Page 22 - Build 161

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Otago apprentice is a winner
Dunedin apprentice and Otago Polytechnic graduate Chris McLean won the national 2017 NZ Certified Builders Apprentice Challenge.
FOURTEEN REGIONAL winners competed in the nal. They had to build a go-cart, submit a portfolio showcasing their apprenticeship, be interviewed by a panel and give a presentation on a building task they had a lead role in completing.
Chris, an apprentice at Just Build It Ltd in Dunedin, reckons his attitude to work helped him take out the top honours.
‘It’s about nding something you really enjoy, then striving to achieve it. I’ve never agreed with minimum wage, minimum e ort. I worked hard and was determined to be there, and the judges could see that,’ he says.
Chris’s former lecturer at Otago Polytechnic, Matt Thompson, says Chris is passionate about the industry and will go a long way.
‘Chris’s win shows how good the trade training is throughout Otago. We’ve always punched above our weight. It’s a credit to the local builders and Polytechnic and exempli es the great training our apprentices get,’ Matt says.
Among his prizes, Chris won the Ken Reed Memorial Trophy, a Makita drop saw and tool set, an Outward Bound Leadership Scholarship and a copy of NZS 3604:2011.
News
Changes make
high-rise
cladding safer
New Zealand is less exposed to the risks of re from combustible claddings on high- rise buildings due to these products being restricted earlier this year, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith says.
‘THE GOVERNMENT amended Building Code provisions in January this year to restrict the use of combustible cladding systems in buildings following res in Melbourne and Dubai. These systems are not prevalent in New Zealand.
‘I have asked the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to contact councils and check whether any high-rise buildings have been constructed with these materials prior to the amendments earlier this year.
‘New Zealand’s style of housing is shifting, with more people living in high-rise apartments that carry greater risks from re hazards. Our building regulations need to keep pace with this change in living styles and ensure that New Zealand never experiences what occurred at the Grenfell Tower in London.’
The government is further tightening the re safety requirements for high-rise buildings with proposals put out for consultation in May. These proposals clarify the responsibilities between struc- tural and re engineers, tighten the Veri cation Methods for claddings and re- ghting provisions in the building and improve the process for the development of Alternative Solutions.
‘We will be watching the detailed inquiries into the London disaster to see whether there are any issues relevant to New Zealand’s building and re regulations. We always need to be on the lookout for ways to improve public safety,’ says Dr Smith.
For more Information on amendments to the Building Code cladding provisions are available at https://tinyurl.com/yabohu2y.
Chris McLean, the winning apprentice.
20 — August/September 2017 — Build 161