STA POOL PLANT
Pool Plant Operators: The Crucial Cog In Health & Safety With pool plant management playing a crucial role in the running of a wide range of pools, Luke Griffiths MCIMSPA, STA’s Qualification Development Manager (Pool Plant) looks at the importance of fit for purpose training to meet the diverse requirements of the industry
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he 2019 State of the UK Swimming Industry Report recently revealed that the UK swimming industry has not changed significantly in the last 12 months – 26 swimming pool sites have opened and 27 have closed, which is encouraging compared to previous years. However, what we do know is that although the total stock of swimming pools in the UK public and private sectors isn’t changing that dramatically at the moment, the carrying capacity of the water within these pools is getting deeper. Added to this are the increased demands from private swim schools vying for pool space hire and the rise in the number of interactive water features and spa leisure facilities being created. Together, this has all served to shape the UK pool landscape over the last decade, with today’s pools coming in a variety of forms, shapes and sizes, in order to meet this diverse range of uses and users. Herein lies the challenge for modern pool operators; ensuring the surging, and varying demands being placed on a swimming pool, from gala competitions through to the needs of babies and younger children and all manner of recreational users, are satisfactory for all. Nonetheless, crucially underpinning all of this is bather safety and comfort, no matter the activity; and this leads me on to discuss the importance of pool plant management. The pool plant is the engine; it envelops every ‘safety’ and ‘comfort’ aspect of a swimming pool operation – and from an operational perspective improves the customer journey and promotes retention (an important business factor in today’s leisure society).
THE CRUCIAL COG This then makes the people who are managing and running the day-to-day pool plant operations a crucial cog in ensuring the health and welfare of bathers; thus, further emphasising the importance of CIMSPA professionally endorsed pool plant operations
training. With so many factors at stake in a swimming pool environment, no corners can be cut when it comes to equipping these personnel with the knowledge and skills needed to run a safe ‘pool plant engine’. However, to facilitate this training needs to be fit for purpose for all these changing needs; the curriculum needs to be learner-friendly, robust, technically-advanced and meet the diverse requirements of the industry (as outlined above), its employers and learners. This is why in developing our Level 3 Award in Pool Plant Operations qualification, we worked with and listened to STA tutors, pool operators, health professionals, regulators and professional groups involved in the health and safety management of swimming pools. In March, we took this one step further by launching an industry-first for a regulated pool plant operations qualification, the option of an online multiple-choice (MCQ) assessment. The premise being to provide a modern, flexible and blended approach to learning, and break down any training barriers so as to encourage more people to become professionally qualified in pool plant operations. In January we also re-launched the pool plant operations qualification and created new tutor resources for ATCs and a new professional book-bound printed resource manual to make the qualification even more tutor / learner-friendly. Again, reiterating the point about breaking down barriers so we have more professionally trained pool operators in the workplace keeping our pools safe. One of the first tutors to deliver the re-launched qualification, Martyn Hardy from Pool Oracle, said: “I had the privilege of delivering the latest Level 3 PPO in Sussex early January 2020. The new manual is a tremendous asset to the learners and the tutor’s resources, including the new PowerPoint really helps to keep the learners engaged. The multiple-choice questions are thought provoking too and are an enjoyable
The pool plant is the engine; it envelops every ‘safety’ and ‘comfort’ aspect of a swimming pool operation – and from an operational perspective improves the customer journey and promotes retention” www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk 49_SPN_April_20_STA.indd 41
assessment – as a result I’m pleased to confirm that all my candidates managed to pass with excellent marks”. Liam Parker, Pool Operator, was one of the learners on Martyn’s course, and he added: “With no background knowledge in pool operations, I was amazed at how well the course was presented and explained. The exam consisting of 80 multiple choice questions was difficult but due to the fantastic tutoring and supporting resources and manual, I managed to pass it.” To find out more about STA’s Level 3 Award in Pool Plant Operations, which was the first qualification to meet the Pool Plant Operative Professional Standard and receive professional endorsement from CIMSPA, please visit www.safetytrainingawards.co.uk/qualifications Safety Training Awards 01922 645097 www.safetytrainingawards.co.uk
POOL WATER MANAGEMENT QUALITY MARK – 12 MONTHS ON
As part of STA’s ongoing commitment to promoting the importance of best practice in a swimming pool environment, it’s also now been 12 months since the organisation collaborated with Right Directions and helped launched their new Pool Water Management Quality Mark, which forms an updated module as part of the Quest Plus assessment. The new Pool Water Management Quality Mark follows industry best practice to give pool operators guidance on how to provide safe, clean and hygienic swimming pool water and how to manage the pool in a responsible, efficient and effective way. In the coming months, in SPN, STA will be presenting case studies of those who have successfully gone through the programme.
SPN April 2020 41 07/04/2020 21:26