Trenchless Australasia

October/November 2006

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From the Chairman’s Desk

The Australasian Society for Trenchless Technology is hosting the 24th International Conference and Exhibition on Trenchless Technology in Brisbane, Queensland from October 29 to November 1, 2006. No-Dig Down Under 2006 is only the second time in the life of the International Society that this prestigious event has been held in the southern hemisphere, and on each occasion it has been held in Australia - in Perth in 2000, and now in Brisbane in 2006.

Secretary’s Corner

Conference Welcome

New ASTT Councillors

The ASTT has recently announced the appointment of two new Councillors, Trevor Gosatti for WA and Kane Scott for SA.

Certificate III in Civil Construction (Trenchless Technology)

Jeff Pace

The ASTT has received several enquiries as to who to contact for the delivery of trenchless competency training across Australia. To provide some guidance on this point, the following outline has been put together.

Message from the Conference Chairman

On behalf of the organising committee, I take great pleasure in welcoming you to the 24th International No Dig Down Under 2006 C

GPR products for utility location and mapping

Guido Manacorda, Engineering Manager, IDS Ingegneria dei Sistemi SpA, Georadar Division

Ground probing radar is a beneficial tool when carrying out trenchless installations, and Ingegneria dei Sistemi (IDS) has focused considerable attention on developing the best systems for industry.

New Technical Director at TRACTO-TECHNIK

In April 2006 Meinolf Rameil was appointed Technical Director at TRACTO-TECHNIK GmbH. He is responsible for R&D, quality assurance, patents, training and for the special civil engineering service (STS). In addition he represents TT within associations.

New Grundodrill for M.I.A. Pipe and Cable

A new Grundodrill 13X Directional Drill has been supplied by TT Asia Pacific - Brisbane to Kerry and Dan Bryant of M.I.A. Pipe and Cable in Griffith, New South Wales.

Dial Before You Dig’s new online service

Drillers should always check with Dial Before You Dig - as underground cables link hospitals, emergency services, schools, homes and businesses, a cut to a pipe or cable could be life threatening.

Brewis expands range

Brewis has added a 540 US tonne pull back swivel to its existing range of pull back swivels and a new variant of duct puller to its existing range of standard and MudTight Gold Duct Pullers.

UAS brings Multiliner to Australia

Underground Asset Services is an Australian owned company based in Hobart, Tasmania specialising in the manufacture, supply and installation of Multiliner CIPP fibreglass reinforced liners to the Australian market.

HDD closes teh gap on open trenching

Ever since the introduction of Horizontal Directional Drilling the amount of conduit installed underground has increased astronomically to the point where similar metres installed are being achieved with both trenchless and open trenching methods.

CoJack - a new method for pipe jacking

Dietmar Beckmann and Robert Stein

A new calculation program, CoJack, has been developed as a tool that increases the safety and economic efficiency of pipe jackings.

RootOut slashes choke rates

With new developments in science and an improved understanding of how pesticides work, a new product based on existing application technology has been added to the arsenal for use against tree roots in sewers.

Innovation continues in Australia

At the recent ‘DesignBuild’ Building Industry Expo in Melbourne, one of the finalists in the new product category was Nu Flow Technologies. This Queensland-based company has been expanding its licensee group over the past three years in both Australia and New Zealand, while at the same time carrying out an extensive research and development program.

Ditch Witch ready to serve trenchless market

Trenchless equipment manufacturer Ditch Witch offers a range of new and existing products to serve the Australian and international Trenchless Technology markets.

Manhole rehabilitation at the University of Melbourne

Melbourne University’s Law Faculty is one of the oldest buildings in the city of Melbourne. The building and the grounds are Heritage listed and the large oak trees that surround the building form a central courtyard filled with students twelve hours a day.

Kembla Watertech adds to trenchless portfolio

Kembla Watertech is a specialist pipeline rehabilitation contractor that has played a major role in the Trenchless Technology industry in Australia for more than 13 years.

Pipeline rapidly restored with Rotaloc

The availability of the Rotaloc system for trenchless structural lining of large diameter deteriorated sewers and stormwater pipelines has been welcomed by Australian water authorities and it is being increasingly used on projects that previously would have required disruptive excavation.

Innovative pipeline rehabilitation solutions

Insituform has been synonymous with pipeline rehabilitation since 1971 when the company developed and installed the first ever CIPP liner in a 900 mm x 600 mm oviform sewer for Thames Water in the UK.

Semi-structural lining breakthrough

E.Wood Ltd has been in existence as a UK surface coating manufacturer for over 120 years, producing high performance products for a diverse range of industrial applications. The company has been closely linked to the water industry since the 1960s and in particular the protection of drinking water pipelines.

