NEW ZEALAND’S CIVIL CONTRACTING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY 2018
BREAKING NEW GROUND Hyundai excavator hard at work in Transmission Gully.
INSIDE: Full cover PPE regulations – is this PC gone wrong? A milestone for contracting – SH1 reopened for Christmas A history of foamed bitumen – a contractor's perspective Fulton Hogan HEB – health & safety innovation recognised
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CONTENTS
CONTRACTOR
22
INSIDE: Regulars 6 Editorial 8 Upfront 10 Contractors’ Diary 18 On the cover 62 Classic Machines
Highlights / Features 20 Profile: Dave Cross
From the navy to New Zealand's largest over-dimension load piloting company.
22 A milestone for contracting
The reopening of SH1 between Christchurch and Picton was a public relations coup for the entire South Island civil contracting industry.
66 Innovations 70 Civil Contractors NZ update 70 Advertisers index
Comment 54 Peter Silcock CCNZ 56 Rob Gaimster Concrete NZ 57 Caroline Boot Plan A and Clever Buying 58 Tommy Parker NZ Transport Agency 60 Amy Jardine and Reece Leggett
Kensington Swan
28 Rai Saddle realignment
A key risk spot on SH6 between Blenheim and Nelson has undergone a challenging realignment.
36 More CRL innovations and updates
The first contract for the southern end of the City Rail Link project was awarded late last year.
38 UAS case study
ON THE COVER Don McLachlan and his new Hyundai excavator are hard at work on the massive roading project underway in Transmission Gully. See page 18
An unmanned aerial system has been used for project work on the Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway.
40 12 years of foamed bitumen A contractor's perspective.
44 A customer view – the motorist Findings from research on driving behaviour in terms of road 'risk'.
46 Health and safety innovation A Waikato Expressway case study.
48 Skills shortage
Fulton Hogan's perspective.
52 From the past: Award winning crane project
62
Removal of the crane 330 metres up on top of the Sky Tower. FEBRUARY 2018 5
CONTRACTOR
EDITORIAL
A long hot summer under PPE Welcome to the first Contractor magazine for 2018 – a bumper edition made up of 72 pages of content, thanks to industry support. We have a smorgasbord of stories in this issue, from the reopening of the earthquake damaged SH1 between Christchurch and Picton at the end of last year (a contracting milestone in anyone’s language) to a number of case studies on contracting innovation. Continuing our coverage of the 18th annual NZTA/NZIHT conference held late last year in Tauranga, in this issue Simon Douglas, the manager of the New Zealand Automobile Association Research Foundation, discusses research on driving behaviour in terms of road ‘risk’. In the December 2017 issue we ran a similar keynote presentation from the conference by Ken Shirley from the Road Transport Forum, who provided a view from a major One Network user – truck drivers. In this issue Simon provides an insight into the other major user – Joe public. I found it ‘interesting’ to be so involved in the making of our roading network from the magazine’s point of view, attending the likes of the NZTA roading conference, and then becoming an ‘end user’ (or ‘customer’ as the NZTA now prefers to call us) over the summer holidays. This is when all the esoteric corporate speak and mantra from the One Network Road Classification with its “value for money and customer focus” turns into Kiwi driving experience reality. When my front car wheel (requiring a re-alignment) hit a huge rut on the inside, northbound lane of the Auckland Northern motorway between Albany and Redvale, I thought of that warning about six years ago about the future effects of ‘sweating the asset’. Or, in plain words, saving maintenance costs until the end user starts to squeal. Well, this end user thinks some of our network has become a little bit too sweaty! I am pleased the NZTA is also reviewing the speed limit around the country as many of our country roads are obviously not up to the 100 kilometres per hour speed limit as traffic volumes increase, more foreigners descend on our roads, vehicles get faster, and un-policed drivers more reckless. Take the 10-kilometre narrow country road between Mapua and Russell, which has no shoulders and a high volume of foreign drivers with dubious experience or experience on winding country roads, and numerous trucks servicing Russell. Currently, this road has a 100kph speed limit. You might not know this, but any fool can drive in this country as long as their valid licence (regardless of where it was issued) can be read (in English) by the Police. And when was the last time you saw a police road check for valid licences? On page 16 we have started a discussion on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use over this past summer under new regulations. This is based on correspondence between David Price a director at D&K Price and WorkSafe. We encourage you to join this important discussion on workplace health by either emailing me direct, or commenting on our website (www.contractormag.co.nz) which is linked to our Facebook page. Meantime, good reading and carry on shifting dirt for a better nation.
PUBLISHER Contrafed Publishing Co Ltd Suite 2.1, 93 Dominion Road, Mt Eden, Auckland PO Box 112357, Penrose, Auckland 1642 Phone: +64 9 636 5715 Fax: +64 9 636 5716 www.contrafed.co.nz EDITORIAL MANAGER Alan Titchall DDI: 09 636 5712 Mobile: 027 405 0338 Email: alan@contrafed.co.nz GENERAL MANAGER David Penny DDI: 09 636 5710 Mobile: 021 190 4078 Email: david@contrafed.co.nz REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Mary Searle Bell, Richard Campbell, Hugh de Lacy, Cameron Officer, Richard Silcock. ADVERTISING / SALES Charles Fairbairn DDI: 09 636 5724 Mobile: 021 411 890 Email: charles@contrafed.co.nz ADMIN / SUBSCRIPTIONS DDI: 09 636 5715 Email: admin@contrafed.co.nz PRODUCTION Design: TMA Design, 09 636 5713 Printing: PMP MAXUM
Contributions welcome Please contact the editor before sending them in. Articles in Contractor are copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the shareholding organisations.
www.linkedin.com/NZcontractor @NZContractormag nz contractor magazine nz contractor magazine @nzcontractormagazine The official magazine of Civil Contractors NZ www.civilcontractors.co.nz The Aggregate & Quarry Association www.aqa.org.nz
Alan Titchall, Editorial Manager
The New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association www.hha.org.nz The Crane Association of New Zealand www.cranes.org.nz Rural Contractors New Zealand www.ruralcontractors.org.nz
CONTRAFED
A LS O P U B L I S H ES
Local Government, Quarry & Mining and Water New Zealand magazines.
The Ready Mixed Concrete Association www.nzrmca.org.nz Connexis www.connexis.org.nz
ISSN 0110-1382 6 www.contractormag.co.nz
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CONTRACTOR
UPFRONT
Preparing Filipino workforce Site Safe’s new partnership with Filipino recruitment organisations is helping ensure workers hit the ground running when they arrive here. Site Safe has joined forces with Working In Resourcing, a Kiwi-based immigration company and its counterpart Philippinesbased recruitment agency, YWA Human Resource Corporation, to deliver entry-level health and safety training for workers preparing to start work in New Zealand. Site Safe chief executive Alison Molloy says the partnership will benefit employers by ensuring workers are work-ready when they arrive. “Teaming up with great recruitment agencies in the Philippines means workers will already have the right health and safety training to get them out on to site faster.
“This will help minimise delays for the New Zealand businesses that employ Filipino workers and provide a smoother transition process for the workers on arrival. “We recognise that access to workers is
a significant hurdle facing the construction industry and believe that this partnership will help improve turnaround timeframes for both our members and the wider industry.”
CablePrice appoints new sales GM CablePrice has appointed Deon Stephens to the role of general manager, sales and marketing. Deon joins the executive management team after working for CablePrice for the past 20 years in a range of management roles, and most recently as national customer support manager where he was responsible for technical support, service contracts and warranties, fleet management systems and key account management. The company says Deon’s 20 years’ experience working at CablePrice has given
him in-depth exposure to the entire business and provided exceptional understanding of customer expectations across its range of products and industries. “This strong customer-centric approach is one that many of you will be familiar with,” says Pat Ward, managing director and COO of CablePrice New Zealand. “Deon’s aftersales background being transferred into the sales arena brings a strong empathy that allows him to connect directly to customer needs and painpoints in a way that can only come from experience.” Cable Price general manager, Deon Stephens.
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8 www.contractormag.co.nz
UPFRONT
CONTRACTOR
Government help towards skills shortage The government’s free-fees initiative is said to help alleviate some of the skills shortages in the industry with apprentices eligible for two years of free training from this year. The fees-free scheme will cover a student’s fees for one year of tertiary study or for two years of industry-based training. Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) chief executive Warwick Quinn says the construction sector’s crying out for more trainees with 56,000 new workers needed in construction and related occupations over the next five years. Warwick says the government is recognising that trades training is just as important as tertiary institution based study. “We welcome the government’s commitment to levelling the playing field between industry-based training and university-based study. The extra year of zero fees for apprentices means they’ll be supported to reach the same level of post-school education as a student in a tertiary institution.” Fees free will also benefit employers who take on apprentices. “We need more employers to invest their time, skills and energy into training apprentices. The government has recognised the role employers, many of whom operate small businesses with limited resources, play in giving their trainees an ’on the job‘ education.” The majority of BCITO’s construction apprenticeships will be
covered by the fees-free policy. But there is a concern that as the industry continues to become more specialised, we need to encourage shorter, more focused courses which currently would not be covered by the scheme. “We believe this would be a logical next step for the government’s initiative,” says Warwick. “For the industry to be able to respond to the current demand, and to reach its KiwiBuild target of 100,000 affordable new homes within 10 years, we are going to need more specialist skills. This will require the industry to make it easier for workers to undertake more targeted training. “With specialisation a significant feature of the construction industry right now, we would not like to see potential apprentices steering away from such opportunities just to benefit from free fees. This would further hinder those companies that operate in this space that are desperate for skills. “The free-fees initiative starts to break down the intergenerational prejudice we have in this country about a career in the trades, which we know can be very rewarding,” says Warwick. “This decision comes on the back of a recent report which proves apprentices can be financially better off than university graduates throughout the first half of their careers, and when they’re ready to retire their financial positions are about the same.”
Steel mesh SE62 contention Steel & Tube has admitted breaching the Fair Trading Act by making false and misleading representations about the company’s steel mesh product known as SE62. The NZX-listed company is due to be sentenced in the Auckland District Court in March after initially saying its 500E grade seismic mesh, also known as SE62, complied with New Zealand standards when it did not. This relates to 24 of the 29 charges originally laid by the Commerce Commission. The commission has now charged a second company over alleged breaches regarding complying with New Zealand standards and expects to lay charges against a third company. All these relate to the commission’s overall investigation started last year into alleged steel mesh infringements by Steel & Tube and several other companies during the past five-plus years. Steel & Tube interim chief executive Mark Malpass has said that 12 of the admitted charges relate to the application of testing
methodologies only, not the performance characteristics of the seismic mesh. He also says the other 12 charges relate to the inadvertent use of a testing laboratory’s logo at the bottom of the test certificates of SE62 mesh, which the company acknowledged in March 2016, immediately removing the logo. Malpass further says that the company has had external accredited laboratories testing seismic mesh since April 2016 and that it has also taken significant steps to enhance its quality and product assurance systems. He adds that the company maintains its failure to meet New Zealand standards was an inadvertent mistake but that it cannot comment further as these matters are still before the court. There have been some major changes at Steel & Tube recently, including chief executive Dave Taylor departing some three months ago and two other executives heading distribution and supply sectors also resigning. By Neil Ritchie.
FEBRUARY 2018 9
CONTRACTOR
UPFRONT
UPNEXT with Pacifecon Name Location
Estimated $$ value
Asbestos removal fine
Estimated start date
Electricity Infrastructure Wellington $31m Mid 2018 Further subdivision works
Waikato
$17m
Early 2019
Roads Bay of Plenty $13m Late 2018 Shared pathway Upper $13m Mid 2018 South Island Wastewater Auckland $12m Mid-late 2018 Storage Pacifecon currently holds information on over 4000 civil projects with a combined value of over $52 billion. If you would like more information on these projects, or realise that a subscription to the Pacifecon building intelligence service would be a useful way to increase your market share and productivity, go to www.pacifecon.co.nz, or phone 09 445 0345. Inclusion of a project does not mean it will proceed to the scale and timeframe indicated above. It is, however, the best available picture at the time.
www.pacifecon.co.nz
WorkSafe is getting tough about illegal asbestos removal after Topham Holding, a small farming business on the outskirts of Timaru, was sentenced in the Timaru District Court and fined $10,000. During the demolition of an old chicken shed in 2016, Topham Holding’s sole director removed sheeting, which contained asbestos, without first engaging a competent person to ensure the asbestos was removed. “This was despite our advice to Topham Holding a year earlier stating that there would need to be close management of any asbestos removal,” says WorkSafe chief inspector Investigations Keith Stewart. “Topham Holding was aware of the presence of asbestos and was negligent in ignoring the well-known risks of asbestos and our advice about the demolition process.” Mesothelioma, the cancer caused by asbestos, is the origin of one in five cancer deaths with an occupational link. Respiratory illness such as asbestosis makes up 20 percent of work-related deaths. In 2010, mesothelioma accounted for 100 occupational deaths in New Zealand, says the work site watchdog and regulator.
Changes at TRT management Kevin Chubb, Tidd Ross Todd (TRT) managing director, has left the company after 20 years at the helm. Kevin started with the company in November 1997 as managing director and built up a staff team from around 75 to over 200 employees in 2017. “It’s a good time to be leaving TRT, when the company is in great heart, with strong forward orders and has great prospects for future growth,” he says. Manufacturing director Bruce Carden adds, “Kevin has steered the ship with professionalism and has
developed a loyalty culture in our team that is second to none.” Engineering director Robert Carden confirms, “Kevin has been a key part of the Carden family business culture for the past 20 years. He has brought great leadership and I wish him well for the future.” A sentiment shared by Bruce. Bruce Carden and Robert Carden with the support of a new chief operating officer, Lawrence Baker, now lead the company.
CONTRACTORS’ DIARY 2018 Date
Event & Venue
Contact
2018 12-13 Feb
Floods Slips & Coastal Erosion Management Conference. Wellington
bit.ly/CONFERENZ_FloodsSlips
16-17 Mar
National Excavator Competition, Central District Field Days, Feilding, Manawatu nzcontractors.co.nz/national events
21-22 Mar
Road Infrastructure Management Forum. Palmerston North Convention Centre bit.ly/IPWEA_RoadInfrastructure
8-14 Apr
Bauma, Munich, Germany
www.bauma.de/index-2.html
13-15 Apr
National Diesel Dirt & Turf Expo, Panthers' Penrith Grounds, West Sydney
www.dieseldirtandturf.com.au/about
23-25 May
Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference, Queenstown
Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference
17-20 July
AQA/IOQ Anniversary Conference, Claudelands Event Centre, Hamilton
bit.ly/AQA_IOQAnnConference
18-20 Jul
2018 Crane Conference, Grand Millenium Hotel, Auckland
www.cranes.org.nz/2018-crane-conference
1-4 Aug
Civil Contractors NZ Annual Conference 2018, Hamilton
www.ccnzconference.co.nz/
19-21 Sep
Water NZ Conference, Hamilton
www.waternzconference.org.nz/
27-30 Nov
Bauma China 2018, The Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC)
www.bauma-china.com/
Please send any contributions for Contractors’ Diary to alan@contrafed.co.nz, or phone 09 636 5710
10 www.contractormag.co.nz
CONTRACTOR
UPFRONT
Message from the Minister A new government at the helm means a new focus on New Zealand’s infrastructure and dealing with the challenges we face in this area, says Shane Jones, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Economic Development. Chronic underinvestment by the previous government has resulted in congestion costing Auckland $1.3 billion annually in lost productivity and schools that are now, on average, over 40 years old. We have committed to ensuring these patterns are reversed, with almost $42 billion forecasted to be spent on capital projects over the next five years to futureproof our growing nation. The $1 billion per annum Provincial Growth Fund, which I am responsible for, will allow for investment in critical infrastructure, sector-led projects and regional growth initiatives that create jobs, promote sustainable economic development and build resilience in our provincial economies. Initiatives of particular priority include working with KiwiRail to realise the government’s vision for an improved rail network and a freight and logistics study of the upper North Island. In freight transport, we are going to build a truly mode neutral planning and investment framework that
gets the best out of roads, rail and coastal shipping to support those same high level goals. This is a government that will put equal emphasis on our long-neglected provinces and our large urban centres. However, we can’t achieve these ambitious goals alone, which is why we’re committed to working alongside the contracting and construction industry, local government, iwi and community organisations. We’ll also be innovative and open-minded about how we fund infrastructure in this country. The government is interested in what opportunities exist to make greater use of high-quality overseas capital, expertise and technology to deliver. The capacity of our construction and contracting industry and infrastructure sector is going to be an ongoing challenge – but also an opportunity for us to attract new and emerging demographics to the workforce. We also need to consider how we encourage the sector to be more productive and pioneering and this can be driven through investment in new technology and skills. We are also interested in a wider set of improvements to the planning system –
Shane Jones, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Economic Development.
making greater use of spatial plans and better coordination between the Resource Management Act, Local Government Act and Land Transport Management Act – to provide a framework that is fit-for-purpose. We have great opportunities to think about the big picture and deliver a worldclass infrastructure network that is effective, modern and efficient and delivers the best possible outcomes for New Zealand.
