Hire and Rental News - August 2015

24 / 68

24 HIRE AND RENTAL NEWS • AUGUST 2015
EVENTS in FOCUS
Tom O’Dowd from No Fuss Solutions
has been hard at work, attending state
meetings in NSW, SA and recently in QLD,
representing the entire Events Division of
the HRIA.
Representation at State level
The Events Division works in with the
state committees with Events committee
members representing the market on
some of the state committees. There is
certainly opportunity for greater Events
representation at State committee level.
Our current HRIA National President, Jeff
Bernard runs Cool Breeze Rentals which
is of course heavily involved in Events;
past state and current SA Presidents, like
Linda Cater Watts, Mark Burton and now
Saul Heffernan are all also focused on the
Events sector.
Changing the events industry image
In the past, the Events sector has had an
image problem; previously being seen as
‘small businesses’ which were generally
lumped into the small time, ‘party hire’
mentality.
The reality for our members today is
completely different. In general a large
event company such as Harrys the Hirer or
Butlers would move as much equipment
around the country in any one year as the
army, if not more.
Events companies are continually working
to tight time lines organising logistics,
materials and labour, quietly achieving
remarkable results on a consistent basis.
The Events sector has a lot more going on
than just marquee or stage construction.
Large companies such as Coates Hire
have sponsored some of the largest events
in this country suppling items such as
generators, fencing, light towers, portable
buildings and more, all of which we
associate with construction. Because they
were not involved in marquee supply we
don’t tend to think of them as an events-
based company.
While it is entirely appropriate for the
Events division to have its own national
representation, and own voice to push
events related issues, I think we need to
be mindful we are all in the hire business.
I really believe we should recognise the
differences but celebrate the similarities.
Events Division – your Association at work
Tom O’Dowd – National President provides some detail and insight into what has been
happening behind the scenes at an Association level for the Events Division.
Events Division Training initiatives
– gaining National Accreditation
In the past the Events Division has
held a marquee erectors course, run
by Spencer Tankard in conjunction
with the HRIA. This course has been
widely acknowledged as a great
course. Unfortunately the course has
not enjoyed the popularity it should,
because opinion and feedback tells us
national accreditation is more favourably
considered.
With this in mind and following a
unanimous show of hands at the seminar
in Adelaide at Hire 15, I have begun
designing a course for temporary structure
erection and took the discussion to an
Association Board meeting.
For the course to be successful and gain
national accreditation the plan is to fall in
line with the Victorian Building Authority
(VBA) requirements for its Registered
Building Practitioner Certification. The
VBA has indicated it is willing to support
the initiative in full.
Association initiatives underway –
new Temporary Structures Standard
Together with the HRIA I have been
working to provide an Events industry
voice for the Australian Building Codes
Board (ABCB) during implementation of
the new Temporary Structures Standard.
The ABCB released the final draft for public
comment in early June. The HRIA made
a final submission, then argued strongly
on a few points we believed didn’t fit,
however were unable to secure any further
concessions.
The Standard is now in the ‘final draft’
phase and has gone to the ABCB for
ratification. Although not alone in our
efforts, I believe we have been successful
in winding back a lot of the clauses
which would have had a huge impact on
our industry and operations; but many
challenges for our industry will still exist as
a result of this new Standard.
In practical terms the net result of the
new Standard is almost every temporary
structure will require some form of
modification.
This might take the form of additional
bracing or increased weights. The final
outcome will be dependent on the
individual structure, however, in most
cases, engineering input will be necessary.
Most states have indicated they will adopt
the Standard in its entirety; but NSW
remains undecided.
The HRIA and specifically our new CEO,
James Oxenham have put a lot of work
into this, managing to have the Portable
Toilet Code of Practice included as a
reference document within the new
Standard. To help the industry understand
the changes and the impact of the new
Standard, the HRIA and I have begun to
develop a guide to the new Standard.
Weighting Guide to be updated
The weighting guide that has served the
industry well for the past six years urgently
needs to be reviewed. Currently the HRIA
and I are focused on this task with three
engineering proposals underway.
I am also working towards getting all
manufacturers to provide simple, easy to
follow instructions and drawings for all
their structures, to create an assortment of
assembly check sheets so this information
could be easily provided on site at time of
marquee or structure erection.
I have also applied to become an HRIA
Events Division representative on the VBA
board to help the Events industry get its
voice heard at this important level.
Events opportunity – 2018
Commonwealth Games
I recently met with Mark Cutler, the Head
of Venue Development and Overlay for the
2018 Commonwealth Games Organising
Committee (GOLDOC), who provided
detail about the Games plans and current
status of the setup and planning.
The purpose of the meeting was twofold:
to make Mark aware HRIA members
are willing and capable of providing the
infrastructure required and that the HRIA
would offer assistance to this process.
The Association has pitched the same
message to the head of GOLDOC Overlay
and as of last October the head of
GOLDOC Procurement. Mark believes we
will see the first of the tender packages
start to come out in about a year.
All members interested in Commonwealth
Games tenders should register on the ICN
Gateway site: