Blog, Industry News, trenchless people
Cleveland, Ohio – The North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT) celebrates 30 years of industry advocacy and education in 2020. NASTT is an engineering society of individuals, public organizations and private companies with strong beliefs in the practical, social and environmental benefits of trenchless technology.
Founded in 1990, NASTT represents nearly 2,400 members throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico who all promote better and more responsible ways to manage underground infrastructure. NASTT’s mission is to advance trenchless technology and to promote its benefits for the public and the natural environment by increasing awareness and knowledge through technical information dissemination, research and development, education and training.
As NASTT continues to grow and take on new challenges, it is important for the not-for-profit Society to serve and support their diverse industry partners. NASTT proudly represents municipalities and public utilities, consultants and engineers, manufacturers and suppliers, trenchless contractors and academia. NASTT reaches out to all these groups and shares with the community the latest industry trenchless advancements and their continuing education opportunities. For 30 years, the all-volunteer members of NASTT have presented non-commercial information seminars and training about these “green alternative” engineering methods to North American communities.
The annual NASTT No-Dig Show is the Society’s flagship educational and networking event. This conference and trade show offers 160 quality, non-commercial technical papers; an exhibition hall with more than 200 trenchless companies displaying their products and services; a series of specialized trenchless training courses, plus many entertaining networking events and special industry related awards. The NASTT No-Dig Show is the largest trenchless technology conference in the world averaging over 2,000 industry professionals.
In 2019 the Canadian Regional Chapters of NASTT hosted the inaugural No-Dig North conference. Nearly 600 attendees from across Canada met in Calgary, AB to learn from each other, network and discuss all things trenchless. This show will be an annual event with the 2020 No-Dig North being held October 19-21 in Vancouver, BC.
In celebration of its 30th Anniversary, NASTT will look back at the history of the Society with a series of Flashback Friday (#fbf) social media posts along with various activities throughout 2020. You are invited to join in a celebratory toast during the NASTT 2020 No-Dig Show Opening Ceremony Ribbon Cutting in Denver, Colorado on Monday, April 6 at the Colorado Convention Center.
Blog, Industry News, trenchless people
Tri-State Utilities enters their 30th year of operation in 2020. As they look forward to new leadership and direction, they are excited to announce the following promotions and present their management staff.
Tri-State Utilities is pleased to announce that Jonathan Thomas, PE has been promoted to Vice-President / General Manager and will lead them into the new decade. With 10 years of project management experience at Tri-State Utilities, Jonathan will be overseeing the Chesapeake, Virginia and the Winston-Salem, NC offices. The addition of Jonathan to the Senior Management team will position the company for continued growth in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Ron Parsons has been promoted to Vice-President of Operations. With 15 years of experience at Tri-State Utilities, Ron will now lead field operations to bring a continued expertise in Cleaning & CCTV services and CIPP (Cured-In-Place Pipe) Lining. Ron started his career as a Vactor operator and has held positions as a CIPP cutter operator, CIPP Foreman and Superintendent. Ron has invaluable experience cleaning and lining pipe of all sizes and possesses great personnel management skills.
Craig Welsh will now lead the Estimating Department in addition to his role as a Project Manager. With 16 years of experience at Tri-State Utilities, Craig will oversee an estimating department that will focus on Cleaning & CCTV services, CIPP (Cured-In-Place Pipe) Lining, and traditional open-cut storm, sewer, and water line services. Craig’s experience with site work as well as rehabilitation methods provides him with a unique skill set for providing accurate estimates for Tri-State to build.
John Saintsing is the Business Development Manager for Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. With seven years of experience at Tri-State Utilities, John will continue to explore new, better and innovative methods for CCTV services and CIPP (Cured-In-Place Pipe) technologies. John’s responsibilities will include attendance to industry conferences, building key customer relationships, and developing new services and products in Infrastructure Rehabilitation.
Sean Merryman was hired last year as the Business Development and Project Manager for the southwest North Carolina region and South Carolina. Sean will maintain a heavy presence in the area while establishing a new lining crew and Clean & TV crew to service this growing region. Tri-State Utilities is very excited about the experience Sean brings with him from his previous employer and the opportunity to service municipalities and engineers who have historically been outside of our footprint.
Connor Mathis is a Project Manager with eight years of experience at Tri-State Utilities. Connor will manage projects throughout Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina while focusing most of his time on the Construction Services contracts for the Cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. These services include: Cleaning and CCTV, CIPP Sectional Liners, Rausch Repair Sleeves, and CIPP (Cured-In-Place Pipe) for Storm and Sanitary Pipe Rehabilitation. Connor is also certified in land disturbance and manages all heavy excavation work, road repairs and off-road ditch maintenance.
