Interpipe Inc. is a steel pipe distributor of new
and used structural steel pipe. We have several
large stocking locations of Seamless, ERW,
Spiralweld and DSAW pipe.
2" OD–48" OD in a variety of wall thicknesses
are stocked in all locations.
Piling Pipe 80,000 min yield seamless pipe for
Micro Piling.
Seamless and ERW pipe for Driven Piles,
Screw Piles and Drill Piles.
Large Diameter pipe for Driven Piles or
Caissons.
ONTARIO
3320 Miles Road, RR#3
Mount Hope, Ontario
L0R 1WO
Local: (905) 679-6999
Toll Free: (877) 468-7473
Fax: (905) 679-6544
QUEBEC
805 1 ère Avenue
Ville Ste. Catherine, Quebec
J5C 1C5
Local: (450) 638-3320
Toll Free: (888) 514-0040
Fax: (450) 638-3340
www.interpipe.com
In some cases for the guyed anchors, battered helical piles
had to be extended 42 metres before encountering suitable
soils to anchor to. Northstar Sharp’s kept trucks and trailers
loaded with material and welders on full 12-hour shifts in
order to accommodate the changes in design and increased
depths encountered during installation – all while working in
temperatures as cold as -30°C.
Conversely, there were also instances whereby due to
ground conditions, piles could not be driven to the required
embedment depths. For these situations, Northstar Sharp’s
worked with engineering to provide PDA results to verify the
design and further optimise the design as required. Driving
shoes were incorporated in some cases and this helped to
achieve the required embedment. In other cases, pile testing
of driven piles was also completed to verify load effectives on
the piles. All this was implemented while still maintaining
the required project schedule.
Critical execution
Northstar Sharp’s utilized multiple work fronts with teams of
piling units, overseen by senior managers stationed at each
area to support the daily operations. Work crews and rotations
were set up in an assembly line fashion with survey in the lead
followed by the piling crews, welding and splicing crews, cut-ting
and capping crews and finally engineering and QA/QC.
This accelerated schedule also required the ramping of
field and office quality personnel – ensuring that daily field
installation data was verified, reviewed, passed on to the
signing engineer and signed off. This worked in an almost
seamless fashion stretched over hundreds of kilometres.
Of specific importance is that in one single winter season
starting in January and ending March 26, Northstar Sharp’s
installed more than 700 individual foundations, totalling
almost 60 per cent of the line foundations, and completed
two seasons of winter work in a single season. This effectively
allowed the remainder of the project to further accelerate,
pushing the schedule almost a full four months ahead from
the planned completion date. This was primarily accom-plished
through consistent and direct communication from
all companies and subcontractors and a drive to see the proj-ect
completed well ahead of schedule.
Conclusion
Through design optimization and constructability reviews,
Northstar Sharp’s completed the successful installation of
almost 12,000 piles for 1,300 tower foundations over 500 km
and two substations in a year and a half.
“The dedicated effort from Northstar Sharp’s, coupled
with an innovative design and work process, has been a key
component to the WFMAC project’s overall success. The
quantity of foundations installed within an 18-month period
has been remarkable and is a testament to the commitment
of the Northstar Sharp’s team,” said Brett Smit, P. Eng., project
director (WFMAC), Valard Construction.
The project has been recognized as one of its greatest suc-cesses
by the Quanta Group of companies and stands as a
testament to what design, procurement and construction
can do when integrated under a single roof working towards
a common goal.
COVER FEATURE
PILING CANADA 29
/www.interpipe.com
