WA Engineering Excellence Awards 2009 Winners

The $1.6 billion Angel gas processing platform located 120 kilometres off Karratha has won the overall award at the 2009 WA Engineering Excellence Awards announced in Perth on 12th September.  The 11 category winners and the overall winner are listed below.

• View photos from the Awards Dinner 

Overall Winner

Angel Project

Submitted By:
Woodside
JP Kenny
KBR
Transfield Worley
WorleyParsons

The A$1.6 billion Angel project has set a new world standard for not-normally-manned (NNM) gas processing facilities. It is believed to be the most complex, highest production, glycol dehydration NNM facility in the world, with state-of-the-art environmental monitoring.

Operated by Woodside, the North West Shelf Venture (NWSV) asset has a production capacity of 800 million cubic feet of gas and 50,000 barrels of condensate a day.

The platform, positioned 120km offshore of Karratha in about 80m of water and supplied by three large bore subsea wells, is powered and remotely controlled from the NWSV's North Rankin A (NRA) platform 50km away.

It was completed safely, on time and under budget.

Category Winners

Infrastructure and Building

Australian Marine Complex - Floating Dock

Submitted By:
LandCorp
Department of Commerce

The Australian Marine Complex (AMC) $60 million floating dock, to be commissioned in October 2009, will be the most technologically advanced in the world.

Measuring 99 metres x 53 metres, the dock will lift vessels up to 12,000 tonnes out of the water for service and maintenance.

Its many applications will add significant value to WA industry, including providing critical support to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Collins Class submarine fleet.

The State Government's desire to position WA for major marine and defence contracts was a key driver for the project.

Built by WA company Strategic Marine, the dock incorporates more than 6500 tonnes of steel.

New Perth-Bunbury Highway

Submitted By:
Southern Gateway Alliance
Leighton Contractors
GHD Pty Ltd
WA Limestone
Main Roads WA

The new Perth Bunbury Highway will double the length of the existing freeway network and involves the design and construction of 70.5km of dual carriageway.

Funded by both the Commonwealth and State Government of Western Australia, the NPBH is being constructed by the Southern Gateway Alliance (SGA), comprising Leighton Contractors, WA Limestone, GHD and Main Roads WA.

The NPBH is one of Western Australia's most significant infrastructure projects and is due to open September 2009 (weather dependent) having delivered excellent outcomes across the board. Innovation and excellence in engineering by the Alliance has brought the project towards completion, several months ahead of schedule.

The project was also delivered under budget, achieved a Platinum Work Safe award, exceeded mandated training requirements under the Building Skills Policy and delivered positive community and environmental benefits and updated road construction standards for the industry.

Resource Development

Angel Project

Submitted By:
Woodside
JP Kenny
KBR
Transfield Worley
WorleyParsons

The A$1.6 billion Angel project has set a new world standard for not-normally-manned (NNM) gas processing facilities. It is believed to be the most complex, highest production, glycol dehydration NNM facility in the world, with state-of-the-art environmental monitoring.

Operated by Woodside, the North West Shelf Venture (NWSV) asset has a production capacity of 800 million cubic feet of gas and 50,000 barrels of condensate a day.

The platform, positioned 120km offshore of Karratha in about 80m of water and supplied by three large bore subsea wells, is powered and remotely controlled from the NWSV's North Rankin A (NRA) platform 50km away.

It was completed safely, on time and under budget.

Products and Manufacturing

Track-mounted Mobile Mining Unit Plant (MUP)

Submitted By:
RCR Engineering

RCR Engineering's innovative solution for a track-mounted, mobile mining unit plant (MUP),
incorporated several of their existing products to major client Iluka Resources Limited (Iluka),
for the Murray Basin Stage 2 Project, Victoria.

The unique MUP concept was designed, manufactured, installed and commissioned by
RCR Engineering out of the Bunbury operations, Western Australia.

From initial concept to hand over, the project took 21 months to complete and was on
schedule, to budget and supported Iluka's environmental mining philosophy. Iluka has commissioned RCR to conduct a definitive feasibility study and detailed design for
a second unit for another new ore body.

Environment

2 Victoria Avenue

Submitted By:
AECOM Australia Pty Ltd
Architect - Woodhead
Builder - Diploma
Owner - Stockland

Durack II sets new environmental benchmark. Durack II, at 2 Victoria Avenue, is a world class building that represents a quantum shift in sustainable engineering design in Western Australia.

Its highly innovative engineering services design features a number of Western Australian ‘firsts', which have halved its carbon footprint and slashed power and energy use, making Durack II the most ‘environmentally friendly' building in the State.

Durack II sets a new benchmark for the next generation of green buildings in Australia. Its exceptional success will no doubt encourage others to strive for environmental excellence and provide for a more sustainable future for all Western Australians.

