a few fixtures relatively close to it. Fully vented systems and modified versions can be specified if fixtures are more widespread but are likely to have higher material and labour costs.
Include maintenance access
Access points must be planned for and installed in sanitary plumbing systems at points where blockage is likely, such as discharge pipe junctions or at the base of a stack where it meets the drain. Proprietary rodding points, access covers and clean-out fittings can provide a neat flush-finished access point.
Plan the work sequence
Once all the decisions are made, carefully planning the sequence of work is also important. For example, exterior wall penetrations must be formed before the wall cladding is installed so they can be correctly finished to the wall underlay with flexible flashing tape. If necessary, a sleeve can be installed first, with pipes installed in the sleeve later. ■ © BRANZ Build 169, December 2018 www.buildmagazine.org.nz
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NUTS & BOLTS
Confined space gas detectors Confined space gas detectors save lives, but only when we solve this communication problem and understand how to properly rescue those we can’t reach. By Kyle Krueger. A QUOTE FROM the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke perfectly sums up the problems we all face with confined spaces… “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can’t reach.” Approximately 60% of all deaths in confined spaces are rescuers* because the people inside the space can’t communicate the dangers within. According to a US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health study, the majority of these deaths were because of atmospheric hazards. People died because they didn’t know the atmosphere they were about to walk into was filled with deadly concentrations of gas. The best way to eliminate atmospheric-related deaths in confined spaces is through proper use of gas detection and leveraging technology to communicate those hazards to all would-be rescuers. We need to solve our communication problem and understand how to properly rescue those we cannot reach.
Failure #1: No real-time peer-to-peer gas hazard communication
Gas detectors have traditionally been very good at alerting the wearer about hazards. However, they have been terrible at letting anyone else in the work group know about these hazards. Given the statistics on confined space deaths, shouldn’t rescuers know about those atmospheric conditions before entering and attempting rescue? And shouldn’t the attendant know about the entrants’ readings in real time anyway? There have been huge advances in wireless communication with gas detectors. But while devices that communicate the readings to a remote person via the internet could provide benefit, it does absolutely nothing for those in the immediate work group who could become one of the ‘would-be’ 60% of rescuers mentioned above. Peer-to-peer gas detection communication, such as Industrial Scientific’s LENS™ Wireless technology, is the best way to let those who would be in immediate danger know of the hazard, so they can make the best decisions in real time. Additionally, technologies like LENS allow for communication between personal and area gas detectors. This means users can easily place these detectors in confined spaces and communicate gas information without a person having to be in the atmosphere to begin with. Simple communication investments can be made to easily engineer these ad-hoc networks to deliver the critical information to those whose lives depend on it most. 38
February/March 2019
Above: A confined space attendant’s job can be made easier with wireless gas detectors.
Failure #2: Not following the 2-by-2 rule
Before entering confined spaces, it is common sense and accepted knowledge that workers should test the atmosphere before entry. But HOW to do that is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of proper gas detector use. To outline this juxtaposition, let me use a common example… If you were fishing, would you immediately reel in your line if no fish bit, then determine no fish were there? No! Well why is that? We all know that fishing is a process. It takes time, skill and patience to catch what you are really looking for, right? Then explain to me why so many people think that they can drop a line of tubing into a space, wait a few seconds, then immediately determine that space is safe? The 2-by-2 rule was established to give simple, clear guidance in determining whether a space is safe. The rule states that it takes 2 minutes of sampling time PLUS… 2 seconds for every foot of tubing. Here is a common scenario… If sampling a 10ft space with 20ft of tubing attached, how long would that take to do the first sample? Answer: 2 minutes and 40 seconds. That is 2 minutes plus 2 seconds per foot (20 feet of tubing). And keep in mind, that is per stratum.
Please stop ‘reeling in’ your tubing so quickly. Proper testing takes time, skill, and patience. Use this time to be aware of all the other dangers you’re about to face when entering this space.
Failure #3: Lowering gas detectors down on strings I know this might offend those who routinely practice this, but come on folks. The best you can do to test the atmosphere is attach a key piece of safety equipment to a string or rope? Please, just stop. Properly using a gas detector with a pump (either integral or attached) is by far the best way to see the real-time readings and accurately sample the space. Otherwise you are unable to properly see the gas readings in real time or prevent the monitor from unnecessary damage. Even worse, you could risk a life by attempting to rescue a monitor that was dropped into the space. Let’s hope you brought a backup monitor in that case!
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Failure #4: Lack of continuous monitoring
Just because you obeyed the 2-by-2 rule and determined the atmosphere to be safe before you entered doesn’t mean the atmosphere is now static and won’t change. Often the work being performed in confined spaces dynamically changes the environment by disrupting old components and introducing new ones. The only way to be certain the atmosphere is always safe is to continuously monitor. Just because you put a blower in the space to ventilate doesn’t mean that… 1. The air being blown in is clean (especially when it is near an exhaust), or 2. The airflow is proper and can mitigate any hazards. Please take time this month to review your programme for confined spaces and go through the scenario of an atmospheric incident. Put yourself in the shoes of the person who is about to enter a fatal atmosphere… did they check a box during training? Or do they have the proper entry habits? Now put yourself in the shoes of their co-workers/friends whose minds would be racing to help save them. Do they have all the information they need about this environment in real time? We don’t have to accept a failure to communicate as the norm for deaths in confined spaces. We can leverage technology and best practices to eliminate death on the job. ■ *https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/94-103/pdfs/94-103.pdf?id=10.26616/ NIOSHPUB94103
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Reproduced with permission from https://www.gasdetectors.co.nz/blog/
Finding out more If you’d like to enquire about wireless gas detectors, email gas@ entec.co.nz or call 06 758 3030 ext 2 to talk to a wireless gas detection expert. Want to read more about wireless connectivity in confined spaces? Check out the article How are wireless gas detectors changing confined space entries? at www.gasdetectors. co.nz/wireless-gas-detectors-confined-space-entries
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Permanent ventilation NUTS & BOLTS
PAUL MCKINLEY DEVELOPED this user-friendly resource for gasfitting apprentices at WelTec to help them calculate permanent ventilation requirements for open-flued and flueless appliances.
Permanent ventilation triangle
Where the total input of the appliance(s) exceeds the allowances set out below, then permanent ventilation is to be installed to Triangle ensure proper operation of the appliance and flue system.
the appliance(s) exceeds the allowances set out below, then permanent Natural led to ensure properDraught operation of the =appliance and 3 Mj/h perflue m3system. of room volume Appliance nce = 3 Mj/h per Mᶟ of room volume Flueless Appliance
= volume 0.4 Mj/h per m3 of room volume = (Thermostatic) 0.4 Mj/h per Mᶟ of room = (Non-thermostatic) 0.2 Mj/h per Mᶟ of room = volume 0.2 Mj/h per m3 of room volume
WelTec plumbing and gasfitting tutor Paul McKinley shares his permanent ventilation for gas appliances resource with our readers.
Using the triangle
Appliance input ÷ Room volume = Allowance Or Appliance input ÷ Allowance = Minimum room size Or Room volume x Allowance = Maximum appliance input Example: No permanent ventilation required Room size is 4m x 3.5m x 2.4m = 33.6 m3, an open flued space heater of gas input 44.6Mj/h Allowance:
3 Mj/ m3
Therefore:
44.6 ÷ 33.6 =
1.327 Mj/ m3
(less than set allowance)
Or:
44.6 ÷ 3 =
14.867 m3
(minimum room volume for appliance)
Or:
33.6 x 3 =
100.8 Mj/h
(maximum gas input for room volume)
Triangle”
m volume
Example: Permanent ventilation required Room size is 5m x 1m x 2.4m = 12 m3, a non-thermostatic flueless space heater of gas input 18Mj/h
wance
nce
nput
nt ventilation required)
Allowance:
0.2 Mj/ M3
Therefore:
18 ÷ 12 =
1.5 Mj/ m3
(more than set allowance)
Or:
18 ÷ 0.2 =
90 m3
(minimum room volume for appliance)
Or:
12 x 0.2 =
2.4 Mj/h
(maximum gas input for room volume)
2.4m = 33.6 mᶟ, an open flued space heater of gas input 44.6Mj/h
ᶟ
3.6 =
1.327 Mj/ Mᶟ
(less than set allowance)
=
14.867 Mᶟ
(minimum room volume for appliance)
=
100.8 Mj/h
(maximum gas input for room volume)
entilation is required)
.4m = 12 mᶟ, a non-thermostatic flueless space heater of gas input 18Mj/h
Mᶟ
=
1.5 Mj/ Mᶟ
(more than set allowance)
=
90 Mᶟ
(minimum room volume for appliance)
=
2.4 Mj/h
(maximum gas input for room volume)
8 version1
40
February/March 2019
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Tech points
NUTS & BOLTS
Plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying technical updates in brief.
SAFE VENTILATION OF GAS APPLIANCES
BUILDING CODE DOCUMENT UPDATES
Energy Safety is strongly recommending that gasfitters be asked to check for adequate ventilation whenever air extraction systems or new window joinery are being installed where there is an open-flued gas appliance or combustion appliance, such as a woodburner. “Properly installed gas appliances will have adequate ventilation when first installed, but the effectiveness of this ventilation will likely be compromised by subsequent installation of air extraction systems or relatively air-tight joinery (such as aluminium windows or double glazing), particularly when they occur in combination,” it warns. Gasfitters should refer to section 6.4 of AS/NZS 5601.1 Gas installations – General installations for procedures to ensure adequate ventilation of gas appliances, and to Appendix R for spillage tests to verify effective operation of flued appliances.
MBIE has started a Bi-Annual Building Code System Update programme to help keep Building Code documents current. There are now two consultation periods every year in February/ March and August/September about proposed changes to Acceptable Solutions (AS) and Verification Methods (VM), with amendments published in June and November. The first consultation period in the new programme took place in August/September 2018. Amendments were proposed to 11 AS and VM documents, and all have now been published, with changes effective from 30 November 2018. (It was also proposed to revoke the Simple House Acceptable Solution, but this will happen at a future date.) The previous AS and VM documents will comply until 31 March 2019. If used from 1 April 2019, they must be considered an alternative solution proposal. Amendments have been made to: • Building Code Clause B1 Structure: B1/VM1 – Now references a new Standard for designing composite steelconcrete structures and a new Technical Specification for specifying durability requirements for steel structures. Also now references the latest version of the wind loading Standard. • Building Code Clause B2 Durability: B2/AS1 – Now includes durability requirements for steel structures and components. • Building Code Clause E2 External Moisture: E2/ VM1, E2/AS1 – Both now include Extra High wind zones. Amendments to the Verification Method clarify testing requirements for ensuring adequate weathertightness performance of claddings. • Building Code Clause G12 Water Supplies: G12/VM1, G12/AS1, G12/AS2 – All now reference amended Standards for the jointing of common stainless steel pipework. This means common stainless steel pipework installation no longer has to be treated as an alternative solution proposal. • Building Code Clause G13 Foul Water: G13/AS1, G13/ VM2, G13/AS2, G13/AS3 – All now reference an amended Standard relating to the testing of drains and inclusion of vacuum drainage systems. Use of these provisions will no longer need to be treated as alternative solution proposals. Find the latest versions of all Building Code compliance documents at www.building.govt.nz (under Building Code compliance)
NEW LPG GUIDANCE The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has published new website guidance for LPG suppliers, compliance certifiers and enforcement officers working at homes and other nonworkplaces. It has also updated its information on storing LPG at home and in other non-workplaces. Find the guidance at www.epa.govt.nz/everyday-environment/using-lpg-gas-at-home
CERTIFYING YOUR GAS WORK CORRECTLY? In 2018, Energy Safety issued three infringement notices to gasfitters for failing to follow the certification requirements. Gasfitters are legally obliged to follow best practice, as set out in the Gas Regulations, and to certify the gasfitting work upon connection. They then must provide the certification to clients as soon as possible within the timeframes specified in the regulations. Certification cannot be withheld beyond the specified timelines for any reason. Outside of these timelines, the certifier has seven working days to provide the certification to those requesting it (ie, clients, occupants, WorkSafe or the PGDB). There have been cases where gasfitters have ignored several requests from clients or provided incorrect information on the Certificate of Compliance, resulting in fines.
