Home News Apprentice of the Month

October 2018

Apprentice of the Month

24 Sep 2018, News, Training

July

Despite being a first year apprentice, Wellingtonian Ian Labrador spoke up when he believed something wasn’t being done right, helping the crew avoid a costly mistake

In the middle of a rush to beat a deadline, Ian was faced with the challenge of having to convince a more experienced crew to pause and ensure the task was being done correctly.

What they discovered during the quick observation was that the team had incorrectly fixed a pre-made wall frame with a large window on the firewall side of the unit. The crew insisted they were correct, as the work was in line with the drawings, but Ian knew it had to be wrong since it was the firewall side.

To convince them, he said “if we carry on without checking, and it is wrong, it could be much more costly and difficult to repair later on. Whereas now, it’s only ten minutes spent double-checking”

They finally agreed to have the supervisor inspect, and found out the set of drawings had been revised but the crew had not been updated.

It took the team half a day longer to start the Ecoply install, but saved them a massive headache down the line, and encouraged Ian to speak up, ask questions, and get answers before carrying on.

“It pays to make sure that your work is being done 100% correctly, otherwise you will have layers of mistakes and more difficult remedial work ahead,” says Ian.

The judges were impressed by Ian’s actions, saying: “He showed initiative and leadership and spoke up when something wasn’t right.”

August

A second-year apprentice from Wanaka, Danny Murphy, took to the challenge of building his own house by studying the plans and paying attention like the experts.    

When his boss approached him with the challenge and asked for frames and trusses to be ready for inspection within two weeks, Danny dug his face into the building plans – even smokos couldn’t pry him away from the details.

Carefully following the correct processes he had learnt during his apprenticeship, Danny executed the job to perfection. After hours of work alongside his colleague Jeremy, and plenty of double-checking, they achieved a 100% pass rate from the building inspector.

The few minutes he spent each evening studying plans and writing a step-by-step list to prepare for the next day could be seen in the attention to detail and craftsmanship.

Danny was quick to give credit to the invaluable knowledge he gained from the builders around him since beginning his apprenticeship.

“This whole experience has taught me to use all the skills I’ve been taught, and to pay close attention to the fixing plans provided to me,” he says.

“Communication with sub-contractors and ensuring a smooth workflow for the next guys coming in was a big part of the process too, and involved regular catch-ups with the project manager.”


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