Industry News, trenchless people
East Canton, Ohio – Barbco, Inc., a capital equipment manufacturer in the horizontal boring, trenchless excavating, and underground manufacturing industries, decided to celebrate 30 years of being a family owned business by giving back to children in need of hope and support. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation was selected as a partner in this noble endeavor by the team at Barbco, Inc.
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a not-for-profit organization with the aim of raising funds to help find cures for children with cancer. The name of the foundation is not associated with a recognized Saint of the Catholic Church; but, is founded on word play and appropriation of the title of sainthood. Volunteers sponsored by family, friends, and employers shave their heads or “chop” their ponytails in solidarity with children who typically lose their hair during cancer treatment in order to raise funds.
The event, entitled Bald Is Beautiful at Barbco, Inc., was held on Wednesday, October 16th from 2:00 to 5:00 pm in the Barbco Employee Lunch Room which was converted into a Barber Shop for the event. Ironically, this date coincided with National Boss’s Day! What better to celebrate than having your Bosses shave their heads. Over 30 Shavees and about 100 guests/employees aka Non Shavees enjoyed the festivities which, in addition to the head shaving, included free coffee and donuts, 50/50 drawings, and special raffles. Moreover, special event t-shirts were available for free to the Brave Shavees and for sale to the general public.
The community came out strongly to support this first time ever event at Barbco, Inc. In addition to a dozen, passionate volunteers, fifteen Corporate Partners joined in to help! These generous organizations include SACS Consulting and Investigative Services, JB Jewelers, Kraft Fluid Systems, Alro Steel, NAPA Auto Parts, TRS Trenchless Rental Solutions, National Steel Tube, U.S. Shoring & Equipment, Peace Love & Little Donuts of Canal Fulton, Atwood Industries, Midwest Mole, and C. Massouh Printing Services.
At the time of this press release, Barbco was nearly halfway to their ambitious goal of raising $10,000 for the children. Please take a look at the photo album to see the joyful smiles on all in attendance by clicking on this link: https://www.facebook.com/pg/BarbcoInc/photos/?tab=album&album_id=3355889007787141
Barbco is wrapping up their collection efforts on November 15th and have already begun planning for 2020!
Photo: Barbco owners, Tony Barbera, Jim Barbera and David Barbera shave their heads for a great cause!
Industry News
PELLA, Iowa, Oct. 15, 2019 — Vermeer is expanding its pile driver product line with the introduction of two new models. The Vermeer PD5 and PD5R pile drivers combine efficient operation and accuracy into a compact, lightweight machine well suited for working on smaller solar installation projects, congested jobsites and civil fencing and guardrail installation applications.
With a 15 foot (4.6 m) mast that can remain fully assembled when transporting and aided by a 90° rotating platform, the design of the PD5 and PD5R can help ease the setup and teardown process. With transportation weights of 10,350 pounds (4694.7 kg) for the PD5 and 10,300 pounds (4672 kg) for the PD5R, multiple units can be transported on a single trailer.
The PD5 features machine-integrated controls located on the side of the machine. The PD5R features a full-function wireless remote control that can engage the hammer, accurately align the pile to complete verticality using the auto plumb feature and position the machine. Both machines can use an optional laser receiver or a compatible third-party GPS system to help improve productivity by better aligning the machine to the specified pile install location.
“The solar industry has experienced tremendous growth in the last few years, and the Vermeer PD10 and PD10R pile drivers have been among the most widespread machines used for installing ground mount solar piles,” explains Ed Savage, product manager at Vermeer. “Of course, not every jobsite is the same, so we created the new PD5R and PD5 pile drivers to give contractors smaller and more lightweight options. These units include many of the same features as the PD10 and have similar productivity in a variety of soil conditions.”
Both pile drivers are powered by a Cat 49 horsepower (36.5 kW) Tier 4 Final diesel engine, have a forward travel speed of 2.6 miles per hour (4.18 km/h) so operators can move quickly from pile to pile and feature a mast pull-down that is rigidly attached to the mast chain to deliver powerful force.
Both machines will be available early 2020.
For more information about the Vermeer PD5 and PD5R pile drivers, visit Vermeer.com or contact your local Vermeer dealer.
Industry News, trenchless projects
The following is a post from Akkerman. For more details and additional job site photos, visit their website.
BRH-Garver Construction LP, a Houston based civil construction contractor pipe jacked 885-linear feet of 66-inch ID Permalok® casing filled with 48-inch carrier lines to convey treated water from the Canal Water Treatment Plant (WTP) for El Paso Water in El Paso, TX. The project risks and rewards existed in equal measure for all stakeholders.
