As the popularity of NON-DRILL grows, the team at the helm of the handrail solution company are exploring ways to support the Australian economy through local manufacturing and up-skilling.
Handrail solutions are an essential safety aspect of many major infrastructure projects.
One solution works to speed up the installation process of handrails on precast projects. By planning ahead, NON-DRILL handrails can be attached to existing precast lifting anchors and simply tightened by hand into place.
After five years on the market, NON-DRILL founder, Paul Breen says the solution is becoming widely known in the industry.
“The NON-DRILL connection is finding many other uses, beyond just handrails, clients are thinking outside the square and using our connection on existing anchors, on precast structures or having them placed in in-situ pours for many applications to avoid drilling,” Breen says.
The company has newly designed its jig for easy placement and installation using existing anchors on precast stormwater lintels as an example. So far, the solution has been used on a range of different projects including securing props for columns, retaining walls, signposts and for hoarding on jersey barriers. It has also been used to secure clamps for building works, as temporary edge protection for train platforms and much more.
“We are bombarded with requests where very innovative thinkers are finding many ways to utilise our connection,” Breen says.
NON-DRILL removes the need to drill into precast structures, leaving the wall undamaged. It also reduces the threat of silica dust onsite, as drilling into concrete is not required.
“The speed to install NON-DRILL handrails or other solutions is significant, so from that you can save labour costs and reduce the risk of human error as the point of connection is planned in advance and cast into the concrete as it’s poured,” Breen says.
Amid the growing success of NON-DRILL, the team wanted to explore how it could further serve the infrastructure industry and community.
“All of these new ideas for designs using the NON-DRILL attachment encouraged us to set up our own in-house manufacturing unit to meet demand and bring the manufacturing of this product back into the local economy,” Breen says.
The team are currently in the process of making this transition, researching markets to ensure NON-DRILL can be made onshore.
NON-DRILL is also working closely with its sister company, Productivity Bootcamp, also started by Paul Breen.
Productivity Bootcamp aims to expose young people to the niche sectors of the construction industry, so that innovation and advancements can be continued well into the future.
The Productivity Bootcamp is a practical, comprehensive and on the job, eight-week course. It was developed to replicate a real worksite environment where the students are exposed to many different sectors of the construction industry.
“Our real focus for the Productivity Bootcamp is arming student with the basic skills to support them for the first six months of their working life to assist tradespeople of their chosen career,” Breen says.
“Typically, young people leaving school only think of the traditional trades, carpentry, plumbing and electrical, and we need to expose them to many more industries to build our nation’s infrastructure.”
As part of this course a NON-DRILL station is set up to expose students to the handrail industry.
“The course in return helped us get our first apprentice metal fabricator and also helped us grow our pipeline of crews to install our system,” Breen says.
“Without the Productivity Bootcamp attracting skilled workers in specific sectors of the industry that are non-traditional trades, such as this, could have been a struggle.”
As the borders close to many international workers, as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, it is important to employ and skill local people. This not only provides jobs and helps to stimulate the economy, but it also gives back to the local community.
Recently the federal government introduced the $2 billion Job Trainer package, in response to COVID-19. The package is aimed at giving Australians access to new skills through retraining or upskilling, in order to provide better employment prospects.
While the federal government is working with its state government counterparts to develop a list of qualifications and skill sets that are in demand, programs like the Productivity Bootcamp are already boosting knowledge in niche construction works.
“The federal government are putting a lot of emphasis into Australian made products and training Australian employees in the roles we need to build and better our nation,” Breen says.
“This has hugely encouraged NON-DRILL and Productivity Bootcamp to support Australian made products and local talent that are keen to become part of the infrastructure industry, which really is the backbone of the Australian economy.”
Breen says NON-DRILL is more than just a handrail solution, now it is a business supporting local manufacturing and local jobs.
To find out more about NON-DRILL visit www.non-drill.com.au or call +61 409 541 384.
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