NEW ZEALAND’S CIVIL CONTRACTING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
Fully loaded Purpose-built Hyundai excavator getting the job done at Lyttelton Port INSIDE: Bauma Shanghai – a big machinery show in pictures Auckland’s City Rail Link – the initial construction Taylors Contracting – GPS fleet management in review Burgess & Crowley Civil and energy – a sweet synergy
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UPFRONT CONTRACTOR
16
INSIDE: Regulars 6 Editorial 8 Upfront 12 Contractors’ Diary 20 On the Cover 50 Classic Machines 54 Motoring 56 Innovations 58 Civil Contractors NZ update 58 Advertisers index
Highlights / Features 24 Under Auckland city
Disruption as Albert Street becomes a temporary construction site for CRL.
28 bauma Shanghai 2016
bauma has become one of the key global exhibitions for heavy machinery and the services that support them.
34 Improving the contract market
Based on a presentation at the NZTA/NZIHT 2017 conference.
ON THE COVER
36 Concrete awards
The 2016 New Zealand Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NZRMCA) Awards held late last year.
Comment 44 Peter Silcock CCNZ 45 Tommy Parker NZTA 46 Sam McCutcheon & Oliver Barron Kensington Swan 48 John Pfahlert Water New Zealand 49 Rob Gaimster CCANZ and NZRMCA
38 Technical – Lessons in fleet management
Cutting costs was the original reason that Nelson-based Taylors Contracting looked for a GPS fleet management system. Health and safety was a bonus.
42 Training – Civil Trade Achievers
A group of Bay of Plenty civil infrastructure workers have
As thousands of logs are slung onto a ship for export at C3’s operation at Lyttelton Port, a new, purpose-built Hyundai excavator is hard at work in the hull of the vessel, stacking them into place. See page 20
new industry Trade Certification to their name and are praising the industry for its introduction.
Obituary 18 In memory of Pauline Nobbs Recipient of a posthumous GEM award.
Company profile 22 Burgess & Crowley Civil T his Taranaki company has been providing various aggregate services to the region’s energy industry for almost three decades.
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28 FEBRUARY 2017 5
CONTRACTOR EDITORIAL
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
Wanted: Must be savvy, entrepreneurial, innovative and adaptable. It must be hard work being ready. Ready for the opportunities which unprecedented levels of infrastructure investment can offer. Ready for changes to health and safety legislation. Ready for natural disasters which never seem to give enough notice of their impending mayhem. Or even being ready for the ever-changing ways in which the world of business operates. Keeping on top of all that might seem anything from inconvenient to impossible. Unfortunately, that’s what it takes to keep up. Peter Silcock, CEO of CCNZ, says quite succinctly in his comment piece on page 44 (which I urge you to read), “The civil and general contracting industry has always been very challenging. It requires people and businesses that are savvy, entrepreneurial, innovative and adaptable. That will not change just because there is more work around. “What is new, or at least has become more pronounced, is that clients are looking for higher levels of professionalism and assurance.” Technology can be just one useful tool in that battle. Check out page 38 to see how Taylors Contracting is making use of GPS fleet technology to improve driver education along with staff health and safety. Have a read of what Caroline Boot (of Clever Buying and Plan A) had to say at the NZTA/NZIHT 2017 conference on page 34. And if you’re still in any doubt, see page 45 for NZTA’s plans for digital engineering. Each of these is an example of being savvy, entrepreneurial, innovative and adaptable. Last year the Productivity Commission’s Paul Conway reported, “… one area holding the economy back is our persistently weak labour productivity, with the OECD estimating that New Zealand had the fourth lowest labour productivity growth of OECD countries between 1995 and 2014”. Even with all the changes, we’re falling behind. The answer isn’t to work more hours. The answer is to work smarter. In short, to be savvy, entrepreneurial, innovative and adaptable. We know that’s not easy. Publishing is an industry that has been hit hard with disruptive technology (the internet) and every year we do more with less. But the alternative isn’t attractive either. What civil engineering and associated industries have going in their favour, are strong industry associations providing professional collegiality, training and camaraderie that can help you maintain, grow and even exceed what you need to make it as a successful employer and contributor to our economic success. Kevin Lawrence, Editor
GENERAL MANAGER & EDITOR Kevin Lawrence DDI: 09 636 5710 Mobile: 021 512 800 Email: kevin@contrafed.co.nz EDITORIAL MANAGER Alan Titchall DDI: 09 636 5712 Mobile: 027 405 0338 Email: alan@contrafed.co.nz REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Malcolm Abernethy, Mary Searle Bell, Richard Campbell, Hugh de Lacy, Cameron Officer, Richard Silcock, Chris Webb. 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 The official magazine of Civil Contractors NZ www.civilcontractors.co.nz The Aggregate & Quarry Association www.aqa.org.nz 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 The Ready Mixed Concrete Association www.nzrmca.org.nz Connexis www.connexis.org.nz
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CONTRACTOR UPFRONT
City of cranes Over the summer the cranes were in full swing in Auckland’s CBD with the industry enjoying a very productive period.
Roading workshops in Auckland RIMS, IDS and NZUAG are holding their annual, two-day roading workshops at the Waipuna Hotel & Conference Centre in Auckland, Wednesday March 22, and Thursday March 23. The draft programme outline has day one with plenary presentations aimed at the broad roading infrastructure management industry. Day two will consist of two concurrent, focused theme streams that will go into more detail on Roading Optimised Decision Making and Corridor Access Management. The streams on day two will host more detailed technical talks and will also include workshops for sharing difficulties and learnings, debating and digging further into some key issues in these parts of the industry. An important goal of day two is to provide a forum for professionals in these sectors of the industry that do not often get the opportunity to meet as a community to come together and make contacts/ network. For more information contact Joanne Reddock, 03 359 2600, joanne@ conferenceteam.co.nz.
Steel mesh prosecutions imminent
Aussie competition
CCNZ chief Peter Silcock is very concerned about the Commerce Commission’s comments that misleading or deceptive claims about compliance had been made by some suppliers of steel mesh. “Our members rely on the assurances provided by suppliers that goods meet the standard that they and their clients have specified and are fit for purpose,” he says. “Our members need to be able to have confidence in the assurances provided and the testing procedures that sit behind them.” The commission has been investigating claims since August 2015 that some 500E seismic steel mesh sold up to April 2016 was below the Australian/New Zealand building standard (AS/NZ 4671:2001). The commission said it intends to issue criminal proceedings early this year under the Fair Trading Act against three companies but has not named them to give them time to seek name suppression. Meanwhile, Fletcher Steel has been issued with a warning for engaging in conduct that was likely to breach the act, and United Steel has been issued with compliance advice. The investigation relates to grade 500E steel mesh used in concrete slabs like house foundation slabs and driveways. Mesh strengthens the slabs and is generally used to reduce concrete cracks and limit crack width, particularly in an earthquake.
The inaugural, three-day National Diesel Dirt & Turf Expo in Sydney last year drew more than 30,000 people, and top operators from all over the Australia and New Zealand fought hard for big cash prizes and the honour of being recognised as the region’s best. Even greater crowds are expected in April this year as the number of exhibitors has increased significantly. The 2017 event is being held from Friday, April 21 to Sunday April 23 in the grounds of the Penrith Panthers Club. Over the three days of the show there will be two different machine challenges with a total of A$16,000 up for grabs and a smart trophy for the champion operator. Daily competition winners will take away A$1000 each and qualify for the finals on the Sunday to compete for the huge prize of $5000 and the trophy as 2017 Champion. Any competent machinery operator may enter as long as they are over 18 years of age. More information, visit www.dieseldirtandturf.com.au.
8 www.contractormag.co.nz
Auckland CCNZ branch awards The AB Equipment People Awards are open for entries with the winners announced at the Gala Awards evening in Auckland on June 17. Entry categories are: • O utstanding Individual of the Year. • Young Contractor of the Year. • Young Engineer of the Year. Closing date is May 1 and entries can be submitted via auckland@civilcontractors.co.nz.
Dunedin beckons The 2017 CCNZ Conference (its 73rd) will be held in Dunedin from Wednesday 2 to Saturday 5 August. The hosting association branch promises an “informative businessorientated programme”, while “planning is well underway for an exciting social programme”. As usual the programme will feature the President’s Welcome function; the CablePrice Theme Dinner; the Z and Connexis Awards Luncheon; and the CCNZ/Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards Dinner. More details at www. ccnzconference.co.nz; or contact ForumPoint2 Conference Partners on 07 838 1098 or email conference@fp2.co.nz.
Waikato in full flight this summer Over the summer season a lot of dirt was moved in the Waikato as the region’s biggest ever roading project hit full steam. The Hamilton, Huntly, Longswamp and Rangiriri sections of the Waikato Expressway were in full swing. On the Hamilton section more than four million cubic metres – or 114 rugby fields piled five metres high – of soil will be shifted over the next two seasons. At peak this summer there were more than 150 pieces of machinery on the 15 kilometre Huntly section, including 100-tonne dump trucks, a fleet of motor scrapers and a 180-tonne excavator which
arrived recently. It came on site in pieces and seven trucks were needed to move the pieces in to place; its huge bucket biting off 25 tonnes of earth at a time. The end is in sight for the 4.8km Rangiriri section, which began in 2013. The project, which includes full interchanges at Rangiriri and Te Kauwhata turnoff, will be completed in April. Just to the north, the Longswamp section, between Hampton Downs and the Te Kauwhata interchange, has started, with a completion date of 2018. More information: https://www.nzta.govt. nz/projects/waikato-expressway/huntly/
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CONTRACTOR UPFRONT
Landscape of the year winner Walls built in Westgate (Kopukaka Reserve) by contractor ICB won the world landscape award in Belgium at the 2016 World Architecture Festival, held at the end of last year.
Cos moves back to FH
Fletcher’s Kapiti expressway award
Ex Downer NZ chief Cos Bruyn will take over at Fulton Hogan later this year. As group chief executive officer he succeeds Nick Miller who is scheduled to leave the civil construction company at the end of March. Fulton Hogan chair Dave Faulkner says the appointment follows “a thorough local and international executive search process”. “Cos has extensive experience in the contracting industry, including as CEO for Downer New Zealand, and he also held a senior role in Downer EDI’s Infrastructure Services business in Australia.” He is also on the executive of the Civil Contractors New Zealand board and was a chairman of the old Roading NZ Association. Prior to joining Downer, Cos had a 15-year history with Fulton Hogan across a broad range of management roles. Earlier this year he resigned from management duties at Downer to sit out a nine-month restraint period before he joins Fulton Hogan. Steve Killeen, who is Downer’s group executive manager of strategy and development, is acting as the Australianowned company’s chief executive.
The NZ Transport Agency has awarded the contract for the construction of the 13 kilometre Peka Peka to Otaki section of the Kapiti Expressway to Fletcher Construction, with work on the ground set to get under way in the middle of this year. “The tender process was extremely competitive, and the shortlist was assessed against a large number of criteria including overall cost, environmental management and community engagement,” says Neil Walker, NZ Transport Agency Wellington Highway manager. “Fletcher and its partners will be able to build on the strong relationships they’ve forged with the community as part of the alliance constructing the Mackays to Peka Peka Expressway. “We’re looking forward to a continuation of the collaborative approach they’ve become known for during that project.
10 www.contractormag.co.nz
Kaikoura work starts in earnest The alliance to clean up the quake-ruined North Canterbury region around Kaikoura is made up of the NZTA, KiwiRail, local councils, Fulton Hogan, Downer, HEB Construction and Higgins. It is led by Duncan Gibb, the ex director of the SCIRT Alliance that cleaned up Christchurch. Plans were to have the highway partly opened to public traffic (restricted access) by the end of this summer, and fully opened within 18 months. While the scope and funding of the project have yet to be decided, the new highway is designed to be two-plus-one, or two lanes, with passing lanes. The new section will also feature new viewing platforms, made from slip material. Government provided additional funding for the new coastal route project. Exact costs are still being determined, but the current estimate is between $1.4 billion and $2 billion.
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CONTRACTOR UPFRONT
Tracking down the classics The Classic Machines section of this magazine, put together by Richard Campbell, attracts enormous interest from around the world and our new year email bag started this year with a request from David John in the UK asking for any information on the Hewco logging tractor. This old machine, made by the Kiwi Hewco company in the 1960s, was based on the 52hp Fordson Power Major and was known as an “equaled wheeled articulated vehicle”. “I am looking for pictures or references please, as I would like to find one to buy and restore.” Richard was on the case before our offices even opened after the holidays. “Hewco stood for Huntly Engineering & Welding Company,” says Richard, which was based around 90 kilometres south of Auckland. “They were affiliated with the now defunct Clyde Engineering Company who were the NZ Perkins, GM, Allison, Kato, Track Marshall and Euclid/Terex distributors.” The company folded around 1985, he adds. “I am not sure what New Zealand would have done without the 52hp Fordson, as it was the basis of many projects in this country – including the log skidder and also a motor scraper, again made by Hewco.” Richard was able to tell John that not many Hewco’s Log-Luggers were made.
“I guess they were a little bit lightweight compared to some of the Timberjacks & Clarks of the period. “There was also one 4x4 tractor variant called the Quad Major (without the fairlead and winch), no doubt to take on the Ford County. “This is a very obscure piece of machinery and John was fortunate Contractor directed him to me as I’m pretty sure no-one else would have a clue about it now.” Always happy to help anyone researching the ‘classics’ – Ed. • If you’d like to read more of Richard’s extensive machine knowledge, you can find his Blog on our website at www.contrafedupdate.me.
Award for the faded pink Lightpath The annual 2016 World Architecture Festival in Berlin awarded Auckland’s pink cycle/pedestrian ‘Lightpath’ as the winner of its Transport – Completed Building category. The $18 million pathway, built by connecting a new bridge to the unused Nelson Street motorway off-ramp, beat projects in Sweden, Chicago, Denmark and Taiwan. Auckland Transport says in its first year the pathway recorded more than 200,000 cycle trips at an average of 564 per day. The surface of the path was painted with a shocking pink resin and the eastern side of the path has 300 custom-made LED lights. What the judges could not have known was that by December last year the pink had drastically faded. The Transport Agency says a UV product used in the surfacing had “bonding issues” caused by very wet weather at the time it was laid.
