NZ Contractor 1804

NEW ZEALAND’S CIVIL CONTRACTING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

PAVING PERFECTION A pair of new compact Vögele pavers are delivering top results on Higgins’ smaller jobs

APRIL 2018

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CONTENTS

CONTRACTOR

INSIDE:

24 Regulars 4 Editorial 6 Upfront 8 Contractors’ Diary 16 NEOC contestants & winners 18 On the cover 58 Classic Machines 62 Innovations 66 Civil Contractors NZ update 66 Advertisers index

Comment 48 Peter Silcock CCNZ 49 Duncan Halliwell / Tamzin Dempster Kensington Swan 50 Tommy Parker NZTA 52 Janet Brothers Life Care Consultants 53 Warner Cowin Height 54 John Pfahlert Water New Zealand 56 Rod Auton Crane Association of NZ

Highlights / Features 20 P rofile: At your service – Stacy Goldsworthy Civil Contractors New Zealand has a new technical manager working to progress the interests of the membership.

24 T ransmission Gully taking shape Wellington's Transmission Gully motorway is forging ahead despite the difficult terrain and adverse weather.

32 A family affair Willcox Building Removals transports a couple's new house to a remote hillside location.

36 H i-vis women's day calls Connexis calls for registrations for its 'Girls with Hi-Vis' programme.

ON THE COVER A pair of new compact Vögele pavers are delivering top results on Higgins’ smaller jobs.

See page 18

40 H istory: A highway taken out of obscurity A lonely grave on a remote Taranaki hillside is a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made to open up the precipitous North Island hill country.

44 C orrosion impact on bridge infrastructure The challenges of managing and maintaining bridges and related road and rail infrastructure.

58

APRIL 2018 3

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

Roading, digger champs and bicycles It’s just over two years since the most complicated roading project in this country got underway as Wellington’s Transmission Gully Motorway.

In this issue Richard Silcock re-visits the project that is progressing despite the adverse wet autumn and winter experienced last year. Fortunately the hot dry summer that created the PPE furore covered in the last issue of Contractor, dried the ground and presented ideal conditions for the contractors involved in the earthworks.

This $850 million TGM project will link the Wellington–Porirua Motorway near Linden in the south and SH58 at Pauatahanui with the Kapiti Expressway at Mackays Crossing near Paekakariki in the north. Physical works started in October 2015, with CPB Constructors and HEB Construction working in a joint venture under a PPP contract to construct the motorway, which is described as one of the most technically challenging road projects undertaken in this country.

“It’s a ‘greenfields’ project stretching 27 kilometres through some diverse topography, ranging from areas of comparatively flat land, through to undulating former farmland, a regional park and a forest park, and steep hills strewn with bush-clad steep gullies,” says the JV’s project director, Boyd Knights. “At the Wainui Saddle section of the alignment it rises 460 metres above sea level.”

Read more on page 24.

Congratulations to Troy Calteaux who took home the big fish – CablePrice NZ Number One Excavator – in the 2018 ‘battle of the buckets’, better known as the Civil Contractors NZ National Excavator Operator Competition, which is held during the Field Days at Manfield Park at Feilding every year. We have all the winners on page 16 and full coverage in the May issue of Contractor.

Please read Rod Auton’s comment on page 56 where he observes a trend to wear bump caps on-site instead of hard hats.

It coincides with a bunch of libertarian push bike riders advocating for making helmets optional, so we can “get more people biking and increase public health”.

Increase public health? Is that a joke? Cycling in this country is dangerous enough without adding head trauma risk (especially with these new battery powered bikes).

I am the first person to agree with calculating your own risks, and that’s fine if you are backing that risk out of your own pocket. But we live in a socialistic state where the cost of accident/injury treatment and compensation is paid by taxpayers. And the cost of repairing head injuries and the long road to rehabilitation is very expensive.

On the subject of bicycles and the current obsession with cycle lane infrastructure, I wonder if it will all become an unused relic in the future as younger generations reject a mode of transport fashionable with their parents. There is nothing surer in Western society than each generation overturning fashions and doing their ‘own thing’. That’s probably why our grandparents threw away their cycles for cars in the first place.

Just a thought.

Keep on digging for a better nation.

EDITORIAL MANAGER Alan Titchall DDI: 09 636 5712 Mobile: 027 405 0338 Email: alan@contrafed.co.nz GENERAL MANAGER David Penny DDI: 09 636 5710 Mobile: 021 190 4078 Email: david@contrafed.co.nz REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Mary Searle Bell, Richard Campbell, Hugh de Lacy, Cameron Officer, Richard Silcock.

ADVERTISING / SALES Charles Fairbairn DDI: 09 636 5724 Mobile: 021 411 890 Email: charles@contrafed.co.nz ADMIN / SUBSCRIPTIONS DDI: 09 636 5715 Email: admin@contrafed.co.nz PRODUCTION Design: TMA Design, 09 636 5713 Printing: PMP MAXUM

Contributions welcome Please contact the editor before sending them in.

Articles in Contractor are copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher.

Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the shareholding organisations.

www.linkedin.com/NZcontractor @NZContractormag nz contractor magazine nz contractor magazine @nzcontractormagazine The official magazine of Civil Contractors NZ www.civilcontractors.co.nz The Aggregate & Quarry Association www.aqa.org.nz The New Zealand Heavy Haulage Association www.hha.org.nz

Alan Titchall, Editorial Manager

The Crane Association of New Zealand www.cranes.org.nz Rural Contractors New Zealand www.ruralcontractors.org.nz

CONTRAFED

A LS O P U B L I S H ES

Local Government, Quarrying & Mining and Water New Zealand magazines.

The Ready Mixed Concrete Association www.nzrmca.org.nz Connexis www.connexis.org.nz

ISSN 0110-1382 4 www.contractormag.co.nz

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CONTRACTOR

UPFRONT

The Health & Safety Act

Compulsory safety glasses

Dear Ed, I'm currently a foreman at a concrete outfit.

We are forced to wear ‘full cover up’ year round, regardless of temperature.

When we complained we were told to drink a glass of water and “harden the f…k up".

Concrete placing is very labour intensive, and I find myself and work mates over heating, becoming angry, and borderline collapsing on the job.

We voice our concerns about this to management, but it falls on deaf ears. Many of us believe we would be more productive if we didn't have winter clothing forced on us all year round and agree that "full cover up" is a health and safety risk, especially in the hot summer months. But, we feel like robots that are not being listened to and it will take a collapse and death on site before someone speaks up.

This is a clear example of people thinking they know best, and not actually utilising the H&S Act in a way that it should be employed.

First rule of the Act is to engage workers/ subcontractors and seek their opinion, and value the feedback. It appears the overriding theme is “this is what the principal requires, so that is what we are going to do, and you will do what we say". Which is the complete opposite of how the Act should be working.

At times, when clear and reasonable correspondence has been issued to the principal, the answer has often been: "You are not rowing in the same direction", or "get up with the times", or "well you have a choice then, not to work for us".

This is not actually understanding the full effect and discomfort that blanket full cover PPE is actually causing to a very large portion of the work force in the construction industry.

Looking forward to next month’s mag. I'm not on Facebook, so is there any other way I could get to review emails that have been sent back to you?

Regards David Ed – through our website www.contractormag.co.nz

Dear Ed, Thanks for publishing the article re D&K Price’s stand on blanket PPE requirements being forced on us.

Another concern I have is the blanket requirement to wear safety glasses.

These fog up, get scratched and with many wearers distort vision. Your sight is your first line of defence to avoid hazards or danger zones.

While I fully agree they have their place when using equipment that produces flying particle hazards eg, cutting and grinding, but to enforce a blanket requirement to wear such in my opinion actually creates a less safe environment.

I paid for an independent consultant to provide a study on this and submitted this to a large administration that was responsible for earthquake rebuild work and never had a response. Twelve months later I had a meeting with H&S personnel on our company’s performance and was told that sending in the report was 'suicidal' and very damaging to our company's reputation.

It seems if you raise your hand and question any of these mandates you are branded as short cutting cowboys.

We need to allow some common sense to prevail and also hear the voice of those directly affected by the PPE requirements.

Regards Daniel

NZTA and PPE A reader has brought to our attention the fact that the NZTA does enforce full cover PPE in situations, following comments published in the March issue of Contractor that the agency and WorkSafe don’t directly enforce the rule.

The NZTA uses a table that sets out the main situations, by exposure type, where it requires PPE to be provided by employers and used by employees, suppliers and visitors.

The one area where full PPE is required in this table is defined as: ‘On a construction/repair site on a State Highway.’

In this common contract situation personnel must wear safety glasses, safety footwear, high visibility clothing, long sleeves and long pants, and helmet, and carry gloves and have hearing protection at hand.

Long sleeves and pants are also required on ‘simple maintenance activities on a State Highway (including if you are in a vehicle or plant)’; ‘working outside a vehicle on the State Highway network’.

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UPFRONT

CONTRACTOR

A cool project Scott Base in Antarctica is being redeveloped and design plans include quantity surveying by Turner and Townsend and structural/civil engineering by WSP Opus.

They are part of a team that will spend the next 12 months creating four concept designs based on the base’s scientific user requirements, site environmental constraints and any learning from the experience of other National Antarctic Programmes.

Antarctica New Zealand will then recommend a preferred option for a modern new facility in December. The project design will cost $6.14 million and is funded by Kiwi taxpayers.

Scott Base redevelopment project manager, Simon Shelton, says it is important that the companies involved in the project complement Antarctica New Zealand’s values and passion for the harsh continent.

Antarctica New Zealand is the government agency charged with carrying out New Zealand's activities in Antarctica, supporting worldleading science and environmental protection. New Zealand has occupied Scott Base every day since it was established by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1957 and is recognised as a leader in the international Antarctic Treaty System.

“We intend to role-model environmental stewardship while creating a design that caters for New Zealand’s scientific and strategic needs in Antarctica. We are looking for efficiencies in how we, and our facilities, operate through all aspects of the design,” says Simon.

Classic machines

New Steel & Tube chief

Dear Ed, I wanted to say I came across your website with Contractor magazine and I must say you guys did an excellent job covering the Oliver OC-18 [see contractormag.co.nz/classicmachines/oliver-oc-18 – Ed].

I printed out the article on the Oliver OC-18 and likewise sent you some photos of ours. We had work done on it six years ago by a gentleman called Zandis Zimmerman. Now it has to be sent back out to do the clutch forks, which slipped out of the yoke.

We are located in South West Pennsylvania near a town called Uniontown. We have a 460 acre farm here with registered Shorthorn beef cattle.

Thanks again Grant Rinkhoff Will feature Grant's dozer in May – Ed

The Steel & Tube board has confirmed the appointment of Mark Malpass as its chief executive officer some eight months after former boss Dave Taylor resigned from the company after admitting breaching the Fair Trading Act by making false and misleading representations about the company’s steel mesh product known as SE62.

The NZX-listed company was due to be sentenced in the Auckland District Court last month after initially saying its 500E grade seismic mesh, also known as SE62, complied with New Zealand standards when it did not.

This relates to 24 of the 29 charges originally laid by the Commerce Commission after its investigation into alleged steel mesh infringements by Steel & Tube and several other companies during the past five-plus years. By Neil Ritchie.

APRIL 2018 7

CONTRACTOR

UPFRONT

UPNEXT with Pacifecon Name Location

Estimated $$ value

IPWEA conference calls

Estimated start date

The IPWEA NZ Annual Conference will be held at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre in June – Wednesday 20 to Friday 22.

The theme for 2018 is ‘Disruption, the Path to Resilience’.

Among the international speakers are Cecile Masionneuve, the chief executive of La Fabrique de la Cité, a French urban-innovation think tank; and Katie Choe and Jason Waldron from the USA, who were involved in the Kansas City Streetcar programme, which was a catalyst for infrastructure upgrades and innovation that transformed its downtown.

This year’s conference will feature a new format with optional activities and workshops on the Wednesday from 1pm and the AGM & Welcome drinks on Wednesday evening for those in Rotorua, with an optional dine-around to follow.

There are two full conference days on Thursday and Friday with functions both evenings.

More information: www.ipweanz2018.co.nz

Cycle path Auckland $33m Late 2019

Wastewater Waikato $25m connection

Late 2018

Water treatment plant

Mid 2018

Northland

$21m

Hydro-electricity Otago $20m Early 2019 scheme

Subdivision civil Wellington $10m Late 2018 works Pacifecon currently holds information on over 4000 civil projects with a combined value of over $52 billion. If you would like more information on these projects, or realise that a subscription to the Pacifecon building intelligence service would be a useful way to increase your market share and productivity, go to www.pacifecon.co.nz, or phone 09 445 0345. Inclusion of a project does not mean it will proceed to the scale and timeframe indicated above. It is, however, the best available picture at the time.

www.pacifecon.co.nz

Construction gets safer Fewer workers in the construction industry are being killed or seriously injured at work, new research has found.

The government’s Towards 2020 report into workplace death and injury rates shows the fatality rate in the construction industry has more than halved since 2011 and is now lower than the national rate.

Of the five sectors tracked by government health and safety watchdog WorkSafe, construction recorded the lowest fatality rate in 2016.

Chief executive for health and safety organisation Site Safe, Alison Molloy, says the results reflect the industry’s ongoing commitment to improving health and safety.

“It’s heartening to see all the hard work by businesses, workers, industry organisations and government paying off.

“In 2011, for every 100,000 workers, an average of almost seven construction workers were being killed each year. By 2016, that number was at just under two workers.”

The work-related fatality rate for construction in 2016 was 1.9 per 100,000 fulltime workers, compared to the national average of 2.1.

The report found serious injury rates in the industry are also improving, with rates steadily declining since 2013.

Molloy says the improvement shows H&S behaviour across the industry is starting to change, with many businesses and workers no longer tolerating the old “she’ll be right” attitude.

“Employers – both big and small – and workers on the ground are really standing up and taking responsibility for health and safety.”