Engineering for Regional Communities

Gap Ridge Accommodation Village

Submitted By:
Leighton Contractors
Ngarda Civil & Mining

The Gap Ridge Accommodation Village in Karratha is a 2163 room camp constructed for Woodside to
accommodate workers on the nearby Pluto LNG Project. The project was completed by the Ngarda Alliance, a joint venture between Ngarda Civil & Mining and Leighton Contractors.

The Village includes three gymnasiums, a swimming pool, two multi purpose sports courts, two indoor cricket pitches, numerous BBQ facilities, associated laundry, administration, support facilities and one of the largest kitchen diners built in the southern hemisphere.

The excellent engineering demonstrated by the Ngarda Alliance in overcoming geotechnical, weather-related and other challenges led the Alliance being commissioned to construct another 480 rooms, beyond
the initial project brief.

Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology

Unifying Western Power's Telecommunication Network

Submitted By:
Western Power
Clarity International LTD

Western Power is responsible for the safe, reliable, and efficient transmission and distribution of electricity to approximately 900,000 customers in the south-west of Western Australia, including the Perth metropolitan area.

Western Power and Clarity International have partnered to deliver a rigorously engineered, Australian and world-leading utility telecommunication network management system that has unified network operations and delivered significant benefits to not only Western Power but also the community.

This unique management system is supporting a ‘smart grid' future and the connection of renewable energy sources; setting a worldwide application benchmark; optimising operations; future proofing a $300 million investment and most importantly ensuring a healthy telecommunication network to support safe and reliable electricity supply to customers in the south west of Western Australia.

This unique application has set a benchmark nationally and internationally and is a strategic reference site for Australian and international companies across multiple sectors.

Control Systems, Reports and Procedures

Advanced Process Management (APM)

Submitted By:
I&E Systems Pty Ltd
BHP Billiton Worsley Alumina Pty Lt D
Honeywell

A new state of the art control room has been built at the BHP Worsley Alumina refinery near Collie in WA's South West. The project has heralded significant improvements for the operator in their daily task of managing refinery operations. First of its kind in Australia, the design has focused on improving the interaction between technology and humans to help maximise safety, minimize environmental impact while allowing the process to be pushed to its limit. All work was completed without a refinery shutdown in three years by a Perth based integrated engineering team from Worsley, I&E Systems and Honeywell.

Management of Engineering

New Perth-Bunbury Highway

Submitted By:
Southern Gateway Alliance
Leighton Contractors
GHD Pty Ltd
WA Limestone
Main Roads WA

The New Perth Bunbury Highway will double the length of the existing freeway network and involves the design and construction of 70.5km of dual carriageway.

Funded by both the Commonwealth and State Government of Western Australia, the NPBH is being constructed by the Southern Gateway Alliance (SGA), comprising Leighton Contractors, WA Limestone, GHD and Main Roads WA.

The NPBH is one of Western Australia's most significant infrastructure projects and is due to open September 2009 (weather dependent) having delivered excellent outcomes across the board. Innovation and excellence in engineering by the Alliance has brought the project towards completion, several months ahead of schedule.

The project was also delivered under budget, achieved a Platinum Work Safe award, exceeded mandated training requirements under the Building Skills Policy and delivered positive community and environmental benefits and updated road construction standards for the industry.

Small Company Projects

Glenvar Bale Direct System

Submitted By:
Glenvar Bale Direct Pty Ltd

The Glenvar Bale Direct System (BDS) enables broadacre farmers to harvest a crop and bale the residue in a single operation, a process that has been traditionally carried out, worldwide, in either two or three separate operations.

This system links a baler to a conventional header, enabling direct baling of the entire residue from the header without any contamination, and collection of a high percentrage of the weed seeds in the bale, thus minimising the onset and seed-bank of herbicide resistant weeds.

BDS saves fuel, time and labour, and produces clean, square straw bales that
are easily transported and stored, with the potential to substantially boost farm revenue.

Refurbishment of Sewer Access Chambers at Coral Bay

Submitted By:
McRobert Contracting Services Pty Ltd
Water Corporation

Corrosion in underground sewerage access chambers is a major problem facing local authorities in Australia and around the world. Gases within the sewer system break down the concrete walls of conventional access chambers, causing them to rupture and compromise the integrity of the system. Left unchecked, this can, and does, result in total system failure and loss of essential services as was the case at Coral Bay, where access chamber walls had become so corroded that water ingress was overloading the system.

McRobert Contracting Services have developed processes and methodologies to enable the rapid relining of corroded access chambers with no interruption to existing systems. The McRobert relining system delivered a corrosion proof, cost effective, environmentally inert solution and a safer working environment at Coral Bay in time for the busy tourist season.