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NUTS & BOLTS
Plumbing legislation & AS/NZS 3500 All plumbers should have a good understanding of the plumbing standards we work to every day, as Jon Lewis explains. FOR SEVERAL YEARS, Master Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers NZ has been part of the Australian Standards committee WS-014. I currently represent Master Plumbers on this working group, which sees me travelling to Sydney for meetings two to three times a year. WS-014 is the main plumbing sector Australian Standards committee. Its goal is to represent the views of a wide range of parties with a common interest in the plumbing sector. Other plumbing-related Standards committees are responsible to WS-014 for the scope and timeliness of changes to joint Australian/New Zealand plumbing and drainage Standard AS/NZS 3500. While many suppliers, pipe manufacturers and product suppliers from Australia and New Zealand are 42
February/March 2019
represented on WS-014, it also includes Australian legislators and Australian Master Plumbers. At present, New Zealand does not have a representative from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). Joining me as New Zealand representatives are plumbers Paul Costelloe from the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGDB) and Richard Aitken, who represents Water New Zealand interests.
Plumbing legislation! How well do you know it? You may not realise it, but we work to specific legislation every day. I’m not talking about health and safety at work— that’s a given, whether you are a sole trader, employee or employer.
What we do need to talk about are the plumbing standards we all work to every day. Even if you only undertake maintenance work or alterations, this doesn’t exclude you from your obligations under the Building Act. The mandatory provisions for building work are contained in the New Zealand Building Code, which makes up the First Schedule of the Building Regulations. The relevant Building Code Clause for Water Supplies is G12. There may also be a few other Building Code documents you will need to adhere to—for example, B1 Structure, B2 Durability, E3 Internal Moisture.
Acceptable Solutions and Verification Methods Within each Building Code Clause,
NUTS & BOLTS
Building Act 1992
Building Regulations 1992
Building Code
Alternative Solutions
Standards (Alternative solution route)
Schedule 1 of Building Regulations
Acceptable Solutions (AS)
Verification Methods (VM)
Cited Standards (Deemed-to-comply route)
Building Code Clause G12 Water Supplies includes G12/VM1, G12/AS1 and G12/AS2
For Building Code compliance, acceptable reference documents include only the quoted edition and specific amendments as listed in the Acceptable Solutions and Verification Methods MBIE produces Acceptable Solutions and Verification Methods. Acceptable Solutions give specific, step-by-step construction details, often for commonly used building materials, systems and methods. Verification Methods are tests or calculation methods. You are not required by law to follow an Acceptable Solution or Verification Method—but they are a useful way of demonstrating compliance with the Building Code. If followed, they must be accepted by a building consent authority (BCA) as evidence of compliance. They can also be useful when showing how proposed building work will comply as an alternative solution. You can use them in part, or in comparison alongside other evidence. You can find out more about these documents on MBIE’s website at www.building.govt.nz/building-codecompliance Be aware that MBIE regularly makes changes to G12 and its Acceptable Solutions and Verification Method. The latest version is the 3rd edition, amendment 11, which became effective from 30 November 2018. It can also be found at www.building.govt.nz
Where does AS/NZS 3500 fit in? As explained in page 15 of Clause G12, a design method for water supply systems may be verified as satisfying the Performances of G12 if it complies with: a) AS/NZS 3500.1 [water services] Section 2, Section 3 and Appendix C. Note that Appendix C is part of this Verification Method, even though it is included in the Standard as an ‘Informative’ Appendix); and b) AS/NZS 3500.4 for heated water services.
Plumbers must speak up The AS/NZS 3500 suite provides verification methods that certainly make our lives easier when designing plumbing systems—from alterations and new housing to multi-storey complexes. As you will know, it is a relatively easy and cost-effective installation Standard. Be aware that there have also been updates to AS/NZS 3500 (though the existing version must still be used until the 2018 version is referenced)—see article overleaf. I will endeavour to provide further updates in future editions. As I said before, Standards committees can be made up from a variety of groups.
If Master Plumbers, the PGDB and Water New Zealand were not involved, who knows what changes would be made to the Standards?! Without genuine input from plumbing practitioners, you would end up relying on legislators, manufacturers and suppliers to specify our plumbing systems. Whilst manufacturers and suppliers are really important in regard to consultation on the design, performance and installation of their products, I believe the most important people are the plumbers who design and install plumbing systems that protect our health. And yes, I am unashamedly biased towards plumbers. I would personally like to thank the PGDB for Paul Costelloe’s involvement and Plumbing World for releasing Richard Aitken from work to represent Water New Zealand’s interest. Without them, and you supporting them, we would not have the strong representation that we need on the WS-014 Standards committee. It’s important to remember we all have a vested interest in looking after our industry. So, when you have the opportunity for ‘public comment’, have a say. You never know, that one idea of yours could potentially change an entire industry. ■ February/March 2019 43
NUTS & BOLTS
Standards Spotlight
Heated water services
In the first of a regular spotlight on Standards, Jon Lewis hones in on some important changes to Part 4 of AS/NZS 3500. THE MINISTRY OF Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is soon to release the AS/NZS 3500 Standard suite for additional and final public consultation. It is expected the suite will be complete and able to be used from June or July, once it is cited in Building Code Clause G12. For now, do some planning and wait for the final New Zealand consultation so you can have your say!
Part 4: What’s changing?
AS/NZ 3500.4:2018 Plumbing & drainage – Part 4: Heated water services is very important to us all, and you should get familiar with the 2018 version so you’re ready to use it. I highly recommend you get this Standard and look through it, as the information will help you design and install better plumbing systems.
Circulatory heated water reticulation
This Standard contains a whole new section—Section 10: Sizing and Installation of Circulatory Heated Water Reticulation. As in Australia, reticulated hot water system design has been a controversial topic locally, due to many failures. We can be quick to blame a manufacturer when, in reality, it is often our system design that has been poor. NOTE: In New Zealand the return water must be 60°C where it re-enters the HWC. To meet the New Zealand Building Code, see G12 6.14.4. There has also been a lot of controversy around HWC installation. I would suggest you use AS/NZ3500.4:2018 for the installation of a hot water system, as 44
February/March 2019
G12 is quite vague. If you are like me, having something specific to reference helps save any arguments with the local building consent authority. Just check as part of your consent process that the authority you’re dealing with doesn’t have some sneaky bylaw that can upset the apple cart. If they don’t, they can’t actually stop you installing to the Building Code.
Expansion control valves and vessels
Other additions and changes in AS/NZ3500.4:2018 include: • 5.8 Pressure Relief and venting of water heaters and containers; and • 5.9 Valves and Expansion Vessels. You will have more options for HWC installation, specifically around water system expansion. If you look at table 5.9.1 (A) you’ll see you have the option of either an expansion control valve or an expansion vessel. To help plumbers like me who need pictures, you can refer to Figure 5.9.4 (A) for typical valve installations. For the calculation of expansion vessel sizes, you need the formula in Appendix P (page 144) and Table P1 (page 146) in relation to water expansion factor (EF). On page 145 there is a working example of how to calculate the pressure vessel size and set pressure required in the pressure vessel. In short, if you’re designing a system and want to install a pressure vessel as an alternative to a cold-water expansion valve you need to consider: • • •
Ambient water temperature Size of the hot water system Hot water expansion
•
Cold water inlet pressures. Like all systems you should maintain ongoing system inspections. I would suggest undertaking an inspection of the pressure vessel for leakage and pressure loss every couple of years. ■ In our next edition, Jon will look at changes relating to ring mains in AS/NZS 3500.4:2018.
Accessing 3500:2018 Digital copies of the Standard are the best way to go as you will easily be able to access the latest version when updates are made. Master Plumbers members can purchase both digital and hard copy versions at discounted prices through the Standards NZ Online Library. Find out more in the member login of the Master Plumbers website under Compliance Support. www.masterplumbers.org.nz All registered plumbers can also view the online standard on the Plumbers, Gasfitters & Drainlayers Board website, in their Trade Login. www.pgdb.co.nz
About the author: Jon Lewis runs The Lewis Plumbing Company in Rotorua. Jon is a Certifying Plumber and Certifying Drainlayer with over 30 years’ industry experience. He serves as a Director on the national Master Plumbers Board and represents Master Plumbers on Australian Standards committees WS-014 and WS-023 (backflow prevention).
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HEALTH MATTERS
Finding your happy place Plumbing apprentice Caleb Ihaia has learned the hard way that mental health needs to be talked about and better understood—and he’s on a mission to share the message. TWENTY-TWO-YEAR-old Caleb Ihaia is a second-year apprentice at his dad’s South Auckland-based plumbing business, DMI Plumbing. He enjoys the work and has a bright future ahead, so things are looking good—but it wasn’t always this way.
Downward spiral Five years ago, Caleb left home for uni in Wellington. Halfway into his first year, he realised his mental health was suffering as he didn’t want to leave his room to eat or socialise with his fellow students. “I was far from home, having a hard time adjusting, and wasn’t enjoying the course,” he recalls. “I was having real trouble with confidence, thinking people didn’t like me and that I’d say something stupid or screw up socially. That led to me not wanting to interact with anyone or attend classes and lectures.” At first no one noticed because, as Caleb says, universities are large, so it can be easy for individual students to be overlooked. Eventually, however, the counsellor at his residential hall noticed his absences and visited him a few times to talk things through. Caleb also went to the GP about his low confidence and was put on medication. But by now, he wasn’t eating or sleeping enough, and his anxiety was feeding into depression.
Heading home The situation reached crisis point when, after having had no sleep for two days, he reached for a bottle of alcohol and a handful of sleeping pills. Fortunately, he stopped before swallowing them—but he knew it was time to go home. “Neither of my parents were aware of what had been going on because I didn’t want to worry them or make trouble for everyone,” says Caleb. He needn’t have worried, though, as his family have been hugely supportive and have helped him find a good psychiatrist, who has adjusted his medication to get it working effectively. Before Caleb went to uni, he had been doing some labouring work for a local company and he got back in touch with them on his return. “It was hard at first, as I didn’t want to feel like I’d failed by giving up uni,” he says. He soon realised he was feeling more and more comfortable in a hands-on role, so decided it would be a good move to do an apprenticeship—and his dad was more than happy to take him on as part of the team. 46
February/March 2019
Above: Caleb Ihaia’s experience with anxiety and depression has made him want to help others in a similar situation.
It’s likely to take a long while for his mental health to recover but he says he feels better now than ever in the past. “I’m a lot more confident and able to talk to other people again.”
Opening up Caleb says he’s learned a lot from what he’s gone through and is always willing to listen to and understand others who may be dealing with similar issues. At the beginning of last year, he went on an Outward Bound course in Anakiwa and decided to open up about his experience with his team mates to gauge their reaction. “The positive response was overwhelming,” he says.
a lot of people may be putting a brave face on things “For a long time, I didn’t talk to others about it because I was worried they might treat me differently or tell me to toughen up. But everyone has been supportive, and no one has been demeaning. I’ve become more aware that people are not going to judge you.” The current construction industry culture means a lot of people may be putting a brave face on things, Caleb believes. “It can be surprising to find out who has mental health problems.” Having spoken to a couple of other tradies with anxiety and depression, he’s also learned that some don’t want to rely on medication. “To me, if you have asthma or some other physical illness, you take medication, so it’s OK to do the same for your mental health.”