CONTRACTORS’ DIARY 2018 Date

Event & Venue

Contact

2018 8-14 Apr

Bauma, Munich, Germany

www.bauma.de/index-2.html

13-15 Apr

National Diesel Dirt & Turf Expo, Panthers' Penrith Grounds, West Sydney

www.dieseldirtandturf.com.au/about

23-25 May

Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference, Queenstown

Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference

17-20 July

AQA/IOQ Anniversary Conference, Claudelands Event Centre, Hamilton

bit.ly/AQA_IOQAnnConference

18-20 Jul

2018 Crane Conference, Grand Millennium Hotel, Auckland

www.cranes.org.nz/2018-crane-conference

1-4 Aug

Civil Contractors NZ Annual Conference 2018, Hamilton

www.ccnzconference.co.nz/

19-21 Sep

Water NZ Conference, Hamilton

www.waternzconference.org.nz/

27-30 Nov

Bauma China 2018, The Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC)

www.bauma-china.com/

Please send any contributions for Contractors’ Diary to alan@contrafed.co.nz, or phone 09 636 5710 8 www.contractormag.co.nz

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CONTRACTOR

UPFRONT

Wetland feature on expressway

A four hectare wetland site for wildlife and native plants is taking shape as part of work on the Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway.

The wetland off Evans Road adjoins the southern end of Lake Kimihia and is being developed out of an existing degraded swamp that had been grazed by stock for many years.

The work requires digging out 30,000 cubic metres of clay to form the open water area and the planting of 50,000 wetland plants. AucklandWaikato Fish & Game will be assisting throughout the transformation and will also be caretakers of the completed wetland.

“We have designed a wetland that will have several zones that can all cope with varying degrees of flooding,” says NZ Transport Agency delivery portfolio manager Peter Simcock.

“The largest part of the wetland is open water to encourage ducks and other wetland bird species to make it their permanent home. This main body of water will be approximately 3.7 hectares and the remaining 0.3 hectares will consist of differing zones of planting that can be on both dry land during the summer and have wet feet during the winter.”

A barrier will keep the wetland above the normal level of Lake Kimihia, a large lake under the care of the Department of Conservation. This is to keep pest fish species out of the wetland and assist water quality. A gate will be installed to allow for the removal of any pest fish species that may enter the wetland during large floods.

“Work on the wetland began recently with a stream diversion first. Ecologists carried out intensive fishing of the old stream that needed to be diverted and native fish species were caught and transferred. Pest species that were caught, including 98 carp, were destroyed,” says ecologist Keith Hamill.

Nearly 300 freshwater eels have been transferred to a safer area. Most were the short-fin species but endangered long-fin eels were also found.

The wetland construction was expected to be completed this month. When the Huntly section is completed the wetland will be around 500 metres from the highway.

10 www.contractormag.co.nz

Jake Rouse is the new vice president of the IOQ Northland and at 20 year of age, must be the youngest such president in the country?

Welding warnings from Safe Work Australia In early 2017 welding fume was reclassified as “Carcinogenic to Humans” by the International Agency for the Research on Cancer (IARC), meaning that there is a direct relationship between inhaling welding fume and contracting cancer.

The “Australian Workplace Exposure Standards for Airborne Contaminants” by Safe Work Australia was last published on the 18 April 2013, almost four years before the recent reclassification of welding fume as carcinogenic.

Therefore this reclassification of welding fume as a confirmed human carcinogen should highlight for welders, employers and regulators the potential hazards involved and drive them to promote better controls and protection.

Research in Australia, based on the typical respiratory rate of 20 litres of air per minute, shows a welder operating within the workplace exposure standards for general welding fume (five milligrams per cubic metre) and wearing no respiratory protection can inhale up to 11 grams of welding fume per year. So year on year, an unprotected welder operating can inhale 11 grams of a now known, identified and classified carcinogen.

Safe Work says there is a significant disparity between workplace exposure limits for welding fume around the world and in this respect, Australia, is far behind other countries like Germany and the Netherlands.

Australian welders operating within the occupational exposure limits for welding fume are exposed to four times the level of a known carcinogen than welders in Germany operating under their own local occupational exposure limits.

It also says a number of large Australian companies are now changing their stance on PPE for welders after the reclassification of welding fume by the IARC. “Many large Australian companies are strengthening their controls by enforcing the use of welding powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs) to reduce welding fume exposure to ‘As Low as Reasonably Practicable’.”

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CONTRACTOR

UPFRONT

Giant knuckle boom crane arrives The only crane of its type in the Southern Hemisphere, the PK200002L SH knuckle boom crane is a key part of our construction scene, operating initially throughout the South Island.

The $1 million machine is the largest knuckle boom crane produced by Palfinger. Its 50-metre reach and ability to work in confined spaces are just two reasons for its well-earned international reputation.

Ross McFaul, owner of Southland-based Hire Frankton who purchased the crane, says the market has changed with trucks needing extra axles to carry the heavier cranes and bigger loads because of the need for greater lifting capacity and versatility, so he decided to get the biggest knuckle boom crane on the market.

“For a crane of this size and reach it is remarkably quick and efficient to set up. For example, we can set up on the side of the road or in narrow spaces between buildings with no disruption to traffic flow, no requirement for elaborate traffic management plans but with a safe and efficient result.

“I could park this crane (called Jock) on the goal line of a rugby field and it could pick up a 500kg weight near half way with the boom configured parallel to the ground. That is its reach.”

The crane was built in Austria at Palfinger where it was fitted and tested. McFaul and Duncan Phillips (general manager Goughs Palfinger) under went training and handover in Austria. Once landed in New Zealand it has been checked out at Gough Palfinger in Christchurch.

“Getting the PK200002 on to New Zealand roads was not a straight forward task and I must thank staff at the NZTA who have helped immensely on this project, as there was an initial concern that this crane might be too big for our roads,” says Ross.

The PK200002L SH knuckle boom crane can reach over tall buildings, as well as through with a reach of almost 50 metres

Steel hikes raise machine costs Machine manufacturers are reacting early to the Trump government’s tariff on imported steel.

Terex Cranes says steel prices had been rising steadily for several months before the announcement, which will drive prices even higher, reaching heights not seen in many years. In a letter to its customer base, its president and CEO John Garrison says: “The longer-term impact of the trade action is uncertain, but the inflationary impact on steel prices and related components is already increasing our product cost.

“Terex is committed to continuously improving efficiency, managing costs, and when possible protecting our customers 12 www.contractormag.co.nz

from the adverse impacts of rising costs – to help maximise the value and return on investment derived from our products.

“Unfortunately, the impact of the rising cost of steel is too large and too sudden for us to absorb. Given the uncertain nature of these market dynamics, we are not increasing our base prices. Instead, we will be adding a steel cost surcharge on our equipment.

“The surcharge will cover a portion of our cost increases – and will remain separate and transparent from our base prices. As the price of steel normalises, we will adjust or remove the surcharge.”

Terex says it is still finalising the details of the surcharge.

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CONTRACTOR

UPFRONT

New chief for Gough Group The board of Gough Group has appointed Liz Ward as its chief executive, following what it says was a “thorough and highly competitive recruitment process”.

Chair of the board, Keith Taylor, says Liz brings a set of skills that are vitally important to Gough’s customers in its fast moving markets.

“Liz has a track record of leading and implementing transformational business change across a wide range of industries. Her customer-driven, results-focused approach, coupled with an inclusive leadership style, will help build upon a strong organisational culture that delivers results.

“Her significant executive and governance experience, together with her record of transformation and engagement, position her well to drive Gough Group’s strategic aims of creating exceptional customer experiences and inspiring our people.”

Executive director Ben Gough says he sees the appointment of Liz as a clear statement of direction for the group.

“The Gough Group needs to continue to lead our markets

CCNZ conference attracts record number of sponsors Canstaff is the latest in a record number of major partners backing Matt Jones the CCNZ’s 2018 conference partners, along with Z, CablePrice and Hirepool.

Canstaff is a relatively new major associate of the association wanting to leverage from its investment in CCNZ and its members.

“Canstaff are proud to be the major sponsors for this event that recognises the close relationship between the two associations and the proven benefit of members working together to build and maintain NZ’s infrastructure,” says Matt Jones, Canstaff managing director.

“We see the opportunity to be a major sponsor for this event as a privilege. The conference programme gives members a unique opportunity to participate, learn and be inspired by some of the most influential leaders in the infrastructure industry.”

The civil construction department of Canstaff is involved in recruiting contract and permanent personnel for structural and civil engineering positions across New Zealand and the world on behalf of a variety of clients.

“Our flexible approach means that we can supply staff for long term projects or a one off requirement. Canstaff have built up strong working relationships with many of the largest civil engineering companies in New Zealand, which is testament to the success of our streamlined service and exclusive understanding of the intricacies of the sector,” says Matt.

14 www.contractormag.co.nz

in the products and services we provide and do so across a range of platforms. Liz comes to us with a powerful record of innovation that will enable developments we believe our customers want to see.”

Liz Ward has previously held roles as CEO of Kennards Hire based in Sydney, executive director customer services for Sydney Trains, CEO of CentrePort, and significant executive positions in Telstra, Spark, and EDS. She is an independent director on the board of Moana Fisheries and was previously director of the New South Wales Telco Authority.

She took up the role of CEO on March 12 and is based initially in the Hornby, Christchurch, head office for Gough Group, but will move to Auckland later this year.

Unsung heroes of construction Last month celebrated International Women’s Day and the Registered Master Builders Association (RMBA) acknowledged the unsung and often unrecognised role women play in our construction industry.

“Women form the backbone of the building industry,” says RMBA chief executive David Kelly.

“Women are heavily involved in many of our members’ businesses.

Often a woman runs the business so her partner can focus on the tools and this role is just as important as the physical construction side.

“Many successful building businesses are based on this partnership model, and we want to use this year’s International Women’s Day as an opportunity to recognise the vital role these women play.”

The RMBA has had a number of female regional presidents including two currently who were elected by their peers within the industry to represent them.

RMBA West Coast president Linda Caldana runs a family construction business alongside her husband Robert. Linda is a qualified draftsperson and learning assessor.

She oversees her team’s recruitment and training and says while a lot has changed for women during her 35 years in the industry, women are still not getting the recognition they deserve.

“It’s about getting the best person for the job, and women have a significant role to play,” she says.

“Clients still ring and want to talk to my husband on a daily basis, when, in fact they need to talk to me.”

RMBA Ashburton president Andrea Lee says it is important there is mutual respect for the roles women and men play.

“Women bring huge strength and a whole different process to the industry. On the business side, it is the behind-the-scenes efforts of women that makes businesses thrive,” she says.

“Women are often amazing project managers and designers. They are excellent at client management, financial management, and considering how a home will function best for a family – they make a house a home.”

More than 65,000 construction workers are needed over the next five years to keep up with demand and women are increasingly picking up the tools.

We’ll keep you moving...

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CONTRACTOR

NEOC

The National Excavator Operator Competition 2018: contestants and winners CablePrice NZ

Number One Excavator Award

Troy Calteaux’s second attempt at the National Excavator Operator Competition paid off for the Otago representative who works for Andrew Haulage in Dunedin.

The bearded big boy from the south cleaned up overall to take the trophy to the South Island for the first time in many years.

Defending his home turf Jim Beamsley came second in amongst tough competition this year and his charm and big smile earned him the Humes’ Good Bastard Award, an accolade often said to be as valuable as the trophy itself – as everyone wants to work with a ‘good bastard’.

The ‘One Day Job’ event, sponsored by this magazine, was won by Dan Mepham. It involved a ‘real industry’ project using a five tonne machine.

The task is equivalent to a full-day task, but must be completed in just 60 minutes and be scoped, priced and planned by the competitor. Judging is based on an interview about costs and materials and the actual completion of the task.

Third in the overall national competition was the defending champion for the past two years, the much respected gentleman of the competition – Steve Galbraith.

Resigning from any more regional competitions, Steve has committed to be a judge in 3rd Place the 2019 NEOC.

and Defending Champion

OTAGO: Troy Calteaux of Andrew Haulage

• Full 2018 NEOC coverage in the May issue of Contractor magazine.

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Steve Galbraith of Galbraith

Earthmovers

NORTHLAND: Riki Lum of Clements Contractors

16 www.contractormag.co.nz

AUCKLAND: Nick Cain of Waiau Pa Bulk Haulage

WAIKATO: Mike Bowe of Bowe Brothers Excavating

Contractor magazine One Day Job

2nd Place and Humes Good Bastard Award

BAY OF PLENTY: Craig Crowley of Crowley Excavators HAWKE'S BAY: Dan Mepham of Gair Contracting

MANAWATU: Jim Beamsley of Central Demolition

WELLINGTON: Jaden Field of Fulton Hogan Wairarapa CANTERBURY: Sam Rihari of Road Metals Co

SOUTHLAND: Brendon Ferguson of Fulton Hogan

APRIL 2018 17

CONTRACTOR

ON THE COVER

Paving perfection A pair of new compact Vögele pavers are delivering top results on Higgins’ smaller jobs.

By MARY SEARLE BELL. HIGGINS HAS BEEN operating throughout the North Island for over

60 years. What began with one man, all those decades ago, is now a significant contracting firm with a staff of over 1600. Naturally, a civil contractor of this size has a considerable fleet of machines to enable it to tackle all the projects it undertakes, and in that fleet, when it comes to pavers, only one brand will do: Vögele.

Construction supervisor and long-time employee Bruce Walker explains: “We’ve got quite a number in the fleet and they’ve served us particularly well.

“A decision was made to standardise our equipment throughout the country, so regardless of where our operators go, they are

18 www.contractormag.co.nz

familiar with the gear and can hit the ground running. We chose Vögele as it does everything we need to the highest standard.

“On top of this, the support we get from the supplier, Wirtgen New Zealand, is good. We have a strong relationship with them,” he says.

Bruce has been with Higgins for 42 years now, and for much of his tenure the company philosophy on equipment was to get as much work out of the gear as it could. So, while new equipment was purchased as needed, in Palmerston North, the maintenance team worked hard to keep a couple of older pieces operational.

“We’ve always run small pavers, but the youngest in our Palmy

branch was sitting at 9000 hours and was about 18 years old, and our smallest machine was 34 years old with an unknown number of hours on the clock.

“It was an Allatt and, let’s just say, they haven’t been manufactured this century. Sourcing parts became almost impossible – we had to manufacture them at huge expense. It was a tracked machine and there are, literally, no replacement tracks for it anywhere in the world!”

The new purchase from Wirtgen comprised a Vögele Super 7003i and a Vögele Super 1103-3i, both at the smaller end of the product range.

The 700-3i is in fact the smallest in Vögele’s mini class. Not only can it pave a narrow strip just half a metre wide, the machine itself can squeeze through a 1.4 metre gap. This key feature makes it ideal for trenching work, underground car parks, and footpaths. In fact, Higgins’ new 700-3i has just started its first job, paving footpaths in Napier.

“It is perfect for this sort of thing,” says Bruce.