ELB Equipment (Ditchwitch) moves to new premises Increasing business and continued growth were behind ELB Equipment’s (previously known as Ditch Witch NZ – see page 66) move to a larger full service site in Mt Wellington, next to the wellknown Turners’ car auction site. ELB Equipment now occupies 96 Gavin Street, Mt Wellington. With easy access to the motorway in both directions the site has great access and presence to the market. The new facility is over 1200 square metres with a large 770 square metre warehouse used for spare parts storage, workshop and new machine storage. There is also a large 250 square metre partially enclosed canopy allowing for bulk storage of drill pipe and drill fluids. ELB general manager John Grant says the larger site will allow the company to increase stock holding to unprecedented levels. “We have always been well known for our outstanding parts and capital equipment availability but this new facility allows me to stock even more to ensure that we have the solutions for our customers when they need it. “The large showroom at the front of the building greets customers as they enter the drive providing a snapshot of the products on offer. Once inside, a small area has been set up displaying the larger directional drills and trenchers giving customers a chance to look over them while their parts and service needs are met.” 12 www.contractormag.co.nz
The company also recently added to its staffing and now boasts five staff dedicated to supporting its customer parts and service needs, while the workshop has grown to three staff covering field service and workshop build work. With the new facility allowing for increased workspace this is sure to grow in the near future.
UPFRONT
CONTRACTOR
Sydney gets dirty The third annual Aussie Diesel Dirt & Turf Expo is being held by the lake and on the expansive grounds of the Panthers Penrith Club, April 13-15. This location is a great display area with excellent public access. For the convenience of interstate and international exhibitors and guests, there’s plenty of free parking, accommodation, restaurants and bars in the one location. This once-a-year three-day opportunity attracts industry industry interest from all over Australasia. More information: www.dieseldirtandturf.com.au.
Bridgestone accolades
RIMS 2018 beckons
Bridgestone New Zealand has added another coveted award to its list of accolades with its retail channel taking out the 2018 Reader’s Digest Quality Service Award for the third year. Bridgestone won Gold in the Tyre Retailer category in the annual Quality Service Awards which are conducted by independent market research agency Catalyst which surveys more than 1500 New Zealanders each year on personalised service, understanding of customer needs, reliability and overall experience satisfaction. Bridgestone has also been voted the country’s most trusted tyre brand through independent research commissioned by Reader’s Digest and conducted by Roy Morgan Research. Bridgestone Select also claimed Gold in the Australian Quality Service Awards.
The RIMS roading conference is being held in Palmerston North on March 21 and 22 and features a strong line-up of industryleading presenters including assistant auditor-general Andrea Reeves, and Height PM's CEO Warner Cowen. The RIMS forum is a vital event for the roading industry, bringing practitioners together in one place for knowledgesharing, problem-solving and exceptional speakers. On Wednesday March 21 the focus is on the broad roading infrastructure industry; while the second day features keynotes and three concurrent sessions: Roading optimised decision-making, Corridor management, and Procurement and performance monitoring. Programme and online registration via www.rims2018.co.nz.
The New Zealand Workplace Health & Safety Awards 2018
Celebrate health & safety heroes! Entries are now open for the New Zealand Workplace Health & Safety Awards. Visit thomsonreuters.co.nz/events for all entry information. SPONSORED BY:
49369 TR Safeguard Awards Now Open 2018_Half Page Ad Horizontal_v1.indd 1
22/01/18 12:38 FEBRUARY 2018PM 13
CONTRACTOR
UPFRONT
Old machines A keen reader and follower of Classic Machines shot these old timers on a farm up in Northland. They once belonged to PR (Ben) Beasley of Parua Bay. Richard Campbell supplied the descriptions.
Massey-Fergusson MF400 with locally built hydraulic angle/tilt dozer. These hideous things were everywhere in the 1970s but you see very few about these days (for good reason). They had a tie-up with an Italian company called Landini and produced these mutants en-masse. They were Perkins powered with a self-detonating Italian countershaft powershift transmission.
Allis-Chalmers HD-5 with Baker blade and Carco G-series winch, manufactured from 1946 to 1954.
I think it’s an Oliver agricultural tractor, most probably 1959-1960. She’s pretty beat up. Unsure of the model, possibly an 80. Maybe a Contractor reader can let us know? 14 www.contractormag.co.nz
World-first security drones launched Kiwi-owned and operated VigilAir has launched its semi-autonomous aerial surveillance drone technology onto the global market – a product that has the potential to change the face of security worldwide. “The VigilAir software product is one of the first of its kind and will undoubtedly disrupt the security industry. Simply put, our software will enable drones to be the first-response security guards of the future,” says director of VigilAir, Mike Marr. His company has spent some years pioneering the use of drones with new technology for security purposes, including self-funding their own research and development, and it’s all run out of its Auckland premises. VigilAir is a SaaS product that integrates drones into existing electronic security systems. It’s suited to large outdoor sites such as retail and industrial parks, hospitals, university campuses, schools, ports, prisons, and town centres that are at risk of burglary, vandalism or security breaches. A security drone will also be an effective deterrent. When not flying, the drone sits in an enclosure – dubbed a nest – located on a business site. When alerted by an alarm sensor trigger, it will be dispatched to fly over the site to investigate, recording and live-streaming high definition video footage to whoever’s monitoring the action. The drone may include a thermal or infra-red camera, and bright LED floodlights to illuminate any intruder and record the scene. The hovering drone may sound a siren or even talk to the intruder using a two-way communications system. Before leaving the nest, the VigilAir SaaS system checks the weather data, then the drone flies a pre-determined flight route that’s geo-fenced to preserve neighbours’ privacy and comply with flight regulations. A future release will allow the drone to be further manoeuvred to follow any fleeing suspects, capturing images of them and their vehicle licence plate number as they evade. The drone then returns to its nest to recharge.
More concrete 3D printing Concrete components are traditionally made by casting and the mould places significant limitations on design possibilities. Now 3D printing provides new freedom in shaping and researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are experimenting with various processes, including selective binding. This technology has made it possible for the first time to create intricate, bionic structures from real concrete. The researchers have made a prototype using 3D printing – a 20 centimetre high thin-walled concrete pipe, the interior of which contains intricate bracing which stabilises the structure. The bionic component is said to be extremely resilient. Material testing has shown that these pipes can withstand forces of up to 50 Newtons per square millimetre. This makes the printed material just as stable as conventional cast concrete. The team used a still novel technology to produce the pipe called “selective binding”, where thin layers of sand are doused with a mixture of cement and water at exactly those points at which the solid structure is to be created. Once all the layers have set, the surplus sand can easily be removed, leaving only the desired concrete structure.
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CONTRACTOR
UPFRONT
Economic outlook BERL chief economist Dr Ganesh Nana says the government faces a number of obstacles this year to keep the economy stable. He notes that economic commentators have highlighted a collapse in business confidence since the new minority government was formed and says the same business confidence indicator collapsed on the election of the Clark government in late 1999 and then soared on the election of the Key government in late 2008. “Real GDP growth averaged barely two percent per annum and just three Budget surpluses over the latter period (compared to over three percent per annum and nine budget surpluses over the former period). While we wouldn’t want to suggest that low business confidence causes high GDP growth, it is difficult not to question just what socalled business confidence indicators are indeed measuring. “More sobering is the concern that some businesses could talk themselves into a funk over a change of government and threaten to muddy the prospective economic horizon. “We expect the risk of a slowing in activity growth over the short term sees GDP growth for the current 2017-18 March year dip under three percent. However, driven by the upswing in government investment, we see growth back above three percent for the 2019 and 2020 March years.” Another big shift signalled by the incoming government relates to setting an infrastructure and investment spending focus for economic activity, he says. “The government projects residential investment spending growth to surge to over six percent in the 2019-20 June year and reach eight percent in the following year. Similarly, infrastructure and non-housing investment spending growth lifts 5.5 percent in the June 2018-19 year, followed thereafter by six percent and 5.1 percent annual growth rates. “This is reinforced by the mini-Budget forecasts that indicate $41.7 billion of capital spending over the coming five years, compared to a pre-election figure of $30.5 billion. “While $5.5 billion of this increase is accounted for by extra contributions to the NZ Superannuation Fund, the planned additional $5.7 billion of capital spend will be a sizable impetus to building and construction activity.”
Height risk prosecution Recent WorkSafe prosecutions have targeted workers harmed from the well-known risk of working at height. Lindsay Whyte Painters and Decorators was sentenced in the Oamaru District Court after a worker fell 2.8 metres from a roof with no edge protection, and then through a glass table onto concrete in April 2016. Two workers were on the roof and exposed to the risk of fall. WorkSafe says its investigation found that the business had failed to identify the risk of a fall, failed to put any fall protection in place and did not ensure workers were trained and instructed in working at height. Lindsay Whyte Painters and Decorators was convicted and fined $50,000 and ordered to pay $20,000 reparation to the victim. Brett Murray, general manager of Operations and Specialist Services for WorkSafe, said that falls from height were easily avoided. “The best controls are those that don’t require active judgement by a worker. This includes solutions such as edge protection or scaffolding. If a worker slips or missteps, as we saw in this case, there is a physical barrier between themselves and the ground below.”
16 www.contractormag.co.nz
Strong call for procurement qualifications Plan A has raised a good question about the qualification of those responsible for industry procurement and spending billions of dollars of public money every year. “Should our government's big spenders be obliged to be trained and qualified to spend wisely,” the procurement specialist company asked the industry through a survey. “Time and again, we've seen inefficient procurement practices adding unnecessary layers of complexity to bidding,” says Plan A. Plan A's founder and Clever Buying director Caroline Boot had a discussion at the end of last year with the Minister of Housing and Urban Development Phil Twyford and floated the concept of putting in place a generic procurement qualification specifically targeted for government procurement practitioners. “The Minister indicated the idea was certainly worth looking into and asked for a proposal,” she says, “and we need to canvass industry support to put that proposal together.” She says a generic NZQA-accredited procurement qualification should be required for procurement practitioners of significant projects. “The savings – both in procurement process efficiency and in delivering services and projects to our communities – would be immense. “We don’t tolerate doctors, lawyers, engineers or accountants without qualifications or training, do we, so why is it okay for procurement staff in public organisations to spend tens of billions of dollars of our money every year – without any requirement for training, qualification or professional development?” Industry support was solicited through a short survey that closed on December 15 and the initial results say the government's big spenders should definitely be qualified and trained to do the job. Findings from Plan A’s initial pilot survey of almost 100 responses had 98 percent agreeing that there should be a generic NZQA procurement qualification that demonstrates capability relevant to all government procurement practitioners (82 percent fully agreed, and a further 16 percent agreed ‘in some circumstances’); 99 percent agreed that the government should make it mandatory for at least one tender evaluator for all significant public procurements to be NZQA qualified (88 percent fully agreed, and a further 11 percent agreed ‘in some circumstances’); and 97 percent agreed that qualified tender evaluators should be required to demonstrate they have maintained knowledge of current best practice, in order to stay qualified (83 percent fully agreed, and a further 14 percent agreed ‘in some circumstances’). Caroline Boot says it's still not too late to add your views. “Your comments will be used to support a call for better procurement skills throughout NZ government organisations (and more efficient tendering processes), so please contact us if you have recommendations on how to get the political support we need to make this happen.” The survey results will feature in the March issue of Contractor.
A long hot summer made worse by PPE David Price, the director of D&K Price, is taking a stand on full cover personal protective equipment (PPE) regulations on behalf of the industry. The following is based on a letter he sent to WorkSafe on the issue. If you would like to join a discussion on PPE then please email the magazine at alan@contrafed.co.nz or join in the discussion on our website and social media pages: www.contractormag.co.nz “While I acknowledge some companies require full cover PPE for all duties, this will be in direct opposition to my responsibilities as a director of my company, which requires me to provide a safe and comfortable working environment for all tasks being undertaken. “We cannot accept mandatory ankle-to-wrist PPE for all tasks. Especially when the enforcement unnecessarily increases risk of harm of injury to employees. “Mandatory full cover in many situations is unnecessary and, in some circumstances, introduces greater risks to individuals in the workplace than shorter less-confining clothing. “Principals and head contractors are clearly not monitoring, controlling or measuring the effect on employees, and heightened risk of injury by the compulsory introduction of full cover PPE. From recent inspections of work sites, there is clear evidence of increased stress, and of uncomfortable and irritated employees, who are being forced to comply with this policy against their choice.” David says the introduction of this policy has not been made in conjunction with consultation with all employees, and subcontractors, and as such, is a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act. “A large proportion of workforces are anti the policy, but at the threat of unemployment, are being forced to suffer in undesirable working conditions and clothing,” he adds. “A blanket enforcement with little or no consultation, no evidence of employee assessment, no evidence of monitoring or training of individuals, and no facilities or working procedures at the workplace, means the significant risks are not being adequately managed.” The body’s natural cooling system is well documented as the best defence for controlling core body temperatures, and to cover the body from head to toe restricts the natural defence system which unnecessarily introduces harmful stresses on the body that have potential to cause serious harm/death, he argues. “Heat stress causes fatigue, it decreases productivity, increases tension between employees, introduces serious risk of injury and death in the workplace if not monitored or controlled correctly. It
also increases home stress environments as a result of employees being exhausted, tired and grumpy at the end of a hot day’s work. “Heat stress and stroke is very much dependent on the individual, and requires individual monitoring and control. Some individuals’ toleration is very high, others is very low. It is also very dependent on the activities being undertaken. “Yet this blanket policy appears to take no recognition of individuals’ tolerances – there is no evidence of individual monitoring recommend by WorkSafe, there are no heat stress indices, recommended restricted activities, recommended work rest periods for varying tasks, especially high-risk environments such as non-air-conditioned plant, or heat reflective hot works such as sealing or asphalting.”
After receving replies from WorkSafe David added this. “I need to acknowledge WorkSafe has been very responsive and provided good information in relation to this topic. “I must also say, this correspondence is not taking a stand for the industry, but is taking a stand for D&K Price in relation to providing a comfortable, and long term safe working environment for D&K Price employees. “While we acknowledge UV is a risk, and that protection is required, we do not accept that the best means of control is a blanket full cover PPE policy due to the other risks that it is clearly introducing into the workplace throughout New Zealand. “It is hard to measure the effects of heat stress, and hence hard to monitor and control. Heat certainly has a high-risk effect on the body, and an employee’s ability to perform. These injuries are often not recorded as a work place injury, as they occur after hours in form of stroke, or heart issues and are not necessarily connected to activities undertaken the previous day. “For these reasons, our policy continues to allow our employees to work with appropriate PPE for the task, without causing unnecessary stress, and does not exclude full PPE in situations where it is clearly required.” FEBRUARY 2018 17
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ON THE COVER
Breaking new ground Don McLachlan and his new Hyundai excavator are hard at work on the massive roading project underway in Transmission Gully.
THIRTY YEARS AGO, when he was just a young fella, Don
McLachlan started working in the civil construction industry. For most of this time he was based in New Plymouth and worked throughout the Taranaki region, but two years ago, he bought a house in Otaki and made the move to Wellington. He works as a labour only operator, and secured a job on the Transmission Gully project when they needed another machine. It was the perfect opportunity for him to get his hands on a brand new Hyundai R290LC-9 with a laser guidance system. The new 30 tonner has been put to use doing earthmoving. “It’s pioneering work,” says Don. “I’m opening up new areas; doing things like gully muck out, detail and bulk earthworks, trimming batters, and loading dump trucks – quite a variety of work.” He describes the terrain as very steep, but says the Hyundai sits really well. “I’m really impressed. I’m constantly climbing up and down gullies, often on wet grass, and it’s very stable and sits straight.” He attributes the stability partially to the fact the machine has nine rollers instead of the usual eight. “I feel very safe in it,” he says. Don has driven a huge variety of machinery over the years, so knows a good machine when he sees one. “I’ve used Hyundai diggers in the past, over many years, and I’ve also dealt with [Hyundai distributor] Porters a lot too – I hired gear from them when I was in New Plymouth. I’ve watched the brand come along over the years, so was happy to try a few when I was on the lookout for a new digger. “I initially started looking on Trade Me for a second-hand machine, and tried a few Hyundais in the South Island. I was really impressed with how smooth they were – and how easy they were to drive. “I’ve had lots of experience in my time, so if I can hop into the cab and start working immediately, I know it’s a good machine.” As it turned out, rather than purchasing a pre-used excavator, Don opted to buy a brand new Hyundai from Porters. A significant investment for an owner-operator, but a sound one for Don.