CONTRACTORS’ DIARY Date
Event & Venue
Contact
2017 9 Feb 16 Feb 16-17 Feb 22 Feb 2-4 Mar 22-23 Mar 21-24 May 17 Jun 2-5 Aug
Updating and Living Asset Management Plans, Christchurch Local Government Infrastructure Management Forum, Wellington Making Effective Infrastructure Decisions (IPWEA), Wellington Updating and Living Asset Management Plans, Wellington The Transport and Heavy Equipment (THE) Expo, Mystery Creek Events Centre Road Infrastructure Management Forum, Waipuna Hotel, Auckland 5th International SaferRoads Conference, Auckland CCNZ Auckland branch gala awards, Auckland CCNZ Annual Conference and AGM, Dunedin
Please send any contributions for Contractors’ Diary to kevin@contrafed.co.nz, or phone 09 636 5710 12 www.contractormag.co.nz
www.nams.org.nz bit.ly/IPWEA_LG-InfrastructureMgmt www.nams.org.nz www.nams.org.nz info@theexpo.co.nz www.rims.org.nz/ www.saferroads.co.nz auckland@civilcontractors.co.nz www.ccnzconference.co.nz
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CONTRACTOR UPFRONT
A slip to compare with Kaikoura With the SH1 slips near Kaikoura in the news we thought we would retrace the sheer amount of work that went into mitigating the Manawatu Gorge, following a record slip in 2010 (first published in Contractor in February 2013). It took 14 months to reopen the Manawatu Gorge to two-lane traffic after it was locked up by the largest recorded slip over a long history of problems with road-blocking landslides. For many years some 7000 road users a day had to use the steep and winding Pahiatua Track or Saddle Road as the Manawatu Gorge became blocked by fallen material every five years or so. The previous slip, in 2004, had closed the road for 70 days, but that paled in comparison to the 450 days it was shut from August 8, 2010. The Higgins Group, which has held the maintenance contract for the road for nearly 20 years, plugged away at clearing the slip from the bottom, but the big challenge was shifting the loose debris from the top of the ridge to the bottom, enabling the cliff to be cut back to an angle that would prevent its continuing slide. There initially seemed no way to get machinery to the top of the cliff to cut its way down, and Higgins (paid for by the NZ 14 www.contractormag.co.nz
Transport Agency) was reduced to bombing the upper slopes with 1000-litre helicopterborne water dumps. Fifty tonnes of water was spewed onto the top of the slide in a single afternoon, but to limited effect. The essence of the problem was the crumbly and inconsistent nature of the spoil, ranging from sand, soil and small rocks to truck-size boulders too big to shift with excavators. Previous slips across the road on the south side of the gorge – and the less frequent ones on the north side where the railway runs – had mostly been made up of rock-falls, but this one, a short way in from the Palmerston North end, was something different. The inherent instability of the gorge cliffs was caused by the Manawatu River defining the abutment between the Ruahine Ranges to the north and the Tararua Ranges to the south, leaving between them an ancient landslide that time had not stabilised. Working from the bottom, Higgins cut a bench 40 metres above the road, and had 30 trucks on the go carting away such spoil as did not roll straight on over the road and into the river. But, as the cost of clearing the slip climbed beyond the $1.5 million mark, it became increasingly obvious that the only way for the tops to be brought down was to get machinery up there. So began a long trek by
two bulldozers and two diggers over farmland and up through steep and dense bush till they finally teetered on the summit and could begin the dicey job of cutting it back. Once atop the 150 metre-high slip, the strategy was to cut the slope back to about 40 degrees by way of four benches, each about 25 metres high. The benches, though, could only be about five metres wide, so the machinery was always working in cramped spaces with the ever-present threat of plunging down the slope into the river. It took four months, from the time they reached the top of the slip, for the four machines to carve their way to the bottom. About 375,000 cubic metres of spoil came down in the slip before it stabilised, with about a third of that ending up in the river and the rest being carted off-site by a fleet that sometimes exceeded 30 trucks. Then came the re-building of the road over the 200-metre stretch inundated by the slip. Most of this consisted of bridges, one of them 60 metres long, while the rest was supported by retaining walls, all of which had been swept away in the landslide. Apart from the re-sealing, the final job was to install netting along the bottom to catch the odd rock that might yet pop out and roll down the hill towards the road. All the while the costs mounted, and by the time the road was re-opened they had spiralled to a staggering $21 million. The chief executive of local business promotion organisation Vision Manawatu, Elaine Reilly, said at the time that the closed gorge was costing Manawatu businesses $62,000 a day, which would amount to $27.9 million over the term of the closure. Since then, Higgins Group operations manager Shane Higgins, a grandson of company founder Dan Higgins, has told Contractor: “It won’t come down again.” “The walls are pretty stable, and since we started carving it down and doing all the other work there we haven’t had any movement at all.” NZTA regional state highway manager David McGonigal is a little more reticent. “The slip will remain stable and will only come under pressure from significant climatic or natural events,” he told Contractor. “It could become unstable again in an earthquake, but it’d need to be something significant, and that applies to anywhere in the country really. “In terms of the engineering, I’m professionally confident it’ll stand the test of time, but we are dealing with Mother Nature, which can be unpredictable.”
UPFRONT CONTRACTOR
Harrison Grierson makes history
Progress on West Coast bridge
The New Zealand owned engineering and design consultancy, Harrison Grierson, recently made health and safety history, with the highest score ever recorded in New Zealand for Sitewise certification. The company scored an impressive 99 percent with 153 out of 155 possible points for its annual health and safety assessment. The company employs over 300 people in six offices across the country and is our oldest established engineering consultancy.
Work is in progress on the $25.8 million Taramakau Bridge between Greymouth and Kumara Junction on State Highway 6. The project is part of the government’s Accelerated Regional Roading Package launched in 2014 to speed up the delivery of transport projects considered important to regions. The new two-lane bridge will replace the existing one-lane Taramakau Bridge, a 130-year old structure that is the last road and rail bridge on the state highway network, which is used by 3500 vehicles a day. Fulton Hogan is doing the work which is expected to be complete by the end of 2018.
Demand drives engineer salaries Engineers take home an average of nearly $100,000 a year and their salaries are growing strongly, according to the annual IPENZ Remuneration Survey. Engineers’ median base salary grew by 6.3 percent in the year to October 2016. According to Statistics New Zealand, average wage inflation in the year to June 2016 was 1.5 percent. Engineers’ median base salary is $92,500, with another $5500 on top of that in bonuses or other payments. The survey reveals that in the very first year of their career, engineers earn an average of $55,000 plus another $2000 in cash benefits. Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene says engineers’ strong salary growth reflects demand for all types of engineers in every part of New Zealand. “New Zealand desperately needs more engineers. With huge growth and expanding range of opportunities, it’s an exciting time to be an engineer.”
$700m Puhoi road underway The sod has been turned on the first section of the long awaited, 18.5 kilometre Puhoi to Wellsford Road between north Auckland and Northland. Progress is also being made towards starting the second stage between Warkworth and Wellsford. The $709.5 million project is being delivered through a Public Private Partnership, the second for a state highway in this country. The road is planned to be open to traffic in late 2021. More information: bit.ly/Puhoi_Warkworth.
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CONTRACTOR UPFRONT
Preparing for Waterview’s opening Contractor magazine was invited into the nearly completed Waterview tunnels in Auckland to witness a ‘deluge’ safety feature test, which was one of many carried out during the final fit out, testing and commissioning of safety systems. Testing will continue through to mid-April, when the entire Waterview Connection project is open to the public. The twin tunnels, the longest in the country at 2.4 kilometres each (twice the distance of Auckland’s Harbour Bridge), have numerous safety features including a ‘deluge’ system capable of dropping 250 cubic metres of water for fire control. There are five deluge storage tanks that can supply 10mm of water per minute inside each of the 173 zones of the twin tunnels (the average annual rainfall in Auckland, in comparison, is 1115mm). Each
The deluge system in zone S10 being tested in the north-bound tunnel, recorded by local media.
16 www.contractormag.co.nz
zone is located every 30 metres. The tunnels have also involved: 74,500 cubic metres of aggregate for backfill, five kilometres of drainage pipes, 140,000 square metres of paint (black for the roof and magnolia for the walls), and 400 kilometres (270 tonnes) of cables and wiring. Around 800,000 cubic metres of spoil (enough to fill 320 Olympicsized swimming pools) from the tunnel extractions has been compacted at a disused quarry at Wiri in South Auckland. Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) pavement had already been laid for each tunnel to carry three lanes of traffic with speed restricted to 80kph and a ban on lane changing (good luck on that one with Auckland motorists!). The giant motorway-to-motorway interchange at Great North Road,
On top of the Great North Interchange (on the ramp heading east into the city), which is complete. Panorama one (left) is looking northwest, while panorama two (below) is looking southeast. The new recreational facilities, including a skateboard park, can be seen to the left of panorama one, and the northern tunnel entrances can be seen on the right of panorama two.
connecting the Northwestern and Southwestern Motorways, had been largely finished by the end of last year. The project has been delivered on time and budget by the WellConnected Alliance made up of the NZTA; Fletcher Construction; McConnell Dowell; Parson Brinckerhoff; Beca Infrastructure; Tonkin & Taylor; and Japanese construction company Obayashi Corporation. Sub-alliance partners are Auckland-based Wilson Tunnelling and Spanish tunnel control specialist SICE. “We are very excited and very happy with how the contractors have performed and they have done a fantastic job on a very risky project, especially with the tunnel boring machine,” Brett Gliddon, Auckland highway manager, NZTA, told Contractor. “They were no major issues and now we are in the testing stage it is all going very well and it is all on track for an April opening.” On site at any one time were between 700 and a 1000 workers, he
Brett Gliddon, NZTA Auckland highway manager, surrounded by local media.
says, and overall the project inducted some 12,000 people. Around 600 were still putting the finishing touches to the tunnel and ramps in December 2016. Celebrations for project workers involve a number of things, says Brett. “We are talking about a tunnel dinner, as a traditional way of celebrating a tunnel completion, but the logistics are complicated so we are still working through that. “There will obviously be the official opening ceremony plus a two day public open day where people can walk through just before opening the following week.” Iain Simmons, project manager, Well-Connected Alliance, says the SMA used in the tunnels features blast furnish slag from the Glenbrook steel mill. “It has a very high skid resistance and is bound together with a bitumen emulsion heated and mixed with cut-back oils and water. The mastic material is sprayed on top to provide a very dense, resistant, long-lasting surface.” All pavement surfacing for the project was supplied by Downer and Higgins. “Outside the tunnels we used an open-graded porous graded asphalt – because of its quiet surface to reduce noise, especially on the ramps where we have used a thick double layer of open-porous asphalt. “We have made an effort to achieve a pavement life as long as we can, while remaining within reasonable costs.” A number of cross-tunnel corridors (escape routes) were tricky to align, Iain told Contractor. “We have two tunnels that curve both vertically and horizontally and you have to rely on set points between them [which are about 11 metres apart] and it was tricky to get the angle right, because they are not perfectly square. You get ring creep where the ring positions move relative to each other in the two tunnels, so it was a lot of work getting them aligned.” FEBRUARY 2017 17
CONTRACTOR OBITUARY
In memory of
Pauline MARY SEARLE BELL looks back on the award-winning career
of Pauline Nobbs, who led the traffic management role for the Newmarket Viaduct Replacement project.
“A caring person with a beautiful heart” is how friend and colleague Phil Skinner of Fulton Hogan described Pauline Nobbs at her funeral. Pauline worked for 12 years at Fulton Hogan, responsible for temporary traffic management before her life was cruelly cut short by cancer in September last year. However, in her time with the company, her stellar work ethic and attitude made her a standout employee. Her key role was to ensure the travelling public and the crew working on the roads were kept apart from each other by creating a safe working space for the contractors while traffic whizzed by. “She used to say, ‘never shall the two meet’,” says Phil. “She watched over me and my colleagues daily and ensured we were well protected and we each returned home safely. “She cared for us and was well respected and loved by many on site.” Pauline joined Fulton Hogan in late-2004 as a traffic management plan designer and soon showed herself to be a very capable employee. Consequently, she was soon promoted to department manager. She led the traffic management team through to 2008 when she took on the temporary traffic management role for the Newmarket Viaduct Replacement project. This groundbreaking project saw Auckland’s very busy Newmarket Viaduct completely replaced with a bigger structure, while remaining open to traffic the entire time. Naturally, traffic management had a huge role to play in ensuring the workers and the travellers were suitably and safely separated. When that project was completed, Pauline moved to another massive roading project. In 2013 work began on raising and widening the 4.8-kilometre-long causeway across the harbour on the Northwestern Motorway. Once again, the road was to remain open throughout the project for the 90,000 vehicles that use it daily. One of Pauline’s many triumphs in this role was the successful coordination of a considerable number of complex and lengthy traffic switches – where the road layout was changed to allow work to be undertaken on different parts of the project. This included over 50 major traffic switches over the three years she worked on the project. These switches included several successful ‘bull runs’. A bull run is a non-exit lane switch, where traffic in a particular lane may not be able to leave the motorway at a particular exit. To be successful, drivers need to know this information in advance and ensure they’re in the correct lane if they want to exit. Causeway Alliance project manager Mike Elliot says Pauline recognised the potential for these switches to have a major impact on customers, and often went the extra mile to improve communications. 18 www.contractormag.co.nz
He says the Rosebank Road on-ramp diversion was unique in its design, and was in place for several weeks to enable the team to raise the motorway to the city. “What made this diversion notable was that the on-ramp remained open but it linked directly to the Great North Road exit. The effect of this was that drivers were temporarily unable to enter the city-bound motorway, putting significant pressure on local roads and other motorway on-ramps.” Pauline worked to have temporary ramp signals installed on the Rosebank Road on-ramp that were able to be manually changed by the project – a first. “The impact of the diversion was at its greatest during the morning peak period and Pauline was determined to ensure that customers were kept moving on our section of the motorway and on the surrounding roads. “Every morning for the first week of the diversion, Pauline stationed traffic controllers at intersections on the local roads and sat at the Auckland Traffic Control Centre [ATOC] at Smales Farm. Using her overview of the traffic network and receiving reports from controllers on where traffic was backing up, she was able to adjust the on-ramp and local road signals appropriately, to help keep traffic moving while drivers became familiar with the diversion. “After the first week, Pauline continued to manage the ramp signals and major intersections, and would call ATOC if she thought the signals required adjustment elsewhere.” As part of the causeway upgrade, the cycleway adjacent to the motorway was upgraded along with the road. With 450 cyclists using this each day, Pauline ensured that they too were kept safe throughout the project. Following the demolition of the old Patiki Road pedestrian overbridge, pedestrians and cyclists had to be detoured across Patiki Road. “The area was high risk due to traffic volumes on the Patiki off-
ramp eastbound,” says Mike. “Pauline worked with the project team to install a pedestrian refuge that was wide enough to accommodate a bike, dropped the speed limit to 30kph and installed VMS boards to advise drivers to slow down. “She had special detour signage made and installed for pedestrians and cyclists to follow. “For the first two weeks, six days a week, she ensured traffic personnel were on the ground to assist users with the detour and ensured no one cut across the road, putting themselves at risk.” In a GEM Award entry nominating Pauline for the 2016 Customer Champion Award, the submission states, “Pauline often went the extra mile finding innovative solutions to customer concerns, attending call outs in the middle of the night, regularly liaising and responding to any of the Auckland Motorway Alliance concerns, solving potential traffic problems and generally keeping customers moving.” Feedback from those she came into contact with endorses this. In the GEM Award entry Duncan Edgar of the Auckland Motorway Alliance writes, “Pauline plans collaboratively with the right people at the right time and ensures no surprises. She is the most prepared, most planned and most able to challenge her construction team about their methodology. She exhibits leadership, planning, adaptability, and personality. She always has a smile.” While Pauline didn’t win that particular GEM Award, she did receive the Civil Contractors NZ Auckland inaugural Women in Contracting Award for her outstanding contribution to the causeway project, the client, stakeholders and customers. In April 2016 Pauline left the project to return to Fulton Hogan office to lead the regional traffic management departments in
Mt Wellington and Silverdale. Sadly, a few months later she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died on September 3. In recognition of Pauline’s outstanding contribution to the industry, the NZ Transport Agency posthumously awarded her a special GEM Outstanding Service Award. In presenting the award, which was accepted by her sister Tina, NZTA group manager for highways and network operations Tommy Parker described Pauline as a well-respected and dedicated member of the team, known for her infectious laugh, her incredible sense of humour and great care of people. “Any project that had Pauline as traffic manager was known to be in competent, safe hands, and would be hugely successful.”