“And, because it is a track-driven machine, by driving one track forward and the other back, it can turn on a dime.

“We also purchased all the optional extras including bolt-on extension screeds, so this machine can actually pave up to 3.2 metres wide, making it an exceptionally versatile paver.”

The 700-3i will have its own transporter and dedicated operator and will travel from job to job throughout the lower North Island.

The second paver is a 1103-3i, from Vögele’s compact class. This machine paves from 1.8 metres width up to 4.2 metres with the extension screeds.

“We’ve used the 1103 every day since it was commissioned,” says Bruce. “It’s very nice. It lays a beautiful mat, the joins are perfect and it is very accurate.

“The machine is very tight, and it’s easy to achieve the desired quality.”

So far, the machine has tackled car parks, driveways and narrow road reinstatements.

“The feedback from the crew is very positive,” says Bruce. “They

The 700-3i is in fact the smallest in Vogele’s mini class. Not only can it pave a narrow strip just half a metre wide, the machine itself can squeeze through a 1.4 metre gap. This key feature makes it ideal for trenching work, underground car parks, and footpaths. say it’s easy to operate and its manoeuvrability far exceeds its predecessor.

“It can do a U-turn within a six-metre radius, which is a huge help with some of the constrained areas we have to deal with.”

The new Vögeles are two of about 25 pavers across the company. Bruce says all the old ones will eventually be replaced with new technology.

“The quality is up there,” he says of the brand. “The service too.

“I’ve been to visit the factory in Germany which was amazing.

They have a lot of very clever people developing their products.

“From an old-school paving perspective, the Vögeles are well balanced – when you have years of experience, you can feel a good machine when you get on one. The screed weight, the tractor weight, and the balance between the two is very good.

“They’ve got it right.”

Complementing the new pavers was the purchase of a new Hamm HD12VT combi roller, also supplied by Wirtgen. The articulated tandem roller has a both a 1.2 metre wide vibratory drum and rubber tyres, making it well suited to work alongside the smaller pavers.

“We’ve run out of excuses as to why things aren’t perfect,” Bruce jokes.

“The new machines make it easy to get the quality we want.” l

APRL 2018 19

CONTRACTOR

PROFILE

At your service Civil Contractors New Zealand has a new technical manager on its staff, working specifically to progress the interests of the membership and provide expert advice, gained through many years working in the industry. By Mary Searle Bell.

STACY GOLDSWORTHY is the newest addition to the Civil Contractors New Zealand team.

He has joined as the technical manager, and his role has him progressing the interests of the organisation on various committees and working groups, as well as providing technical advice to the membership.

His many years working in the industry have provided him with a sound base of technical expertise and knowledge gained from experience, and his interest in the continued improvement of the civil construction sector made him an ideal candidate for his new role.

After school, he went to work for Worley Group (which was later absorbed by Aecom), spending seven years in its Hamilton lab. He says his role had a good balance between labbased and field-based work.

“My work involved test pits, subdivision investigations and undertaking typical tests done by a civil engineering laboratory,” he says.

“We’d dig up a road to understand why it hadn’t performed as expected, and suggest treatments to rectify the problem.”

His next role saw him move to Svedala (bought by Metso Minerals in 2001). He was employed as an application specialist and ran the laboratory that was based on site.

About half his time was spent at the Barmac factory located in Matamata. The other half of his time was involved looking at the application of Svedala’s wider crushing and screening offering in the New Zealand quarrying market.

At the Barmac factory, Stacy’s job was to develop the technical side and assess the performance capability of the Barmac vertical shaft impactors (VSIs), attempting to understand wear, developing models, and predicting how various rocks would crush.

After two years, he went with the company to the UK, where he spent six months as a servicing and commissioning engineer throughout Europe.

Choosing to stay longer in the UK, Stacy got a job with building materials supplier Lafarge Aggregates for the next 18 months.

20 www.contractormag.co.nz

He ran Lafarge’s largest clean fill operation, located just north of London, where he was responsible for the operation meeting its compliance and resource consents obligations, as well as managing the team and all the subcontractors on site.

He came home to New Zealand in 2004, returning to Metso Minerals as a technical specialist.

“I ended up doing application support for Barmac – pretty similar to what I’d been doing for them previously – and also a bit of R&D.” Towards the end of this stint with Metso he was involved with the global strategy team that defined what Metso best practice looked like.

His next position was with Winstone Aggregates, starting as technical manager, then moving to manufacturing manager, before becoming the technical manager for Australasia.

“As manufacturing manager, I spent three years looking at specifications, doing R&D, and implementing KPIs to improve quarry performance. I looked at our quarries, assessing their performance and equipment to see how we could optimise their capabilities.

“Then, when I when I became technical manager for Australia and New Zealand, I

spent a fair amount of time travelling to our Australian sites.”

However, this was not the first time his job saw him travelling. Stacy says that when he was with Metso he travelled about 120 days in the year to places as far flung as South America and Europe, something he describes as full on.

In 2014 he joined Green Vision Recycling as its general manager, overseeing aggregate recycling, reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) processing, and topsoil production, staying there until an industry friend and colleague, suggested a new role, working for the industry.

Stacy spent a number of years serving on various industry committees – including as chair of the AQA technical committee – and working groups, and along the way met Alan Stevens, who was originally technical manager for Roading New Zealand and then CCNZ for a total of 16 years.

Alan is someone Stacy has a lot of respect for, saying Alan has made a significant contribution to the industry during his time at Roading NZ and CCNZ. So, when Alan told Stacy he thought he would be well suited to the technical manager position with CCNZ, Stacy listened. >>

Stacy Goldsworthy (left) spent a number of years serving on various industry committees – including as chair of the AQA technical committee – and working groups, and along the way he had met Alan Stevens, who was originally technical manager for Roading New Zealand and then CCNZ for a total of 16 years.

See you at

Fieldays 2018 W14

APRIL 2018 21

CONTRACTOR

PROFILE

Auckland Motorway Alliance, (above), is a past Category 5 winner in the Construction Excellence Awards for Maintaining Auckland’s Motorway Network.

“It was a good change,” says Stacy of the move which took place at the beginning of the year. “I’ve been involved with committees and the like for a while; it is good to be representing people who are genuinely interested in discussing issues and have a keenness to make progress.”

His job involves running a number of committees for CCNZ. He is responsible for setting agendas and supporting the membership as well as representing the organisation in other, client-led groups. He

Asphalt Plant Accreditation Scheme (APAS).

“I’m also working on a range of different documents CCNZ puts out to industry. The first cab off the rank being the industry Code of Practice on safe handling of bitumen.

“There is a significant amount of work required to update this document. However, the timing is good with the recent change to the Health & Safety Act [HSWA].”

On top of that, Stacy is just a phone call away for members who are requiring technical advice.

“I’m also working on a range of different documents CCNZ puts out to industry. The first cab off the rank being the industry Code of Practice on safe handling of bitumen. does this by splitting his time between his home office in rural west Auckland, and being at mission control, CCNZ headquarters at Margen House in Wellington.

His role also has him administering a couple of industry self-regulation programmes, in particular, the E2 certification for the registration of bitumen sprayers, which requires them to be checked annually, and the 22 www.contractormag.co.nz

“I help where I can or, if necessary, I’ll pass them on to the right person or an expert who can assist.”

If you do need technical advice, you can phone Stacy on 021 786 479 or email him at stacy@civilcontractors.co.nz.

His advice is free to members. And if you see him at conference or around the traps, say hello.

PROMOTION

Before you dig – Do you really know what’s below?

It’s a Friday morning in a major North Island city and a water pipe has sprung a leak, the civil crew has been called out and they can see the water rising through cracks in the road seal. The time is 10am and the leak is near a school and a busy intersection.

This work requires removal of the road seal and excavation to depth of up to 1 metre and the crew decides that if they can get to work now they can get the pipe before the school finishes for the day.

The contractor gets to work using a concrete cutter and then proceeding with a jackhammer to break up the ground and get to the suspected depth of the pipe. Suddenly there is a loud explosion and flash of light and flames shoot upward over the contractor using the jackhammer, he falls backward into the trench screaming. An ambulance is quickly called and arrives

and stabilises the still screaming worker and takes him away to hospital with burns to his legs, hands, arms, chest and face.

In the meantime, the damaged cable has caused a major area outage to the electricity network affecting hundreds of homes and businesses and causes traffic and travel chaos as the road is closed for investigation by authorities and then repairs. As well as the terrible life changing injuries to the worker the community must deal with disruption into the evening.

This might sound over dramatic but is in fact a real-life story explains Phil Cornforth, country manager for beforeUdig New Zealand. Phil has worked in the utilities industry for more than 25 years and spent ten of those with a large New Zealand electrical lines company dealing with the effects from third party damage to power and gas utilities including this incident.

This incident demonstrated the critical requirement to plan your works effectively before you start digging. At the outset this should be done by requesting plans for any underground utilities such as power, gas, water and telecommunications. This is done free through www. beforeUdig.co.nz and 80 percent of NZ utilities are part of the service as they recognise the crucial role beforeUdig plays in protecting the public from injury and their assets from unwanted third-party damage.

As in this case what the contractor should have done was practice the four P’s of safe excavation, PLAN – your works first by requesting plans from beforeUdig and carrying out a full risk assessment of the hazards both below and above ground. Get your site marked out by a competent and qualified locator to indicate the possible location of underground utilities.

POTHOLE – Use a non-destructive method such as hand digging or hydro excavation to identify and determine the exact location of underground services.

PROTECT – before starting mechanical excavation ensure all utilities are adequately protected from damage by using physical safety barriers PROCEED – Start your work but only when you have all of the above measures in place, ensure you are following all asset owner requirements for working near their cables or pipes and use a spotter to keep a careful eye if you are using a digger, ensure you keep in constant radio contact.

Whilst many utilities require a minimum of two full working days notice to process your plan request many are moving to a more automated system where an asset owner response will be returned to you within minutes, you can make the enquiry onsite from your mobile device and by return email and have plans in your hands within minutes. This is an ideal solution for those responding to emergency call outs like this whom need to get to work in the minimum amount of time as possible.

beforeUdig IS A MUST-USE SERVICE FOR CONTRACTORS BIG OR SMALL. AT THE VERY OUTSET OF PLANNING AND DESIGNING YOUR WORKS, NO MATTER WHAT THE SIZE, MAKE SURE YOU ALWAYS LODGE AN ENQUIRY BEFORE YOU DIG.

CONTRACTOR

PROJECT

24 www.contractormag.co.nz

Transmission Gully taking shape It’s just over two-years since enabling work and construction of Wellington’s Transmission Gully Motorway began and it is forging ahead despite the difficult terrain and adverse weather. Richard Silcock visited the project last month and reports on progress.

APRIL 2018 25

PROJECT

AERIAL IMAGES: MARK COOTE PHOTOGRAPHY

CONTRACTOR

Above: Earthworks underway at the interchange.

Opposite page, top: Te Puka permanent stream channel construction.

CPB HEB JV’s project director Boyd Knights.

Previous page: Concrete pier foundations and shotcreted bank for the Cannons Creek Bridge.

26 www.contractormag.co.nz

“PARK YOUR CAR facing out and wear a hard

hat, boots and PPE gear,” says Amanda Nilsen, senior communications advisor for Wellington’s Transmission Gully Motorway.

“It’s a health and safety measure.”

Such was the strict adherence to health and safety measures I encountered when I looked in on the Transmission Gully Motorway (TGM) project last month.

This massive project is progressing in leaps and bounds despite the adverse wet autumn and winter experienced last year. Fortunately the hot dry summer has dried the ground and presented ideal conditions for the contractors involved in the earthworks.

The New Zealand Transport Agency’s manager for project delivery, Chris Hunt, says that as a result of the extremely wet winter and the earthquake experienced in late November 2016 there have been some minor impacts on the project’s delivery which may result in an extension of the contract by up to 20 additional days.

This $850 million TGM project will link the Wellington–Porirua Motorway near Linden in the south and SH58 at Pauatahanui with the Kapiti Expressway at Mackays Crossing near Paekakariki in the north.

Physical works started in October 2015, with CPB Constructors and HEB Construction

working in a joint venture (JV) to construct the motorway under a PPP contract.

The project has been described as one of the most technically challenging road projects ever undertaken in this country.

“It’s a ‘greenfields’ project stretching 27 kilometres through some diverse topography, ranging from areas of comparatively flat land, through to undulating former farmland, a regional park and a forest park, and steep hills strewn with bush-clad steep gullies,” says the JV’s project director, Boyd Knights. “At the Wainui Saddle section of the alignment it rises 460 metres above sea level.”

As reported previously (Contractor May 2017), steady progress was being made at several sites simultaneously, with work centred around site clearance, constructing access roads, archaeological digs, relocation of utilities, transfer of native fish from streams, stream diversions, construction of sediment retention ponds, earthworks, bank hydro-seeding and preliminary bridge foundation work.

“We’ve achieved good productivity since then and completed some five million cubic metres of earthworks and expect to ‘move’ up to nine million cubic metres of earth in total by the time the project is completed,” says Boyd.* “The ground comprises alluvium, colluvium, fractured bed rock and peat swamp. Most of

APRIL 2018 27

CONTRACTOR

PROJECT

Above: The Kenepuru Bridge under construction which straddles both the WellingtonPorirua motorway and the main trunk railway line.

Opposite page: An RSE embankment and bridge piers at the southern end of the project.

28 www.contractormag.co.nz

it is being re-utilised as fill for the numerous gullies and stream beds,” he says. “In addition, 130,000 tonnes of rip-wrap and rock armoury is being ‘imported’ from local quarries along with dolomite which is being shipped over from Nelson.

“With this amount of earthworks the alignment is rapidly taking shape and the sheer magnitude of the project and its trajectory can be appreciated,” says Boyd.

The JV is doing the bulk of the earthworks, with subcontractor Goodman Contractors carrying out 15 percent of the total volume of work under contract and providing additional plant and operators under a ‘wet-hire’ contract.

In addition, a number of other earthmoving operators, including Zaxcavate, Silverstrand, Tenga Pickering, Mills Albert, Bryce O’Sullivan, Dirtpro, Brownell, JAD and Peipi Civil have been subcontracted by the JV under ‘wet-hire’ contracts.

Madd-K Contracting, under a subcontract to Goodman’s, has one of the latest Hitachi excavators working the site and is carrying out ‘pockets’ of work along sections of the alignment (refer cover story in last month’s Contractor).

Goodman’s managing director Stan Goodman says they have around 100 staff and considerable machinery including several new CAT 637K scrapers working on site.

