On the Wire Electrical with Shane Devlin

For Shane Devlin from On the Wire Electrical, life revolves around the internet - from installing NBN to signing up with Truck Assist’s DrivePack Insurance online.

In recent years, Shane has been busy hooking up Brisbane to the NBN, originally involved with general work including installations within residences and businesses, an area which required little specialised equipment.

However, it became apparent that niche opportunities were available by investing in a ‘bucket truck’, a light duty truck with an aerial lift attached, with the move proving to be a risk worth taking.

Continuing to service the Brisbane region, Shane’s daily duties include new installations and repairs on downed lines, with his brief covering spans between poles and subsequent attachments to buildings.

“I’ve had the truck since the start of the year, just before COVID struck,” said Shane.

“I purchased it as-is, I picked it up from Macksville in NSW from Midcoast Trucks, and I’ve had it for eight months since then.”

The Isuzu NPR 200 was sourced fully configured, and comes in at the top of the weight bracket for a light rigid truck.

Fully extended, the boom can reach nine metres in height, ample for suburban power poles, with the extension powered by a Power Take Off from the truck’s transmission.

While you wouldn’t necessarily expect COVID-19 to impact on utilities, changes throughout the support structure to the program have flowed on to field technicians.

“Look it did (impact the business), it was a bit of a rollercoaster because there are obviously people in the office, so the work did fluctuate when they had to change their systems to work from home, it sort of came in weird waves.”

So how did Shane discover Truck Assist, and compare the truck insurance options available in marketplace?

“I just Googled it!” said Shane.

“Everything online is easy for me, most of my things are online, whether it’s wholesalers or anything else to do with work.

“Whatever can save you time, you’ve got to take it!”

With the recent announcement of an extension to the NBN’s Fibre to the Premises network coverage, there will continue to be plenty of work coming up for Shane and his handy bucket truck.