Descend Commercial Update

Kristy, Des, Val & Scott Walters with Joe Hockey

Its been a while since we had an update on our commercial training and contracting division and I guess that’s a reflection on the level of activity we have had during the past 9 to 12 months. There has been a lot happening. Firstly the Commonwealth Government and Telstra Small Business Awards. I entered the awards as a means of benchmarking our business. I was finding it quite difficult to judge just how we compared with similar businesses and I wanted to use the awards as a means of comparison.

I was delighted when we made the final six in the Micro Business category for all of NSW but I was totally blown away when it was announced that we not only won the Micro Business category but we had also gone up against all businesses in NSW with up to 100 employees and been awarded Best Small Business in NSW. This elevated us to the National titles and out of over 700,000 small businesses in Australia Descend was chosen as The Best Micro Business. What an honour. It’s been all go from then on. We have featured in a small business video, articles, interviews, TV, and lots of promotions. We are really proud as it shows that you don’t have to be big to have a quality operation and of course you don’t have to be located in a capital city to compete successfully in a national and international market. I think we can now safely say Descend Underwater Training Centre is the best commercial diver training establishment in Australia and I believe in the Southern Hemisphere.

Richard with Excalibur the hydraulic drill

At the same time as all this was going on, diving contracting boomed. For the last half of 2003 we had two contracting teams working full time as well as our training courses. To meet the demand we bought a second boat and recommissioned our tandem trailer for the smaller jobs. We completed a huge contract for the RTA, which involved inspecting all of the road bridges over the Murray River in NSW. This was done in just 12 weeks and we then went straight to a contract at Tullaroop Reservoir to replace stop log guides. This was really challenging as it involved Boroko cutting over 20 metres of cast iron to remove the old rails then drilling 48 horizontal holes 24mm in diameter 190mm into reinforced concrete to take the chemical anchors to fix the new stainless steel guides. The drilling is the difficult bit. I researched this and finally bought a new Excalibur hydraulic drill and drilling rig from Germany especially for the job. I think it’s the only one of its kind in Australia and it worked beautifully. We have now won four major contracts with Goulburn Murray Water for all of their four head works areas in Victoria. This is major work and includes over 20 reservoirs controlling over 70% of all of Victoria’s water supplies for the next three years.

On the training side the January, February March course was completely full and this is the first time we have had to turn students away. We believe in personal attention for all students so we strictly limit our courses to 12 students at a time. I guess the message here is if you have organised yourself for a particular course book early to avoid disappointment. We have just built a second classroom, lunch room and shower block and we will start supervisor training within the next two months so if you are already ADAS qualified perhaps it is time to further your career by learning supervisor skills. It’s a two-week course and the Supervisor qualification will become a legal requirement with the release of the revision of ASNZS2299.1 expected later this year. Having the qualification before the release of the new standard will ensure you extra work and you will avoid the scramble for qualifications that will inevitably follow.

Supervisor keeps a close eye on divers

Another great innovation has been the inclusion by Descend of the NSW Workcover OHS Induction for Construction certification in our level two course. You might have heard it called a green card or in Victoria a red card. Either way its mandatory for all construction work, and that means pretty much all diving work. Its been a big fear of mine that schools accept divers for three months of intensive training then as they leave, tell them there is one more thing they need before they can work. Well not at Descend. When you leave us you are ready to work and the best part is, just like your Nitrox training, DAN Oxygen Provider, practical explosives training, Commercial Logbook and Certification, its all included in your course cost - not as an extra. Just another way we stay one step ahead.

We are also gearing up two other new and exciting courses. The Scuba Technician course is designed to train and qualify the operator to repair all types of scuba equipment. I think you will agree that is something long overdue in this industry. The other new course is Mixed Gas Surface Supplied Diving to 75 metres. This is a logical progression from level three which is Surface Supply to 50 metres on air and it is in demand where saturation diving is not possible or practical and where the work task is of relatively short duration. The prerequisite for this course will be an ADAS level three qualification and I believe it will be a more viable alternative than level four which has very limited employment possibilities.

The guys from Borneo Sub Sea Services

Still on the training front Descend seems to be gaining recognition on the international market as Australia’s premier diver training establishment. On our last course we had three students from Borneo Sub Sea and three more expected next course. We have also had students from Dubai, Japan, Korea, Ireland, New Zealand and Portugal on recent courses and we are currently in negotiation with Austrade and companies in Malaysia and Turkey who want us to enter into joint ventures. Its an exciting time and I think reinforces the fact that your ADAS certification is truly international.

Well that’s about it for now. Remember we have level 1–2–3 courses starting on 16th August and 17th January and we have Supervisors courses scheduled for 30th August and 15th November. I hope to see you on course soon.