V43.3 WASTE + WATER MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA. An Australian Success Story ENVIRONMENT SUSTAINABILITY PUBLIC HEALTH SINCE 1973 OCTOBER 2016

Transcription

1 PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY WASTE + WATER MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA OCTOBER 2016 V43.3 ENVIRONMENT SUSTAINABILITY PUBLIC HEALTH SINCE 1973 PRINT POST APPROVED An Australian Success Story VAC-U-DIGGA EARTH SPY SOIL TRANSFER

2 Vac Group An Australian Success Story Since its establishment in 2000, Queensland-based VAC Group has been setting new benchmarks in non-destructive vacuum excavation and underground asset location and mapping. Not surprisingly, the company's focus on innovation and quality has seen the demand for its state-of-the-art equipment and services grow at an exponential rate over the past decade and a half - both nationally and internationally. Now, in what has become the latest chapter in this remarkable Australian success story, VAC Group has once again 'raised the bar' in terms of productivity, efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of vacuum excavation operations, thanks to its new patented soil recovery and transfer system. Even though non-destructive vacuum excavation has been utilised extensively throughout the US and Europe for some time now, the practice has really only 'come of age' in Australia over the past decade. While the reasons for the relatively slow uptake of vacuum excavation in Australia are many and varied, one of the major issues has been the cost and availability of suitable equipment that could meet the specific needs of Australian operating environments. Neil Costello, VAC Group's Director Strategy & Market Development, explained: "When it comes to non-destructive vacuum excavation, it's not only about the overall size of the vehicle - there are a number of key factors that need to be taken into account. Together with factors such as tank / hopper capacities and vacuum pressure, there are also the critical issues relating to size, manoeuvrability, ease of use of the equipment and, perhaps most importantly, the operating costs." "With that in mind, from the outset our focus has been on developing and manufacturing equipment that is efficient, reduces both the cost and environmental impact of operations, and is able to cope with harsh Australian operating conditions. After all, if a piece of equipment such as this can stand up to Australian operating conditions - which are some of the harshest and most variable on the planet - we believe it will be able to stand up to anything," he added. 10 Waste + Water Management Australia Oct 2016

3 Growing to Meet Demand Not surprisingly, VAC Group's innovative approach to equipment design and manufacture has resulted in strong and consistent growth in demand for its equipment - a demand that, until now, has far exceeded its manufacturing capabilities. In fact, for much of the last decade, every vacuum excavation unit manufactured by VAC Group was added to the company's own fleet in order to meet the ever-increasing demand for its services. While this is undoubtedly a 'problem' that most equipment manufacturing companies would not mind being burdened with, increasing its manufacturing capabilities to better meet the demand for its vacuum excavation vehicles has been a priority for VAC Group. Indeed, it was the primary catalyst behind the establishment of the company's new multi-million dollar manufacturing headquarters in the Gold Coast suburb of Yatala in South East Queensland. At our previous facility, we were only able to manufacture around 20 vacuum tanker units per year," Neil Costello said. "And given the ever-increasing demand for our nondestructive vacuum excavation services, we needed all of these units for our own fleet." "We simply didn't have the manufacturing capacity to make additional units to sell. We were using everything we made, and still couldn't make enough to meet our own requirements," he said. "Thankfully, our new facility at Yatala has enabled us to ramp up our manufacturing capability by a factor of 10 to over 200 units per year. This will not only allow us to continue to build our fleet, it will also enable us to start meeting the demand for our equipment from other service providers," he added. Ideally located halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, the new Yatala facility currently encompasses over 9,500m² of factory space, together with a separate 4-storey office complex which incorporates VAC Group's administration and operational headquarters. Addressing the True Cost of Vacuum Excavation While non-destructive vacuum excavation has now gained widespread acceptance throughout Australia as a quick, safe and highly effective method of working around sub-surface infrastructure, there are a number of associated costs which until now have presented a significant price barrier for many projects. Disposal 42.5% Excavation 25% Logistics 32.5% In short, when it comes to non-destructive vacuum excavation, the actual site excavation works generally only account for around 25% of the total cost - making it the cheapest component of the process. As a general rule, the remaining 75% of the cost can be broken down into LOGISTICS (travelling to the site and transporting spoil from the site for disposal) 32.5% and DISPOSAL, which is by far the largest single cost component at around 42.5% of the total cost. The high cost of disposal stems from the fact that due to the nature of non-destructive vacuum excavation - which uses high pressure water to convert the solids into a slurry which is then vacuumed away - the spoils generated are classified as liquid waste which costs significantly more to dispose of when compared to solid waste streams. These additional costs not only stem from the strict EPA controls on liquid waste, but also the fact that there are significantly fewer liquid waste disposal sites when compared to solid waste disposal facilities. With that in mind, VAC Group set out to develop a solution that addresses both the productivity and environmental issues related to transporting excavated spoils over extended distances, as well as the high costs associated with logistics and disposal of the excavated material. The solution, came in the form of a new patented soil recovery and transfer system. Neil Costello explained: "With the excavation works only representing an average of 25% of the total cost, we felt that rather than focusing on making larger vacuum excavation trucks, it would make more sense to develop a solution that addressed the two highest cost components, namely: logistics and disposal." "Most importantly, our R&D not only focussed on reducing the financial cost of transporting and disposing of the excavated spoil material, but also the environmental impact of the non-destructive vacuum excavation process," he added. "In short, we figured if we could develop an on-site solution that would enable us to recover and reuse the excavated solids as clean fill, while also recycling the water used in the excavation process, that we could significantly reduce both the cost and environmental impact of the excavation operations. It was also clear that such a system would dramatically improve productivity and reduce the number of heavy vehicle movements to and from a site." "Most importantly, our R&D not only focussed on reducing the financial cost of transporting and disposing of the excavated spoil material, but also the environmental impact of the non-destructive vacuum excavation process." Waste + Water Management Australia Oct

