Visit us at AOG 2012

Tuesday, 13 December 2011

Competency Training will be exhibiting at the Australasian Oil and Gas Conference at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre from 22-24 February 2012.

Over 11,000 visitors are expected during this annual event, which brings together industry professionals, leading companies, innovations and an emphasis on best practice. 

Competency Training is proud to have serviced the hydrocarbons industry across Australasia for nearly 7 years, delivering training solutions to a range of customers including Origin Energy, BP, APA Group and Woodside. 

At AOG, you can meet our newly extended team and discover more about the recent merger with local provider Power Supply Services Training.

We will also be sharing more about our popular Competency Assurance service - a significant value-adding activity for any operational asset.  

Visit us at AOG in 2012 stand W4 to learn more or email us today. 

Link to AOG Expo website 

Meet John Ryan

Thursday, 29 September 2011

John Ryan is the newest addition to CT's training staff, training in Hazardous Areas.

What did you do before Competency Training?
I've been in the Electrical industry for 40 years. I completed my apprenticeship as an electrician in London and worked my way through a range of commercial and industrial projects. I emigrated to Australia 30 years ago and worked on some commercial projects in Darwin and Brisbane but have spent most of my time in mining and oil & gas. For the last 7 years I have worked as an EEHA inspector mainly in Moomba South Australia and surrounding oil and gas satellites. I've done some work for the Karratha Gas Plant and the Pluto project in Karratha also.

What qualifications do you have?
Cert IV Electrical Contracting Studies, Hazardous Area Competencies and Cert IV Training & Assessment. Plus a degree from the school of Hard Knocks.

Best holiday ever?
Visited my sister, in the South of England a couple of years ago. I haven't seen her very much since coming to Australia. We drove through the countryside and along the South Coast and visited some beautiful places.

 
Favourite city in the world?
Would be Brisbane. It's a lovely city, the parklands at Southbank and the Mt Cootha lookout are my favourite places.

 
Ultimate dinner party guests?
Frederick Forsyth the author and columnist, George Negus, two very interesting and clever people.

Why Competency Training?
I've been interested in getting involved in training for some time. I've worked with a number of people who did their hazardous area training through CT and they were very happy with the training they received and the delivery of the course. CT has a very good name in the industry and I was more than pleased with the opportunity to come on board.

Trainer Profile – Ken Kavanagh

Friday, 20 May 2011

Ken is Competency Training’s resident HV expert and is heading up the development of Competency Training's new Melbourne HV facility.

For most of the last 28 years Ken has worked in petro chemicals, with the last 15 (prior to joining CT) spent being directly responsible for the management & reliability of a major industrial site’s high energy infrastructure. This challenging & rewarding role allowed Ken to get involved in a very significant way with large LV/HV projects from inception to commissioning. The role also required the planning & implementation of major plant shut down maintenance programs, all of which gives him an enormous depth of experience to draw on in the training room.

An electrical technician and instrumentation fitter by trade, Ken completed his training with BHP in Whyalla, South Australia. Ken thoroughly enjoyed his time with BHP, and credits their training with laying the foundations he has built his career upon.

Outside of work Ken is a proud father of five and grandfather of one, and a husband of 32 years. A self-confessed ‘tragic’ hobby farmer, Ken breeds Dexters, small Irish cattle he dubs his ‘girls.’ With experience handling a crowd like that, his time at CT has been walk in the park.

Technical Talk – The use of shrouds on cable glands

Friday, 20 May 2011

One of the occasionally controversial issues associated with HA electrical equipment is cable glands - in particular, the use of shrouds on the glands. Shrouds are commonly specified and used on glands outdoors as an aid to weather proofing. However, they may in fact have the opposite effect, by acting as moisture or water traps.

There is no legal requirement to use shrouds. Cable glands are certified without shrouds fitted, so a shroud is not required to achieve the IP rating – the gland does this by itself (provided it is correctly installed). The standards actually state we must protect the glands against corrosion (AS/NZS 60079.14 Clause 5.9; 9.3.9) or (AS/NZS 2381.1 Clause 1.8.14.1) so it could be argued that the fitting of a shroud promotes corrosion via their tendency to trap water and therefore they should not be used. If it is a requirement to fit a shroud (site policy) then it would be far safer and a better idea to use a Denso-type, grease-impregnated tape, which excludes moisture and if wrapped properly will not act as a moisture trap. Denso tape is still easy to remove (albeit a bit messy) for inspections or repair purposes.