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“I have an excellent relationship with Dave Whiting of Whiting Financial. He understands the industry, which is really good when someone like me goes in there – I’m a digger operator and not up with the play when it comes to the nuances of finance. “The money was quite easy to get – easier than going to the bank for a loan for the house! “My accountant, Armstrong Fleming, played a significant part too. They did some amazing work over the past month to ensure I can do what I do,” he says. “I can come to work and pull the levers but I need others to help with the rest.” This also applies to the maintenance of his new machine, and Don has found the backup and support from Porters to be exemplary. “It was due its first service at 100 hours, and I told them I’d be finished work at 2pm on Sunday, and so the mechanic came then! I was staggered. I don’t know many companies that’d do that.” The R290LC-9 has numerous features that make it stand out. It boasts a powerful yet economical six-cylinder, turbo charged,
four-cycle charger air-cooled engine. Hyundai says the Cummins QSB6.7 engine features 24 valves designed with centred injectors and a symmetrical piston bowl. The combination of improved airflow and evenly dispersed fuel results in increased power, improved transient response, and reduced fuel consumption. The hydraulics’ advanced CAPO (Computer Aided Power Optimization) system tunes engine and pump power to optimum levels. Multiple mode selections are available for various workloads, maintaining high performance while reducing fuel consumption. Hyundai’s cabin design technology means low noise operation and increased visibility, providing a pleasant working environment for the operator. But sometimes it’s the little things that can make a big difference when your operating a machine for hours on end. “The seat is really great; you can make lots of little adjustments to get it just right,” enthuses Don. “And there’s lots of storage in the cab – a place for my lunch, jacket, docket books and so on.” He is positive about the operation of the Hyundai, saying the controls are soft, and easy to use.
“I’ve had lots of experience in my time, so if I can hop into the cab and start working immediately, I know it’s a good machine.” Don’s machine has been fitted with a Topcon GPS system as the Transmission Gully project is all electronic, meaning the site has no pegs or string lines. He says Topcon provider Synergy also provided excellent support and backup. “From the time I bought the machine to the day I started my contract was only two weeks. It was a big push, but Porters and Synergy got it there in time.” Don’s new machine has logged 350 hours and counting already, but he has another couple of years of work ahead of him in Transmission Gully, something he’s more than confident his new digger can tackle with ease, with him sitting comfortably behind the controls. l
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Cross examination From the navy to piloting oversized loads, Mary Searle Bell talks to Dave Cross about his life and career, and how he came to be the owner of what is possibly New Zealand’s largest over-dimension load piloting company. AS A 15-YEAR-OLD, David Cross left school and joined the navy. It was 1956, and Dave was away from home, living at the naval base in Devonport, Auckland, and free and keen to “have a wild time as a teenager! “But my parents moved to Auckland and I had to go home every weekend,” he laments. With his social life somewhat cramped, Dave worked as an ordinary seaman, specialising in radar. During his eight years in the military, he served on six different vessels, the most memorable of which was HMNZS Royalist. “Most of the fleet was frigates at that time, but the Royalist was a cruiser,” he explains. “She was only medium sized, but she was one of the top warships in the commonwealth fleet. When we competed in international naval sporting tournaments, we’d frequently win.” On board, the crew was subject to extremely tough naval discipline, and perhaps this is what helped shape Dave’s strict work ethic that he carries to this day. He’s 76-years-old now, and still working a very full week in his piloting business. But how does one transition from radar operator to heavy haulage pilot? Dave was invalided out of the navy at 23, thanks to a sporting injury as a result of too much running in improper shoes. 20 www.contractormag.co.nz
“I was running crazy – I’d clock up 50 miles a week, doing marathons and running track – I was a pretty good sprinter too and came within 0.1 seconds of the New Zealand 200 metre record. But I was running in boxing shoes, which were flat and hard, and I ended up tearing all the muscles in my feet and could hardly stand – not great when I had to stand for long periods in the navy.” So, at age 23 he was out, and free to pursue a new career. There were other priorities though – the year prior he’d married Grace, a woman nine years his senior who had three young daughters from a previous marriage. Within a few short years, they had a boy and girl of their own, and Dave was now a father to five. His days were spent as a sheet metal worker, and Dave got his HT licence so he could get a second job delivering milk in the evenings and weekends. After a few years he began driving full time, working for Red Express parcel delivery service until the company closed in 1973. His next driving job came a few years later, behind the wheel of a truck for a paper recycling company. When the owner sold out, Dave bought two of the trucks and went into the same industry. However, as well as recovering waste paper, he expanded into cardboard and plastics recovery. The first year in business saw him turn over around $20,000. In his second year, this leapt to around $1 million.
“I was running crazy – I’d clock up 50 miles a week, doing marathons and running track – I was a pretty good sprinter too and came within 0.1 seconds of the New Zealand 200 metre record.”
“We were going well but then the oil shock hit,” he says. “As plastics are oil based, the price of new plastic skyrocketed, and companies that were buying my recycled plastics to mix with new plastics to manufacture products started to fail to pay their bills. Things were getting a little tricky. “I had a $12,000 overdraft facility with the bank and was sitting up at around $11,500 for a few months. Then the bank, realising I was in plastics, asked me to pay the overdraft back immediately. I couldn’t, so they decided to pull the pin and within two days put me into receivership.” To make matters worse, Grace had started to show symptoms of a brain tumour. She died in October of 1980 and the business was put into receivership in November. “By December it was all over,” says Dave. “It was an awful, awful time. “I was getting threatening phone calls from people I owed money to; someone stuck a knife in my arm because I owed him $40 or thereabouts; they were even threatening my children.” And even though Dave managed to recover a lot of the money owed to him, and paid off most of his debts, he was emotionally shattered. “I could have recovered the business, but I didn’t have the energy for it.” He sold what was left of his company, keeping one truck for himself, which he used to contract back to the new owners for a couple of years. In 1985, he got a job driving trucks for Avondale Transport (which was bought out by Smith and Davies in 1991). There he was exposed to a wide range of haulage jobs, something which continued when he next moved to Hiab Transport for almost 10 years. Dave got his Class 2 pilot’s licence in 1994, so when he suffered a small stroke in 2002 and his heavy vehicle endorsement was taken away, he thought, “stuff this, I’m not going to sit around being a stroke patient”. He got his Class 1 pilot’s licence, bought a little station wagon and set up Crossco Load Pilot Services. “I must have been a better truck driver than I realised, because word got out that I was piloting and work just flowed in.” Within a year, he had a second vehicle and second driver. Since then, the company has grown to seven vehicles and has two office staff, and tackles around 40 to 45 jobs a week. Loads range from timber and steel, to machines and cranes, to windfarm blades and concrete bridge beams, houses, big
trees, and even a massive 16x3.5 metre TV screen. One of the pair in the office is Suzanne Liddington. She’s working a mix of business support, health and safety, and human resources. “She’s bringing the business into the 21st century, and sorting things so I get more time for myself and that 40-foot boat that sitting at the wharf,” he laughs. Dave is not afraid of pulling back either, saying, “I’ve been enjoying it up till now, but with the changes in regulations, and health and safety, there are serious consequences if you don’t have it right. “It’s becoming not quite so much fun… or maybe I’m just getting too frigging old.” Dave attended his first heavy haulage conference this year, although he’s been a member since he first became a pilot. “Suzanne organised a few days off, and it was great to meet some of the people I only know from over the phone.” Next year, he plans to step back a bit – he’s looking to hire a dispatcher to take some of the load, and plans to leave his phone at work on Friday afternoons and get out on that boat.
QUALITY MADE IN JAPAN BUILT TO LAST
www.meiwa.co.nz
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A milestone for contracting Whatever it meant to the people of Kaikoura and North Canterbury, the re-opening of SH1 between Christchurch and Picton on December 15, 2017, albeit only during daylight hours, was a public relations coup for the entire South Island civil contracting industry. Hugh de Lacy explains.
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A BUSLOAD OF WORKERS and contractors
being taken back into Kaikoura from the big we-did-it party at the racecourse south of the town was applauded all the way by not only local residents delighted at their release from isolation, but by tourists and camper-vanners who somehow knew who was aboard, and pulled over to cheer them through. It was as if all their Christmases had come at once, and they were eager to salute the workforce, which had peaked at around 1700 people from 100 organisations, for reconstructing their beautiful road just one year, one month and one day after the entire eastern seaboard from Cheviot north had been smashed by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake near midnight on November 14, 2016. The quake had put a stranglehold on the entire South Island economy through which people and supplies had to be squeezed along inland roads never designed to take the volume of traffic that now travelled them. The lifting of the barricade at Waipapa Bay, about 20 kilometres north of Kaikoura, at 1pm just 10 days before Christmas, unleashed a torrent of traffic that had grown to the hundreds waiting at the southern end of the blocked highway to get through. The quake had wrecked main highway and Main Trunk railway alike, and was the most physically devastating of the succession of upheavals that began in Canterbury in September 2010, killed 185 people and flattened much of Christchurch five months later, before culminating – hopefully – with the Kaikoura-centred biggie that killed three people and destroyed all land-based communications. It incidentally gave the capital city of Wellington a big fright, doing enough damage there to force the demolition of a dozen highrise buildings. Given the social and economic impact of the quake on the South Island’s no less than Canterbury’s and Kaikoura’s economy, it was perhaps unsurprising that the people who repaired the damage should be welcomed like heroes where they were recognised. Though much excitement had greeted the tentative opening of the railway on September 15, it was the reinstatement of the road that seemed really to signal the end of the year-long isolation. New Year’s Eve in Kaikoura was once again party-central, with the main street of the town packed with tourists and holidaymakers. The scale of the devastation left by the quake can best be appreciated in the fact that more than one million cubic metres
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Road corrugations at Sandpit north of Kaikoura photographed in March 2017 and before work began (above). And during construction (top). 24 www.contractormag.co.nz
of slip material had to be cleared off the road by the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery alliance (NCTIR), which comprises the NZ Transport Agency and Kiwirail, along with the big contracting firms of Fulton Hogan, Downer, HEB Construction and Fletcher Construction’s Higgins subsidiary. A total of 194 kilometres of road and 190km of rail was put out of action, and between Cheviot and the Clarence River there were no fewer than 85 landslides, 1500 damaged sites (200 of them with major issues), more than 100 structures damaged (nine of them severely), 20 rail tunnels badly damaged, and Kaikoura’s harbour floor had lifted six metres, destroying the region’s core whale-watching tourism infrastructure. To Tim Crow, the NZ Transport Authority’s earthquake recovery manager, a key element in organising the recovery was the rapid response of first the local then the big contractors. No doubt buoyed by the experience of reacting to the Christchurch catastrophe, the partners in the NCTIR came together rapidly to first measure the damage – the biggest slips contained up to 300,000 cubic metres of spoil each – and then to settle on a strategy for repairing it, Tim says. The main problem initially was lack of access to the multiple sites, and the broad approach was to get the big contractors working at either end of the 200km stretch of road, with the locals slugging north and south from Kaikoura. Once the clearing of the inland road had broken Kaikoura’s abject isolation – only the local airport was still able to function, and regular flights were quickly established between there and Rangiora – it became clear that a haul road would have to be constructed north out of the town. This wasn’t completed until September, just as the first freight train was passing through from Picton to Christchurch. It was clear too that a big seawall was going to be needed at Ohau Point, but it wasn’t until mid-October that the construction teams could gain access to it. A month after that, on November 14, the Kaikoura marina opened, and the trickle of tourists brave enough to tackle the crowded inland Kaikoura road could get their look at the whales desporting themselves off the ravaged coast. In Kaikoura itself the quake had lifted South Bay and the harbour floor by just over a metre, and 22,000 cubic metres of spoil had to be dredged. The government put up an immediate
$5.7 million to restore the harbour to full functionality, while the tour operators, Ngai Tahu’s Whale Watch and the privately-owned Encounter Kaikoura, each funded $900,000 worth of future expansion to accommodate bigger boats. By the time of the October reopening, the Contractor_180x128mm_CompAirAd_GC_1017.ai
harbour had not only been fully dredged but four new Whale Watch berths, an Encounter Kaikoura jetty and a tender jetty for visiting cruise ships had been constructed, and the Coastguard slip restored. Within a month of the quake, then Bridges had put 1Transport 9/10/2017Minister 3:21:40Simon PM
Irongate bridge under construction in November last year. It was built over 15 weeks and has seven spans.
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Above: Constructing the seawalls where crews had to work around the tides 24/7 at nights to get this work done. The concrete also had to be poured at the right times to form the seawall foundations. Right: Finished section at Sandpit north of Kaikoura.
the bill for the complete recovery at between $1.4 billion and $2 billion, to be funded by the government, though only about $500 million of that had been spent by the time SH1 reopened. To clear the way for the work, the then National-led government rushed emergency legislation through Parliament in December 2016 to cut through what would otherwise have been a tortuous and time-consuming consenting process. It also quickly became apparent that Kaikoura’s battered infrastructure could not provide housing for the army of workers, Tim says, so a temporary accommodation village was built to house 300 workers. By the time the road reopened more than two million work-hours had been expended on site-clearing and construction. 26 www.contractormag.co.nz
In the process no fewer than 200 archaeological sites were discovered and explored. A huge amount of the early work of clearing crumbling cliff-faces from the top down had to be done by helicopters with sluice-buckets carting millions of litres of sea-water, and often coordinated with teams of abseilers on the ground. And the job is by no means finished yet: Tim Crow estimates it’ll be July this year at least before the remaining work, including the construction of no less than 2.8 kilometres of sea-wall, will be finished. And perhaps there’ll be a party to mark that too, but it’s unlikely to exceed the undisguised joy that the re-opening of the PictonChristchurch highway brought to the Kaikoura locals over Christmas and New Year.
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Rai Saddle realignment
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A key risk-spot on SH6 between Blenheim and Nelson has undergone a challenging realignment. Hugh de Lacy reports. NO FEWER THAN 20 people have died and 93 have been seriously injured in the decade to 2016 along the length of SH6 at the top of the South Island, and the Rai Saddle, one of the two most challenging stretches on that picturesque road, is getting an upgrade that is proving to be distinctly more difficult than first envisaged. The Rai Saddle is at an altitude of 250 metres, half the height of the better-known Whangamoa Saddle further west, but the five bends at its summit have seen 25 crashes, five of them serious, in the decade to 2015. It was to cut this toll that NZTA announced back in 2013 that one of the five sharpest corners on the Rai summit would be eliminated, and the others straightened and widened. If the weather permits, the project is due for completion in July of this year, and the realignment, mostly on the Nelson side of the summit, will lower the Rai Saddle’s elevation by about six metres, and offer a safe speed environment of between 75 Rai saddle kilometres per hour and 85 kilometres per hour. This stretch of highway is only about 1.4 kilometres long, and NZTA originally anticipated the cost, including the geotechnical investigations, at around $6.6 million. However the complexity of the site, and particularly the need to remove weak sub-soil, saw the cost revised upwards, with batters having to be flattened and larger volumes of waste and replacement accounted for. The changes in batter slopes affected the approach of the successful tenderer, Downer, with the resultant narrowing of the site requiring the incorporation of no fewer than three temporary road alignments. Compounding these challenges was the 10-metre height separation between the old and the new roads, the former being the high, requiring batters and temporary geotechnical engineering on the downside to ensure stability. “When we found out the material was a bit weak,
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Two design-and-build culverts had to be installed, the first two metres in diameter and 100 metres long, to accommodate one of the two streams that encroached on the site.
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requiring some of the batters to be cut further back, we had to re-design our temporary diversions and push into the hillside to create some room at the bottom,” Downer’s project manager, Nathan Hodges, tells Contractor. This did, however, have an upside in that it provided more good cut-to-fill material to replace the additional site waste. Two design-and-build culverts had to be installed, the first two metres in diameter and 100 metres long, to accommodate one of the two streams that encroached on the site. This culvert sat below a 17-metre fill embankment, and because the pipe was made of plastic, the trenching and groundwork to support it was one of the job’s main challenges.
