Page 7 - Climate Control News June 2021

News
Get inspired with NextGen 2021
CCN HAS PARTNERED with peak industry body the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) to launch NextGen 2021.
The NextGen program was cre- ated to connect the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (RAC) indus- try with the next generation of RAC technicians.
Together, ARC and CCN, are working to address the current RAC skills shortage with grass roots initiatives such as NextGen where we can showcase industry excellence.
As part of NextGen we are searching for Australia’s best ap- prentices under the age of 25.
The search covers every state and territory in Australia, but be warned, there is only a few weeks to nominate so don’t waste any-
time getting your entries in at www.climatecontrolnews.com. au/nextgen
Nominations are open to male or female apprentices (under the age of 25) who have demonstrated excellence in all aspects of their trade and training.
The winners, who will be our Top 20 under 25, will be profiled in this magazine, online and across a number of social media platforms.
The goal is to let the whole world know what a great trade RAC can be and showcase the opportunities awaiting so many school leavers who choose to join our industry.
ARC CEO, Glenn Evans, said the council is proud to be the ex- clusive sponsor of NextGen as it is a great opportunity to support future leaders.
“The RAC industry is vi- tal to modern life,” he said. “Ensuring we attract, retain and promote high quality people in our sector is very important.”
Entries close 25 June, 2021.
LEFT: Apprentice undertaking duct work.
Technician repairs an old gas furnace.
Reverse cycle rebates for Victorian homes
THE VICTORIAN GOVERN- MENT has announced $1,000 re- bates to encourage householders to purchase energy efficient re- verse cycle air conditioners.
The rebate is directed at Vic- toria’s most vulnerable residents to replace old heater with air conditioners in homes managed by community housing organi- sations.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio said the Home Heating and Cooling Upgrades Program is now open for community housing organisations to apply for rebates on behalf of their residents.
“This is an important step in the Labor Government’s $335 million investment over four years to pro-
vide efficient, lower-cost heating and cooling for 250,000 low-in- come and vulnerable Victorian households,” D’Ambrosio said.
The government also announced that any owner-occupied house- hold with a concession card, or with a combined household income of less than $90,000 can apply for their $1,000 rebate directly from Solar Homes Victoria, from July this year.
As well as the rebate to install efficient reverse-cycle air condi- tioners, an additional $200 is avail- able to cap old gas heaters to en- sure they are safe when they are no longer being used, and $500 for households that need to upgrade their outdated electrical switch- board, so that this can work safely with these new appliances.
Refrigeration company hit with $150,000 fine
A COMPANY HAS been fined $150,000 after one of its apprentice workers suffered serious in- jury from an arc flash explosion at a Sydney KFC in 2017.
Ultra Refrigeration Pty Limited was investi- gated by SafeWork NSW and found guilty of breaching the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 in the NSW District Court.
Executive Director, Investigations & Enforce- ment at Better Regulation Division, Valerie Gris- wold, said this case sends a strong message about the need to protect young workers.
On 25 October 2017, Ultra Refrigeration as- signed two air conditioning apprentices to the job of replacing a three-phase circuit breaker at a KFC restaurant in Woodbine after the restaurant experienced a fault in its air conditioning system.
The apprentices started work on replacing a circuit breaker in the main switchboard with the
power still on. One of the workers removed the faulty circuit breaker before trying to insert a new circuit breaker. However, the new circuit breaker was the wrong size.
In an attempt to fit the circuit, the worker’s steel pliers came into contact with live power causing an arch flash explosion.
The man was temporarily blinded and suf- fered burns to his exposed hands and all his fin- gers. The other worker was treated for shock.
The NSW District Court found neither of the apprentices were qualified to perform the electrical work without being supervised by a licenced electrician and that Ultra Refrigera- tion had failed to ensure the health and safety of its workers by assigning electrical work to the two apprentices without providing appro- priate supervision.
Ultra Refrigeration was convicted and fined
$150,000, while the director of the company, Ro- molo Prestia, was also convicted and fined $15,000 for his role in failing to ensure the com- pany complied with its duty under the Act.
The company and Prestia can appeal the decision.
The director of the company was also fi ed$15,000.
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS JUNE 2021
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