The Canal WTP, also known as the Robertson Umbenhauer, was constructed 75-years ago and is situated between the Rio Grande River and a 100-year old BNSF rail yard. The new transmission lines culminate to tie in at San Antonio Avenue in downtown El Paso.
The water lines on the Canal Water Treatment Plant Discharge Main Tunnel project traveled under Highway I-85, and 18 BNSF rail yard tracks in soft ground conditions presenting many opportunities for settlement. El Paso’s water table is prone to seasonal variability due to its proximity to the river, and the likelihood of contaminated ground, existing utilities and obstructions in the 100-year old rail yard posed a potential threat to tunneling personnel and loss of production. Since the launch shaft was in an active BNSF rail yard, frequent and diligent communication and coordination with the railroad personnel transpired for safety, and equipment and material staging.
Several factors contributed to project cost savings including the use of a more cost-effective Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) system over a microtunneling system, a value-engineered design to initiate both bores from one launch shaft inside the rail yard to emerge into one reception shaft, the downsizing of casing diameter from 72 to 66-inch, and the avoidance of deep well dewatering, which also reduced settlement risk.
The contractor’s pipe jacking experience informed the resolution of the project’s more difficult challenges when completing the 570- and 315-linear foot tunnels. When unforeseen cobbles were discovered, the hydraulic doors on the TBM cutter head provided passage for the cobbles with minimal loss of production. When unpredicted boulders were discovered, although (continued)tunneling had to pause to allow chemical grout to be used to stabilize the bore, the hydraulic doors provided essential access for breaking the boulders to a size that allowed for their passage to successfully complete the tunnel. When the crew ran into unanticipated PPCA ground conditions, the crew persevered by using a full-face mask filtration system to resume mining operations.
The project was deemed successful, and the TBM named “Robbie” in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Robertson Umbenhauer WTP, proved to be the right method.
- Breff Cooling of BRH Garver, comments on the equipment selection, “The versatility of the Akkerman TBM with hydraulically-operated doors, gave us some options that a MTBM would not have. A slurry machine may have been the preferred choice under critically located structures in ground that varies from clay, to sand seams, to running gravels. However, the small but real possibility of boulders, or steel fish plates and other obstructing debris sometimes found under rail yards, tipped the balance towards selecting a manned-entry TBM for accessing any obstructions. With the benefit of hindsight, we can say that the TBM turned out to be the better choice in this case because we ended up discovering unforeseen boulders.”
Cooling also credits the railway stating, “We are grateful for the exceptional cooperation from BNSF for accommodating our field operations inside their busy 24-hour around-the-clock rail yard operations.”
The Canal Water Treatment Plant Discharge Main Tunnel project was designed by a partnership between CDM Smith and Parkhill, Smith & Cooper who also provided site supervision and contract administration. Tunneling technical support, oversight and settlement monitoring was performed by Killduff Underground Engineering.
Cooling concludes, “This is the third time BRH-Garver has partnered with an engineering firm for a design-build project, and the first for time for a tunneling project. The partnership accepted transfer of nearly all risk for the client and proved very effective for BRH to apply three decades of tunneling experience towards the optimum tunneling solution for the design changes. Our preference would be for this type of project delivery all of the time.”
Industry News, trenchless people
Recently the NASTT Student Chapter at UMASS Lowell participated in the school’s annual campus club recruiting event. They had a table at the event outlining what the student chapter does and why trenchless matters. These students are passionate about growing interest in the trenchless industry!
NASTT volunteer instructor and “Trenchless Guru” (yep, that’s his X handle!), Dennis Doherty, is very involved with the students at UMASS Lowell and volunteers his time to mentor these future trenchless champions. Dennis is the National Practice Leader of Trenchless Technologies at Haley & Aldrich. Dennis said, “Get involved with our students. They are our future”. We couldn’t agree more!
Industry News, trenchless people, trenchless projects
When contractors provide estimates that include a sewer bypass, accuracy is essential—each project is unique, and accounting for these nuances is critical to maintaining margins. Failure to plan on the front end may lead to an influx of change orders and a big hit to the bottom line. Damages could go further than money alone: An estimating mistake might lead to a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO). Following an SSO, you can expect large sums for cleanup and DEQ penalties, along with negative PR and a ripple effect that could impact future projects.
