This month’s edition of the Oomiak Crew Spotlight series takes us to our WA Customer Service team!
Our team is filled to the brim with enthusiastic, experienced, and skilled people – we’re excited to share their stories.
My Role in Oomiak
Bringing 14 years of experience, Levi Clifford’s career continues to grow and develop – strengthening his skillset.
“I started my apprenticeship doing mostly domestic and light commercial Air Conditioning installations, before moving to larger commercial and industrial HVAC projects.
It was almost 2 years ago when I was interested in the work Oomiak was doing so, I applied for a job – the rest is history,” says Levi.
Embracing change and Oomiak’s SPICES, Levi capitalised on the growth opportunities upon his start at Oomiak.
“Coming from a different facet of the industry, I went from holding a leadership role to being back at square one.
But this step really propelled my career forward, I’ve learnt a lot of new things (and still am) which has developed my skillset greatly.
To the point where now I’m responsible for a lot of the commissioning work for Austal and have been given site supervision responsibilities for Capital Project jobs at Hilton Foods and Metcash sites – which I’m loving,” says Levi.
Levi’s involvement in a range of projects, has been instrumental in their success.
“I’ve been lucky to have been involved in a few exciting projects.
A colleague and I were flown to Hobart to carry out works on the RSV Nuyina (Australia’s most recently built Antarctic Ice Breaker ship).
Working the Cape Class Patrol Boats built by Austal has been challenging yet interesting work.
And the accumulator replacement works at V&V Walsh has been the first major ammonia refrigeration project that I’ve been involved with – which I have thoroughly enjoyed.
Similarly, working day to day with client’s like Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics, Aldi, Hilton Foods, Costas and Austal doing service and maintenance work has been both challenging and rewarding,” says Levi.
Never afraid to go the extra mile, Levi’s day is diverse and centred around helping our clients.
“My typical workday is rarely the same. Some days are spent in the Oomiak WA workshop manufacturing equipment for different clients. On other days I carry out maintenance work, call-outs, or repair work for our local WA client base.
And sometimes my day can be very left of field tackling a one-off type of task that needs completing – it definitely keeps things interesting.
I like how varied this makes my work and how many skills you pick up whilst trying to troubleshoot, install and repair HVAC and refrigeration systems,” says Levi.
Best Thing About Working at Oomiak
“I think it’s two things: 1. How serious Oomiak is about training and developing their employees is fantastic and is why I joined the company in the first place. 2. I love how you’re encouraged to be yourself and your voice feels heard. There aren’t many national companies where you would regularly hear from the National Operations Manager and even the CEO – you don’t feel like just another number here,” says Levi.
My Career Tips
“Due to the sheer scale of some sites, it’s important to break tasks down into manageable, bite-size chunks – this really helps you see the bigger picture,” says Levi.
With the determination to evolve and succeed, Levi puts a strong emphasis on training and honing his skills.
“The emphasis on regular training is incredibly important. Formal training, on-the-job training, and self-study are integral not only for me but for the industry as a whole.
Legislations, standards, and technologies are all evolving in industrial refrigeration, pair this with working with volatile gases, electrical and mechanical forces that requirement for adequate training and skills is a must,” says Levi.
But staying ahead of the curve isn’t just key for personal development but also valuable when issues arise and actioning timely solutions becomes critical.
“Being adaptable is an important skill to have, sometimes issues arise that even the most experienced technician hasn’t seen before!
Environmental issues like the current supply chain problems the whole world are facing also calls for out of the box and spontaneous solutions to keep critical plants running for our clients. The knowledge and skills in our branch and across the company nationally, means there aren’t many problems we can’t solve,” says Levi.
Forming the other side of this coin is the relationship with our clients, and the importance of building a genuine rapport.
“Fostering positive relationships with clients based on honesty and integrity is a great part of the job.
It is really satisfying when you build mutual trust with a client who knows that if I don’t have an immediate solution, I will go away research and find one for them,” says Levi.
Great stuff Levi, we’re all excited to see you continue down this path and the great things you’re yet to do!
