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NEWSDESK


drain TRADER


50 years in the Drainage


Industry by Peter Stacey, NADCChairman


H


avingnowspent50years inthedrainageindustry, Iamstilloften asked"whatmadeyouengageinsuchajobinthefirstplace??The


answer tothisquestionwas certainlynotbychoicebutmorebychanceas indeedI suspect is thecasewithmanyotherdrainageengineers!Having assistedafriendofminewhoworkedforaDyno-RodFranchisee, Iwas immediatelyintriguedbythenatureandvarietyof theworkbeingcarried out (especiallyduringthenightas itmademefeel important!) Althoughatfirst, I foundthesmellandthesightofsewagesomewhat offensivethat forme, fortunately,wassoonovercome.Duringthemanydays andnightsIspent inthefieldI thoroughlyenjoyedeveryminuteespecially that theworktookyoueverywherewithinthegeographicalareascovered bymyfriend’sLondonfranchiseand,believeitornot, Icouldnotwait toget backtobeingabletotagalong-albeitwithnopay! Iespeciallyenjoyed neverknowingwhat thenextcallwouldbe. Mypreviousjobasanapprenticecarmechanicmeant thatapart frombeing stuckinthesameplacedayafterday, I rarelyhadtimeor theopportunityto interactwithotherswhichmadeeachdaydragonandon.Thechallengesof dealingwithdrainageblockages&problemspresentedbyeachemergency job,meant thatapart fromprovidingavitalservicetothecustomers, Inever stoppedlearninghowdrainsworkedandmoreimportantly,whatmade themstopworking. Iowesuchalot tomypeerswhotaughtmemuchof what IknowandthatknowledgeIstillusetothisday. Thereliefseenoncustomersfaceswhentheirsewageblockagewasfreed andthewatersubsidedwaspricelessanditmademefeelsoelatedknowing that togetherwiththelimitedequipmentwhichwethencarried,wehad beenabletodealwith(what tothecustomer)wasamostunpleasant experience. Manysaythatour livesaremappedout throughdestiny-nowadaysweuse thephrase"it iswhat it is”.Longbeforemycareerbegan, Ihadaverystrange andbizarreexperiencewhichunbeknowntomeat thetimewastoleadme towhereIamtoday.Whilstplayingfootballasaladoveratmylocal common, I fellandlandedonasemiconcealedcast irongratealmost coveredbygrass.Whenlookingdownthisgrid, Icouldseeafastflowof waterandbelieveitornot,awarmandstrangesmellengulfedme- thisI later foundoutwasthemainNorthernoutfallsewer (maybeanomenformy destiny?) So,50yearson,what'schangedinthewayweengineersstilldealwiththe dailychallengesofblockages??? Thebasicequipmentcarriedonmostservicevehiclesbackinthedaywasto saytheleast "sparse”.Theelectromechanicalequipmentwenowtakefor grantedwasourmainpieceofkitandprobablydealtwith95%ofall blockages(thatandbamboorods-yesbamboo!).Althoughthisspecialist typeofequipmentwascapableofde-scalingdrainsandpipesitcouldnot removefromthepipethedebrisdislodged, thisweusuallyattemptedby floodingthesystemandlettingitgo.Whenadrainwasfoundtobeinapoor condition(perhapsfilledwithsilt,sand,graveletc) themethodsemployed werenoneother thanaserviceknownas"winching".Thismethodwasslow, laborious,anddemandingonyourfitnesslevelsasitwasalldonebyhand (notevenmotorisedwinches)andbythetimethedaywasover,dancing thatnightwasthelast thingonyourmind!Fortunatelyforusthesedays, thosetypesofproblemscaneasilybedealtwithusingwhatwenowemploy


70 drain TRADER | July 2020 | www.draintraderltd.com


onnearlyeveryjob-HighPressureWater JettingEquipment - thankgodthis technologycamealong. Ifasuspecteddraincollapsewasidentified,allwecoulddowastoroughly workoutwhereitmaybeusingourmachinecablesasaprimitiveguideline, whichwascertainlynotaccurate,asmanyexcavationscarriedout transpired tobeinthewrongplace!Nowadays,wehaveCCTVequipment thatcannot onlyrelaytoustheextentof thedamage/collapse,butwearealsoableto pinpoint theexact locationandtherelevantdepththedamagedpipeisat usingDrainTracingEquipment. Insteadofcarryingoutexcavations manually,wehavemechanicalDiggersavailabletousthatwillexcavatein minimal time,meaningmuchlessdisruptionforall involved. Wealsohavethetechnologytobeabletorestorethestructural integritytoa drainorpipeusinginsitudrainlining It isnowonder that theaveragedrainagevehiclehadincreasedinsizefrom sayaFordEscort toaFordTransitdueentirelytothearsenalofequipment wenowcarry. Insteadof towingatrailermountedjetwhichwasthenthecase(meaning thatyouneededtonot justbeagooddriver,butalsohopethat thespace outsideyourcustomerspropertywasgoingtobebigenoughto accommodatethe8-9metreslengthrequired),wenowmount themsecurelyinthebacksofourvans. AsInowmovetowardsthefinaldaysofmytimeoutonanemergency vehicle,andnotbychoicebutmorebecauseof thephysicaldemands, Iam sopleasedthatanewbreedofengineers(withall theequipmentnowat theirdisposal)willcarryonservingthegeneralpublicat largeinthisso neededindustry. AstheCo-Founder&Chairmanof theNationalAssociationofDrainage Contractors(NADC), Iamproudtosaythatengineerscannowrestassuredin theknowledgethat theyarebeingtrulyrepresentedacrosstheboardwith allmajorstakeholders. Inaddition,NADChasdeliveredarangeofbenefitsfor itsmembersandthewider industrythat includesindividualsbeingtrained toalevelwherecertificationisawarded.Suchwasnever thecaseinthepast. Nolongerdocompanieshavetosaytoanynewemployee"gowithJohn,he willshowyouwhat todo"onlytothenquestion,whoisJohn?ishe competent toteachyou?Whatdoesheknow?Whatpossiblebadhabitswill hepassontoyou? Mywishesforyouallwouldbetotreatyour jobasacareer.Youareforsure (inmyhumbleopinion) the4thEmergencyServicewhichisvitallyneededto keepthingsflowing! Staysafe...


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