Apprentices Benefit From HF Hand Constructors New Certification

HF Hand Constructors was once heavily involved with blacksmithing, and crane and cart manufacturing for the timber and farming industries of the New South Wales Macleay Valley. Today, the company boasts a combined workshop fabrication space of 8,050m2 across its headquarters in Port Macquarie, and an additional workshop site in Kempsey. These facilities allow the team to deliver end-to-end services for a range of projects. The company was recently certified to AS/NZS ISO 3834.2 Quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials to further enhance its services and support for the industry.

According to Ian Bird (General Manager, HF Hand Constructors), “We’re a supply, fabricate and installation contractor. We have a large fabrication facility and in-house protective coating capabilities. Our own transport is used to ship to site and installed using our own cranes.”

“Originally, we were tied up with a lot of mining clients, and did a lot of work for resources companies. Now, we have expanded to take on more infrastructure work around New South Wales, including government projects and large-scale builds like universities and hospitals,” Bird said.

HF Hand Constructors has also worked with water technology firms, gas and fume treatment plants, defence facilities, bridges, industrial buildings, and across the water storage industry, to deliver high quality end-to-end products.

The company’s origins can be traced back to the 1880s, but it changed ownership in 1982. Today, HF Hand Constructors primarily works across New South Wales and Queensland, but the company has the capacity to provide fabrication and onsite construction coverage Australia wide.

“We’re a one stop shop. We have the ability to provide services all the way through, from initial concept through to erection. Our management team, including myself, is very hands on – we work in the business every day.”

“We can make decisions pretty quickly, and we’re very close with the fabrication staff and know them all personally. A regular walk through the organisation and workshop helps us to know what’s going on,” Bird said.

Apprentices Leading the Next Generation All project works at HF Hand Constructors are underpinned by a strong commitment from the staff, including apprentices, who learn and develop their professional skills while working in a

supportive environment. “We’ve got a very strong apprenticeships program, which we bring a lot of apprentices through. This year, we have started six first year apprentices in steel fabrication. We also have a lot of long-term employees. Some of the apprentices we put on have come through the business and are now project managers, estimators, or workshop supervisors,” Bird said.

Bird explained that even through the COVID-19 pandemic, the company had always planned on more apprentices. “We’ve always put on apprentices no matter what. That way we can keep our industry going, otherwise we lose valuable skills that are passed on from tradesmen to apprentices.”

First Class Facilities for Safe and Efficient Solutions HF Hand Constructors boasts a range of premium facilities, which are directly aligned to the company’s values of a strong safety culture, high quality standards, and environmentally responsible practices. Their Port Macquarie headquarters boasts advanced manufacturing capacity like CNC beamline processing machinery, CNC plasma cutting and plate rolling, and automated welding equipment. In addition, a fully enclosed abrasive blasting booth with full undercover protective coating facility, supports their ability to provide quality products.

Bird said the facilities provide high quality products for a range of projects—no matter how complex—including plate works, structural steel and piping. “We recently undertook a ventilation shaft project for a new tunnel in Sydney. It wasn’t an easy project to complete. It was fabricated in regional New South Wales and transported to the Sydney metropolitan area, where it was installed by HF Hand Constructors.”

The atrium roof at Macquarie University’s Arts Precinct was another challenging project, with high rewards. “That project was unique. It was comprised of long CHS bow trusses that spanned across the atrium roof,” Bird said.

HF Hand Constructors was well-placed to complete this project. The company’s technologically advanced fleet boasts a 70 and 90 tonne crane; franna cranes; all-terrain forklifts; and site-equipped mine site containers.

Seven overhead cranes are also featured in the company’s fabrication and protective coating facility, with plans for future duplication in the works.

Image (Left): The atrium roof at Macquarie University. Image credit: Mike Chorley Photography. Image (Top Right): Train load-out bin. Certification to AS/NZS ISO 3834 According to Bird, HF Hand Constructors’ recent AS/NZS ISO 3834 certification will benefit all staff. He believes ongoing professional development is crucial for success in the sector.

“We need to keep improving our processes and keep our work well-documented. It also has vast cultural benefits for our apprentices to come through and see what is required and understand the quality process from an early stage.”

“We are seeing that more and more projects require certification, so it was time for change. We see that specifically, a lot of the new government infrastructure projects that we are working on are requiring certification in accordance with AS/NZS 5131 CC1-CC3, which you can’t achieve, unless you are certified to AS/NZS 3834,” Bird said.

When asked to explain how HF Hand Constructors found the certification process, Bird said the company has always followed strict procedures, which paved the way for success.

“We’ve always practiced similar standards, however never certified. As such, the audit process wasn’t a great hurdle for us. Everyone at Weld Australia was great to deal with, and the auditors were helpful – anything that we were unsure about, they were able to assist us, and guide us in the direction needed to achieve the certification.”

Bird also offered some sound advice to other organisations considering an AS/NZS ISO 3834 certification. “If you are considering certification, make sure that you are working close to the standard prior to the audit. It’s important to understand why the standards are in place. It’s not just paperwork, where you tick the box and move on, it has to be a process that you are consistently working to. It’s the same way that you can’t pretend to have driven a car, and then go for your licence,” Bird said.

For further information, visit: hfhand.com.au