A discussion about water security

Our recent attendance at AWA’s North Queensland Conference shed light on an issue that we have been hearing more frequently in our space. The idea that our experienced water and wastewater operators are on the verge of retiring, and we need to break into the younger audience to maintain operations.

Let’s explore this issue.

To understand the situation better and the threats that it presents, we need to look further into our current operations and discover, where our operators come from.

One of the most common scenarios we have encountered is those looking for a mid-life career change. Often, they are people who have worked in another trade and are looking to do something different – maybe they are looking for a little more stability, or maybe they are looking for a place of work where jobs are more steadily needed. The water industry, and in particular operators tends to be the perfect choice, it doesn’t require a full apprenticeship, operators are always needed, and the jobs offered are usually in steady positions.

So, it’s no wonder that our typical demographic tends to be middle-aged and onwards when we gather new operators.

For our younger operators, the trend follows those applying for council jobs who are willing to undergo training to attain them. We see this particularly in the metro areas as opposed to regional or remote.

So, what is the issue?

The fear is, that our older operators will eventually retire, leaving holes of support and knowledge amongst our water industry operators.

But is this a real issue?
Potentially, yes. Our older, highly experienced operators are equipped with a wealth of knowledge about the treatment process as well as their respective treatment plants themselves. They have a wealth of knowledge of the nuanced issues tweaks and quirks of the plant processes and know how to look after them.

Arguably, the real problem is that we rely on them too much. As seasoned veterans in their fields, these operators are solely relied upon to maintain their water scheme. That is why when these operators are set to retire or take leave, the plants are left ‘stranded’ by a lack of knowledgeable and experienced staff to take over. This is where knowledge-sharing provides the most opportunity to improve our water security.

A great example of good knowledge sharing is our experience working with the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council (NPARC). At the time of engagement, the NPARC Water Treatment Plant was being run by a single operator who had been managing the process for over 20 years. He knew everything about this plant and could diagnose a problem without much investigation.

As we worked with NPARC, we introduced a couple of our operators to help work the plant on a fly-in fly-out basis, this meant that we had a changeover of personnel every couple of weeks, which could be difficult for learning the plant unless helped.
NPARC’s operator however was wonderful about collaborating with our team. Our operators spent some time with him, going through the plant and listening as he shared the habits and common problems he has with the plant. By spending this time together, sharing the unique naming and walking through the treatment process, we were able to ensure that our operators were up to speed quickly and could integrate with the people around them.

Although only a small exercise, it proved extremely helpful for smoothing out the integration between new operators and the plant, and this small bit of knowledge-sharing demonstrated exactly how our knowledge-filled and experienced operators can pass along the torch.

But let’s remind you of our industry cycle.

Older, more experienced operators have been working on our treatment plants for years. As the years pass and our operators grow older, we will always have someone to fill that ‘wise-man’ spot. The cycle continues and repeats as operators retire. It is the nature of this industry, and it has been seen for generations.

That doesn’t mean we don’t need change, however.

The concept of a knowledge sharing should be applied. On-the-job training or workshops should be encouraged and that wealth of knowledge should be shared to increase our resources, increase our backup operators and secure our water schemes.

Simmonds & Bristow are no strangers to this issue. Bridging the gap between generations and ensuring a comprehensive process is a shared problem that we have been tackling through our service areas.

One key factor is training and our Training Bootcamp might help. To learn more, click to download our brochure or give us a call on 07 3434 3800 today.