June 2010 Utility Contractor - Table of Contents |
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COVER STORY - Engineering Excellence - NUCA’s 2009 Ditch Digger of the Year, Glenn Ely
Engineering is about making parts work as a whole. It takes a sharp intellect, keen decision making and a little luck to put the pieces into place. When the pieces are the National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA), PKF-Mark III and Mechanical Engineer Glenn Ely, it’s an equation that results in NUCA’s 2009 Ditch Digger of the Year Award. more >> |
Feature Story - Is anyone listening? - Taking a Business Approach to Social Networking
Do you “tweet”? Have you been “friended?” What about “linkedin?” If these terms are new to you, welcome to the online world of social networking. For many utility contractors, social networking is a new, somewhat untested form of communication fraught with equal parts fear and promise — fear of the investment necessary to gain the promise of new revenue growth. But, what is the real purpose of social networking and does it make sense for your business? more >>
By Brad Dawson |
Feature Story - The Quest for Buying a Backhoe - The Picture Perfect Pre-Owned, Dig-and-Load Machine
Buying the right piece of equipment is often the equivalent of digging for buried treasure, and X rarely marks the spot. It takes a meticulous sort of mind, keen on research, experience and more than a little exploration, to find a diamond in the rough. When it comes to finding a good piece of used equipment — say for instance a nice second-hand backhoe loader — the search can be even more difficult. But every cloud has a silver lining and during this ominous marketplace, finding treasure might actually be a little easier than you think. more >>
By Keith Gribbins |
Feature Story - A Tale of Two Contractors - Leak Detection Improves Pipeline Quality and Reduces Project Costs in Big-pipe Country
A pipeline contractor won a utility contract to install a 28-mile stretch of 48-in. steel pipeline in rural Texas. Installing the entire pipeline took a 20-man crew about one year to complete. Stipulated in the contract was that the completed pipeline had to pass a pre-commissioning hydrostatic pressure test before acceptance by the utility. However, the pressure test revealed dozens of leaks all along the length of the installed pipeline. The contractor struggled for six months to find and fix the leaks, but the pipeline still failed to pass the hydrostatic pressure test. After discovering evidence of poor construction quality and several collapsed pipe sections, the utility finally lost patience and fired the contractor. more >>
By David Stewart Jones |
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