Vermeer dealer remains committed to Trenchless Technology equipment market

Employees of Vermeer Australia recently attended HammerHead factory training on Trenchless Technology equipment and processes including pneumatic boring, pipe bursting pipe ramming and HDD assist.

GrundoBurst rapidly replacing Sydney water mains

The Sydney Water Main Replacement Program commenced last year when Collex purchased their first GrundoBurst 400G machine, which has been achieving daily averages of 200 to 240 metres, with these results and the demonstrated reliability of the unit, a further Grundoburst 400G machine was purchased and added to the Collex equipment fleet.

Trenchless Technology in the Australian Outback

You cannot get much more outback than Mount Isa. Located 900 km west of Townsville and 1,900 km northwest of Brisbane, Mount Isa is the most important industrial, commercial and administrative centre of inland Queensland, Australia. It is also the site of a recent challenging Trenchless Technology project undertaken by Kembla Watertech.

Project waiting for the right rock tool

Despite being involved in excavation and drilling since 1988, R & R McClure Excavations (McClures) held long-term concerns about the ability of horizontal directional drills to perform well in the hard rock that surrounds its central Victorian home of Castlemaine.

UEA marks ten years in trenchless industry

2006 marks ten years of trading for the UEA trenchless division. Over the past ten years the company has seen huge improvements in equipment as well as a huge increase in demand on the technology.

Perth main sewer replacement

D.J. & M.B. Mac Cormick recently completed tunnelling for a major upgrade of the Perth Main Sewer, a project necessary due to significant corrosion of the existing 1,520 mm sewer pipeline.

Sungei Pandan pipe jack competed ahead of schedule

The excavation of the 2.4 metre internal diameter, 675 metre Sungei Pandan pipe jack tunnel, which is being built to accommodate three transmission powercable circuits, was completed on 22 October 2005 three weeks ahead of schedule.

Short burst, big savings

Jason Haas, Hammerhead

In the midst of a $US53 million addition to the Mechanical Engineering building on the Purdue University campus, it was discovered that a 15 foot deep, 12 inch clay sewer lateral that serviced the building had a collapsed section of pipe.

Sewer root control in Los Angeles

In April 2006, the root control program for the Los Angeles wastewater collection system was expanded by 400 miles to efficiently clear roots that crack pipes, destroy joints, offset pipes and increase rain flow into the system.

Glyncastle minewater remediation scheme

In 2004, Atkins Limited, acting as consultant engineers for the United Kingdom Coal Authority, invited Longbore to submit a design for a directionally drilled bore to enable the capture of contaminated minewater in the Neath Valley, South Wales.

BTB Australia: project capabilities across the country

BTB Australia has a comprehensive range of directional drilling services to assist clients in completing their projects productively and to schedule.

Watani polycon pipe systems

The Al Watani factory in Kuwait is a leading producer of polycon products, manufactured to the DIN 54815-1& 2 - ASTM D 6783 standard using state of the art technology.

Coe HDD capabilities grow

Coe Drilling continues to be at the forefront of the HDD industry.

Vacuum microtunneling below water table

In June 2006 Bullseye Microtunnelling took on a project as a sub-contractor to Catcon at Mawson Lakes in South Australia, with the project involving microtunnelling a sewer pipeline from a new estate to a pump station at an existing estate.

Small diameter hard rock excavation: comparing the methods

Contractors throughout the world often find that boring through hard rock is challenging. The degree of that challenge is highly dependent on the type of trenchless tool utilised and the type of geology excavated.

Tunnelling Down Under

Jeff Sharp and Steve Rosin

Tunnelling and underground construction projects continue to boom in Australia and New Zealand, driven largely by the rapid urbanisation of capital cities.

Trenchless Technology and Asset Management in Australia

It is fitting that as the global Trenchless Technology community gathers for the 24th International No Dig Conference in Brisbane, Trenchless Australasia magazine has completed its first survey for the industry in Australia.

SewerData puts project information online

ProjectMax Ltd has developed SewerData to improve the management of wastewater investigation and rehabilitation projects.

Pressure pipe rehabilitation

Like many developed countries around the world, Australia suffers from problems associated with ageing water mains and sewerage rising mains. Substantial water loss, service interruptions and environmental damage is generally unavoidable in the event of asset failure.

Sewer and drain cleaning using recycled water: a win-win situation

There is an urgent need to conserve our precious water and start recycling this valuable resource. Using recycled water, grey water, river or creek water or even raw sewage to clean sewers/drains is one way to do this and has been an option for over 25 years.

Trusted vacuum contractors

Barry Bros may well be known as having one of the largest and most powerful fleets of vacuum trucks in Australia, but a recent survey demonstrated that most customers’ first impressions are of a dependable group of people who can be relied on to solve problems in a timely, safe and cost-effective manner.