Recognition for NZ’s first certified irrigation designer

April 29 2011

New Zealand’s first certified irrigation designer has been recognised by IrrigationNZ.

Peter Gant has been awarded the National Certificate in Irrigation Design making him the first certified designer to complete the assessment process through the irrigation sector’s NZQA registered advanced training programme.

The qualification allows those highly experienced in the industry to submit projects and assignments for assessment under the NZQA framework.

Peter, an irrigation designer and projects manager, has worked for Wellington-based Parkland Products since 1991 and is currently the Irrigation branch manager for the South Island. He has over 35 years experience in design of amenity irrigation systems with particular expertise in golf course irrigation systems.

He prides himself on being totally dedicated to providing efficient irrigation solutions gaining particular enjoyment in working with customers and seeing solutions evolve from start to finish.

The qualification recognises him as having the skills to plan and design fixed, movable and micro-irrigation systems against the IrrigationNZ Irrigation Design Code of Practice key performance indicators (KPIs).

The National Certificate in Irrigation Design was initiated and supported by IrrigationNZ after the organisation recognised the need for a NZQA registered and unit standard based training programme to equip designers with the design procedures to ensure irrigation systems perform to a recognised standard.

The Water Industry Training nationally recognised qualification covers fields of knowledge of irrigation systems, their components and performance, irrigation efficiency statistics, water and application rates, water metering, soil moisture devices and their selection for measuring performance, system installation and commissioning requirements.

The training programme has been developed to allow irrigation designers to bring their knowledge up to the required level to ensure irrigators can install irrigation systems that achieve effective and efficient irrigation.

There are two pathways – an accelerated programme for irrigation designers who feel they are already equipped with knowledge sufficient to submit the necessary assignments for assessment based on their extensive prior experience, or a full course option with tuition and mentoring for those who have only been in the industry a couple of years, and need further development of their knowledge so they can successfully complete the assignments.

“It’s about raising the bar throughout the irrigation industry,” says IrrigationNZ chief executive Andrew Curtis.

“We have to ensure irrigators have irrigation systems that enable them to undertake industry Good Management Practice and thus achieve effective and efficient irrigation. Effective and efficient irrigation is paramount if we firstly want to sustain the current level of irrigated area, and secondly want to grow irrigation in New Zealand.”

The Irrigation Design Qualification is part of the ‘irrigation industry resource package’ that covers, design, installation, operation and evaluation/maintenance, providing Codes of Practice, Standards, Training and eventually an Accreditation programme. The goal is to have the ‘resource package’ in place by the end of 2012.

A further 12 senior industry members are currently undertaking the accelerated programme with another 11 on the full programme.

The design programmes are being facilitated by NZWETA. More information is available on the IrrigationNZ website www.irrigationnz.co.nz/irrigation-industry/irrigation-design/.

ENDS

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