Leakage Detection Operative

Grade and SalaryGrade G (€29,722 – €44,584)

Job Description

Uisce Éireann is Ireland’s national regulated water utility and is responsible for providing water and wastewater services throughout Ireland. Our mission is to ensure all of our customers receive a clean, safe and reliable supply of drinking water and have their wastewater collected and safely returned to the environment. We will protect the health and well-being of the people of Ireland, protect the environment in all our activities and support Ireland’s social and economic growth through appropriate investment in water services.

The Role

The Asset Operations function forms the cornerstone of service delivery to customers, protecting the environment and meeting regulatory standards as well as managing the majority of operational expenditure. The Asset Operations function has responsibility for operational and maintenance strategy, policies, planning and standard operating procedures for Water and Wastewater operations both nationally and regionally, ensuring that value for money and customer service is delivered.

The Water O&M Management functional area is responsible for the national delivery of water operational services through the operation, inspection, maintenance & repair of the water treatment and network assets.

The Leakage Detection sub-area is responsible for leakage detection supported by the Water Leakage Analysis and Water Conservation & Network Planning teams within the Asset Management function. The fix element of Leakage will be undertaken by internal resources in the Water Network M&R team and supplemented by third party / contractors as required. 

Reporting to the Leakage Detection Team Lead, the Leakage Detection Operative is responsible for monitoring Uisce Éireann pipe infrastructure using specialised equipment to measure water pressure and flow, detecting leaks in the network, and escalating these to the Team Lead. 

We are currently recruiting roles in Clare. A panel will be put in place for vacancies that arise in the next 12 months.

Night time working may be required in line with operational requirements in addition to out of hours and standby working as required.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Monitor and detect leakage across the water network
• Work with specialised monitoring equipment to measure water flow and pressure across water network in assigned region
• Responsible for isolating and re-commissioning sections of the distribution network in a controlled manner so as to not adversely impact the network (alongside Water Network Operations teams) and carry out step testing and zero pressure testing activities
• Escalate detected leakages immediately to Team Lead to facilitate early intervention by Maintenance and Repair teams
• Contribute to the team’s performance culture
• Support the execution of leakage sweeps and surveys by Leak Detection Senior Operatives and Team Leads 
• Develop, promote and improve understanding of systems (Maximo and LMS) and processes for OLM
• Assist with the maintenance of District Metered Areas (DMAs) pro-actively monitoring and checking their integrity and operability
• Assist in streamlining information sharing and progress reporting on issues affecting OLM
• Carry out duties according to regional leakage detection plans
• Participate in out of hours and standby working as required
• Champion the culture of continuous improvement, cost efficiency and quality, challenging and developing solutions for improvements to existing operational practices and systems and adopting industry best practice
• Understand objectives set by regional managers and review and monitor individual performance 
• Responsible for fully using handheld technology provided and carrying out associated training of this technology. Responsible for adopting and fully using any new technology and carrying out associated training of this technology
• Develop effective working relationships within the region
• Support the Customer Operations function in the resolution of customer enquiries and/or issues
• Responsible for collaborating and liaising with third parties/contractors employed in water conservation activities within the region as required
• Responsible for carrying out any other duties deemed necessary and / or required, which the Leakage Detection Team Lead may reasonably request

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Secondary level education or equivalent work experience 
• A minimum of 1 years' experience relevant experience in a similar role in the water, utilities or similar industries would be an advantage 
• Experience and understanding of working within a strong health & safety culture
• Proactive, with ability to work on own initiative and with others to ensure success in the performance of a team
• Proven effective time management skills with the ability to prioritise and remain focussed
• Proven ability to create and develop good working relationships to facilitate the accomplishment of work goals, coupled with the ability to gain commitment from others 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to convey messages in a clear and concise manner
• Experience working in outdoor environments
• Ability to set up ongoing processes and procedures to collect and review information
• Flexible with regard to working in a changing environment and the ability to adjust to new work structures, processes and requirements as necessary
• Proactively identifying new areas of learning and using newly gained knowledge and skills on the job
• Striving for quality and ensuring consistent high standards of work
• Strong Computer skills with a proficient working knowledge of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
• Basic knowledge of network management 
• Ability to use monitoring and record-keeping IT equipment and interpret data and network drawings (GIS/Geo field) in order to analyse and investigate areas of potential interest in the network
• Full, clean and valid Irish category B driving licence is minimum requirement. Additional Driving License categories an advantage.A clean driving licence is defined as meaning that the applicant has not been convicted of an offence under the Road Traffic Acts (other than an offence for which the penalty is the imposition of penalty points).

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