Uncategorized
Houston, Texas, July 14, 2015 – Hobas Pipe USA is currently supplying pipe for the rebuilding of
the 40 year old Turcot Interchange, southwest of downtown Montreal. This project will continue for several years and is estimated to cost CA$3 billion.
Hobas plans to provide over 2,000 feet of 110-inch diameter pressure pipe for this project. This is the second Hobas project in Montreal to date.
Hobas pipe sizes range from 18 to 126 inches and larger for both pressure and gravity applications. Hobas Pipe USA is also certified by the International Organization for Standardization to ISO 14001 and 9001.
For more information, please contact Hobas Quebec at 1-450-951-6607 or Hobas Pipe USA at 800-856-7473 or e-mail at info@Hobaspipe.com. Facts are also available at www.Hobaspipe.com and www.Hobas.ca.
Uncategorized
NASTT turns 25 in 2015! What was happening 25 years ago? 
On July 12, 1990, Boris Yeltsin quit the Soviet Communist Party.
On July 14, 1990, “Howard Stern‘s Summer Show” premiered on WWOR-TV (NYC).
On July 17, 1990, NY Yankee Deion Sanders hit an inside park homer.
Check in every Friday in 2015 when NASTT posts more fun facts about 25 years ago…
Uncategorized
SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland, –Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL), a leading global water technology company dedicated to solving the world’s most challenging water issues,has launched a new YouTube channel dedicated to its Flygt brand. The new channel features informative, engaging content including a behind-the-scenes video of one of Xylem’s main factories producing Flygt branded solutions, a Flygt Experior non-clog test, service ‘how-to’ guides, product information videos and case stories demonstrating Flygt in action.
The channel aims to continuously provide customers with helpful information in an easy-to-access, entertaining manner. Country-specific playlists and local language captions offer a user-friendly experience.
“Xylem’s Flygt brand boasts a rich legacy of being at the forefront of solving water and wastewater challenges for more than 100 years,” saidVeronica Jergelind, Marketing Communications Manager for Xylem’s transport business. “Through this new channel we will share engaging digital content that demonstrates how our Flygt water and wastewater solutions solve complex water challenges around the world.”
Xylem’s Flygt brand provides customers with a complete range of products and solutions for moving water and wastewater, as well as advanced monitoring and control equipment to optimize solutions’ operation.
About Xylem
Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology provider, enabling customers to transport, treat, test and efficiently use water in public utility, residential and commercial building services, industrial and agricultural settings. The company does business in more than 150 countries through a number of market-leading product brands, and its people bring broad applications expertise with a strong focus on finding local solutions to the world’s most challenging water and wastewater problems. Xylem is headquartered in Rye Brook, N.Y., with 2014 revenues of $3.9 billion and approximately 12,500 employees worldwide. Xylem was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the last three years for advancing sustainable business practices and solutions worldwide.
The name Xylem is derived from classical Greek and is the tissue that transports water in plants, highlighting the engineering efficiency of our water-centric business by linking it with the best water transportation of all — that which occurs in nature. For more information, please visit www.xyleminc.com
Uncategorized
Speedy Robbins Small Boring Unit finishes Crossing Two Weeks Early
In Bend, Oregon, USA, local contractor Stadeli Boring & Tunneling had a unique set of circumstances for a new gravity sewer interceptor. “We had a contract with general contractor Taylor NW to furnish and install 323 ft (98 m) of 36-inch (900 mm) steel casing under railroad tracks. Line and grade were very crucial, and the tolerances were very close. We had to be right on,” said Larry Stadeli, president and owner of Stadeli Boring & Tunneling. In addition to those parameters, the job was also in solid rock.
Fortunately, there was a solution available to help them. The contractor turned to The Robbins Company, a business that they had worked with many times over the years for their Small Boring Units (SBUs). Stadeli first contacted Robbins 10 years ago to rent a 30-inch standard Small Boring Unit (SBU-A), and has since rented dozens more. The company currently owns two SBU-As, but their Bend, Oregon job required precision guidance systems that their SBU-As lacked. “We met with Robbins in Ohio and told them what our needs were. They felt like their 36-inch (900 mm) prototype machine, which they had tested at one other job in Oman, would be a good fit. They listened to what we were wanting and needing to have done,” said Stadeli.
At Robbins, Kenny Clever, SBU Sales Manager, and a group of engineers were honing the prototype machine that fit the bill. Known as the SBU-RC, for Remote Controlled Small Boring Unit, the machine was equipped with a smart guidance system by TACS. The guidance system could show an operator projections of the future bore path so steering corrections could be made before the machine was ever out of line and grade. The feature was critical for the crossing below the railroad tracks, which could not be shut down if problems occurred.
The SBU-RC is currently manufactured in the 36-inch (900 mm) diameter range, but could be designed as small as 30 inches (750 mm). The machine operates much like a Motorized SBU (SBU-M) with a circular cutterhead and cutting tools that can excavate hard rock or mixed ground conditions. An in-shield drive motor provides torque to the cutterhead, while a pipe jacking system or Auger Boring Machine (ABM) provides thrust. Clever explains the biggest differences: “There is no manned entry. It eliminates the human element, so it is safer and there is no need for ventilation and other things required when you have a worker in the tunnel. With its guidance system, it also eliminates much of the risk on line-and-grade-critical bores.” Muck removal is accomplished via a vacuum system connected to a vacuum truck. The machine is capable of excavating hard rock and mixed ground crossings up to 500 ft (150 m) long, depending on conditions.