Fundraising for mental health The experience has also made Caleb want to help others. “I know how I felt at my worst and how isolating it can be. I am really lucky to have a supportive family and the money to go to a psychiatrist. I don’t want to think what it must be like for those without this kind of care in place.” This September, he is set to travel to Peru for a five-day fundraising Trek for Mental Health on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Organised by the Mental Health Foundation, the team adventure raises funds to help increase awareness about mental health and reduce the rates of suicide in New Zealand. He is also planning other fundraising activities during the year. Right now, though, he’s busy saving to pay for the airfares to South America—another bonus of switching to an apprenticeship is earning money instead of amassing debt from a student loan, he says.
Message to others If Caleb were to have a message for others, it would be that rock bottom doesn’t last forever. “Depression and anxiety can come and go but it’s only temporary—and there are people out there who care about your wellbeing and want you to stay strong, even if you don’t know them yet. “There are always people to talk to: your GP, a teacher at school, a mental health hotline. It’s important that you tell at least one person out there. Even if they can’t help you personally, they can direct you to someone who can.” ■ If you would like to support Caleb Ihaia in fundraising for the Mental Health Foundation, please go to https://events. mentalhealth.org.nz/fundraisers/calebihaia/inca-trail-2019
INDUSTRY TALK
Acquisition by Aqualine
Aqualine recently announced its acquisition of the Forza Global NZ agency. Aqualine Products Ltd is expanding its piping offer to New Zealand’s plumbing and gasfitting industry with the acquisition of the Forza Global NZ agency. Founded in 2014, Forza Global NZ is an importer and wholesaler of Forza Global PEX, copper press and stainless-steel pipe and fittings for water and gas. “With a dedicated team, and strong relationships with its customers, the acquisition of the Forza Global NZ agency
supports the ambition of Aqualine to supply and support Kiwis to build New Zealand,” says David Downey, CEO of Aqualine. Operations and staff at Forza Global NZ have transferred to Aqualine’s head office in Auckland. Aqualine says it is excited to welcome Forza Global NZ Director Robbie Leicester and Nicola into the Aqualine business, and looks forward to continuing to deliver and grow Forza systems in New Zealand.
In the office
This time of year is busy, busy... but fun, says Andrea Lovell. I love this time of year—we have had Christmas, spent lots of time with family and friends, kids are all back at school, staff are happy and re-energized after their holidays. The sun is shining. The last of the payments from our customers and contractors have been paid from the Christmas period. We are starting to get extremely busy, as businesses are all wanting to spend money before the end of the financial year. It is also a time of year that I like to do a bit of a tidy up in the office, as we get ready to put the financial year to bed. Dale and I sit down to look over the year that was, talk about the direction we want to see our company head in the current year, and review
our goals from the previous year. We also look at back costing on contracts to find out which were performing well, so we can consider what to target for the next financial year. We start setting new goals and budgets for the new financial year. We sit down with senior staff members and talk over ideas they have about the company and the next year. We look over our health and safety for the last year and talk to our health and safety reps on ways to improve things and make things safer for our staff. It’s the time we do our strategic planning and work out target areas. We look at staffing numbers and review apprentices. It is a busy time of year, but a fun and exciting kind of busy.
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INDUSTRY TALK
Voice for specialist trades
The NZ Specialist Trade Contractors Federation (NZSTCF) is providing new regular updates on its advocacy work. As an NZSCTF member, Master Plumbers will be sharing NZSCTF’s newly launched newsletters with its own membership. The first edition, released in December, reminded specialist tradespeople to protect themselves by ensuring their retentions are held appropriately and in accordance with the law. “Nearly one third of construction companies in New Zealand don’t seem to be complying with the retentions law,” it says, before going on to advise all subcontractors to: • Obtain written confirmation, for every contract, that your retentions are being held appropriately (wherever possible this should be in a separate bank account) • Read the Lead Contractor Guidelines, released in August 2018 by Registered Master Builders, to help you better understand the risk you take on when signing contracts— and ensure the contractors you are working with are
following them. The guidelines will continue to be updated. Find them at https://www. masterbuilder.org.nz/assets/publicdocs/ MajorContractorguidelinesAugust2.pdf The NZSTCF has begun a long-term programme to strengthen its voice with sector and government stakeholders. “Importantly, this engagement lays the foundation for NZSTCF to have a seat at the table in discussions about the changes required and updates to core regulations,” it says. Over the past few months NZSTCF representatives have met with a number of key government stakeholders, including Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford, Building and Construction Minister Jenny Salesa, ACT Party Leader David Seymour and John Ivil of Government Procurement at MBIE. As a result, it will now be involved in the upcoming MBIE reviews of the new retentions regime and government procurement guidelines.
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INDUSTRY TALK
Sam’s speak
What is your most important KPI this year, asks Sam Tyson.
With the notion that every one of us in our businesses is a salesperson, I recently asked our team at what point should we celebrate a sale? Is it when a quote gets accepted, or someone books a job? Or is it when we have done the job and we’ve packed up our tools and left the site? Or is it when the customer pays their bill? I had listened to a podcast from The Learning Leader Show where Phil Jones was being interviewed. Phil Jones is world renowned for his excellence in sales and marketing. In his interview he asked: “If you are in the wedding dress business, on what day do you think you celebrate the sale?” For most, it is the day the bride-to-be swipes her credit card and pays for the dress. This is what happens in too many business environments, he says—they whoop and holla celebrating the transaction, as opposed to the result of the transaction. The transaction is just a tiny step on the journey, but it’s the thing that generally gets all the focus. If you are in the wedding dress business, yes, the day the brideto-be tries on the dress, thinks and feels that it’s beautiful, and makes the decision to purchase, is an important day—but it’s not the most important day. All the days that follow are important, as they work through the tailoring and the dress fittings. The day the bride picks up the dress, that’s an important day. And how the dress performs on the wedding day… very important. However, the most important day in the wedding dress
business is not the wedding day itself. The finish line for the wedding dress business is when the bride is delighted with how her dress looks in her wedding photos. This is why I asked our team, with our plumbing business, what is our finish line? We all agreed that when a quote gets accepted or someone books in a job, it’s an important day. We also agreed it’s an important day when we have completed the job, tidied up, and the customer is left happy with what we have done. When the customer pays their bill, it’s time to start blowing up balloons in readiness for a celebration. However, we decided the most important day is when our customer says, “Thank you”. They might say thank you in an email when they pay their bill, or by giving a testimonial in our customer feedback programme, or by referring us to family or a friend. This has been a mindset shift for us all. When someone walks into our showroom to make an enquiry, when they phone us to book in a job, when we turn up to do their work, or when we send them their invoice, the result we now want at the end of the day is for our customer to thank us. Each and every one of us has a part to play and we are all working together chasing the thank you. This year, the most important KPI (key performance indicator) we are measuring is how many thank yous we receive. What’s yours?
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INDUSTRY TALK
Good use of HomeFit
Thousands of homes have already been put through the new HomeFit online health check. HomeFit is a new online check that gauges how warm, safe and dry a house is. It was launched last November by the not-forprofit Green Building Council, which hopes househunters will use HomeFit during open homes, and that sellers and landlords will use it to make their homes healthier. Of the 5,000 homes run through the HomeFit online check within three weeks of its launch, approximately 150 met the standards. Around 300 more needed just one improvement, most commonly to ceiling insulation. Homeowners can also put their home through a full, independent appraisal, carried out by a trained assessor. Those that pass can display the HomeFit stamp. Around half NZ homes have visible mould, and half of NZ adults say they live in a cold house. Cold, damp houses have been linked to asthma, rheumatic fever and respiratory infections, with respiratory disease affecting 700,000 Kiwis. Any home that passes a HomeFit assessment will also have passed the requirements of the new Residential Tenancies Act. Once the Healthy Homes Standards are confirmed, the
HomeFit stamp can also be used to confirm if a home passes this mandatory level. HomeFit sponsors include Plumbing World and Rinnai. The online check is available at homefit.org.nz
New home consents: how are we tracking? Almost 33,000 new homes were consented in New Zealand in 2018 —but KiwiBuild hasn’t fared so well. In its 2018 National Construction Pipeline Report, MBIE predicted sustained growth for the building and construction sector over the next six years, with national home consents expected to go past historic highs, with 43,000 in 2023. The report was correct in predicting 2018 new home consents to exceed the 2004 peak of 31,423—Statistics New Zealand recording a total of 32,783 by November 2018. Auckland drove the increase, followed by Wellington. “Stand-alone houses accounted for nearly two-thirds of new homes consented in the year ended November, said construction statistics manager Melissa McKenzie. “We saw a sustained increase in apartments, as well as townhouses, flats, and units, particularly in Auckland.” Multi-unit dwellings overtook detached house consents in Auckland in 2017 and this looks to be a growing trend for the region. The number of homes consented in Auckland grew by 8% to just short of 11,000 in 2017, according to the report, which again correctly predicted further growth in 2018. A total of 12,800 new homes were consented in Auckland in the year ended November 2018, according to Statistics New Zealand. As for KiwiBuild? As of January 2019, just 47 KiwiBuild affordable homes had been completed, with the government
52
February/March 2019
promising that figure to reach 1,000 by June and a further 5,000 in 2020 “before the programme ramps up”. Almost 12,000 KiwiBuild houses would need to be completed each year for the remainder of the decade to achieve the promised 100,000 target by 2028. To add to the challenges ahead for KiwiBuild, Stephen Barclay resigned as its head in January after just eight months in the role, amid an employment investigation into his “leadership behaviour”. New dwellings consented by region, year ended November 2016–18 Northland Waikato Gisborne Taranaki Wellington Nelson West Coast Otago 0
2k
4k
6k
8k
10k
12k
14k
Number
2016
2017
2018
Above: New dwellings consented by region, year ended November 2016-2018
Stats NZ
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WORLD VIEW
Passage to India
Chris Maddock, of Wellington Plumbing & Gasfitting, recounts a recent visit to a museum of toilets in New Delhi. ON A RECENT travelling world tour, I had a stopover in New Delhi, India. Staying close to the airport, I jumped into one of the many taxis for a 20-minute drive to the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets. The museum is the brainchild of Dr Bindeshwar Pathak. Opened in 1992, it is dedicated to the global history of sanitation and toilets. I had arranged by email to be met by curator Raju Singh, who gave me an interesting tour of the museum and complex. The museum (which has been voted one of the 10 weirdest in the world) has a rare collection of artefacts, pictures and objects detailing the evolution of toilets from 2500 BC to the current day. It provides a chronological account of developments relating to technology, toilet-related social customs, toilet etiquettes, prevailing sanitary conditions and legislative efforts of the times. It has an extensive display of privies, chamber pots, toilet furniture, bidets and water closets in use from 1145 AD to modern times, plus a rare collection of poems related to the toilet or its usage. Pictures on the walls make one aware of how the world looked like when societies did not have the benefit of the water closet—and the changes that have been brought about by its invention.
