Pipeline Plant Hire’s Gerard O’Brien has been continuously introducing a wide range of safety measures to ensure that his machines and operators and people working around them are kept free from any potential injury and hazards.

While progressively upgrading his fleet of machines, Gerard has sought replacements that utilise crane valves on the hydraulic rams to counter any issue that may arise from a hydraulic failure in the machine. These safety enhancements work to protect both operators and other workers on the spread.

Gerard believes all excavators used to lift pipe should be fitted with crane valves especially when working with a vacuum lift and when lifting pipe around the welders and their TA’s on tasks such as tie ins and special crossings. In addition to the safety aspect, the crane valves also lock the rams in place, holding the pipe exactly where the welder set it up, for as long as is needed, without any creepage.

PPH has also introduced factory fitted ISO standard FOPS Cabs in their new Zaxis 330s. This meets falling object protective structure standards. An added bonus for the operators is lower noise and vibration within the cab.

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PPH is able to provide additional flexibility and economy through its range of attachments coupled with the same quick hitch system for attaching to all machines. In addition all PPH machines have been set with two way hammer piping flow and 3-way switch in the cab to change the hydraulic pressure to suit the attachment needed for the job. This is necessary because different attachments use different hydraulic flows and pressures, so any attachment can work on any machine. This makes life easier for the foreman on site knowing when he needs an attachment to do the job it will fit and go to work straight away.

As the price of fuel is hitting new records, the fuel truck driver on the NQGP brought it to Gerard’s attention that his new Zaxis 330 excavators were up to 100 litres more fuel efficient per day compared to other brands of excavators on the job (which were of similar size and achieved the same work). You don’t have to be an accountant to work out the savings on a big job if you need 20 to 30 excavators.

While safety enhancements and the range of attachments are vitally important to ensuring that the job can be done, the most important aspect in any project is the operators themselves. Gerard prides himself on finding the best operators for the job.

“It’s a surprise to me how people don’t realise the damage that an unskilled operator can do. We ensure that all of our operators are properly skilled and trained to all conditions and in addition all my operators have specific pipeline experience,” Gerard said.

“Working with operators to ensure they have work over the long term means that they are more careful with the work that they do and are more willing to make suggestions as to how we can improve our operations.”

PPH has recently completed a number of pipeline projects across Australia, ranging from the 400 km North Queensland Gas Pipeline to a smaller job for a coal seam methane producer.