SUMMER 2019
CONNELL NEWS SUPREME BUSINESS AWARD WINNERS! Friday November 15 was a milestone day in the development of Connell Contractors Ltd. We won both the Business Growth and Strategy Award and, later in the evening, the Supreme Business of the Year Award at the 2019 Westpac Waikato Business Awards. The Business Growth and Strategy Award recognised organisations that
have achieved significant growth during the last two years as a result of effective planning and delivery. “We’ve been on a positive journey over the last few years,” said Dave Connell, Managing Director of Connell Contractors. “Nomination for this award was recognition enough of our progress, so to win was extra special and a great compliment to our whole team.”
As one of the category winners we qualified for the Supreme Business of the Year Award, which we were also delighted to win. “The Supreme Award was just so unexpected,” said a humbled Connell. “It gives us the confidence of knowing that we’re on the right path and, again, is a reflection of the work put in by everyone at Connell Contractors.”
PROGRESS ON THE WESTERN INTERCEPTOR The Western Interceptor Duplication Project in Hamilton is now gaining traction. The resource consent is now in place and the Connells team is frantically trying to keep ahead of March Cato who are undertaking the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) work. The first drive under Mangaharakeke Drive is complete and sealed and we are in the process of building the next TBM jacking shaft.
This is a six metre deep sheet piled pit with coarse sand ground conditions and lots of water. It requires the use of two wellpoint sets at different levels and a sump pump to keep the water at bay. While this is proving to be a challenge we are working our way through it and giving the pumps a good run. DAVE CONNELL ON SITE AT THE WESTERN INTERCEPTOR.
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WESTERN INTERCEPTOR ...from page 1 THE TUNNEL BORING MACHINE IN OPERATION.
Major Milestone When this is complete the sealing eye and jacking wall will be constructed, and the sheet piling team will move over to Crawford Street to get into the receiving shaft. With the sewer changeover now done work on the Northern chamber is 90% complete. This is a major milestone as it was one of many tricky parts of the project which required a lot of detailed planning. It needed to be complete to clear a path for the first TBM drive. To make this changeover achievable we had to use two 150mm pumps, a bypass plug and a 200mm pump to deal with the sewer flow. Even with this in place the guys still ended up standing in sewerage up to their gearbox at times. This sorted the men from the boys! No Rest For Connells We have one more line to lay out of the Northern chamber then it will be full steam ahead to get the road back together in time for Christmas. While we carry on with the Northern Chamber the TBM team will push on with the next drive once they have set up in the new shaft. This drive is 200m long and will no doubt be a challenging exercise as well.
The team plan to work seven days a week once they start. This is to minimise the risk of the ground closing in on the pipe, which could cause friction and make hard work for the gear. Now they have had a taste of the Waikato ground the team is confident and are keen to get moving. We have a busy time ahead in order to get a very technical part of the job complete this side of Christmas and be ready for a good start in the New Year. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING THE NEXT TBM JACKING SHAFT.
NO REST ON THE WESTERN INTERCEPTOR PROJECT.
NGAWHA SUBSTATION Solid progress has been achieved on the new ODID building currently being constructed at Ngawha Substation, which is located near Kaikohe, Northland. This project is being completed on behalf of far north electricity company, Top Energy. The building is a precast superstructure with bondor roof and comprises a control, relay, equipment and tool room. The switchyard has several ODS foundations including transformer pads. Security fencing, drainage and associated oil containment works all form part of the scope. Work on this project is scheduled to be complete by January 2020.
Pictured right: The ODID building at Ngawha Substation takes shape.
AROUND SITE Right: Congratulations to Connell Contractors’ Health & Safety Manager, Casey Martin, on obtaining her internationally recognised NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational H&S. This qualification required a lot of study, backed up with demonstrated practical knowledge. An awesome result. The next step for Casey is achieving her NEBOSH diploma in Health & Safety. Below: A new addition to to Connell’s fleet. We’ve gone 100% electric with this Nissan Leaf.
WORK CONTINUES ON THE NGAWHA SUBSTATION.
PORT OF TAURANGA Connell Contractors has recently completed the substructure of four Mobil Fuel Bunkers for the Port of Tauranga. The insitu bunkers have been constructed to facilitate new gate valves, which are connected to the existing fuel lines servicing international ships. Heavy duty service lids have been poured and, after curing, will be lifted by crane into their final location. Movement corridors for the heavy lifting vehicles were created to keep the Port operational during construction of the bunkers.
MOBIL FUEL BUNKER AT THE PORT OF TAURANGA.
OUR TEAM Rose Tennent Contracts Administrator Rose began with Connell Contractors as a Temp in the accounts role back in July 2018. Something clicked almost immediately and she became a permanent staff member only one month later as Contracts Administrator “I enjoy the people here at Connell Contractors. Everyone is friendly and supportive, from management through to the teams out on site,” said Rose. The Team Briefs, where everyone from all the far-flung sites come to one place for a meeting, are a particuar Connell’s highlight for Rose. “It’s always good to meet the people behind the phone calls and develop better relationships. This helps mantain good communication, which is an important part of our business.
“I never stress about coming to work. Even when we are busy it’s a good place to be.” Rose moved to Hamilton from Auckland approximately three years ago. Her last job was in an Office Manager role with Sentinel Homes Waikato. A particular career highlight for Rose was owning her own company and having great people working for her. Summer is Rose’s favourite time of year. “I love the beach and weekends away exploring. I have sociable weekends with friends and family and enjoy live shows and concerts.” Rose has two independent adult children, “who, in my very biased opinion, are achieving great things in their chosen fields,” she smiles.
Connell Contractors is an award winning, multi-disciplinary civil construction company operating throughout New Zealand from bases in Hamilton, New Plymouth and Auckland. We have been successfully delivering projects to our clients for over 35 years and have earned a reputation for market leading performance on a broad range of civil engineering projects. HAMILTON (HQ) 22 Foreman Road, Hamilton 3241 PO Box 10526 | p 07 958 3408 e office@connellcontractors.co.nz
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