Fascinating facts
The museum shows how Roman emperors had toilet pots made of gold and silver, and also includes a record of the flush pot devised by inventor and courtier Sir John Harington, a godson of Queen Elizabeth I. He set about making a ‘necessary’ for both his godmother and himself in 1596, despite being ridiculed by his peers. A framed illustration of the device in the museum labels the components, such as the cistern, waste pipe, stool pot and sluice, along with instructions for emptying the vault into which it falls… “always remember that the chamberlain 54
February/March 2019
Above: Master Plumber Chris Maddock with museum curator Raju Singh. Chris is sitting on a replica of Louis XIV’s throne with in-built commode
at noon and at night empties it and leave it half a foot deep in fair water. And this being well done, and orderly kept, your worst privy may be as sweet as your best chamber”. John Harington wasn’t the first to dream up the idea of a flushing toilet, however. Alongside his drawing is another by Italian Renaissance genius Leonardo Da Vinci, who lived from 1452-1519. Of course, the modern history of toilets can never be complete without
a reference to Thomas Crapper, who traded in London’s Chelsea under the name of T Crapper and Company. Crapper revolutionised the water closet, and was Plumber by Appointment to King Edward VII, who reigned for nine years in the early 1900s. The museum also contains a replica of the throne with built-in commode that French King Louis XIV (1638-1715) had made—prompting his court jester to remark that he found it a bit strange that while the king preferred to eat in privacy,
About the founder The Sulabh International Museum of Toilets was founded by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak PhD, D.Litt, humanist and social reformer, who has made a difference in the lives of millions of people in India. Nearly 40 years ago, this sanitation crusader created a pan-Indian network of 50,000 volunteers, giving rise to what is popularly known as the Sulabh Sanitation Movement. His mission is for every house in India to have a toilet, so that nobody has to go outside to defecate. According to Dr Pathak: “The toilet is a part of the history of human hygiene and constitutes a critical chapter in the history of human civilisation.”
WORLD VIEW
Above: A beautiful hand-painted Indian basin.
he chose to ease himself in public. To see the real throne, you need to take a trip to the Louvre in Paris. If you’re ever travelling through New Delhi, I would recommend fitting in a visit to the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets, open seven days a week. Address and contact details at www.sulabhtoiletmuseum.org ■
the museum contains a replica of the throne with built-in commode that Louis XIV had made
Above: Just some of the many interesting artefacts and pictures on display in the museum.
Did you know? Other interesting toilet snippets from the museum: • The world’s most expensive toilet cost $19 million and was purchased by NASA for the International Space Station. Leg restraints, thigh bars and foot straps hold the astronauts in place, and the toilet employs a vacuum instead of a flush. Apparently, urine is pumped to a filtering system that turns it into drinking water. • The world’s largest public toilet complex is at Chongqing City in China. The three-storey, 3,000sq m Porcelain Palace has more than 1,000 toilets and bath fittings with bizarre designs. • At Taiwan’s chain of Marton toilet-themed restaurants (named after the Chinese word for toilet ‘Matong’), diners sit on toilets to eat delicacies such as curry hot pot, curry chicken rice and poo-shaped chocolate ice cream from dishes shaped like bathroom fittings. • Ultra-modern Sulabh toilets inside that Taj Mahal have been in operation since 2005. The toilet complex was constructed inside the heritage monument without disturbing a single brick.
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February/March 2019 55
SMART BUSINESS
Estimating & tendering WASTAGE IS CURRENTLY a global discussion topic. Huge steps are being taken to reduce the amount of waste generated as a byproduct of human activities, including within the construction industry. Waste is everywhere on a construction site, but in this article I want to focus on how you, as the guy that pays for the piece of equipment or pipe that’s now ‘rubbish’, are going to recover the cost of that ‘wastage’. In simple terms, wastage refers to the amount of rubbish left around the construction site—all of which has to be removed and taken to an approved landfill, or otherwise disposed of in an acceptable manner. There are always sheets of Gib Board, kilograms of leftover reinforcing steel (that it’s ‘leftover’ is a worry), and metres and metres of miscellaneous pieces of timber, steel roofing and purlins, tiles and pipe and fittings. Never much copper pipe funnily enough!! Ever wondered who pays for all this wastage? Well, in the plumbing trade, it’s YOU. And it’s costing you a lot of money. But exactly how big is the problem?
Are you allowing for wastage in your tender? Let’s say the average wastage allowance for plumbing items in any tender is 5%. Take a look at, say, a $100,000 tender. Once upon a time, you could roughly split that tender as 60% materials and 40% labour. In this example, that’s around $60,000 in materials. At an average wastage rate of 5%, you need to find a mechanism to recover $3,000 in every $100,000 you tender! Are you doing that??
How to work out what to allow Then, the question arises as to how you are going to make sure you have allowed some $$$ to cover this inevitable wastage. The table on the right summarises 56
February/March 2019
Peter Downey provides advice on accounting for wastage within your estimate.
the common waste allowances for items within the plumbing trade. Allow for wastage by increasing the cost of each applicable line item build-up in your tender. Wastage is added to each applicable item as a percentage, or this percentage is converted to a waste multiplier: • Adding a 2% wastage factor to an item is achieved by multiplying the # 1
Description Plumbing fixtures
•
•
•
buy quantity by 1.02 Adding a 5% wastage factor to an item is achieved by multiplying the buy quantity by 1.05 Adding a 10% wastage factor to an item is achieved by multiplying the buy quantity by 1.10 Adding a 20% wastage factor to an item is achieved by multiplying the buy quantity by 1.20
Material Waste and Consumption Multipliers %
1 x item 2 x item
3 x item
4 x item
2%
1.02
3.06
4.08
2.04
2
Plumbing faucets
2%
1.02
2.04
3.06
4.08
3
Pipe
10%
1.10
2.20
3.30
4.40
4
Pipe fittings (elbows, bends, tees, unions etc)
5%
1.05
2.10
3.15
4.20
5
Pipe clips
10%
1.10
2.20
3.30
4.40
6
Fixings (screws, dyna bolts)
10%
1.10
2.20
3.30
4.40
7
Pipe flange gaskets
10%
1.10
2.20
3.30
4.40
8
uPVC solvent weld cement & cleaning fluid
20%
1.20
2.40
3.60
4.80
9
Silver solder
10%
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
Above: Material Waste and Consumption Multipliers Table. Consumption of silicone tubes etc is estimated by calculating the percentage of the tube to be used—ie, 20% of a tube (use multiplier 0.20), 50% of the tube (use multiplier 0.50) etc. The waste factor for materials is included in each individual measured line item.
SMART BUSINESS
Example: Show the unit material quantity, including wastage, for a WC pan. Method 1 – Add 2% to the material cost using a % Take the pan WC pan cost and add 2% wastage = $184.96 + 2% = $184.96 + $3.70 = $188.66 #
Timesing
Dimension
Add
Deduct
Method 2 – Add 2% to the material cost using a waste multiplier Take the pan WC pan cost x the waste multiplier = $184.96 x 1.02 = $188.66 Or, for the complete item:
Notes Desc
Side Calcs Quantity
$ Rate
U of M
Material Rate $ Extension
Quantity
$ Amount
$XX.00
$XX.00
Fixtures WC pans fixed to concrete floor, all other fixtures fixed to timber framed walls A
WC Pan Caroma Concorde 4
4
Female WC
2
2
Male WC
#
6
$200.62
U of M
Quantity
$1,203.73
6 WC Pan
1.02
$184.96
$188.66
Pan screws (pack of 4)
1.10
$6.96
$7.66
Hilti plugs
4.40
$0.09
$0.40
Silicone (% of tube)
0.20
$19.55
$3.91
TOTAL MATERIAL COST =
$200.62
And, for uPVC fittings: #
Timesing
Dimension
Add
Deduct
Notes Desc
Side Calcs Quantity
$ Rate
$ Amount
Material Rate $ Extension $XX.00
$XX.00
Extra over pipe for following A
100 bend 6
6
base of each pan
2
2
to WC P trap pan on grid 7
2
2
to left WC female room
2
1
to last WC near urinal
#
11
$12.39
$136.29
#
9
$29.68
$268.95
11 100 x 88 bend
1.05
$7.94
Solvent (500ml tin)
0.10
$16.33
$1.63
Cleaner (500ml tin)
0.10
$24.20
$2.42
TOTAL MATERIAL COST = B
100 junction
9
9
$8.34
$12.39
Each junction counted as one junction only, no bend 100 x 45 junction
1.05
$22.67
$23.80
Solvent (500ml tin)
0.15
$16.33
$2.45
Cleaner (500ml tin)
0.15
$24.20 TOTAL MATERIAL COST =
$3.63 $29.88
February/March 2019 57
SMART BUSINESS
#
Timesing
Dimension
Add
Deduct
Notes Desc
Side Calcs Quantity
$ Rate
U of M
Quantity
$ Amount
Rate $
Material Extension
$XX.00
$XX.00
FWGS and Traps A
80 x 65 FWG with 4 way riser 1
1
80 x 65 FWG trap bottom
1.05
$12.28
80 x 50 x 40 boss junction
1.05
$6.78
$7 .12
80 leak control flange
1.05
$16.02
$16.82
80 CP on brass grate
1.05
$50.73
$53.27
80 uPVC DWV pipe (% of 6m length)
0.10
$67.66
$6.77
Dimension
Add
Solvent (500ml tin)
0.28
$16.33
$4.57
0.28
$24.20
$6.78
Silicone (% of tube)
0.10
$19.55
$1.96
Nylon tap-ins
4.40
$0.14
$0.62
Deduct
Notes Desc
A
U of M
Quantity
Side Calcs Quantity
$ Rate
$ Amount 1
1 Sink faucet
1.02
$142.50
$145.35
16 female iron back plate wall elbow
2.10
$7.95
$16.70
15mm brass allthread (% of 200mm length)
0.66
$10.24
$6.76
16mm PPR pipe (% of 4m length)
0.50
$14.63
$7.32
20 x 16 tee
2.10
$1.70
$3.57
16mm PPR pipe clip
2.20
$0.43
$0.95
Screws 6# (200/Jar)
0.03
$11.50
$0.38
15mm BSP CP wall disc
2.10
$0.72 TOTAL MATERIAL COST =
$1.51 $182.53
And the same thing entered as a ‘Favourite’ in Fergus software, as an example of using job management software.
58
February/March 2019
Rate $
Material Extension
$XX.00 #
B
$110.79
$110.79
Sink Faucet, METHVEN Promix Code PRSLSCP 1
$110.79
$12.89
Cleaner (500ml tin)
TOTAL MATERIAL COST =
Timesing
1
Female WC
B
#
#
$182.53
$XX.00 $182.53
NEW RELEASE Ensure you recover as much wastage as possible When you have staff working for you, this generally increases the amount of wastage your firm generates. It is essential for every business owner to recognise this and try to recover as much of this wastage as possible through the tendering process. After all, it’s costing around 3% of turnover (and thus a big percentage of profit), and that’s too big a chunk of money to ignore! Applying a multiplier to each item in the unit rate build-up is a right place to start. ■
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Estimating and Tendering training course Hydraulic Services Consultants NZ Ltd will be running a comprehensive three-day Estimating and Tendering course from 13-15 May inclusive, in conjunction with Master Plumbers. The course will cover all aspects of estimating and tendering for a plumbing project, showing you how to take-off a job methodically and correctly, build up material and labour rates, calculate and apply overheads, adjudicate a tender, and make an offer. All the course literature will be supplied, and the same literature will become your reference document well into your estimating future. Participants will be introduced to a trial version of an industry standard job management computer application and will build up a sample job within the quoting package of that software. The 3-day course will run at the Surrey Hotel in Auckland. Accommodation is available at the hotel for participants coming from other regions. The course cost is $2,000 inc GST, with a 5% discount for members of Master Plumbers. One FREE member place is available—email your reason for wishing to attend by 15 March 2019 to be in with a chance to secure free attendance: training@masterplumbers.org.nz Register for the course at www.masterplumbers.org.nz/ membership/training
Check Valves are the high quality, long life solution for preventing reverse water flow in piping systems* 5 sizes available – 20, 25, 32, 40 and 50mm - Prevents loss of prime in pumped systems - Non-corrodible for an incredibly long life - Serviceable – take apart for cleaning - High flow rate - Install at any angle
Available from all leading
plumbing merchants
apexvalves.co.nz *Not for backflow prevention
FINDING A GOOD FIT BNZ offers some advice on how to hire the right people.
A COMPANY IS only as good as the people who work in it, so obviously you want to hire the best people. However, really good people with the right skill match for your business are likely to be scarce, as well as sought after.