Both the inlet and the outlet required the building of special stormwater structures to accommodate and smooth out the energy of expected floodwaters. These were part of the design-and-build package. “Groundwater was a bit of a problem as we dug down and trenched out that embankment, but we managed to contain it without too many problems,” Nathan says. The second culvert, though only 900mm in diameter but 105 metres long, carries up to 13 metres of fill and has three vertical dropshafts within it to create the required fall. The two streams both had to be temporarily diverted to allow the work to go ahead. Native fish were collected from both streams by locals and the Nelson company Fish and Wildlife Services before work could start. The larger culvert had to be fitted with special prefabricated polyethylene baffles to enhance fish passage. These were screwed to the floor of the culvert to create eddies and whirlpools through which the fish could navigate in either direction. The relative isolation of the site means that workers travel from both Blenheim and Nelson every day, so an hour’s travel time each way has to be fitted into the daily work schedule for the workforce that usually
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Top: With trucks having to cross back and forth across the temporary carriageways during the early stages, traffic management was a significant component of the job.
Above: Native fish were collected from both streams by locals and the Nelson company Fish and Wildlife Services before work could start.
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numbers between 20 and 30. The site is worked six days a week and the potential fatigue hazard is mitigated by staggering the Saturday work between two crews. Downer’s own staff make up the bulk of the workforce, but local contractors are brought in as necessary, with the Pelorus firm of Mike Edridge Contracting favoured with the main subcontract to supply pavement aggregates, some of the earthmoving machinery and to complete a minor drainage job. Edridge is sourcing most of the aggregates, comprising 8000 cubic metres of sub-base and 4000 cubic metres of base course, from the Pelorus River. Paving will cover 20,000 square metres, and the wider project involves 245,000 cubic metres of cut-to-fill and 90,000 cubic metres
of cut-to-waste. With trucks having to cross back and forth across the temporary carriageways during the early stages, traffic management was a significant component of the job, Nathan says. This was in the hands of Downer’s Nelsonbased subsidiary Integrated Traffic Solutions (ITS), which was stopping traffic briefly to allow trucks to cross, and maintaining a 30 kilometres per hour speed limit during working hours, raised to 50 kilometres per hour otherwise. “All our temporary alignments had to be constructed within a 50 kilometres per hour design speed,” Nathan says. As well as the environmental considerations, especially relating to protecting the life forms in the streams, there were initially also cultural and archaeological ones. Staff were trained to look out for middens, greenstone, argyllite or any other sign of early human habitation, and for the first few weeks an iwi monitor was on-site full-time, but in the end nothing of cultural significance was uncovered. The increasing numbers of cyclists using the country’s open highways, even on roads as hilly as SH6 and with its settlements so widely spaced, had to be taken into consideration in the design of the Rai Saddle realignment. On its completion though, cyclists no less than motorists will find this section of the highway between Blenheim and Nelson considerably less challenging and dangerous than it used to be.
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Three of the team that constructed Albert Street’s City Rail Link concrete slab road, from left: Steve McLaughlin, Connectus supervisor; Joseph Stanaway, Connectus leading hand; and Aaron Ghazal, Connectus site engineer.
More CRL
innovations and updates The first contract for the southern end of the City Rail Link project in Auckland was awarded just before the end of last year. THE CONTRACT FOR stormwater diversion works in Mt Eden
was awarded to the March Bessac Joint Venture. CRL chief executive Chris Meale says while the focus to date has been in the city centre with the Britomart and Albert Street works, early works at Mt Eden are now underway in anticipation of the tunnel and station’s main contract award in 2019. The Mt Eden contract is worth $16.5 million for the construction of a new underground stormwater tunnel between Water and Nikau Streets to replace an existing adjacent pipe that will be in the way of the CRL tunnels. The March Bessac Joint Venture contractors have extensive pipe-jacking and underground work experience both here and overseas and were chosen for a combination of their expertise, the innovation they brought to the tender and for their commercial offer. “As a result of the contractors’ smart thinking, the 36 www.contractormag.co.nz
works will be less disruptive and will take less time than first anticipated. That’s a win for the project and for the neighbours,” says Chris Meale. “It’s great to get this contract awarded. We are also progressing the tenders for the main tunnels and stations and railway systems.” In addition, early works have started in Albert Street between Wellesley and Victoria Streets for utilities and building canopy removal works.
An unusual road At the end of November last year Connectus, the McConnell Dowell-Downer joint venture, installed the last of the 201 thick concrete slabs that form the construction and public traffic deck/road along Albert Street. The 201 concrete slabs put together weigh about 1339
“It took about seven months to complete the construction and public traffic deck, which includes the pre-works, digging and removing the top 1.5 metres of the road and protecting services.” tonnes, equivalent to 335 elephants. This deck allows the team to continue building the future CRL rail tunnels while Auckland’s Albert Street traffic keeps moving. Aaron Ghazal, Connectus site engineer, says it was a great achievement for the team and another milestone reached for the City Rail Link project. “It took about seven months to complete the construction and public traffic deck, which includes the pre-works, digging and removing the top 1.5 metres of the road and protecting services.” The concrete slab road is suspended over the trench by steel struts and beams, while the Gleeson Civil excavation crew complete the dig and the tunnels for the City Rail Link are formed. The slabs are supported by 68 horizontal struts and 155 supporting beams. This road held the 55-tonne crane with ease during construction. The concrete slab road will stay in place until late 2018 when the tunnels are completed, ready for the new landscaped road design.
First tunnel concrete pour In another milestone, at the beginning of December last year the first concrete was poured for Auckland’s City Rail Link tunnel box. Having started the project in late December 2015,
it’s taken workers about 501,000 hours to get to this point. So far, 30,000 cubic metres of soil and rock have been removed, filling up a double trailer-truck 1866 times. The project has also required about eight kilometres of utility piping to be moved or suspended above the trench, and the main stormwater line two metres in diameter to be broken out and re-bored approximately 10 metres sideways to the east. This is the reason a new 516-metre stormwater pipe was installed from Wellesley to Swanson Street. This first concrete pour was in the section beside the Auckland District Court and the Wyndham Street viewing platform at a depth of 18 metres. The pour took almost 30 cubic metres of concrete pumped through about 56 metres of concrete hose all the way down to the base of the excavation. The job took around four hours from start to finish. This first concrete pour is the “blinding layer” to form a flat and smooth layer for the next layer above it, which is the waterproofing membrane. “It’s an exciting step for the project starting the construction of the tunnel box,” says Alain Giauque, Connectus project engineer “In construction we call the first one ‘the test’ and I am glad it went very well. This is the very first stage of the tunnel box construction and the team did a great job with the preparation works before the pouring and the works during the pour.” FEBRUARY 2018 37
CONTRACTOR
SURVEYING
UAS case study
At the CCNZ conference last year, Edward Kelly from Fulton Hogan presented a case study on using an unmanned aerial system (UAS) for project work on the Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway.
The ‘Huntly Section’ is a 16-kilometre four-lane motorway construction contract with an estimated cost of $320 million. This is one of the final links in the completion of the Waikato Expressway, linking the two cities of Auckland and Hamilton in the North Island. Earthworks involves moving 3.2 million cubic metres of cut and fill through difficult terrain, including large sections that require preload, hence timely volume assessment is critical for programme status and forecasts. To keep up regular updates on the progress of the dirt shifting of this huge project with its steep and slippery batters, the survey team used a UAS as a survey tool to measure and process earthworks quantities in a timely manner. So effective was this technique that a single survey crew was able to produce a volume report for the entire 16-kilometre project site within a week, including flight time. Traditional surveys, says Edward, would take four survey crews a week to complete the fieldwork, and another to process. The team decided on a fixed wing RTK MAVinci Sirius Pro after a lot of research. “The reason we went to the fixed wing is we could get a greater flying time, at time of purchase. A drone would only give us a 10-minute flight 38 www.contractormag.co.nz
time, whereas the fixed-wing provided a full 50 minutes of actual survey time.” The survey team spent four days training, which involved three days practical site training and one day going through Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regs and rules. They also did a two-day Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems course at Massey University School of Aviation, which involved the likes of reading aeronautical charts and radio protocols. “I highly recommend this course; it gave us a total overview and increased everyone’s knowledge of aviation requirements.” Then they applied for Part 102 CAA Certification and sought permission from the NZTA and Waikato District Council (they were required to fly across WDC roads, but not along them). Although the flights can be performed by a solo surveyor they made the call to make it a two-man operation for safety reasons, and use a ‘spotter’ when required. Other equipment included a GPS base station and a Panasonic Tough Pad, office PC, photo processing software and AGTEL forecasting. The processing computer cost $15,000, says Edward, as they need something really grunty. In the field the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is assembled and the base station set up, which takes about
10 minutes. A flight plan is created and programmed to the UAV. The pilot and the assistant have a list of individual checks that they do before the UAV is hand launched. “Once that happens off she goes in a fairly simple exercise. In the meantime the assistant will be monitoring the tablet and he’ll be relaying messages to the pilot all the time – how much battery has been used, etc. “This saves the pilot taking his eye off the plane, and we are fairly strict on keeping a constant eye on the unit.” In the early days, says Edward, they flew grid flights over large areas (59.2 hectares) of the site, which took about 48 minutes. “After five months the suppliers of the plane came up with the corridor mapping that only required selecting the centre line of the corridor we’re going to fly and the corridor width that we wanted to cover.” This resulted in less distance (21.1 kilometres), a smaller area (35.3 hectares), faster processing times and better results. Landing the machine got easier as the project progressed and they could use the alignment as a landing strip. “We discussed the flight with the guys on-site and when we came into land we would get hold of them on the radio and they just stopped production for literally two minutes, so downtime for the construction crew was down to a
minimum. “As a quality control we would also measure random GPS points on areas flown to use as a comparison to the processed flight surface; normally a five or 10 minute exercise.” There was only one mishap when the plane flew into neighbouring Taupiri mountain through a system error, but there was minimal damage, although the camera had to be replaced at a cost of $5000. The plane is programmed to fly automatically back to base if it goes out of range within 100 metres. Data processing takes about 10 minutes with cropping the chosen area and removing the artefacts. Water is an issue, says Edward, “as the software doesn’t like big puddles so we remove the water to eliminate any sort of redundancies”. The detail and accuracy of the data has also settled any disputes and claims over ‘volumes’ of shifted dirt very quickly, says Edward. Obviously the most important aspect of this method of site surveying is savings, he iterates. “Traditional surveying would take us 2600 surveying hours per annum and now we are looking at 1110 hours, so that’s a 58 percent saving on labour which is massive on any construction project.” FEBRUARY 2018 39
CONTRACTOR
ROADING
12 years of foamed bitumen a contractor’s perspective
Allen Browne from the Hiway Group spoke on the company’s experience with foamed bitumen at the 18th annual NZTA/NZIHT conference held late last year. This is a precis of his presentation. BACK IN 2003 Hiway Stabilizers retrofitted a Komatsu stabiliser with a foamed bitumen binder application bar above the rotor. Despite some pretty good results on several Rodney road trial sections, we realised pretty quickly that you need the right gear for the foamed bitumen (FB) process and, in 2005, the company invested in a purpose-built FB stabiliser which didn’t leave much change from $1 million. After a few small Auckland region projects, we learnt a lot quickly on a large 20,000 square metre rehabilitation project with a lengthy three-year maintenance period on the Coronet Peak Road up to the ski field. It also showed how it was more difficult to heat bitumen to 180ºC at altitude. We learnt a lot during those early years, undertaking lots of research and extensive mix design/QA testing for a large number of projects. We were very active in getting on top of the optimum methodology for FB in New Zealand, which at the time was a fairly straightforward set of design parameters with no
40 www.contractormag.co.nz
specific construction specification. We learnt how important it was to ensure the material grading and plasticity were suitable to ensure improved performance, and we developed means to mitigate poor properties with materials evaluation, supplementary aggregate/binders and/or pre-treatment and a designated quality engineer on-site for all FB stabilisation projects. Since 2005 we’ve been doing FB on a lot of state highway and council projects, involving many awkward treatment sites and challenging materials. We also participated in the development of the stabilisation construction specification for NZTA (released 2008) with the Roading New Zealand Stabilisation Working Group. Over the next couple of years we had hundreds of projects that performed well, and across the industry several projects that were challenging. Amongst these was motorway work that some years after construction, developed localised areas of cracking – which surprisingly was environmental or shrinkage cracking, rather than fatigue cracking, and the
“Once the foaming bitumen layer is constructed it is extremely moisture insensitive, however, it is important to have somebody present who understands how to determine moisture conditions and can let the stabilising crew know if an adjustment is required. “ – Allen Browne
client, NZTA, wanted to get to the bottom of this. The agency gathered a large group of industry contracting and consulting practitioners around the table in 2015 to work through all elements of FB and this was the basis for developing a more rigorous FB methodology, which has been incorporated recently in the newly released NZTA Guide to Pavement Evaluation & Treatment Design (July 2017). There are a lot of changes to the FB process in the new guide, some of them minor and more for clarification, and some of them more meaningful in terms of determining where it’s appropriate to use FB. One of the more significant changes to design philosophy is that the designer is now looking more closely at the material properties that are achievable in context of where the FB layer sits in the pavement system rather than just focusing on the material suitability of the layer itself. The new sub-layering protocol means that we have to determine what the design modulus is of the material underlying the FB layer. This is because the new guide constrains the modulus of the FB layer to the minimum value of either 800 MPa or five times the underlying sublayer design modulus. We want to avoid the FB sitting on poor underlying material. We are also required to have at least 100mm of aggregate immediately under the FB layer and that has to achieve a minimum design modulus of 100 MPa (calculated using Austroads sublayering rules), but it’s nice to have a lot more than that for robustness. Another requirement is to try to keep the active filler (cement) to one percent, with a maximum of 1.25 percent (where bitumen is typically around three percent). If we need to sublayer the FB layer to meet the modular ratio requirements, the minimum FB stabilised base thickness allowable is nominated in the guide as 220mm. NZTA doesn’t want to have pavements constructed with thick asphalt on top of FB, so if you are intending to have more than 60mm of asphalt surfacing, there is a significant reduction to the underlying design FB modulus regardless of the laboratory. The rationalisation for that is based around the stressdependency of materials classified as unbound aggregates. There has been some pretty robust industry discussion about this. Another requirement now is that the asphalt surfacing should be modelled mechanistically if it’s at least 40mm thick. This is a good thing because our pavement designers in New Zealand will now (as well as checking the subgrade fatigue in the traditional fashion) check the strain development for the entire pavement system, which requires performance criteria for the asphalt and a check that we’re getting a satisfactory design life out of the surfacing. Ten years is a good minimum target with 15 years modelled life ideally.
Foamed bitumen basecourse thickness design Another thing we are happy to see formalised is the minimum
layer thickness for FB, which has to be at least the Austroads nominated thickness of premium basecourse, which for typical highway loading needs to be somewhere from 160mm to 200mm minimum. This avoids the selection of inappropriately thin layers of FB in an effort to save dollars. FB should fall in the stiffness range where it is too hard to rut, yet not so high that it becomes brittle and is susceptible to fatigue or shrinkage cracking. There has been much discussion over the appropriate strength band and what lab properties mean with respect to field performance. Laboratory testing typically measures performance via interpolated tensile properties and there is some debate over how this reflects the in-situ performance, which is characterised by compressive shear properties similar to an unbound aggregate. Once the FB layer is constructed it is extremely moisture insensitive, however, it is important to have somebody present who understands how to determine moisture conditions and can let the stabilising crew know if an adjustment is required. Cue to the “lubricating” effect of the bitumen the compaction moisture is only required to be around 70 percent of the natural aggregate for compaction. Checking moisture levels is typically done by the squeeze test, which is just taking a handful of stabilised material and squeezing to check it lightly holds together and is not too crumbly (dry) or clumpy (wet). This is also useful to confirm that the FB is dispersing appropriately by noting that discrete spots of bitumen are left on your hand after squeezing. If the moisture content is jumping around a bit during the stabilising operation, this monitoring gives the ability to assess how close to optimum condition the material is and the crew can react quickly to make the required adjustments.
