Institute of Water launches search for ‘Drilling and Tapping’ update

The Institute of Water is searching for ideas for a new skills competition that will give teams from water companies and contractors a chance to show off their 21st century practical skills.

The new competition will fill a gap left by the retirement of “Drilling and Tapping”, the long-running team competition that has run at Utility Week Live since 1989.

The event should promote teamwork, reflect current skills on the front line of today’s water networks, and be suitable for teams of 2-4 people.

Ideas must be submitted by 27 August, with the successful idea announced in September.

Teams will then have six months to train before the new competition format is launched at Utility Week Live, when it returns to the NEC on 17 and 18 May 2022.

Lynn Cooper, chief executive of the Institute of Water, explained that “Drilling & Tapping”  had attracted up to 40 teams in its heyday, but couldn’t keep pace with changes in the sector and was now “past its sell by date”.

“Thirty years ago, the teams were typically directly employed by the water companies, and sometimes had ‘slack’ time to devote to the art of drilling into a pressurised mains pipe to insert a fitting and pipe into the threaded hole.

“But time has moved on, and the way the industry is set up has changed. A lot of the work is now subcontracted out, and for contractors time is money. So the teams probably didn’t have time to practice, and there’s a lot of pain goes into the practising.

“It became harder to get teams to take part. Also the materials and methods [in the competition] are still used sometimes, but aren’t as widespread as they used to be.”

Cooper added that the task originally took around 10 minutes to complete, but some teams’ slick practice had cut that down to 2 minutes – a success that also made it harder for newcomers to enter the field.

Although the competition evolved, adding a Newcomer’s Cup and a Women’s Cup, the Institute of Water struggled to attract more than a dozen teams to the event.

“It did move on, but we just didn’t have the leverage that we had from the water companies,” Cooper acknowledged.

Asked about the kind of skills that would work well in a competitive arena, Cooper said “Drilling and tapping” created suspense because of the fear of causing a burst, a factor that could be replicated.

“There’s the excitement when they actually make a mistake and drill into the main and spring a leak. It’s got to be something visual that the audience can appreciate.”

Proposals should be typed on one or two A4 pages, explaining the methodology and listing the equipment needed; diagrams are welcome.

Entries will be assessed against the following criteria:

• portraying the modern skills of the front line
• interest for the audience
• practicality to set up any equipment in an indoor arena
• feasibility to complete heats and finals over two days
• cost to set up and run

The winning individual or team person will have the opportunity to name the event and will be invited to present the prizes in the first year.

Proposals should be submitted to info@instituteofwater.org.uk by Friday 27 August.