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Agency or DIY You can do the search yourself or use a recruitment agency. Agencies have the know-how and existing networks, so can help you find suitable candidates quickly. An agency can also be a good option if you want to ‘headhunt’ specific people because they have experience in doing this discreetly and professionally. If you’re doing it yourself, LinkedIn can be a good starting point. Unless you’ve already worked with a particular agency, initially they will lack ‘insider’ knowledge—a really clear understanding of your business, its culture, and all the qualities required for the role. Give a thorough background of your business and a clear position brief. Like many professions, service standards vary between agencies. Ask business colleagues and friends for recommendations—referrals are often the best.
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Writing a good job ad If you decide to do it yourself, you’ll need to put together a compelling job ad that attracts the right type of candidates. Key things you should include: • •
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Catchy title with keywords for online searches Company summary—sell your benefits but don’t exaggerate them
February/March 2019
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Description of the culture—talk about the team, the environment, the people Description of job benefits—make sure you know exactly what the role is (writing a job description and career development profile first will help) Talk to the reader, eg: “The role will provide you with…” Summary of the package—for example describe the challenges, opportunities, perks, flexibility with hours/ working from home (it’s not just about money) Minimum experience required, skills and qualifications, and ideal characteristics Ask for a cover letter, which can provide useful clues Provide clear contact details and instructions.
If you use a recruitment agency, you should only need to interview a handful of suitable candidates. If you’re doing the recruitment yourself, you could save a lot of time by screening people over the phone before you commit to an interview. Use an effective interview process There are several things you can do to make sure the interview process helps you choose the right person. • •
Prepare well (with your team if possible). Write a detailed profile of the ‘ideal’ person you want so you know what to look for when interviewing. Include co-workers in the interview process. Other people may pick up on subtle signs (positive or negative) you miss, and it’s good to get a second opinion that confirms your view or questions it.
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When talent is in short supply, most candidates will have multiple opportunities. So, to manage timelines and avoid disappointment, at the start of the process ask candidates if they are looking at other positions. Before they come in, tell the candidate that you’d like to answer all their questions. Ask them to prepare a list and bring their questions with them. You’ll learn more about someone, and their understanding of things, from their questions, rather than their answers to your questions. When they’ve finished asking their questions, tell them about your company and clearly explain the role: why you’re hiring, what they’ll be doing, career development opportunities, and details like hours. After you’ve explained the role thoroughly, ask them how they feel about what you've told them. Remember, they are assessing whether the company is right for them just as much as you are assessing them, so don’t make the candidate feel like you are interrogating them. Look for nonverbal cues. For example, body language can reveal if someone feels comfortable talking about certain topics and not about others. Take shortlisted candidates for a coffee out of the office to see how they are in a less formal setting, interacting with other people. When you’ve found someone who you think is right for the role, let them meet the people they’ll be working with daily, and ask your team if they think the candidate would be a good fit. Use second, third, or more interviews if you feel you need them to help make a decision. Go with your gut instinct—don’t try to sell yourself a candidate. If you find yourself trying to come up with reasons as to why you should hire them, then you probably shouldn’t hire them.
Reference checking is a must When you’ve made a choice, it’s essential to reference check, even if you’ve found someone ‘ideal’ or it’s someone already known to people in the company. Try to talk to two people, including a past employer. Past colleagues and reports can also help to give an allround view. But you must always get permission before contacting a referee. How to seal the deal To ensure you get the right person, put your best foot forward during the recruitment process. Communicate openly and frequently with candidates and let them see what your company and culture is about. Be clear about the job requirements and your expectations, and learn what’s important for them. Make sure your offer is competitive. That’s not just about the salary. For many people, things like culture, flexibility, and recognition can be more important, and ultimately, could be what wins them over.
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SMART BUSINESS
From the IR: payday filing INLAND REVENUE BECAME the country’s first big employer to adopt payday filing ahead of it being mandatory on 1 April. From this date, employers must file their payroll PAYE and deduction information to Inland Revenue every time they pay their staff. The IR has 5,138 staff and says receiving this type of information on a timelier basis will allow it to be more accurate when calculating taxes and social entitlements such as Working for Families tax credits. It’s also a key part of the proposed plan to simplify end-of-year taxes for individuals. “One of the benefits of Inland Revenue switching early,” says IR Customer Segment Leader Richard Owen, “is that it has taught us some valuable lessons we can share with other significant employers. “We’re intimately aware of the planning
The IR is walking the talk with payday filing, which becomes mandatory on 1 April.
involved in the switch, especially when there’s a large number of staff to pay. We’ve drawn on our experience to create easy-to-use guides to help employers using the same payroll software through each step of the process.” IR Chief People Officer Mark Daldorf says the developer of the payroll software package the organisation uses has been helpful with resolving obstacles. “Like any new process, it takes some getting used to—especially how the employment information is displayed in myIR—but we’ve been able to quickly adapt to the new look and feel.” Richard Owen says Inland Revenue is willing to help employers adopt payday filing in any way it can. “The first step is to start talking with your payroll software provider and work out a plan to get you ready well in advance.” Find out more about payday filing at www.ird.govt.nz/payday
Small business experience Hawke’s Bay business Te Mata Figs was ahead of the game on payday filing. Te Mata Figs owner Helen Walker has been paying her five staff fortnightly and sending across their details using the online entry method in myIR. “It took a while to get used to entering our details in the Payroll Returns account in myIR, so we’re grateful we got started in July and not during our peak picking season in the late summer. “The main benefit of adopting early is that there’s plenty of time to resolve issues that pop up.” Helen says Inland Revenue is “humanising” the switch to payday filing by being approachable and responsive in providing all the support
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she has needed. “I always prefer the personal contact and the local IR staff have been great to deal with. People shouldn’t feel apprehensive about dealing directly with them if they’re unsure about anything.”
What you need to know • •
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Payday filing becomes mandatory from 1 April Get ready now, as you may need to adapt your current payroll processes The new payday filing system works best for employers with payroll software. If you’re not quite ready to switch to software, a payday filing tool built into myIR may suit When you shift to payday filing you no longer need to file an Employer Deductions (IR345) form. You will just pay IR on the 20th of the month (or 5th and 20th if you pay twice monthly) Opt in for payday filing using your myIR account. IR has howto videos to help Find out more about payday filing and all the options available at www.ird.govt.nz/ payday
like any new process, it takes some time getting used to— especially how the employment information is displayed in myIR
Systems for a busy business
Dan Pollard’s top 5 tips on how to run a successful plumbing business in 2019. #5 Nail customer follow-up
Word-of-mouth is key. How can you make sure your customers are happy with the end result? Two simple steps: • A quick call from someone to check in with the customer is invaluable. You’ll quickly learn if they’re not happy before you invoice for the job, instead of 12 weeks after. • Once you invoice, make another call to confirm they’ve received the invoice and understand everything in it.
#4 Avoid loss leading
If you haven’t heard of it, loss leading is when you offer work at a price that isn’t profitable in order to get your foot in the door. Simply put, the risk is too great for small businesses and there’s enough good work out there not to need to try it.
#3 Manage your unused materials
It’s best practice to order only the materials you need, but not always possible. How can you manage unused materials? Return all unused stock to the supplier for credit. • Keep all unused stock with the docket • Ask someone from the office to do weekly returns.
#2 Charge deposits for jobs over $2,000
Many other industries charge deposits to confirm jobs, so why don’t trades? The simple act of charging deposits means more cashflow during quieter times and the customer is more likely to pay the last bill if it’s a fraction of the total cost.
#1 Invoice as soon as the job is finished (every day if possible)
Despite seeming obvious, invoicing regularly is one of the most frequently overlooked pillars of running a successful trades business. If necessary, make one employee solely dedicated to invoicing.
Gold Partner
About the author: Dan Pollard, a veteran tradie, knows that having proper systems in place is key to running a successful trades business. He has previously run several trades businesses, including a successful plumbing business in Auckland. Dan went on to develop Fergus trade job management software and is now the owner and CEO. Fergus HQ is based in Auckland and has offices in Australia and continues to grow.
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Streamline the way you run your trades business Run your office Easily manage all of your jobs on the go. Reduce admin and double-handling. Manage your team Keep your team on the road with remote job cards, instant notifications, and real-time job information. Grow your business Get real time visibility of the big picture including costs, margins and profits.
SMART BUSINESS
By the book
Do I need a bookkeeper? Possibly every self-employed tradesperson has asked this question at some point, says Lynn Render of the Institute of Certified NZ Bookkeepers. HOW DO YOU decide if you need a bookkeeper and what are some of the signs? Firstly, let’s look at the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant. In short, a bookkeeper deals with day-to-day transactions and processes and supports you at a grassroots level, whether on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Accountants look at your numbers, on either a three-, six- or 12-monthly basis, provide business advice and submit tax returns to Inland Revenue on your behalf. There is the option to do the bookkeeping work yourself, or have a family member do it, but this raises a number of questions such as: • are you doing it right? • do you have the time? • is this where your time is best spent
(or should it be on the tools)? Some signs that you might need a bookkeeper include: • being up late doing bookwork • feeling overwhelmed with paperwork • struggling to keep on top of your bills or pay on time • having a lot of outstanding monies owed to you. A Certified Bookkeeper can take care of all this for you, and you will sleep better knowing you are compliant. You don’t even need to be in the same building, with most work able to be done remotely. If talking to a bookkeeper feels like a good first step, go to www. icbnzbai.org.nz/Find-a-Bookkeeper and search for someone in your area, secure in the knowledge they are a dedicated professional, guided by their
Biz Brief Do you keep good employment records? Employment New Zealand has raised concerns that many employers are failing to keep complete and accurate records including wages, time, leave, employment contracts and more. As an employer, by law you must: • be able to show that you’ve correctly paid your employees all minimum employment entitlements, eg at least the minimum wage rate and four weeks annual holidays • keep each employee’s records for seven years even if they have left • ensure all employees have complete 64
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membership to the Institute of Certified NZ Bookkeepers. ■ Next issue we will focus on how to pick the right person for the job.
Business updates in brief.
and current employment contracts. Penalties for non-compliance can be up to $100,000 for a company. If an employer gains financially because they haven’t complied with the law, penalties can be higher. Find information about your legal obligations at www.employment.govt.nz under Hours and Wages/Keeping Accurate Records. To talk to Employment New Zealand, call 0800 20 90 20.
NZBN – business credibility Sole traders weren’t previously included on any government register but now the
New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) Register makes it easy for self-employed people to prove their credibility with potential clients—and it’s free to sign up. The NZBN is a unique identifier for every Kiwi business. It links to the information businesses are most often asked to share, like their physical address, phone number and website—showing you are a real, registered business. You can include it on your invoices and website, so customers can quickly and easily look up your business details. Companies have been given an NZBN automatically, while sole traders, partnerships and trusts can get theirs for free at nzbn.govt.nz
Pre-employment drug testing In this opinion piece, Kirk Hardy, CEO of The Drug Detection Agency, explains why he believes drug testing should be part of every plumbing firm’s recruiting process.
THERE HAS BEEN a lot of talk in the media recently about pre-employment drug testing. There are some who think that drug testing should be removed from the recruiting process—we disagree. Why? Because pre-employment drug testing is critical in the due diligence process for hiring someone who will be under houses, on roofs and driving work vans. It’s about basic risk mitigation and highlights that a company is serious about keeping its people safe. It’s not hard to connect the dots and realise that pre-employment testing reduces the risk of drugrelated problems in the workplace. By testing for drug use before entering into employment agreements, employers can clearly communicate their expectations and stop issues from arising. It shows prospective plumbers that the business’s drug and alcohol policy is not just on paper, but acts as a set of guiding principles that outline the company’s commitment to a productive and healthy workforce. Pre-employment testing isn’t about punishing jobseekers. It is about identifying persistent, habitual drug users that can harm people and businesses. It’s about protecting your people and your company’s Above: Head hair is good for detecting reputation. It allows drug patterns of use.
