2020 Award Winners Announced
Date: 19-Aug-2020
Queensland Young Operator of the Year 2020
qldwater is pleased to announce the Queensland Young Operator of the Year for 2020 is Benjamin Haddock from Southern Downs Regional Council.
Ben commenced working as an Assistant Operator at the Stanthorpe Waste Water Treatment Plant three years ago and late last year was successful in applying for a role as an Assistant Operator at the Water Treatment Plant. Due to extended drought conditions and the need to make some major operational changes at the plant, Ben was thrown in the deep end and needed to learn and apply new knowledge extremely quickly in his new role.
To maintain water supply, Council began carting water from Connolly Dam to Stanthorpe’s raw water storage tanks. Water quality from the dam was poor and difficult to treat, with high levels of Manganese, as well as algae, taste and odour problems. Ben was actively involved in the operational investigation into new treatment processes to successfully treat the dam water and his determination and dedication motivated the rest of the operational team to perform over and above expectations.
An Operator position recently became available at the Stanthorpe Waste Water Treatment Plant and although Ben was enjoying his time in water operations he was keen to get back into wastewater treatment and was successful in gaining a promotion to Operator. Ben takes his new responsibilities seriously and has started studying a Certificate IV in Water Industry Operations. He is meeting his increased responsibilities in a professional manner and is highly regarded by his work colleagues.
Ben will receive a trophy and funding to participate in one of WIOA’s Operator Tours to New Zealand – COVID depending of course. Thank you to all of the impressive nominees and congratulations Ben!
Queensland Operator of the Year (Civil/All-Rounder)
qldwater congratulates Brett Donald of Mackay Regional Council who has been selected as this year’s Operator of the Year (Civil/All-Rounder).
Brett is a qualified Plumber and has worked for Council for the past seven years. Last year he enrolled in the Regional Water Industry Worker Competency Training Program along with workers from surrounding councils and has just completed his Certificate III in Water Industry Operations. As part of the program, Mackay hosted a number of training blocks and Brett stepped up to provide support to the visiting councils by running site safety inductions and tours.
Brett has a no-nonsense attitude to his work and pays particular attention to getting the job done in a timely and professional manner. He is regularly required to lead jobs in the field and has a high safety record with no recorded issues and a good rapport with team members and contractors on his sites. His pre-start musters and toolbox talks are extremely thorough so that everyone on site knows what the job is and all risks and controls have been identified. Brett prides himself on ensuring his job site is organised, customers are kept informed of progress and ensures the job is done right the first time.
Brett regularly steps up to fill any gap in the weekly On Call roster and supports his team when needed. His work ethic and safety attitude are a great example for others to follow.
Well done Brett and thank you to all the nominees for the great services they provide to their communities. Brett’s prize includes a trophy and $1500 towards professional development initiatives.
Congratulations also to Mark Vairy from Mackay Regional Council for winning the AWA Queensland Operator of the Year Award for 2020. Well done Mark!
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