As part of their Certificate IV in Engineering (Instrumentation) studies, Woodside Stage 3 Apprentices were recently invited by APA Group to attend an excursion to Yarraloola Compressor Station on the Goldfields Gas Transmission Pipeline. Students observed APA Technicians perform Verification Tests and Calibrations on live metering systems that incorporate pressure, temperature, flow and gas composition measurement. These calibrations must achieve very tight accuracy tolerances to prove custodial transfer metering between supplier and customer on the Goldfields Gas Transmission. The activity was a fantastic opportunity for students working towards achieving learning outcomes from the Foundation Principles units as part of their qualification. We would like to say a big thank you to the APA Group for making the excursion possible and we look forward to working with the APA Group in to the future. At NR TAFE we pride ourselves in offering industry aligned training and unique hands-on learning opportunities developed through key business partnerships with employers such as the APA Group.
Student quotes:
“The APA boys were awesome, taking the time to run us through the operation of the station and even conducting flow and temperature calibrations. They explained their roles at APA and shared the experiences and knowledge they have gained working rurally and in a small team. Would definitely recommend this trip to other aspiring techs and really appreciate APA for giving us the opportunity to visit their site.”
Megan
“After our excursion out to the Yaraloola Compressor Station with APA group, I just wanted to give some feedback to the boys to say thanks and that it was definitely beneficial. It was great to see the similarities and differences between a Woodside facility and other sites where the instrumentation we work with exists, as well as surrounding assets. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the different techniques for calibrating instruments (flow and temperature) and using the documenting process calibrator made it a breeze. I also found the gas chromatograph instrumentation interesting as I have not been exposed to that on site before. Overall, the excursion was a great experience and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to see what else there is within the industry. Strongly recommend to others who are doing this course.”
Brock
“The excursion out to Yaraloola Compressor Station was a great experience for us to see what other oil and gas operations are nearby. It showed us that our skills are easily interchangeable with other companies and there are lots more learning opportunities outside of the Woodside assets.”
Reuben
“Awesome experience! I got exposure to other areas of the industry that I wouldn’t have otherwise seen. Hopefully there can be future excursions.”
Kade
“It was a really good experience getting to see how things are done outside of Woodside and how instrumentation is done in other places. At Woodside it's easy to get tunnel vision so it was a great eye opener.”
Keanu
“Thanks for letting us come out and experience your work. It was really informative and good to see other paths for this type of career.”
Caitlin