Justin Mann
2024 | Trade – Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
“I hope to travel back to Japan and further engage myself within the trade community. This would be a great opportunity to learn more about the efforts in tools, materials and practices they are taking to increase inclusiveness of their population into the trade industry. These skills would allow me to encourage a similar approach back in Australia, and enable more diversification within out workforce.”
The Global Footprints Scholarship is an exciting opportunity for me to challenge my current level of experience through immersive learning in a new environment and country, whilst being able to simultaneously give back to the refrigeration industry and Australia.
I would like to further diversify my range of techniques and knowledge to enable fellow tradespeople at home in Australia to work to the best of their ability. This introduction of new technologies will aid in Australia’s development of a sustainable future in the trade and construction industry, targeting economic, social, and environmental sustainability.
A Global Footprints Scholarship is your opportunity to do more of what you love. What have you done at work that you are proud of or passionate about?
In an effort to increase inclusiveness of the team and better support them on site, my company, NRG Services, held a training day in their workshop. As a fourth year apprentice at the time, I was asked to deliver an interactive course about refrigeration systems and their components to two groups of approximately 10 people. This opportunity allowed me to engage closely with people of varying experience levels, ranging from less than one year through to over ten years of industry experience. I take a lot of pride in ensuring the inclusion of all skill levels and adjusting teaching patterns to best suit what students require. I am very passionate about providing learning opportunities and assisting with individuals growth of knowledge in whatever way I can.
A Global Footprints Scholarship is for you if you are passionate about creating a sustainable future. Describe something you have done at work or are working on, that helps the environment. Why is it important to you?
Earlier this year I completed a self-funded trip to Japan, where I attended the Tokyo HVAC-R convention. This industry specific event displayed the most recent developments of the refrigeration industry, which highlighted the ingenuity and advancements taking place in Japan and Asia.
Whilst at the convention, I visited the booth of air conditioning manufacturer Daikin, where I came across a stand out concept; the flareless joint fittings. These fittings have been specially designed and tested to combat the lack of trade-based skills and quantity of members in the Japanese HVAC-R industry.
This breakthrough concept enables less experienced workers to complete what was traditionally a very difficult and time-consuming task. The efforts to reduce baseline experience required to perform trade specific tasks, is an endeavour to strengthen the economic and social sustainability of the Japanese workforce.
An active practice that is collectively executed at my work in Australia is the reduction of harmful refrigerants within systems. Existing previous generation refrigerants are known to have harmful ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP). Active efforts are made to safely remove these existing refrigerants when found and implement more efficient substitutes. These substitutes are more sustainable in many ways; they are safer for the environment, can reduce overall electricity consumption and ensure longevity of customer equipment.
Sustainable practice like this is vital to reduce environmental damage, and is heavily enforced within the company I work with to be an industry standard. This is important to me as it encourages nationwide workers to work towards a more green, safer sustainable future.
As a BBM Scholar you can choose to go anywhere in the world. Where will you travel with your Scholarship and why?
I’d really like to travel back to Japan and further engage myself within the trade community. This would be a great opportunity to learn more about the efforts in tools, materials and practices they are taking to increase inclusiveness of their population into the trade industry. These skills would allow me to encourage a similar approach back in Australia, and enable more diversification within out workforce.
By adopting more achievable work practices within the industry, increased social inclusion can be expected, thus engaging a larger variety of physically and mentally diverse individuals.
“Justin’s application demonstrates his commitment to new ideas and how they can provide a positive impact […] His reflections on his self-funded trip to an industry event Japan and what he learned there displays that he not only understands his industry but the larger-scale impacts of innovation. […] He will make a great ambassador for his trade.”
– Global Footprints Assessor Panel