Throughout the project we were faced with various challenges:
- Firstly, working in and around the school during school hours made it extremely important that the site rules and requirements were adhered to at all times. Language, no radios, correct barricading around the trenchers, etc.We overcame this by making sure no trenchers were left open at the end of the day, spotters were used while moving the excavator the and the plumbers working on the project followed strict guidelines set out by the client & the school.
- Secondly, we had to trench across the main access road to the teacher’s carpark. This access was also the delivery route for the building materials used for the project. With a bit of planning, co-ordinating and early hours work we were able to get across the access road with no disruptions to the client or the school operations and employees.
- Thirdly, the existing booster line we were connecting into was never completed and we later found that the fire pumps had never had power connected to them nor commissioned, and the pump room and tanks did not comply with the Australian fire standards. This meant that we could not get our new pipework commissioned or tested by DFES which meant the client could not get occupancy for the new undercover sports area which delayed the project handover.
After many meetings with various parties we were given a variation to rectify the pump room and storage tanks to bring them in line with the Australian Standards. A lot of planning and co-ordination went into completing this variation on a time limited job.
