Page 231 - The City and Guilds Textbook: Plumbing Book 1 for the Level 3 Apprenticeship (9189), Level 2 Technical Certificate (8202) and Level 2 Diploma (6035)

Chapter 4 Planning and supervision

Site responsibilities for plumbers

The level of personal authority regarding making decisions, solving technical
problems and communications with customers will generally relate to a
plumber’s stage of progression within a company and their qualification status.
For example, an apprentice, when working in a customer’s home, would not
usually communicate directly with the customer and should talk to their
supervisor about any problems or issues they encounter. A situation could arise
where an apprentice is asked by a customer to carry out a job that the company
has not quoted for; this could lead to a number of problems, including not being
able to complete the agreed specified contract for the work on time. They will
usually be guided and supervised by a qualified plumber, who will help them to
work efficiently and to the correct standard.
Once a plumber is qualified to craft Level 2, they become more useful to the
company and will be expected to work with less supervision but not take on
overall responsibility for a job. They will be able to impart information about
a specific job to a customer, but if additional work is requested they will be
expected to forward this information, along with details of any problems or
complaints, to their supervisor.
When a plumber becomes fully qualified at plumbing craft Level 3 they can take
full responsibility for a job, which will include dealing with direct enquiries from
clients, including any complaints. At this level of competence, they would be
expected to deal with requests for extra work from a client and be familiar with
the pricing arrangements for the work.

Supervision

A plumber’s supervisor will be the main point of contact for apprentices at work.
They will usually be a fully qualified and experienced plumber who is entrusted
to ensure that the work is carried out safely, efficiently and to the correct
standard. One of their roles could be dealing with the hiring of subcontractors.

It is important that positive and motivating methods of supervision are
employed in the day-to-day work on-site. For example, in the event of a building ACTIVITY
flood as a result of an apprentice’s error, a positive approach could be to talk What would motivate you
alone with the apprentice once the flooding problem is resolved and ask them to improve your work?
Make a note and discuss
where they think they made a mistake. An action plan, which could take the with your team to see
form of a checklist, for when they next carry out the same task could be drawn what motivates them.
up and agreed upon. The impact of their error could be discussed but, in the
end, there is a way forward to achieve an improved outcome the next time the
apprentice takes on a similar job.
Punishing someone by deducting pay or making negative comments would be
demoralising and extremely demotivating. Other ways of motivating staff can
include inspiring workers to strive for a higher standard and helping them to
realise that they are capable of such an improvement. Prompting can help them
to remember their aims on how to improve, and some types of positive
reinforcement can provoke people into a reaction, which in turn can improve
their performance and perceptions about themselves. In essence, a supervisor is

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