In recognition of Pauline’s outstanding contribution to the industry, the NZ Transport Agency posthumously awarded her a special GEM Outstanding Service Award. Her sister Tina Nobbs, pictured with Tommy Parker, NZTA, accepted the award.
UTILITIES MAINTENANCE LEVEL 4 NZ CERTIFICATE WITH STRANDS IN WATER, WASTEWATER AND STORMWATER. This qualification is available through Recognition of Current Competence (RCC), and on achievement, you will be eligible to apply for Civil Trades Certification. FIND OUT MORE
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FEBRUARY 2017 19
CONTRACTOR ON THE COVER
As thousands of logs are slung onto a ship for export at C3’s operation at Lyttelton Port, a new, purpose-built Hyundai excavator is hard at work in the hull of the vessel, stacking them into place. By MARY SEARLE BELL.
Fully loaded LEADERS IN PRODUCT-HANDLING solutions,
C3 looks after up to 30 million logs each year at 15 different ports throughout New Zealand and Australia. Lyttelton Port of Christchurch is one of the smaller ports the company operates in, nevertheless, each month, its diggers are kept busy with regular vessels getting loaded with exports logs. C3 recently purchased a new Hyundai R140LC-9 excavator from Porter Group to work in its Lyttelton operation. The new machine works inside the ship, handling logs once they’re lifted aboard by crane. As well as ensuring the optimum number of logs can be loaded by stacking them tidily, the machine is necessary to get logs stacked in under the hatch of the vessel. C3 southern regional manager Neil 20 www.contractormag.co.nz
Mythen says the company opted for a Hyundai as it has been using this brand of machine for the past three years. Neil says they’re a good machine – the operators are used to them and like them – and Porters ensured the company got a good deal. “We have three Hyundais already, and the new one is really good,” he told Contractor. “We put our most experienced operator on it and he was very happy with it – lots of power and easy to use. “It’s easy to manoeuvre and sits nicely too. Some excavators can be top heavy but this one is nicely balanced.” The excavator has been fitted with a Rotobec grapple which allows it to pick up two to three logs at a time. The machine was also given a full forestry fitout – PFS Engineering in
Hamilton adding extra guarding to protect the machine and its operator in the event it is accidentally hit with a log. Another key addition to this new machine is the shackle fitted to the top of its boom. This enables it to be quickly and easily picked up by a crane’s hook and lifted into a ship. Excavators are usually slung aboard by means of wire rope around their tracks – this is time consuming to fit and has the potential to become unbalanced. Darren Andersen, fleet maintenance manager at C3, says, by using the hook and shackle set up, the machine has a single lifting point and hangs directly under the crane’s hook, which is much safer. “All our machines will have this going forward,” he says.
“...the new Hyundai can work for two full days loading the ship – that’s 48 hours, non-stop. Efficiencies such as not having to stop to refuel save valuable time, and money.” The new Hyundai has been fitted with a staircase, rather than a ladder, to give access to the shackle on the boom. This increases the safety to the operator when attaching the hook. The machine also features a second fuel tank. This gives the machine around 500 litres of fuel in one go. Without it, the excavator would have to be lifted out of the ship mid-job for refuelling on land as it can’t be refuelled inside the hull. Darren says with the second tank, the new Hyundai can work for two full days loading the ship – that’s 48 hours, non-stop. Efficiencies such as not having to stop to refuel save valuable time, and money. Extra lighting on the excavator – on the rear, sides and along the boom – make it easier for the operator to see working in the gloom of the hull and at night, and ensures the crane operator clearly sees the machine in the hole while heaving in logs. C3 operator Brent Ericksen got behind the controls of the new excavator for a few hours at C3’s operation in Mount Maunganui before it was put on a vessel and shipped down to Lyttelton. He says he found it a good machine, “nice and comfortable, and easy to operate”. “I’d rate it up there with the best of them,” he says. “I later spoke to [operator] Matt down at Lyttelton and he tells me he couldn’t fault it.” Along with the machine’s ease of use and manoeuvrability, inside the cab it’s quiet, making it pleasant for the operator and easy for communications. Operator comfort is paramount for this machine as the operators work 12-hour shifts inside a vessel. And, as Neil says, “you need a good machine – it’s their office”. “Our operators finish their shift feeling much more relaxed – it doesn’t feel like they’ve just spent 12 hours in an excavator.” It’s early days for the Hyundai R140LC-9, but the team at C3 say they are very pleased with their newest machine.
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FEBRUARY 2017 21
CONTRACTOR COMPANY PROFILE
For the good of energy
Burgess & Crowley Civil general manager Owen Burgess pictured at the company’s Inglewood headquarters.
Taranaki company Burgess & Crowley Civil has been providing various aggregate services to the region’s energy industry for almost three decades and its latest wellsite construction project involved an innovative way of minimising vehicle movements on a strategic rural road. By NEIL RITCHIE. TODD ENERGY’S efforts to be a ‘good
neighbour’ regarding its exploration and production activities in Taranaki recently saw Burgess & Crowley Civil carrying out a programme to reduce heavy traffic flows through the village of Tikorangi and along Otaraoa Road, the main through road for traffic from Waitara inland to the eastern Taranaki town of Tarata. And Burgess & Crowley Civil (BCC) did not use production from its own quarry near Toko in eastern Taranaki, but trucked aggregates from a more northern Inglewood quarry, as well as used ‘hard fill’ from a farm near the site chosen by Todd Energy for the construction of its Mangahewa G wellsite – the latest expansion of the commercial gas field. “This was a win-win situation for everyone, for all the parties concerned,” recalls BCC company director and general manager, Owen Burgess, regarding the work that finished during the latter half of 2016. “It was good for Todd Energy, it 22 www.contractormag.co.nz
was good for the farmer concerned, Brendan Lyons, utilising material from his farmland, and it was good for the Inglewood quarry. “But, most importantly, our latest contract with Todd Energy regarding wellsite construction enabled all that hard fill and aggregate to be transported on lesser routes, avoiding 900 or so truck movements on the narrow and sometimes twisty Otaraoa road.” The ‘back country’ route also involved using some private Todd Energy roads and a Todd Energy access bridge. “This was the biggest wellsite construction project we have yet been involved in,” Owen adds. It was an 11-month project, involving about 94,000 cubic metres (cumecs) of earthworks (top soil and dirt) shifted from the Brendan Lyons farm, then about 9000 cumecs of hard fill (GAP 150), which was not crushed or screened, also taken from the farm. Finally, Inglewood Metal’s Everett
Road quarry supplied about 5000 cumecs of AP40 and AP65 aggregates. As well as the construction of the large (exceeding 200 metres by 100 metres) wellsite, there is also the ‘footprint’ of where Todd Energy’s ‘Big Ben’ rig (see side story) will go when Todd decides to drill some development wells. This ‘top off’ was a combination of AP40 and AP65. Other recent jobs BCC has done for Todd Energy have included work on the construction of the Mangahewa D and E wellsites, and the Te Kiri wellsite around coastal Taranaki. “We’ve done a lot of work for Todd over the years and some for Greymouth,” Owen says, referring to the country’s largest and second largest private petroleum companies, Todd Energy and Greymouth Petroleum. “And some of this work has also included the realignment, and widening, of some rural roads.” And the company has also done some preliminary work for Todd Corporation
subsidiary Nova Energy, which may decide to go ahead with the construction of another natural gas-fired peaker power station on the outskirts of New Plymouth to complement its existing gas peaker plant at McKee near Mangahewa. BCC was incorporated as a company in 1988, and is now one of the most established construction and quarry companies in the region and has diversified in recent times. “In the early days we concentrated on the oil and gas, energy industries. Then we diversified into roading, land developments, construction of subdivisions. We also do some work constructing access tracks, etc, into forests and are now also involved in the expanding chicken farm business.” Which means the company’s total involvement is in drainage, commercial, industrial, subdivisions, grading maintenance, paving resurfacing, road marking and sealing, site works, surfacing of tracks, earthmoving and roading contracts. Company headquarters are at Inglewood where there is an office, storage and distribution yard, as well as space for storing truck-and-trailer units. The company also has 25 or 26 excavators scattered around the region, including machines at Toko, Kaponga and other towns. BCC has also acted as a subcontractor to Downer at the NZTA State Highway 3 Normanby realignment project, doing earthworks and drainage, etc. This project will
Todd Energy’s massive Mangahewa G wellsite is presently being used to store containers and equipment, primarily for the nearby ongoing Mangahewa Expansion Compression (MEC) project.
see a 76-year-old overbridge and its substandard approaches replaced by the “road under rail” underpass and a new stock underpass by mid-2017. “We also have guys in Dannevirke and Wellington,” Owen adds, referring to BCC acting as a subcontractor for further projects outside the region. Some of these involve bulk earthmoving, doing some work at Pahiatua and at the construction of the new water treatment plant at Whanganui, where BCC is subcontracted to Hawkins for earthworks and drainage. And BCC is a subcontractor to Higgins at Dannevirke for the realignment of State Highway 2. In Wellington it’s a similar story with the NZTA Haywards Interchange, an estimated $43 million project involving the construction of a new interchange at the intersection of the Western Hutt/Haywards Hill roads (State Highway 2 and State Highway 58). The project also includes realignments of several highway connections, a car park and a pedestrian bridge. BCC is a subcontractor to Downer for this project. “We’ve never had both the dairy and petroleum industries down at the same time before so we’ve had to diversify … and we are enjoying the new work as well as still doing some of the old,” says Owen. For more detailed information on Todd’s Big Ben drilling rig check out: EnergyNZ magazine’s feature at http://bit.ly/2k67sbd
Big Ben TODD ENERGY’S $42 million, 450-tonne rig
imported from Germany is the biggest, best and quietest land rig in the country, and a sign of Todd’s long-term commitment to the country’s future oil and gas industry. This photo was taken by Contractor sister magazine EnergyNZ a few years ago when the rig was being re-assembled and tested prior to starting its first well, the Mangahewa-16 appraisal well, at the Mangahewa D wellsite inland from the small Taranaki town of Tikorangi. The Bentec rig, aptly named Big Ben, is equipped with numerous environmental features, the latest technology and a high degree of mechanisation to reduce manual handling and improve crew health and safety. It is not a “super single”, but a socalled triple rig. The only other comparable rig, in terms of technology and safety features, is also of German origin – the modular offshore drilling rig Archer Emerald that worked on the Maui A platform, drilling up to seven socalled ‘sidetrack wells’. Todd actually owns the rig, which is unusual as most explorers lease rigs from established drilling contractors such as the New Zealand arm of Canadian multinational Ensign International Energy Services. But Todd believes drilling operations and future work-overs will be more streamlined, saving costs, and increasing returns from existing and any new discoveries and subsequent developments by owning the rig. However, MB Century operates and maintains the rig for Todd.
FEBRUARY 2017 23
CONTRACTOR PROJECT
UNDER AUCKLAND CITY
24 www.contractormag.co.nz
Aucklanders knew the disruption was coming and now it is upon them as Albert Street becomes a temporary construction site. But after the pain will follow significant gain for the city’s transport infrastructure. CHRIS WEBB explains how it is being constructed. DESPITE THE DISRUPTION to Auckland’s CBD, the much-heralded
City Rail Link (CRL) signals welcome relief to commuters and others wanting to access the city centre. This country is getting used to receiving new and unusual construction plant to its shores. Alice, the tunnel boring machine used to construct Waterview’s underground route, is a case in point. Now there’s a new machine in town – a 170 tonne Soilmec SR100 double rotary cased continuous flight auger (CCFA) piling rig, which cuts something of a profile in downtown Auckland. Nicknamed ‘Gomer’ and claimed to be the first of its kind here, the rig is well travelled, having completed projects in Copenhagen, Denmark, and later Oman. The machine measures 5.1 metres wide and 11 metres long, with a mast some 29 metres in height. Built by Soilmec and operated by Trevi Construction, the machine began working for Connectus, the McConnell Dowell Hawkins joint venture charged with building this part of the CRL, last May. When Contractor spoke to Trevi’s project manager, Marco Lucchi, late last year, the machine had completed 50 of a total of 360 piles required for a challenging deep excavation exercise in Albert Street and surrounds in advance of cut-and-cover works for the tunnels needed for the CRL. The nominally 762mm diameter piles will form a retaining wall to enable excavation for the construction of running tunnels to form the first part of the CRL. The piles are being driven in the East Coast Bays Formation rock. The piles, up to 20 metres in length, are being bored using CCFA technology so as to preserve the integrity of adjacent ground next to large buildings. They are bored within casings which are retracted while self-compacting concrete (SCC), using a special mixture of binders and additives, is simultaneously injected. “It’s a big rig,” says Trevi Construction’s Marco, “and very powerful.” The rig’s 480 kilowatt power engine gives the unit a 300 kilonewton metres of torque. “It’s more than capable of this task. The only restraints on its progress are the restrictions on working close to buildings, traffic constraints and those of working in a busy city centre environment. Progress could certainly be better, but we’re working in a very congested area, which means we lose the productivity we could [otherwise] have. This machine could double the productivity in an open area. But three to four piles average a day means we will meet our target and programme.” Progress is determined also by the vehicular access to the site. Two to three concrete trucks are needed per pile, along with those needed for spoil disposal (another eight to nine a day) and delivery of steel reinforcement cages. It’s a “logistical challenge”, says Marco. Early works included sinking the shafts for the construction
of 520 metres of new stormwater pipe under Albert Street, largely replacing the existing structure in advance of the main tunnelling works. This is being achieved by a TBM called Valerie and the Akkerman 720 machines that drove the 2.2 metre diameter horizontal works for the stormwater diversion. It is over a year into the project, and Scott Elwarth, Auckland Transport’s CRL construction manager, told Contractor as the Contract 2 shafts were being completed: “We’ve got past the obstacles posed by the utilities and we can see the plan to construct the temporary station at Britomart going according to plan. “By January we will have shut down the CPO [Central Post Office] and there’s to be a temporary facility in Commerce Street. It’s all about delivering the project while keeping all the stakeholders happy. We have a rule book to follow; our aim is to provide uninterrupted services while demonstrating reasonable productivity.”
