The event, held between 29 October and 2 November, was hailed a resounding success by all of the delegates, speakers, exhibitors and organisers involved.

The 700-plus delegates in attendance came from all corners of the globe to Brisbane, one of Australia’s fastest growing cities, to discuss, debate and analyse a range of themes and issues affecting the international Trenchless Technology industry today and into the future.

The conference featured a comprehensive technical program, which covered a range of diverse themes. Each of the three days of technical sessions focused around a central theme – sustainability and social issues, economic issues and environmental issues.

Preceding the conference was the 8th International Trenchless Technology Research Colloquium (ITTRC) which took place from 25-27 October 2006 in Sydney. The ITTRC event typically takes place prior to the International No Dig Show and provides a venue for international researchers in Trenchless Technology to present research initiatives and foster potential future collaborations.

The 2006 event was hosted and sponsored by Sydney Water Corporation (SWC) along with the ISTT and was convened by Dr Sam Ariaratnam of Arizona University and Dr Mark Knight of Waterloo University, Canada.

Also complementing the official conference program was the trade exhibition, which featured more than 90 exhibitors, and an exciting social program which included the annual No Dig Golf Tournament, the Gala Awards night, and a trip to the ‘Outback Spectacular’ stage show.

The entertaining grand opening ceremony which formally commenced proceedings was also a highlight, featuring traditional Aboriginal dancers, tap dancing and drum beating group Raw Metal and the Queensland Youth Choir, who impressed the crowd with renditions of ‘I am Australian’ and ‘I Still Call Australia Home’.

Conference Chairman Andy Krumins of Brisbane Water took to the stage during the ceremony, welcoming delegates to Brisbane and to the 24th International No Dig Conference and Exhibition.

ISTT and ASTT Chairman Menno Henneveld also addressed delegates, discussing future plans for the ISTT, with the board having approved their strategic plan through to 2010 the previous day. The ISTT board will be focused on managing the effective adoption of Trenchless

Technology around the world, establishing itself as the international reference point for the trenchless community, reviewing and restructuring the operations of the organisation, and staging international and national events to foster the development of the industry around the globe.

Technical program

Bringing together trenchless professionals and academics from around the world, the papers presented at International No Digs are always of an extremely high standard, and in 2006 at Brisbane this was no different.

The official conference program got off to an informal start on Sunday with a breakfast at the South Bank River Room, where Josephine Parker MBE, presented a paper which she had titled ‘A Challenging Introduction’.

Jo, who was awarded her MBE for services to the water industry, outlined the challenges facing the Trenchless Technology community at large, chief of which is the lack of new trenchless professionals entering the field, and strategies to overcome these challenges – a number of which have already been employed effectively with her involvement in the UK.

The next day saw the technical program conference officially begin with a session focused on the themes of sustainability and social considerations in trenchless construction and rehabilitation.

An impressive selection of international presenters were on hand to discuss these issues from a North American and European perspective.

Jo Parker kicked off the session with a presentation focused on the contribution Trenchless Technology can make towards sustainable building and development practices.

Using statistics from Tracto Technik which compared a pipe installation using open trenching with one using HDD, Jo showed that the trenchless option offers significant cost reductions and improved sustainability.

Next, North American trenchless guru Sam Ariaratnam of Arizona State University spoke to delegates on the enhancement of sustainability in underground infrastructure development.

Sam spoke of a new model being developed at Arizona State University to measure the sustainability of underground infrastructure, based on 41 sustainability indicators.

Following these two comprehensive presentations, a panel discussed a range of topics, including the role of Trenchless Technology in a variety of international markets; the social issues driving the use of Trenchless Technology; and the contribution the trenchless industry is making towards a more sustainable planet.

The Monday afternoon business sessions saw delegates break off into three streams to hear about the latest developments affecting their particular areas of interest.

The first session featured groups discussing utility trenchless technology, whole of project case studies, and asset management.

Following afternoon tea, the latest developments in directional drilling, more project case studies and rehabilitation specific case studies were on the table for discussion.

The second day of technical presentations focused on economic issues and began by focusing on risk management in underground construction, maintenance and rehabilitation.

Arnold Dix from Queensland University of Technology began the discussion of this topic, also focusing on the current global crisis in securing insurance in underground construction operations in his presentation. Arnold spoke of the need to manage risk in underground construction, as opposed to removing risk from operations altogether.

Dr Sam Ariaratnam also took to the stage during this session, presenting on the evaluation of risks and cost factors in horizontal directionally drilled versus open cut underground construction and maintenance.

Rounding out this discussion was Grant Binns from Blackley Constructions in New Zealand, with his presentation titled ‘Risk: the lights are on but you’re not home’.

Grant used his presentation to outline the risks associated in the day to day operations of a contracting company. He also made note of the fact that risk is not always distributed evenly in construction and other contracts as it is difficult to assign, which is a major problem that needs to be addressed across all sectors of industry generally.

An Asia Pacific workshop was also held on Tuesday, providing a forum for representatives from a number of nations in the region to meet to debate and discuss future developments and applications of Trenchless Technology. The session was facilitated by ISTT Vice Chairman Dec Downey.

The countries represented at the workshop included Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada, the United States, and Australia.

Panel sessions during the afternoon continued with closer analysis of the themes addressed in Monday’s program.

The theme for Wednesday’s presentations was environmental issues and the morning kicked off with a keynote presentation from Peter Gee of the Water Services Association of Australia, who spoke on sustainable infrastructure in the context of the challenges confronting the urban water industry.

Themes for the following sessions included low environmental impact Trenchless Technology solutions, geotechnical, geological acid sulphate soil considerations; relationship contracting alliance case studies; low environmental impact equipment; and No Dig skills, training and education.

Also on Wednesday, Vermeer President and Chief Executive Officer Mary Vermeer Andringa spoke on the topic of ‘Does lean apply to contractors?’ Mary’s very interesting presentation covered the concept of ‘lean’, which essentially involves looking at the day-to-day operating procedures of a company and making them more efficient. Trenchless Australasia interviewed Mary after her presentation, and an extract of this interview can be found on page 66.

In the afternoon delegates gathered in South Bank to see several examples of the technologies discussed over the previous few days live in action.

Thursday’s program was centred on future directions for the Trenchless Technology industry, with sessions on future world trends; new technologies; future directions in microtunnelling and future directions in rehabilitation.

The morning’s program also featured a summary of the key issues discussed throughout the conference, as well as a presentation on the outcomes of the Asia Pacific workshop held on Tuesday.

After three and a half days of interesting, insightful and challenging presentations, delegates certainly walked away with plenty to think about, as well as a raft of new ideas and knowledge to implement after a productive few days in Brisbane at International No Dig 2006.

Trenchless Australasia 2008

No Dig Down Under 2006 highlighted the fact that the Australian and international Trenchless Technology community continues to grow and advance, and the role that Trenchless Technologies will play in global development is set to similarly grow in the coming years.

It is fitting therefore that this event will be followed with Trenchless Australasia 2008 – the seventh national ASTT Conference and Exhibition.

Delegates will this time gather in Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, for an exciting program which will be feature keynote presentations from Australian, New Zealand and international representatives of the Trenchless Technology industry.

A comprehensive series of papers covering technical issues, case studies, projects and more will also be presented, with the full range of Trenchless Technology options for new installations and rehabilitation in industries including gas, water, wastewater and telecommunications to be addressed.

The business end of proceedings will be complemented by an enjoyable social program which will allow delegates to take in the sights of Sydney, and relax and network with friends and colleagues in a more informal environment.