NEWS Industry warned over rules change on street works


A training organisation has warned that a change in the rules on street works qualifications could cost companies not geared up for it. From 6 April, anyone whose Street Works Qualification Register (SWQR) card had expired, or is due to expire, must be reassessed before they can reapply and continue to work.


Develop Training warns that the change could affect up to 54,000 individuals this year alone, and that the industry is still seriously underestimating the impact of this. Speaking on the day of the switch, Develop’s street works manager, Dave Warburton, said: “From today these individuals will be unable to


signage or guarding. The resulting enforced downtime will delay work, cost businesses money and impact on company performance.” The reassessment consists of a written multiple-choice test paper. Only those achieving a mark of 80% in each unit will pass and if more than one unit is failed they will have to undergo extra training – incurring further delays.


Warning sign: SWOR card holders will need to be reassessed


work until they have successfully completed a reassessment. This doesn’t just affect road construction


workers, but council employees and anyone who alters any part of a road or pavement, including


Warburton added: “People must take this change seriously and if they need to be reassessed, prepare properly.


“Only this way will they maximise the likelihood of passing and avoid having to go through the cost and delay of additional training.”


Supply chain seeks ‘more pull’ on carbon from utilities


“More pull” is needed from water utilities if they are to make the most of their supply chain partners, says a leading pump manufacturer. The opinion was expressed at a recent Round Table event on “Carbon footprint reduction in wastewater networks,” hosted by WWT. Clive Patten, the managing


Moving on up


Gas detection and safety monitoring systems manufacturer Trolex has appointed Mark Moreton as sales manager. Moreton will manage the company’s UK sales team and key client accounts.


Specialist laboratory testing business Exova has appointed Roger Digby as group technical director. Digby comes from Airbus – where he was head of materials and processes integration for aircraft programmes.


Metasphere has appointed David King as sales manager. He will have responsibility for the company’s new monitoring product, Point, and for increasing business in the automated meter reading market.


ABB has appointed Mark Clegg as service sales manager for its low voltage products division. Clegg joined ABB in 1995 as a field sales engineer


director of pump manufacturer ABS Wastewater Technology in the UK, sponsor of the event, surprised some water company representatives when he said that they were failing to get the best out of companies like his. “We don’t get a lot of pull from the industry on innovation, we have


to come and push and sometimes that ‘push’ is very difficult.” Participating in the event, Ben Roche, Yorkshire Water’s asset strategy manager, said it was “amazing” that some utilities were failing to engage with the manufacturers on energy efficiency. Stephen Bird, operations director


at South West Water, said that he thought it was often a “perception” that water companies were not innovative


The Round Table was held in London on 31 March (see Page 24). The full transcript and a video of the event can be seen at www. web4water.com/round_table.


Scottish bid to host water forum Scotland is bidding to host the World Water Forum in 2015. The forum is held every three years to raise the profile of international water issues and attracts government leaders, engineers, academics and water industry representatives.


Corrections


A news story in WWT Ireland in February contained several inaccuracies. Dublin City Council says that Environmental Biotech’s FOG removal system is one of a number of systems permitted and has no exclusivity in this regard and it was not the only one to achieve satisfactory test results. The council says that quotes from its executive engineer were not approved and the council does not endorse commercial products.


An article in January’s WWT stated that Exova is the only ISO 17025 accredited laboratory outside of London. In fact, there are a significant number of 17025 accredited laboratories throughout the UK. The article also said that the lab is Legionalla Control Association accredited. In fact, labs cannot be accredited by the LCA, but a number of laboratories are LCA-registered suppliers. The article also states that Exova only has one competitor in the water testing sector. There are actually several strong market players, who all have a significant share of this sector.


April 2011 Water & Wastewater Treatment 11


The event would be held in Glasgow. Scotland is competing against South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. Musician Midge Ure is backing Glasgow’s bid. He says he will work to promote Scotland’s commitment to provide safe, clean water to developing countries.


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