Take-up in New Zealand There have been many millions of square metres of FB done here since 2005, and with the early indications of strong performance in a number of settings and materials, it started being used as a bit of a ‘silver bullet’ in some instances with some inappropriate applications and corresponding failures. It may be that as an industry we were a little slow to react and clarify guidelines. There has been much more rigour in New Zealand application in recent years but currently there’s some caution over using FB for larger capital works projects. There’s general acceptance for FB stabilisation on a caseby-case basis for parts of the country around state highways/ high volume roads and we have seen a strong take-up from local authorities, especially around Auckland where it has a very good performance record for the past 12 years. In level constrained urban settings it can permit recycling to get 30-year design life without requiring full reconstruction from subgrade level, saving a great deal of time, material and disruption. Older aggregates tend to suit the FB process better because of their (typically) finer grading which the FEBRUARY 2018 41
foaming process prefers. As an industry, we’re still learning about optimising methodologies and design. Some things we still need to consider include appropriate minimum and maximum modulus, lab-to-field relationship and research on 10-plus year-old sites to calibrate performance against design. There’s a lot of protection against weaker layers underlying the FB in the new guide, but it’s worth reminding ourselves that some of the main issues that we’ve had on the motorway network have been where we’ve had very strong lower pavement that has permitted the foam material to develop an extremely high modulus (results of >10,000 MPa), which has facilitated the development of shrinkage cracks. Further to this, a weaker lower pavement that flexes a little bit more will not permit the FB base to develop such strong bonds, so it has a lower/less risky stiffness. Provided it is durable and strong enough where you’re not going to get rutting, it’s actually fulfilling its design purpose even if not as strong as what it could achieve on a rigid support. The Indirect Tensile Strength test is the New Zealand standard for mix design and construction quality assurance and it is a difficult test for a non-continuously bound material such as FB. We do have some sites where some of the quality assurance tensile strength (ie, splitting the compacted and cured sample) testing is problematic, on occasion giving us an inferred modulus that may be below the 800MPa long-term target. However, almost inevitably the strength determined from Falling Weight Deflectometer testing of the finished treatment gives us a good result, suggesting that in-situ stiffness testing is optimal rather than taking ex-situ samples from behind the stabiliser, undertaking indirect tensile splitting tests and interpolating what the modulus is.
Foamed bitumen in Australia In Australia FB is going gangbusters with huge quantities of in-situ and ex-situ FB coming to market in the past few years. Conversely to New Zealand much of this is on strategic motorways and expressways. The interesting thing is that some States were resistant to use FB stabilisation up until recently, however a number of trials and research projects have been undertaken with positive results alongside good performance of FB projects. In one research project, ARRB looked at 100 kilometres of foamed bitumen stabilised state highway with high loading and more than 10-years’ service life and evaluated that over 95 percent of this area was performing above expectations. So that’s a pretty good performance indicator. A recent national harmonisation process to bring together all the different specifications from each State has made the process more consistent and certainly easier for practitioners working interstate. The Australians have taken a completely different design philosophy to New Zealand, where they design FB as a structural asphalt. They use similar binder quantities as New Zealand, but instead of designing as a “super modified” granular material they take the volume of bitumen and calculate what their performance criteria are (using the Shell equation) and then 42 www.contractormag.co.nz
model the FB exactly the same as an asphalt. For the higher loadings, rut resistance testing is incorporated as part of the design process. Indirect Tensile Stiffness Modulus testing is standard which uses a pulsed load rather than the ITS splitting test used for New Zealand. While there are still some subtle differences, all the States are designing FB in fundamentally the same manner now as prescribed recently by Austroads for the Australian market.
Foamed bitumen in Fiji We’ve been working in Fiji for more than 15 years and undertaking FB basecourse there for about five years using the New Zealand modelling and construction protocols. The performance has been exemplary. The key challenge in Fiji is providing upper pavement layers than can accommodate the stresses imparted by the heavy vehicle overloads. The Fiji legal truck rear twin axle loading is 16 tonnes but there are a number of “big bin” mining trucks using the network that we’ve put over a weighbridge and they measured up to 40 tonnes on the rear twin axles when loaded to the waterline. A little bit of analysis suggests that a 25-year design life then drops to one or two months. You can’t even really do Austroads related modelling because the loadings are just so completely outside the box in terms of stresses and materials response, which is not linear with increasing loading. The LTA / Fiji Road Authority has been working hard to combat overloading with rigorous policing and fines, but unless these trucks are removed from the network the temptation is always going to be to maximise cartage efficiency via full loading. Other challenging pavement issues include lots of shallow services, very regular rainfall (especially in the Suva region), irregular gradings with big chucks of coral within treatment depth and high innate plasticity of the basalt aggregates forming the bulk of basecourse supply. Only structural asphalt or FB basecourse has been proven to handle these extreme loadings and other challenges as outlined above. There is an issue of cost as you cannot just apply structural asphalt and FB to the entire network, so some rationalisation of treatment is required. However, Fiji is another country where FB is seen as being a really good robust solution for heavily loaded arterials and is widely specified.
To wrap up The new NZTA rehabilitation and pavement design guides will not likely significantly change the current approach and utilisation of FB in the near future, but the changes from our perspective are virtually all an improvement putting more cross-industry consistency and rigour into the design process and, collectively, we are moving forward. The difference in treatment selection for key strategic expressways and modelling philosophy in different countries is interesting and time/monitoring will provide more clarity over which means of modelling is the most appropriate. General consensus of industry (and particularly the FB suppliers) in New Zealand is that the process is robust and provides a high performance basecourse where designed and constructed appropriately.
CCNZ thanks and appreciates the support of our Major Associate members
Principal Business Partner
Core Associates
Major Associates
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CONTRACTOR
ROADING
A customer view
– the motorist
Simon Douglas, the manager of the New Zealand Automobile Association Research Foundation, was a keynote speaker at the 18th annual NZTA/NZIHT conference held late last year. He spoke about research the Foundation has done on driving behaviour in terms of road ‘risk’. These are highlights from his presentation. YOUR CONFERENCE MAKES customers the centre of thinking of the operation of New Zealand roads. Your customers are also our members and we survey our members frequently to give us some understanding of what people are thinking about when they’re driving on our roads. We have also completed four research studies through the AA Research Foundation, which cover the areas of risk, speed and counter measures (including a particular focus on national road marking). One of our studies is a joint study with the NZ Transport Agency into One Network Road Classification and how that helps drivers choose safe speeds. Another of the studies that we’ve almost completed is on innovative delineations that give continuous information to drivers on the speed limits. We think that about 54 percent of fully licensed drivers on the road at any one time are AA members. That doesn’t mean that we know everything about those members and we wouldn’t be so bold as to say that, but it does give us a really good opportunity to tap into a really big membership base and ask them about their driving experiences. How do we do that? On our website is a publication that we’ve recently put out called ‘What our Members think’. This includes information from a quarterly rolling survey that’s been running for four years now asking our members a whole list of questions about driving and the road. We’ve asked specific questions in our surveys about speed, about types of transport systems, about enforcement, a whole range of other issues, so we we get to understand what annoys our members when they’re driving on the road, how are they driving and bad experiences. We also ask about their views on various government policies. So if the government proposes something new, we use our membership database to tackle and understand what our membership thinks. Copies of “What our Members think” are available on our website. What do our members think about speed – 70 percent of our membership supports an open road speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour where, this is really important, where the in-built safety features of the road support that speed. Conversely, 73 percent oppose reducing the open road speed limit across the whole country to 90 kilometres per hour. A slightly smaller number (65 percent) oppose a blanket reduction in the urban speed limit to 40 kilometres per hour.
Confused about speed limits Some 55 percent of our members support their petrol taxes 44 www.contractormag.co.nz
being used for large public transport projects. Even more (63 percent) support cycleways and are prepared to pay for it through their taxes. Relevant to this audience, things that annoy our audience include temporary speed limits with no workers on-site. The AA is not advocating that you should drive faster through a construction zone, but the fact that most of our members find it annoying suggests that we need to do something a bit different about how we communicate to them around construction zones. And thinking about the road environment and speed in particular when asked “have you ever wondered what the speed limit is” some 70 percent of drivers admit to not knowing what the speed limit is, and that’s even across the genders and it’s unusual to have that evenness. If 70 percent of members don’t know what the speed limit is then you’ve got a road safety problem. What can we do? Research, research, and some more research. The AA Research Foundation has teamed up with the Transport Research Group at the University of Waikato. We’ve done a series of studies looking at issues covering how motorists perceive the risk of the road they’re driving on and what role does the environment we build for them play in how they perceive risk? What speeds do they choose to travel in those environments? And how can we influence their assessment risk and therefore the speed that they choose to travel? There’s four studies in the series and they are available on our website.
Studies in road risk The first study looked at comparing the ‘perceived’ risk on our roads against the actual risk level. Why is ‘risk assessment’ important? Basically, as a motorist, if you assessed the perceived risk as greater than, or equal to, the actual risk on the road then happy days, you’re going to be driving within the safety of the road. But, if you underestimate the risk and the actual risk is greater, then you’re driving outside of the inbuilt safety of the road and the potential for a crash goes up. Motorists need to have good information about risk because it helps them make good choices about safety. So what did we find? Interestingly, about 80 percent of the cues that we get from the road environment to help us judge risk and speed come from really, really basic stuff. The bends in the road, the hills, the width of road, whether there’s a
Manager of the New Zealand Automobile Association Research Foundation, Simon Douglas.
median barrier, the traffic around you – standard things. We found drivers generally make really good judgements of risk, but we do consistently underestimate the risk from a few key features on the road and that’s where trouble can happen. Underestimated risk areas include intersections, roads with really narrow shoulders, roads with big ditches alongside of them, and roads with large immovable objects like trees and power poles. We don’t actually expect to drive into them and so they don’t form part of our risk assessment. At intersections we don’t actually expect other drivers to make mistakes. We expect them to obey the rules and we’re not prepared for them not to obey the rules. Given that those are four instances of heightened risk that we don’t actually perceive, the second study looked at whether we could use common features like road marking to heighten drivers’ level of risk awareness. A couple of really interesting things were found as accidental discoveries. Quite by chance when they were filming one route to put in the simulator, one citizen got pulled over by a police officer and was being issued with a ticket. Despite the fact the policeman was out of the car, doing some other task, almost all of the other drivers slammed on the brakes to slow down, which is kind of illogical, but police cars have a really effective impact on speed. Barriers in the centre of the road raise awareness of risk, but don’t slow people down as they perceive the barrier has a protective quality. So for roads with a heightened risk, where we want to keep traffic moving, barriers are effective and are one of the key things the AA is advocating for. We found the double yellow line in particular sends a really clear message to motorists, that there is higher risk, and they slowed down to take account of that risk. So that’s a really useful finding. We don’t know the effect of an extended use of double yellow lines so this is not advocating putting double yellow lines everywhere because the effect will wear off, people will get more used to them and lose that kind of risk alerting behaviour. While we were doing these studies the One Network Road Classification was being rolled out.
We think that about 54 percent of fully licensed drivers on the road at any one time are AA members. We extended the studies and with co-funding from NZTA we asked “do One Network Road Classification roads self explain to drivers?” Now what we found when we did the study, again using the simulator, real world driving, surveys etc was that there were some areas of good fit. Typically for roads at the top of the hierarchy and those right at the bottom, drivers tended to cluster them together and identified that they kind of went with each other and grouped them together, and mostly chose speeds in those environments that were close to the speed limit – so that’s good. But, we did find some roads that had really poor speed limit credibility where people didn’t know what the speed limit should be on these classes of roads and often chose speeds substantially higher than the speed limit.
Road markings Our fourth study (which the foundation hoped to release just before Christmas 2017) asks the question “Can continuous road markings improve compliance?” It seems to be relatively well accepted if you paint something on the road right in front of the driver it sends a much better signal to them. Sometimes you only know what the speed limit is when you pass the speed limit sign. But, speed limit signs have limits. We tested Kiwi drivers’ reactions to different sorts of continuous road marking in terms of the effect they have on speed compliance. The idea is with continuous and differentiated road markings, drivers never have to be without a reminder of what the speed limit is. The results so far are really promising. What we’ve seen is that the use of continuous road markings to differentiate different speed environments does seem to give drivers more information and help them chose a better speed limit. FEBRUARY 2018 45
CONTRACTOR
HEALTH & SAFETY
Health and safety innovation case study Challenging the way things have always been done has eliminated a serious on-site hazard at Fulton Hogan HEB Joint Venture’s Waikato Expressway project. Construction manager Tony Adams explains how a simple idea with industry-wide potential led them to success at the Site Safe Construction Health and Safety Awards. THE HUNTLY SECTION of the Waikato Expressway is a massive $320 million project, with as many as 250 people on-site at any one time. As part of this project, the Fulton Hogan HEB Joint Venture team is laying 36 culverts and 10 kilometres of network drainage. Over 1000 pipes are needed for the job, with each pipe weighing between 763 kilograms and 8670 kilograms. Delivered to site on Hiab trucks, standard practice would usually be for the driver to climb onto the truck deck and then onto a ladder to attach chains to the pipes, so they could be lifted off the truck. This method, which has been the accepted technique for decades, poses a serious risk as the person attaching the chains is working at height and can easily fall, hitting either the deck or the ground below. “This has been an issue for a long, long time and I’ve seen some pretty serious injuries in the past on other projects where people have got concussions or broken arms falling from truck decks,” says Tony Adams, who has been a construction manager at Fulton Hogan for the past 22 years.
Tony Adams with the Site Safe Award. 46 www.contractormag.co.nz
“Rather than ignoring the problem and waiting for an accident to happen, we tried to come up with a solution. We saw another contractor using forklifts to unload at another site, and I thought ‘we can do better than that; let’s see what we can come up with’. “For us the aim was to take pride in what we do and make sure that every job on-site can be done safely. There’s nothing worse than getting a phone call that something has gone wrong, and all the heartache that involves.”
Problem solving The first step was designing a fall restraint system for the truck deck. The team designed aluminium stanchions which can be fitted to the deck. Webbing is then fitted through loops on the sides of the stanchions, acting as a restraint system, as well as a clear visual barrier defining the edges of the truck. After working on the restraint system, one of the team’s engineers decided to take the idea to the next level, based on the simple premise that ‘you can’t fall if you’re not on deck’. This led to the creation of the pipe-lifting beam, a 2.6-metre steel beam that can be inserted inside the pipe by the driver at ground level. The lifting beam is then suspended above ground and rolls along the invert until it is completely horizontal inside the pipe. The free Hiab lifting chain is then attached to the second shackle on the lifting beam. The beam can then be lifted until it reaches the soffit level of the concrete pipe. The full weight of pipe is then distributed evenly along the steel beam and it can be safely lifted above the deck, slewed to the drop-off location and released gently to the ground. This means there is no need for the driver to climb onto the deck or onto a ladder. Certified by a registered engineer for safe working loads of up to six tonnes, the steel lifting beam is regularly inspected to ensure it has no defects or cracks. As the site spans more than 15 kilometres, the beam needed to be easily transportable, so the team also built a custom-made trailer so that it could be moved quickly around the site.
Changing attitudes Tony says the innovative system has been readily adopted by Hiab drivers and the crew on-site, who were quick to grasp its benefits once they saw it in action. “Because it was simple and easy-to-use the operators got pretty keen on it. Now it’s become standard practice to use it.” Safety innovations such as the beam have helped contribute to the project’s low rate of injuries, he adds. “This has been an issue for the past 50 years. The old method was accepted by the industry simply because no one had thought of a better way. But attitudes to safety are changing now and we need to focus more on eliminating risks from the outset.” Eliminating serious hazards was possible, if, like the lifting beam, the solution was easy-to-use and accessible, says Tony. “While this system was designed for a specific project, it could easily be rolled out to the rest of the industry. We believe other businesses can also benefit from this innovation and hope to see it used on other sites soon.”
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FEBRUARY 2018 47
CONTRACTOR
RECRUITMENT
Skills shortage
– a company perspective This is a precis of a presentation by Domenic De-Fazio, chief executive officer, New Zealand Construction, Fulton Hogan, at the Infrastructure NZ Building Nations Symposium 2017.
48 www.contractormag.co.nz
FOUR MONTHS INTO my new role as chief executive for Fulton Hogan’s construction business here in New Zealand, as we discuss the pipeline of work ahead of us, the narrative is much the same: A conversation about the resources challenge. Our country is investing billions of dollars in roads, tunnels, bus ways, airports and of course a lot of work with earthquake mediation. Further to this there is a lot of pentup demand for essential infrastructure. As an example, a quarter of the nation’s three waters infrastructure is over 50 years old, with a replacement value of $36 billion. Add to this housing shortages and the construction boom in Auckland – and the skill shortage pressure is on. Auckland will require 185,000 construction-related employees by 2021. Unemployment across the country is at record lows. And we are facing competition, not only from our competitors, but from adjacent markets. The skills that we have to offer as an industry are attractive to many markets.