FEBRUARY 2017 25
CONTRACTOR PROJECT
About the project The project consists of an electrified, double-track rail tunnel underneath Auckland’s city centre, running for approximately 3.5 kilometres between Britomart Transport Centre and the Western Line, connecting to the east and west of Mount Eden Railway Station. Designed to cater for 30,000 people on the rail network at peak hours – double the number currently – while slashing travel times across the rail network, CRL aims to help free-up disjointed rail travel in New Zealand’s most populous city. Contract 2 is the first CRL contract to be let and involves the construction of 350 metres of twin cut and cover tunnels along Albert Street, between Custom Street and Wyndham Street. It also involves diverting an existing stormwater tunnel that runs under Albert Street through the CRL project extents. The tunnel was constructed in the mid-1930s and runs down the centre of Albert Street at depths of up to 18 metres. The diversion will be constructed by pipejacking a 2.0-2.2 metre pipeline along the eastern side of Albert Street between 26 www.contractormag.co.nz
Swanson Street and Wellesley Street. There are four shaft locations at the intersections with Albert Street and Swanson, Victoria and Wellesley Streets. The total length of the stormwater main is approximately 520 metres.
Recent timeline December 2015: Auckland Transport’s CRL project director Chris Meale describes the start of work as a great milestone. Former Auckland mayor Len Brown said it had been anticipated “for almost a century”. June/July 2016: The initial works include the new stormwater pipe under Albert Street so the existing one can be removed when the City Rail Link (CRL) work starts. The earliest opening date is 2023 and in September 2015 the total cost of the project was estimated to be between $2.8 billion and $3.4 billion, according to Associate Finance Minister Steven Joyce and Transport Minister Simon Bridges. In September 2016 the government and Auckland Council signed a Heads of Agreement to jointly fund the project.
Tunnels The CRL tunnels, amounting to a length of 3.4 kilometres in total, and rising 70 metres from Britomart to Mount Eden, will be constructed through ground that varies between rock and soft soil. The middle section of the tunnel, between Aotea Station and the turnout tunnels near Mt Eden Station, will be excavated in East Coast Bays Formation rock. These twin seven-metre diameter tunnels will be driven by the TBM, installed first at Mt Eden Station and driven, first, downhill in a northerly direction to the new station at Karangahape Road, then onwards to Aotea Square. In this section the sandstone is typically a weak rock so this tunnel section is well-suited to construction with a TBM with the turnout tunnels being constructed using mining techniques. Upon construction of the first tunnel, the TBM will be removed and reinstalled at Mt Eden for construction of the second, parallel, bore. Though driving ‘uphill’ is more typical in projects using TBMs, usually as a means of simplifying ground dewatering, CRL civil design manager, Darryl Wong, says such an option is not possible in this case. That would have meant, says Wong, introducing the machine and servicing it in one of the busiest areas of the
city, where mucking out and concrete segment supply would have untold disruption consequences during construction. The two ends of the tunnel (Albert Street and south of the turnout tunnels to the existing Western Line) will be constructed using cut-and-cover techniques owing to their relatively shallow depth below existing ground level. The sections of the cut-and-cover tunnels between Britomart and Aotea Stations require the section at Lower Queen Street to be constructed in stages to allow continued pedestrian flows between Customs Street West and Quay Street. The Zurich Building section will be constructed in bottom-up stages with access from Queen Street. The section within Queen Elizabeth II Square and Commercial Bay (a 39-level $680m tower to be built on the site of the recently demolished Downtown Shopping Centre) will be entrusted to Precinct Properties to construct. The crossing under Customs Street West requires staging between the north and south sides with alternate requirements for traffic management, excavation and construction of the cut-and-cover structure. Similarly, Albert Street needs to maintain traffic access. Preparation works include relocating the street furniture, adjustments to footpaths, protecting and/or relocating services, construction and excavation.
FEBRUARY 2017 27
CONTRACTOR BAUMA 2016
bauma 2016 Shanghai
24 million people have to live somewhere. This view from the Jumeirah Hotel Pudong, which is just across the road from the bauma site SNIEC (Shanghai New International Expo Centre), shows just one small part of the city. Disconcertingly, as the air cleared, new towers suddenly appeared on the horizon. BAUMA SHANGHAI has become one of the
key global exhibitions for heavy machinery and the services that support them. Given the timing cycles, however, Shanghai has perhaps suffered from a New Zealand perspective by being so close to Conexpo / Conn-Agg Las Vegas next month. But for the 170,000 visitors from 149 countries and regions that did attend in November, there was much to be seen in the 300,000 square metres at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. It attracted 2953 exhibitors from 41 countries and regions, which is in line with the previous show, despite the economic slowdown in China. Seventy percent of exhibitors came from China, and 45 percent of all exhibitors were new this year. There were also seven major national pavilions, from Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the USA. The show attracted exhibitors offering every conceivable size and type of
construction-related equipment and service. There were enormous pavilions displaying dump trucks, cranes, excavators, elevated platforms and concrete pumps. There were singing and dancing troupes to attract attention, and if that didn’t work, there were loud-
hailers at every display. Promotional teams handed out brochures, pamphlets and books to everyone who would take them, and sophisticated video displays were everywhere. The next event will be held from November 27-30, 2018.
Shanghai growth Much was made of Auckland’s growth at the end of last year, with counts of 64 cranes dotted around the city (we can see 17 from our office alone). I counted 30 tower cranes on one building alone at Shanghai airport.
28 www.contractormag.co.nz
Yu Garden, a two-hectare traditional garden in the heart of the city is one of Shanghai’s major tourist attractions. It was first built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty. Despite being damaged extensively by both wars and neglect through the years, the gardens were repaired between 1956 and 1961, opening up to the public in 1961 and declared a national monument in 1982.
Above: Familiar names such as Wirtgen, Hyundai, Scania, Yanmar, MB and Bomag were surrounded by the unfamiliar Zoomlion, Dingli, Tianhe, Sany and XCMG. Noticeably, there were few American brands on display, again perhaps because of the close proximity of ConExpo, and it also happened to be American Thanksgiving weekend. Left: The crowd-pleasing Lovol transformer was on duty once again.
Getting around Shanghai Taxis in Shanghai may be cheap, but you still can’t beat the Metro for economy. For between 60 and 80 cents, cross-city travel on the Shanghai Metro is fast and efficient. Rarely will you wait for more than a few minutes for a train. They’re spotlessly clean, all signs are in English, and ticket machines are in multiple languages with easy to follow route maps. The Maglev route which runs from the Airport and joins the Metro in the Pudong district (just one stop away from the Shanghai New International Expo Centre which hosts bauma) runs at 300kph for the eight-minute trip. The Shanghai Metro is currently the largest city metro
system by route length (nearly 600 kilometres), has 364 stations, and is still expanding. The first 4.4 kilometre-line opened in 1993 and by 2025 the system is planned to be around 1000 kilometres long. Nowhere in the CBD will be more than 600 metres from a Metro Station. With an average 10 million people using the Metro every work-day (over 3 billion rides per year), that still leaves another 14 million people on the roads each day. The roads are nothing like the Metro. When just crossing the road can be deemed an adrenalinefuelled sport, trying to drive might just be a step too far for most.
FEBRUARY 2017 29
CONTRACTOR BAUMA 2016
Ningbo Kiwi – A Kiwi in Shanghai? Turns out Greg McKay, originally from Hawke’s Bay and running gantry-crane maker Global Track in Melbourne, does some manufacturing in China as Ningbo Kiwi. And with a name like that, we had to check it out.
30 www.contractormag.co.nz
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CONTRACTOR PROCUREMENT
Improving the contract market Based on a presentation at the NZTA/NZIHT 2017 conference by Caroline Boot from Clever Buying and Plan A. By ALAN TITCHALL. HAVING AN INTEREST in both the client and supplier side
of response time and treat negotiations throughout the contract of contracting places Caroline Boot in a unique place as an fairly – especially in areas such as variations and extensions of observer of tendering challenges and trends. time. “Everyone talks about smart procurement, but it is like teen “Reduce the RFT requirements and special conditions, and sex; they all say they are doing it, but very few are, and those don’t ask for reams of attributes on a Lowest Price Conforming that are – are doing it very badly,” she says. tender – that’s a waste of everyone’s time and ultimately that Her presentation at the NZTA/NZIHT conference was based will be built into the contract costs, one way or another,” says on two surveys that have been recently sent out – one to a Malcolm. large database of companies that regularly prepare tender He gave an example of a council client that puts out a lot submissions, and the other to the clients they typically prepare of design and construct tenders that are very demanding and tenders for. onerous on suppliers. The surveys asked both clients and suppliers for information “They are demanding on the contractor who has to come up and advice on the right way to put out a tender and the right with the cost for the preliminary design, and they’re a waste of way to submit one. resources because four or five similar designs are all developed “Given that we gave them a very short space of time to in parallel, making the overall costs of tendering many times complete the survey, we got over 60 very insightful responses,” greater than necessary. Caroline says. “Unless it’s really specific, or a large project, then it is “Among the clients there were both small and large councils probably not worth going down the design and construct route.” and private organisations such as Fonterra. Malcolm says CCNZ members would also like a “reasonable “The majority of suppliers were civil contractors.” and clear forward work programme”. Most clients said they had experienced a decrease (or no “It doesn’t have to be 100 percent accurate, but we need change) in the number of tender responses they received, and to know what is coming on line so we can prepare for it. A lot some commented on an improved quality of tenders. of the decisions on whether to submit a tender are based on Among suppliers “insufficient time” was clearly the biggest capability and resources within a contracting company.” concern, along with tenders that were Malcolm says Wellington Water has too focused on price. been reviewing its procurement strategy “Reduce the RFT requirements and “Suppliers say they don’t want to and consulting with contractors, which special conditions, and don’t ask engage in a price war, especially when is a step in the right direction. work is plentiful,” says Caroline. “They are taking some of the concerns for reams of attributes on a Lowest “Lowest price conforming is seen to we have mentioned on board. Price Conforming tender – that’s a be a race to the bottom. “And consultation is important waste of everyone’s time and “If you do use it – don’t ask for a because the supplier market is so whole lot of generic attributes. Be ultimately that will be built into the important to you as a client. If you want specific: ditch those generic questions the best suppliers, you need to create contract costs, one way or another,” an environment where suppliers trust that contribute little towards finding the best bidder for the job. Importantly you and value the relationships they – don’t transfer all the risk to suppliers.” have with you.” Basically, suppliers want ‘reasonable’ time to respond, a Contracting around the country has different constraints, he clear scope and a simple process. added. The clients’ advice was clear: Suppliers need to answer “Often in large cities contract work has to be done at night, or every question while providing confidence that they really on a site with severe time restrictions. understand the contract. It’s also important to make it clear how “For example, on Auckland’s roads you can’t put out traffic your company stands out from other companies in its mitigation controls until after 9am; you are not allowed to start work until of the project’s risks; or what opportunities you bring to add 10am; you have to start to take traffic control back at 2pm; and value. clear the site by 3pm. “They see a lot of waffle in tenders. Keep it in focus.” “This means a project that might normally take about two Caroline’s presentation included a panel discussion with weeks probably takes about eight weeks. Malcolm Abernethy from the CCNZ (representing suppliers); “And what does the contractor do with his team between 7am Jack Hansby from the NZTA; Dave Colquhoun, procurement and 10 am and 3pm and 5pm? There’s no time, particularly in manager at Auckland Transport; and Neil Cook, as acting Auckland, to go to another job.” Northland Transportation Alliance manager. The last point Malcolm made was in support of small Malcolm Abernethy’s advice to clients was to provide plenty contractors. 34 www.contractormag.co.nz
“You should appreciate that suppliers come in different sizes, and small contractors eventually turn into large ones, but they need work in the meantime.” Neil Cook, representing small councils, says the Northland Transportation Alliance, made up of three regional councils and the NZTA, was a response to the challenge of getting suppliers in the region. “It is the ultimate in collaboration between districts and regions in the process of pooling resources,” he says. “We hope to see a range of benefits across the contracting spectrum, including a [collaborative] procurement review process that will be the foundation of how we do things together into the future.” Forming this alliance involved a lot of consultation with the civil contracting sector, where the feedback was very similar to the results of the Clever Buying survey, he adds. Representing one of the biggest council agencies in the country Dave Colquhoun says keeping all parties happy is a “massive challenge”. “We do recognise that a lot of tendering we do at Auckland Transport is inefficient in terms of money and time. “Optimising how we procure is a tricky act. My team is taking on some of these issues at the moment in terms of sufficient time, standardising templates and being absolutely clear about our requirements. We’re making good use of evaluation spreadsheets so we get price and non-price weightings right for the project; and focusing on asking relevant questions that are easy to answer. “Also – come and talk to us. “I find with the tendering process there’s a wall between parties, which we don’t need. We invite discussion with you about anything, anytime. Don’t be afraid to contact me for a chat about what’s working for you and what’s not.” Jack Hansby made the shortest presentation – literally one sentence. “I focus on three key things – engage with the industry; provide advance notice of work coming up and stick to that programme; and don’t use expediency as an excuse (just repeating existing contracts).” The presentation – and the survey that underpinned it – highlighted a high level of commonality between suppliers and clients on their views on procurement. Both suppliers and clients want the process to be transparent, fair, impartial, costefficient and fit-for-purpose.
