Underground Construction - November 2017 - 21

Many large-diameter fusion machines were
needed onsite to keep the construction schedule on target. For the entire 600-mile project,
approximately 63,360 fusions will be made. Machines, as well as fusion operators, were needed
that could stand up to that kind of workload.
Gajeske, a master distributor of McElroy equipment, provided the bulk of the fusion machines
- all TracStar 900s - with SECOR filling in the
final slots.
Gajeske was also selected to do the pipe fusion on two project phases - 24 miles of 30-inch
DR 11 and 30 miles of 36-inch DR 11 - under
general contractors Culberson Construction
Inc. and Boyd & Company. Gajeske completed
its fusion work portion of the project in August
2017 as scheduled.
The number of fusion technicians onsite
ranged from 12 to 15, with as many as 17
fusion machines available. Each operator averaged seven to eight fusions a day on the 36inch pipe (400 feet per day), and eight to nine
fusions a day on the 30-inch pipe (450 feet per
day), exceeding the preset goals for the project.
Gajeske's 12-machine fleet averaged a daily
production rate of 4,800 feet per day on the
36-inch pipe and 5,400 feet per day on the 30inch pipe.
Gajeske only brought in technicians with at
least two years of experience and required them
to recertify their Operator Qualification for
large-diameter fusion through McElroy University. Their previous fusion history was vetted
and technicians had to make test welds that
passed side bend tests of the joint before they
were allowed onsite.
Chad Abatie, Southwest regional manager
at Gajeske, said the technicians know how to
service the McElroy machines and have had
minimal downtime. They go through a checklist
each morning to ensure their machine is fully
operational before fusing pipe.
"They don't break anything, they love the
machines and take care of them," he said. "They
know that machine is their 'baby' and they're
responsible for it."
As of August 2017, Gajeske's crews had fused
about 80 miles of large-diameter pipe. Abatie
said that they have the ability to produce quality welds in a very production-intense environment because the correct people are in place
with the proper training and experience.
"These guys are held to a standard every single day," he said. "The training they offer and
our emphasis on how vital that is to their job is
really how we're successful."
November 2017 Underground Construction

Check your work
One technician was assigned to each machine.
Three people in quality control representing the
subcontractor, general contractor and project
owner, work together to visually inspect the
welds and ensure the technicians are fusing to
standard. More than 30 people trained at McElroy University to be fusion inspectors.

"It's been very beneficial to have that much
quality control. We've got to go through lease
roads and cattle guards, it just takes a while to
get around. Having that much coverage really
helps," Abatie said.
Data logging of every joint was also required.
Technicians used the McElroy DataLogger,
which provides a record of the heating and

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Underground Construction - November 2017

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