What are the solutions? I’d like to share with you some of the solutions that many of you may already have in place and some of the things we’re doing at Fulton Hogan – some are short term, some are long term, some are more sustainable than others, but there’s a mixed bag of tools that we’re using. • Increase wages and better conditions The first solution many of us turn to is to increase wages
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When I say ‘branding’ I mean we need to attract, retain and engage people into this industry, not just to our organisation and I do think we have a brand issue. and improve conditions, which in the long term is somewhat unsustainable. At a personal level, people are enjoying the benefits of pressure on wages but, as an industry, we know this is not sustainable. We’ll get to the stage where it’s just not viable to invest in our infrastructure because the cost is too high. • Overseas recruitment We’ve all gone far and wide to try and fill the gap in our infrastructure needs but this option is also becoming unsustainable as global markets are now experiencing similar skill shortages and many of the people that we managed to get here to help us are now looking to go back home. • Innovation and technology I’ve put innovation and technology in as a solution with a focus on attracting people. Without discounting the benefits that innovation brings to us in terms of business efficiencies, we are now dealing with a generation that are attracted to and demand innovation and technology. So I think one of the benefits going down this path gives us is the ability to attract those that want to play in this space.
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CONTRACTOR
RECRUITMENT
• Job sharing This is one of the tools under the umbrella of flexibility that we probably haven’t done that well. For most organisations, we don’t go much beyond the front desk in terms of job sharing. A lost opportunity. • Promoting our industry I don’t think we do a good job in telling the rest of the world what a great industry it is. I know it’s a great industry, but if you go back and you look over the past few years at the annual survey that Randstad puts out every year, as an industry we rank at circa 30 in terms of attractiveness. So we’re not getting in there early enough and telling our school-age children that this is a great career option for them, nor are their parents advising them that it’s a great career option. So I think we’ve got a bit of work to do in terms of promoting our industry. • Recruiting final-year students We used to think that we were doing final-year graduates a favour by offering them employment during their last couple of years of university. I think it’s gone beyond a favour and we’re now seeking them out in an attempt to secure those graduates early. It’s become a bit of a ‘try before you buy’ concept – where you get these young students into your organisation early, they get 12 to 18 months’ experience and quite often they just slide straight into your organisation. • Making our organisation an employment of choice I really love what we’ve done in this space, but I don’t know how sustainable it is, because all that we’re doing is we’re getting better at attracting resources from each other. We’re not creating a bigger pool of resources. We’re just trying to compete against each other in trying to win over those resources. • Multi-skilling There are a couple of options that multi-skilling offers us and how we look at multi-skilling. Some of the skills we’re looking for are in critical demand. Using our construction engineers as an example, how much engineering does a construction engineer do in a typical day? What we’re finding is that there’s a lot of work that they are doing that can be done by others. And if we invest in resources that can take some of the pressure from our engineers, we can then free them up to be doing more engineering, or even adjacent skills in things like surveying and architecture. • Sustainable pipeline of work This is one that governments may be getting sick of industry pushing, but when we can see a clear future pipeline of work, we have confidence in investing in resources for the long term. • Diversity This is an area that offers us the most opportunity and an area we haven’t done as well as we think we have. Using women as an example, although we’ve doubled their numbers in the construction workforce over the past five years – ‘double’ means going from eight percent to 17 percent. And if we look at business critical roles, the number is even smaller. There is something holding us back; it’s either our internal biases or our concept of what it takes to make this work. So I think this is one of the areas that offers the most opportunity for us. 50 www.contractormag.co.nz
Investing in apprentices is a long-term investment and I think one that offers a long-term solution.
• Apprentices and training Investing in apprentices is a long-term investment and I think one that offers a long-term solution. So again, combined with that clear pipeline, an investment in apprentices is one of our potential solutions. Training is a long-term and sustainable solution, especially as we have more disruptive technologies coming our way, as we have seen in Australia. So a combination of long-term training and up-skilling offers a long-term sustainable solution in terms of trying to close this gap. • Collaboration and branding We’re all trying to tackle what I see as a collective problem. We’re coming up with some great ideas but only looking inwards and competing against each other. I think if we can get our governments, our schools, our universities, working to build the industry pool as opposed to taking from each other, that’s a more sustainable solution to our problem. When I say ‘branding’ I mean we need to attract, retain and engage people into this industry, not just to our organisation and I do think we have a brand issue. We need to create a brand that attracts a tech-savvy generation. As I said earlier, our industry rates at 30 out of 100, and I’m quite embarrassed that it’s only at that sort of level. We need as an industry to attract workers. The generation of millennials will represent 75 percent of our workforce within the next seven or eight years and they need a reason to get out of bed and come to work. Just to earn a pay cheque is not enough. I also think we need to better engage with the workforce we’ve got and we can probably do more with the people we’ve got. The greatest assets we have are the people we manage and probably a masters’ degree in people would benefit us more than a masters in business.
CONTRACTOR
FROM THE PAST
Award-winning crane project
Auckland Skytower during construction
Back in 1998 we ran an article about an award-winning, unusual crane project in Auckland that was so unique it featured at length in an international crane magazine.
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FLETCHER CONSTRUCTION HAD a challenge – removing a tower crane some 330 metres up on top of the Sky Tower in Auckland. They called the project ‘Down to Earth’ and it was judged the 1998 Power Crane Association UDC ‘crane project of the year’. The Liebherr 185HC/256 had been installed atop the tower in mid 1995 and the removal method initially favoured was to use a derrick in the form of a Chicago Boom attached to the tower mast. Other proposals included employing a large helicopter used for logging in the South Island, or a flying-fox system from up on the mast to a suitable anchorage on the ground. When the crane was being prepared for the project, additional brackets and links were added to enable the jib and counter jib to be removed section by section if required. This, however, was not to be the case. A 1:20 scale model of the tower crane, the Chicago Boom, the upper part of the tower
(the pedestal) and the first four sections of the mast was built and used to evaluate and demonstrate the methods for the tower crane removal, and for the removal of the removal crane. Early on it became obvious that the combined winch and electro-hydraulic power pack unit used on the Chicago Boom on the 30-floor ASB building was just too big and heavy to take up, as it weighed more than 8000 kilograms and stood more than three metres high. Clearly, what was required were individual electro-hydraulic power packs for each of the two winches, with the power packs built in a modular form for ease of removal at the completion of the crane removal. All the removal gear also needed to be able to fit into the Sky Tower’s goods and services lift. Before the boom went to the site, additional lifting lugs were fitted for ease of erection and removal of the boom. As it was impractical to fit back-stops, a piece of 20mm ply was fixed to the rear of the boom to prevent damage to the lacings in the event of the boom being blown back when operating at a minimum radius and hitting the upper sheave block attached to the mast structure. This protective feature was never put to the test; the only purpose it served was to make it awkward for the riggers climbing up the boom. This is how the timetable of the towercrane removal programme unfolded through the first months of 1998. March 10: The boom, winches, power packs, control and electrical cabinet were delivered to the site and a start made on setting them up in their allocated positions. March 27: The boom was assembled at road level to its full length of 22.35 metres. The boom was lifted into position on the previously attached swing unit and the boom foot pins fitted. Before fitting the climbing frame for the final climb, the cat-walks on the side closest to the tower were replaced by purpose-built ones to enable them to clear the mast when climbing the crane down. March 29 & 30: The Liebherr was top climbed five sections and the load tested with an M&I engineer surveyor present. March 31: Further test running of the boom and winches was conducted with loads being run up and down over the full height, about 220 metres. After the hoist rope had settled in, a full speed run was made with 2000 kilograms on the hook. April 1: The boom was load tested to
from the past the satisfaction of an M&I engineer surveyor. April 2: The Liebherr was occupied all day with a myriad of last-moment lifts for various subcontractors. April 3: Top-climbing down began with six tower sections being removed and lowered to the ground. Though the crane was no longer free to slew 360° because of the mast, it was stowed with the slew brakes clamped on by means of G clamps. In addition, the crane was mounted on 256 HC tower sections and carried only a relatively short jib of 30 metres. Further, it was close to a building tie. April 4: The crane was climbed down a further seven sections and two building ties and collars removed. The modified access platforms on the climbing frame cleared the various ducts and brackets on the tower by about 50mm. April 5: Climb down and removal of a further five tower sections was achieved. Now the crane was climbed down as far as it could go and within reach of the Chicago Boom. The weather forecast for the following day was not good so storm guys were fitted from the crane’s jib down to the roof of the upper observation deck in addition to having the slew brakes locked overnight. April 6: The rope reel and winder for the hoist rope was set up on the upper viewing platform. The counterweight removal ropes were taken up to the counter-jib. The wind was gusting up to 48 kilometres per hour. April 7 & 8: Wet and windy. April 9: All 745 metres of the hoist rope was reeled up. The counterweight removal frame and ropes were fitted and everything was prepared for removal. April 10: Removal of the Liebherr’s counterweight began. As the Chicago Boom could not reach the weights and because they were way outside the upper viewing platform roof, it was decided that the weights would have to be fleeted in. April 11: The Liebherr’s 6100 kilogram, 30-metre jib was lowered until it could be landed on two temporary shoreload towers seated on the outdoor
observation deck. The jib was ‘broken’ into its component parts then lowered one at a time past the pergola around the observation deck and down to the ground. The hoist winch drum was removed and lowered, as were the hoist winch frame with motor, gearbox and control cabinet. Next came the tower head and counter jib. April 12: The outer section of the counter jib was lowered to the ground, followed by the three counterweights after the Chicago Boom was slewed to the right. The cab section of the Liebherr was then removed and lowered to rest on two UBs on the roof of the upper viewing platform. Because the 5090 kilogram weight was too heavy for the radius required to clear the pergola, the two slew motors and gearbox assemblies (960 kilograms) were removed and the cab section was sent on its way. The two motor and gearbox assemblies, slew mount and slew bearing, and a tower section all followed. April 13: The front gate and platforms of the climbing frame were removed and lowered to the ground, then the climbing frame itself, four tower sections and a tie collar complete with struts. The crane had now been cleared down to the top of the concrete plug. This plug consisted of a 1600mm-thick concrete pad between the top of the pedestal and the base of the steel mast. Two passed through the outer deck attached to the plug, requiring this section of tower to be cut off and scrapped. April 14: The crane tower was cleared ready for removal below the plug, and tower bolts slackened. The tower was then raised 20mm on its own internal climbing gear. Cleats were welded on to the chords above the plug so that when the mast was lowered there was a gap of 20mm between the bottom of the captive tower section and the top of the one below it. This was the working clearance to allow the tower section immediately below the plug to be removed. Temporary steel structural members, passed through the tower during construction of the pedestal, were removed by steel erectors using chain blocks and the Chicago Boom. FEBRUARY 2018 53
CONTRACTOR
COMMENT
Eight fatalities in 2017 PETER SILCOCK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CIVIL CONTRACTORS NEW ZEALAND
OVER THE PAST five years there have been 24 fatalities in the construction industry. In 2017 there were eight fatalities in construction, the second highest of any industry group (agriculture had nine).
As an industry we all need to own the fact that too many people don’t get to go home, or get injured while working in the construction industry. I know that most CCNZ members take their responsibility for keeping their staff safe and healthy very seriously. They do this not because of the law but because they genuinely care about their people. The reality is that good health and safety is not about a system, procedures and policies. It’s about: • the engagement and empowerment of people to have input, to raise issues, to have courageous conversations and to assess the situation and make decisions; • the existence of a culture of pride and professionalism about everything we do. Since taking up the role of WorkSafe CEO just over a year ago Nicole Rosie has provided some very clear and refreshing messages about the need to focus on critical risks – the things that can cause death or serious injury. The call to focus on critical risks resonates with me because it is about breaking through the box-ticking, complicated paper war that many health and safety systems bind us up in. The reality is that it is these systems, often promoted by consultants promising to manage company and director risk rather than improving actual health and safety, that have created a high degree of health and safety fatigue. On WorkSafe’s website Nicole explains that critical risks broadly fit into three categories: • Acute risks – eg, vehicles, falls from height, entrapment in machinery • Health – eg, exposure to asbestos or silica dust • Catastrophic – eg, explosions, chemical leaks, service strikes. Of the 24 construction fatalities over the past five years, 10 were related to vehicles/plant, five were where the operator was killed (eg, roll overs, loss of control) and five were where the person or vehicle the person was operating was hit by another vehicle. Four of the fatalities related to falls from height. If nothing else, that creates a starting point in thinking about critical risk.
The call to focus on critical risks resonates with me because it is about breaking through the box-ticking, complicated paper war that many health and safety systems bind us up in. We are also getting some lead indicators from ConstructSafe testing. Since it was launched in April 2016 over 47,000 people have taken the ConstructSafe Tier 1 competency test. It has quickly become the standard within the civil construction sector. Of the eight areas tested candidates have achieved the lowest overall average score in the areas of working around plant and site traffic. It doesn’t take much thought to connect the dots. Our people need more information about one of our critical risks. One of those things, that when you get it wrong, you are likely to end up dead or seriously injured. Over the past year the civil construction industry has been working with the NZTA Zero Harm group and the Construction Safety Council on a plant operator competency test. This is in the final phase of testing and we plan to launch it in the first half of 2018. ConstructSafe is also on the cusp of launching the Tier 3 competency framework for supervisors. Both initiatives will improve our understanding of the competency strengths and weaknesses of our people so we can better target training, development and mentoring. I expect there could be some big gaps in the competency of supervisors because this has been a long-neglected area. In many companies, people have been promoted to the role of foreman or supervisor with very little specific people management training. They have simply been expected to learn by observing their own supervisors, which is a lottery of good and bad practice. Thinking about critical risks, it is worth thinking about how we can better support those men and women who lead our teams on the ground. The better they engage, motivate and empower their people, the more likely we are to get a topquality outcome.
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CONTRACTOR
COMMENT
Pro-wood government procurement not the answer ROB GAIMSTER, CEO, CONCRETE NEW ZEALAND
WHEN A CONSTRUCTION project is undertaken, the principals
should be free to choose the most suitable building materials. Selection should be based on quality, cost, aesthetic and general fit-for-purpose credentials. They should not be strongly persuaded to use a material that is not necessarily the best fit for the job. Yet this is exactly what the Labour Party’s Forestry policy will do. The policy states that there will be a shift in government procurement to a much stronger orientation towards building in wood. The policy includes requirements that: • All government-funded project proposals for new buildings up to 10 storeys high shall require a build-in-wood option at the initial concept / request-for-proposals stage (with indicative sketches and price estimates) • When [government is] a tenant of the private sector, give preference to new buildings that are constructed out of wood. While forestry plays an important role in helping to achieve New Zealand’s emissions target, and wood can enhance our built environment, that does not mean wood is the best material for every construction project. There will be unintended consequences of the pro-wood policy, and if implemented it would create instances where the government’s building programme (including KiwiBuild) is disadvantaged by excluding safer, more cost efficient, and more durable material options. Furthermore, the policy would create a commercial advantage for one construction material over others. Materials should be selected on their own merits. This is in the public interest. It is entirely wrong to mandate that construction
There are many examples of the fire risk posed by multi-storey timber construction. Having to rely solely on sprinkler systems to provide fire safety rather than on both the inherent fire-resistant qualities of construction materials such as concrete and sprinklers, puts lives at risk.
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decision makers must consider wood as a structural option. Such arbitrary preferential treatment of one industry over another will lead to perverse outcomes. There are many examples of the fire risk posed by multistorey timber construction. Having to rely solely on sprinkler systems to provide fire safety rather than on both the inherent fire-resistant qualities of construction materials such as concrete and sprinklers, puts lives at risk. We are still grappling with the aftermath of the leaky building crisis and currently spending millions of dollars repairing damaged homes, schools and apartment buildings. Building environment rating tools, such as Green Star, have gained acceptance over recent years, and offer an objective assessment of the benefits of construction materials. In addition, the policy does a huge disservice to the hardworking men and women in the cement and concrete industries. Favouring a single construction material during the design phase of a government building could seriously impact on their livelihoods and jobs. Resilient infrastructure and housing are central to ensuring the economic success and welfare of all New Zealanders. Builders, architects, engineers, planners and their clients should not feel constrained when choosing the best building material for a construction project. With construction activity forecast to remain buoyant, the government must not play favourites. It should operate in the public interest and ensure that the safety, cost and long-term sustainability of our nation’s buildings and infrastructure underpin decision making.
