FITT Resources Wins Top SA Water Award

FITT Resources is proud to announce that it has won the 2019 SA Water Make A Difference Award for our innovative work in introducing improved operational safety procedures when maintaining and repairing manholes.

In particular, the award recognises the work we have done in developing the FITT Resources Casting, Lid and Surround Replacement and Road Levelling System for sewer manholes, which has made it significantly quicker, simpler and safer to repair and replace manhole castings than other established methods currently in use.

Recognised by the water industry and our peers

One of the many reasons we are so proud to have won this award is that it has been voted on by our peers in the water services industry. Tier 1 contractors were invited by SA Water to nominate an innovation that has made a significant contribution to the creation of an improved safety environment in manhole repairs.

This demonstrates that there is a potential wider application for our system, and presents the water services industry across Australia with an opportunity to improve workplace safety without compromising on efficiency or costs.

How the FITT Resources Casting Repair and Replacement System works

We have developed an approach to manhole casting repair and replacement that is significantly quicker, simpler and safer than other conventional methods.

We use innovative equipment that cuts clean, circular holes around a manhole frame or surround using a circular cutting arm. This is operated via a heavy-duty auger drive.

These blades rotate at high speed, cutting into the surface surrounding the manhole cover, and then going deeper until they are below the depth of the manhole frame or surround. The entire frame and the area around it can then be lifted out of the ground in one piece, leaving only a clean incision behind in the manhole surrounds.

This machinery can be operated safely by a single person, reducing the number of people required on site and creating a more manageable and safer working environment.

Once the new casting cover has been put back in place, significantly less time and effort is required to restore the concrete or bitumen surrounding the manhole, meaning roads are trafficable straight away. This reduces the overall time required for the workforce to be on site, and so the potential risks of working in traffic or built up urban areas are diminished.

This also results in less disruption to traffic flows which minimises the hazards to traffic and pedestrians, as they are required to negotiate a worksite for a shorter period of time.

A further development of our innovative approach is the use of new technology manhole risers. These are interlocking riser rings manufactured from Expanded Polypropylene (EPP) and which are used to raise manhole frames to their final elevation. This technology greatly reduces the manual handling safety issues associated with traditional concrete casting slabs, while installation time is also reduced

These rings are employed in place of traditional construction methods and materials, and have exceptional durability. The long operating life reduces the frequency of maintenance or replacement that is required.

In addition, the entire process is highly mechanised and so requires less physical intervention from the workforce, as well as less time on site. As a result, both the overall process and the worksite are made safer both for workers and for other road users.

Improved efficiency in manhole replacement

In addition, we have been further developing processes designed to improve both safety and efficiency in the replacement and repair of manholes.

In particular, we are developing a system that enables a manhole relining team to work in conjunction with a replacement team, so that newly installed manholes can be relined as soon as they are installed.

This produces an economy of scale that means the entire process can be completed as part of a single project, minimising the need for road closures and reducing overall costs, in particular those associated with disruption to traffic flows, particularly in urban and built-up areas.

Find out more about the FITT Resources Manhole Casting Repair and Replacement System

Contact our Water Industry Services Team to learn more about the FITT Resources Casting Repair and Replacement System, now available throughout Australia. Call us on 1300 653 229 or email [email protected].