Prior to joining Otraco, Joel worked as a Carpenter’s Labourer and Warehouse Assistant.
What do you like about working with Otraco?
How would you describe the culture at Otraco?
Everyone is friendly, we treat other with respect.
Describe what a day in your role can look like
Every day starts with a pre-start meeting where we are told what work we have on for the day. This can lead into a planned or unplanned job, where we will change the tyres and/or rims on large mining equipment.
It’s really important that all of the paperwork is done before every task and throughout the jobs.
We have weekly machine inspections of the fleet. Each day can have breakdown work, preventative maintenance/inspections and preparation work for jobs that may be planned in the future days. Most of the day will be spent with one other tyre fitter in the field or in the tyre bay.
What advice would you give a job seeker who’s thinking about applying for a job with Otraco?
Otraco is a great place to work! Previous experience isn’t always necessary, as they have experienced trainers. You will have a network of support to help you and the work can be very rewarding – physically, emotionally, financially.
Name: Ryan Wadwell
Job title: Trainer Assessor / Relief Supervisor
Project location: Mount Thorley
Roster: 5/2
Year/s with Otraco: 8
What was your employment background before becoming an Otraco Tyre Fitter?
Prior to joining Otraco in 2012 I was working for a company by the name of Golding Contractors. I was working as a tyre fitter and had attained a certificate 2 in tyre fitting through Good Year. When I joined the Otraco team I was told I would need to obtain the Otraco Certificate 2 in tyre fitting. I thought this was weird as a qualification was a qualification as far as I knew. Upon joining Otraco and completing the relevant units of competency required to be “Otraco” qualified I realised how much more knowledge the Otraco way offered.
Describe what a day in your role can look like.
Performing my relief duties, a typical day would require me to attend a pre-shift information meeting prior to starting work. Here we discuss safety issues and aspects of our jobs for the upcoming shift that are high risk, we discuss what critical controls we will be implementing for the shift. During the shift we will perform tyre changes with the other tyre fitters. One thing I have noticed with working relief, it does not matter who I am working with or even what site I am working on, the task is completed the same way, making tyre changes the same predominantly no matter where I am working. This is because the company is very procedure driven which flows onto a very safe work environment. In the Trainer assessor role, I have only recently moved into the role, I am currently working through my trainer assessor certificate. I have spent a bit of time all through my Otraco career working with trainees helping to teach them the Otraco way of tyre changing in a mentoring role and side by side working.
What’s the best part of your job?
I enjoy helping to train new people into the business. That is why I have tried to steer my career into the training role. While working on site, I am not sure what is wrong with me, but I enjoy changing tyres. I get a real sense of satisfaction out of working in a specialist capacity on sites. Knowing other people on site could not get a truck back to production, it is up to myself and the team on site to get the Machines back to work.
How would you describe the Otraco culture?
The Otraco culture is one of safety-first productivity after, everyone has the ability to speak up and stop a job if tooling or equipment is not correct or available.
Describe your team and how you work together.
Otraco has a very diverse selection of employees, all of which are happy to help anyone who asks. Happy to pass on any knowledge and experience to help better your own knowledge. Like stated before, I have found I can work on any site with any tyre fitter and the job flows smooth, this is because the process is clearly outlined in our procedures.
What advice would you give a job seeker who’s thinking about applying for a job with Otraco?
I would highly recommend a job with Otraco, the company has plenty of room for personal growth and promotion within the business. This job has taken me from central Queensland employed as a tyre fitter, to a site supervisor, to Relief supervisor in NSW, during my time in relief I worked at multiple sites throughout NSW, Qld and WA, to now being the NSW trainer assessor/ relief supervisor. I am proof that if you want to apply yourself and learn you can go wherever you want within this business.
