INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENGINEERING SERVICES
March to May 2015
WORKS UNIT
Airport
· The Annual Aerodrome Emergency Exercise was successfully held on 19 March 2015. ‘Day Tripper’ was a field based multi-agency response exercise and was well attended by the Lord Howe Island Board, NSW Police, NSW SES, NSW RFS and NSW Health. This fulfils the requirement under our Aerodrome Manual to carry out a field based emergency exercise every 2 years.
· The Lord Howe Island Board Transport Security Plan (TSP) for the Airport was approved by the Office of Transport Security, Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development on 31 March 2015 and will remain in effect until 30 March 2020.
· At the time of writing, there has been one (1) bird strike recorded for 2015 and this was a Ruddy Turnstone. For the corresponding period in 2014 there were two (2) bird strikes recorded, both Welcome Swallows.
· The LHI Aerodrome Manual is currently under review. Some slight changes have become necessary because of the IES restructure and changes in job titles.
· The LHI Aerodrome Bird and Wildlife Hazard Management Plan has been reviewed and some minor changes have become necessary because of the IES restructure and changes in job titles. The Plan will also allow more flexibility around the timing of the removal of the Blinky Dune Bunting. This plan forms a sub-plan within the LHI Aerodrome Manual.
· Grass is being prepared in remote areas of the aerodrome for turf harvesting for use in the stabilisation of new drainage channels created as part of the runway upgrade.
· The usual landscaping, grounds maintenance and mowing of the grass apron and parking areas program is ongoing.
Emergency Management
· The Local Emergency Management Committee (LEMC) has commenced transitioning the Interim LHI Emergency Management Plan to Full with a Risk Review being undertaken.
· A pamphlet is being produced by the LEMC for Residents and Visitors containing all Emergency Contact details on the Island.
· Air Ambulance patient retrievals year to date total eight (8), seven (7) of which were residents and one (1) was a visitor. All required treatment for illness. Patient retrievals for the same period in 2014 totalled nine (9), of which five (5) were residents – two (2) injury and three (3) illness; and four (4) were visitors - all requiring treatment for an illness.
Building Construction Maintenance and Management
· Rat baiting conducted at all Board premises and work areas in accordance with the Board’s rat baiting programme.
· The solar hot water panel located on the Jetty shed roof has deteriorated and has been disconnected making the solar panel redundant, but is still providing hot water to visiting sailors via an internal electric system. Replacement of the roof sheeting is scheduled but awaiting access to essential scaffold upon completion of the Old Power house demolition.
· The carpenter has repaired numerous holes around skirting area to reduce rodent entry.
· A new, more centrally located garbage and recycling station is under construction at the north-eastern grassed area of Ned’s Beach. The original site was badly affected by mutton-bird holes causing the concrete slab to sink. An additional wood fired BBQ will be installed once the old concrete slab is removed. The new site, closer to the roadway will provide better service for BBQ areas located on each side of the roadway.
· A new garbage and recycling station has been completed near the walking track entrance to Blinky Beach. The original station location was prone to large sand build up making servicing the station very difficult.
· A substantial length of fencing and posts has been replaced along the southern and western boundaries for the oval fence. The reason for the replacement was due to the age of the timber.
· The demolition and replacing of the Government house laundry building is underway. Demolition is complete and construction will commence the week of 11 May
· The fencing on the southern side of the Aquatic Club was removed by persons unknown. The fencing was relocated by staff and heavily concreted to prevent reoccurrence.
· The carpenter has re-fixed fence palings at the airport terminal. It is planned to apply additional fixing to all fence palings as children climbing up onto the fence to view arriving aircraft are causing original fastenings to fatigue and fail.
· A new wind sock was installed on the existing post at the most southerly airstrip position.
Marine Facilities
· The boat ramp surface and jetty steps were treated for marine growth in April. The installation of non slip treads of the jetty steps located below high water mark is partially complete. The installation of the remaining treads is scheduled for mid May as the task can only be undertaken at low tide that occurs during working hours.
· High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) fendering is currently being researched to fender the piles on the southern side of the jetty. This heavy commercial grade product will accommodate the Island Trader and greatly reduce wear and tear to the timber/steel poles/piers. The Board and Island Trader management are working together to install something that meets the ship’s requirements.
· On 14 April 2015, the swimming pontoon broke its mooring during overnight adverse weather conditions. The pontoon was washed up in the vicinity of Flagstaff Point. The pontoon was relocated to the Board depot for repair. One of the two external alloy fixing brackets had failed along with a mooring shackle. A new eight (8) point 316 grade stainless steel fixing system is currently being custom manufactured, with delivery expected in mid May 2015. The swimming pontoon with new mooring system is scheduled for re-launch at the end of May.
Roads, Parks and Visitor Facilities
· The road repair at Cobby’s Corner is continuing. A new subsoil drain has been installed on the top side of the road to improve drainage once the level of the road has been increased. This project was due for completion mid-April however the grader suffered a starter motor failure. Due to the age of the machine a replacement starter motor took some time to locate and purchase. The new starter motor has arrived on the Island and will be installed soon to allow the road to be sealed in late May.
· 12 dangerous trees were removed from various locations on the island within the road reserve. The trees were removed without incident and with the assistance of local arborist Craig Wilson.
· Road side vegetation trimming was undertaken on Lagoon Road at the end of Mulley Drive. An area adjacent to Lovers Bay was trimmed below usual level and found to be dangerous due to the protruding Bully Bush limbs so a further trim was conducted to make safe. The remaining area will now be trimmed to normal levels to protect revegetated areas immediately in front of the road verge. When the revegetated area is more established in 6 months, the rest of the vegetation in the area will be trimmed to new levels or removed.
