Camaraderie Blooms Among the Pots

Written by: Melissa Limb
Featuring: Greg Picot, Anibal Lai, Narelle Burns, Bryan Sharman, John Evans, Robbie Mathews and Mark Warren

One of the first things that strike visitors to Comalco is the strict adherence to safety and security procedures. The second thing is the lack of passion for fashion in the dress code. Whilst you might think this could prove rather deterring, Comalco is one of the most welcoming and hospitable places to visit.

The call to the  pot rooms to conduct our interview added to very unexpected dimensions. It soon became obvious why exposed legs, high heels and fancy hairdos are not ‘de rigueur’.

Before embarking on our tour of the Potlines and meeting those who work on them, we were kitted out with rather dastardly looking mask apparatus and the obligatory hard hats and glasses. Feeling somewhat conspicuous and stripped of all technological gadgets such as mobile phones, we traversed the territory of the plant, entering buildings which were clearly the hub of the aluminium plant.

Our ‘tour guide’, the affable Specialist Process Control,  pot room Operations, Greg Picot, lead us through the large shed of noisy, complicated looking machinery. It soon became obvious why such precautions were taken for our protection and clearly that of others who work in these areas.

For the uninitiated, it is hard to fathom the nature of the range of skills which must be needed to work in this highly technical and specialised area. Put simplistically, the “pots’ are production cells for making metal. There are 547 ‘pots’ at Comalco. These are organised in line and each has a group of people tasked with specific jobs relating to their performance and maintenance.

Meeting the team who oversee the pots in the  pot rooms is a wonderful insight in itself. Each of the seven staff we met had been at the plant for varying lengths of time and each one’s path to the pots has been just as varied.

Greg Picot moved to Tasmania from North Queensland. He had applied for two different jobs and ended up with one at Comalco. It was his intention to stay about two to three years, but that was about 26 years ago and he is still there because he really likes the lifestyle in Tasmania and the work climate at Comalco. He has remained in similar  pot room and technical roles, although he has done some work in Personnel.

Anibal Lai has been at the Comalco site for 1 ½ months but he has worked for Comalco for 3 years, working in Melbourne in Research and Technical areas. He is on secondment to gain experience at the Bell Bay site. He speaks positively about his impressions of the workplace – ‘It’s friendly, there’s a sense of community, it’s cool – even weather wise!’

Narelle Burns has been at the Bell Bay site for eighteen months in the Technical Services area, but she has been employed by Rio Tinto elsewhere for about 4 ½ years. Her main role is in process control, research and technical work. She ‘looks after the pots’ in Potline 3. There are 178 pots in Potline 3.

Bryan Sharman has been at Comalco for 25 years in a mostly technical role. He has just started project work which will involve him looking at a small test group of cells, with the aim being to improve performance and create higher output.

John Evans has been at the plant for 36 years. For the last 6 months he has been working as a Process Controller on shift. He has always worked in the  pot rooms. Originally, he was called a Furnace Man. When he was asked how he came to be at Comalco he said he’d just walked up to the gate and asked for a job! As a major employer in the Tamar Valley, he knew that in those days it was easy to get a job there. Also, he had family who had worked there. He recalled also that there was a big turnover of labour in the early days and that the operations were far more manual and strenuous. Nowadays it is very different given the technical advances which have been made with all areas of production.

Robbie Matthews has been at Comalco for 25 years. He started off as a Process Operator on the Potlines. He now has a Technical role similar to engineering work, although he is currently having a break from his role to ‘improve the way we do things’. As a young man starting out, he spoke not only of the job opportunities and the challenges the tasks offered, but also the fact that workers were also offered housing and the chance to make good money with lots of overtime.

Mark Warren has been at the plant for 4 months although he had done vocation work at Comalco previously in a 3-month stint in a laboratory. Originally from Tasmania and having completed a Science and Engineering degree in Melbourne, he applied and gained a job in Process Control. Whilst his degree has given him understanding of chemical processes, engineering and technical aspects, learning on the job in a very supportive workplace is something he appreciates.

The team enlightened us on the way changes have affected life at Comalco. As Robbie noted: ‘There is always something new happening, especially given the improvements in technology’. He gave the example of how these changes have changed the size and nature of the labour force. Originally there were 21 on a shift, but now there are 11. In the early days a lot more manual labour using sledgehammers and shovels was needed. Now a lot of things are automated.

Computers have also made a big difference. When John first started for example, a volt metre was the only technical aspect. There was no automation, everything was manual. In the old days, Comalco was a harsh, industrial environment – physically and accident wise, things were tough. The men remembered the times when there were many people on restricted duties due to injuries. Today, there are hardly any injuries.

They also speak positively about the greater sense of equality and co-operation between all levels in the workplace. Everyone is ‘on the same footing’, with good rapport up and down the organisation.

Safety regulations, as we discovered, have really tightened up since the early years. Robbie recalled that he used to smoke on the job and that he only had to wear gloves, glasses and spats on his boots. The wearing of masks wasn’t well received. Initially paper masks were used but these were not protective enough and caused a lot of waste. Now the team say it is ‘one of the best things to happen’.

The camaraderie that is such a special part of their work is a common theme throughout the stories about Comalco and the  pot room team is no exception. ‘The people you work with make or break a job’ is a statement with which all concurred. It is the friendly people that make for a happy workplace and it is this positive atmosphere that helps everyone else. Further adding to this is that achievements and milestones are celebrated. Teams get together for special occasions. Not long before our visit afternoon tea had been provided because a safety milestone of injury free days in the  pot rooms had been reached. One of the newest recruits, Narelle, also spoke of the special impression she gained with the human touches of the plant. She was made to feel very welcome on her arrival, even being met at the airport and the help everyone offered made for an easy transition.

The team love the fact that they are always challenged by their work and they are continually learning how to improve what they do and to understand the technological advances which help achieve this.

Their work is so complex and job specific that it is hard for outsiders to truly understand, especially the very technical aspects. Understandably, this make the support and friendship of the working team even more vital. The affinity they have with others who work in smelters, a relatively small community, has had the added bonus, however, of worldwide connections. Through the email or some inter-smelter travel, contacts have been made with places as far flung as Wales, Indonesia and West Virginia.