What industry were you working in prior to pipelines and what led you into the pipelines industry?
Before becoming involved in the pipeline industry I was working on the family farm in Esperance in south-east Western Australia while I was studying for my Diploma in Surveying in Perth. I made contacts at wkc while I was studying and began working for the company surveying pipeline and gas processing facilities projects after graduating.
What is your favourite aspect of working in the pipeline industry?
Surveyors can be the first onsite and sometimes almost the last to leave so to see the whole pipeline project from start to finish is very satisfying. I often get a chance to work with wkc’s experienced surveyors on route selection and preliminary survey jobs. They are specialists with thousands of kilometres under their belts, and it’s always a great opportunity to learn from them and pick their brains.
What have been your favourite projects to work on and why?
The Fortescue River Crossing and the Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) in-field pipeline works (IPW) projects, but for very different reasons. The Fortescue River Crossing for Monadelphous KT was my first pipeline project. I was looked after very well by the project manager and construction crew, and I learned a lot from everyone.
The APLNG IPW Project for Nacap was my first project as a wkc Project Surveyor and the first in charge of other survey staff. It consisted of the installation of both steel gas and polyethylene water pipelines. There were seven pipelines spread out over an area of approximately 120 km and it had its own challenges of data management, scheduling and tasking from the construction of numerous pipelines simultaneously.
What projects are you working on at present and has there been anything interesting/different about working on this project?
I have recently returned to the Gladstone LNG Pipeline Project with Saipem, for which I also completed some of the preliminary survey works prior to construction. It has been a great chance to work with a couple of our senior project surveyors who have endless experience and have undertaken thousands of kilometres of pipeline construction.
Can you outline a typical day in the field?
My typical day starts at 5:00 am when my alarm goes off. After I pack my crib and lunch for the day, have breakfast and fill my 10 litre water bottle, I head to the site survey office for the daily pre-start meeting. After the meeting it is time to head to the field. As surveyors, this could take us anywhere from the facility at the start of the line to the far reaches of the pipeline.
Once our day is planned and we are at the work location, we set up the GPS base station on a known point, complete required quality checks and discuss the required works with the site or area supervisor to find out if they require any additional works while we are in the area.
We will then head to work completing the required works, which may be setting out the right-of-way for clear and grade; installing kilometre point markers; marking up no-go areas and intersection points; setting out the centreline for stringing; marking up any changes to the pipe type, wall thickness or coating; setting out for trenching or setting up machine guidance systems; designing special crossings (roads, rail or rivers) or completing as-built surveys; and anything else that may be requested during the day by project management or supervisors.
Once the day is completed in the field, we head back to the office to complete the daily data processing and complete any plans or sketches that are required. This time is also used to discuss with project engineers and management any issues that arose during the day.
Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
Since joining the industry I have met a lot of great people and everyone has always been willing to give advice and to lend me a hand. In particular, I look up to the guys who have trained and mentored me since I joined wkc, Pipeline Survey Managers Daryl Broun and Kirk McDonald. Both Daryl and Kirk are always there if I have a problem and are always able to give me a couple of different options for problems I haven’t come across before or make time to discuss any project issue I might have.
Do you have any advice for other young pipeliners?
The pipeline industry is a great industry. Generally everyone knows everyone from different projects and companies around Australia and the camaraderie on projects is always great. You have to like being challenged by the locations, the workload and the technical aspect of the job in order to really enjoy it.