James Waterhouse

7.20 AM

I drive a seven-minute commute from home to site, which is on the eastern side of the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. This short drive only allows for a couple of tunes along the highway before heading through the gatehouse to my office. It actually takes longer to drive from the gatehouse to my office than back home!

7.30 AM

At the office, I check my emails, my calendar for the day and return any phone calls. I check the daily reports and note if any actions have been assigned to me to complete. Next is to complete the pre-start checks using the environmental monitoring software, I check all the air quality equipment is operational and check the data for any anomalies.

08.00 AM

At the team meeting, we discuss any safety events and environmental risks that have been reported, the upcoming focus of the Environment and Land Team, tasks and upcoming projects. After a few laughs, it’s time to get back to my office and choose which task to complete before my calendar booking.

08.30 AM

This morning’s most pressing task to complete a permit for some exploration activities on our tenements around the Super Pit. It is a comprehensive review of all the environmental, land, heritage, legal and external relation considerations for this project and each one has its unique challenges! This is a significant project and requires an application to Government departments and stakeholder engagement with landholders to mitigate any impacts. I complete the online application to Government and send off some initial emails to relevant stakeholders, in between creating some colourful maps.

10.00 AM

After my brain has been rewired to only think of GIS mapping and has finely arced, it’s snack time. Today’s menu is a protein shake (I’m that guy in the office) and some fruit. While I’m eating, I log in to the procurement system to pay some invoices I have received this morning for the maintenance conducted on the air quality monitoring stations last week. I’ve also received some quotes for upcoming compliance reports to be completed by consultants and raise the purchase requisitions while remembering I really need to send those last pieces of data.

10.30 AM

I’ve now also remembered that I have a couple assigned actions to complete, so I log in to the legal obligation task register and event reporting system. This week’s not too bad and after completing a few verifications of air quality system and meteorological data, I can close out a few of these actions.

Now the phone is ringing, Security have just let me know that some swans have been collected from the bottom of the pit and need to be released. Now swans are possibly the sassiest animal out here, so there is some skill required when capturing and handling these particularly hefty swans. After some hisses and flapping, they are in the animal carrier boxes and it's off to the local lake. They waddle out and then glide across the water without showing any embarrassment of their navigational error.

11:30 AM

Time for an early lunch, today it’s half a leftover parmi from the pub last night, with veggies, so that’s a balanced meal (I hope). The local pub is known for its incredibly huge parmies and last night was no exception, they always provide doggie bags! Waiting at the microwave, I catch up with my colleagues about our weekends and what we got up to. While eating, I’ve got a few days worth of legislative changes emails from several government departments and agencies which I add into the register to assess the relevance or impact to the operation. It’s not the most thrilling task, so playing some absolute bangers gets me through just fine.

1.00 PM

The Learning and Development advisor has just let us know that is now our turn to present at the site orientation session for new starters and business partners to site. I and the other two advisors jump in the LV and head down to the gatehouse and present the Environment and Land section. The content can be perceived as quite dry, so we tag team speaking to mitigate any headbanging from weary inductees. I actually enjoy public speaking and sharing some interesting anecdotes about the site.

2.00 PM

I drop off my colleagues at the office and then head to the Maintenance Workshop to complete an Environment Workplace Inspection. I meet with the Superintendent and supervisor to complete an inspection of the facility’s hydrocarbon storage area, work areas and laydown yards to ensure we are compliant to the site environmental standards. This is a great opportunity to meet a few other workers across the site and chat with the department supervisors. There are only a few opportunities for improvement found and after a few discussions of how to address these, it’s back to the office.

3.30 PM

I try to complete the inspection report as soon as possible to ensure that I have included all the findings and actions we have discussed during the inspection. If I can’t remember the exact area or issue in the workshop, I’ve luckily taken enough photos to make a stop motion film.

4.00 PM

My senior has booked in some time to review some permits and air quality assessments that I have completed.  She usually brings some snacks to aid the review process and a cup of tea is also helping my brain stay alert. Pleased with these reports and permits, she signs them off to go to the Superintendent before I submit them tomorrow.

5.00 PM

It’s time to clock out and head home to get changed out of my PPE and go for a walk around Karlkurla Bushland with a friend to get all the news and happenings. Then off to the gym for a session; it’s leg day so tomorrow will be a struggle.

7.30 PM

Back home I’m starving and cook dinner, chat with my housemates and finally get to bed to do it all again tomorrow.