“Over winter our boys were working on a section near the southern end of the project which had previously been a pine forest,”

says Stan. “We excavated and moved 700,000 cubic metres of earth despite the weather and steepness of the site – which was quite a challenge.”

Under a separate contract with the Porirua City Council, Goodman’s is also involved in earthworks for the 1.5-kilometre Waitangirua link road which will straddle Duck Creek via a bridge before joining the motorway at the James Cook Interchange. These earthworks are well advanced and when the road is completed will provide a link to Whitby.

On any given day there’s a fleet of upwards of 300 excavators, dump trucks and earth scrapers working. The earthmoving plant comprises 40 and 60 tonne excavators, D6 and D10 dozers, rock hammers, and a fleet of dump trucks and earth scrapers.

“With the good weather we experienced over summer we are currently moving around 150,000 cubic metres of earth a week and would expect to have most of the earthworks completed by the end of April next year,” says Boyd.

Travelling south from Mackays Crossing the motorway will climb at a gradient of eight percent (similar to Wellington’s Ngauranga Gorge) to cross the Wainui Saddle. High-sided and benched rock batters will be a feature of this section as the motorway slices through the fractured rock terrain.

“We’re working night shifts and made good progress on cutting sections of the hillside to bring the level down to the final alignment and

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CONTRACTOR

PROJECT

Excavator taking in the views from Wainui Saddle with the motorway among it and elevated Te Puka Stream on left.

30 www.contractormag.co.nz

this will continue for some time,” says Boyd.

Soil nails and shotcrete will add stability to the seven-tiered batters, which will rise 90 metres above the motorway level.

A number of concrete culverts and large pipes have also been constructed and installed to divert several streams and creeks.

Possibly one of the most unique diversions is the elevation of Te Puka stream, where 1.7 kilometres of stream bed has been shifted sideways and moved between 20 and 30 metres up above its original level.

To achieve this, the stream was progressively diverted through large pipes and the gully filled with rock and earth up to the same level as the motorway alignment.

“It was a one-of-a-kind design, made doubly difficult by the steepness of the gully,” says Boyd.

“But we’ve embraced the challenge and it’s a nice part of the project with engineers and environmentalists recreating what nature had created.”

Twenty-eight bridges are being constructed in total. Most are along the motorway primarily to cross the various deep gullies the alignment follows. In addition bridges are being built on some link roads which will connect with the motorway.

The largest structure and the most unique will be the 230-metre-long, 60-metre-high

Cannons Creek Bridge (Bridge 20), which will straddle a deep gully stream that is cloaked in dense native vegetation.

“Excavation and retaining work for the bridge pier foundations has been completed,” says Boyd. “Work on the two, 24-metre-high reinforced concrete piers for the three-span bridge has commenced and these will be socketed into the foundations to a depth of 12 metres to allow for any lateral ground movement in the event of an earthquake.”

Forty-four steel prefabricated girders in rows of four will be placed over the bridge spans.

These, up to 19.3-metre-long girders, along with most of the bridge deck, will be incrementally launched across the gully towards the end of this year.

“This bridge is being constructed in this way due to the steepness of the terrain and the close proximity of high voltage transmission lines, both of which preclude the use of large cranes,” says Boyd.** Over the Christmas period steel girders for a new bridge at Kenepuru (Bridge 28), which crosses over the Wellington–Porirua Motorway and the main trunk railway line, were lifted into place by a 600-tonne crane while the line was shut down for several nights. This bridge will connect the TGM with Kenepuru Drive and the Porirua CBD.

Traffic heading north from Wellington will join the TGM via a purpose-built, two-lane ‘on-ramp’ which will exit the left-hand lane of the Wellington–Porirua Motorway near Linden before crossing back over it from west to east via a bridge (Bridge 25) which will connect with the start of the TGM. These bridge piers have been constructed and the embankments built.

Keystone concrete cruciform panels and reinforced earth walls are almost complete in preparation for a bridge (Bridge 15) that will be constructed to carry the TGM traffic over SH58 at Pauatahanui. The earthworks for the realignment and joining of SH58 at this interchange are well advanced.

Where the motorway joins the Kapiti Expressway at the Mackays Crossing Interchange, SH1 will be realigned to provide access to the TGM for traffic coming from or going to Paekakariki and Pukerua Bay. This section of SHI will be renamed the Coastal Road.

“Before this section can be built extensive ground improvement works had to take place, including the removal and replacement of liquefaction-prone material,” says Boyd. “To achieve this, the area has been drained and pre-loaded to compress what was originally a peat swamp and a market garden.”

There are upwards of 600 people involved in this project, most are local, with some

specialists brought in from Australia and the Philippines. Boyd says their staff turn-over is pretty minimal and he attributes that to good staff relations, attention to working safely and the variety of work the project brings.

Over two million native trees and shrubs are being progressively planted along various parts of the alignment making it one of the largest replanting programmes associated with a road construction project in the country.

TGM is expected to be completed by AprilMay 2020 and will comprise two lanes running each way. There will be a third, ‘slow-lane’ for large trucks and heavy vehicles heading south and negotiating the gradient at the northern end. The lanes will be separated by a central median barrier. * Estimates consented prior to tender in 2012 were for six million cubic metres. In 2013 it was revised post-tender to 8.4 million cubic metres based on a more detailed construction design, however, consents for up to nine million cubic metres in total have since been granted. ** Contractor will be covering the Cannons Creek Bridge construction in a separate, more in-depth article when the bridge super-structure is launched across the gully.

Note: An animated ‘fly-through’ and aspects of the motorway construction can be viewed at bit.ly/NZTA_TGM.

A section of the new motorway at sub-grade level near Battle Hill Farm Forest Park.

APRIL 2018 31

CONTRACTOR

HEAVY HAULAGE

A family affair Alan Titchall was there at the crack of dawn to celebrate the arrival of a couple’s new house in the northern Waikato.

IT IS STILL DARK and the lights of the pilot vehicle beam down the access road and light up the back of the house trailer and its load.

We are high up in the hills overlooking Miranda and the Thames estuary and the pre-built house from Keith Hay Homes has been transported by Willcox Building Removals from Hamilton, where it was built, to the site.

Operated by two generations of the Willcox family, the company has been contracted to Keith Hay Homes in the Waikato region for over four decades.

The house, a ‘Horizon’ model, has been ordered by my brother-in-law, Ken Lever and his wife, Anna Bargiacchi. The pair were up in the middle of the night and waiting at their gates for the Willcox convoy to arrive.

I arrive just as it appears that the house trailer is stuck in a dip halfway along a narrow dirt driveway that descends steeply to the house site.

Watching on is Pauline Willcox, who does a lot of the piloting for the company, while husband Arthur and son Steven make up the rest of this family business.

“It was an uneventful journey during the night from Hamilton,” she tells me as Arthur is doing a lot of yelling while fixing a cable between the trailer and a winch on a small bulldozer.

The haulage truck is disconnected and driven up to the top of the section and out of the way.

Usually, the Willcoxs haul a small digger on the back of the truck, but for this job they brought the dozer.

Then slowly, very slowly, the trailer and its load is winched steadily up the driveway as the dawn breaks over the section. Then through a combination of winching and skidding, with the trailer wheels at one point cutting deep farrows into the winter soft top soil, the house finally sits near the house site.

“If it had been drier it would have been a bit easier, but we deal with a lot worse when it comes to tricky sites,” says Pauline.

The trailer is narrow and light but the house is heavy and the winter rains have soaked into the top soil of what was once farmland.

After Ken and Anna get the last opportunity to 32 www.contractormag.co.nz

Willcox Building Removals has been moving Keith Hay Homes around the Waikato for some 40 years. On September 27, 2017 they delivered a house to Miranda from Hamilton for new home owners Ken Lever and Anna Bargiacchi.

The heavy haulage company is a true family affair with dad Arthur, mum Maureen (pilot) and son Steven (driver) involved with the shift. The heavy house was carried on two light hydraulic trailors designed by Arthur Willcox.

Despite a very wet site at the time, the truck hauled the house close to its final resting place. A small and versatile Cat D4C dozer, made in the late 1980s, was used to winch the house and trailer up the remaining part of a steep drive and into position with panoramic views over the Thames Estuary.

APRIL 2018 33

CONTRACTOR

HEAVY HAULAGE

Top: Arthur Willcox, born into the industry.

Above: The haulage truck is an old classic, made in 1987 and used initially as a stock truck. “That girl has been to the moon and back a couple of times,” says Steven, who has been working with his parents since he could legally drive.

34 www.contractormag.co.nz

decide exactly where their new house will be settled, the bulldozer pulls the house, still sitting on its trailer into position.

It doesn’t take long before the house is jacked up high enough for the trailer to be pulled from underneath it. Holes are bored for the foundations using power from a generator in front of the truck.

The haulage truck is an old classic, made in 1987 and used initially as a stock truck. “That girl has been to the moon and back a couple of times,” says Steven, who has been working with his parents since he could legally drive.

The company uses four rigs and Ken and Anna’s house sat on two trailers attached together to represent an ‘ordinary’ width vehicle, and not the three metre wide trailers a lot in the heavy haulage industry use.

“We keep the equipment simple so it’s always easy to fix. It can be a challenging job and it can take a week to deliver one house sometimes.”

Pauline looks after the consenting and the company uses light and agile rigs. Arthur Willcox was born into the industry.

His father operated a large engineering business at Putaruru and hauled houses around for the Ministry of Works to various hydro projects in the centre of the North Island and built an hydraulic jacking system using old tractor rams on the end of two lattice made beams – one on each side of the building controlled by one valve bank, which was not very successful.

Arthur improved the design by using individual jacks, controlled by separate valve bank for each side of the building as well as calibrated flow valves to each jack.

Ken and Anna were in their new home

by Christmas and they hosted the extended family Christmas day lunch.

Family relations arrive from up north for the usual feast and then settled in to watch videos of the house being moved on to the site.

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CONTRACTOR

TRAINING

Hi-vis women’s day calls Connexis holds its annual Girls with Hi-Vis programme in June each year and is currently calling for registrations from women in New Zealand wanting to experience first-hand what a career in infrastructure offers.

Central Auckland based Winnie Rawiri-King is an electrician for Singer Group.

Winnie is a great ambassador for women in the infrastructure industry. She was the Connexis 2017 Got a Trade, Got it Made – Future Business Leader.

36 www.contractormag.co.nz

TO DATE THERE are 28 companies registered for the 2018 programme. That’s up from the nine that registered in 2017.

Connexis chief executive Peter Benfell says it is extremely exciting to see Girls with Hi-Vis being embraced by companies across the civil, energy, three waters and telecommunications sectors.

“It’s a signal that those companies really see the benefits of diversity through the number of women in their teams and are committed to increasing females into trade and technical roles within the industry.”

Girls with Hi-Vis sees those registered

partner companies throw their doors open for a day in June, specifically to women interested in finding out more about the career opportunities available and to learn about how different sectors of the industry operate.

“It’s a unique opportunity that literally opens doors to women who may not have previously considered the infrastructure industry, or who may have considered it, but thought there were no roles that appealed,” says Peter.

“The infrastructure industry is a great option given the wide range of careers

Pictured at Meridian’s Ohau B hydro station, Mackenzie Basin, from left are Jade Lloyd, Meridian Twizel, Elena Hoffman, Higgins Christchurch, Jen McLean, Contact, Martina Perez-Casajuana, Genesis and Lauren Al-Samman, Meridian Tekapo Power Station – all proud to be associated with companies working together to promote the value of women working in infrastructure.

available and the average annual salary ranging between $71,000 to $86,000 within the sectors.

“Girls with Hi-Vis allows women of all ages and backgrounds, and from all over the country, to see behind the scenes of some of our major infrastructure companies, to talk to other women already working in the industry and to see where they might have a future,” he says.

Any women interested in participating in the event can register via the Connexis

website – www.connexis.org.nz/careers/ girls-high-vis.

“It is worth remembering that women have much to offer to New Zealand and specifically the infrastructure industry and recruiting more of them is vital for the future of the sector,” Peter says.

“If our industry is to continue to grow and operate at world standards, we need more, skilled workers.

“Why would you ignore half the population in your recruitment plan?”

Above: Millie Burry (left) from Genesis Energy, Control and Instrumentation technician, shows students from Tauhara College at Tokaanu Power Station, Turangi, how to wire up an extension cord.

Top: Students from Mackenzie College and Twizel School getting first-hand experience at a hydro station.

Students are looking at motors used on generation stations at Meridian’s Ohau B hydro station, Mackenzie Basin.

APRIL 2018 37

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HISTORY

ALEXANDER TURNBULL LIBRARY

CONTRACTOR

40 www.contractormag.co.nz

A highway taken out of

obscurity A lonely grave on a remote Taranaki hillside is a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made to open up the precipitous North Island hill country.

Hugh de Lacy pays it a visit.

WILLIAM LAING AND his companions walked, and in places ran, the 50 kilometres from the Tangarakau Gorge in north-eastern Taranaki to Tongaporutu, on the North Island’s west coast, to get medical help for Joshua Morgan, the dying surveyor of the Stratford-Taumarunui road that would come to be known as the Forgotten Highway.

Laing and his companions from the survey party didn’t know what was wrong with Morgan, who had taken ill after a feed of wild apples found growing near the entrance to the Tangarakau Gorge where he was working, but it looked like peritonitis, either from the apples or a burst appendix.

The year was 1893 and Morgan was the pivotal player in the ambitious plan to drive a railway line and accompanying road all the way from Stratford to link up with the Main Trunk at Taumarunui.

Morgan was a colourful man of just 35, a fluent speaker of Maori, which was a vital attribute to a man surveying a road about which the King Country Maori were decidedly suspicious, the ‘treaty’ with Maori King Tawhiao allowing the construction being only 12 years old at the time.

Morgan had made a name for himself by venturing into another North Island Maori fastness where the Crown’s roads were not welcome – and living to tell the tale: he was a member of the first pakeha party to traverse the Urewera country from Rotorua to Waikaremoana, home of the similarly isolationist Tuhoe.

This was soon after the 1886 Tarawera eruption – which Morgan was on hand to witness – though the honour of being the first Tangarakau Gorge with road bridge and grave site of Joshua Morgan from the Godber collection.

APRIL 2018 41

HISTORY

ALEXANDER TURNBULL LIBRARY

CONTRACTOR

Joshua Morgan (centre) and two unidentified men.

surveyors to penetrate Te Urewera had fallen to J Baber and M Compton-Smith in 1883.

