Safety on the worksite is a must, but this can prove challenging on major pipelaying projects as traditional methods often involve workers being near moving machinery.
To minimise risks, water organisations are looking to new methods of pipelaying that increase safety without sacrificing efficiency.
Melbourne Water teamed up with Delcon Group and Global Pipeline Equipment to deliver a critical pipeline that would meet the growing demand for water in the northern and western suburbs of Greater Melbourne.
The new pipeline connects the Yan Yean Water Treatment Plant with the Bald Hill, Kalkallo tank site, and improves the reliability of the water supply in the northern suburbs and frees up capacity to transfer more water to the western suburbs.
Delcon Project Director – Water Services, Tom Mulhall, said that the project took eight months to complete and stretched over 10km.
“Every project has challenges, and one of the main ones we faced was being able to load and unload pipe safely,” Mr Mulhall said.
“That’s why we utilised the vac-lift system from Global Pipeline, so that we could improve that safety aspect. We didn’t have to have people on the back of trucks or trying to sling pipes. We were able to do it all from the ground, create greater exclusion zones and lay pipes much more safely.”
Vacuum power
Melbourne Water Health and Safety Manager, Peter Cations, said that the lifting, shifting and placement of various pipes – often in lengths of up to 13m and up to 2m in diameter – was one of the most dangerous parts of pipelaying.
“Typically, you would have a dogman rigger who would have a tagline on the load to control it. So, you’ve got one or more persons in proximity to that load while it’s being lifted and shifted,” Mr Cations said.
“But now with the vacuum lifter, once the tension is taken off the strapping on the loads, there’s no need for any personnel to be within proximity of those pipes while they’re being unloaded.
“The excavator will move and position the vacuum lifter onto the relevant pipe, pick that pipe up, position it into the necessary area and then release the vacuum.
“The beauty of the vac-lifter is you can rotate the pipe 360 degrees horizontally, you can tilt it up and down, left and right, so it can be placed into a trench without any need for other personnel to be in the trench at that time.
“The direct interaction between people and pipes is reduced back to almost zero, which is a huge reduction of risk.”
Global support
Mr Mulhall said that working with Global Pipeline was easy. The supplier provided reliable, comprehensive support for crews using the machine.
“In Victoria, there’s not too many people who have experience with this technology. But Global was able to explain to the crew how to use the machine, how to maintain the machine and how make sure that it is operating in a safe manner.
“We were also able to bring them in with our safety team and help create our own checks and balances and create the documentation that was needed to make sure that people were safe, and that’s the reason we’re using this at the end of the day; to make worksites safer.”
For more information, visit pipelineplanthire.com.au