SMART BUSINESS
employers to have open and frank discussions about what is expected of employees—and set the tone of employment from the beginning. If you’ve got people driving around town in sign-written work vans, then your own and your company’s reputation is on the line. Drug testing reduces the chance of harm to both. It provides a safer workplace that makes sure people go home at the end of the day.
Hair testing method
A common method for pre-employment drug testing is hair testing. Head hair is preferable and is great for detecting patterns of drug use. Tests can show a habitual (or lack thereof) use of drugs. It only takes about 6cm of hair to see if drugs have been used in the last 90 days. New Zealand’s most prevalent drugs show up in hair tests and include cocaine, methamphetamines, ecstasy, cannabis and opiates. Other benefits of hair testing include quick, non-invasive and easy collection. All potential employees have to do is sit and have a tiny portion of hair cut off. It is also extremely difficult to cheat a hair test, as accredited testers take samples directly from a person’s head. With the comprehensive Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, serious work accidents can lead to hefty fines for both the employee and the employer. Individuals can even be imprisoned for five years. Pre-employment drug testing helps to prevent accidents from happening in the first place. It’s time to change the conversation: pre-employment drug testing is about safeguarding people’s lives, not punishing employees. ■
About the author: Kirk Hardy is CEO of The Drug Detection Agency, a 24/7 mobile drug and alcohol testing service. Find your local TDDA office at https://tdda.com/locator/
MAYER STAINLESS STEEL PIPE SYSTEMS ARE THE FIRST CHOICE IN METALLICS FOR THEIR FLEXIBILITY, DURABILITY, EASE OF INSTALLATION AND LONGEVITY. Contact info@mayerstainless.co.nz or 09 570 7204 Appraisal No.1033 [2018]
February/March 2019 65
SMART BUSINESS
Outgrowing your systems?
information is exchanged between teams, like technicians and administration, or when accounting staff use multiple different programmes. simPRO’s solution to this is eForms—a mobile app that enables field staff to complete forms from their smart device. Forms are submitted electronically to the eForms portal, where they’re stored securely in the cloud for access by any staff member at any time. This reduces possible miscommunication of information, or errors in manual data entry.
THE START OF the year is a great time to blow away the cobwebs and take a fresh look at the software driving your plumbing business. Can it handle a busy, growing workload? Or, will it create inefficiencies? Here are some signs you may have outgrown your current job management software and are in need of a reboot (plus, how simPRO might have just the solution you need!).
You’re losing money on parts and materials but have no way of tracking it. If you’re asking questions like ‘How?’, ‘Where?’, and ‘Why?’ when it comes to losses in inventory and stock, it’s clear you’re in need of a system to track equipment from warehouse, to van, to site, and back. With simPRO, you can set minimum stock levels, and assign parts to storage locations easily—making van restock a cinch. Plus, you can create groupings of paired materials and labour to add to a quote or job in one go. Stock adjustments and stocktakes can be performed as needed, which can help you quickly identify variances.
You need to better manage more customer assets. Feeling limited in oversight of customer assets, and snowed under with outstanding maintenance jobs? Then it’s time to look at more comprehensive asset management solutions. Manage equipment across thousands of sites and create a detailed and customisable report of every asset in the system with simPRO. Plumbers in the field can use the simPRO Mobile App to log any asset-related data, and the team back at the office can monitor arising preventative or reactive maintenance opportunities with the Maintenance Planner. 66
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5 signs you may have outgrown your current job management software.
You can’t access the data you need to make business decisions. You want to confidently handle your retentions, progress claims and variations. If you’re feeling like you need at least another three to six arms to get everything together for your next progress claim because of where you store your information, then you need a solution to consolidate this process. simPRO’s focus on being a comprehensive solution means that it offers multiple tools to streamline these workflows—allowing you to complete them in a single location. Variations can be monitored through cost-tracking with simPRO’s reporting feature. Progress claim invoices are templated in the system, so you can quickly provide a form to meet customer needs. Accounts staff can even handle progress claim payments and retentions within simPRO, thanks to integration with packages like MYOB, Xero and Quickbooks.
Frustrated with the lack of information provided by your analytic solution or the limited reporting options? You need to find a system with more flexible data analysis options. With simPRO’s built-in Report Builder, users can ask questions of any data they have recorded in simPRO by applying filters, visualising it with graphs and more. Ultimately, it’s important to make sure you’re aware of how your software is impacting your business. Now is the time to make moves to better-situate your business for the busy periods, so you can be prepared and maintain customer satisfaction and profits. ■ Find out ways simPRO can help unleash your plumbing business. Contact simPRO on 0800 100 854 or visit simpro.co.nz/unleash-plumbing to book a free consultation.
You’re still double-handling data entry. Even the best processes will find doublehandling in data entry. Whether it’s when
Platinum Partner
Fatigue can kill
SMART BUSINESS
A recent example of worker fatigue leading to a fatal crash highlights the need for managing fatigue in your workplace, says Lisa Duston. MANAGING YOUR PEOPLE and their wellness has come into the spotlight in recent years. Ensuring that your employees are in a safe and healthy work environment must be a priority. Recently, a company was fined and had to pay reparation costs to the family of one of its employees after he crashed a work vehicle on his way home from work. The exact cause of the fatal accident has not been determined but it is assumed that the employee fell asleep at the wheel around 2.45am. He had been working long hours in the weeks leading up to the accident and was coming off a 16-hour shift on the day of the accident. The company was found to have failed to put in place a fatigue management system to identify factors that can result in fatigue. It had also failed to put in place and monitor maximum work hours
and minimum breaks. The District Court said that $650,000 was the starting point for a fine but this was reduced for remorse, the company’s prior safety record, its cooperation and its guilty plea. It was also ordered to pay $80,000 reparation plus over $9,000 in financial costs to the deceased’s family. Even though the employee was offered a lift home after the shift, it did not alter the company’s liability for his death. What is fatigue? Fatigue is a state of physical and/or mental exhaustion. It can reduce a person’s ability to perform work safely and effectively. Fatigue reduces alertness, which may lead to errors and to an increase in workplace incidents and injuries. It is the employer's responsibility to make sure workers take regular rest breaks, their hours of work aren’t too
long and that monitored limits are placed on overtime and on-call hours. The employee needs to make sure they turn up in a fit state to work, communicate with their manager or supervisor if they feel they have signs and symptoms of fatigue, and report fatigue-related incidents. Employers and their workers have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of workers, so far as is reasonably practicable, and that others are not put at risk by their work. ■ About the author: Lisa Duston is HR Manager at Master Plumbers. Lisa offers HR advice to Master Plumbers’ members at competitive rates (first 30 minutes free). Contact Lisa on 021 245 1704 or email lduston@masterplumbers.org.nz
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NEXT GENERATION
Delivering dreams Despite serious illness or disabilities, children have the inspiring ability to smile, laugh and make happy memories with friends; they just need a little magic to make their dreams come true… By Je t’aime Hayr. MASTERLINK APPRENTICE TYLER Richardson is no stranger to Koru Care. As a member of the Dunedin Young Professionals committee, he was part of a team that spent many months organising the DYP Koru Care Otago Ball, in 2018 and the year before. The black tie event was a roaring success, with 210 guests, 23 auctions, raffles and a grand total of $31,000 raised to help pay for Koru Care Otago’s annual trip to Australia’s Gold Coast. And that’s when Tyler thought that maybe he could do something a bit more hands on. “I wanted to pay homage to a good friend who was killed in a
car accident. He’d done the trip two years in a row and always felt it was so worthwhile. What happened to him always reminds me to be grateful for what you have in life and reminds me to give back to others. So I put my hand up to be a Koru Care buddy.”
Grateful for the support
Tyler is really grateful that he had the support of both his host employer, Vic Nicholson Plumbers, and Masterlink. “Masterlink paid for two and a half of the days and Vic paid for another two and a half days, so they were both happy for me to head away and help out.”
Above: All set to visit Movie World as part of Koru Care Otago’s annual trip to Australia’s Gold Coast. 68
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NEXT GENERATION
Masterlink Operations Manager Kate Jenkins is a firm believer that charity work helps with personal growth and also develops a sense of maturity. “We’re always keen to support apprentices who want to give back to charity—it’s not only good for the community, it’s beneficial for the individual as well. “Charity work increases empathy and awareness of others; both of which make people more well-rounded and ultimately, better employees with improved customer service skills. Of course, credit also has to go to the host employer willing to support the apprentice with time off work.”
Caregiving role
Other than the odd babysitting job when he was younger, Tyler had little experience with children, but took the plunge, and for eight days, became the sole caregiver for two boys, Jason (10) and Lucas (17) on their first trip to Australia. “I met with the kids before the trip, to get to know them a bit, get their itinerary and a list of things they needed. Then it was off to the Gold Coast for a very full on week! We did all the fun parks, went ziplining, did a koala visit at a wildlife centre, went out to dinner one night—there wasn’t a lot of time to catch my breath.” The trip certainly wasn’t without its challenges. “As a buddy, you’re responsible for the kids 24/7 and that keeps you extremely busy, not only looking after them when out and about, but also preparing their breakfast, lunch and dinner.” And there were all sorts of surprising challenges Tyler faced too. “Kids ask questions constantly and think you are so awesome that you must know everything, but of course I don’t always have the answers,” he laughs. “However, the most challenging time was when we had planned to zipline through the trees. All the kids wanted to do it, but changed their minds once we got there, so it took a great
deal of coaxing and assistance to get them across. Thankfully, we all made it to the end eventually.”
“Truly special”
Despite the tough moments, Tyler says that the kids’ smiles were hugely rewarding. “They are so grateful to have you there. There’s no family contact during the trip, so you become their family. Jase would give me a hug before bed and in the morning, which was pretty cool. A lot of those kids will probably never travel again, so Koru Care is definitely doing something truly special.” Would he do it again? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. “I’d like to go next year and I have been invited to go on the committee too. The second time around I’d be more prepared and also be able to go with the flow a bit more, which would make things easier.” ■
Getting involved with Koru Care Koru Care is a registered charitable trust that organises several overseas trips to destinations such as Disneyland USA and Gold Coast, Australia, for groups of ill and disabled children. These annual trips are made possible thanks to the dedicated support of unpaid Koru Care caregivers. Closer to home, Koru Care also puts on children’s events, along with an annual Christmas harbour cruise and picnic. Koru Care relies on the generosity of its members and supporters that each play a part in delivering dreams for children all over New Zealand. Visit korucare.co.nz to find out how you can help make dreams come true.
Above: Masterlink apprentice Tyler Richardson was the caregiver for two boys, Jason and Lucas, on the trip. February/March 2019 69
MASTERLINK MESSAGEBOARD
Skills for Industry update
Register your interest in an employer subsidy of up to $10,000 for taking on a WINZ jobseeker as a Masterlink apprentice. As we mentioned last edition, subsidies of up to $10,000 will be available to plumbing firm employers that sign up successful WINZ candidates as Masterlink apprentices through the government’s Skills for Industry initiative. Many of the available candidates will have gone through the Limited Service Volunteer (LSV) scheme—a six-week course run by WINZ in conjunction with the NZ Army designed to help trainees develop self-discipline, self-confidence and positive attitudes. Until recently, all LSV courses were run at Burnham Military Camp in Christchurch. However, with new facilities opening in Auckland and Wellington, there will be even more opportunities for candidates from all around New Zealand to participate in the training. Halfway through their six-week course, participants get to attend an on-site expo of potential employers that have positions needing to be filled. Masterlink will have a presence at all nine expos in three main centres during the year, and we were delighted to have been given a dedicated lecture room at the first Christchurch expo this February. This gave us a chance to outline the Masterlink apprentice
Business Services Manager Rebecca Byrne has joined Masterlink in the new role of Business Services Manager.
