1. How long have you worked together?
2. What is the biggest project you have worked on?
3. How did you begin working together?
4. Can you explain why it is so important to work co-operatively during a project?
Welder – Donal Sheehan
1. We have worked together on and off for about seven years.
2. The biggest project I’ve ever worked on is the Penrith to Mount Victoria pipeline in the Blue Mountains for Jasdell Pty Ltd. It wasn’t the biggest job in terms of kilometres but I was on it for 17 months and found the terrain challenging and the job very interesting.
3. Brandon and I first met in Moomba and started a good working relationship.
4. It is very important to work co-operatively to keep the work site safe and keep the job flowing.
TA – Brandon Graham
1. About seven years on and off.
2. The biggest project I’ve worked on is the Toowoomba Pipeline, a 38 km, 750 mm diameter water pipeline which ran from Cress Brook to Wivenhoe Dam, through rugged country.
3. We started working together on flowlines across the whole of the Cooper Basin.
4. Working with each other over the years, you improve your safety and efficiency in the work place.
Welder – George Imrei
1. The TA that I am currently working with has been with me for the last four projects and was unknown to me prior to that.
2. The biggest project Dan and I have worked on would be the one we are on at present. It involves duplication of the existing South West Queensland Pipeline and QSN Link to transport high volumes of coal seam gas to markets in Sydney and Adelaide through a 457 mm diameter pipeline. The project has been severely affected by the unseasonal rains experienced over the past twelve months but continues despite the challenges. We have had to endure some of the wettest working conditions ever but expectations remain that the project will be completed on target by September.
3. My former TA had qualified as a sideboom operator and consequently moved on from TA work. This is not an unusual scenario because TAs are invariably seeking a higher level of classification and the increased pay that comes with it. When the Walloons Project started in 2008, I was assigned my new TA and as I was happy with Dan’s work ethic and ability, I have successfully endeavoured to keep him with me on subsequent projects.
4. Since my involvement can be anywhere in the spectrum of welding, it is very important that the TA has an equal understanding of what the employer expects of us from a quality and production performance standard. The longer we work together, the greater the understanding of each other’s needs and limitations.
TA – Dan Sullivan
1. We have been working together since the end of 2008/early 2009.
2. The biggest project I’ve worked on has been the QSN 3, which is still in progress.
3. We ended up working together while I was filling in on a ballooning job for Nacap. George didn’t have a TA so I was assigned to him. Have stuck with him since.
4. Co-operation is imperative as projects go for a long time. You have to know your job. It’s best not to get on people’s nerves or to go out of your way to annoy them.
Welder – Brian Malseed
1. Saul Duchen and I have worked on and off together since about 1996.
2. Probably the biggest project we have worked on together is the QSN Link project in 2008, which was followed by the Walloons Project in the summer of 2009.
3. We were teamed up when Minson Constructions was contracted for work in the Cooper Basin by Santos.
4. As a welder it is good to have a TA that is used to whatever subtle ways a tradesman goes about their work. Saul sets out all the gear we need for the day’s work when we start up in the morning and things flow well from there. Saul has worked in the pipeline industry since 1982, so his input on daily tasks is well regarded in any crew’s pre-start meetings. A TA is also able to spot potential accidents which you might miss while you have your hood down welding.
TA – Saul Duchen
1. Brian and I have worked together since 1997.
2. The biggest project I’ve worked on was Nacap’s looping of the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline (DBNGP) in 2006, which involved six months of work. Brian and I are currently working on a big project in Queensland right now – QSN 3 – installing the pipework to link Epic Energy’s South West Queensland Pipeline.
3. We were put together by Minson as Brian was missing a TA at the time.
4. You never know what kind of projects you’ll be working on so you need to be happy with your partner.
Welder – Geoff Little
1. Dan and I started working together in 2007 on the DBNGP looping project performed by Saipem.
2. Dan worked with me on both looping projects from Dampier to Bunbury with Saipem and McConnell Dowell. These projects were both about twelve months long.
3. When I started work with Saipem, Dan was assigned to be my TA. After a lot of training, he was not bad!
4. In my opinion, working together and having a bit of a laugh during a project is the most important aspect of any job, especially projects of any duration similar to the ones mentioned above. It keeps you interested and alert which is important, especially when you are doing tie-ins or any higher risk parts of the project. I think once you have established a good relationship with your TA, you look out for each other and they become more like family than just a work mate; you know when something is not right, and vice versa. A bad relationship between you and your TA is not uncommon. It not only effects you but the other welder and TA on the opposite side of the pipe, which makes for a very long project. I know all about that. That’s why when you get a great TA like Dan you try to get him on the next job.
TA – Dan Davies
1. I first met Geoff in 2007 and have worked with him on various pipeline projects around Australia.
2. The biggest project I’ve worked on would be the 2007 DBNGP looping project in WA. It involved 570 km of pipe and over ten loops.
3. I started as a TA for Geoff on the Braemar Gas Pipeline in Dalby, Queensland. Since then we have also worked together on Stage 5B of the DBNGP in 2009.
4. When you are working in remote and isolated parts of Australia you need a crew you can completely rely on. A good sense of humour goes a long way when the mercury rises in the bell hole! Efficient and willing TAs are a boost within the crew. Forming a good working relationship with your welder helps the job flow smoothly and keeps the team’s spirits up, resulting in safer work practices and higher outputs.
When The Australian Pipeliner approached well-travelled welder Bob Papp, Mr Papp informed us with regret that his TA of 14 years, Alex Medok, had passed away. However, Mr Papp paid tribute to his colleague by describing the close relationship a welder develops with their TA.
Welder – Bob Papp
Alex and I started worked together in 1983. He had been working in a factory and I asked him if he wanted to be my TA, explaining that it would be better money, but harder conditions. We worked on a number of projects, but the longest would have been the DBNGP and the biggest, the Moomba to Sydney Gas Pipeline. To work with one TA for a long time is very important. You grow together as a team, come to learn how the other thinks and come to have a particular way of doing a job together.
A good TA knows what a welder needs or wants and doesn’t require an explanation every time you start another weld. He makes sure everything is ready before you leave the work camp. This can take a lot of working pressure off the welder.
He is also a good companion through long, hard days of work and through tough conditions.