March 25, 2013

Site work lays the foundation for construction activity

TSG ENERGY

Careful site preparation can save money down the road in a construction project.

CAROL CHRISTIAN

correspondent

How well a site has been prepared for construction can make all the difference in longevity and the need to return and fix any little problems that can crop up such as road upgrades.

Charles Iggulden is president and CEO of TSG Energy, a company that not only does site work, but also oversees other contractors doing work such as soil sampling, rat-hole drilling (rationale) or installing electrical systems and lighting.

The company is 100 per cent Aboriginal owned and serves the oil and gas sector in northeastern Alberta.

Site preparation can be done year round in the north depending on Mother Nature, pointed out Iggulden, but spring break-up can hamper work.

“Mostly it’s summer or winter work,” he said.

“There have been a few years we’ve been able to go right through.”

The first job Iggulden and his crews complete when entering a jobsite is to make a road.

Winter’s freezing temperatures play an integral role in it.

“If you’re out on muskeg, you need ice bridges or matting so you can get out there. Some of it can only be done in the winter just because of the terrain conditions,” he said.

Muskeg is a swamp or bog formed by an accumulation of sphagnum moss, leaves and decayed matter resembling peat.

It has been known to swallow machinery including backhoes, quads and even people in warm weather.

That’s why work should be done on it primarily in winter.

The need for that road is also demonstrated by the heavy rigs coming on to an in-situ site delivering the pilings to hold the pipeline racks.

“It makes it a lot easier if you build the road into the site first,” he said.

One phenomenon that can be occasionally seen on these loamy roads especially in the summer when everything is tinderbox dry, is a wave or float as heavy equipment drives over them.

There are a few tricks that can brace the road or make it more stable so that waving doesn’t occur.

An example, Iggulden cited, is using mats then building the road up with clay followed by gravel.

However, the contractor must ensure it’s compacted hard.

“It depends on what the customer wants and what you’re allowed to do too through the permit,” Iggulden said.

When the road is built correctly, it will save money on maintenance.

“You won’t have to gravel it or grade it as much if it’s built properly,” he said.

“We’ve built gravel roads, where it looks like pavement. You rarely have to grade it because it holds up really well.”

When doing site prep, the land is transformed from raw to cleared with compacted ground ready for servicing and construction.

“You just need to know what you’re doing and not rush,” he said.

“It takes a lot of work and you really have to understand the work,” he said.

“There’s a big difference in just pushing over trees or really prepping it and getting ready for compaction and moving equipment in.”

With reclamation a primary part of the application process for the energy sector, when it comes to developing mines or in-situ extraction facilities, crews know those stripped soil layers such as top soil and loam have to be properly stored to be used later to return the land to its pre-disturbed state.

If stripped material isn’t being re-used, it usually ends up in a burn pile or is mulched, depending on the location.

He also stressed the need to work closely with surveyors to ensure the right cut and the right angle on the lease for water drainage, support and how much fill is needed.

Achieving suitable soil compaction is one of the most difficult parts of site preparation, according to Iggulden.

If pads are being built to house in-situ well pairs for example, then compaction is critical for the levelness needed to support the heavy equipment.

“Once you get into a routine, it’s good, but it’s making sure you get everything done the way it has to be: to the way Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development wants it done,” he said.

With much of the work being done in remote locations, wildlife can become an issue.

“We’ve had some trouble with bears a couple of times and we had them relocated,” he said. “We’ve had a few animal hits, but we’ve been pretty lucky overall.”

TSG ENERGY

Site preparation is more than just knocking down some trees on a jobsite.

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