Running from 8-11 September, the event officially began with an Oktoberfest-styled Exhibition Opening, sponsored by Austrian company HOBAS, where delegates enjoyed the chance to network at a “÷beer and bratwurst’ themed evening. The event gave delegates an opportunity to see the 76 booths on display in the hall before the doors opened to the public the following morning.
GETTING TECHNICAL WITH IT
The conference kicked off with a welcome from ASTT Chairman Steve Apeldoorn, who provided an update on some of the recent initiatives launched by the society, such as new industry training courses, Special Interest Groups for members, and additional regional networking events. Mr Apeldoorn thanked the many individuals who volunteer their time to progress the goals of the society, and encouraged all members to take active roles in the area where their passion lies.
Richard Petterson, Executive Leader Operations and Service Delivery at Queensland Urban Utilities, delivered the opening keynote address. Mr Petterson put into context the importance of trenchless technologies in delivering the vital services that allow Australians to lead the first-world lives that are now taken for granted.
Following the keynote, delegates listened to sessions on microtunnelling, pressure main rehab, construction, rehabilitation, and case studies. The most popular session of the day, and indeed the whole conference, was the presentation by Abergeldie Watertech’s Chris Frangos titled “÷Why replace when you can extend the serviceable life of your existing water main?’, which had some 80 delegates in attendance.
UQ COMES TO NO-DIG
New to the conference in 2015, the ASTT partnered with the University of Queensland in order to bring some of the university’s brightest engineering students to the show.
Speaking on the initiative, ASTT President Steve Apeldoorn said “Tomorrow’s engineers will play a significant part in the future of Trenchless Technology.
“This partnership provides an opportunity to get these talented individuals to learn about Trenchless Technology, and hopefully inspire their future involvement in our industry. We extend a warm welcome to these Queensland students and we hope that we can offer similar partnerships with other universities at our future conferences.”
The UQ students were very grateful for the opportunity. Icarus student Roland Salita said “As a current undergraduate, learning about the latest innovations in the industry really opened my eyes to what the problems of the future are, and the steps industry leaders are taking in addressing them.
“Not only is it inspiring, but it also provides insight into how the next generation of engineers, myself included, should prepare and adapt to a constantly changing world.”
A HAWAIIAN AFFAIR
On Wednesday night, delegates gathered for a boat cruise through the Gold Coast Canals to a secret island destination. The event, sponsored by Vermeer, allowed delegates to network in a Hawaiian-themed setting.
DAY TWO
The second day of the conference featured an opening session with two very prestigious keynote speakers. The first keynote was delivered by Andy Lukas of AJ Lucas, who spoke on very long crossings with horizontal directional drilling (HDD), and their practical limitations. The presentation showcased a variety of ground-breaking technical feats for the trenchless industry, and the barriers being overcome through advances in technology.
The second presenter was North American Society for Trenchless Technology Chair Kim Staheli. Ms Staheli spoke on the industry differences between Australia and North America, and what future opportunities could be opened up with international industry collaboration.
Day two session topics included design and training, investigation and assessment, HDD, and pipe solutions. The most popular session of the day was a paper by Sydney Water’s Steve Barclay and Virginia Cheng titled “÷Why clean clean pipes? Diagnosing acoustics: Sydney Water trial of SL-RAT’.
GALA DINNER & AWARDS EVENING
On Thursday evening, delegates gathered for the Ditch Witch sponsored ASTT Gala Dinner, where they enjoyed three course fine dining with entertainment by comedian and sleight of hand expert Jay Jay.
During the Gala Dinner the ASTT Award winners for 2015 were also announced.
Project of the Year – New Installation
The nominees were:
- Australia Wide Directional Drilling’s Kolan River Crossing
- John Holland’s Woolloongabba Trunk Sewer Upgrade
- Dunstan Drilling’s Caltex Brisbane River Crossing
- Pressure Sewer Services Australia’s Loch Sport Pressure Sewer Project for Gippsland Water.
and
The winner was announced as: John Holland’s Woolloongabba Trunk Sewer Upgrade
Project of the Year- Rehabilitation
The nominees were:
- Abergeldie Watertech’s Montego Court, Mermaid Waters, Queensland
- Interflow and Queensland Urban Utilities’ Rehabilitation of a critical selection of the S1 sewer
- ITS PipeTech’s University Culvert Renovation in Mt Ousley Wollongong
- Monadelphous Water Infrastructure’s Rehabilitation of Northern Suburbs Ocean Outfall Sewer Maintenance Holes
- Nuflow’s Bulimba Siphon Rehabilitation
- Insituform’s Stormwater Renewal in the Sydney CBD and
- Insituform’s Trunk Sewer Rehabilitation in Nudgee Road, Brisbane.
The winner was announced as:Interflow and Queensland Urban Utilities’ Rehabilitation of a critical selection of the S1 sewer.
New Technology
The nominees were:
- Abergeldie Watertech’s Scotchkote Liner 2400 and
- Optum lining supplier’s Optum lining equipment.
The winner was announced as: Abergeldie Watertech’s Scotchkote Liner 2400.
Person of the Year
The nominees were:
- Ben Crosby, Bamser
- Daniel Gamboa, Insituform Pacific Limited
- Lance Horlyck, SAS TTI Joint Venture
- Mark Tucker, QUICKLOCK Australia Pty Ltd and
- Peter Klouda, Iplex Pipelines.
And the winner was: Lance Horlyck of SAS TTI Joint Venture.
DAY THREE
A special breakfast keynote session opened the last day of No-Dig Down Under, in which three speakers from the nbn presented about the trenchless aspect of the rollout. Paul Clyne spoke about industry development and accreditation within the NBN; Paul Salter gave an introduction to the NBN rollout and the contract model the organisation uses; and Peter Gerring spoke about the importance of safe directional drill practises when installing fibre to avoid disaster.
The last day of the conference included sessions on micrtounnelling, pipe jacking and rehabilitation. The most popular session of the day was a paper titled “÷CIPP – an alternative method for rehabilitating asbestos cement pressure mains,’ by Lutz Kaiser of Sanivar.
Steve Apeldoorn closed the event on Wednesday afternoon and announced that best booth award went to National Environmental Equipment Pty Ltd.
Generously supported by Event Partners Vermeer, HOBAS and Ditch Witch, Gold Sponsor Humes and Silver Sponsor Interflow, the event was a huge success for all involved. The next No-Dig Down Under Event will be held in 2017, location as to be determined by the ASTT.