James Farris is a Project Manager with a total of six years of experience in utility construction and the last four years with Tri-State Utilities. He has gained valuable experience on Consent Order driven inspection and rehabilitation of storm and sanitary sewer systems. Before coming to work at Tri-State Utilities, James spent four years with Real Estate Improvement, a Virginia Beach based Class A construction company. Prior to that, James was with Norfolk Southern Railway for eight years focusing his efforts primarily on customer service, purchasing, and sales.
Rick Sharp is the newest member and Project Manager of the Tri-State Utilities’ team. Rick brings with him over 15 years of project management experience from residential and commercial construction as well as land development. Rick will be managing projects throughout Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Andy McSweeney will continue to lead Tri-State Utilities as Vice-President of Project Management with a focus on Estimating and Business Development as they grow their footprint deeper into North and South Carolina.
Joe McSweeney, after 27 years of service with Tri-State Utilities, has decided to retire. A career that included responsibilities of a CCTV Operator, CIPP Foreman and Superintendent, and Vice-President of Operations. A career full of accomplishments and a future full of possibilities. Tri-State Utilities wishes Joe much more success in his future endeavors.
The management team of Tri-State Utilities is can all be reached at (757) 366-9505. Visit their website for more information on the company.
Blog, Industry News, trenchless projects
Compact TBM bores longest Rock Tunnel at 2.46 m Diameter
In August 2019, a small diameter Double Shield TBM made a big impact. The 2.46 m (8.07 ft) diameter Robbins machine completed 3,475 m (11,400 ft) of boring with no intermediate access, making it the longest rock tunnel ever bored by a Double Shield TBM under 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in diameter.
The machine completed the Parmer Lane Wastewater Interceptor in Austin, Texas, USA for contractor S.J. Louis Construction. Despite obstacles including two tight curves of 150 m (500 ft) radius and unexpected ground conditions that required modification of the cutterhead in the tunnel, advance rates were good. The machine reached up to 380 m (1,250 ft) per month while mining in single 12-hour shifts per day. “It was a hard rock TBM, and it performed better than expected through hard rock,” said Zach West, Project Manager for S.J. Louis.
The challenges for the TBM and its crew were varied, explained West. “The pairing of this tunnel length, which is on the longer side, and the diameter, which is on the smaller side, is challenging. The survey in a small tunnel with tight radius curves and limited surface access for over two miles is very difficult.” He added that the shallow tunnel depth, and the alignment to within a few feet of sanitary lines, high-pressure gas mains, and fuel tanks for gas stations, made TBM guidance critical. “I would say that I am most proud of our ability to guide the machine successfully through these obstacles and into our retrieval shaft within our expected tolerances.”
Through one stretch, the tunnel advanced directly between a 30 cm (12 in) diameter, high-pressure gas main and fuel tanks for a gas station with limited as-built information. “Navigating this section took a great deal of coordination with the local utility companies. Because the tunnel diameter was too small for an automated guidance system, we manually surveyed the front of the machine at every push to ensure the machine was on track,” said West.
“I’m proud that they mined the longest tunnel to date for a small shielded gripper machine of this size without any safety issues. Kudos to their management philosophy and jobsite team,” said Tom Fuerst, Robbins Utility Tunneling Sales Manager. Robbins assisted the crew while in the tight 150 m (500 ft) curves and helped with modifications required to the cutterhead and disc cutter arrangement.
The tunnel is located in an environmentally sensitive aquifer, with ground conditions ranging from soft dolomite with clay to limestone from 13 to 68 MPa (2,000 to 10,000 psi) UCS. “While we tunneled through the softer material, our best advance rate was close to 0.9 m (3 ft) per hour. When we tunneled through the expected limestone, advance rates were over 5.2 m (17 ft) per hour. Our best day was 25 m (81 ft) in a single shift,” said West.
The majority of the tunnel used a simple two-rock-bolt pattern for support. In the last 10% of the tunnel, ribs and lagging were used as support. Final carrier pipe, which is now being installed, consists of 110 cm (42 in) diameter fiberglass pipe.