Like his two predecessors, who had shown up at a Tuhoe meeting called specifically to discuss ways of keeping surveyors off their lands, Morgan spoke excellent Maori, and he too had an encounter with Tuhoe in which he displayed such skills as a peacemaker that, like Baber and Compton-Smith, he too lived to tell the tale.

Though only 35, Morgan had virtually retired from surveying and taken up land near Inglewood in Taranaki when the government called him back into service in 1892 to plan the Stratford-Tauamrunui road and rail routes.

William Laing’s mercy dash to the coast took him two days in each direction, but by the time he got back Morgan had died.

Morgan’s chainman, Fred Willason – later described by Morgan’s half-brother Arthur Morgan as, “a half-caste; a splendid fellow I’m told” – who had been caring for Morgan during Laing’s absence, then set off southwards to Stratford to break the news to Morgan’s family.

It had been a wet summer and the difficulties in bringing a body that far out of the bush were insurmountable, so it was decided to bury Joshua Morgan where he died, on a little promontory near the confluence of the Mangapapa and Tongarakau Rivers, a short distance from the precipitous papa and limestone gorge he had been surveying.

The grave was marked by a simple wooden cross and picket fence, neither of which would have long resisted the regenerating bush in the sultry damp of inland Taranaki, but a grateful Roads Department decided its former servant was worthy of a better memorial, so it installed a stone cross and fenced the grave with concrete posts and iron railings that remain to this day.

Someone planted a rose bush which survived for decades.

42 www.contractormag.co.nz

Later the Automobile Association added a sign, and today Morgan’s grave can be reached by following a 200-metre track off the road he helped build, now designated SH43.

Morgan’s death was not in vain, with both the road and rail line eventually being completed.

The road, these days sealed for all but about 15 kilometres, traverses no fewer than four mountain saddles – the Strathmore, Pohokura, Whangamomona and Tahora – and between it and its various side-roads features several road tunnels.

Tunnelling was an economic option for this sort of country where the hills are reputedly steep-to-overhanging, and it’s easier to get from one side to the other of a near-vertical range by going through rather than over it.

The most startling of these is the Moki tunnel on SH43 itself, though in these post-Lord of the Rings days it’s been dubbed the Hobbit Hole because its vaulted ceilings look like something out of a Peter Jackson movie.

Elsewhere along the road and its offshoots can be found the Mount Damper Falls, at 74 metres the highest in the North Island, and in other places there is the detritus of the coalmines that used to operate in the area.

The rail line was known as the Stratford-Okahukura Line – SOL for short – with the Okahukura referring to the settlement north of Taumarunui where it joins the North Island Main Trunk.

The rail line was started at Stratford in 1901 and completed in 1937 at a cost in today’s money of $9 billion.

It was the last major secondary line to be built, and along its 144 kilometres there are no fewer than 24 tunnels, 91 bridges and several inclines exceeding a one-in-50 gradient.

It carried passengers as well as freight into the 1970s, and fitfully thereafter, but lack of maintenance forced its closure in 2007.

Since then a tourism venture has been given a 30-year lease on the line in the hopes that it will get sightseeing wagons rolling on it again.

The road and rail line part company about 17 kilometres north of Whangamomona, meeting again near Tokirima where the road has swung west to Taumarunui and the railway north of Okahukura.

The railway going into decline dragged SH43 into obscurity with it, though the road continued to be properly maintained by, among other bodies, the Whangamomona County Council, in whose name Joshua Morgan’s grave-site was vested.

Indeed, such was the obscurity of SH43 that the people living along its 148-kilometre length came to describe it as the Forgotten Highway, a moniker that led to its promotion as such to tourists.

The tiny one-pub town at its centre, Whangamomona, added mild notoriety to the attractions of the highway by declaring itself a republic in 1989.

Every two years it celebrates its notional independence, but so far it has not attracted the alarm that the Maori King Movement triggered in Wellington with similar ideas 150 years earlier.

SH43 was actually dubbed the Stratford to Taumarunui Heritage Trail way back in 1990, and it deserves its growing reputation as a tourist attraction in its own right, for the switch-back beauty of the country through which it passes as much as for its own compelling remoteness.

CONTRACTOR

TECHNICAL

© 2016, TBS GROUP

Centre pylon of the Makatote viaduct in New Zealand prepared for restoration, 2016.

Corrosion impact on

bridge infrastructure Throughout the region there are tens of thousands of bridges and related road and rail infrastructure and the variety of designs and construction material used to build these assets presents a wide range of challenges to the people charged with managing and maintaining them.

DEGRADATION OF BRIDGES is caused by many different factors including corrosion and other stresses from both the environment and heavy vehicles passing over them.

In Australia, the yearly cost of asset maintenance is estimated to be approximately $32 billion. Avoidable corrosion damage accounts for $8 billion of this and continues to have a major economic impact on industry and the wider community.

The proportional costs and impact of corrosion are similar for most countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Corrosion will affect all types of metals to varying degrees of severity and speed. Unless comprehensive management plans are developed and implemented, steel and other metals will ‘rust’ and reinforced concrete will spall and crack.

44 www.contractormag.co.nz

Corrosion can be prevented or minimised by either ‘isolating’ the material from its environment with some sort of coating or implementing an active intervention system such as cathodic protection.

The environment and prevailing climatic conditions also contribute to the degradation of bridges. The largest cities in the region are either in coastal or tropical zones, with some even exposed to the combination of both.

Bridges also carry massive loads from moving vehicles which impose vibrational and other stresses onto structures.

The Auckland Harbour Bridge carries a high volume of road traffic.

The owners and managers of these assets must ensure

that bridges are safe, while maintaining acceptable levels of service for the duration of the expected life of the asset. If appropriate asset management strategies are implemented, it is possible to restore an asset to near its original condition and maintain its functionality for the remaining service life and, possibly, even beyond.

Working with industry and academia to research all aspects of corrosion, the Australasian Corrosion Association (ACA) provides an extensive knowledge base that supports best practice in corrosion management, thereby ensuring all impacts of corrosion are responsibly managed, the environment is protected, public safety enhanced and economies improved.

Recognition of the need to effectively maintain road and rail infrastructure is increasing. An illustration of this is the initiation by Raed El Sarraf, corrosion and asset integrity consultant with WSP Opus in New Zealand, of a Big Bridges Workshop in 2017 that was held in Sydney and attended by representatives of the stakeholders in the larger, iconic bridges in the region, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Auckland Harbour Bridge, Brisbane’s Story Bridge and Melbourne’s Westgate Bridge.

The two most common causes of concrete corrosion are carbonation and chloride or ‘salt attack’. The alkaline (high pH) conditions in concrete forms a passive film on the surface of the steel reinforcing bars, thus preventing or minimising corrosion. Reduction of the pH caused by “carbonation” or ingress of chloride (salt) causes the passive film to degrade, allowing the reinforcement to corrode in the presence of oxygen and moisture. Leaching of the alkalinity from concrete also lowers pH to cause corrosion of steel reinforcement.

Stray electrical currents, most commonly from electrified traction systems, can also break down the passive film and cause corrosion of steel reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete elements.

As reinforcing bars rust, the volume of the rust products can increase up to six times that of the original steel, thus increasing pressure on the surrounding material which slowly cracks the concrete. The most exposed elements usually deteriorate first and it may take five to 15 years for the effects

of reinforcing steel corrosion to become visibly noticeable.

Cracks eventually appear on the surface and concrete starts to flake off or spall.

Warren Green, director and corrosion engineer at engineering consultancy firm, Vinsi Partners, says that not all corrosion of reinforcement leads to visible rust staining, cracking, delamination or spalling of cover concrete.

Significant section loss can also occur where there is localised pitting or localised corrosion at cracks and surface defects.

Ultimately, structural failure may occur without any visible consequences of corrosion on the surface of the concrete. Pits usually start out quite narrow, but with time coalesce to form larger ones and result in section loss over a greater (anodic) area.

Green says various repair and protection technologies and approaches are possible during the lifetime of a reinforced concrete structure, depending on the type of corrosion mechanism. Remedial options available that can slow the rate of reinforcement corrosion include coatings, penetrants, waterproofing, corrosion inhibitors, electrochemical (galvanic anodes) and electrochemical (hybrid treatment).

There are also remedial options to stop corrosion of reinforcement. These include cathodic protection, electrochemical chloride extraction and electrochemical re-alkalisation.

In addition to the range of repair and protection approaches, the latest concrete structures incorporate new materials and production methods which improve longevity and performance. As a result of the research into concrete additives, construction companies and engineering consultancies have access to all the latest technologies that yield a suite of proactive and reactive processes and procedures to maximise the durability of reinforced and pre-stressed concrete.

The physical aspects of applying a coating or repairing a section of steel or concrete present their own challenges for owners and operators of bridges. The towers and stays of suspension-type bridges often require staff to have advanced abseiling skills so they can access them. Metal structures usually need specialised equipment and scaffolding to allow

‘Weathering steel’ narrow-gauge rail bridge in New Zealand.

APRIL 2018 45

CONTRACTOR

TECHNICAL

workers to safely perform maintenance work.

New Zealand has about 2300 bridges of varying size associated with the country’s highways. A large proportion of these bridges are concrete decks on steel frames and supports or pre-stressed concrete structures, in addition to bridges made of conventional reinforced concrete and timber.

According to Willie Mandeno, principal materials and Corrosion Engineer with WSP Opus, the maintenance and monitoring of these structures continually adapts to changing conditions and technologies.

The iconic Auckland Harbour Bridge is a steel truss and box girder design. For many years, the maintenance of this bridge involved a continuing programme of painting, where applicators started at one end and when they got to the other end, went back to the beginning again. According to Mandeno, this has changed.

“Old oil based paints became very brittle and could crack then delaminate,” he says. “In the late 1990s they changed to a moisture cured urethane which gives approximately a 20 year lifespan before the bridge needs to be repainted.”

While the time between recoating is now much longer, it is still necessary to continually monitor the old coatings to ensure adhesion is maintained.

“When re-coating, the ideal is to just replace the top coat,” says Mandeno. “But we usually have to do some maintenance work first, such as cleaning and re-priming of edges and around rivet heads.”

Early solvent-based paints used to contain chromates and lead, along with a range of other hazardous chemicals.

“We have had to balance protecting the environment with the reduced performance of water-based coatings,” Mandeno says.

“One solvent-free long-life coating that we now recommend for use in coastal areas is thermal sprayed zinc. One limitation of this material, and the alternative high-build inorganic zinc silicate coatings, is that they are only available in shades of grey.”

Many roads throughout the region are being upgraded to allow for longer and heavier trucks. All road authorities face similar challenges when managing the risks of ageing infrastructure designed to a much lower standard, whilst still providing access for modern heavy vehicles.

Short span structures like culverts are only exposed to one axle group at any one time whereas longer span structures built during the past century are now required to carry substantially more load than they were originally designed for.

Mandeno says many of the older timber rail bridges in this country nearing the end of their useful life are being replaced by ‘weathering steel’ girder bridges which should provide a longer operational lifespan.

Officially known as “structural steel with improved atmospheric corrosion resistance”, weathering steel is a high strength, low alloy steel that, in suitable environments— those not exposed to high levels of salinity and pollutants— may be left unpainted allowing a protective rust “patina” to form and minimise further corrosion. Alloy components such as copper, chromium, silicon and phosphorus form less than two percent of the steel but it retains appropriate strength, ductility, toughness and weldability so that it can be used for bridge construction.

46 www.contractormag.co.nz

Corrosion mitigation flowchart

All structural steel rusts at a rate determined by the amount of moisture and oxygen to which the metallic iron is exposed.

As this process continues, the oxide (rust) layer becomes a barrier restricting further ingress of moisture and oxygen to the metal, and the rate of corrosion slows down.

The rust layer that forms on most conventional carbonmanganese structural steels is relatively porous and flakes off the surface allowing a fresh corrosion cycle to occur.

However, due to the alloying elements in weathering steel, a stable rust layer is produced that adheres to the base metal and is much less porous. This layer develops under conditions of alternate wetting and drying to produce a protective barrier that impedes further access of oxygen and moisture. It is possible that if the rust layer remains sufficiently impervious and tightly adhering, the corrosion rate may reduce to an extremely low one.

It can be relatively simple to calculate loads and stresses on bridges when weights are distributed evenly across the structure, but road authorities also have to deal with heavy and over-dimension loads. Movement of such vehicles requires special planning as there are some roads and bridges that are physically unable to support massive weight concentrated into a small area.

Modern technology can assist in managing some structures sensitive to vibration from heavy vehicles. Electronic sensors can be set up to monitor vibrations and other stresses on structures so that a large number of data points are logged that can be downloaded for analysis. Sensors can also be connected to remote cameras that are triggered whenever a threshold vibration level is exceeded to identify which vehicles are producing these effects.

It is strongly recommended that a durability plan be developed which then becomes a critical tool in supporting an overarching asset management strategy.

This plan should clearly outline likely corrosion-related risks and agreed mitigation approaches as early as possible in an asset’s lifecycle, ideally during the planning and design stage.

Your building could be put to the ultimate test.

So we do the same to our steel.

At Pacific Steel, we put all our products through a rigorous testing regime. Our dedicated laboratory has full IANZ certification and we’re the only local manufacturer of reinforcing steel to have third party ACRS certification. So when we say our SEISMIC® reinforcing steel is tested to meet the AS/NZS 4671 standard, you can be sure it’s been put to the ultimate test.

A steel bar about to be tested in one of five testing machines at our laboratory in Otahuhu.

PAC0015CONT

CONTRACTOR

COMMENT

Technology will reduce the road toll and make our sites safer PETER SILCOCK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CCNZ

THE CIVIL CONSTRUCTION industry has recognised that the

safety of our people working in temporary traffic management (TTM) sites is a critical risk and with NZTA and other clients we are looking at what we can do to better manage that risk.

While the behaviour of drivers is critical we also need to examine what we can do; like reviewing the training of TTM staff, better planning TTM sites, rescheduling when work occurs, looking at the types of barriers we use and ensuring restrictions are lifted or relaxed, if appropriate, when there is no work taking place.

As an industry we need to ensure that Code of Practice TTM and our traffic management plans strike the right balance of first and foremost protecting our staff and secondly facilitating traffic flow. Not the other way round.

But, the big issue remains the behaviour of drivers. Reports we hear are of constant speeding, driver inattention (texting, talking on the phone, adjusting the stereo, checking the GPS, dealing with the kids, etc) and even regular abuse of TTM staff for holding people up!

