Pipe and Civil: safety and productivity on the Sugarloaf Pipeline

The pipeline industry has gained from recent government budgets that reflect the importance and urgency of water infrastructure as Australia’s drought continues to prevail. Pipe and Civil says that there is increasing pressure to deliver these projects in a fast and safe manner, with minimal impact on the environment and community. The company has strived to achieve this while completing works on the Sugarloaf Pipeline project.

Currently one of Victoria’s largest projects, the $750 million, 70 km Sugarloaf Pipeline will deliver 75 billion litres of water each year, linking the Goulbourn River near Yea to the Sugarloaf Reservoir in Melbourne’s northeast.

Pipe and Civil was subcontracted to construct the first 37 km of the 1,750 mm diameter mild steel cement lined (MSCL) pipeline from the Goulbourn River pump station to the base of the Great Dividing Range at Glenburn. The scope of the works included excavation, pipelaying, welding, coating reinstatement and backfilling of the pipeline. It also included the installation of minor pipeline structures, including air and scour valves.

Pipe and Civil commenced work on the project on 20 October 2008, with the first pipes laid in November 2008. Earlier this year, the Black Saturday bushfires burned right through the pipeline route, halting the project. Works recommenced after a period of three weeks, and Pipe and Civil says that a constant review of the company’s work methodology, with a focus on innovation, led to increased safety and productivity on the work front.

Innovations

The Sugarloaf Pipeline runs through an environmentally sensitive area, and the constraints placed on the width of the construction corridor required some innovative solutions to enable the project to be completed on time.

Pipe and Civil developed a remote controlled bedding machine, which is based on a rubber-tracked loader with a modified laser controlled, automated grader attachment. This removes the need for personnel to enter the trench, also negating the need to provide trench shoring- reducing the overall project risk.

Under normal circumstances, cutting large diameter pipe involves the use of oxy acetylene, or demolition saws that can be hazardous and time consuming. Pipe and Civil designed and built an automated machine that uses a water jet cutter to make a quick, clean cut. This way pipes are cut more accurately and the use of the machine further reduces manpower onsite.

The next phase

Pipe and Civil has finished works on its initial contract scope ahead of schedule and has started on an additional 5 km of pipeline installation works on the Sugarloaf project. In addition to this, the company has expanded its business to include mechanical installation works and secured the mechanical works contract for the Sugarloaf Pipeline project. Works include complete mechanical fit-out of two pump stations – Goulburn and Sheoak – and the installation of the outlet works at the Sugarloaf Reservoir.

For more information visit www.pipeandcivil.com.au or call 07 3262 4600

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