The successful project is part of a larger trend towards small diameter, TBM-driven rock tunnels in the United States, says Fuerst. “It is primarily due to demographics and business growth. The parts of the USA that are growing need to build out their sewer and water infrastructure. TBMs can mine long distances with tight curves. They can reduce the need for multiple shafts, which lowers the overall project cost. And, given that most small diameter pipelines follow a road or municipal right-of-way, traffic problems are reduced significantly compared with open cut operations.”
The Parmer Lane Wastewater Interceptor connects to two existing lift stations at Lake Creek and Rattan Creek. The tunnel allows for these lift stations to be decommissioned, and will provide additional flow capacity by gravity, reducing operating costs for the City of Austin.
Image 1: Completed in August 2019 with a Robbins Double Shield TBM, the Parmer Lane Wastewater Interceptor will provide additional flow capacity via gravity in Austin, Texas, USA.
Image 2: The 3,475 m (11,400 ft) tunnel bored by a Robbins TBM is the longest ever bored by a Double Shield machine under 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in diameter.
Image 3: The S.J. Louis Construction crew celebrate the successful and safe completion of the Parmer Lane Wastewater Interceptor with a Robbins TBM.
Image 4: Tom Fuerst, Robbins Utility Tunneling Sales Manager, celebrates as he exits the TBM during its August 2019 breakthrough in Austin, Texas, USA.
Image 5: The Robbins TBM bored through dolomite with clay and limestone at rates of up to 380 m (1,250 ft) in one month while mining in single 12-hour shifts per day.
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Please contact Leonard Ingram, PWAM, Executive Director, at leonard@engconco.com or call (888) 817-3788 to present, exhibit and/or sponsor food at these seminars.
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Blog, Industry News, trenchless products
January 1, 2019 ‐ Pipe Lining Supply has improved the Quik‐Shot™ lateral lining inversion unit. The unit now features a new improved nozzle design that allows the CIPP lateral lining material to flow through with ease, using the venturi process. The new design has improved the process so much we are offering a retrofit exchange program to rework any nozzles from existing customers. If you would like to participate in the exchange program, please contact us.
Pipe Lining Supply is dedicated to research & development of all equipment and materials. This equipment improvement comes from many test trials and customer feedback. Being a leader in the industry is Pipe Lining Supply’s top priority.
About Pipe Lining Supply:
Pipe Lining Supply is a leader in the distribution of materials and equipment used in the lateral sewer lining and DWV rehabilitation businesses. The company was formed to support customers who need training and support as well as the equipment and materials to rehabilitate aging sewer laterals. Our goal is to serve the industry with a complete warehouse stocked with the best products at the lowest delivered cost on a timely basis. Our staff has many years of plumbing, excavating, pipe bursting, DWV coating and CIPP lining experience to share with its clients. In addition, we train and support installers throughout the USA to be the most knowledgeable and efficient in their goals.
For More Information:
Call: 888‐354‐6464
Visit: www.pipeliningsupply.com
Email: info@pipeliningsupply.com
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Michelle Macauley announces the formation of Macauley Trenchless, PLLC
Michelle Macauley brings over two decades of experience as a geotechnical engineer and as a subject matter expert in trenchless technology for water and wastewater conveyance projects. Joining Michelle as her operations manager and as a soon-to-be-certified Project Management Professional (PMP) is Jeff Macauley. Jeff is an army special operations combat veteran bringing over 25 years of experience in risk identification, risk mitigation and project management.
Michelle has more than 21 years of experience in geotechnical engineering, with a particular emphasis on trenchless design and involvement in the water/wastewater industry. Prior to starting Macauley Trenchless, Michelle was the National Trenchless Practice Lead for Jacobs Engineering and oversaw multiple trenchless projects across the company. Prior to working at Jacobs, Michelle was a senior geotechnical engineer specializing in trenchless design and construction with other Pacific Northwest geotechnical and trenchless design firms. Her trenchless expertise includes horizontal directional drilling, microtunneling, pipejacking, auger-boring, pipe ramming, pilot-tube microtunneling, and other technologies. In addition to her extensive project experience, she has been active in the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT), is currently serving on the Board of Directors for NASTT, and is a regular presenter at national trenchless conferences.
“I am so excited to begin a business pursuing my passion helping people evaluate the risks and benefits associated with trenchless design and construction.”
For further information please contact:
Michelle Macauley – michelle@macauleytrenchless.com
Jeff Macauley – jeff@macauleytrenchless.com
Cleveland, Ohio – The North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT) celebrates 30 years of industry advocacy and education in 2020. NASTT is an engineering society of individuals, public organizations and private companies with strong beliefs in the practical, social and environmental benefits of trenchless technology.
