Page 42 - Climate Control News Magazine Feb 2021

Safety in HVACR
Survey identifies safety concerns, skills gap
Safety was a big concern with fears untrained technicians are working with new-generation refrigerants without the correct training.
THE SURVEY RESULTS have been used to cre- ate a position statement for HVACR licensing in Australia.
Developed by AIRAH’s Refrigeration Special Technical Group, the statement was created last year to use as an advocacy tool for government.
AIRAH CEO, Tony Gleeson, said licensing is a key issue in the creation of a highly skilled and professional HVACR workforce.
“By defining our position on this topic, we can guarantee a consistent approach and better ad- vocate with stakeholders and government for change,” he said.
More than 900 respondents completed the survey with technicians accounting for 75 per cent of the total, 10 per cent were engineers and the remainder were a mix of apprentices, educa- tors, representatives from government and in- dustry groups, manufacturers and wholesalers.
A nationally harmonised approach to licens- ing that covers all refrigerants was supported by 94.21 per cent of respondents while support for a Certificate III qualification (or equivalent) as the minimum qualification for installing, commis- sioning, maintaining and decommissioning sta- tionary HVACR systems was 95.39 per cent.
“AIRAH SUPPORTS A SCHEME THAT COVERS ALL REFRIGERANTS.”
– CEO, TONY GLEESON.
There was also support (92.38 per cent) for more professional development including path- ways to bridge the skills gap.
Survey respondents provided about 750 de- tailed comments over and above the survey.
Concerns raised include divisions between HVACR, plumbing and electrical work, as well as issues relating to Certificate II holders.
Workers with a Certificate II qualification (360 hours of training as opposed to over 1,000 hours training for a Certificate III qualification) can obtain an Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) refrigerant handling licence.
Although the limited ARC licence only allows workers to install certain systems, the AIRAH Position Statement points to anecdotal evidence, which suggests Certificate II workers are install- ing, commissioning and servicing equipment that they are not licensed to work on.
“This has a two-fold effect of increasing direct emissions (from leaked/vented refrigerant) and indirect emissions (from inefficient systems) as well as increasing safety issues,” according to the statement.
At the state and territory level, licensing for HVACR technicians varies across the country.
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