- Company: HART Engineering Corporation
- Industry: Water/Wastewater
- Location: Webster, Massachusetts
- Expected Completion Date: April 30, 2015
- Project Website
The Webster, MA WWTF Improvements – Phase II is a $2 Million upgrade of the existing treatment facility Screenings, Grit Removal, Plant Water Pumping and Primary Sludge Pumping Systems. Each system was taken off-line, demolished, replaced and integrated without interruption to the treatment process or service to the public. The project was designed to replace outdated equipment with new versions offering increased energy efficiency, operator safety, automatic operation and remote monitoring capabilities.
What impact does this project have on America?
Clean water and protection of the river system and aquifer that the treatment plant effluent discharges to. Wastewater treatment is a vital component to protecting our environment, preserving natural resources and improving the quality of life for our neighbors!
What interesting obstacles or unusual circumstances did you overcome to complete the project?
Hart Engineering Corporation (HEC) worked closely with the various system and component manufacturers to design and fabricate equipment that would fit into the existing buildings’ access points to minimize costly structural modifications. The new forty-foot long screenings screw conveyor was fabricated in two sections and the solid spiral shaft was then welded in the field following installation and alignment verification. This conveyor transports compacted screenings from two independent washer compactors fed from the new screenings bar racks and discharges into a separate room passing through a CMU dividing wall. Proximity and phasing of the adjacent equipment required HEC to rig and install the upper most portion of the conveyor and leaving it in place for over two months until the lower portion could be installed.
What dangers and risks did you encounter, and describe any extraordinary methods used to keep workers safe?
Installation of the Grit Removal System required working for extended periods in a confined space. HEC confined space entry protocols included the implementation of daily meetings with the Treatment Facility personnel to ensure Contractor and Client work team activities were coordinated with one another. This coordination prevented cross-stacking of tasks, prevented the exposure of untrained team members to confined space risks and contributed to the project’s successful completion without injury, damage or interruption to the facility’s operational life-cycle.
How did you leverage new technologies to work faster and reduce waste?
HEC structured the Headworks Facility (Screenings, Grit Removal, and Plant Water Pumping Systems) construction schedule and subsequent commissioning schedule to enable the Owner to have beneficial use of the new equipment prior to the entire facility upgrade being online and integrated. This allowed us to turnover ownership of equipment very soon after completing installation and enabled us to reduce the duration of our warranty period and overall project completion date. We were also able to maintain a steady labor force and eliminate multiple mobilizations and demobilizations.
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