Construction World January 2016

CONSTRUCTION WORLD

JANUARY

2016

PROJECTS AND CONTRACTS

Many other firms – especially in the

geotechnical field where the logis-

tics of housing teams of people

and moving massive, special-

ised machinery in remote and challenging

conditions – have failed where Franki has

been unusually successful. The stories of the

latest contracts in Swaziland are examples

of this success and also demonstrate the

power of the Franki pile and of being part of

the Keller group.

Ninety-two thousand, five hundred

and seventy-two. That’s the total non-LTI

(Lost Time Incident) man hours worked

on the four Frankipile Swaziland contracts

that commenced in October 2014. The

human resources included a total of 74 local

labourers, who were employed on all the

contracts. The equipment included six Franki

piling rigs, three piling cranes, a service crane

and seven auger rigs.

Frankipile Swaziland submitted four

tenders in 2014, all of which were for the design

and construction of piled foundations. These

tenders were based on Pre-Drilled Driven

Cast-In-Situ piles (Franki piles), whereas the

competitors selected the Continuous Flight

Augur (CFA)-type pile.

Two of the tenders submitted were to

the Swaziland Ministry of Economic Planning

– one for the new International Conference

Centre (ICC) and the other for a new Five Star

Hotel (FISH) in Ezulwini. According to Franki

project manager, Devendra Lalbasanth, the

tenders submitted for both contracts incorpo-

rated the Franki pile as opposed to the CFA pile

alternatives submitted by competitors.

“These high profile contracts required low-risk

technical solutions,” says Lalbasanth, “and the

Franki pile provided the guarantees that were

sought by the professional team.”

International Conference

Centre

Of concern to most of the professional team

was Frankipile Swaziland’s ability to adhere

to the contractual programmes, should both

contracts be simultaneously awarded to them.

“We managed to allay these fears by stressing

the power of the backing of the greater Keller/

Franki Africa group, should additional resources

have been required,” Lalbasanth says.

As these contracts were to be undertaken

under the new Swaziland Construction Regu-

lations which stipulate that a Joint Venture

with a local construction company was

required, Frankipile Swaziland teamed up with

Roots Civils on both contracts.

The piling contract for the ICC called

for the installation of 1 562 No. Franki piles.

“One of the challenges encountered on this

project was the presence of boulders and

although this was highlighted during the bid

clarification, the actual quantity and extent

of the boulder formation were unexpected.

This complication was resolved through the

removal of near-surface boulders, coring

through the boulders with a Casagrande B180

piling rig, founding the pile on large boulders

or spanning the boulders in consultation with

the structural engineer,” says Lalbasanth.

The work was completed in May 2015 and

a working pile load test, which was under-

taken in the area where the soils were deemed

the poorest across the entire site, produced

highly favourable results. Pile Echo Testing

(PET) tests are being undertaken on every pile

as the main contractor excavates and correctly

trims each pile.

Five star hotel

Piling to the FISH Contract, which comprised

the installation of 1 016 No. Franki piles, was

completed in April this year. The conditions on

the FISH site were more favourable than those

encountered on the ICC site with a working

pile load test producing very favourable

results. The structural engineer appointed a

representative on site who monitored quality

and progress on a daily basis and Franki

continuously received positive feedback from

them on its performance including its adher-

ence to the stringent safety protocol. In addi-

tion, an external safety audit praised Franki’s

achievements in no uncertain terms which,

according to Lalbasanth, is testament to the

attitude and commitment of the site manage-

ment towards the safety and well-being of all

who were involved.

The other two jobs were for, firstly, the

Hlane bridge, which was awarded to Franki

by Inyatsi Construction in February 2015. This

project commenced in late March 2015 and

was completed within two weeks.

Secondly the MVA Head Office, in

Mbabane, where Franki was the lowest at

tender stage and, after further value engi-

neering, the client appointed Franki as the

piling subcontractor to Stefanutti Stocks. The

scope of works was to install a total of 252 No.

Franki piles of which 80% were tested using

the PET method. A working pile test was also

carried out and the results were well within the

acceptable criteria. This contract was success-

fully completed in early December 2014.

The Franki pile

The successful completion of work in Swazi-

SWAZI

CONTRACTS SHOW

company’s mettle

For years Franki Africa has shown its prowess in working

in Africa whether in the surrounding SADC region or even

further afield in countries tens of thousands of kilometres

from Franki’s base in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The site for the new international hotel and conference centre site in Ezulwini, Swaziland.