Clear and diagnose a blocked sewer drain at Harbour Court

You are a second year plumbing apprentice on the Geelong maintenance crew.

Simulated workplaceIntermediate missionCAQA Keystone Construction and Plumbing

What is going on

Sewage is surcharging from the overflow relief gully in the basement car park at Harbour Court, a 24-unit strata building in Mornington. Aisha Rahimi has cleared the drain enough to get residents going, but the blockage returned within an hour and she suspects tree roots or a collapsed section further down the line. Work order WO-26-1201 is open. You have the van with the drain cleaning machine and the camera unit. Residents are driving through the car park, the gully is in a low corner and there is sewage on the floor. The strata manager needs a written report with the cause and location before approving a repair.

Aisha Rahimi, Licensed Plumber
Subject: Harbour Court blocked sewer, camera report needed

I have cleared the surcharging drain at Harbour Court in Mornington enough to get the residents going, but the blockage came back within an hour so there is something further down the line. I need you to run the camera through from the overflow relief gully to the boundary, find the cause, mark up a sketch of the drain layout with the fault location and depth, and write up the work order so the strata manager can approve the repair. Watch for the risks around sewage and the car park traffic.

Your brief

Plan the task safely, run the camera from the overflow relief gully to the boundary, locate and identify the fault, sketch the drain layout with the fault position and depth, and complete the work order so the strata manager can approve the repair.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

Read the work order and the Plumbing Testing and Compliance Certification Procedure and identify the records the job needs and whether a compliance certificate will apply to the repair.
Identify the hazards, including sewage contact, slips, confined space at the gully, traffic in the car park and the drain cleaning machine, and record the controls you will use.
Set up exclusion barriers and signage in the car park, put on the PPE the task needs and disinfect and contain the surcharge area before starting.
Run the drain cleaning machine to clear the line, then run the camera from the gully to the boundary and record the distance, depth and nature of the fault.
Draw a sketch of the drain layout showing the gully, inspection openings, the direction of flow, the fault location and its depth below the surface.
Update the Plumbing Work Orders record with the findings, the recommended repair, the materials likely needed and photographs from the camera.
Clean and store the equipment, restore the car park and record the hazard controls used and any incident in the WHS register if one occurred.

My notes: what did I enjoy, and what surprised me?

What someone in this role would produce

Completed work order with camera findings and recommended repair
Drain layout sketch with fault location and depth
Hazard and control list for the task
Photographs and camera stills

Printing this is a record of what you explored. It is not a certificate or a qualification.