Trenchless Australasia

August 2006

Training journey ends and begins with Australia’s first graduate

A long campaign by leaders of the underground installation industry to introduce advanced training standards has passed a milestone with the graduation of the first Australian worker with national Certificate III level qualifications in Trenchless Technology.

Mernda-Doreen Sewerage Project signed, sealed and ready to be delivered

Construction on the long-anticipated Mernda-Doreen Sewerage Project will be underway after Yarra Valley Water Managing Director Tony Kelly announced in early June that Tenix Alliance has been selected to construct the water utility’s component of the major sewerage works.

Horizontal directional drilling with Grundodrill 7 X

A new generation of steerable boring systems witnessed a unique debut in the Sauerland region of Germany. The compact GRUNDODRILL Type 7 X was applied to install pipes horizontally for the water supply of a natural public swimming pool.

Payce Reynolds appointed CEO of Earth Tool Company

Payce Reynolds has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Earth Tool Company, LLC manufacturer of HammerHead trenchless products.

Industry gathers in Melbourne for Unseen Seminar

More than 70 delegates from around the country braved the Melbourne weather on July 12 to attend Trenchless Technology – the Unseen Solution. The successful seminar was the first of its kind and was a collaboration between the ASTT and Great Southern Press – publishers of this magazine.

No Dig conference program grows

The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) is pleased to be associated with the No Dig Down Under 2006, the conference of the Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology (ASTT) being held in Brisbane on 29 October to 2 November 2006.

Trenchless Technology in Asia Pacific Workshop

One of the highlights of this year’s International No Dig conference will be the Asia Pacific Workshop which will feature speakers from throughout the region focusing on the issues and opportunities in their respective countries. Dr Dec Downey, ISTT Vice Chairman provides a preview.

The Beaconsfield Rescue

Kim Brockett

At 9.23 pm on 25 April, an earthquake measuring 2.1 on the Richter scale triggered a rockfall at the Beaconsfield gold mine, trapping 17 miners. While fourteen managed to escape, three miners - Larry Knight, Todd Russell and Brant Webb, were still trapped. On 27 April, Knight’s body was found and on 6 May both Russell and Webb were freed.

CLM Trenchless - a new beginnning

In July 2005, Fergus Doyle (CLM Excavations Managing Director), Trevor Groeneveld (former owner of No Dig Pipelaying and Manager of Collex Pipeline Services) and Phill Cook (CLM Excavations General Manager) completed the acquisition of the Collex Pipeline Services division, with the exception of the CIPP sewer lining business which Collex continues to operate.

Barry Bros non-destructive digging

Any contractor conducting excavation and/or installation work in the existing built environment will recognise the horror of hitting – or worse yet, breaking – an existing underground utility or asset. In this era of the Internet and high-speed communication, the worst case scenario is breaking a fibre-optic communication line with such an incident often costing the contractor much money in paying back telecommunication companies.

Trenchless pipe bursting to the rescue of collapsed stormwater main in Springfield, Brisbane

South East Queensland Underroad Drillers (SEQUD) was approached by Mike Gurney of Gurney Earthmoving, a contractor working for Delfin-property developers of Springfield, to determine if it was possible to drill out a collapsed 225 mm PVC storm water pipe and replace it with a new 250 mm polyethylene main.

Glenferrie Road water mains replacement

Yarra Valley Water is currently replacing a 120 year old water main along Glenferrie Road, between Dandenong and Barkers Roads. The work will involve the removal of the old water main and the construction of a new one on both sides of the road.

Tracto-Technik’s Grundoburst 1250G in China

In May 2006, Beijing company Chuanganya Trenchless Technology upgraded to the new Grundoburst 1250G (125 tonne) pipe bursting system from their previous Grundoburst 800G (80 tonne) unit. As larger diameter pipes would require the performance of a more powerful system, the upgrade would give the company a greater range to add to their capabilities.

Trenchless Technology into North Queensland

Kembla Watertech opened its Brisbane office in early 2000. Experienced personnel and specialised equipment were dedicated to this office so that the same range of services could be made available to Queensland as had been provided in the other eastern states for the past ten years.

Connecting the houses in Melbourne

Investigations carried out over the past few years have shown that defective house connection branches are a significant source of infiltration into the Water Authority’s sewers. Their restoration, as well as the restoration of sewer pipelines, is necessary if infiltration reduction targets are to be met.

HDD in Australia - an interview with Peter Brown

Trenchless Australasia recently took the time to chat with Peter Brown, Business Development Manager for Infrastructure Constructions.

Contractor beats deadline in difficult Perth drilling project

When N.K. Contractors won the contract to install a new power upgrade at the Westralia Airports-owned and operated Perth Airport, it had to route these services past a major gas main, optic fibre and phone cables, a sewer and water main and high-voltage power cable.

The Evolution of the HDD Contractor

Bob Martin – Sales and Marketing Manager, HDDBroker, Inc.

The changing needs and wants in today’s HDD marketplace.

HDD reaches new levels of accuracy for on-grade sewer projects

Australian Capital Territory’s “Land Development Agency” engaged the UEA Group’s Trenchless Division to construct a rising sewer main for the Kingston Foreshore Development. Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) is becoming increasingly popular to undertake “on-grade” sewer projects as an alternative to mainstream pipeline construction methods.

Marshnet Communications

Based on the far south coast of New South Wales, Marshnet Communications owners Gavin and Warren Marshall have been in business together for 7 years. Marshnet has owned and operated a JT1720 Mach 1 for four years and in July 2005 upgraded to the JT2020 Ditch Witch. January 2006 saw the company move from all areas of the civil construction industry to turning their focus solely to Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD).

Coe Drilling successfully completes Venus Bay Project

In June, Coe Drilling completed the Venus Bay Saline Wastewater Outfall Project.

Easy Pipe - an installation process for pipelines in difficult ground

Whilst the advantages and effectiveness of microtunnelling and horizontal directional drilling (HDD) in suitable ground conditions have been known and widely used for over 30 years both systems do have their limitations in either operation in some ground conditions and in relative cost terms.

NULCA: An Industry Association for Locators

Over the last few years it became normal for the owners of utilities to rely on third parties to locate their underground assets in the wave of outsourcing that has swept through the country in recent times. Across the country a specialist group of contractors sprang up to provide service. Some had come from the civil industry, trenchers, underground borers, plumbers or similar backgrounds. All had one thing in common, they acquired their skills on the job as they went, from equipment suppliers, but mostly from the University of Experience. Also there were no uniform methodologies, colour codes, in short no standards for they what they doing.

How to drill clay

Robert Petrie, Baroid Industrial Drilling Products

Why is it that while drilling in clay, the cuttings often swell and constrict the borehole rather than forming a good slurried flow?

Methodoloty for leak detection

New pipelines and in particular existing mains and service lines can start to leak due to bad joints, deterioration, stress in the soil and corrosion. This could lead to more extensive damage and loss of precious water, and therefore revenue. Finding a leak and pin-pointing the location will have an impact on the extent of rectification works, environmental burden and investment.

HammerHead releases new aiming sight and launching kits for piercing tool line

The best bores start with a tool aimed on target. Since accurate alignment is essential, HammerHead offers aiming and launching equipment that assures the piercing tool is aligned both vertically and horizontally before the bore is begun.

Trenchless Technology in Thailand

Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) and HDD applications are commonplace in America, Australia, and Europe and are often thought to be limited to other western countries while developing countries are often assumed not to use HDD or other high-tech electronic equipment to complete projects.

Quality is the key to trenchless success

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