Congratulations to our latest ten employees who have attained a Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety (WHS).

The Aquatec Maxcon Group is commited to workplace health and safety and promoting a safety culture of continual improvement.

One of our most successful WHS initiatives has been the introduction of a training program to deliver Cert IV WHS accreditation to our company leaders throughout the organisation. In this way, our leaders improve their safety awareness and appreciate and understand their WHS responsibilities, helping them to more safely execute projects. Since its inception, this initiative has seen improved project safety performance and more positive attitudes towards health and safety leadership.

To date, 25 company leaders have completed this training, with one general manager and nine project managers/senior engineers completing the Cert IV course in February.

Some of the key health and safety areas covered by this course are:

• Australian Standards and relevant regulations and legislation
• Risk assessment and hazard control
• WHS management systems
• WHS consultation and participation processes (identifying participants, reviewing  procedures, ascertaining training needs, communicating data, developing improvement initiatives)
• WHS leadership skills
• Incident response procedures
• Assisting in incident investigations
• Managing claims and implementing rehabilitation / return-to-work programs
• Establishing, reviewing and evaluating WHS measures and initiatives.

The Aquatec Maxcon Group Quality, Safety and Environmental (QSE) Manager, Christine Howland, said “This initiative actively encourages positive project and safety leadership. Our project leaders can lead by example, “walk the talk” and promote a positive safety culture with the tools and knowledge gained through the completion of this course.”

TasWater has awarded Aquatec Maxcon a contract to upgrade both Digester No.1 and No.2 at the Ti Tree Bend Sewage Treatment Plant in Launceston, Tasmania.  The project will provide improved public health and environmental compliance, whilst ensuring reliable service delivery for the region and future generations.

The digesters play a critical role in the sewage treatment process by treating collected solids and producing a by-product suitable for re-use as agricultural fertiliser.

The upgrade will include a range of measures to minimise the potential for odour emissions and improve digester heating and mixing.  The works will include the introduction of recuperative sludge thickening and sludge dewatering, as well as improved bio-solids handling facilities for Digester No.1 and 2. Recuperative thickening increases sludge retention time and thereby improves sludge retention. The objective is to run the digester contents at less than 3.5% dry solids. The heating system will also be upgraded to improve the efficiency of the overall system during winter. This requires a number of mechanical and electrical key interfaces to the existing brownfield site. In particular, the modifications of the control system (SCADA) and PLC during plant shutdowns (whilst the existing digesters continue to operate).

By project completion, both digesters will have the flexibility to operate in parallel or in series, improving the flexibility and operability of the treatment system.

Aquatec Maxcon is proud to have completed over 50 digester installations throughout Australia to date. We have invested over $20 million in research and development and work with internationally recognised leaders in digester mixing and heating technologies.

Aquatec Maxcon has commenced construction on site with project completion scheduled for August 2018.

19 January 2018.  Aquatec Maxcon Group strengthened its relationship with Ipswich City Council by hosting a visit by His Worship the Mayor, Cr Andrew Antoniolli and Senior Advisor Ben Hayward, at the Aquatec Maxcon Group head office in Wulkuraka.

After Aquatec Maxcon was honoured with the 2017 Ipswich Business of the Year Award, Mayor Antoniolli and Mr Hayward were invited to experience the business first hand and learn more about the diversity and capabilities of the Aquatec Maxcon Group.   

Greg Johnston, Managing Director of Aquatec Maxcon, presented an overview of the business and briefly showcased some of the award-winning technologies that Aquatec Maxcon have introduced to the Australian water industry, such as the award winning Kingaroy Wastewater Treatment Plant and Yarra Valley Waste to Energy Facility.   Mr Johnston continued to speak about the divisions within the Aquatec Maxcon Group and how we are vertically integrated, offering a full suite of Engineering, Technology and Servicing (Aquatec Maxcon), Fabrication (Maxcon Industries), Installation (Aquatec Services), Electrical (MPA Engineering) and Cryogenic services (Cryeng).

The presentation was followed by a tour of the Ipswich facilities, guided by Paul Court (Manager, Maxcon Industries) and Peter Ferrando (QLD State Manager, Aquatec Maxcon). During the tour, an overview of the capabilities of the workshop factories, equipment and test facilities were explained to the Mayor.

“As an Ipswich based business employing 300 people, we appreciate the support of Ipswich City Council and the time Mayor Antoniolli was able to spend with us today.  We were able to speak about the challenges of the current business environment and also the benefits the Aquatec Maxcon Group can continue to bring to our economy. It is encouraging to see the Council continuing to take an active interest in supporting and promoting the Ipswich business community”, said Mr Johnston.

Mayor Antoniolli responded to the visit by saying “This fully Australian owned local business is punching above their weight with a real focus on quality and innovation.  I’d like to thank the management team for taking time out of their day to show me around and provide such a detailed brief”.