United Kingdom Society for Trenchless Technology: UKSTT - October 2003
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The venues have been selected to attract delegates from key areas where trenchless techniques are planned as an integral part of renewal and refurbishment programmes for utilities and underground services. | |
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Tuesday 2 December 2003 - Belfast. Thursday 4 December 2003 - Dublin. Thursday 22 January 2004 -Reading. Tuesday 10 February 2004 - Livingston. | The cost of 3m x 2m of exhibition space to UKSTT Corporate Members is
£675 plus VAT for one show, £650 per show for two shows, £625 for three
and £600 each for all four. This includes a listing in the show guide,
basic furniture and catering for two representatives.
For full details please contact the organisers: No-Dig Conferences & Exhibitions Ltd, 28 Church Street, Rickmansworth, Herts, WD3 1DD. Tel: 01923 778311 |
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Although displaying side by side in the same exhibition hall, each show will retain its own identity, primarily to assist visitors in easily locating products relating to their specific area of interest. A number of activities are planned, including the IWO's Drilling & Tapping Competition and a Directional Drilling Challenge. |
UKSTT is No-Dig Live's major sponsor, and Chairman Norman Howell commented: "The combination of these two shows will provide an excellent overview of products and services which are available to the utility sectors. The Pipelines show will attract a new element of visitors to our own event, which in turn gives us potential to promote trenchless technology to an even wider audience than in previous years." In addition to UKSTT and the Pipeline Industries Guild (PIG), the event is endorsed by the Society of British Gas Industries (SBGI), the International Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers (IGEM), the Society of British Water and Wastewater Industries (SBWWI), the BPF Pipes Group and the Institution of Water Officers (IWO). Further information can be obtained from the organisers: No-Dig Conferences and Exhibitions Ltd, 28 Church Street, Rickmansworth, Herts, WD3 1DD. Tel: 01923 778311 Fax: 01923 777810. E-mail: info@westrade.co.uk Website: www.westrade.co.uk |
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This took place at UMIST on 25 June, with UKSTT as one of the sponsors and Dec Downey as our representative. The aim of the conference was to clarify how we bring together all the elements of sustainable development within the water industry. It is a government-sponsored initiative that is being mirrored in other areas of industry. All sectors of the water industry were represented, including the regulators and training organisations. The conference will be repeated in thee years' time to see what progress has been made. After an introduction by Chairman Gerald Jones, Keith Edwards pointed out that regulations squeeze the system, and efficiency is the key. Only whole life cost can drive the industry forward to better and more innovation, and innovators should regard sustainability as essential. |
Peter Vaas remarked that regulation has a purpose especially when there are monopolies. Accountability and transparency should ensure that the principles of good regulation are applied to the industry. There were a number of break-out sessions in which groups discussed issues such as innovation, the 'river basin' model, integrated water services and recruitment. The last of these was seen as an important issue within the industry. The river basin model, which looks at the inputs and outputs of the system, helps to drive the sustainable use of resources. In general it was thought that the public take water for granted, so much more needs to be done to promote awareness. This would also help with recruitment issues. More details are available at www.waterforesight.com. |
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Thames Water engineers are preparing to boost water quality in Baghdad by improving sewers and installing a new treatment plant. The recent conflict and decades of neglect have left the network with broken or damaged pumping stations, powerless treatment plants and collapsed sewers. "Although Iraq is blessed with a strong fundamental engineering skills base, technology is at least 12 years out of date," said UNICEF co-ordinator for water and sanitation of Iraq, Paul Sherlock. Work is expected to include modular treatment plants and ground penetrating radar (GPR). |
Thames Water is able to provide a 'bolt on' water treatment plant that can treat water abstracted from the heavily polluted rivers. This will also increase capacity, which is low because of power shortages and the looting of pump stations. Sewers are also often blocked because they have collapsed or pumping stations have failed. This has left raw sewage spilling into the streets and running untreated into the watercourses. Much of the sewer network runs beneath buildings and is difficult to assess, so Thames Water is being consulted about supplying GPR expertise. Thames Water also has RedR engineer Jonathan Thurley working with Oxfam in southern Iraq. |