COMMENT
CONTRACTOR
Responding to tenders isn’t everyone’s cup of tea CAROLINE BOOT, PLAN A AND CLEVER BUYING
FOR SOME BUSINESS managers, the thought of wading through
hundreds of pages of a Request for Tender, let alone trying to write a compelling proposal while they’re doing their day job, leads many companies to put tendering in the ‘too hard’ basket. But winning tenders is essential for continued growth and, in some cases, business survival. With an increasing spotlight on best practice procurement nationally and a drive to secure whole-of-life value-for-money for ratepayers (rather than the cheapest price today), highscoring proposal attributes are becoming ever more important. Senior Plan A consultant Heather Murray says, “Price becomes less important in winning a tender when a project or contract carries a higher level of risk, or has a higher requirement for quality. In this environment, there’s greater demand for contractors to prepare competitive and compelling Non-Price Attribute submissions, including in areas such as health and safety, added value, and environmental and social sustainability.” And as new infrastructure-related projects continue to come to market – in roading, rail, or housing-related sectors – the civil contracting industry is gearing up to meet the challenge. Tender specialist Plan A has been providing expert assistance to many of New Zealand’s largest (and smallest) civil contracting companies to help them produce winning tenders since 1998. The professional services company has recently become a Major Associate of Civil Contractors NZ, building on its long association with the Auckland branch. As a long-time supporter of national CCNZ conferences, the Plan A team is thrilled to increase their involvement with CCNZ. Through sister company Clever Buying – which trains and qualifies most of NZ’s tender evaluators – Plan A consultants know what evaluators are looking for and how tender evaluation models work.
“Price becomes less important in winning a tender when a project or contract carries a higher level of risk, or has a higher requirement for quality. In this environment, there’s greater demand for contractors to prepare competitive and compelling Non-Price Attribute submissions, including in areas such as health and safety, added value, and environmental and social sustainability.” Kerrie McEwen, also a senior Plan A consultant, says, “From our team’s experience in tendering across almost every industry sector and in responding to bids in over 40 countries, we understand what best tendering practice looks like.” Kerrie adds, “Tendering doesn’t come naturally to everyone – or they simply don’t have the in-house resources available. Our 15-strong team can provide around-the-clock support if needed for those really tight deadlines.” In welcoming Plan A as Major Associate, CCNZ CEO Peter Silcock said, “Plan A has a strong team providing a very valuable service to our members so it is great to have a nationwide partnership with them. There is a lot at stake when tendering and contractors are seeing real value in having some external input into their bid preparation. Plan A’s sister company Clever Buying is also actively working with CCNZ to promote improved procurement.”
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FEBRUARY 2018 57
CONTRACTOR
COMMENT
Waterview’s continuing impact TOMMY PARKER, GENERAL MANAGER, SYSTEM DESIGN & DELIVERY, NZ TRANSPORT AGENCY THE OLD YEAR ENDED and the new one began on a really positive note for me when I had the chance during the Christmas holiday to celebrate on an international stage our award-winning Waterview Connection project. Iain Simmons from McConnell Dowell and I were guests of the British Tunnelling Society in London where we talked about the project. Iain originally managed tunnelling operations at Waterview before becoming overall project manager for the WellConnected Alliance. The British Tunnelling Society has around 800 members making it one of the largest and most active associated societies of the UK’s Institution of Civil Engineers, and it plays a leading role in the development of the tunnelling industry. The presentation was also a personal and moving moment for me. My late father, Chris, was an active member of the Society and our presentation had been organised to recognise the contribution he had made to the industry. The Waterview Connection project made plenty of headlines around the world during the five years of its construction. Even now, many months after its successful opening, it still continues to grab international attention. Although small by world standards (Waterview’s tunnel is 2.4 kilometres long while the main feature of the UK’s Crossrail project includes 21 kilometres of twin tunnels below London), Iain and I had a fantastic story to tell our British audience about the project and the thousands of people who worked there – a great opportunity for us to “export” our experiences and share lessonslearned from the New Zealand way of doing things with engineers on the other side of the world. We split our presentation into two parts and between us we shared about 60 slides and several project-related videos. I focused on the Alliance model to deliver large roading infrastructure projects in New Zealand and why the Transport Agency preferred this option for Waterview; Iain described the operational and delivery side of the project – construction of the tunnel, civil engineering aspects like the Great North Road Interchange and the approaches to the tunnel, and award-winning community amenities and extensions to Auckland’s walking/ cycling network that were also delivered as part of this project. There was no shortage of admiration for the New Zealand way of doing things to get the job done and the Kiwi innovation that became one of the outstanding features of the project. Our Alliance model of procurement and delivery was one example. Alliancing is widely used by the Transport Agency, but is not so common in the UK. I was able to explain that its success was because of the positive relationship the Transport Agency and the industry here had developed over the years. The Well-Connected Alliance had in place checks and balances that gave the Transport Agency, as the project’s client, the confidence that construction timetables and costs were managed appropriately. That confidence in the industry meant the Transport Agency 58 www.contractormag.co.nz
needed to employ only a handful of its own staff inside the Well-Connected Alliance on a day-to-day basis. That came as a bit of a surprise to our audience. Generally in the UK it’s just the opposite – the client would take a much more hands-on approach. Iain and I couldn’t go all the way to London without taking the opportunity to “skite” a little about the skill and innovation of the Waterview team. One of the project’s great outcomes was turning the Tunnel Boring Machine – Alice – 180 degrees after she had excavated the first tunnel. There were a lot of questions about this operation and how it was achieved. Very rarely anywhere in the world are TBMs turned after their drive and used again. Remember that Alice was the world’s 10th largest TBM when she started tunnelling – a big piece of kit to turn in a very confined space and squeeze into position with sometimes only a few centimetres to spare. Again, it all came down to some splendid teamwork right from the design and planning stage of the turn through to the teams responsible for re-positioning Alice. A timely reminder of the contribution this operation in particular, and the project in general, has made to the upskilling of the industry’s workforce in New Zealand. We had the chance to touch on many other aspects of the Waterview Connection as well. People were keen to hear about how the project dealt with gender and diversity issues, safety on the job, building constructive community relationships, the Transport Agency’s inclusion of public transport and walking/ cycling choices in its projects, and significant transport-related infrastructure projects planned for the future. Since opening, Waterview is making a huge contribution to a better transport system and providing more travel choices for people. On reflection after our London presentation, I believe one other lasting legacy is the way Waterview has enhanced the reputation of our industry and its many disciplines in the eyes of the world. That is critical given the upcoming infrastructure programme in New Zealand that the government has signalled will include the City Rail Link and the development of light rail in Auckland, and other transport-related projects around the country. For all of us, that legacy is not only something to be both proud of, but something to build on as we start a new year with its many opportunities ahead. During 2018, we will be working hard to further consolidate the improvements the Transport Agency introduced last year with its core commitment to work better in partnership with all our stakeholders, including engineers, contractors and consultants. Greater collaboration and cooperation is essential in a rapidly changing transport environment to deliver further great outcomes like Waterview.
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CONTRACTOR
LEGAL
Don’t get caught out on cartel conduct
How new amendments affect your business AMY JARDINE AND REECE LEGGETT, ASSOCIATES IN KENSINGTON SWAN’S CORPORATE AND LITIGATION TEAMS
RECENT AMENDMENTS to the Commerce Act 1986 have significantly expanded the scope of prohibited ‘cartel conduct’. Many current contracts will now potentially breach this Act. Prohibited cartel conduct has been widened to include arrangements between competitors relating to price fixing, restricting output, and market allocation. Joint venture agreements between competitors, or distribution agreements where the supplier also sells products to end consumers (which means the parties will be ‘competitors’) should be reconsidered in light of these amendments. If the agreement between competitors contains provisions relating to pricing, restrictions on supply, or market allocation, these provisions are likely to be prohibited under the Commerce Act, unless an exception applies. On a positive note, the amendments also expand the exceptions that apply, including two new exceptions that apply to collaborative conduct and vertical supply contracts. Risk of breaching the Commerce Act should be taken seriously. The maximum fine for breaching this Act is the greater of $10,000,000 or three times the gain (or turnover if the gain cannot be readily ascertained).
What’s new Wider prohibitions Prior to the amendment, the focus of prohibited cartel conduct was on preventing ‘price fixing’, that is arrangements that have the effect of fixing, controlling, or maintaining the price of goods. The section on price fixing has been replaced by a general prohibition on ‘cartel provisions’, which are provisions in contracts, arrangements or understandings between competitors that relate to: • price fixing – for example, competitors agreeing to discount goods at the same time; • restricting output or capacity – preventing, restricting or limiting the production capacity or supply of goods; or • market allocation – allocating customers or geographic areas between competitors, for example, competitors agreeing to only sell in the North and South Island respectively. It is a strict prohibition notwithstanding the market share of competitors or whether the ‘arrangement’ in fact affects competition in the market.
60 www.contractormag.co.nz
Two new exceptions to cartel provisions If a provision in a contract is a cartel provision, it will be prohibited unless an exception applies. Two of these exceptions are the ‘collaborative activity exception’ and the ‘vertical supply contracts’ exception. The purpose of these exceptions is to protect pro-competitive arrangements that enhance efficiency and benefits to consumers. • Collaborative activity exception: The collaborative activity exception applies when, at the time of entering into the contract: • the parties are involved in a collaborative activity; and • t he cartel provision is reasonably necessary for the purpose of the collaborative activity. ‘Collaborative activity’ means an enterprise, venture, or other activity, in trade that: • is carried out in cooperation by the parties; and • i s not carried out for the dominant purpose of lessening competition between the parties. When considering whether the collaborative activity exception applies, it is important to consider the venture as a whole, and whether the dominant purpose of the venture is to lessen competition. An example of collaborative conduct might be where two competitors provide resources and expertise to create a new product or service. • Vertical supply contract exception: The vertical supply contract exception applies where a cartel provision: a. i s in a contract between a supplier of goods or services and its customer; b. ‘ relates to’ the supply of goods or likely supply of goods; and c. d oes not have the dominant purpose of lessening competition in the market. An example of a cartel provision that would be subject to this exception would be where a supplier sets a maximum resale price as part of a distribution agreement. The vertical supply contract exemption would apply unless the dominant purpose of the provision was to lessen competition in the market. There has also been an expansion of the exception to price fixing for joint buying and promotion agreements. The original exception has been expanded to also include the collective negotiation of the price of goods or services followed by individual purchasing at the collectively negotiated rate.
Tips for complying with cartel conduct provisions:
When do the amendments apply? For contracts signed before 14 August 2017, there is a nine-month transitional period (until 14 May 2018) for parties to consider and amend (where required) existing contracts. The is no transitional period for contracts signed after 14 August 2017.
•b e aware that this is a complex area of law which attracts significant penalties and great care should be taken before entering into a commercial arrangement with a competitor; •e nsure your business and staff are aware of the new cartel conduct provisions; • determine structures and terms for your commercial arrangement that avoid cartel conduct (arrangements to be mindful of include: joint ventures between competitors, distribution agreements between suppliers and distributors who each sell to consumers, and arrangements between franchisors who own run companyowned stores and their franchisees); • i f the arrangement will result in prohibited cartel conduct, consider if an exception applies, such as collaborative conduct or vertical supply contracts; • c heck existing contracts for cartel conduct before the transition period expires on 14 May 2018; and • i f you are in any doubt about an existing arrangement or potential arrangement seek legal advice.
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FEBRUARY 2018 61
CONTRACTOR
CLASSIC MACHINES CL
M
A
ASSIC
C H I N E S
1
A more modern look at the
Allis-Chalmers TS-200 Although it was not an original Allis-Chalmers design, the model TS-200 motorscraper paved the way for a far more successful machine in Allis’ product line, the TS-260. By Richard Campbell.
WE FIRST TOOK a look at the Allis-Chalmers TS-200 way back in 2003, and for the benefit of our newer subscribers and those who may have missed the original article, here is an updated version incorporating all the latest information at my disposal. La Plant-Choate Manufacturing Co designed and built the original TS-200 scraper. It was the second motor scraper it had put into production, its first, the model TS-300, was introduced in 1945 and proved to be immediately successful. La Plant’s TS-200 was introduced in 1950 and although smaller than the TS-300, was quite advanced for its time as it featured all-hydraulic operation. Even the cable on the apron was activated by a hydraulic cylinder. Located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, LaPlant-Choate was no stranger to hydraulics. Along with cable-operated attachments, the company also manufactured a very wide range of hydraulically operated tractor attachments and was a preferred supplier to Caterpillar, in fact the second largest supplier next to LeTourneau. Its hydraulic systems were simple and reliable which won it much favour among owners. LaPlant-Choate can definitely be considered a pioneer when it came to hydraulic control. 62 www.contractormag.co.nz
Prior to the end of WWII, LaPlant invested heavily in the research and development of two-axle overhung scrapers, no doubt spurred on by the success of LeTourneau’s Tournapulls. It obviously saw a great market opportunity. Both the TS-300 and TS-200 were well accepted by the industry at the time. However, by the beginning of the 1950s LaPlant-Choate was a little strapped for capital and became a prime acquisition target. So, when Allis-Chalmers came calling in 1952 the deal was done. Allis-Chalmers was seeking a motor scraper to complement its track type tractor range and the takeover of LaPlantChoate saved it millions of dollars in R&D costs in designing its own. It all made economic sense. Allis-Chalmers had no need of LaPlant’s dozer blades and other attachments as it had already bought up Baker and GarWood, so LaPlant’s blades, rippers and tree pushers vanished into history. Allis-Chalmers did keep LaPlant’s towed scraper line however, as they were a better design than the GarWood types Allis-Chalmers had been promoting. When originally introduced, the TS-200 was powered by either a 165 horsepower Cummins HRB600 or 176 horsepower Buda 6DA779 diesel engine depending on customer preference.
1. (Opposite page) This is the original 1950 release photo of the LaPlant-Choate TS200, later Allis-Chalmers TS-200. A particularly clean design for the era, the TS200 was all hydraulically controlled and could nip along at 21mph with 13 cubic yards on board. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
2
2. Allis-Chalmers branded TS-200s stripping from a porcelain clay deposit, circa 1954. Push tractor is an Allis-Chalmers HD-15. This is fairly good soil for these machines as the TS-200’s bowl loaded very aggressively in clay. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
3
3. These two TS-200s are engaged in railroad right of way realignment (railroad unknown). Neither are fitted with the small Lucite windshield normally seen on these machines as standard equipment. The machine at the top left has been photographically retouched with an Allis-Chalmers badge and was probably still in its original LaPlant-Choate markings when the photo was taken. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
4. Taylor & Culley’s fleet no 15, a genuine Allis-Chalmers built TS-200 photographed in the Bay of Plenty in the early 1970s. This was the last job that Taylor & Culley’s TS-200s worked before being traded in to Clyde Engineering on new Terex TS-14s. 4
PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
5. Although not a great photo, this is the second of Taylor & Culleys two TS-200s, fleet no 16. The headlights are long gone and have been plated over but the machine, which was over 20 years old by this time, was still fairly straight. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
5
FEBRUARY 2018 63
CONTRACTOR
CLASSIC MACHINES
1. R ongotai Airport, 1956, and a Taylor & Culley TS-200 heads up the haul road for another load. The Wellington Aero Club building (with the white circle on the roof) has yet to be relocated to its new home on the Lyall Bay side of the project. Tractor to the right is an International TD24 ripping part of the cut area.
1
PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
Allis-Chalmers ran with the Buda engine as it had acquired the Buda Engine Company in a buy-out in 1953 and that pretty much kept everything “in-house” for Allis-Chalmers. While the Cummins engine was retained for a time as an option, it was quietly phased out in 1954. Allis-Chalmers actually made very few alterations to the TS-200 scraper design; the most noticeable was the change from Hi-Way yellow paint to Persian orange. It also deleted the front vertical radiator guard overrider bars for whatever reason. In this form the Allis-Chalmers TS-200 was manufactured right up until 1958 when it was replaced by the new TS-260. Just as a matter of interest, even though the ‘new’ TS-260 had a totally redesigned tractor unit, Allis-Chalmers kept the TS-200 bowl virtually unchanged and mated it to the new tractor. Obviously LaPlant-Choate had been on to a good thing when it originally built it! Combined production of both LaPlant-Choate and AllisChalmers TS200s totalled 1282 machines.