While microtunneling machines have been used on jobs such as these, Clever cites key advantages for the SBU-RC: “There is no slurry to mix or contend with. With MTBMs the slurry must be cleaned, pumped, and treated. With the SBU-RC there is a clean and dry pit, with no spoils to remove. The way the SBU-RC operates is much more cost effective. The SBU-RC is also available for lease; MTBMs are often not cost effective to lease for contractors trying to stay competitive.”
The SBU-RC was delivered on April 14, 2015, and was lowered into a launch pit 26 ft (8 m) deep. There were several early tweaks to the setup including a larger vacuum truck that improved suction, and some modifications to the cutterhead including grill bars. These modifications were expected and will be incorporated into later versions of the machine.
The machine began boring in volcanic basalt rock that was full of fissures, fractures, and rubble pockets between 5,000 and 7,000 psi (34 to 48 MPa) UCS. While the start-up was rough going, crews quickly began getting rates of 20 ft (6 m) per day. “As we got used to the machine we went up to 40 ft (12 m), and one day we even got 50 ft (15 m). We were able to cut off a couple weeks of our schedule time. Taylor NW was very pleased about it. When you look down the pipe now after it’s finished, it looks like a rifle barrel. There is no sag, it’s all in one straight line,” said Stadeli.
The early completion by the SBU-RC delighted the City of Bend and all those involved. “I think the SBU-RC is an exciting piece of equipment that has been compressed into a 36-inch size. To make it all work it is very compact. It’s impressive that the components have been sized down and it still works so efficiently,” said Stadeli.
With the clear success in Oregon, Robbins is looking to lease the machine on more projects and expand their offerings. As Clever put it: “Finally our industry has provided a small diameter, on-line-and-grade machine that will drill in solid rock at distance. This is a game changer, it will be the most innovative piece of equipment in our industry for a long time.”
The News in Brief
· The Robbins Remote Controlled Small Boring Unit (SBU-RC) is a new type of boring machine capable of excavating small diameter hard rock tunnels at long distances, on line and grade.
· The SBU-RC is currently manufactured in the 36-inch (900 mm) diameter range, but could be designed as small as 30 inches (750 mm) in diameter.
· The SBU-RC features a smart guidance system for pinpoint steering accuracy and is controlled from an operator’s station on the surface.
· Muck removal is accomplished through a vacuum system, making the Robbins SBU-RC more cost effective than MTBMs requiring slurry and cleaning plants onsite.
· A Robbins 36-inch (900 mm) SBU-RC completed a critical hard rock crossing below railroad tracks two weeks early in Bend, Oregon, USA, breaking through on May 5, 2015.
The SBU-RC holed through on line and grade after achieving up to 50 ft (15 m) of advance per day in abrasive basalt rock up to 7,000 psi (48 MPa) UCS.
Contact Information:
Desiree Willis
Technical Writer
Direct: 253.872.4490
29100 Hall Street
Solon, OH 44139
USA
Uncategorized
Release Date: 07/08/2015
Contact Information: David Sternberg sternberg.david@epa.gov 215-814-5548
(BALTIMORE – July 8, 2015) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency joined officials from local boating businesses, brewers and the National Aquarium at the Inner Harbor today to highlight what the Obama Administration’s Clean Water Rule means to Maryland’s rivers, streams and drinking water.
“It’s important that we protect the quality of water in our lakes and rivers by ensuring that the streams and wetlands that feed them are protected,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “We need sufficient clean water for drinking water, recreation and to help our economy flourish with manufacturing, farming, tourism, and other economic sectors.”
The Clean Water Rule was enacted to ensure that waters protected under the Clean Water Act are more precisely defined and predictably determined, making permitting less costly, easier, and faster for businesses and industry. The rule is grounded in law and the latest science, and is shaped by public input.
Local business representatives echoed EPA’s concerns and spoke about how important it is that Maryland drinking water and waterways like the Chesapeake Bay are clean, safe and protected.
People need clean water for their health: about 117 million Americans – one in three people – get drinking water from streams that lacked clear protection before the Clean Water Rule. Clean and reliable water is an economic driver, for manufacturing, farming, tourism, recreation, and energy production.
The Clean Water Rule returns protections to streams that feed the drinking water sources for nearly four million Marylanders and one in three Americans. Millions of acres of wetlands, vital for flood control and filtering pollutants, will also again be shielded under federal law.
More information: www.epa.gov/cleanwaterrule .
Uncategorized
NASTT turns 25 in 2015! What was happening 25 years ago?
On July 6, 1990, “Jetson’s the Movie” with Tiffany, premiered.
On July 7-8, 1990, Martina Navratilova of the United States won the 1990 Wimbledon Championships – Women’s Singles and Stefan Edberg of Sweden won the 1990 Wimbledon Championships – Men’s Singles.
On July 8, 1990 (7/8/90), at 12:34:56 it was 1234567890!
Check in every Friday in 2015 when NASTT posts more fun facts about 25 years ago…
the 40 year old Turcot Interchange, southwest of downtown Montreal. This project will continue for several years and is estimated to cost CA$3 billion.