Caroline Boot sums up the findings of the survey with the following advice for clients, such as councils: 1. Work closely and cooperatively with your suppliers: Be easy to deal with; show them your pipeline; help them improve; be reasonable. Provide opportunities for big and small companies. 2. Be clear what you want and how you will score it: Keep the process simple, efficient and relevant. Decide on fact-based scoring before you look at the responses. 3. Don’t waste everyone’s time on repetitive generic info: Use prequalification or supplier panels – (but make it easy). Don’t blindly recycle RFTs – every project has different drivers for success. 4. Select your suppliers on a sensible and fair basis: Don’t overemphasise price. Lowest Price Conforming makes it a race to the bottom, and seldom delivers best value. Ask the right questions – on project-specific risks and opportunities (only). 5. Don’t rush the process: Get your RFx documents accurate, well planned and complete before release. Give sensible timeframes for responses (four plus weeks should be normal).
FEBRUARY 2017 35
CONTRACTOR AWARDS
Concrete awards 2016 Late last year saw the 2016 New Zealand Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NZRMCA) Awards, held at the Concrete Industry Conference at the Ellerslie Events Centre in Auckland.
Extra Distance Award WINNER: Allied Concrete for the Curvey Basin Chairlift and Remarkables Ski Field Base Building (client NZSki)
NZRMCA Honorary Life Member Maurie Hooper presents Sabina Sekerovic of Atlas Concrete with the 2016 Plant Audit Scheme Supreme Award.
Over two years in the off season, Allied Concrete supplied over 2900 cubic metres of concrete for this project. The majority of the concrete supplied was a 30MPa six percent air entrained mix to deal with the freeze thaw conditions, and with an hour travel time was retarded. It was a 50 kilometre round trip, with the last 13 kilometres a steep climb on an unsealed road. Access up the mountain was up an even steeper 1.6 kilometre climb on a ‘Cat Track’.
Plant Audit Scheme Supreme Award WINNER: Atlas Concrete – Takapuna Plant In producing large quantities of concrete to a reliably high quality across a number of years Atlas Concrete’s Takapuna plant demonstrated continuing excellence in performing to NZS 3104 Specification for Concrete Production. The judges highlighted the fact that this plant had received Excellence Awards in each of the last five years, which is indicative of the attention to detail shown by the concrete production management team. “The plant is an example to all other ready mixed concrete producers across the country,” they say.
From left: Nan Jiang, Dene Cook and Dominic Sutton of Firth Industries, flanked by Grant Thomas and Daniel Douglas of Dominion Constructors.
Technical Excellence Award WINNER: Firth Industries – University of Canterbury Structural Engineering Laboratory for client Dominion Constructors.
Inaugural Concrete Apprentice of the Year Carl Hay, who is an apprentice at Eastern Bay Concrete 2014, Opotiki, took home the inaugural Concrete Industry Apprentice of the Year award. Carl is approaching the completion of his National Certificate in Concrete Construction, after which he intends to enrol in the National Certificate in Concrete Production. Cement & Concrete Association of New Zealand (CCANZ) chief executive, Rob Gaimster, says the construction industry is currently faced with a shortage of skilled workers, and having more people enrolling in BCITO qualifications is a key strategy in addressing this issue. “As such, CCANZ and BCITO decided 36 www.contractormag.co.nz
it was time to celebrate high achievers, along with those that offer their support, by establishing the Concrete Industry Apprentice of the Year award for all those enrolled in, or who have recently completed, one of the BCITO’s concrete apprenticeships. “The quality of the finalists was outstanding, covering those that work (and train) in precast concrete, placing and finishing, concrete production and concrete construction. To say the judges were impressed is an understatement. “However, Carl stood out as a particularly worthy candidate who thoroughly deserved to be recognised for his technical competency in concrete
construction, as well as his appetite to learn, and his leadership, communication and enterprise skills.” The award was open to all those enrolled in, or who had recently completed, any one of BCITO’s concrete based apprenticeships.
Carl Hay
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CONTRACTOR TECHNICAL
Lessons in smart fleet management Cutting costs was the original reason that Nelson-based Taylors Contracting looked for a GPS fleet management system. But it soon discovered wide-ranging health and safety benefits. ARWEN VANT from Botica Butler Raudon explains. TAYLORS CONTRACTING is a civil contracting company that
has specialised in earthmoving, civil construction, forestry infrastructure and quarrying services from Nelson since 1971 when it was set up by the late Bob Taylor and his wife Marlene. Taylors Contracting is still very much a family affair with Bob and Marlene’s sons Charlie and Matt Taylor now managing the business. Today the company employs more than 125 staff and runs a vast fleet of earthmoving equipment as well as a combined fleet of 125 trucks and utility vehicles. It’s a company with an eye on the future and a clear understanding of the benefits technology can provide. Since adopting Teletrac Navman, the team at Taylors Contracting are seeing the wide-ranging benefits of the system, from keeping track of their workers in challenging environments and using it to improve health and safety systems, to saving money on RUCs. 38 www.contractormag.co.nz
Better business using GPS tech Claiming back Road User Charges (RUC) was the initial reason for Taylors installing GPS fleet management system Teletrac Navman early last year. The forestry division alone of Taylors Contracting does around 12 percent of all travel off road, but hadn’t previously been able to claim back the RUC. “Since installing the GPS vehicle tracking system, we’ve been able to claim back over $8500 in RUC,” says Ben Burbidge, assistant accountant at Taylors Contracting. “That’s a significant sum of money in a relatively short space of time, so we’re pretty happy about that.” Ben says that Teletrac Navman is also used to audit staff time-sheets. “The time-sheets can be cross checked against the vehicle
records in the system. Some guys take their vehicles home and they don’t always remember to record when they start and finish work, so the system can supply that information. It makes our time-sheeting much more accurate.”
Keeping remote workers safe Denise Kay, Taylors’ health, safety, quality and environment manager, says that keeping an eye on staff working alone has been an immediate benefit of the system’s real-time GPS tracking technology. “We can look up each vehicle on the system and see exactly where it is,” she says. “Tracking gives us the ability to know who’s working where.” While many of the company’s workers rely on RTs to communicate, if they are out of range in a remote location, Denise can check on them using the GPS tracking software. “We have guys who work alone. They call in over the RT at least three times a day, but if they don’t we can check to see where they are and make sure they’re okay.” As part of the company’s health and safety work Denise has to carry out regular audits, observe the firm’s staff who work alone and also undertake investigations when required. “On these occasions I need to be able to find them. So now I can use the system to locate them, then drive straight there. It can save a lot of time.”
Peak speed and staff driving The real-time GPS fleet tracking reveals speeding, abrupt braking and time spent idling, all factors which increase fuel usage. Records of such behaviour can be used as training tools to help staff improve their driving standards. “We had a false assumption that our vehicles were always being driven safely and at the speed limit because we’d received a very low number of speeding tickets,” Denise says. “However, once we installed the GPS tracking system, we could see quite a number of situations where staff had exceeded the speed limit.” She says that if someone has been speeding the system
Charlie Taylor, Taylors Contracting Co
records it straight away. “I get the speed information in real time, which assists us to be more proactive in managing staff. Previously we might get the information days late, or even two to three months down the track. “With the real-time information, staff that may have been driving a bit fast can be encouraged to modify their behaviour. Teletrac Navman has become a management tool for us.” Denise receives daily reports that provide her with an overview of what is happening, and she can then use the software Dashboard to help her spot trends and patterns across the company’s departments. She has also used the data from the system to report to the company’s board. “I had enough data to show a trend in driver behaviour. I could also show the board that the proactive communication and education around safe speeds has had an impact on driver behaviour. We’ve seen a downward trend in speeding events this year as a result of the system.”
FEBRUARY 2017 39
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CONTRACTOR TRAINING
Latest Civil Trade achievers A group of Bay of Plenty civil infrastructure workers have new industry Trade Certification to their name and are praising the industry for its introduction.
From left: Anthony Rudkin, David Hum and Manuel Jack-Kino. ANTHONY RUDKIN (Rud) from Opotiki’s Waiotahi Contractors,
Fulton Hogan Tauranga’s David Hurn, and Mt Maunganui based Manuel Jack-Kino (Cooch) all received their Civil Trades Certification recently. Civil Trades provides formal recognition for people working at tradesperson level that they are both qualified and highly skilled in constructing and maintaining civil infrastructure. David Hurn says that Civil Trades is a great idea and long overdue. “We have a very diverse industry with a lot more technical innovations than people realise. Civil Trades goes a long way to recognising and formalising the standards that we ourselves have set and strive to achieve. “Civil Trades benefits not only the individual, but the industry as a whole. Long gone are the days of the road worker being seen as an end-of-the-line job. “In New Zealand we lead the way in road design and construction and we need people who are keen to learn about our industry because when we upskill our teams we are also upskilling our industry. It’s a win/win situation.” For 32-year industry veteran Anthony Rudkin (or Rud as he’s known) all his years of experience have also translated into Civil Trades Certification. Rud says that it’s great to have his
experience formally recognised. “It’s long overdue for the industry, which up until now hasn’t had formal trade for workers and it’s also great to set an industry standard.” Cooch is also a long-time industry professional who is proud to have his skills and expertise formally recognised and also spends a lot of time mentoring younger staff. “It’s nice to have my experience recognised and it’s really important for young staff coming through the industry; it’s a great move by the industry,” he says. Cooch adds that Civil Trades helps educate the younger staff about the fact that there’s more to the job than just driving machines and offers a depth of understanding about the industry they’re working in, which is vital for future career paths. The trio’s on-the-job experience garnered over many years in the industry has enabled them to become Civil Trades certified through Recognition of Current Competence (RCC). To become Civil Trades certified, workers must complete a recognised Civil Infrastructure Trades Qualification, together with 8000 hours of on-job experience (including 2000 hours at Level 4 competency). Certification can be achieved through a New Zealand apprenticeship, a regular industry sector qualification, or RCC depending on the individual’s level of experience.
Online training tool for drivers A NEW ONLINE TOOL aimed at improving the management of drivers’ health and safety training has been launched at www.drivingtests.co.nz. The addition of a Fleet Driver Training Plan to the website is said to allow businesses to manage driver training and qualifications in one online system. Drivers can take online tests to improve their knowledge of the road rules, driver health and safety and their driving skills. Managers can generate reports to identify areas that need to be addressed. The move to provide businesses with reports comes in response to the updated health and safety laws that came into effect in 2016, says Darren Cottingham, director of DT Driver Training.
42 www.contractormag.co.nz
“Businesses now need to document the steps they’re taking to reduce the risks of accidents when driving. They need to be able to provide physical proof that their employee drivers have undergone the necessary training required to ensure this happens. “The DT Fleet Driver Training Plan comes with seven free templates employers can use or modify for compliance reporting, including a safe driving policy and numerous checklists. The ability for drivers to study and take tests whenever and wherever they want on a smartphone, tablet or computer, reduces workplace disruptions normally associated with training. “For a limited time the DT Fleet Driver Training Plan is available at $9 per driver per year, including GST.”
Helping students into the workforce A GROUP OF SECONDARY students are now ‘job ready’ for the civil infrastructure industry armed with both practical experience and a qualification thanks to a new training initiative. The upper South Island students have spent the past year combining on-the-job experience and study, while still at school, to gain not only ‘hands-on’ experience but also a level 2 National Certificate in Infrastructure Works. Bryn Stephenson, Connexis customer service account manager for Nelson/Marlborough, says a lot of people view the industry as ‘just a job’, but there’s a career path with nationally recognised qualifications including an apprenticeship programme that can lead into Civil Trades Certification, which makes it a great job option. “The work the industry undertakes is the backbone of New Zealand infrastructure, it’s a rapidly growing sector that is facing challenges meeting the increasing capacity, in terms of a skilled workforce, to meet planned projects, let alone addressing unexpected work such as the Kaikoura earthquake rebuild.” The student training is offered by the Top of the South Trades Academy and gives students the opportunity to train for a job while they’re still at school. For recent graduate Josh Hutton it has led him straight into the workforce with a job at Fulton Hogan in Nelson. “I previously tried different trades by doing work experience, but none of them really caught my eye. I really didn’t know much about civil construction – I was just testing the water to begin with. The more I went the more I enjoyed it – especially once I got the chance to jump on the tools.” Paul Shuker, Fulton Hogan’s senior department manager for construction, says: “For us, finding the right person is really important. You can teach students practical skills, but they have to have the right attitude and be keen to learn. “We would definitely get involved again. It’s been a great way to attract high calibre young people, and that’s been a challenge in the past.” Bryn Stephenson says Connexis’ inaugural involvement with the initiative has been a huge success. “The objective was to provide a programme with a meaningful qualification at the end of the training, and real on-job experience that would make students work ready. It has
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Recent graduate Josh Hutton on the job at Fulton Hogan, Nelson.
been tremendously well supported by the local branch of Civil Contractors NZ (CCNZ) and the shining stars of the programme have been offered employment. “I can’t wait to build on the success of 2016 and develop the programme further in 2017 with the addition of more on-job time and the inclusion of driver training into the curriculum.”
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FEBRUARY 2017 43
CONTRACTOR COMMENT
Making and taking opportunities in 2017 PETER SILCOCK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CIVIL CONTRACTORS NEW ZEALAND
THE 2017 CONTRACTOR Perspectives provides very interesting
reading. Unsurprisingly, everyone agrees that there is a good level of work available and the high levels of infrastructure expenditure will continue through 2017. With infrastructure investment levels already at record levels the civil contracting industry received an early Christmas gift on December 8 with the Government’s half-year Economic and Fiscal Update and the 2017 Budget Policy Statement. The update reported on the continued strengthening of the economy, with growth expected to average three percent over the next five years, contributing to rising Government surpluses. To support continued solid economic growth and deliver better public services the Government said that it has identified a number of high quality capital and infrastructure projects such as schools and hospitals and the first stage of the Auckland city rail link. As a result, the budget capital allowances have been increased from $0.9 billion to $3 billion in Budget 2017 (including an initial estimated allowance of $1 billion for Kaikoura) and to $2 billion per Budget from Budget 2018 onwards. New Zealand’s record infrastructure investment levels just took another step up which is great news for the industry. But that doesn’t automatically mean that every contractor in the country is going to be swamped with work. The civil and general contracting industry has always been very challenging. It requires people and businesses that are savvy, entrepreneurial, innovative and adaptable. That will not change just because there is more work around. What is new, or at least has become more pronounced, is that clients are looking for higher levels of professionalism and assurance. This is being driven by the new health and safety laws, more sophisticated procurement and a greater focus on environmental protection, public relations, asset management and whole of life costs. The business environment and clients are changing and as a result contracting businesses are becoming more professional as they strive to differentiate themselves and provide the greater levels of assurance that clients are looking for. Positive relationships not just with clients and customers but with the public are critical in this new world. Communications networks and social media mean that one person’s bad experience can become a public relations nightmare and a barrier to getting future work. Many civil construction clients are public entities or large corporates that are very sensitive to reputational risk.