The TS-200 described Of conventional two-axle overhung scraper design, the AllisChalmers TS-200 was usually powered by a 176-flywheel horsepower Buda 6DA-779 inline diesel engine, connected via manually operated 17 inch single plate clutch, to a Fuller 5A1220 constant mesh manual transmission. In this form the machine was capable of a top speed of 21.6mph (34.8 km/h). Shoe type air brakes were used on all four wheels. Tyres were limited to 21.00×25 E3 type. One of the issues which was not in Allis-Chalmers’ favour was steering. Although the machine had twin, double-acting steering rams, due to the geometry of the system, turns were limited to 60 degrees either side of centre. This shortcoming was carried over to the initial production models of the TS-260 as well. 64 www.contractormag.co.nz
A very large vertical kingpin held the scraper to the tractor unit on an oscillating hitch which also held the steering cylinders and their multiplier linkage. The bowl held 10 cubic yards struck and 13 cubic yards heaped, and all functions were hydraulically operated. Adding sideboards to increase capacity was near impossible owing to the design of the ejector system which had linkage directly connected to the apron. The apron was lifted hydraulically by a single action cylinder attached to a length of cable and lowered by gravity. A bulldozer type ejector utilizing a two stage hydraulic ram was used. As the ejector moved forward to dump the load, linkage from the ejector top attached to the apron raised this unit high up out of the way to prevent load ‘hang up’ between the lower apron lip and the bowl cutting edge (a common problem for some other scrapers of the period). The bowl floor had a slight curvature at the cutting-edge end which really helped to boil the load in, especially when working in clay. Caterpillar copied this design for is own early towed scrapers but discarded it after a while as a special cutting edge had to be fitted for finishing purposes. Machines of this era had very few operator comforts and the TS-200 was no exception. The operator’s seat was mounted on a plinth directly above the drive axle, and even though a decent sized seat cushion was supplied, every bump would have been transferred directly up the operator’s backside! Full instrumentation was installed and the machine had the characteristic half-round steering wheel favoured by Allis-Chalmers. Optional extras were limited to a full weatherproof cab with heater and windshield wiper. The trailed scraper could be replaced by an 18-ton capacity hydraulically operated rear dump if required and in this configuration the machine was known as the TR-200.
2. Yet to be restored Allis-Chalmers TS-200 working on one of the Historical Construction Equipment Associations (HCEA) open days. The linkage from apron to ejector mentioned in the text, is well displayed in this photo. PHOTO: HCEA
2
3. An exceptionally rare piece of equipment, this is probably the sole surviving Allis-Chalmers TR-200 rock buggy left. Very few were built and it is remarkable that this one made it without going to the scrap yard. Located in the USA, it has since been fully restored to its former glory and now sports a fresh coat of Allis-Chalmers Persian orange paint. Owner, Lakeside Sand & Gravel. PHOTO: INTERNET 4. About as Spartan an operator’s compartment as you’re likely to see, this is the ‘business end’ of an Allis-Chalmers TS-200. On the floor are the clutch, brake and throttle pedals while the unusual half-round Allis-Chalmers steering column bisects the instrument panel. A manual hand throttle sits just in front of the operator’s right knee position with the gearshift lever to the right. Bowl control levers are the two inverted L-shaped items to far right. Small cannister on the RH firewall is the ether container for winter starting.
3
PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
B R I E F S P EC I F I CAT I O N S ALLIS-CHALMERS TS-200 Engine: B uda 6DA779 6-cylinder, inline diesel engine rated at 176 flywheel horsepower at 1800 rpm Clutch: 4
The New Zealand connection There were two Allis-Chalmers TS-200s imported into New Zealand, both originally owned by Taylor & Culley. These machines did sterling service for Culleys for almost 20 years before they were traded in to Clyde Engineering on an order of new Terex TS-14s. The TS-200s were used in the construction of many big jobs around the North Island including Wellington Airport and I believe their last job was in the Bay of Plenty before being traded-in. As an example of just how well made they were, the bowl unit of one of them still exists, and is in use converted to a towed scraper!
For the model collector Although there is a superb model of the LaPlant-Choate/AllisChalmers TS-300 available from First Gear in 1:50 scale, no models have ever been issued of the smaller TS-200.
org & Beck 17” single plate, B self-adjusting
Transmission: Fuller 5A1220 5-speed constant mesh Brakes:
Air operated shoes on all 4 wheels
Steering:
F ull hydraulic with multiplier linkage, 60° either side of centre
Turn circle:
26’ 2”
Tyres:
21.00x25, 20-ply E3
Top speed:
21.6 mph
Scraper:
ased on LaPlant-Choate C-44 Carrimor B towed scraper
Capacity: 10 cubic yards struck, 13 cubic yards heaped Operation:
All hydraulic
Length:
32’ 10”
Width:
10’ 11”
Height:
9’ 9”
Op. weight:
18.6 tons (empty), 31 tons (loaded)
FEBRUARY 2018 65
CONTRACTOR
INNOVATIONS
Introducing ELB Equipment Entering into 2018 Ditch Witch New Zealand has undergone a significant transformation rebranding to match its parent company ELB Group. Now the company has updated its trading name to ELB Equipment Ltd, all other staff and company details remain as previous. ELB Equipment general manager John Grant says: “Ditch Witch as a brand is synonymous with honesty, hard work and providing customers the best products in the world – our new identity will better support our efforts in continuing to satisfy all of these existing expectations while simultaneously providing a platform for growth and improvement.” Though some signage will change, ELB’s commitment to providing high quality brands, thoughtful innovative solutions, and unparalleled after sales service remains the same, he adds. “The ownership and management structure remain unchanged – the same familiar faces that you’ve grown to know remain as they are and importantly Ditch Witch will continue to be the flagship product brand of the business. “With a broader product portfolio on offer now, the name change will allow us to better represent all of the brands we currently
supply in the underground, and waste management sectors, it allows for future growth and helps us to better integrate with parent group, ELB.” ELB Equipment’s product offering now presents a comprehensive range of underground equipment from Charles Machine Works with products such as Ditch Witch, Subsite, HammerHead & American Augers and also a renowned suite of waste management equipment such as Komptech and Diamond Z. Last year the company built a new warehouse facility in Auckland, a new Bay of Plenty branch and has growing staffing levels. More information: elbquip.com.
Lift leader’s new factory Combilift, the Irish manufacturer of multi-directional forklifts and longload material handling solutions is set to open its new purpose-built factory on May 2. Celebrating 20 years in business, Combilift’s €46m investment in the new 46,500 square metre factory will coincide with the launch of a new 66 www.contractormag.co.nz
product range. Combilift is a world leader in the design, innovation and manufacturing of multidirectional forklifts and handling solutions for all industries and now exports to more than 75 countries including New Zealand.
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50 years
CONTRACTOR
INNOVATIONS
Takeuchi investment backing
New generation Scania truck
Tenby Powell, of Hunter Powell Investment Partners, has reinvested in the Takeuchi construction equipment brand here with agency agreements for the Pacific Islands. Together with private equity partners, Tenby acquired Auckland-based company Hirepool in 2003. Hirepool was bought from Owens Corporation for $43 million and sold for $172 million some 36 months later. In 2005 Hirepool became the Takeuchi agency, marking the creation of Hirepool’s retail division, then a change of owner in 2006 brought about a change of strategy and the retail division was sold. In October last year Hunter Powell took up the opportunity to reinvest in the digger brand. “I’m thrilled to be back in the construction and contracting industry where I have many friends and associates,” says Tenby Powell. “Takeuchi is a highly valued brand and has a loyal following in New Zealand and throughout the world.” The New Zealand Equipment Group, distributor of Takeuchi machinery, has already undergone major changes since Hunter Powell Investment acquired it last year. “We have a new cloud-based computing system, a new inventory and parts management system, new key appointments have been made, all bringing a wealth of industry experience, and we have re-established our national service network. Soon we will have announcements about new agency agreements,” says CEO Paula Evans.
Following the European market introduction in 2016 of the allnew-generation Scania truck range, CablePrice is working with Scania over the coming months to evaluate variants of the new generation Scania scheduled to arrive here. “While no local launch date has been set, over the next few months we will be undertaking extensive testing to evaluate the suitability of the new Scania in New Zealand conditions,” says Mike Davidson, national sales manager Commercial Vehicles. Initially three units will be tested in different configurations and applications around the country. “We are excited and very confident that the new generation truck will perform just as well here as it has in Europe. The new Scania has broken industry ground with the introduction of passenger-car-like safety features such as side curtain airbags and demonstrated class-leading fuel consumption,” says Mike. Scania’s new generation truck also promises the very latest advances in automotive technology, together with a vast array of digital connected services. The combination of these features can help operators accurately track the performance of trucks, resulting in lower maintenance costs and improved uptime. “We are committed to working these evaluation units hard in New Zealand’s challenging conditions,” adds Mike.
Genie Material Lift products Youngman Richardson & Co has recently been made exclusive New Zealand distributor for the full range of Genie Material Lift products. “We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to market this range alongside our existing collection of Genie heavy lifting products,” says general manager, Ed Richardson. “Existing Genie Material Lift customers can be assured that we will have a significant parts inventory throughout both our Auckland and Christchurch locations. “The company’s technical staff are already very familiar with the Genie product and will undergo further training to become acquainted with the specific service and maintenance requirements of the Material Lift range.” Specifically used for lifting and placing small pallets and objects, Genie Material Lifts provide a versatile solution for worksite, warehouse, manufacturing, maintenance and utility applications. All 68 www.contractormag.co.nz
the Genie models are able to pass through a standard doorway for ease and access to the worksite and can be loaded by one person onto a truck or ute. The Genie Materials Lift line up will include two GH Super Hoists which are powered by CO2 or compressed air and can lift their onepiece platforms to heights of 3.80 and 5.6 metres respectively. Three Superlift Contractor (SLC) models come with a strong, lightweight aluminium telescoping mast which provides maximum lifting heights of 3.94, 5.64 and 7.32 metres depending on the requirement. Likewise, the heavy-duty Superlift Advantage (SLA) has a variety of models that will suit a range of working heights and load capacities. The Genie AWP Super Series is an industry favourite due to its ease of use, convenience and flexibility. With a lightweight and durable design these models are great for light construction and interior work.
INNOVATIONS
CONTRACTOR
Synergy Positioning accolades New Zealand’s Topcon spatial technology and machine control system distributor, Synergy Positioning Systems, received international recognition at the beginning of December, with several awards won at the Topcon Xperience conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The Synergy Positioning Systems team came away with an armload of silverware, including recognition of a top five global sales result for excavator machine control sales, a top five global performance award for construction market sales and, most notably, a top five year-onyear sales growth award, signifying Synergy’s increasing footprint in the competitive construction sector not only here, but internationally. “We are really punching above our weight in the New Zealand market,” says Synergy’s general manager of marketing and sales, Louie Schutte. “Given the scale of the global industry and the fact that Topcon plays in almost every market, achieving a top five placing for year-onyear sales growth here in New Zealand is a real achievement. “We’re really proud of the sales and support personnel we have here. I think our success is a result of being able to get out into the field and really prove just how good Topcon’s technological offering is for operators of all shapes and sizes.” With Topcon’s increasing dominance in the machine control market, Synergy Positioning Systems has ramped up its national coverage in recent months and now offers dedicated support technicians covering every region. “So much of the construction focus in the past few years has revolved around Auckland and Christchurch. But there are big projects
Sam Rye and Louie Schutte.
coming online in other regions – most notably in the lower North Island – so we need to offer our customers that same level of focus, regardless of where they are. “We’ve also seen a big upswing in smaller companies adopting leading-edge machine control technology from Topcon. These guys have made the move to invest in this technology, so we need to offer them the same level of comprehensive back-up support that the bigger entities demand.” Additional to the overall achievements, Synergy’s Wellington region representative, Sam Rye, took home the Coffee for Closers award, celebrating international recognition of significant sales successes in his region.
Hydro excavation innovation Southeys Group Operations manager, Kris Lean took delivery of the company’s new Smart-Dig HX 6000 Hydro Excavation Unit from Mark Harris of MS Engineering on behalf of Smart-Dig. Southeys Group was one of the first companies to introduce hydro excavation to this country. This unit increases Southey’s vehicle fleet size to 32 units. The new HX 6000 retains all of the well-proven existing specifications of the HX 5000 and HX 10,000 units in the company’s fleet. These include a fully remote control long reach telescopic boom with six
inch vacuum hose for better digging efficiency. Twin water blaster pumps operated off an auxiliary power unit allow two man simultaneous digging. The variable water flow and pressure capability enables digging around tree roots and other sensitive objects. The new unit is also fitted with dewatering capability (limited to truck load weight restrictions) and on-board vacuum hose reel with an additional 36 metres of hose capacity. FEBRUARY 2018 69
CONTRACTOR
CIVIL CONTRACTORS NEW ZEALAND
CCNZ update Welcome to new members
Winstone Aggregates, Metso Minerals and Worley Consultants.
• H & S Contracting, Northland Branch • Wilson Earthmoving, Northland Branch • ATD Services, Manawatu Branch • Forte Civil Limited, Auckland Branch
Bastardised contracts targeted
CCNZ meets Transport Minister The Minister of Transport, Phil Twyford, has assured CCNZ that the government does not intend to reduce the investment in infrastructure, but it does want to change the way that the money is invested with a greater focus on public transport and safety improvements. During a meeting with the Minister in mid-December he advised that the government was reviewing the Government Policy Statement (GPS) on land transport and a copy of the reviewed document will be available early this year. CCNZ will be very interested in the draft and is likely to make submissions to ensure the industry’s views are heard. CCNZ discussed with the Minister how the industry’s ability to gear up and get things done (as it has in Kaikoura) could assist with the government’s ambitious building and construction plans, including its regional development agenda. The key was early engagement with the industry and avoiding the potential hole in the work programme while the government developed its land transport plans and obtained the required funding and planning approvals required. CCNZ emphasised the critical need to avoid a boom-bust cycle by providing a strong pipeline of work.
CCNZ appoints new Technical Manager We are pleased to announce the appointment of Stacy Goldsworthy, who started as CCNZ’s new Technical Manager in January. Stacy replaces Alan Stevens who has been Technical Manager for Roading NZ and then CCNZ for the past 16 years. Stacy is a highly professional business leader with over 20 years’ experience in the laboratory, geotechnical and extractives industries. He was previously general manager Green Vision Recycling, part of Downer NZ, is chair of the Aggregates and Quarry Association Technical Committee, and he serves on NZTA Working Groups. Previously Stacy worked for a range of companies, including
CCNZ is continuing its battle to promote the use of standard contract documents with minimal special conditions. If you have examples of highly modified standard documents (eg, NZS 3910 with multiple pages of special conditions) please let us know. We are concerned that a substantial number of these special conditions unfairly transfer risk to contractors. NZTA, which is regarded as one of the best public procurers in New Zealand, manages to get by with a minimum number of amendments to NZS 3910, so others should follow suit. Please send any examples of highly modified documents to peter@ civilcontractors.co.nz.
CCNZ Code of Ethics On becoming a member of CCNZ, companies agree to abide by our Code of Ethics. While we recognise that competition is necessary and a vital part of free enterprise, the code is designed to maintain standards, and ensure fairness to both the public and other members of CCNZ. A copy of the Code of Ethics is available on CCNZ’s website www.civilcontractors.co.nz or from CCNZ’s office. Call 0800 692 376 or email tricia@civilcontractors.co.nz.
Improving construction productivity CCNZ CEO Peter Silcock was interviewed in mid-December by Kathryn Ryan on Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon programme about technology and productivity in the construction industry. Peter spoke about: • the need for better procurement including a strong pipeline of work that will encourage contractors to invest in their people, processes, plant and equipment; • reshaping regulations that are holding back development; • the opportunities presented by new technology such as Global Information Systems, remotely operated or driverless machines, prefabrication, trenchless technology; • the need for government through its procurement to drive best practice, the adoption of new technology and to reward companies that invest in their people; • the need for better funding of regional and local infrastructure especially the three waters.
ADVERT ISERS IN D EX AB Equipment 11 Cama Products 21 CCNZ 43, 54 Connexis 61 ELB Equipment 15 General Compression 25 Global Survey 51 Gough Cat 4
70 www.contractormag.co.nz
Hirepool OBC Kiwirail 31 Loadscan 27 OMC Power Equipment 8 Osborne Sales & Lease 53 Pacific Steel 33 Porter Group OFC, IFC, 1, 18, 19 Power Pac 47
Prime Pump 34-35 Robur Attachments IBC Synergy Positioning 9 Thomson Reuters 13, 49 Tidd Ross Todd 67 Transdiesel 7 TRS Tyre & Wheel 39 Youngman Richardson 57
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