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 Jeremy Palmer

Jeremy's (021 528 266) training career started when he joined SME (the School of Military Engineers) as a tutor in 1976. He left the Army in the early 1980's where he established a contracting company that specialised in water reticulation, demolitions - (using both explosive and plant), forestry, general contracting and house construction, employing up to 20 people within the Central North Island.  

Compliance Consultant

Jeremy then joined a National Consultancy Company (1996) to develop, design, market and implement Health and Safety Systems aligned to ACC's Tertiary level for Workplace Safety Management, Quality Assurance (ISO 9002 – TQS1 systems), Resource Management, H. R. Systems and Emergency Risk Management Systems. In that role he assisted over 120 companies in the lower North Island from the Self Employed and small company's, to Local Bodies, Polytechnics Tertiary Institutes and the corporate sector.  

He developed a team of six consultants and was promoted to Central Regional Manager. In that role his highlights were being called upon as an expert witness and being invited to deliver a presentation to the Contractors Federation National Conference in New Plymouth on Health, Safety and Quality Assurance. While in this role he was approached by many of his contracting clients to develop and provide training to their employees as he had a good rapport within the industry and had become a NZCITO (now InfraTrain) Registered Workplace Assessor.

Jeremy attempted to introduce NZQA unit standard based training into the consultancy group, to ensure consistency and transparency of the training being provided. After reflecting on the time and effort put into gaining accreditation, he decided in 1999 to concentrate on providing training with an established Private Training Provider (see Adult Education below). 

With an unbelievable 5 year restraint of trade from the consultancy group Jeremy had to abandon the clients he work with closely to instigate management systems. From 2005, if approached by existing and new clients, Jeremy developed and assisted clients with their compliance needs. In a part time or as needs required, Jeremy acts as compliance manager of several local clients, managing health, safety and employment matters, writing site specific safety, traffic management and quality plans. He has also developed several generic TMP's for clients including negotiating with RCA's and Engineers. 

Since 2008 Jeremy has developed combined Health and Safety, TQS1 Quality Assurance plans that meet NZTA and ACC WSMP audit requirements. Clients include an multi-site International Civil Engineering Consultancy group with 16 sites within New Zealand that use Jeremy's sub-contractor auditing tool to measure contracting companies compliance levels; construction companies involved building service stations, KFC and McDonald restaurants; schools; swimming complexes and other commercial projects; a company that provides services to all New Zealand oil companies for their underground petroleum storage systems, small to mid size contracting companies and is presently working with a national provider of water reticulation systems.

By using a companies existing management systems and working closely with key personnel, Jeremy designs an operational manual that identifies the aspects of the work, the risks involved and work they do to meet the clients and auditors requirements. In 2009 Jeremy managed to design an operational HSE-QA document for a contracting company with poor systems, unable to meet local and national clients requirements to even tender to being fully compliant and TQS1 accredited over a 4 month period. 

Workplace Assessment    

Jeremy is a Registered Workplace Assessor for unit standards, qualifications and National Certificates with  InfraTrain (formally NZCITO), the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation BCITO (Health and Safety and Injury Prevention), New Zealand Industry Training Organisation NZITO (Occupational Health and Safety), Extractive (Mining and Gas Exploration)  Industry Training Organisation ExITO (Traffic Management , Road Opening, Trenching), the Electrical Supply Industry Training Organisation ESITO (Traffic Management and Road Opening). 

Jeremy has developed specific assessment tools for the Plumbers, Drainlayers and Gasfitters ITO (September 2003) based on the revised Unit Standard 1099 which requires students to design and then physically shore a trench on site. 

Adult Education

In 2000 Jeremy approached Land Based Training Limited  an Agricultural training provider, to see if an arrangement could be made to provide civil engineering and health and safety related training. This culminated in a 50/50 joint venture and Land Based Training - Construction Ltd (LBTC) was formed. In his role as director/head tutor, Jeremy used his expertise from operating successful contracting, consultancy and training companies to expand LBT's accreditation by writing training and assessment resources, liaising with ITO's and to improve knowledge and up-skill his existing clients workforce. Land Based Training's role was to deal with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, market the training programs and be responsible for administration. 

At this time Jeremy was already an accredited Transit New Zealand Level 1 Traffic Controller (TC) and Site Traffic Management Supervisor (STMS) trainer who, by the end 2003, had provided training to over 20% of the 24,000 people trained in that role.  By May 2010 the number of peopled trained in temporary traffic management has exceeded 50,000 with Jeremy being responsible for about 10% of trainees, nationwide.  Jeremy designs both generic and site specific Traffic Management Plans and site auditing of TTM as a L1 STMS, for selected Clients and Organisations

During 2002 Land Based Training gained a SkillNZ Government funded course to assist people into the contracting industry, using work-based training (minimal cost to employers) coupled with formal classroom training and on job assessment. Jeremy designed the training resources and assessment tools for the Introduction to Contracting course. He was also responsible for the trainee administration and liaison with local contracting companies to find placement for trainees as well as delivering the 44 week course on behalf of LBT at their Palmerston North classrooms. Jeremy's high standards resulted in low completion rates and coupled with other work commitments, Land Based Training appointed their own field staff and tutors. 

