Awards recognise great operators

Date: 08-Aug-2022

The 46th WIOA Queensland Conference ended on a high note as Operators from across Queensland gathered to acknowledge the great work of the critical essential workers that keep the water in our taps running and wastewater cleaned, and qldwater was proud to sponsor the Operator of the Year (Civil / Allrounder) and the Young Operator of the Year awards once again.

Because of the great entries received, we also added a highly commended award for each of the categories.

Operator of the Year (Civil / All Rounder) 2022

The very worthy recipient of the 2022 Operator of the Year Award is Harris Tahau from Redland City Council.

Harris is always full of great ideas, especially when it comes to efficiency and the safety of his team. From developing standalone maintenance crews to deliver manhole and hydrant maintenance to constructing drying beds that saved a 45-minute drive each way to the nearest dumping facility, Harris also leads the way in the delivery of his ideas.

Taking the lead when responding to the wet weather event earlier this year, he developed a plan to respond to all customers that had reported issues of overflow or slow draining fixtures. He made sure to touch base with each customer and ensure they were aware of the high volume of calls and that a crew would be out within 48 hours to look at and diagnose the problem. He was able to communicate effectively and, for houses where overflows had occurred solely due to the network, was able to liaise with customers regarding the installation of a one way valve to give them assurance it would not occur again.

Often left with no or very new Team Leaders to supervise, Harris has frequently taken the lead in meeting on site with customers and developers to discuss work in the pipeline and to resolve any issues.

In response to a rising main break that caused sewerage to flow into a wet land, his onsite experience and management of the break allowed appropriate reporting to the regulator with no further action being taken.

Harris lead the push for positive pressure masks and for more awareness around mental health, and he always puts his hand up to fill gaps in the on-call roster. He is also active in teaching new and emerging leaders how and what to do as a level one response officer. Well done Harris!

David Rauchle from the City of Gold Coast was awarded a Highly Commended, receiving a glowing reference from his employer for his commitment to the job and his team members.

Young Operator of the Year 2022

The 2022 Young Operator of the Year is Exavier Evile from Urban Utilities.

Exavier is big on trends and processes. When he started in his role, he requested permission to carry out optimisation work on the dewatering system which ultimately led to increased energy efficiency, improved nutrient removal, reduction of chemical use and reduced transport cost of biosolids.

To better understand the various plants he has been working on, he implemented and designed whiteboards to enable him to see the bigger picture. He then used those whiteboards to share this knowledge with his team.

Observed as being an Operator that was quick to understand the process, he achieved the confidence and capability to enter the On-Call Duty roster within four months of starting his role. By November 2021 he was deemed competent by all Senior Operators, seeing him promoted from Assistant Treatment Plant Operator to Treatment Plant Operator within 11 months of joining the Water Industry.

Since then, he has successfully overseen full plant shutdowns at a highly technological plant and helped to reduce the impact of the 2022 floods by trending inflows and sharing this knowledge with stakeholders, thereby reducing further bypasses and the negative impacts to the receiving environment.

As part of a high-risk activity incident learning team, Exavier put forward and implemented an electronically operated shed door with safety fixtures built in.

Matthew Gosper from Mackay Regional Council received a Highly Commended. Matthew started as a Water Industry Worker Trainee before securing a permanent role as Water Treatment Operator at the Sarina Water Recycling Facility.