I think that we can safely say that summers coming to a quick and cold end now, and its mad how quick its gone – I’m back to college on the 3rd of September, and will be heading into the second year of my NVQ level 2 qualification.
I’m looking forward to rejoining my mates at college, and also to getting started on finishing up my course – I have half a practical folder to complete, and 4 theory tests to pass before my final exam; which will require me to fit a bathroom suite by myself (Bath, toilet, basin and radiator etc.). It’s been a shock to the system working 5 days a week, and I’m glad college is back to break the week up!
I’ve had a really busy summer on site, as the finishing date for the job at Wood Street has been pushed back towards the end of September; every trade has been scrambling to complete whatever it is they have left. In our case we still have some installments left to finish in some of the toilet/shower blocks – these include disabled toilets etc. – and we are still testing and commissioning Chilled and HDPE pipework.
My main responsibilities over the summer has been to complete snagging tasks on the floors which have been handed over and inspected by the architect and designers. These tasks have ranged from fixing loose toilet seats and loose basins, to fitting solenoid valves where they have been missed. Snagging has been a good experience for me, although its tedious in many aspects – it has shown me how to be more careful, as while working on finished levels I had to take extra care; wearing protective overshoes, and getting work permits every morning.
I have also been given the responsibility of attaching tags to the valves on the chilled beam pipework (every level), and also on the heating and chilled pipework located in Risers, the basement, and the roof. At first I found this to be a complicated job, and felt pressured because it had to be done spot on – my project manager printed me all the drawings I needed; Schematics and layouts and then he went through each valve with me. After being shown on the drawing and on site, I found it ok and did not struggle too much – although it did take some time to finish!
So now you know what I’ve been up to on site, no doubt I have a busy month ahead of me….
Thanks for stopping by.
[author image=”https://www.installeronline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/MITCHELROBERTS.jpg” ]Mitchell Brown was recruited as a JTL apprentice in late summer of 2013. He celebrated his 17th birthday in October. He is employed by Designer Group, which has its UK headquarters in Shepherd’s Bush, London. One day each week is spent at Barking & Dagenham College in Romford as part of his striving to first achieve a Level 2 Plumbing qualification before moving forward to Level 3. Mitchell expects the process to last for four years. A former student of West Hatch High School in Chigwell, he achieved good GCSE grades and thought long and hard about whether to go forward to A levels, before deciding to accept the opportunity of a JTL apprenticeship. [/author]