Whether a company is large or small working together informally, forming alliances or joint ventures or entering into subcontracts is part and parcel of the contracting industry today
Good working relationships with other contractors are also important. A mutually beneficial relationship with other contractors can provide a wider range of skills, expertise, equipment, and resources to manage workloads at critical times. Whether a company is large or small working together informally, forming alliances or joint ventures or entering into subcontracts is part and parcel of the contracting industry today. Those relationships are not just about the respect that your partners have about the quality of your work they are also about your reliability, how easy you are to work with and how you handle new challenges and stressful situations. CCNZ has a role in this because not only do we represent and advocate for contractors we are also committed to helping our members be better prepared for the future. We want to ensure there is work for all contractors but we also want to help our members work more effectively and make more money. We provide networking opportunities and information and advice. If there is anything you think we could help you with then give us a call. One thing which does not change and that is that contractors have to work hard and be on their toes to both secure work and make a profit from the work that they secure. There is a massive amount of work that is coming our way. Contractors need to ask themselves am I, my people and my business ready to both make and take the opportunities that 2017 and beyond will offer? Do we have the professionalism, relationships, skills, expertise, resources, track record, systems and attitude to ride the wave of civil construction work that is coming? The reality is that success is not a matter of good or bad luck, it is about being prepared to both make and take opportunities.
Postal Address: PO Box 12013, Thorndon, Wellington 6144 Physical Address: Margan House, 21 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington 6011 Phone 0800 692 376
44 www.contractormag.co.nz
COMMENT CONTRACTOR
Towards digital engineering TOMMY PARKER, GROUP MANAGER HIGHWAYS AND NETWORK OPERATIONS, NZTA
THE TRANSPORT AGENCY is taking the first steps towards using
digital engineering to improve the way we plan, design, build, operate and maintain our assets. At its core, digital engineering creates a true-to-life digital world view that aligns with our customer experience – one which enables better decisions for improved safety, reduced risk, and certainty of project cost and programming. Digital engineering will deliver ‘one source of truth’ based on integrated data, and enabled by common data standards and a reference framework that we can use when it comes to making asset management decisions. Digital engineering (also known as business information management, better information management or building information management, or BIM) is the process of managing information over the lifecycle of an asset. Information can be numerical, text or multimedia information held in digital form. It can describe inventory, ITS service level targets or performance, asset condition, demand, risk and road works. It can be information captured in real time, by routine surveys or records of road works. It ensures we capture the core information once, and can access it many times. The improvements in information technology, communications and measurement technology means now is the right time to be thinking about a systematic approach to digital engineering.
Collectively, we need to decide on data and communication standards as the key enabler of digital engineering, and work to build on advances elsewhere in the world.
Here in New Zealand, our suppliers are already starting to use BIM because of the advantages it brings in terms of reduced re-work, greater cost certainty and faster, more reliable construction programmes. The Transport Agency is keen to further expand this into the asset management field – about 15 percent of the benefits of digital engineering are in construction phase but the vast majority (about 80 percent) can be gained from the operate and maintain phase of the asset lifecycle. The full benefits can only be achieved when we all use common data standards because only then can information be shared fluently. But it is not something that the Transport Agency can do alone.
We need to work collaboratively with our peers on this. The transport system exists across administrative boundaries and we need a standard approach. We’ve talked with our transport partners in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and there’s a willingness to work together on this. We also have the opportunity to work together across sectors as there is the same opportunity for digital engineering water and buildings as there is for roads. The technology to make this happen exists now, and is already in use internationally. Our more urgent work is to get the overarching framework right. It is important that we work to define our joint vision, goals and objectives, so we all understand how we intend using digital engineering to maximise the benefit for New Zealand. Collectively, we need to decide on data and communication standards as the key enabler of digital engineering, and work to build on advances elsewhere in the world. We should also work closely with Australia to make the most of commonalities across the Australasian market. The government is promoting data standards to improve productivity. Treasury’s National Infrastructure Plan promotes implementation of data harmonisation and business information modelling to increase productivity. The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment hosts the BIM Acceleration Committee. Many of our suppliers are already involved with this, and we are also keen to get involved as the first member with asset management responsibilities. We’ve recently taken the opportunity to view first-hand the progress that is being made in digital engineering in Europe. Transport for London and Rijkswaterstaat (State Roads Netherlands) have both begun their journey in the construction phase, and are further developing their BIM asset management approach as their projects move into the maintain phase. For both public sector transport agencies, a common data environment was key to getting it right. Through Austroads, we are working on road data harmonisation in association with the Road Efficiency Group. We are also working closely with Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch city councils to agree a data standard for road asset management, resulting in a sound basis for our country to develop a common data standard for digital engineering. This same data standard is being considered by Transport for New South Wales, which is at a similar stage through the journey as we are. Together, we can learn from each other as we build a digital version of the world that will result in a better customer experience. FEBRUARY 2017 45
CONTRACTOR LEGAL COMMENT
Payment claims under the CCA SAM MCCUTCHEON, SOLICITOR AND OLIVER BARRON, SUMMER CLERK, KENSINGTON SWAN’S CONSTRUCTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE TEAM
PAYMENT CLAIMS ARE a vital mechanism for keeping the
construction industry running smoothly. A payment claim is an invoice for construction work that contains the details prescribed under the Construction Contracts Act 2002 (CCA). Payment claims serve the important function in establishing a contractor’s right to payment for construction work. Where the amount claimed is not properly responded to through a payment schedule within the relevant timeframes then the full amount claimed is deemed to be owing to the contractor and the contractor can enforce any lack of payment as a debt due (an established debt). However, despite the pivotal role these claims play, the payment claim requirements under the CCA are often overlooked by contractors. This article examines the requirements for a valid payment claim and then follows a couple of recent examples, which highlight the consequences of failing to get this process right.
Requirements for a valid payment claim So what makes a valid payment claim? Section 20 of the CCA sets out the mandatory requirements and provides that a payment claim must: a) be in writing; and b) contain sufficient details to identify the construction contract to which the payment relates; and c) identify the construction work and the relevant period to which the payment relates; and d) indicate a claimed amount and the due date for payment; and e) indicate the manner in which the amount was calculated; and f) state that it is made under the Construction Contracts Act 2002.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Since the CCA came into force in 2002, the New Zealand courts have refused to enforce a number of invalid payment claims on the basis that the contractor’s claim did not comply with the requirements In addition to the above list, all payment claims must now be accompanied with a prescribed form which can be found in the Construction Contracts Regulations 2003. This is a recent change to the CCA and applies to all construction contracts entered into or renewed on or after 1 December 2015 (before 46 www.contractormag.co.nz
this date a similar form was only required on residential construction contracts). Given section 20 requirements are cumulative, each one needs to be included in order for a payment claim to be valid. Most of these requirements are common sense and will be included on invoices anyway. However, some are less common and it would be worthwhile reviewing your current form of payment claim to ensure each one of these requirements is covered. While this sounds relatively simple, you would be surprised at how often contractors have missed out on a right to payment under the CCA simply because one or more of these statutory requirements was not included.
Case law Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Since the CCA came into force in 2002, the New Zealand courts have refused to enforce a number of invalid payment claims on the basis that the contractor’s claim did not comply with the requirements of the CCA. Although contractors are getting better at submitting valid claims, two recent examples indicate that there are still contractors out there who are not fully aware of the CCA requirements. The first example is Auckland Electrical Solutions Limited v The Warrington Group Limited [2016] NZHC 2245. In this case, the contractor, Auckland Electrical Solutions (AES), applied for summary judgment on the basis that a series of invoices it had sent to Warrington were valid payment claims. Warrington failed to respond with a payment schedule and failed to pay the amount claimed. AES then sought to recover the unpaid amount as a debt due. AES’ summary judgment application was rejected by both the District Court and the High Court because the alleged payment claims did not meet the CCA requirements. First, both the courts held that it was arguable that the invoices did not clearly state that they were payment claims under the CCA and the application failed on that ground. An alternative argument, which AES only raised in the High Court, was that resubmitted invoices constituted fresh payment claims. The court found that it was arguable that these resubmitted invoices were not new payment claims either. This was because the invoices resubmitted were essentially the original invoices, they implied that the time for service of a payment schedule had passed, and also failed to include an explicit due date for payment. It should be noted that a contractor is entitled to claim for amounts previously unpaid in a subsequent payment claim, but it is not possible to retrospectively amend a payment claim to make that payment claim comply with the CCA (a new payment claim is required). The second example is South Pacific Fire Protection South
Island Alarms Ltd v Safe NZ Ltd [2016] NZHC 1810. This was an application by South Pacific to have Safe placed into liquidation after Safe failed to pay amounts that South Pacific claimed. To determine whether there was a seriously arguable dispute the judge had to assess the validity of a number of invoices issued by South Pacific to Safe. Of the 15 invoices submitted by South Pacific, the judge found that only two complied with the CCA. The remainder were deemed to be invalid and did not comply with the CCA because they either failed to state the period to which the payment related, failed to indicate the method of calculation, failed to identify the construction work
Taking additional care when preparing payment claims will ensure that you are afforded the best payment protection under the CCA. undertaken, or failed to state the correct date for payment. In contrast to this seemingly harsh approach, the courts have been prepared to offer some leniency in certain circumstances. George Developments Limited v Canam Construction Limited [2006] 1 NZLR 177 (CA) is authority for the principle that a payment claim should not be defeated solely because of mere ‘technical quibbles’. This principle has been applied in circumstances where all of the CCA requirements have been met, but one or more of these requirements (such as the due date for payment)
has been stated incorrectly. However, the principle in Canam does not provide assistance to a contractor who has simply failed to include one or more of the CCA requirements (for example, a complete failure to state that the claim is provided under the CCA). It is important to set up your payment claims processes properly to ensure that all requirements in the CCA are met. While some of these requirements may appear trivial, the law is unable to provide assistance if you have failed to comply with the legislative criteria.
Conclusion Taking additional care when preparing payment claims will ensure that you are afforded the best payment protection under the CCA. If the requirements are not complied with in full you run the risk of falling outside of the CCA and having to rely on general contractual debt recovery, which is less favourable than the payment mechanisms under the CCA. This has the potential to stall cash flow, which, as we all know, can put you in a dangerous situation in the construction sector. •T his article was written by Sam McCutcheon and Oliver Barron. Sam is a solicitor and Oliver is a summer clerk in Kensington Swan’s Construction and Infrastructure team. Kensington Swan offers 15 minutes of free advice on construction issues to CCNZ members. Kensington Swan regularly provides comment on topical construction issues, visit www.nzconstructionblog.com to keep up to date.
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CONTRACTOR COMMENT
NPS on urban development capability JOHN PFAHLERT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, WATER NEW ZEALAND.
LAST YEAR THE Government decided to provide greater direction
to councils on urban development. The result was the adoption of a National Policy Statement under the Resource Management Act on Urban Development Capacity. It came into effect in December 2016. Water NZ contributed a submission during the development phase of the document. While some of our concerns were dealt with, many were not. The NPS provides direction to decision-makers under the RMA on planning for urban environments. It recognises the national significance of well-functioning urban environments, with particular focus on ensuring that local authorities, through their planning, both: • enable urban environments to grow and change in response to the changing needs of the communities; and • provide enough space for their populations to happily live and work. This can be both through allowing development to go “up” by intensifying existing urban areas, and “out” by releasing land in green-field areas. The NPS covers development capacity for both housing and business to recognise that mobility and connectivity between both are important to achieving well-functioning urban environments. It is up to each local authority to make decisions about what sort of urban form to pursue. The NPS aims to ensure that planning decisions enable the supply of housing needed to meet demand. The Government is of the view that the policy will contribute to minimising artificially inflated house prices at all levels and contribute to housing affordability. It believes that artificially inflated house prices drive inequality, increase the fiscal burden of housing-related government subsidies, and pose a risk to the national economy. Local authorities need to provide for the wellbeing of current and future generations. The overarching theme running through the statement is that planning decisions must actively enable development in urban environments in such a way that maximises wellbeing now and in the future. Competition is important for land and development markets because supply will meet demand at a lower price when there is competition. There are several key features of a competitive land and development market, including providing opportunities for development. Planning can impact on the competitiveness of the market by reducing opportunities for development and restricting development rights to only a few landowners. The NPS requires councils to provide in their plans enough development capacity to ensure that housing demand can be met. This includes both the aggregate demand for housing and business land, and demand for different types, sizes and locations. This development capacity must also be commercially feasible to develop, and plentiful enough to recognise that not all feasible development opportunities will be taken up. This will 48 www.contractormag.co.nz
provide communities with more choice, at lower prices. Development capacity must be provided for in plans and also supported by infrastructure. Urban development is dependent on infrastructure, and decisions about infrastructure can shape urban development. The NPS requires development capacity to be serviced with infrastructure, with different expectations from this infrastructure in the short, medium and long-term. It encourages integration and coordination of land use and infrastructure planning. This will require a sustained effort from local authorities, council-controlled organisations, and infrastructure providers (including central government) to align their intentions and resources. The document requires planning to occur with a better understanding of land and development markets, and in particular the impact planning has on these. It requires local authorities to prepare a housing and business development capacity assessment and to regularly monitor market indicators, including price signals, to ensure there is sufficient development capacity to meet demand. Local authorities must respond to this information. For instance, if it shows that more development capacity needs to be provided to meet demand, local authorities must provide for that. A greater number of opportunities for commercially feasible development will lead to more competition among developers and landowners. The NPS also places a strong emphasis on planning coherently across urban housing and labour markets, which may cross local authority administrative boundaries. This will require coordinated planning between local authorities that share jurisdiction over urban housing and labour markets. This includes collaboration between regional councils and territorial authorities who have differing functions under the RMA, but which all impact on and are impacted on by urban development. The NPS recognises that the benefits of the statement are greatest in urban areas experiencing the highest levels of growth. It takes a tiered approach to the application of policies using the Statistics New Zealand urban areas classification, and population projections to target different policies to different local authorities. This classification also informs local authorities that they must work together. The boundaries of the urban areas do not restrict the area in which the local authorities apply the policies. Local authorities that have a high-growth urban area within their jurisdiction are expected to meet all of the requirements of policies in this national policy statement, while local authorities with medium-growth urban areas in their jurisdiction, and all other local authorities, have lesser requirements.
