Genie Lift Pro Prevention the Best Medicine Says UGL Kentz

Thursday 31 March 2016 @ 13:42

In September 2015, engineering and construction group UGL Kentz JV conducted its regular review of its EWP operator training at the Ichthys MEC-1 Project site in Darwin.

UGL Kentz JV is responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction of the onshore facilities in Darwin, including the gas processing plant at Blaydin Point. Following the review, the firm decided it would ramp up its robust training platforms to prevent machine downtime, improve operator efficiency and reduce the prospect of asset damage.

“We looked at the length of training we were doing on machines such as the Genie ZX-135 boom lift, and we thought we were doing pretty constant training,” said Mike Tuckerman, HSES Manager, UGL Kentz Ichthys MEC-1 Project Darwin. However UGL decided that prevention is the best medicine when it comes to its EWP fleet, and it invited Genie to Darwin to roll-out its brand new Genie Lift Pro training. “We got in touch with Genie who responded quickly, and they came in and trained our operators,” said Tuckerman.

“We have our own trainers, but it was fantastic to have the actual subject experts on-site. We put everyone through the training who is qualified to operate a Genie ZX-135 or Genie SX-180 boom lift and the feedback was excellent.”

Apart from minimising asset damage, Tuckerman said that the training improved operator skill levels. “The more we build on the site, the more restricted the space is that the EWPs must operate in,” he said. “Before the training, we were sometimes bumping safety baskets against some of the assets. This isn’t happening anymore. There is also less machine downtime and improved productivity.”

The onsite tuition was led by Mal McIntosh Quality, Training and Tech Support Manager Asia Pacific, who trained 60 operators working on the Ichthys site. “Every operator took away something new about a Genie machine from the session,” said McIntosh. “The training was just four hours long, yet some of the operators said they felt like they had received the equivalent of a day’s worth of knowledge and training.”

Interestingly, McIntosh discovered that there were some issues in relation to how operators were shutting the Genie ZX-135 boom lifts down. “Some were told never to use the emergency stop. But that’s what we put the button in there for,” he said. “What we want to get across through Genie Lift Pro is an understanding of the safety processes built into our machines, and that the normal operational functions are second nature to operators. We also want to make sure they are not getting into situations that could be avoided.”

As a consequence of the strong reception to Genie Lift Pro, McIntosh is booked to return to Darwin to train an additional 190 operators. “The professionalism and service from Genie was world-class. You want that sort of partnership with your stakeholders on such a mega project as Ichthys,” said Tuckerman. “It really was a preventative action, which has taken our training to the next level.”