During 2003 Jeremy designed a Comprehensive Health and Safety Representatives course complete with a Training Resource and Reference Manual, Multi Media training tool and assessment log. These were evaluated and approved by that year by the Employment Relations Education under Section 19G of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and the New Zealand ITO for the Health and Safety Representatives Certificate. 

By the end of the 2009 - 2010 contract, Jeremy will have successfully trained more than 600 health and safety representatives from 2004, using his fully funded course from the employment relations contestable fund. 

Jeremy continued to provide Traffic Management Courses and meet the demands of delivering the Health and Safety Representative courses while also managing compliance for several companies in the central region. Early 2004 Jeremy was asked by his sister (Lisa) to build a 5 room bach for her family in Te Horo. These pressures may have led to Jeremy suffering his third heart attack on 18 May 2004, while providing TTM training in Te Awamutu. After surviving an emergency quadruple bypass in Waikato Hospital Jeremy worked his way back to a level of health to continue to deliver training, however he had to give up the hands on building tasks. The bach was completed with help from some really good friends and relatives.

It became important to Jeremy to reduce his workload and appointed several people in this role so he could concentrate on what he most enjoyed, writing and developing training resources and consulting with selective clients with their compliance needs. Jeremy had developed the business into several areas including driver training and licensing, trade training and water reticulation with the expectation he could move away from the front of the classroom, write training resources and moderate trainers.

In Taupo on 31 October 2007, while training his friend Jon Bassett to become a trainer, so he could relieve some of the pressures of working in the classroom 4 - 5 days a week, Jeremy suffered his fourth heart attack. His heart had gone into ventricular fibrillation and stopped beating  for 4 minutes. Jon an ex-soldier did CPR on Jeremy and kept him alive until the local St John's ambulance team arrived and gave him several kick starts from a cardiac defibrillator to get his heart to work again. After being stabilised in Taupo Hospital he was flown to Waikato Hospital in Hamilton to be fitted with an ICD (Internal Cardiac Defibrillator). Public health funding issues were discussed between Waikato and Palmerston North DHB's and Jeremy was sent back to his local hospital in Palmerston North to await for an ICD to be fitted. This was eventually fitted by the heart specialist at Greenlane Hospital (Auckland), as the Wellington cardiac surgeons used by Palmerston North DHB were no longer available.  

The plan was to gain 1 to 2 more training days a week, so Jeremy and Jon could split the workload and provide 2-3 days a week each training, allowing time to further develop other business opportunities. Jon Bassett was not provided sufficient work and went back to working as a project engineer/manager while Jeremy worked 5 - 10 days a month training on behalf of LBTC. The driver training side of the business was providing Class 2-5, Wheels - Tracks - Rollers - Dangerous Goods - Passenger endorsement and Forklift training on a regular basis with driver trainers working 2-4 days a week. The 4 x4 training was also in demand with a specialist trainer brought on board to deliver this training. When the books were opened at the conclusion of the year, Jeremy found that this work was no longer attributed to LBTC. After discussions with his fellow directors and due to a lack of support from Land Based Training, Jeremy devoted more time developing his own business, Trainzco Ltd. 

Trainzco Ltd

June 2009 saw Jeremy's ICD activate resulting in more hospital time and a ban from driving for six months. To meet his obligations Jeremy employed his daughter Melissa to drive him, so he could continue to deliver training, meet clients and undertake research. Because of the various skill sets that Jeremy has developed over the years he continues to be in demand as a trainer, resource writer, compliance consultant and knowledge, that in many cases his clients would visit him or supply transport to venues. 

In the latter half of 2009 Jeremy was involved with redesigning assessment tools for the National Certificates in Infrastructure Pipelaying and Civil Infrastructure Health, Safety and Environment for InfraTrain. He was appointed to the Industry Advisory Group (IAG) for civil infrastructure and health and safety training.

Jeremy, his family and friends decided that it would be more beneficial to his concentrate on providing services that enabled him to spend less time in the classroom and more "driving a desk". This involved:

• providing training for NZTA, InfraTrain and other PTE's; 

• writing training resources for InfraTrain and private companies; 

• developing safe work procedures for new and introduced equipment 

• gaining RCC Assessor status with InfraTrain; 

• consulting on an individual basis providing Traffic, Quality, Health and Safety and site specific plans for clients; and 

• still providing training for LBT as required including fulfilling contract obligations for ERE courses and TTM

By April 2010 there was sufficient demand that could be managed without added stress to enable Jeremy to resign as a director of Land Based Training Construction, disband the partnership and concentrate of providing his expertise where it will be appreciated, without the overheads of running an office, fulltime administration staff and non-effective marketing. By mid May training booked using Jeremy's skill set had been completed and as such he was in a position to move forward.