“It’s us who will be up there so we make sure there are going to be no mistakes.” – Rhys Wight, Programmed Site Foreman
Ingham’s is Australia and New Zealand’s largest integrated poultry producer. Their feedmill down at Clyde, Victoria have been a Programmed customer for almost two decades. Beginning as a painting customer, they now engage Programmed for their grounds and corporate imaging needs as well.
Encouraged by the strength of their relationship with us and the work we have done, particularly in helping them protect and maintain their machinery and equipment at the establishment, Ingham’s recently engaged us to restore and refurbish their tanks at the 40-year old Clyde plant.
These latest painting works included painting a cluster of tanks which are 23 metres high, and the Programmed Travel Tower, operated by Branko Majhen, was brought out to safely complete this. The work also needed a team of Twin Rope Access Painters which included Foreman Rhys Wight, Robert Stewart and Robert Schimmelpfennig. The twin rope access team work in the places where the boom cannot reach. Sometimes these are very difficult to access, but for a trained and drilled team, it’s all in a day’s work.
The height of the works required strict risk management, which the team closely followed throughout ensuring all aspects of risk assessments and pre-start job safety analyses were diligently conducted, including briefings on a daily basis. The type and scope of the works qualified the job for the Programmed High Risk Register which notifies high risk work to others in the business, including the State HSEQ manager. Upon visiting the site during works, VIC State HSEQ manager, Lex Emrose, found the team operating at their Programmed Zero Harm best.
Truly, the teams have taken safety to heart, and do so with pride. It’s even written in their Pre-start Job Safety Analysis. In the words of site foreman, Rhys Wight, “It’s us who will be up there so we make sure there are going to be no mistakes”. They not only repeat this mantra, they also live it out, exhibiting this with work based on solid foundations of risk assessment and records, training and practice rescues.
Branco demonstrable pride in his work is evident too. His 40-plus years’ service includes over 20 years operating the Programmed Travel Tower. He maintains this in A1 condition, regularly breaking out the on-board pressure washer to keep the boom and truck clean – a job he proudly states takes him two hours to complete.
Alan Burrell, Programmed’s South East Branch Manager, has carefully looked after and built the relationship with Ingham’s over the past 8 years. He regularly reviews the work his team has done with Ingham’s to ensure the customer is continually satisfied, and also makes sure Ingham’s recognises the Programmed Difference his team delivers, especially in the area of safety.