In her new role as Masterlink Business Services Manager, Rebecca Byrne is looking after the apprentice payroll, host invoicing, debtor control, plus health and safety and risk compliance. Rebecca comes to us with a huge amount of skills and experience, having worked for the previous nine years as Finance Manager for the national RSA non-profit membership organisation. Contact Rebecca on: • Freephone: 0800 502 102 • DDI: 04 801 2015 • Email: rebecca.byrne@masterlink.co.nz We’d also like to say big thank you to Linda Imlach, who recently left Masterlink after five years in the part-time role of Masterlink Payroll Officer. During her time with us, Linda introduced the Time Filer app, which has proved an extremely efficient way of recording Masterlink apprentice time and attendance. We wish Linda well as she begins working full-time in her own bookkeeping and payroll business, Talon Business Services. 70
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programme to the whole group and to provide answers to their questions about taking up a plumbing, gasfitting or drainlaying apprenticeship. We want to hear from any employers who would like to register their interest in taking on a WINZ candidate for a three-month trial, with the aim of signing them up for a Masterlink apprenticeship. Please email Lisa Duston: lisa.duston@masterlink.co.nz
Nominate your apprentices! Give due recognition to your best-performing apprentices by entering them for the 2019 New Zealand Plumbing Awards. Five Plumbing World Scholarships will be awarded to nationwide Masterlink apprentices at this year's New Zealand Plumbing Awards, being announced in May. Masterlink hosts have until 11 March to nominate their apprentices for the award. The James Douglas Medallion will also be presented at the awards ceremony, with finalists in Plumbing, Gasfitting and Drainlaying and an overall winner. Sponsored by Skills, this prestigious award goes to an outstanding recently qualified apprentice, who has gained their National Certificate and passed the PGDB registration exam in the past year. Full details and nomination forms at www.conference2019.org.nz
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Starter toolkit & PPE sterlink apprentice, we pay you while n for a great career. Get qualified and up for life! ourpractical team today ave good Contact hands-on, skills oy real job0800 variety, send your CV and 502 102 tter to roger.herd@masterlink.co.nz admin@masterlink.co.nz www.masterlink.co.nz Link.co.nz
NEXT GENERATION
Earn & learn
New research has again busted the myth that uni graduates are always financially better off than apprentices, says the Industry Training Federation. YOUNG PEOPLE NEED to be getting more encouragement from home and school to consider earn and learn career options, according to the Industry Training Federation (ITF)—and there’s new data to back its view. “Industry training is the best way to respond to New Zealand’s skills shortages, says ITF CEO Josh Williams. “It deserves more financial support from Government.” New Zealand consultancy firm Scarlatti tracked the average yearly income, as reported through IR tax records, of a cohort of 19-year-olds who left school between 2003 and 2007 right up until 2016, when they turned 32.
trainees and apprentices avoid having to take out a student loan—which averages $24,000 for all tertiary students
Better promotion of apprenticeships Northcote National MP Dan Bidois wants to see ITOs given a clearer mandate to promote apprenticeships in high school, and to facilitate trade training opportunities between school leavers and employers. His Member’s Bill—the Industry Training and Apprenticeships (Expanded Mandate for Industry Training Organisations) Amendment Bill— was introduced on 3 December and is currently in the parliamentary ballot process.
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By the age of 30…
Plumber earns $21,299 more than a medical graduate
Mechanical engineer earns $185,998 more than an accountant
Flooring installer earns $116,118 more than a lawyer
Scarlatti drilled down into the earnings of those who completed degrees including law, medicine and the arts; and those who learned on-the-job with Industry Training Organisations including BCITO, Competenz, Connexis, The Skills Organisation and MITO. This revealed that, by the age of 30, a mechanical engineer earns $185,998 more than an accountant; a plumber earns $21,299 more than a medical graduate; and a flooring installer earns $116,118 more than a lawyer. This comes on top of last year’s Industry Training Federation commissioned BERL research into the lifetime financial position of apprentices and university graduates. “BERL found ‘earning and learning’ helps apprentices avoid debt, earn earlier, contribute to KiwiSaver earlier, buy a home earlier and pay off their mortgage earlier,” says Josh. “Trainees and apprentices avoid
having to take out a student loan—which averages $24,000 for all tertiary students, and just under $30,000 for university graduates. Avoiding student debt and earning while studying gives apprentices a financial head start. Being employed in the industry in which they are training also gives them a career head start. “Young people should follow the career path that’s right for them. University is a great option for some school leavers. But vocational training is an equally valid choice, especially during a time of rampant skills shortages and very low
being employed in the industry in which they are training gives them a career head start
university is a great option for some school leavers. But vocational training is an equally valid choice
Fees Free changes
unemployment. [In 2017], over half (55%) of new industry trainees and apprentices already had a tertiary qualification; 24% already had degrees,” he says. All New Zealand’s 145,000 trainees and apprentices have been given the chance to earn and learn by the 25,000 willing employers who hired them. “Changing career structures and new technology means people must continue to upskill throughout their working lives. Industry training opens the way for thousands of people, who are already part of the workforce, to upskill or change direction without having to stop earning. “The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, has called apprenticeships a ‘no-brainer’. We agree! Work-based education and training, where employers and ITOs work together to develop skills for the existing workforce, is the best way to boost productivity and respond to changing industry demands.” ■ The Scarlatti research is publicly available at www.sweetanalytics. co.nz The Berl research is publicly available at www.itf.org.nz
Changes were made to the government’s Fees Free scheme last October for those wanting to enrol for industry training in 2019. The changes include: • Fees Free-eligible learners won’t lose out if they enrol in short industry training programmes. From 1 January 2019, credits achieved since 1 January 2018 in industry training programmes shorter than 120 credits will be excluded from measures of prior study when determining people’s eligibility for Fees Free support. • Learners who are enrolled in high school will be able to get Fees Free for any tertiary study or training they do outside of their schooling or secondary-tertiary programme. This will ‘fast-track’ the confirmation of eligibility for an estimated 6,000 learners. Other changes include speeding up confirmation of eligibility and ensuring consistent rules for people in industry based training programmes and provider-based study. The Fees Free website has been updated to reflect these changes. www.feesfree.govt.nz
LOOK AT YOUR HANDS The scars, wrinkles and cracked skin tells your story. Your hands have helped you become a master of your trade. Help an apprentice do the same, and give their hands the chance to tell their story.
Take on an apprentice today 0508 SKILLS | skills.org.nz
NEXT GENERATION
Stick with it! “DO WHAT YOU feel you can do and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If you feel like you can do it, you will always be able to succeed.” Jackie Mason has lived her life with this family motto in the front of her mind no matter what life has thrown at her. One thing Jackie always knew about herself from a young age was that she wanted to work with her hands. When her dad started up his own business, Peter Mason Plumbing, she jumped at the chance to work with him on the weekends while at school. She instantly felt a passion for plumbing and started applying for jobs in the industry. Jackie applied for over 300 plumbing associated roles in Auckland and was continually turned away. “We don’t have any female facilities, so can’t take you on,” and, “We can’t take you on because you are a female and you can’t handle it,” were the most common reasons she heard. Jackie’s motto of not letting anyone tell you what you can and can’t do meant she didn’t get disheartened and decided to keep working for her dad. She worked unpaid for two years, and little did she know her dad was in contact with the registration board trying to get Jackie approved for a plumbing apprenticeship. She would have been the first female plumber in New Zealand at the time. The board was hesitant, as they weren’t sure she would stick with it because it would be a tough industry for a female. Again, her family kept fighting and after two years she was finally able to prove herself, go for an apprenticeship and get paid for her hard work. She hasn’t looked back since. “If you love something, you don’t give up on it—you have to stick with it.”
Jackie applied for over 300 plumbing associated roles in Auckland and was continually turned away 74
February/March 2019
Meet a woman who has paved the way for others in the plumbing trade.
Above: Jackie Mason is among the first-ever qualified female plumbers in New Zealand. If you love something, you don’t give up on it, she says.
Jackie would recommend plumbing to other females as there’s a whole world of trades out there that need to be opened up to women. She thinks women have a lot to offer the trades as they go about the job differently from men. Because of this, and how unique she is in such a male-dominated industry, she has found herself to be quite sought after. For now, she is happy where she is working in the family business, with the people who have always believed in her. She is keen to support women in the industry and has taken women out to sites and has shown them the ropes to see if it’s the right decision for them or not. Getting into the trades is a much bigger decision for women than it is for
men because women have a lot more pressure riding on them to succeed, as they are often expected to fail. “It’s not an easy job but it’s as easy as you wish to make it. The days are what you make of them and if you love it, then it’s worth it.” Jackie knew she was going to work in plumbing one way or another and never gave up hope that one day she would be a Certifying Plumber. She convinced her dad that she was just as capable and passionate as any man would be. Jackie explains her journey and her career success comes down to one thing: attitude. ■ Visit skills.org.nz for the full article and more details on plumbing apprenticeships.
2018 FINALISTS! NORTHERN
BOP/CENTRAL PLATEAU
SOUTHERN
2018 WINNER
2018 2ND PLACE
2018 3RD PLACE
ALEX HYLAND, 27
ADAM DE PASS, 25
Certifying Plumber/Gasfitter
Certifying Plumber & Gasfitter, Licensed Drainlayer
Certifying Plumber, Licensed Gasfitter/ Drainlayer, IQP Backflow
Training Provider: ATT
Training Provider: Skills
Training Provider: ITO/Skills
HAYDEN FINDLAY, 26
Owner/Operator of Eco Plumbing & Gas Ltd
Steve Wolter Plumbing Ltd
Jackson Plumbing Ltd
AUCKLAND METRO
WAIKATO/TARANAKI
LOWER NORTH ISLAND
WELLINGTON/MARLBOROUGH
HUNTER TURNER, 23
LIAM PASCOE, 26
JASON GAMBLE, 28
KANE BERRY, 30
Licensed Plumber/Gasfitter
Licensed Plumber/Gasfitter
Training Provider: ATT/Skills
Training Provider: Unitec
Licensed Plumber/Gasfitter, Apprentice Drainlayer (Yr 2)
Certifying Plumber/Gasfitter/ Drainlayer
Training Provider: Skills
Training Provider: Weltec
J & J Plumbing & Gas
Plumbing & Gas Works
WELLINGTON/MARLBOROUGH
Tricklebanks 2016 Ltd
CANTERBURY/WEST COAST
WILDCARD
NIKITA WARD, 23
T L Plumbing Ltd
SOUTHERN
WILDCARD
Hutt Gas & Plumbing Systems Ltd
Warwick Kirwan Plumbing Ltd
ANDREW BRIGHT, 27
DANIEL WARREN, 31
Apprentice Plumber/Gasfitter
Licensed Plumber
Training Provider: Weltec/Skills
Training Provider: CPIT/ARA
Licensed Plumber/Gasfitter (awaiting registration)
Hi Flo Plumbing (1992) Ltd
Training Provider: SIT/Masterlink
ASSOCIATIONS & BRANCHES
What a blast! Congratulating the winners of the inaugural Volcanic Plateau Master Plumbers Awards. HELD AT ROTORUA’S historic Blue Baths in late 2018, the inaugural Volcanic Plateau Master Plumbers Awards recognised excellence among the Branch’s 20 member businesses, including the region’s apprentices. Attendees and presenters on the night included Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick, Rotorua National MP Todd McClay and Master Plumbers CEO Greg Wallace.
BEST FIRST, SECOND & THIRD YEAR APPRENTICE First Year, sponsored by Dux – Ben Morgan, BOP Plumbing & Gas Second Year, sponsored by Greens Tapware – Shane Luke, Rawlinson Plumbing & Gas Third Year, sponsored by RMC – Josh Kenyon, BOP Plumbing & Gas
Above: Assembled guests outside the Rotorua Blue Baths venue.
