Trenchless Australasia

September 2009

From The Chairman’s Desk

It is appropriate as we head into the 8th National ASTT Conference and Exhibition to be held at Melbourne Park, Melbourne from 20–22 September 2009, to consider the benefits that such events bring to the trenchless industry.

Secretary’s Corner

Congratulations go out again to Chris Bland, Managing Director of Great Southern Press for all the work he and his team have done to put together the 8th National ASTT Conference and Exhibition.

The evolution of a company

MacCormick Civil and Tunnelling Pty Ltd are now known as WDS Limited. This reflects the group wide rebranding and repositioning of the WDS group of companies. As part of this, MacCormick Civil and Tunnelling provides the specialist tunnelling services within WDS. These services are integrated within the broader suite of infrastructure services provided by WDS.

Leading the industry

The history of rehabilitation company Interflow is interwoven with the Weaver family. Here Trenchless Australasia speaks with Interflow Managing Director Geoff Weaver about the establishment of the company and his personal experience in the industry.

A guiding light: the boring revolution

The development of the new Vermeer AXIS guided boring system has been a ‘fairy tale’ achievement for Australian inventor Stuart Harrison, whose innovative idea to improve on grade gravity sewer installation techniques has recently been introduced to the industry.

Central Highlands Water

With lower than average rainfall across regional Victoria over the last several years, water resource and asset management is the biggest challenge facing Central Highlands Water. Trenchless Australasia spoke with Asset Optimisation Co-ordinator Adam Parr about how the water authority manages its resources and the role of Trenchless Technology in the maintenance process.

Trade qualifications in drilling from ADITC

Safety training has been a priority for a long time, but you may not be aware that there is an opportunity of awarding a trade qualification in Trenchless Technology to your employees (or yourself), however large or small your business, in all states. Here Virginia Hilliard discusses ADITC training.

How to promote the trenchless industry and your company

The trenchless industry, by its very nature, goes unseen by the general public but nothing beats the third party endorsement that positive media coverage generates and getting coverage of your industry, company, project, or technology is easier than you think.

Investment allowance: where do we stand post 30 June?

There is still much discussion in the market place about the investment allowance, and from what I hear, a lot of confusion, even from some prominent accounting firms. The following information is intended to clarify the position of the Investment Allowance and serve as a reminder that 50, 30 and 10 per cent allowances are still in play.

GRP jacking pipe gets the job done

The Epping Craigieburn Sewerage Project (ECSP) is a major sewerage infrastructure project by Yarra Valley Water to service the rapid development taking place in the north of Melbourne, Victoria.

‘Lucy Loo’ tunnels under Melbourne

Just over twelve months have passed since construction began on the Melbourne Main Sewer Replacement. The project presents a range of technical challenges including crossing the Yarra River, tunnelling through variable geology and temporarily by-pass pumping the city’s main sewer in two locations. In addition to the creation of over 450 jobs during its lifetime, the works will also provide much needed information on mechanised tunnelling through the infamous Coode Island Silts.

Interflow secures Sydney Water contract

Interflow is once again pleased to be part of the Sydney Water SRP lining program by securing the carriers package of this program over the next three years.

Sydney Water continues long association with Kembla

Sydney Water operates and maintains sewer assets within four hydraulic wastewater systems namely Sydney Harbour, Hawkesbury/Nepean, Georges River and Illawarra. It also manages about five per cent of all stormwater channels across its area of operations. Over the last three years Sydney Water has let contracts for sewer rehabilitation work from tenders received from a panel of pre-qualified tenderers.

Rehabilitation protects our pipeline future

Insituform has been awarded term contracts to repair wastewater and stormwater pipes in the Sydney and Hunter regions to protect neighbourhoods, parks and coastline for the next 50 years.

Collaborative infrastructure planning and rehabilitation

Parsons Brinckerhoff has been working collaboratively with key local authorities, such as the Brisbane City Council Water Distribution and Ipswich Water, to develop a series of feasibility studies aimed at augmenting local sewer networks to cater to increased population growth projections.

Relining on the Gold Coast

Soaring high above Main Beach, the Milan Hotel rises 19 levels to offer sweeping panoramic views of Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Relining stops infiltration

During the construction of the Tugun bypass, linking the Gold Coast with northern New South Wales, water monitoring observed an increase in flow of water through the stormwater system even during times of minimum rainfall.

Powering through pipelines

Total Drain Cleaning is an Australian owned and operated company that specialises in sewer and stormwater, drain and pipe cleaning operations.

JB Contractors gets cracking

Auckland-based JB Contractors Ltd has earned a reputation for innovation since its inception more than 50 years ago. Recently, the company drew on innovative pipe bursting methodology for a challenging project for Franklin District Council. AWT New Zealand Ltd was the project consultant.

Locking in greater efficiency

Quick Lock has delivered substantial savings to South East Water’s pipeline rehabilitation program, using stainless steel pipe lengths that expand under air pressure with a one-way, locking rachet system to reline the sections of the pipe network.

Digging deep for the Airport Tunnel Link

In April 2009, Tunnel Boring Australia (TBA) was awarded a pipe jacking contract from Setlow Constructions as part of the Thiess John Holland Airport Link Project in Brisbane. The Airport Link is a tunnelled motorway road project for the northern suburbs of Brisbane with an estimated construction cost of around $A4 billion.

