Kate Valley Landfill & Energy Park

Client: Waste Management NZ (WM)

Phase 2

Collaborators: Canterbury Waste Services (CWS), Geotechnics, Eliot Sinclair

Key achievements

The Canterbury team were able to successfully complete the required earthworks for cell 2A-3 on time and in line with the client’s programme and expectations. This work included clearing existing vegetation, removing approximately 10,500m3 of unsuitable material and topsoil and the placement of 29,000m3 of fill.

Due to the nature of the landfill liner, there were tight tolerances to meet in terms of final profiles. GPS was used extensively throughout the filling process to ensure the specification tolerances would be met.

Active and operational landfill

The construction of the 2A-3 cell was adjacent to another landfill cell that was actively being filled with waste from the Canterbury region.

This waste was trucked into position and compacted by the CWS earthworks and landfill teams. Careful consideration had to be given to CWS movements on site to maintain a steady stream of waste.

To solve this a site traffic management plan was created to delineate work zones and Taylors haul routes and shared haul routes. This plan was developed in conjunction with the CWS teams and WM.

Specification tolerances

Excavation of unsuitable material and topsoil from the cell had to be completed and signed off prior to the placement of fill.

Each layer of fill had to be excavated from a borrow site, trucked to the cell, placed and finally compacted with the 825 compactor in layers with each layer being density tested. The final 1:3 batter slope had to be compacted and trimmed within 25mm of design.

To achieve this the batter was over built and successively trimmed with the D6 dozer and 14m grader using GPS, with the design model displayed in each of the machines. Periodic checks were completed with a GPS rover. When the batter was finally ready the cell was flown with a drone and the entire cell checked against the design.

This ensured that when the subsequent liner layers were installed the batter was free from undulations that could potentially bridge and break the liner from the weight of waste above.

Periodic checks were completed with a GPS rover. When the batter was finally ready the cell was flown with a drone and the entire cell checked against the design.

As a board comprised of four Taylors family members and four independent directors we are proud to support the family nature of Taylors Contracting. Family is where the business began and it is an important legacy to protect as we move forward.

This past year we have also been pleased to welcome an additional two younger Taylor family members who are sitting in on Board meetings to gain some governance experience.

Taylors Contracting’s independent Board members are Steve Hart, a civil engineer with considerable big project experience, Craig Dennis who is an accountant with broad financial management and governance experience, Lindsay McKenzie who has extensive experience in local body administration as well as being a director of a number of companies, and I myself, providing extensive governance experience having being the Chair of a number of commercial and community entities.

While the role of a Board is governance, it also has ultimate responsibility for the company’s performance and outcomes.

As a Board we actively monitor key responsibilities such as health and safety, financial matters, strategy, and risk, while delegating most of the day-to-day decisions in these areas to Taylors’ extremely experienced and competent management team.

Taylors has a very comprehensive information management system which ensures that we as its Board are kept well informed about the company’s activities. This allows us to have a clear and up-to-date understanding of the company’s activities and makes our governance role easier to carry out.

We congratulate the staff and management of Taylors Contracting on their achievements over the past year. In particular, we are very pleased to see its great company culture and excellent employee support structures.

Regards,

As a family business lasting relationships matter to us.

Thank you to all our clients for the trust you show in us by placing your projects in our hands.

We are proud to continue the legacy of our founders Bob and Marlene Taylor. We are delighted that the next generation of the Taylor family are taking an active interest in learning about the business as Associate Board Members.