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Report from Wayne Earp, IWO Midlands Area Vice President Young people from across the UK attended our second annual Personal Development Forum to experience 'Processes in the Real World'. Mike Lewis from Warwick Business School (WBS) led the event. "Mike was excellent - a very enjoyable and fun day. It makes a change to not have to listen all day," was a typical comment from the excellent feedback received after the event. Mike Lewis (M.Eng, PhD) can normally be found teaching MBA, MPA and undergraduate courses in operations management and operations strategy at WBS. His current research is focused on the practical and reputational implications of operational failure. Mike generously offered his time to support IWO and UKSTT with this Forum. We also had a tremendous response to our call for sponsorship, with 18 companies supporting the event. This allowed us to offer the event completely free of charge to delegates, cater for 80 people, and use the Regency Hotel in Shirley, Solihull as the venue for the day. The day was very much 'hands on'. World-class operational management is increasingly understood to be about the design and delivery of efficient and effective processes - both within organisational boundaries and across the full supply chain. The objective of this personal development forum was therefore to equip delegates with a practical understanding of what processes really are. It was also fun! After everyone had their bacon baps for breakfast, Jason Ryall from Severn Trent Water, who acted as our facilitator for the day, kicked proceedings off with an icebreaker entitled "getting to know you". Mike then started the first session, encouraging everyone to try to look behind an operation and see how it ticks. Using some well known examples, the audience saw how different types of processes actually work (and sometimes don't) and how they can be improved. We found that there was a lot to learn from the model used by supermarkets where customers do most of the work themselves and then get frustrated if they can't pay fast enough! |
We also found out that 1 in 10 Europeans are apparently conceived in an Ikea bed, and how Ikea have built success on a self-assembly concept with 'its good to sweat' marketing. Understanding 'flow process v job shop' was the next theme. Interactive exercises tested the delegates arithmetical skills with timed exercises giving a feel of a flow process in practice, and providing an understanding of bottlenecks and the need to balance elements of a process. After lunch Nick Field from Severn Trent Water presented a young person's perspective of processes in practice. Nick focused on the work he's been involved in creating Severn Trent's Network Management Centres, applying the principles and techniques Mike had been talking about. He also showed the benefits that can be gained with some real examples of leakage repair times and customer letter response. The final session of the day was entitled, 'An interactive exploration of process improvement'. The stop-watches came out and people discovered first-hand that sometimes even seemingly minor changes to improve process don't always go as planned. The lesson was that piloting a new process really is important. Norman Howell, Chairman of UKSTT, and Wayne Earp, IWO Vice President for the Midlands Area, brought the day to a close. They underlined the commitment that both organisations have for developing young people in the industry, and how important events such as this are. A simple quote from one of the delegates best summed up what the day was about: "Fun and informative!" |
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It may be very short notice by the time this newsletter is published, but if you're at a loose end hop on a plane to Dubai for the Trenchless Middle East 2003 conference and exhibition -12-14 October 2003 at the JW Marriott Hotel and Convention Centre, Dubai, UAE. The event is endorsed by the International Society for Trenchless Technology (ISTT) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). |
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Steerable boring can be an ideal technique for installing service connections between mains and properties, especially where conventional excavation would require high-cost reinstatement to driveways, gardens and walls. Tracto-Technik's new mini-bore unit - Grundopit-Compact - is aimed at this type of application. The drive, mixing unit and bore rig with rod box are installed on a track-mounted undercarriage, allowing the equipment to be used in areas with difficult access. The pivoting rig boom and bore unit are mounted on the carriage which can be driven out horizontally in the transport position and vertically in the working position. The bore unit can be lowered hydraulically into a pit as small as 800 x 500 mm. Operation is carried out via a remote control from the surface. |