Companies clamour for Vermeer’s big rigs

Jemena has recently purchased a 330,000 pound horizontal directional drilling rig from Vermeer, and will utilise it immediately on a slew of upcoming projects. Jemena HDD Manager David Warner tells Trenchless Australasia how the drilling equipment available on the market today has transformed the quality of its projects.

A change for the better underground

AHD Trenchless has recently completed a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) project at the Thirteenth Beach golf course. Thirteenth Beach is located west of Barwon Heads in Victoria, nearby the 13th hole on the golf course.

The right information for the right project

A recent environmentally sensitive horizontal directional drilling project in Redhead, south of Newcastle, New South Wales, required the expert advice of Trenchless Advisor to overcome challenging ground conditions and prevent frac-outs.

HDD: a powerful solution

Horizontal directional drilling is playing an important role in the Western Australian State Underground Power Program (SUPP), an initiative that was implemented after severe storms in May 1994 caused serious widespread damage to existing overhead power mains.

Boring down Park Avenue

In the established Sydney suburb of Mosman, Sydney Water chose UEA to complete the installation of a challenging wastewater pipe along Park Avenue.

AJ Lucas completes ‘ThreeTowns’ project on target

As a sub-alliance partner, AJ Lucas drilled 760 metres of DN250 PN25 transfer main, heavy-walled HDPE pipe through extremely difficult drilling geological conditions, for Sydney Water’s Priority Sewerage Program.

HDD to the rescue for Wannon Water

Horizontal directional drilling has become a vital tool in helping Wannon Water achieve its required environmental outcomes during construction of the $A30 million Hamilton to Grampians Pipeline, located in western Victoria.

Brokering expansion in Australasia

HDDBroker is pursuing strategic partnerships and business expansion to cater to the Australasian market.

Drilling across Australia

BTB Australia has continued to grow in 2009 as a leading player in the horizontal directional drilling and civil construction industries.

Drilling – up to the challenge

Horizontal directional drilling specialist Orpheus Contracting Pty Ltd has successfully completed several installations at Challenge Sports Stadium, located in Perth, for BGC Construction.

Net benefits

The installation of the $A43 National Broadband Network could be a boon for the trenchless industry. However, Executive Director of the WSAA Ross Young has some concerns about the proposal to use water and wastewater infrastructure to install the necessary fibre optic network.

TBM helps hydrate Melbourne

The Sugarloaf Pipeline Project involves the construction of a 70 kilometre pipeline linking the Goulburn River near Yea to the Sugarloaf Reservoir in Melbourne’s northeast, including an 830 metre tunnel completed with a tunnel boring machine.

Winslow advancing well in Adelaide

Winslow Infrastructure is currently completing six tunnel bores as part of the Adelaide Desalination Project for SA Water.

Rehabilitation for West Ryde pump station

Water Infrastructure Group is rehabilitating the twin suction mains at the historic West Ryde Water Pumping Station for Sydney Water.

Lateral connections

Trenchless repairs of lateral connections are rather tricky jobs to do. A successful trial sealing has been completed for the Trelleborg epros small-diameter lateral connection repair system in Würzburg – a city in the region of Franconi, which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany.

Decreasing fluid mix time

It’s a well worn cliché to say that ‘time is money’, but in the directional drilling game, when the drill rods are not turning to the right, chances are there is no money being made. Here Robert Petrie details a dry polymer with a reduced mix time.

What to look for when purchasing an EMF pipe and cable locator

It is very important that new or existing EMF operators receive the correct information regarding the applications and potential of the product. Here Anthony Johnstone outlines some important considerations about the products and services available, which he has accumulated over his many years of experience.

Dial Before You Dig – an essential service

There have recently been some very important changes to Dial Before You Dig, the national referral service for information on the location of underground infrastructure.

The trials of a trenchless world

In a world that now has so much buried infrastructure, the trials and tribulations for the trenchless world seem only to be getting bigger. It is a constant juggling act to try and avoid expensive problems. Here, SebaKMT AUS thought it timely to cover off on a few basic points in regards to utility location.

Delivery of a promise

Three years ago Yarra Valley Water released tender documents for a 500 kilometre contract that was to utilise IBAK’s 3D opto-scanning technology, Panoramo. The decision to specify an opto-scanner as opposed to alternative technologies was based on the promise of its clarity, the completeness of the information gathered and the overall productivity of the system.

Quality HDD products with service to match

Tsubaki Australia stocks a full range of aftermarket products manufactured and supplied by Ballantine Inc. USA. Ballantine, which is part of the Tsubaki worldwide group, has its headquarters in Minnesota USA and has been manufacturing and supplying product to the underground construction industry since 1959.

Strong and simple: Sandguzzler pumps

Need to empty a sump, vault, septic system, trench or mud-pit quickly with minimum fuss and maximum efficiency? Look no further than Sandguzzler!

Customer service resonates for Applied Felts

Applied Felts cultivates customer relationships through the provision of a consistent quality cured-in-place pipe system – tested at every stage of the manufacture process.