The fact that drivers regularly speed through TTM sites is no surprise. You only need to obey the limits at any site in the country and you will quickly collect a long line of tail-gaters or if there are two lanes of cars flying past.

The majority of drivers admit to speeding on both the open road and in built up 50 kilometre zones. What is surprising about the speeding in TTM sites is the scale of the infringement. It is not unusual for cars to be doing twice the posted speed in a TTM site eg, 60km in a 30km zone or 100km in a 50km zone!

Interestingly New Zealand law says that roadside licence suspension can occur if you are caught speeding at more than 40km/h above a permanent speed limit or at more than 50km/h above any other speed limit (neither applies to speed camera offences). Pretty serious stuff, but behaviour that road workers see on a regular basis.

Drivers seem to treat the signs at road works sites as recommendations like the speed signs for corners on the open road. Many don’t seem to understand that we are trying to protect the safety of our staff, the safety of other drivers and pedestrians and cyclists.

CCNZ recently met with Minister of Police Stuart Nash and Associate Minister of Transport Julie-Anne Genter and has subsequently met with the Police to discuss what we are doing and our ideas about how we can change driver behaviour.

“... the big issue remains the behaviour of drivers. Reports we hear are of constant speeding, driver inattention (texting, talking on the phone, adjusting the stereo, checking the GPS, dealing with the kids, etc) and even regular abuse of TTM staff for holding people up!”

We have welcomed the government’s commitment to increasing police numbers and hope that the level of policing and enforcement around our sites will increase.

The Minister gave a clear message that our members should build a relationship with local police and ask for their presence if there is continued non-compliance. We accepted and welcomed that advice but also pointed out that speeding happens almost continually at all sites so also need to look at other options.

The increased use of enforcement technology and public education are vital to making our roads and TTM sites safer. CCNZ has strongly urged the government to introduce point to point speed monitoring at TTM sites and on the roads generally. Rather than measuring speed, these cameras measure the time it takes to pass between two points and calculates the average speed to determine if someone was speeding.

In the UK, research has shown that where this technology is used it has reduced fatalities by 36.4 percent with a smaller but still significant drop of 16 percent in personal injury accidents.

Perhaps the most significant outcome is that it changed driver behaviour because the old trick of speeding between known spot camera sites and then braking sharply no longer works.

Modern communications technology makes this type of equipment affordable, it is well proven offshore and I am sure it would have a big impact on our road toll and make our TTM sites safer.

Any support you can give would be welcome.

Let’s get on with it!

Postal Address: PO Box 12013, Thorndon, Wellington 6144 Physical Address: Margan House, 21 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington 6011 Phone 0800 692 376

48 www.contractormag.co.nz

COMMENT

CONTRACTOR

FIDIC suite changes 2017 DUNCAN HALLIWELL, SPECIAL COUNSEL / TAMZIN DEMPSTER, SOLICITOR, KENSINGTON SWAN

MANY WORKING IN the construction industry will be

familiar with the FIDIC suite of construction contracts.

For the uninitiated, FIDIC is the Federation Internationale des Ingenieurs-Conseils, or the International Federation of Consulting Engineers.

The ‘FIDIC’ standard form contracts come in an expansive suite to cover all manner of project types, engineering disciplines, and extent of responsibility to be taken on by the contractor. These contracts are used the world over.

Each contract in the FIDIC suite is commonly identified by the colour of its cover. At the end of 2017, after 18 long years of service, FIDIC retired three of its key ‘Books’ and released updated versions – FIDIC Red Book (construct only), Yellow Book (design and construct), and Silver Book (turnkey). The FIDIC Red Book is the most commonly used standard form contract in the world.

Purpose of revisions FIDIC said the revisions set out to “maintain principles of balanced risk-sharing established in the 1999 edition while seeking to build on the substantial experiences gained from the previous 18 years”.

There was also a focus on: • providing greater detail and clarity on the requirements for notices and other communications • i ntroducing provisions to address employer’s and contractor’s claims treated equally and separated from disputes • inserting mechanisms for dispute avoidance • providing detailed provisions for quality management and verification of contractor’s contractual compliance.

Outcomes of revisions Broadly speaking, the principled approach to risk allocation has held true. However, there are a few important changes in the indemnities provisions, long-term liabilities and procedural requirements that will be significant for some. Some of which benefit the contractor and some of which do not.

The latest revision has introduced greater detail on requirements for notices. For example, all notices must be written and verbal instructions and notices by any party will no longer be valid. Failure to issue valid notices within contractual timeframes will result in a position being deemed to have been given, which may catch parties unaware if diligence is not exercised.

All claims made by either party are referred to the same process. These claims may arise in respect of variations, extensions of time, or dissatisfaction of any performance or decision made under the contract. Mechanisms for dispute avoidance have been established, mostly in the form of

At the end of 2017, after 18 long years of service, FIDIC retired three of its key ‘Books’ and released updated versions – FIDIC Red Book (construct only), Yellow Book (design and construct), and Silver Book (turnkey).

The FIDIC Red Book is the most commonly used standard form contract in the world. ensuring communication and a paper trail is established.

For example, a mechanism has been introduced requiring both parties to give advance warning of any known or probable events or circumstances that may adversely affect the contractor’s performance of the contract. The management of these events or circumstances are then to be managed by the engineer.

In the event that dispute cannot be avoided, a standing Disputes Avoidance and Adjudication Board (DAAB) has a more expedient and hands-on role in managing and resolving disputes.

Provisions for quality management encourage a collaborative approach between contractor and engineer (or employer in the case of the Silver Book) but these detail more prescriptive processes for how this is to be achieved. For example, the Quality Management and Compliance Verification Systems require the contractor to maintain and audit its processes for project management, administration, and performance of the contract.

Many of the above changes introduce an increased administrative burden on the parties to the contract, particularly on the contractor. This can be problematic in a contract and there is a risk that parties will not have the time or resource to comply with all of the administrative steps. While this may not seem to matter during the project, issues can arise if there is a dispute and the correct processes have not been followed.

What this means for contractors FIDIC really drives home the importance of efficient contract management systems. Contractors are required to run a very tight ship in order to avoid running afoul of the changes.

While the changes may have the effect of increasing the administrative burden, the intended payoff is that disputes will be avoided, and/or managed more effectively.

Time will tell whether this occurs in practice.

APRIL 2018 49

CONTRACTOR

COMMENT

Farewell and hello again TOMMY PARKER, GENERAL MANAGER, SYSTEM DESIGN & DELIVERY, NZ TRANSPORT AGENCY

THERE’S NO DOUBT that since joining the NZ Transport Agency,

or Transit NZ as it was then known back in 2005, my various roles have allowed me to enjoy ‘the best seat in the house’ watching and contributing to the huge changes within the contracting industry itself and also wider New Zealand.

For me, it has been a rewarding privilege to be involved first hand in the unprecedented growth in contracting and infrastructure, first in Auckland and Northland, and in my current national role as general manager, System Design and Delivery.

During the past 13 years, the industry and the Transport Agency have both transformed. Together, we have a lot to celebrate in terms of our contributions to improving the transport system to help New Zealand become a more prosperous nation.

When I moved to New Zealand from the UK, we were just about to open the Greenhithe extension of State Highway 18 on Auckland’s North Shore. Delivering that project marked the start of a huge programme of work to improve Auckland’s motorways, and eventually, with the Waterview Connection project, complete the Western Ring Route to ease pressure on State Highway 1 and the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

It was a remarkable journey and one that both the contracting industry and Transport Agency can be proud of.

The highlights we share are many: completing the duplicate bridge spanning the Manukau Harbour on the Southwestern Motorway and the Victoria Park Tunnel well ahead of schedule;

50 www.contractormag.co.nz

and the outstanding innovation behind the replacement of the Newmarket Viaduct with little disruption to drivers using the country’s busiest section of highway.

There is much more: • Auckland’s northern busway.

• The high-tech Auckland Transport Operations Centre.

• The use of tolls to bring forward by several years construction of the Northern Gateway Toll Road.

• State highway projects across New Zealand: the extension of the Waikato Expressway, Transmission Gully and other works to improve resilience and efficiency in Wellington, and the extension of the Christchurch motorway network.

• The huge shift in our focus on the communities we work besides: providing shared cycle/pedestrian paths, recreational amenities, and the outstanding urban design and landscaping we have achieved that includes striking noise walls and footbridges. The quality of this work has rightly been recognised with the awards some of these works have won.

• The outstanding collaboration with community groups, the contracting industry, and KiwiRail and the Transport Agency on the Kaikoura recovery programme.

At a personal level, the Waterview Connection project has been the stand-out project. For me, there was a great deal of satisfaction in getting approval for such a huge and challenging project over the line.

And for the country’s contracting industry, Waterview

signalled a change in gear in terms of project delivery. It demonstrated what New Zealanders could achieve – the delivery of complex and challenging infrastructure that met the highest world-class standards. The industry is much more confident and innovative than it used to be.

One of the great areas of progress is the way the Transport Agency and the industry now work together.

We have worked hard at better collaboration. A lot of time has been invested in getting a clearer understanding on how we work and I think that’s paid off handsomely.

An example is the Transport Agency’s review of maintenance and operating contracts and the input from the industry that led to the creation of the Road Efficiency Group (REG).

The review’s objective was to find better ways to work together and find a more effective way to look after our roading assets. I believe that we now have a better model to achieve that.

When I spoke at the last NZ Institute of Highway Technology conference, I challenged that sector to think 10 years ahead and consider what our pavements will look like then, what new materials we might be using in the future and what would a joint physical and digital transport system look like?

It’s not just the NZIHT; we all have a stake in that future. Rapid change is coming. The transport systems we use, how we build and operate these, and the vehicles or modes of transport we use to move around will all be affected in some way by digital technology.

Whatever the future holds, many opportunities lie ahead. The land transport system will remain critical to connect communities, move freight, and allow people to get to and from work, school and social events whether by private car, public transport, cycling or walking.

The Kaikoura earthquake, the impact of the summer storms, and a general view among scientists that climate change with its rising sea levels and temperatures is happening faster than predicted, are reminders of the fragility of the New Zealand landscape.

I leave the Transport Agency this month to take up a new challenge as general manager Infrastructure for Fletcher Construction, in essence transferring my skills to the other side which will be challenging and is a great opportunity for me at this time of my career.

The Transport Agency has transformed in the last year to be fit for the future. It is better positioned to respond to the rapid changes in technology, to work closer in partnership to unlock the social and economic prosperity of our regions, and most importantly, to make it easier for people to get the most out of their life.

I leave the organisation in good heart, with an extremely capable team of long-serving, experienced staff to continue delivering the world-class transport system this country needs for the future – and I look forward to continuing to work with this team in my new role.

I thank all my Transport Agency colleagues, past and present, and those I have worked with in the wider construction industry for your fantastic support and friendship. You have all helped make my job easier and satisfying.

To all of you, thank you.

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APRIL 2018 51 2018-02-20 Wacker Neuson.indd 1

20/02/2018 1:47:50 PM

CONTRACTOR

COMMENT

What is the fatigue risk in your workplace?

JANET BROTHERS, DIRECTOR, LIFE CARE CONSULTANTS

FATIGUE IS MORE than feeling tired and drowsy. In a work context, it is a state of mental and/or physical exhaustion, which reduces a person’s ability to perform, and to work safely and effectively.

It can occur because of prolonged mental or physical activity, sleep loss and/or disruption of the internal body clock. It can be caused by factors which may or may not be work related, or a combination of both and can accumulate over time.

Fatigue can affect safety in the workplace as it can reduce alertness, which may lead to errors and an increase in incidents and injuries, particularly when operating fixed or mobile plant, including driving vehicles; performing critical tasks that require a high level of concentration; and working night or shift work when a person would ordinarily be sleeping.

The effects of fatigue can be short or long term. In the short term a person may show excessive yawning or falling asleep at work; short-term memory problems and an inability to concentrate; noticeably reduced capacity to engage in effective interpersonal communication; impaired decision-making and judgement; reduced hand-eye coordination or slow reflexes; other changes in behaviour, for example repeatedly arriving late for work; and increased rates of sick leave.

A fatigued worker may also experience symptoms not obvious to others including feeling drowsy, headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating, blurred vision or impaired visual perception, and a need for extended sleep during days off work.

The longer-term health effects of fatigue can include heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal disorders,

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lower fertility, anxiety, and depression.

As an example of this, shift workers are over represented in statistics in all the above health conditions.

It is particularly important to identify fatigue risks that might arise when critical tasks are being carried out, such as those where the consequences of a mistake or error in judgement could cause serious injury.

For example: driving a vehicle, including a taxi or courier van, or operating a crane or other high-risk plant; working at heights and in confined spaces; participating in medical or surgical procedures and settings; working with flammable or explosive substances; and other hazardous work, for example electrical work.

So what can we do to help manage the fatigue risk in our workplace?

First let us assess the staff’s fatigue levels. Life Care can include these assessments during the annual health assessment. These tests are the result of extensive studies to determine the best indicators of fatigue.

If fatigue is identified as an issue with some staff or a risk in some business units, eg, the shift workers, the drivers or the staff who do a lot of overtime, what are the options?

Dr Kelly Dale from Life Care Nutrition can work with these people to manage the risk and give the staff members tools to thereby increase the safety and reduce the chronic health risks associated with fatigue.

Dr Dale can be contacted at Kelly.dale@lifecare.co.nz or by phone on 021 103 6422.

COMMENT

CONTRACTOR

What can we learn from Carillion UK collapse WARNER COWIN, CEO, HEIGHT

THE COLLAPSE OF Carillion has important lessons for New Zealand – it could happen here. Carillion, which went into liquidation in January, was the second largest construction company in the UK. It was contracted to deliver major public works, including new railways and hospitals, as well as other services in education, corrections and more. Carillion was locked into unprofitable contracts with the UK government – the same situation our large contractors have found themselves in.

The collapse of Carillion means the UK government is now faced with 450 contracts it has to take in-house and billions of pounds of uncompleted work. Additionally, tens of thousands of staff and thousands of Carillion’s smaller subcontracting firms have been plunged into uncertain futures.

The fact is, contractors need to make sustainable profits, because the economic risk of them failing is too high. The success of our major contractors and the success of our economy are co-dependent. In an outsourced market, we need contractors to produce public works and infrastructure – to engage, make decisions and actually make work happen on the ground – so we have schools, hospitals, roads, transport, water, power and other vital services.

