Mr Brown’s background is fitter by trade, having spent ten years working within the exploration drilling industry, travelling to numerous mines within Australia and New Guinea.
“I was given an opportunity to work in sales for Vermeer Australia within their horizontal directional drilling (HDD)/Trenchless and Trenching division, where I learnt all aspects of trenchless – particularly HDD with machine and equipment operations, safety, specialised bore planning software and numerous other areas.
“From there I worked with an HDD contractor in Sydney called Infrastructure Construction.
After which I set up Trenchless Advisor, which has been successfully running for over seven years.”
Industry developments
Mr Brown says he has seen little change in industry since his time as ASTT Councillor, and that many of the issues that faced the industry then remain pertinent today.
He says these issues include:
- Providing greater value to ASTT memberships
- Getting in front of large projects such as NBN when they are in their infancy
- Producing and compiling true and correct guidelines for the trenchless industry
- Improving HDD skill level.
While many of these issues are still being tackled, one positive step forward for the industry has been the introduction of verification of competency (VOC) for drillers, that Dial Before You Dig and Trenchless Advisor released in July 2014, which he believes will help address skill level.
On Trenchless Australasia
Mr Brown said releasing the magazine was beneficial in allowing clients and trenchless operators to see what projects were happening, what new work practices were being used, and it was a great tool for educating everyone reading the magazine.
Looking toward the future
Mr Brown forecasts particularly changes relating to training for drillers.
“I see a huge shift in recognition for HDD operators who are assessed with the VOC.
This is likely to be one of the biggest improvements in the industry since its introduction in the early 1990s,” he said.