4 Innovative Soil Transfer System VAC Group's innovative Soil Transfer system has been developed as a fully-scalable on site recycling and recovery solution that can be set up at most locations within a matter of hours. Once operational, it is simply a matter of the vacuum excavation vehicles backing up the ramp and emptying the contents of the collection hopper into the Soil Transfer unit's receival hopper. From there, the excavated Spoil - usually in the form of a slurry containing a high percentage of water - passes through a number of treatment processes where it is separated into two component streams, namely: Recycled Water - which is reused by the vacuum tankers in the non-destructive excavation process; and Recovered Spade-able Material (solids) - which is either stockpiled ready for use on site following completion of the job or sent for disposal. Importantly, even if the recovered 'spadeable' material is not going to be used on site, removing the water from the excavated spoil results in a significant reduction in the total quantity of material being disposed of. The Soil Transfer system allows this material to be deposited into a large container or vehicle for bulk transfer, resulting in a significant reduction in vehicle movements to and from the site - even in case when the collected material is being sent for disposal. Another major advantage of the VAC Group Soil Transfer systems lies within the fact that the dewatered 'spade-able' material is classified as a solid waste rather than a liquid waste - making it significantly easier to handle, transport and dispose of correctly and safely. Each Soil Transfer system can cater for up to 10 vacuum tanker units working 24/7. Changing the Face of Disaster Recovery Together with their performance in all manner of non-destructive vacuum excavation projects, VAC Group's high performance vacuum tankers and innovative Soil Transfer system also look set to 'raise the bar' for post-disaster cleanup and recovery operations. As a fully-scalable, easily transportable and highly efficient solution encompassing vacuum collection vehicles and a high performance onsite Soil Recovery system, VAC Group's fully-integrated solution delivers a range of benefits when compared to many traditional post-disaster clean-up methods - especially in terms of productivity, safety and cost. "When it comes to disaster recovery, one of the biggest challenges usually facing cleanup crews is that of access - especially for large vehicles," Neil Costello said. "In most disaster scenarios, the road network and other infrastructure usually ends up suffering significant damage. While 'rudimentary' access can usually be established quite quickly across most disaster zones, in most instances, these initial access 12 Waste + Water Management Australia Oct 2016

5 roads are generally not able to cope with a constant stream of heavy vehicles." "Once the initial road access to an effected area has been established, our Soil Transfer system can be brought in and deployed in under a day, providing a highlyefficient on-site treatment and resource recovery plant capable of processing collected material from up to 10 vacuum tankers 24/7," Neil Costello said. As well as eliminating the need for the tankers to travel (on what is often a badly degraded and extremely dangerous road network) from the cleanup zone to dispose of the collected material, the fact that the tankers remain in the cleanup zone rather than spending many hours each day travelling back and forth, means that the cleanup works can be completed in a fraction of the time and for a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. "The vacuum tankers go in and collect the mud, silt, slurry, dirt, run-off or liquefaction and deposit it into the Soil Transfer system which is right there at the site. Once it's emptied its load, the vacuum tanker can fill up with recycled water and get straight back to the cleanup work - with minimal delay, minimal travel and maximum efficiency," Neil Costello said. "Importantly, the fact that this system is fully-scalable, means that the cleanup response - both in terms of the number of vacuum tankers deployed and the number of Soil Transfer facilities established across the disaster zone - can be specifically sized to suit each individual event," he added. For further information on VAC Group's full range of services, Ph: (24 Hour Service) or visit: Waste + Water Management Australia Oct