Before submitting a bid, it’s critical to cover all the bases and avert potential problems on the job. The following lessons learned can help contractors avoid estimating mistakes, win bids, and complete projects at a profit—and without visits from the DEQ.
Lesson 1: Take a bottom-up approach to estimating.
Often estimators have little choice but to use unit costs, like cost per foot of pipe, for an estimate. But that doesn’t eliminate the need to check the latest prices. Inserting the cost from the last project without checking it seldom produces a safe number. Even if a job appears to be the same size and complexity as a previous project, treat every job individually and get a current price for every item.
Lesson 2: Always visit the project site with a knowledgeable individual.
Unforeseen site conditions are the largest contributor to project change orders and increased costs. Plans and drawings alone do not provide the information needed to route pipe, situate pumps, and manage flow for a sewer bypass. Avoiding this mistake is easy: Always visit the site with the engineer or a representative from the municipality—whoever has the most in-depth knowledge of the project. The sewer bypass subcontractor should also attend to explain the capabilities, as well as the limitations, of the pumping system. Consulting with the entire team will help ensure a solid quote for that portion of the contract.
Lesson 3: Insist on backup detail for subcontractor quotes.
Contracting firms often use subcontractors to design a sewer bypass for a larger project. Even if the subcontractor has complete confidence in the system as designed, never take their word that it will handle the sewer bypass flow for the cost they plan to charge. Instead, request the engineering calculations and system drawings, and then ask the design engineer to review them. Based on the information the subcontractor provides, the scope of equipment, system layout, and performance should be clear.
Lesson 4: Do due diligence on labor costs.
Labor costs often comprise the largest portion of a sewer bypass budget. Costs for prevailing wage and certified payroll add up quickly. Different project conditions can impact labor costs significantly, even for the same task. For example, a team working on a city street with heavy traffic may install less bypass piping each day than one working in an open field. Therefore, it’s critical to examine labor costs in detail over the project timeline, including hours and types of labor for each task. Then, make sure your bypass subcontractor offers a firm commitment on the cost.
Lesson 5: Factor in risk and the potential for lost revenue when accepting a low bid.
Although selecting the subcontractor with the lowest bid can be tempting, ultimately the project may cost more. Never assume a subcontractor will take responsibility for problems that result from lack of experience or expertise. Instead, consider all the worst-case scenarios that could occur, such as a sanitary sewer overflow. Ensure the subcontractor can manage each and every problem that may arise. Double check contract limitations and exclusions, the safety plan, and the spill and emergency response plan. In addition to liability considerations, it’s critical to review a bypass subcontractor’s bid to ensure it is complete. Have they included enough in labor costs to complete the project? Are fuel costs included, or even tax? Low bids may leave out these important components which can result in lost profits.
Lesson 6: Review the engineering submittal with the subcontractor.
To ensure all the estimate information is correct, always review the engineering submittal against the specifications with the subcontractor to make sure it matches the information in the request for quote. As a best practice, the engineering submittal should include not only the information required within the specifications, but also all the pertinent details about the temporary pumping system. It should be clear and concise so anyone who reads it will fully understand how the system is designed, set up, and operated. It should also have all the supporting documentation such as fluid calculations, drawings, and specification sheets on the equipment being used.
Checking the engineering submittal against the specifications will help to reduce or eliminate the engineer sending the submittal back for changes. Until the submittal is approved, the job cannot go forward, so in order to keep the project on track, it’s important to cross-check the documents before sending to the engineer.
Lesson 7: Assume the cost quoted can never be modified.
Do not count on subcontractors to take responsibility for problems and resolve them in a timely manner. The contractor is ultimately on the line and will be held to the amount put in every box on every bid. To be competitive, a firm’s margins must remain as low as possible while still providing a profit. If a quote does not include every item down to the last fitting and bolt, the margin and profit will suffer. The bypass subcontractor and firm should work together to determine the right costs to put into the bid tabulation sheet. Also, to avoid being buried in unanticipated invoices, be certain to incorporate a billing schedule with the bypass subcontractor that indicates when invoices will be received and what they are for.
Abiding by these seven lessons learned should avert many potential problems that occur in sewer bypass and ensure a winning bid that leads to a profitable and successful project.
For more information, visit www.sunbeltrentals.com or call 800-736-2504.
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.
East Canton, Ohio – Barbco, Inc., a capital equipment manufacturer in the horizontal boring, trenchless excavating, and underground manufacturing industries, decided to celebrate 30 years of being a family owned business by giving back to children in need of hope and support. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation was selected as a partner in this noble endeavor by the team at Barbco, Inc.