In this country you could argue we have even greater mutual dependence on our major contractors. There are only a handful of contractors with the geographical reach, subcontractor networks, and people, plant and processes, to deliver multiple major works.

The due diligence and long lead-in times required for complex projects means if a supplier fails the process of finding alternative suppliers is prolonged and cumulatively more expensive.

As the success of the economy is interconnected with the success of our suppliers, we should be pursuing long-term government-supplier relationships with sustainable margins.

Government should embrace suppliers as partners, valuing

As the success of the economy is interconnected with the success of our suppliers, we should be pursuing long-term government-supplier relationships with sustainable margins. the relationships, valuing the investment they make in their people, plant and processes, and taking an active interest in their financial success.

We need to avoid ‘race to the bottom’ bidding wars that lock contractors into unrealistically low prices.

Part of the issue is government buying agencies – and contractors themselves – need more maturity in establishing sustainable prices and margins. You can see how, when an agency has one bidder undercutting other bidders by say 20 percent, the temptation would be to throw caution out the window.

But parties need to be really clear on the risks, the levels of service expected, and the desired outcomes.

The buying agency needs to choose a procurement model that suits the level of risk. That means interrogating and analysing precisely what is being delivered at the price.

And if there are too many gaps or uncertainties – including the possibility of the price being unsustainable – this may compromise the agency and its level of service for taxpayers, and the risk is too high. In procurement that old adage applies: if a price seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Which isn’t to say that sometimes the lowest price genuinely offers the best deal, particularly in a low-risk scenario. But evaluate the risks first.

APRIL 2018 53

CONTRACTOR

COMMENT

Water bores and casings WATER NEW ZEALAND, CEO, JOHN PFAHLERT

THE HAVELOCK NORTH water inquiry highlighted widespread systemic failure in our drinking water system. Water suppliers should now be aware that so called “secure” bore water status is not so secure, and that there need to be changes to how we abstract and use groundwater.

What’s been less publicised following the release of the report has been the findings around the construction and maintenance of bores and casings. The inquiry identified a number of problems with current practice and has recommended a comprehensive review of NZS4411 – the environmental standard for drilling of soil and rock.

This coincides with separate discussions involving Water New Zealand and the New Zealand Drillers Federation.

These two organisations are currently considering working in collaboration to develop a new guidance document on the operation, maintenance and testing practices for the different types of bores including irrigation, monitoring and drinking water bores.

We are optimistic that this could address the issues the inquiry raised without the need for a total review of NZS4411.

The inquiry said that the investigations, “highlighted a number of deficiencies in the current regime and practices that have national implications”.

It said these included the design and supervision of the construction of new bores and associated headworks (including the use of below-ground level bore heads), inspection and maintenance practices, determining expected services lives, and the adequacy of controls on safely decommissioning and securing redundant bores.

The report said that there is currently no single point of reference or code or required technical specifications for any of the activities associated with bores, casings and headworks and that this is a weakness in the system. Bore head requirements sit in a number of places including: • NZS4411 • Drinking water guidelines • Regional plans under the RMA • Resource and building consents • Policies and standards of individual water suppliers.

This of course gives rise to variation and inconsistency and leads to a lack of clarity and certainty for those responsible for bores and casings.

Many submissions to the inquiry concurred that the current bore and casing regime is fragmented and unsatisfactory.

The report said that there is a particular need to critically assess the flood risk for below-ground bore heads. These 54 www.contractormag.co.nz

carry additional risk and with changing rainfall patterns and consequent flooding risk, the risk of contamination through these bore heads may be increasing.

A number of submissions suggested that more regular inspection and reporting is required and that the current five year period in the DWSNZ for bore head security reports is too long.

Those at the inquiry also heard that during a recent Australian review of the concept of secure groundwater, the engineers’ biggest concern was their inability to detect the failure of bores, casings and surface structures. The inquiry heard examples of extensive inspections that had failed to detect faults.

This means that even with the best codes of practice and construction techniques, inspection and maintenance programmes cannot guarantee security under all circumstances.

This led the Inquiry to conclude that a comprehensive review of NZS441 should be carried out and that it should cover the design, construction, as-built records, supervision, maintenance, refurbishment, renewal and decommissioning of all bores that draw water from any groundwater source intended for drinking or those that penetrate the aquitard protecting any drinking water groundwater source.

It also recommended that no new below-ground bores be permitted. For all existing bores with below-ground headworks, the inquiry said that drinking water assessors should ensure that special attention is given to this risk in future Water Safety Plans (WSPs) and appropriate mitigation measures be implemented, including treatment and raising them where practicable.

To this extent no industry-recognised competent drillers have been constructing below-ground bore heads since the Havelock North contamination event occurred.

The inquiry recognised that there are thousands of existing bores that will not meet modern best practice. It said that for water supply bores, all future WSPs should assess the risks associated with the existing facilities and how these are best avoided or mitigated.

For other bores which penetrate an aquitard, any risks would need to be managed through their resource or building consents.

It has asked that the government invite the Controller and Auditor-General to monitor and report to Parliament on the implementation of all the recommendations and initiatives set out in the stage 2 of the report during over the next five years.

So, some food for thought for contractors involved in this line of work. Staff at Water New Zealand are happy to talk to contractors about the ongoing implications of these processes.

CONTRACTOR

COMMENT

It’s the little things that count ROD AUTON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CRANE ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND

SOMETIMES WE forget the little things when we are trying to turn a business strategy into dollars and cents, and invariably it’s the little things that catch us out.

Reducing costs and overheads sometimes results in the wrong decision being made through expediency, bad judgement or lack of information.

It has been noticed lately, that more and more companies in the construction arena are starting to take shortcuts in their procurement process that could potentially result in serious harm or even death.

A good example of this is employees wearing bump caps on a construction site where the potential for falling objects is significant, and the result could be someone not going home that night. The following explains the difference.

Difference between a hard hat and a bump cap A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the head from injury due to falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, rain, and electric shock.

Suspension bands inside the helmet spread the helmet’s weight and the force of any impact over the top of the head.

A suspension band also provides space of approximately 30mm (1.2 inches) between the helmet’s shell and the wearer’s head, so that if an object strikes the shell, the impact is less likely to be transmitted directly to the skull.

Some helmet shells have a mid-line reinforcement ridge to improve impact resistance. The rock-climbing helmet fulfils a very similar role in a different context and has a

56 www.contractormag.co.nz

Reducing costs and overheads sometimes results in the wrong decision being made through expediency, bad judgement or lack of information.

very similar design.

The hard hat is intended to protect a static user predominantly from falling hazards and is tested using a falling mass striker. The striker has a hemispherical surface that is five kilograms and is dropped onto the hard hat from one metre.

The force is measured by a load cell under a head-form and is recorded onto a graph. To meet the requirements of EN397, the maximum transmitted force cannot exceed five kilonewtons (5kN). Hard hats are required by EN397 to have chin strap anchorage.

A bump cap is a lightweight hard hat using a simplified suspension or padding and a chin strap. Bump caps are used where there is a possibility of scraping or bumping one’s head on equipment or structure projections but they are not sufficient to absorb large impacts, such as that from a tool dropped from several storeys.

The bump cap is intended only to protect the wearer from static objects (eg, walking into low ceilings or hanging obstructions). To meet the requirements of BS/EN812, testing is carried out using a lower energy level – a five kilogram striker is dropped on the helmet from 250mm, with a maximum transmitted force of 15kN. Both types of hat undergo rigid testing to determine if they are fit for purpose and are tested for: Impact and shock absorption; and penetration.

Both types must also meet specific design requirements which typically would be: Coverage; field of vision; and ergonomics – clearance between the head and the shell.

So, if you have introduced bump caps onto your worksite or if you see others wearing bump caps on your worksite, then you need to bring it to the attention of whoever oversees the site. The hard hat pictured took a hit. It saved a man’s life.

It may not have if he had been wearing a bump cap.

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CONTRACTOR

CLASSIC MACHINES

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The scrapers of Curtiss-Wright

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C H I N E S

A company far better known for its aircraft such as the legendary Jenny, Kittyhawk, Tomahawk and Helldiver, plus a very successful line of aircraft engines, Curtiss-Wright also briefly had an earthmoving division. By Richard Campbell.

CURTISS-WRIGHT ENTERED the earthmoving business through the acquisition of the Wooldridge Corporation, of Sunnyvale, California.

At the time of the buy-up, Wooldridge was a division of Continental Copper & Steel, and CC&S was keen to dispose of this particular part of its business.

The deal was sealed in June 1958 for approximately US$5 million and Curtiss-Wright became an instant member of the earthmoving industry.

Wooldridge had been one of the very early pioneers in the manufacture of earthmoving equipment and could trace its ancestry well back into the early 1900s when Mack Wooldridge set up the company.

Wooldridge’s prime products were motor scrapers and towed scrapers although the company had also manufactured dozer blades, rippers and cable controls plus a small number of rear dumps.

There were five models of motor scraper, six models of towed scraper and three models of rear dump (which utilised motor scraper tractor units).

Wooldridge also had a manufacturing deal with MRS (Mississippi Road Supply) whereby Wooldridge supplied it with scraper bowls for its four wheeled prime movers.

Curtiss-Wright cancelled this agreement not long after taking over leaving MRS a little in the lurch.

All of the finished Wooldridge machines, patterns, jigs and equipment were uplifted from Sunnyvale and shifted to South Bend, Indiana where Curtiss-Wright had a large manufacturing facility.

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Existing stock was re-decalled with the C-W logo and it was back to business as usual!

Curtiss-Wright chose not to continue the Wooldridge dozer blades, and rippers so these were immediately discontinued.

Wooldridge’s cable control units however, were an integral part of its motor scrapers, so this line was retained.

Curtiss-Wright appears to have made very few improvements or alterations to the existing Wooldridge product range. Cable control was, by the beginning of the 1960s, rapidly becoming “old” technology in favour of hydraulics.

To compound matters further, not a great deal of effort was put into promotional advertising (which is why information on the product is so hard to come by these days).

Mention the name Curtiss-Wright earthmovers to someone today and they will just give you a blank stare.

Apparently not knowing what to do with its new baby, and unwilling (or unable) to invest sizeable amounts of cash in modernising or improving the product range, CurtissWright made the decision to exit the earthmoving business just as quickly as it had arrived, closing down the South Bend production line in 1963, only five years after acquiring Wooldridge.

THE PRODUCTS – MOTOR SCRAPERS The CW-27 & CW-28 Smallest member of the range was the CW-27.

This originally started life in 1955 as the Wooldridge T-70

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1. ( Opposite page) The CWD-321 was an adaptation of the company’s existing CW-320 motor scraper. The Curtiss-Wright designed dump body held 31 cubic yards and was hydraulically raised. English diecast maker Matchbox made a nice little model of this machine (number K-7 in its King Size range).

PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

2. Third largest in the CurtissWright towed scraper range, the CWT-20 held 20 cubic yards struck and 27 cubic yards heaped. Of extremely robust construction, several are in preservation in the USA and can be seen in operation at various annual “play days”.

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PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

3. The earthly remains of one of NZ Roadmakers’ Curtiss-Wright CW-28 motor scrapers, converted to a towed scraper by butchering off the tractor unit and adding a drawbeam. The machine’s original saddle and final drive casings are still in place.

PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

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4. Two of NZ Roadmakers’ Curtiss-Wright CW-28 scrapers having smoko break on the Auckland motorway project in the early 1960s. By this time their original Roto-Gear steering has been removed and more conventional (and less costly) steering cylinders adapted to fit.

PHOTO: CLAY GILLESPIE

APRIL 2018 59

CONTRACTOR

CLASSIC MACHINES

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1. P hotographed at the construction of Mangere Airport in the early 1960s is the only CW-215 motor scraper to be imported into New Zealand. Judging from its condition, it was fairly well looked after by NZ Roadmakers for an “only child”. The Roto-Gear steering has been replaced with locally grafted-on hydraulic cylinders.

PHOTO: CLAY GILLESPIE

2. Sitting in a field in Idaho, USA is a Curtiss-Wright CWT-10 towed scraper.

Although a little the worse for wear cosmetically, it is still capable of a hard day’s graft. The CWT-10 held 10 cubic yards struck and 13½ cubic yards heaped. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION 3. Perhaps the rarest of all Curtiss-Wright motor scrapers, the model CW-320 was a direct competitor of the Cat DW20 and Euclid SS-24. While examples of the latter two can still be found, it is likely that all of the CW-320s have gone to that “big job in the sky”, as none are known to exist. There is the remote possibility that there could be one in South America but it is yet to be confirmed.

Factory photo dated July 1961.

PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION

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‘Cobrette’ and was re-introduced in 1958 as the CW-27.

Rated at 7.5 cubic yards struck capacity, the CW-27 was powered by a GM 4-71 diesel.

Probably the only machine that Curtiss-Wright invested any money in upgrading, the bowl’s capacity was slightly increased to 8.2 cubic yards struck and the horsepower raised from 143 to 148 flywheel horsepower with the machine being re-launched in 1959 as the CW-28.

Although the machine had a Fuller five-speed manual transmission, it also had a torque converter giving it good lugging capabilities.

Weighing just over 14½ tons empty, the CW-28 featured all-cable operation, roll-out ejection and “Roto-Gear” steering (of which more later).

A push plate was fitted to the front of the machine so that it could assist other scrapers of similar size loading.

The CW-215 Probably the most popular of all the Curtiss-Wright scrapers was the model CW-215.

With a capacity of 15 cubic yards struck, it was a useful size for both large and small projects and Curtiss-Wright sold quite a few of them.

Powered by a 240 horsepower Cummins HRS-6 diesel engine, the CW-215 had a tenspeed Fuller 10F1220 manual transmission and could attain a top speed of 31mph.

To assist the operator, the cable control system had an air booster.

A parallel development of the CW-215 was the CWD-214 which featured a 21-cubic yard rear dump.

The CW-215 weighed around 27 tons empty.

The CW-220 Just slightly larger than the CW-215, the CW-220 held 20 cubic yards struck and was powered by a turbocharged GM 6-110T diesel engine with an output of 375 horsepower.

This was a very powerful scraper for the time period and featured an Allison CLBT5840 four-speed powershift transmission with an integral retarder.