MASTERLINK APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR
MOST OUTSTANDING DRAINLAYER, SPONSORED BY MARLEY
Winner: Dave Hodgson, The Lewis Plumbing Company
Winner: Graham Jamieson, BOP Plumbing & Gas Right: Paul from BOP Plumbing & Gas collecting the award on behalf of Graham Jamieson.
MOST OUTSTANDING GASFITTER, SPONSORED BY RINNAI
MOST OUTSTANDING PLUMBER, SPONSORED BY MICO Winner: Paul Cooper, BOP Plumbing & Gas
Winner: Peter Little of PL Gas Right: Luke from PL Gas, accepting the award on behalf of Peter Little.
Above: Paul Cooper, centre, with fellow BOP Plumbing and Gas team members, finalists and award winners: Ben Morgan, Marc Jacquet, Aaron Jamieson and Jordan Lawrence. 76
February/March 2019
All photography by Kaptivate Photography.
Above: Dave Hodgson, left, pictured with fellow award winners Jon Lewis and Benjamin Stevens-Howie—all from The Lewis Plumbing Company.
ASSOCIATIONS & BRANCHES
CONTRIBUTION TO THE INDUSTRY, SPONSORED BY VOLCANIC PLATEAU MASTER PLUMBERS Winner: Jon Lewis, The Lewis Plumbing Company Jon’s contribution to the industry over a long period must be acknowledged, said the judges. Highlights include being a former President of the Master Plumbers Volcanic Plateau Branch, delivering training on backflow, continued training of apprentices, and continued advocacy work for Master Plumbers, as well as being an active member on the national board. Left: Jon Lewis, centre, at the awards, with his wife Jan and Master Plumbers CEO Greg Wallace.
WINTEC APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR Winner: Ben Stevens-Howie, The Lewis Plumbing Company Ben is an exceptionally hard worker and thrives on self-directed learning, said the judges. is He is a well-respected member of the team, holds a leadership role and meets any challenge head-on. Ben has completed his Drainlaying registration and looks forward to completing his Plumbing registration soon. Right: Ben Stevens-Howie with his prize, presented by Simone Rakena of award sponsor Wintec.
VOLCANIC PLATEAU MASTER PLUMBER OF THE YEAR Winner: Aaron Jamieson, BOP Plumbing & Gas Aaron’s overall commitment to providing excellence in the industry is what has won him this award, said the judges. This includes his continued dedication to training the next generation of plumbers and putting his hand up to become the President of Master Plumbers Volcanic Plateau Branch. He is a well-respected employer, providing a great business culture. Aaron Jamieson also won the Training Leader of the Year award, sponsored by Plumbing World. Left: Aaron Jamieson, left, being presented with his award by Master Plumbers CEO Greg Wallace.
February/March 2019 77
SAFETY FIRST
Toolbox tips This edition’s short ’n snappy health and safety messages to share with the team.
Machinery guards essential A recent fine for a company whose worker had his hands crushed by sheetmetal folding machinery highlights the need for proper machine guarding. The worker had to have fingers amputated and the injuries have changed his life forever. In this case, the machinery wasn’t designed properly in the first place. “Engineers of these types of machines are often overseas and they are not designed to New Zealand’s standards, or to keep workers safe from harm,” said WorkSafe. “When your machinery arrives, it needs to be reviewed against New Zealand standards for safety, and the risk of harm mitigated accordingly.”
Is your safety gear fit for purpose? Identifying workplace risks is all well and good—but you also need to be sure the safety gear you put in place performs properly. In another recent incident, a painting contractor fell head first from incorrectly installed mobile scaffolding, suffering major brain trauma. The company where he was working had identified the fall risk and noted that the scaffolding needed to be correctly installed but had no systems in place to ensure a pre-work check took place. It has since put a pre-start checklist in place that requires managerial sign off before the scaffolding can be used and has also provided training to all workers on how to assemble the scaffolding correctly.
SafePlus success Over 750 Kiwi businesses have already tried the new SafePlus online tool to self-assess how they’re doing in health and safety. Have you? Find it at worksafe.govt.nz/managing-health-and-safety/ businesses/safeplus
Phew, what a scorcher This January was the warmest month on record in NZ, so it’s not surprising that sun safety messages abound. If you don’t yet have a workplace policy for staying safe in the sun, you can now build one in the Workplace Policy Builder at wpb.business.govt.nz/ workplacepolicybuilder/healthAndWellbeing/sunSmart
Get H&S qualified! Every new Site Safe course your team completes could take them one step closer to earning the NZQA-recognised Level 3 New Zealand Certificate in Workplace Health and Safety Practice. From this January, Site Safe is offering a new ‘Health and Safety in Construction’ programme, which leads to the award
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of the certificate. By completing the programme, your team will show they have the knowledge to stand up for health and safety in construction, the tools to understand health and safety legislation, and can recognise the benefits of a safe workplace. Find out more at www.sitesafe.org.nz/training/health-and-safetyin-construction-programme
ACC support for SMEs ACC is investing $22 million over five years to introduce a new injury prevention programme for businesses. The programme will offer two types of assistance: 1. Workplace injury prevention subsidies Injury prevention subsidies are available to help small to medium businesses (SMEs) access services and other support known to improve workplace health and safety. There are three types of subsidies: • workforce capability development (eg, training courses) • professional health & safety consulting advice • capital investment with health & safety outcomes (eg, people-moving equipment). Subsidies are generally sector-specific and likely to be targeted at sectors where workers have a higher risk of injury, including construction. The subsidies offered will change over time to meet business, sector and workplace needs. Three rounds of sector-specific offerings are planned in 2019: the first in February with others likely to be in June and September. Find out more at www.acc.co.nz/for-business/workplace-healthsafety/workplace-injury-prevention-subsidies 2. Workplace injury prevention grants These grants will provide funding for organisations to help solve workplace health and safety problems affecting multiple businesses in an industry or supply chain. The first funding round opened this February, with a subsequent round likely in September. Find out more at www.acc.co.nz/for-business/workplace-healthsafety/workplace-injury-prevention-grants
State-of-the-art lightning strike app New Zealand-based software company SaferMe has developed WeatherHalo, a lightning detection safety app that displays a ‘safety bubble’ around the user, warning workers of lightning risks in real-time. The product was designed by SaferMe in partnership with New Zealand’s MetService. To find out more, visit https://www.safer.me/lightningalerts/ ■
SAFETY FIRST
Safest place to work Master Plumbers member business Turfrey has been named New Zealand’s safest place to work. “WE SEE OUR workers as our family,” said Turfrey Managing Director Brad Turfrey on collecting the supreme award at the 2018 Safest Place to Work Awards towards the end of last year. “We worked out a long time ago that construction and roofing work can be extremely risky work at times. We see our workers as our family. We care about them in that way. Every day we go about our work with a focus that our people go home safely to their other family every day.” The North Island based company, which specialises in plumbing, gasfitting, drainage, roofing and heating, was up against more than 1,200 entrants for this new awards initiative from cloud-based health and safety software provider Safe365. Turfrey won the large enterprise award against contenders including TVNZ, Housing New Zealand and Genesis Energy, before going on to win the supreme award. The awards recognise those who demonstrate high levels of risk management capability, leadership, employee engagement and a mature culture in making sure people are healthy, safe and well at work every day. Principal Sponsor of the awards was Trade Me Jobs. “Workplace health and safety is extremely important to us at
Above, from left: Brad Turfrey (Managing Director), Rich Hutchinson (General Manager) and Ashley Zachan (Health & Safety Manager).
Trade Me Jobs,” said the company’s Head of Jobs Jeremy Wade. “All Kiwi workers should feel confident that they are working in a healthy, safe and compliant environment. These awards are a great way to recognise and celebrate businesses that are top of their class for workplace safety.” ■
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February/March 2019
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PRODUCTS & SERVICES
Hilux for a week JLP Plumbing recently got the chance to test drive the, top-of-the-range Toyota Hilux SR5 Cruiser 2.8 DT double cab 4WD ute for a week. JLP’s Dave Norriss reviews it here.
My current ute (from another manufacturer) is approaching its 5th birthday so this was a great opportunity to see how it would compare with one of the latest offerings. The number of utes on New Zealand roads has increased hugely over the last few years, now being the main vehicle of choice for a large number of families. There are too many features included with this model to list here, but some of the ones that were good to see included a 220v power point, automatic head lights, climate control, retractable mirrors and heated front seats—which my elderly father thought were amazing! The entertainment system had great sound. The reversing camera is helpful as the blind spot on modern utes is large, and the sat nav was easy to use, even for the likes of me who don’t like to read instruction manuals. The rear of the double cab is also well appointed, with lift-up seats creating a large load area. Standard anchor points for child seats were also handy. Importantly for the coffee drinkers, there are a number of nicely located cup holders front and rear, including a pull-down centre tray on the rear seats. The four-cylinder 2.8 litre diesel knocks out 130kW, with 450Nm of torque from 1600 to 2400 rpm. My preference is still for the
old school manual gear-box, so I was keen to see how the sixspeed automatic performed. At an easy 100kph, the engine is only pulling a sedate 1500 rpm in 6th gear, although any slight increase in demand causes a drop down to 5th, which was slightly annoying at first but soon was ignored. By the end of the week, I was enjoying the laziness of an auto, especially when in rush hour traffic. The engine pulls well and has enough power for most situations. Driven normally it is reasonably quiet, although it lets the driver know that it’s there when the revs get higher, such as when overtaking. On road the ute handles well, although unladen the ride would be classed as ‘firm’. Carrying a bit of weight would always help, as these are still a commercial vehicle designed to carry and tow. The 3,500kg maximum braked towing capacity would meet most needs. The off-road capabilities of this vehicle are increased with the nice addition of Hill Descent Control and a Rear Differential Lock. I never had the chance to test the limits off the tarmac, with the only time spent on the dirt being a brief drive around Red Rocks on Wellington’s south coast, where it never felt like it was close to being tested even in some reasonably deep sand drifts, with what looked like more of a road-orientated tyre design. So, would I upgrade? Compared to my current drive, the addition of modern features and some ‘nice to haves’ definitely make the desirability of upgrading worthwhile considering. Mechanically wise it is very similar to my current ute, both having comparable power and driving characteristics. Include a canopy, roof-rack and tow bar, and you will have a vehicle to meet most of your work and lifestyle needs and, importantly, a mountain bike easily fits into the rear tray!
Above: The 4WD double cab Toyota Hilux SR5 Cruiser made easy work of a drive around Wellington's Red Rocks. February/March 2019 81
AND FINALLY
DODGY Plumbing
Keep them coming! Send your Dodgy Plumbing examples to the Ed: beverlysellers@xtra.co.nz
Getting the New Year off to a dodgy start...
Blocked drain? For the household that has everything!
“Not dodgy but why would you?” says Matt Noah of Jamark Plumbing in Hamilton, who spotted this double drainage set up.
Fast fastening
Thanks to Craig at Complete Plumbing for sending in this choice example of roofing work. Quality!
Can’t quite reach
“Here’s a good one,” says Paul East of Morgan Plumbing. Agreed.
Please send the biggest size photos you have. The bigger the file, the bigger we can show it on the page!
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We reckoned we’d seen it all with the two examples of root blockages in the last edition. But no…. “Thought this might be of interest to all those drainlayers out there who thought they had seen the biggest root,” says Theo Duyvestyn of DDL underground services. “House was still used and they couldn’t understand why sewer drains were not working—had to pull the lot out with the digger pipe and all. And of course on a Friday at 5.30.”
Vanity (not so) fair
“Found this on a job,” says Paul Garrett from Carterton Plumbers. “The upstairs vanity waste pipe discharging into the spouting.”
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