COMMENT CONTRACTOR
Time to talk about training ROB GAIMSTER, CEMENT & CONCRETE ASSOCIATION OF NZ (CCANZ), NZ READY MIXED CONCRETE ASSOCIATION (NZRMCA)
IT IS NO SECRET that our building and construction industry is
currently faced with a shortage of skilled workers. An unprecedented level of activity across residential, commercial and civil sectors is potentially at risk of being influenced by a lack of suitably trained people. It is also no secret that a key strategy to address this pressing issue is having more people enrol in industry qualifications, such as those offered by the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO). In addition to the in-house training courses made available by various companies, the BCITO is the primary training provider for the concrete industry, offering a range of concrete-based National Certificates ranging from concrete production, precast concrete, concrete product manufacture, placing / finishing, sawing / drilling, and concrete construction. The BCITO supports employers committed to industry training in more ways than just providing qualifications. The organisation helps to meet the skill needs of the industry by facilitating learning in the workplace. Through a process of regional and national liaison with industry these qualifications are continually reviewed by the BCITO to ensure the content remains relevant and the delivery mechanism effective and efficient. For the first time in the BCITO’s history, it now has 10,000 apprentices actively working towards qualifications in the building and construction industry. The organisation is signing up around 3000-4000 new apprentices each year – a clear indication of the fierce demand for apprentices. However, while these enrolment figures are at an historic high, in clear alignment with the unparalleled amount of building taking place, they are not sufficient if forecasts for anticipated needs are accurate. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) recently released the Future Demand for Construction Workers report, which predicts that demand for construction-related occupations will increase by 10 percent between 2015 and 2021, or approximately 49,000 employees. This has a flow-on effect in terms of apprentice numbers, which the BCITO believes need to double by 2021.
Training also motivates employees to achieve, as they are emotionally investing in the work they’re doing. It is great for business because it encourages staff to stick around and creates a positive organisational culture. To make sure the industry has enough qualified professionals to be sustainable; skilled and willing employers need to help shape the next generation of qualified professionals. Training others is a good way to keep abreast of the latest industry developments and meet others in the industry. In terms of ‘dollars and cents’, recent BCITO research demonstrates that training apprentices generates profit – that for every $1.00 spent on training a (carpentry) apprentice, a business will benefit by $4.70 in increased profit up to a 10year period.
Future strategies So what is being done to address this issue and encourage the uptake of apprentices? Chief amongst a range of strategies is the Workforce Development project that aims to support construction industry businesses and employers to develop a workforce that has the capability and capacity to meet current and future needs. Following considerable industry consultation by the BCITO three key areas of focus to help industry develop the workforce were identified: • Getting the right workforce • Running businesses effectively • Developing skills and valuing qualifications. Workforce Development Plans for each of the 17 trade sectors under BCITO’s coverage have been created. Each plan outlines the challenges a particular sector faces and the key ways a sector can respond to these challenges. The plans also include detailed themes and highlight actions that will make change happen. CCANZ and the concrete industry is pleased to be collaborating with the BCITO on this important initiative, the Workforce Development Plans represent a collective pledge from associations, employers, industry partners and the BCITO.
Reasons to train
Shared commitment
The benefits of training are well known and relatively straightforward, for instance, taking on an apprentice and /or training staff allows employers to develop their workers’ skills according to their own standards – it’s an investment in growing both a business and the industry. A strong driver for the recruitment of younger staff supported by robust training is the risk posed by the average age of people working in the concrete industry going up and the significant change in the age profile.
Such is the importance of this issue that the Labour Party has just announced a group of policies in the form of Ready for Work, Transforming Careers Advice, Working Futures and Dole for Apprenticeships all of which touch on trade training to some degree. This issue will remain key for some time to come, and it is imperative that all parties involved demonstrate a collective commitment to work together and take action now to develop a workforce that best meets current and future needs. FEBRUARY 2017 49
CONTRACTOR CLASSIC MACHINES CL
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Birth of the Articulated Dump Truck Developed to a greater potential during the late 1960s with the advent of all-wheel drive, the articulated dump track has actually been around for a lot longer than most folks realise. This is the story of the first ADTs (as they are now called) invented by LeTourneau. BY RICHARD CAMPBELL. Above: Great photo of a LeTourneau-Westinghouse C Tournarocker owned by the Wes-Julian Corp, at work in Bedford Massachusetts, USA in 1956. The machine has one or two extras – a cab, Purolator oil filter and a ‘Tournatarder’ which was an electro-retarder similar to that used in locomotives. The box held a series of grids to dissipate heat. PHOTO: EDGAR J BROWNING
50 www.contractormag.co.nz
RG LETOURNEAU was responsible for one heck
of a lot of earthmoving equipment, and more importantly, ideas and methods. Constantly striving to gain the lowest possible cost per cubic yard was an obsession that fired his imagination and resulted in many of the machines we take for granted today. Although they may look a little different now, having morphed over the years, LeTourneau produced many types of machines that changed very little in purpose, and one of those is the articulated dump truck. LeTourneau’s first articulated dumper, the Tourntailer, was manufactured in 1938 and was based on a Model A Tournapull. Holding 28 cubic yards, the machine was entirely cable operated and featured slide out ejection, the entire upper body moving backwards over a stationary floor and gravity doing the rest.
Next machine to receive the treatment was the 1940 Model C Tournapull, which also featured a slide out body known as the W210, however this machine only held 10 cubic yards. LeTourneau Australia built a home-grown variant of the dumper body called the ‘Rock-Buggy’ for use behind the Australian manufactured C-Standard Tournapull. The dump bed, which held approximately 10 cubic yards, was scow-shaped, and was raised by cable on a fabricated ladder arrangement. Over 50 of these were manufactured at LeTourneau’s Rydalmere plant. RG LeTourneau saw these machines when he visited the Australian LeTourneau plant in New South Wales in 1949 and was highly impressed. They were the forerunner of what was to become the Tournarocker. Following the war, LeTourneau set about designing some much tougher articulated rear
Top left: Cummins-powered Super C Tournapull with a Model W210 Tournatrailer. Although of not very good quality, this profile view shows off the dump body that slid out over the back wheels to deposit its load. These machines were, for a time, in high demand at mines. This photo is dated July 1945. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
Middle left: An Australian designed and built Super C Tournapull with a ‘Rock Buggy’. These dumpers were rated at 10 tons and the bed was raised up on the ladder arrangement behind the cab, operated from a LeTourneau PCU. It was powered up and down. The rounded scow-type body helped to prevent material sticking but took a pounding in rock. Australian C-Pulls were powered with a GM 6-71 engine. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
Below: In classic “shitting dog” pose, this C Tournapull was photographed somewhere in Australia during the mid-1950s. It is in fairly stock standard configuration apart from the cab and cab guard on the dump body, which were options. Unusually, the logo on the body reads “Model C Rear Dump” rather than Tournarocker. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
dumpers which he christened “Tournarockers”. These were made available for all four sizes of Tournapull – A, B, C and D and ranged in capacity from 10 to 50 tons. The beauty of these units is they could be interchanged with other rear attachments on the Tournapull as they were only connected by four heavy duty bolts and an electrical socket (which provided power to the electric motor that worked the cable winch). Regardless of what attachment your Tournapull was fitted with, you could swap it for a Tournarocker as all the controls for operating it were already in place in the tractor unit, truly a ‘modular machine’. We should also not forget that now, when 50 ton all-wheel drive ADTs are just beginning to show up, LeTourneau already had in 1948, a 50 ton articulated hauler, the Model A with E50 Tournarocker. When LeTourneau sold his business to Westinghouse Air Brake Co in 1953, Wabco acquired all the tooling, jigs and patent rights to FEBRUARY 2017 51
CONTRACTOR CLASSIC MACHINES
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1. P hotographed at the LeTourneau plant at Rydalmere, NSW, this brand new Model D Tournarocker awaits delivery to a new owner. Notable features – the very early style cowled headlights and the Donaldson oil bath air cleaner with supplementary filter and the bolts which hold the trailer to the tractor (visible just above the electrical cable in the centre of the photo). Photo dated 1953. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION 2. One of Goodmans’ Model D Tournarockers photographed alongside SH1 near Paraparaumu. The sun canopy is homebuilt and the powertrain is a GM 4-71 with Allison powershift transmission. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
3. The author’s favourite Tournarocker, a 1956 Model C with GM 6-71 and Fuller manual transmission. Goodmans had two like this with the long narrow nose. Their other Cs had the later squared off front radiator guard. This machine has the optional supplementary air cleaner and was also fitted with a Tourntarder. Photo taken at Plimmerton, 1975. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
4. We’ve upped the stakes here as this is a Model B Tournapull with the 35 ton capacity Model B Tournarocker. Powered by a GM 12V-71 diesel, there weren’t too many things these beasts couldn’t handle. None were imported into New Zealand. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
52 www.contractormag.co.nz
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manufacture Tournarockers. Wabco was well aware that it had a niche market with these machines as they could traverse much rougher ground than a standard, rigid frame rear dump, and were also more manoeuvrable. Other manufacturers had also taken note of the Tournarocker’s success and, during the mid-1950s, a whole host of Tournarocker ‘clones’ began to appear in the market. Some were good and others of indifferent quality but all were vying for a share of the market. In a lot of cases the primary manufacturer of the dump body was different to the tractor unit supplier, which resulted in some interesting partnerships and hybrids. Allis-Chalmers made its own dump body trailers, but also offered a forced ejection dump body built by the Yuba Movall Corp. These were cable operated and some were imported into New Zealand. At least three were later converted to hydraulic control behind Terex S-24 tractor units. Caterpillar partnered up with the Athey Products Corp, and was a successful relationship that lasted many years. It also produced dump bodies for some post-1968 Terex machines. Caterpillar also had a short-term relationship with Hardwick which manufactured hydraulically controlled forced ejection dump bodies. Examples of
these were also imported into this country and used at their Kopuku mine site in the Waikato. Euclid had an agreement with Easton, which manufactured a very rugged deep bottomed dump bed. Easton built bodies for the S-7, S-12, S-18 and S-24. This partnership appears to have been terminated in 1968 when GM lost the rights to the trademark Euclid name. Other minor players included ClarkMichigan and Wooldridge/Curtiss-Wright, both of which manufactured their own dump bodies. Wabco continued to build Tournarockers up to the introduction of the hydraulic controlled 229 and 339 machines in 1967/68 when they were quietly dropped from the catalogue. The most popular of all of the four types of Tournarocker was the Model C that started out powered by a straight six GM 6-71 and ended production with a GM 8V71. A Cummins engine could also be fitted, but these examples seem to be quite rare. The Tournarocker was well ahead of its time in having air-operated multiple disc brakes on all wheels. All of its competitors used shoe-type brakes which were prone to brake fade on long downhill hauls and needed frequent adjustment. As the Tournarocker had no chassis as such, only being pivoted on either side of
B R I E F S P EC I F I CAT I O N S (I’ve unashamedly chosen my favourite, a 1956 Model C Tournarocker) Engine: General Motors model 6-71, 6-cylinder naturally aspirated two-cycle diesel rated at 208 flywheel horsepower at 2000 rpm Transmission: Fuller 5A1120 manual 5-speed sliding gear transmission Clutch: Lip-Rollway 17” single plate Top speed: 32 mph Brakes: Multiple-disc air brakes on all four wheels Tyres: 24.00x25 24-ply, E3 Steering: Positive electric via vertical electric motor and ring gear, 90° each way Turning circle: 14’ 4” Capacity: 22 tons Dumping: Electric controlled winch, positive up and down on 7/8” cable Dump angle: 66 degrees Length: 29’ 9” Width: 11’ 2” Height: 11’ 4” Op weight: 23 tons (empty), 45 tons (loaded).
the dump bed, dumping the load could be accomplished in one of two ways. The operator could set the tractor brakes and raise the dump body which drew the rear wheels forward (away from any ledges), or the dump body brakes could be set and pull the tractor unit backwards toward the rear wheels. In this configuration the machine took on a very unusual pose which was often referred to rather crudely as looking like a “shitting dog”! The Tournarockers were highly successful and did the job for which they were intended. They were widely used in the construction of the US Interstate Highway Program when any rock needed to be hauled from awkward places and outnumbered their competitors three to one.
The New Zealand connection LeTourneau and LeTourneauWestinghouse Tournarockers have been in use in this country since the early 1950s by various companies and some were used at Manapouri. Since the late 1960s, by far the star user of the type has been Goodmans of Waikanae, which has maintained the largest operational fleet of them here. Over time the fleet has included D Tournarockers and both the GM 6-71 and
GM 8V-71 powered C Tournarockers. Your author has operated both D and C Tournarockers and rates the 1956 GM 6-71 powered C Tournarocker as one of his favourites.
For the model collector As fate would have it you are in luck for a change as there are two models of the C Tournarocker available in 1:50 scale from EMD Models. These represent the GM 6-71 powered (C Roadster) Tounarocker and GM 8V-71 (V-Power) versions so you can have an example of both if you can afford them. But be aware, prices of these models are not for the faint-hearted, examples of the V-Power version have known to fetch over $1000! Tin toy collectors also have a choice as Nylint, Structo and Boomaroo have all made reasonably passable representations of the C Tournarocker to roughly 1:16 scale. Regrettably, these are also considered as collectors’ items these days and the prices reflect their collectability. The Boomaroo version is the most expensive while the Nylint version is the most accurate. • If you’d like to read more of Richard’s thoughts, you can find his Blog on our website at www.contrafedupdate.me.
