[Shaun Colley]

Hi Rodie,

No experience with awnings but would be interested to see what you are looking at and what others are doing currently.

Re lighter garments, work has taken the stance (and has for some time) that all sites are electrical sites and therefore minimum PPE requirements are required to be met e.g. 8 cal full cover. And to be honest most of our sites are either covered by a TMP or mixed greenfields with existing, even new subdivisions are livened in stages so teams are in and out of live/de-energised, having a minimum PPE gives piece of mind.

We are also looking at different suppliers and options for lighter garments in the next financial year as part of a PPE overhaul so any potential options others have would be appreciated as always.

Regarding general hydration, we have just added vacuum water bottles to our available items from 650ml to 2L and provide Squincher/thorst etc and the crew trucks usually have a 5-20L container or similar to top up throughout the day.

[Rodie Macrae]

Thanks Shaun.

I’ll let you know what we end up trying.

[Bill Doig]

We have awnings on cable jointers Transit vans. Rarely used as it’s hard to get the van into the right spot. They tend to use pop up shade tents to cover the work area when the need arises

[Rodie Macrae]

Cheers Bill.

[Stephen Small]

I really like the idea of the retractable awnings – in the last couple of years they have become commonplace for recreational use (4WD camping)!

We have an icemaker, and all field workers are issued a personal 5l wide-mouthed water bottle – when filled with ice they can easily stay cool for a couple of days. We also issue electrolyte sachets.

We have gone for lightweight polos and tops, which remain minimum PPE even when on greenfield sites, we also have arc-rated hat-brims and neck flaps for our helmets.

cheers

Stephen.

[Rodie Macrae]

Thanks Stephen. I like the sound of the ice-maker.

We have just received a rectangular awning from Kings so I’ll get a photo when its on.