Every day's a different day for Darcy

6 June 2023

Darcy Leetham

SCADA Technician, Water Delivery Team

Darcy Leetham has worked at Murray Irrigation for six years.

As a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) Technician, his day to day responsibilities chiefly revolve around the operation and maintenance of our communications systems and infrastructure that are key to ensuring the reliable supply of water through our irrigation network.

Some days, if you look skywards, you might even find him riding high on an Elevated Work Platform, making adjustments to a communications tower.

Whether he's on the ground, or 50 metres high, it's all in a good day's work for Darcy.

1. What does being a SCADA Technician entail?

My job encompasses many different areas. It could involve anything from host engineering a new site for a customer, or carrying out preventative maintenance on a site anywhere in the Murray Irrigation footprint.

2. How long have you been at Murray Irrigation?

I have worked at Murray Irrigation for six years.

I was lucky enough to receive an Electrical Apprenticeship, which I completed during my first four years at Murray Irrigation.

3. What do you enjoy most about your job?

The team that I am a part of, and the fact that no day is the same.

4. How has the Winter Works evolved over the years?

Each year our Winter Works program is getting safer and more efficient.

5. Can you describe what a typical day looks like for you during the busy Winter Works period?

A typical day for me would include top of tower maintenance, which involves working at a height of up to 54m in an Elevated Work Platform (EWP) checking connections and fasteners on our nodes, and also completing jobs that we can’t do in season such as gearbox replacements on regulators.

6. What is the best thing about the Winter Works period?

Being able to undertake the jobs that you cannot do in season, and the way everyone comes together as a team from all over the footprint to achieve completion.

7. What is the greatest challenge of working during this busy period?

It definitely has to be the cold and rainy weather. Mainly the rain, because it can inhibit our work.

8. How does our Winter Works program benefit our customers, and the broader community, each year?

We get to inspect and maintain channels and infrastructure to try to prevent issues that may cause supply issues in the future.

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