The crew of 350 started works on the 120 km steel gas pipeline project earlier this year and have put the foot firmly on the production pedal with an impressive 2.8 km recently welded in a single day.
To put those production efforts into perspective, Murphy Pipe and Civil (MPC) Project Manager Tom Fuller said to achieve this result, the 70-man mainline crew welded 156, 18 m pipes in a single shift – or one pipe every four minutes.
Mr Fuller said the outstanding production result was made possible through extensive forward planning, clear communication and good, old-fashioned hard yakka from the project’s entire construction crew.
“Welding 2.8 km in a single day is certainly an impressive effort and reset the record bar for MPC’s weld crews, but we have assembled a great team for this project and the results of this can be seen every day across the entire operation,” he said.
“While our mainline welding crew is averaging around 2 km per day, thanks in part to the use of six scorpion welding bugs, our forward crew on pipe stringing has also set an amazing pace.
“The same can be said for our lower and lay crew who have done an exceptional job and are averaging nearly 2 km in the trench each day, but recently pulled out all stops to record an amazing 5.1 km trenched in a single shift – so great efforts across all work fronts,” he said.
Mr Fuller said while he was impressed with the outstanding production rates that crews had achieved during the project, he was most pleased with their constant focus on ensuring an injury-free workplace throughout the construction schedule.
“The fact that we have achieved these impressive production rates without a single MTI or LTI is a very clear demonstration that optimum productivity and effective risk management are not mutually exclusive and together can lead to positive project outcomes,” said Mr Fuller.
Mr Fuller said with works on schedule, he expected project construction and pipeline hydro-testing to be complete by late October.
For more information of Murphy Pipe and Civil’s products and services visit www.mpcgroup.com.au.