As well as the trailed scraper, the CW220 was also available with a 31-cubic yard

4. Largest of all the Curtiss-Wright motor scrapers, the CW-226 was a 26-yard struck, 36-yard heaped monster powered by a 375 horsepower GM 6-110T (must have sounded fantastic!). These big machines were usually tandem-pushed to ensure the best possible loads. All functions were cable controlled apart from the steering which was CurtissWright’s patented “Roto-Gear”. A most impressive sight to behold. PHOTO: AUTHOR’S COLLECTION 5. Seen here is the 1:110 scale model from Matchbox of the Curtiss-Wright CWD-321 rear dump. For a model produced in the 1960s it is very accurate in outline but to such an odd scale that it doesn’t fit readily into collections of a constant scale. They are readily available on Ebay and at NZ swapmeets – but watch out for scalpers!

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PHOTO: BUFFALO ROAD IMPORTS

rear dump. In this form it was known as the CW-221.

Neither the CW-220 nor CWD-221 sold in any great quantities.

The CW-226 The largest motor scraper offered

by Curtiss-Wright, the CW-226 had a 26-cubic yard struck, 36-cubic yard heaped bowl, all cable controlled.

Weighing over 42 tons empty, the CW-226 was powered by the same GM 6-110T engine and Allison transmission combination that was fitted to the CW-220.

Designed for the largest jobs, the CW-226 enjoyed some sales into South American opencast mines.

A rear dump version of this machine was never produced.

The CW-320 Owing to its origins back to the Wooldridge T4-200 ‘Cobra-Quad’ of 1955, the CW-320 was the only three-axle motor scraper produced by CurtissWright and was a contemporary of the Caterpillar DW20.

Powered by a 300-horsepower turbocharged Cummins NRT-6 diesel, the machine featured a torque converter and a nine-speed Fuller R1150 manual transmission.

With a bowl holding 20 cubic yards struck and 27 cubic yards heaped, the CW-320 was a fast machine designed for relatively flat haul roads and had a maximum speed of 32mph – and all of this with a roller chain final drive!

A 31-cubic yard rear dump version was also manufactured featuring the same tractor unit and known as the CWD-321.

‘Roto-Gear’ steering This was a Curtiss-Wright exclusive and was operated by two rotary hydraulic motors with gears that acted on the machine’s king post when the steering valve was opened.

It was standard equipment on all of Curtiss-Wright’s two-axle scrapers.

A little bit ahead of its time, the system was prone to failures and wore quite quickly leaving the owner with an expensive repair bill.

Also, steering speed was governed by how high the engine was revving at the time which could make response times slow.

A great many machines had their Roto-Gear systems removed and replaced by more conventional hydraulic cylinders and linkage, thus curing the problem.

The towed scrapers Curtiss-Wright offered a range of six different capacity cable-controlled scrapers which appear to have been moderately popular before they were discontinued.

These were the CWT-8 (10.5 cubic yards heaped), CWT-10 (13.5 cubic yards heaped), CWT-15 (21 cubic yards heaped), CWT-20 (27 cubic yards heaped), CWT-26 (33 cubic yards heaped) and the biggie, the CWT-30 which held 39 cubic yards heaped.

All of the Curtiss-Wright towed scrapers were ruggedly built and were easy to load according to reports from operators who had exposure to them.

and imported a total of four machines – three CW-28s and one CW-215.

All of these machines ended up with NZ Roadmakers at one stage or another and the bowl of one of the CW-28s still exists as a towed scraper.

The CW-215 was used in the construction of Mangere Airport and the Alcan aluminium plant in Wiri, while the CW-28s saw service all over the upper North Island including the Auckland motorway system.

For the model collector Exceedingly slim pickings here as there is only one model of a CurtissWright machine that has ever been offered.

This is the Matchbox (Lesney) model K-7 which represents a CWD-321 rear dump.

It is an accurate representation of the original but in a rather un-collectable scale of around 1:110 making it a curio as it won’t fit into a collection of 1:50 or 1:87 scale models comfortably.

Mint and boxed examples are easy enough to find and not too horribly expensive.

The best place to find one is Ebay-UK.

The New Zealand connection Cory-Wright & Salmon was the New Zealand distributor for Curtiss-Wright APRIL 2018 61

CONTRACTOR

INNOVATIONS

Smart alternative to sandbags for flood control A former helicopter engineer with a zeal for improving technology, Clay Griffin spent a year at Lincoln University researching various flood protection options before launching Hydro Response in 2006 with a suite of flood protection systems which suit our conditions.

“For me, it was vital to make sure all of the systems I selected could perform to the highest level under New Zealand’s extreme weather conditions.

“We are talking about people’s most important assets – their homes and businesses – and they deserve the best protection possible.”

Clay selected his product range based on his own research along with trips to Europe to see the highest quality flood protection products in action.

Hydro Response’s product range includes the Geo Design Barrier, which is one of the most widely used temporary flood protection products in the world with over 24,000 metres in use. It can contain up to 2.4 metres of water and can also be used to safely divert water from construction projects.

For rapidly rising flood water, the Water Gate product can be deployed within minutes across uneven surfaces and is particularly

effective for damming streams, which makes it ideal for rural usage.

In cases where flood water has already reached properties, the Floodgate Door and Vent Sealing system provides rapid protection.

The low-cost system is commonly used throughout Europe, the UK and Australia.

Additional products include the EKO Barrier, a removable post and beam flood protection system and the water-inflated WIPP (WaterInflated Property Protector) which can be quickly inflated and deployed using any available water source.

Clay’s systems are widely used in Australia, particularly by local councils and authorities. Clay hopes that more councils throughout New Zealand will take proactive action to protect their ratepayers’ homes and businesses.

“Australia is definitely ahead of us in terms of what they use during a flood. It seems crazy to me that we still turn to sandbags when we know they don’t work.

“Some councils such as Waimakariri District Council and Horizons Regional Council are starting to take the lead in terms of using advanced flood protection, which is really encouraging.”

HIANZ picks up a new major sponsor – Youngman Richardson HIANZ (Hire Industry Association of New Zealand) has appointed Youngman Richardson & Co in conjunction with Genie Industries as its principal sponsors for the next three years.

“Youngman Richardson has a long history with the association spanning four decades and Genie Industries have been regular participants in association activities. Now, with the additional support from Genie Industries it is great to welcome them both as major supporters,” says HIANZ chief executive Phil Tindle.

“Given the fact we will be celebrating 40 years as an association in 2018 it is entirely appropriate that as a founding member Youngman Richardson along with Genie Industries will be at the forefront of many of the activities planned over the next 12 months.

“Youngman Richardson & Co and Genie Industries are equally delighted to remain involved with HIANZ,” says general manager, Ed Richardson.

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“It is particularly important for Youngman Richardson because being principal sponsor of the association has assisted us for many years in maintaining a high profile with the membership.”

Phil Tindle says the highlight of the year is the annual conference which brings members together and involves an extensive programme of workshops, trade shows, presentations and networking opportunities. This will culminate in a well-attended Youngman Richardson and Genie Industries sponsored Hire Excellence Awards black tie dinner on the final evening.

“It has been a real privilege to work with the Youngman Richardson team sover the past 12 years,” says Phil Tindle.

“Youngman Richardson has grown considerably during that time, as has the hire industry. The mutual successes are the result of the way we all work together and now with the additional support from Genie Industries will help to stimulate, grow and enhance this dynamic industry sector even further.”

CANTER TIPPER + GST + ORC

FROM

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110kW 370Nm

30,000km Service Intervals

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36

CONTRACTOR

INNOVATIONS

Duncan AS3000 drill – no going back Waikato contractor Kelly Wooller purchased a new Duncan AS3000 electric drive drill in September and he says it is opening new doors for his business.

Wooller Contracting’s services include round baling hay and silage, cultivation, drilling and maize planting.

Kelly and wife Tina run the contracting business from their 110-hectare dry stock farm at Walton, north of Matamata, where they raise dairy graziers and bulls and run a Hereford stud.

Until this year they had been using a Duncan MK4 Renovator direct drill, which Kelly says is a great machine, but now that he has traded it in for a new Duncan AS3000 air seeder there is no going back.

“You don’t know what you’re missing out on until you get it,” he says.

The Duncan AS3000 is already paying for itself as Kelly has picked up some extra work because the drill can do so much more.

“Switching to the air seeder has given us more options. With the MK4 we could only do seed, but now we can do fertiliser, slug bait and seed all in one pass.

“Clients were starting to ask for that service, particularly for chicory in the spring. We had some inquiries from people who wanted to put all three things down at once.”

Jelly belly fragrances Here’s something different – a new way to keep commercial vehicles smelling fresh with a Jelly Belly bean air freshener range that is now supplemented with new gel cans that fit into the cup holders, giving off various fragrances, says Tim Paterson, national sales manager for Griffiths Equipment, which distributes Jelly Belly in-car air fresheners.

Originally introduced as bean-shaped 3D containers that could either be fitted to air vents or dangle from the dashboard or rear-view mirror, Jelly Belly air fresheners give out scent from the candy to fill the passenger cabin with a fresh, sweet fragrance and overcome musty smells and odours, he says.

“The air freshener range has been consistently among our bestselling vehicle accessory lines in recent years, and we are keeping up 64 www.contractormag.co.nz

the momentum with extensions to the range, such as the gel cans.”

Tim says the Jelly Belly gel can is also suited for use in the home or office, because it can sit on any flat surface.

The Jelly Belly gel can air freshener range is available from The Warehouse stores throughout the country.

INNOVATIONS

Rural contracting and the reliable Massey A growing business needs to get the most out of its equipment and Donovan Croot and fiancee Sophie Cookson are definitely getting that with their Massey Ferguson 4708 ES. Donovan and Sophie started in the dairy industry as farm assistants. Nine years later they are sharemilking 63 hectares with their own herd of 220 Friesian and Friesian crosses.

They had a tractor budget and initially planned on getting one second hand.

“We wanted to go with Massey Ferguson because of their reputation as being good solid tractors. This model was new, and it was the most bang for our buck. It comes with great follow-up service from FieldTorque in Taranaki.”

The MF 4708 ES (ES stands for ‘essential’ model) is only 82hp. “It is not a big tractor, but we have a small dairy farm. To me anything

CONTRACTOR

Donovan Croot and his Global Series MF 4708.

bigger was overkill when this has all the power we need.”

Being a small tractor means it fits into the calf sheds, making it easy to clean them out. It doesn’t have a cab, which sounds like a disadvantage in a wet winter, but Donovan says he’s always wearing wet weather gear anyway and getting off and on, so it doesn’t make any difference. It has roll-over protection for safety of the operator.

The MF 4708 has six gears with a high and low range, and the operator changes them with the flick of a button on the gear lever.

Donovan seldom needs the low range. To change between forward and reverse he flicks a paddle on the steering wheel.

It is a good basic reliable tractor, and easy to use. Last spring they had a fixed term staff member who drove it.

“She loved it. She was confident and capable at driving this tractor.”

www.linkedin.com/NZcontractor @NZContractormag nz contractor magazine nz contractor magazine nzcontractormagazine

CONTRACTOR: JOIN OUR NETWORK APRIL 2018 65

CONTRACTOR

CIVIL CONTRACTORS NEW ZEALAND

CCNZ update Welcome to new members

awareness programmes and encouraged contractors to continue to call police to request enforcement if people are speeding through roadworks sites. For further information contact Peter Silcock: peter@civilcontractors.co.nz or 027 448 7036.

Construct Civil Limited, Auckland Branch Bowe Brother Excavating, Waikato Branch Waiau Pa Bulk Haulage, Auckland Branch Central Demolition, Manawatu Branch

National Pavements Technical Group meeting

CCNZ Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards are open There are slight changes to weightings and criteria this year with a new look format. Make sure your best projects get put forward for national recognition.

To download criteria and application form go to CCNZ’s website nzcontractors.co.nz and look under National Events.

Entries close at 5.00pm Friday 25 May. Contact Tricia Logan on tricia@civilcontractors.co.nz or 0800 692 376 for any other information.

CCNZ Z People Awards are open What’s new – these are now free to enter, so get your rising stars recognised this year.

There is also a change to the age criteria in both categories, with a view to encouraging you to put forward some of your young employees and give them affirmation for hard work and training.

To download criteria and application form go to CCNZ’s website nzcontractors.co.nz and look under National Events.

Contact Tricia Logan on tricia@civilcontractors.co.nz or 0800 692 376 to have these emailed, or for any other information.

CCNZ meets ministers about safety at roadworks CCNZ has recently met with Minister of Police, Hon Stuart Nash, and Associate Minister of Transport, Hon Julie Anne Genter, to discuss the safety of road workers and the public travelling through roadworks sites.

Members of the public exceeding speed limits and ignoring directions when temporary traffic management is in place have been identified as major safety issues for road workers.

Also discussed was: the willingness of police to prosecute; the need for point to point speed cameras; the need for a public awareness programme; and, changes contractors could make to encourage better compliance.

The Ministers agreed to look at point to point speed cameras and incorporating messages about roadworks sites into public

CCNZ’s Technical Adviser, Stacy Goldsworthy, sits on the National Pavements Technical Group (NPTG) along with leading consultants and contractors’ technical people who assist NZTA with its technical direction. This group meets several times a year. For further information, contact Stacy Goldsworthy stacy@civilcontractors.co.nz or 021 786 479.

At the recent NPTG meeting the following items were hot on the agenda: • NZTA T/1 Benkelman Beam Test Method was discussed in depth. The group felt the use of bowl deflections as a means of determining pavement pass or fail criteria was outside the scope of the test. The simple one-point deflection was considered most relevant. There was agreement that the consistency between laboratories was an area that needed work. The arrangement of truck units undertaking the beam test can be varied which leads to variation. There will be further review regarding the arrangement of truck units in conjunction with interested laboratories. We will keep you up-to-date on developments.

• A NZTA working group has further developed the statistical variation of M/4 basecourse particle size distribution requirements.

The variation on individual sieves has largely been agreed.

• It was tabled that NZTA B/5 and B/7 be reviewed due to identification of several compliance issues. The review will be undertaken by a sub-group and the outcome presented to the NPTG at a later date.

Civil Contractors and Roadmarkers cooperation CCNZ and the New Zealand Roadmarkers Federation (NZRF) have agreed to establish a closer working relationship through reciprocal representation on technical committees.

CCNZ Technical Manager, Stacy Goldsworthy, will be appointed as an observer (non-voting) to the NZRF Executive.

NZRF will make appointments for observers (non-voting) to relevant CCNZ Technical committees – Surfacings (Alister Harlow, NZRF Executive Director) and Temporary Traffic Management (Bruce Goodall, General Manager, Coastline Markers).

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