The drill rods are placed into the unit at the surface and lowered down to the bore unit where they is automatically screwed together. After making the pilot bore, the pipe is pulled-in and fitted with the appropriate coupling for connection to the main. Service connections up 1.50 metres deep can be installed by this method. The Grundopit-Compact has maximum torque of 1000 Nm, 40 kN thrust and pullback, and can install pipes up to 200 mm o.d. and 100 m long. Further details are available from: TT UK Ltd, Windsor Road, Bedford, MK42 9SU. Tel: 01234 342566. Fax: 01234 352184. E-mail: ttuk@compuserve.com Website: www.tt-uk.com |
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In July 2002, Genseed Underground Services Ltd (GUSL) were approached by Morgan Vinci 310, the main contractor building a 14 km length of the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) in Essex. They were looking at various methods of trenchless technology to divert five utilities on Chequers Lane, Dagenham. As the new CTRL is running parallel to and very close to the existing London Tilbury and Southend (LT & S) line at this point, it was necessary for these services to be ducted over a distance of some 42 metres, taking them clear of both sets of track. The services to be relocated were six 110mm BT ducts, two 355 mm water mains, a 355 mm gas main and ten 160 mm electricity ducts. Because of the position of existing services and a 1200 mm concrete pipe crossing the line at a lower level, the working window was only 4 m wide and 1.80 m deep. After considering various options, it was agreed that the most cost-effective method would be to pipe-ram five steel sleeves - 3 x 457mm, 1 x 508mm and 1 x 762mm, all with 12.5 mm wall thickness. Tolerances within 1% of total bore length (+ or - 400mm) were required, and heave or settlement at the railway tracks was limited to +5mm or -8mm. Careful monitoring of the tracks was undertaken by Morgan Vinci, but possession of the line was not necessary, and all ramming could take place within normal working hours. The project duration was five weeks starting 20 January 2003, and GUSL chose to use a TT Grundoram Koloss ramming hammer for the work. |
The ground was very dry peat which was found to act like a large shock-absorber, impeding the progress of the tube. Whenever ramming stopped to weld on another section of pipe, it was extremely difficult to re-start, even though the Koloss hammer had achieved much more in other conditions. TT UK were contacted, and responded by supplying from Germany a Goliath ramming hammer with some 1300 tonnes of impact force - nearly twice that of the 700 tonne Koloss. After a few more alterations and adjustments it had taken two weeks to achieve the first successful installation. During this period, Morgan Vinci, whilst obviously concerned about the programme delays, did not exert undue pressure but in true partnering style gave GUSL space to perform. Work progressed at a much better rate once experience had been gained of handling the peat, and three 15 metre pipes were installed in the next six days. The final large diameter pipe took a further three days to install. The five pipes were all within 200 mm of target line and level, well inside the 1% limit. Both GUSL and Morgan Vinci 310 were delighted with the result, and are anticipating further work using Grundoram equipment later in the year. |
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The
No-Dig Roadshows are a series of one day events, comprising an
integrated exhibition and seminar programme compiled by UKSTT. The
events are strategically located to offer four completely different
audiences with an opportunity to participate in a high quality forum on
trenchless technology. The trade show is an integral part of the day,
providing delegates with an opportunity to meet key suppliers to the
industry. The seminar programme is structured to allow delegates ample
time to visit the stands, and all catering arrangements will be
situated within or adjacent to the exhibition area.
Two
of the UK's major events for the utilities sector, No-Dig Live and
Pipelines, are to come together at Stoneleigh Park, near Coventry, on
28-30 September 2004. No-Dig Live 2004 will be the seventh in this
highly successful biennial series which focuses on the installation and
renewal of underground utilities through trenchless techniques. The
format combines indoor exhibition stands with outdoor equipment
demonstrations, along with an educational seminar programme. Pipelines
2004 will be the fourth event in a series promoting the pipes and
pipelines industries.