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5. F rom the author’s mini earthmoving spread, fleet no 58 is a GM 8V-71 powered C Tournarocker. This model was manufactured by EMD models and is very accurate apart from the exhaust system which is over-scale (soon to be remedied!). Examples of this model with WABCO logos can fetch over US$1000! PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION
6. This docile looking C Tournarocker is actually a very rare beast as it is powered by a Cummins NRT06 diesel. The Cummins engine was a factory option for these machines but most folks opted for the GM making this machine a real collector’s item. Curve in the lower hood is to accommodate the supplementary air cleaner piping (if fitted). Machine at the rear is also Cummins powered. Photo taken in the USA. PHOTO: INTERNET
FEBRUARY 2017 53
CONTRACTOR MOTORING
Volkswagen ups the ante with V6 Amarok Volkswagen’s Amarok has been a consistent favourite since it launched into the buoyant light commercial ute segment a few years back and now Volkswagen has pushed the Amarok ahead again with a new engine. BY CAMERON OFFICER. INITIALLY HAMPERED by only being available with a manual trannie, the distributor of the Volkswagen Amarok soon solved that with the arrival of a class-leading eight-speed auto, which is the only ute on sale here to boast so many ratios. Now Volkswagen New Zealand has pushed the Amarok ahead again with a new engine that delivers more torque – 500Nm – than any of the competition. It’s courtesy of a new 3.0-litre TDI V6 which caused a reasonable commotion when first announced – so much so that, at time of writing, the distributor had already sold out of the first four months’ supply of the vehicle. The new Amarok V6 3.0-litre TDI 54 www.contractormag.co.nz
4MOTION is also capable of delivering 165kW peak power, with an over-boost function increasing engine power up to a full 180kW (240hp). This over-boost function comes in handy for overtaking manoeuvres and kicks in for 10-second bursts under full throttle at between 50120km/h. In conjunction with the new engine, the Amarok has had a tidy-up in the styling department, and the car maker reckons its new front end is more “athleticlooking”. I don’t know about that, but it certainly mirrors what Volkswagen has done with its passenger car range; which is no bad thing at all. The updates also extend to new alloy wheel designs, new upholstery options
inside the cab and a re-designed dashboard. At the centre of things in the cab, the V6 Amarok features a new audio system and 12-way adjustable ‘ergo-Comfort’ heated seats. Steering feel has been improved with a new Servotronic system, while the ute also now features an Automatic Post-Collision Braking system and uprated disc brakes. Towing capacity has been improved to a maximum of 3500 kilograms (braked). Volkswagen has also taken the opportunity to rid itself of its two-wheel drive models, offering four-wheel drive (4MOTION) tech right across the range, from the 2.0-litre 132kW entry-point (which features a selectable 4x4 system:
FANCY A MINI UNIMOG?
all other Amaroks feature permanent four-wheel drive). Of course, if you want the full fruit option, the Amarok is going to cost you. For the Amarok V6 in ‘Highline’ trim, you’ll need to part with $73,990. That’s nearly four and a half grand more than the top Ford Ranger (currently the country’s best-selling ute) and about $3000 more than the Toyota Hilux V6 SR5, which offers up 170kW of power (albeit through a naturally aspirated – and much thirstier – petrol engine, rather than a turbo diesel like the Amarok). But wait, as they say on TV channels in the wee small hours, there’s more. You can also buy your Amarok V6 in Aventura trim, which gives you a few more styling details and comes with a $82,990 price sticker. No two ways about it: That’s a fair old chunk of change for what is a ‘ute’. In saying that, the Amarok looks fantastic straight out of the box; with plenty of brightwork and nice alloys already fitted, the average buyer isn’t going to race off to get third party accessories fitted to such an already comprehensively-specified truck. If they did, they could easily be driving a $100,000 ute. Which doesn’t make a lot of sense. Mind you, with the V6 Amarok already sold out and the distributor scrambling to land more, there are clearly plenty of people out there who are keen to be tempted.
THESE DAYS MERCEDES-BENZ refers to it as a G-Class, but it’ll always be a G-Wagon to most. And now the local distributor has released a bare-basics cab-chassis version of the hardcore legend that will give the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series a run for its money in terms of go-anywhere sure-footedness. The G-Professional Cab Chassis features a 2085 kilogram payload (4490 kilogram GVM) without a tray. The G-Pro (shorthand, distributor’s own) also features a reinforced chassis and suspension, offering up 245mm ground clearance. Three differential locks can be shifted to low-range on the move, while the truck boasts a 650mm fording depth and adjustable engine speed control. Naturally the G-Pro cab-chassis utilises a heap of proven off-road hardware, all of which is standard fitment, including a snorkel, bull bar, headlight and indicator protection, and radiator and sump shields. It also uses a cyclonic air filter, designed to separate dirt and dust from the air before entering the traditional panel air filter under the bonnet. That bonnet has even been especially designed to be able to be walked across
(it’ll hold up to 100 kilograms) and features a non-slip coating. Underneath the bonnet is a 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel engine which produces 135kW at 3800rpm and 400Nm from 1600 to 2000rpm, sending power to each corner via a five-speed automatic transmission. The G-Pro is fitted with permanent all-wheel-drive with a 50:50 frontrear split and – so says the manual – has an approach angle of 38 degrees, departure angle of 35 degrees and a break-over point of 22 degrees. It has a recommended braked towing capacity of 2210 kilograms and comes with 16 inch alloys wrapped in all-terrain tyres as standard. The Mercedes-Benz G-Professional Cab-Chassis costs $129,900, minus the tray of course. An interesting addition to MercedesBenz’s commercial range then. And perhaps something to whet the appetite ahead of the launch of the Stuttgartbased carmaker’s X-Class ute offering, which we should see late this year. No word from Mercedes-Benz New Zealand whether a G-Pro is likely to be added to the local press vehicle fleet. Fingers crossed though.
FEBRUARY 2017 55
CONTRACTOR INNOVATIONS
Fabricated structural steel In the competitive world of fabricated structural steel, Challenge Steel achieves its competitiveness by dealing with one of China’s largest and highly renowned steel producers,” says its chief executive Suresh Nagaiya. Challenge Steel is involved in some major rebuilds in Christchurch, he adds, and the company is one of our largest importers of fabricated structural steel. Its supplier is the Shangdong Iron & Steel Group (Shan Steel) – a Chinese state-owned steel conglomerate and one of China’s largest steel makers. Suresh says in recent months he and Challenge
Steel founder and chairman Bert Govan have made trips to China with clients, contractors and prominent engineers showing them the processes in action and providing confidence in the product and systems in place. “They soon see the quality of product being turned out, the robust testing and certification process, and the fact that each steel product is stamped with a unique code to ensure complete traceability. They also see our people on the ground at the fabrication factory.”
Suresh Nagaiya
Powerful new LED load light Loading and unloading a truck in the dark just got much easier – and safer – with the introduction of a new mirror-frame mounted load light from Narva. The nature of road freight transport here often sees trucks operating under the cover of darkness, working to deliver goods while the country sleeps. So having sufficient light shining onto the cargo is crucial and is very useful for double checking load restraints by the side of the road or during haulage. Narva’s all-new LED ‘Load Light’ is designed to makes those tasks much easier, faster and safer. The Load Light is designed for mounting to the side mirror frame of a truck, where it can be pointed rearward onto the truck body or trailer in the case of articulated and multi-combination vehicles. Using a single powerful 25W ‘Cree’ LED, the 9-36V Load Light emits a powerful 1700 lumen spot beam along the side of the truck. The new light is capable of producing one Lux of light at an impressive 160 metres, allowing for safe and easy load adjustment on a dark roadside. And because the beam is narrow, it provides minimal glare and distraction to the driver and other road users.
Electric hybrid wheel loader revealed The electrification of construction equipment represents the ‘future of industry’, says Volvo Construction Equipment. Volvo Construction Equipment has revealed the company’s prototype electric hybrid wheel loader – a machine that can deliver up to a 50 percent improvement in fuel efficiency. Volvo reinforced the fact that energy efficiency is at the top of the company’s agenda when it unveiled its prototype hybrid wheel loader – known as the LX1 – in Sweden. The LX1 is a series hybrid that incorporates a driveline that consists of electric drive motors mounted at the wheels, electric hydraulics, an energy storage system, a significantly smaller diesel engine and new machine architecture. It’s this combination that enables the substantial gain in fuel efficiency. The prototype – which has 98 percent new parts and a fundamentally new machine design – is capable of doing the work of a wheel loader that’s one size larger. At this stage, the LX1 is part of a research project and it is not commercially available. Volvo acknowledges that hybrid technologies are still a relatively expensive solution and adoption has been slow. This is because the 56 www.contractormag.co.nz
benefit of current hybrid machines on the market isn’t significantly higher than conventional technologies, so it takes longer to achieve payback on your investment. “However, the cost of energy storage systems like lithium ion batteries is steadily decreasing, along with other technology, so that’s starting to make hybrids more attractive financially,” it says. “There are still opportunities to further optimise conventional technology – and these developments will compete with hybrid technology for some years.”
INNOVATIONS CONTRACTOR
Komatsu iMC range Komatsu says it has extended its “intelligent” equipment range with three additional machines with a fully integrated intelligent Machine Control (iMC) system, a concept that it claims delivers productivity, efficiency and cost-saving benefits. “Currently available across dozer and excavator models, Komatsu iMC is designed to let operators focus on moving material efficiently – from bulk excavation to final trim – without having to worry about over-excavation or damaging the target surface – vastly speeding up site earthworks, while delivering greater precision and accuracy,” it says. Currently covering a range of four dozers and one excavator, each model in Komatsu’s iMC range incorporates as standard a factory-installed fully integrated 3D GNSS (global navigation satellite system) machine control system. Komatsu iMC is part of the company’s SmartConstruction concept, which brings together a wide range of technology solutions, including drones and remote site management, to deliver more efficient, productive and cost-efficient construction processes. The current iMC line-up includes the PC210LCi-10 excavator, and D61EXi-23, D65EXi-18, D85EXi-18 and D155AXi-8 dozers. In addition, the new dozers are the first Komatsu machines fitted with Komatsu’s ultra-low emission Tier 4 Final engines, which combine outstanding performance with reduced fuel consumption.
T590 Bobcats Linked Earthworks and Demolition has recently taken delivery of a new Bobcat Skid-Steer Track Loader from AB Equipment. The new T590 joins an existing fleet of two older T190 Bobcats and the new machine will be used mainly for demolition, curbing and site excavation work in and around the Wellington area. “There is no doubt in our minds that Bobcat skid steer loaders give us a significant advantage,” says owner Craig Charleton. Traction is the biggest thing and these Bobcat track loaders have it in spades, he says. “Thanks to the vertical lift pattern, these short wheel base machines offer superior manœuverability for work in tight spaces and are perfect for a variety of applications.” Craig’s attachments include a broom bucket, a Harley rake, a bucket with a demo grab and a laser grader. “The roller suspension undercarriage is a significant feature and coupled with the feel and response of the Bobcat controls it means we can be very precise about what we do,” says Craig.
Fall-arrest system for industrial applications Adrenalin Forest, the agent for CLiC-iT, has launched the CLiC-iT PRO 60, a personal fall arrest system specifically designed for industrial applications. Two years ago, Adrenalin Forest adopted the innovative French safety system, the CLiC-iT 21 product across its three adventure parks in order to enhance safety. CLiC-iT removes the possibility of participants being able to unintentionally take both safety devices off the safety cable while they are on the aerial course. Adrenalin Forest’s founder and director Jean Caillabet says, “Adventure parks challenge visitors by providing an aerial experience that’s exciting, adrenalin filled and, at times scary. While this business provides thrills, we’re essentially about making safety fun because if we were to slip up, we wouldn’t have a business.” Caillabet was so impressed with the CLiC-iT system that he became the New Zealand agent for the company.
CLiC-iT recently introduced a second system for industrial applications, CLiC-iT PRO 60. While the PRO 21 system is ideal for zip wires in adventure parks, the PRO 60 system has been developed to keep operators safe while working on ladders, wind turbines, building scaffolding, radio masts and similar aerial situations where there is the everpresent need to prevent the user becoming
detached, with all the risks that may result. The system secures the operator to the structure or ladder, without the need for a lifeline throughout the climb and subsequent descent. It locks onto all types of anchors, up to a maximum diameter of 60mm. The inbuilt grip handles extend and protect the user’s hands for safer and faster vertical movement. FEBRUARY 2017 57
CONTRACTOR CIVIL CONTRACTORS NEW ZEALAND
CCNZ update Welcome to New Members Southeys Group Ltd, Auckland Branch Inframax Construction Ltd, Waikato Branch Apes Contracting Ltd, Canterbury/Westland Branch New Zealand Excavations Ltd, Canterbury/Westland Branch Drum Ex Earthmoving & Cartage Ltd, Auckland Branch
Retentions – CCNZ supports change but industry needs clarity CCNZ has made a submission and appeared before the Commerce Select Committee to support a proposed amendment of the Retentions transition arrangements and push for more clarity about how the new retentions regime, which comes into force on 31 March 2017, will work. The new regime is designed to protect and ensure that retentions are paid in the event that the company holding the retentions goes into insolvency. In particular, the industry needs clarity on the following issues: •W hat is the minimum amount the regime will apply to? Some contractors may not need to establish any new systems or processes if the amount of retentions they hold falls under the minimum amount. •W hat mechanisms can be used to satisfy the in trust requirements? •W hat is the definition of “liquid assets”? Are upstream retentions included? If the regime relates to net retentions, then the amount that a contractor – that is both holding and owed retentions – needs to hold in trust will be reduced in some cases by a substantial amount. •W ill there be any further direction given about methods of accounting? A copy of our submission is on the CCNZ website www. civilcontractors.co.nz. For further information, contact Malcolm Abernethy on 027 249 2513.
there is representation from client organisations (Road Controlling Authorities), consultants, industry groups and contractors. This diverse representation covers all aspects of the sector, and NZTA is keen to leverage off this Group’s expertise to evaluate, comment and provide advice on proposals that are brought forward in the overall pavements area. Such proposals may include new products / methodologies including innovation, research work, test methods, materials and quality assurance mechanisms. For further information, contact Alan Stevens on 0800 692 376.
CCNZ Auckland Transport Procurement submission As mentioned in the last Civil Talk newsletter, CCNZ provided a submission to Auckland Transport’s Optimising Infrastructure Procurement Project, which acknowledged an urgent need to reduce the time and costs involved in procurement for Auckland Transport (AT). The submission also supported AT’s overall aim of making its procurement processes more streamlined, effective and efficient. A copy of our submission is on the CCNZ website www. civilcontractors.co.nz. For further information, contact Malcolm Abernethy on 027 249 2513.
NZ hosting 5th International SaferRoads Conference 21 - 24 May 2017, Auckland, New Zealand Join some of the world’s leading practitioners, product providers and researchers to share knowledge, ideas, concepts and innovations to make travel on the global road network a safer and a more sustainable option. See the programme and register (early bird until 16 March 2017) at www.saferroads.co.nz.
Wellington Water procurement strategy CCNZ continues to work with Wellington Water in the development of a procurement strategy that should be available as a draft by the end of January 2017. Go to our website www.civilcontractors.co.nz to view CCNZ’s latest submission to Wellington Water.
National Pavements Technical Group CCNZ technical manager Alan Stevens attended a recent meeting of the National Pavements Technical Group (NPTG). NZTA has indicated that it wants the Group to move its focus to more of a Value Gateway for NZTA and the wider industry. The NPTG is a very valuable group in terms of the fact that
Northland Transportation Alliance CCNZ provided a response to the Northland Transportation Alliance to a questionnaire to assist the development of its Procurement Strategy for the Operations and Maintenance components of the combined network.
ADVERT ISERS IN D EX Allied Petroleum
Hirepool 11
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CCNZ 44
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Komatsu 4
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58 www.contractormag.co.nz
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