· All road side drainage areas were cleared prior to recent heavy rainfall. This allowed all drainage areas to operative effectively throughout the period of heavy rainfall.
· An intensive clean and clearing of Mulley drive was recently undertaken to clear the road of debris which had caused the roadway to become very slippery and hazardous.
· A new electric BBQ is planned to be installed at The Pines before the end of June to supplement the two existing wood fired BBQs. The unit will be identical to the Ned’s Beach electric BBQ.
General items
· Monthly mosquito vector monitoring for the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service has been undertaken with samples sent off for analysis and weekly checks undertaken of the sites.
· Implementation of the LHIB Drinking Water Quality Assurance Program has commenced.
· Management of LHIB drinking water supplies has been undertaken, including installation and maintenance of tanks, gutters, pipe work, first flush systems and pumps.
· Sand in front of the Pinetrees boatshed was replenished on 2 occasions in April, and due to the dozer being unavailable, the excavator was used.
· The purchase of a new crane is still being investigated. It is likely that the crane will be delivered to the Island as part of the demobilisation of the Runway project equipment in July \ August.
· Several staff attended a one day leadership development course conducted by Judy Hatswell. Staff who were interested in some career development were identified and offered the opportunity to attend the course.
· Recruitment has been completed for a temporary Field Officer in the Works Unit through until 30 June 2014, with Damian Ball being successful. The two new ongoing Team Leader positions were filled in April by Kate Dignam and Jim McFadyen.
· Wastewater system design continues for separate systems at the Public Hall, Jetty sheds and the Airport Terminal.
WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY
· See attached charts for end of April 2015 comparisons for WMF data. The main observations are listed below, however it is difficult to highlight any clear trends.
o Diversion from landfill remains at 85%, is slightly below last year (86%) and our target of 90%.
o The amount of compost being processed is very similar to 2011/12 & 2012/13, but below 2013/14.
o The amount of recycling being processed is above 2011/12 & 2012/13, but below 2013/14, which was a very big year because of the amount of glass that left the Island.
o The amount of waste being processed remains slightly below 2011/12 & 2013/14, but above 2012/13.
Overview of activities
· General maintenance and service on all equipment has been undertaken.
· A new belt was fitted to the paper shredder conveyor
· The skirts on all of the recycle recovery conveyers have been renewed.
· Approximately 45m3 of oversized crushed glass has been re-crushed to produce three separate sellable grades of glass. All of the glass that is in stock at the WMF has been requested for sale to be used in concrete and for other uses. The remaining oversized (approx 30m3) will be re-crushed over the coming months as the tourist season slows down.
· Preparations are under way to clean out the compost windrow area on the foreshore at the WMF for Fulton Hogan to set up their asphalt batching plant for the runway project. The compost will be spread out along the adjoining foreshore area and re-vegetated with native plants and grasses.
· As reported for the last board meeting the LHIB assisted local businesses by way of purchasing in bulk, compostable takeaway containers. As a result of the introduction of theses containers we have seen a huge reduction in foam takeaway containers which has resulted with:
o Reduced waste costs to land fill
o Reducetransport cost to export waste to the mainland
o Reduced cost to sort waste at the WMF
o Better % waste diversion
· Winter operating hours commenced 11th May and will continue through to late September. Opening hours are:
o Monday 7am to 10am
o Wednesday 7am to 10am
o Saturday 7am to 10am
ELECTRICAL SERVICES UNIT
Operation of the Powerhouse and Reticulation System for the reporting period 4th March 2015 to 4th May 2015
Overview of Activities
· Routine maintenance on Generating Units 2 and 3 was completed.
· Routine maintenance on Generator no. 1, 2 and 3 battery banks was completed.
· Routine maintenance on Generator no. 1 battery charger was completed.
· Routine maintenance on Generator no.2 and 3 air circuit breakers was completed.
· Routine maintenance on substation No.3 Beachcomber and associated distribution pillars was completed.
· Supply load surveys were carried out on Substations No.3 Beachcomber and No.4 LHIB Workshop along with their associated distribution pillars. Distribution pillars were monitored for their voltage levels. Substations were monitored for maximum demand and voltage levels. All maximum demand and voltage levels in the surveyed areas were within acceptable limits
· The installation of new Cat 6 network and telephone cables to all computer and telephone points in the LHIB compound was completed.
Information for Board Members
· Energy demand for the reporting period was 377,000 kWh, which for the same period is:
o an increase of 6.49% on 2014
o an increase of 3.28% on 2013
o a reduction of 7.65% on 2012
o a reduction of 3.92% on 2011
· Fuel consumption for the reporting period was 95,150 L, which for the same period is:
o an increase of 7.81% on 2014
o an increase of 2.53% on 2013
o a reduction of 8.81% on 2012
o a reduction of 7.17% on 2011
· Fuel energy efficiency for the period was 3.96 kWh/L, which is 1.24% worse than the same period for the previous year
Reporting Period4th March – 4th May / Energy Demand
kWH / Fuel Usage
Litres / Fuel Efficiency kWH/litre
2015 / 377000 / 95150 / 3.96
2014 / 354000 / 88250 / 4.01
2013 / 365000 / 92800 / 3.93
2012 / 408240 / 104350 / 3.91
2011 / 392400 / 102500 / 3.82
· Presently there are approx. 91 kW of privately owned solar panels connected to the electrical distribution system.