Water Well Journal

February 2016

Water Well Journal

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Your FEEDBACK PROUD MOMENT I'm very proud to have been a small part of the team from Schramm Inc. that participated in this incredible accomplish- ment (2010 rescue of 33 Chilean miners). Its success was guar- anteed by putting together a multi-national team of experts that refused to give up until the job was done. Let's never forget what can be done when a group of dedicated professionals put their minds to a difficult task! The rescue project in Chile was by far my most memorable and gratifying experience of my long years (32-plus) at Schramm. Plan B! Greg Hillier Retired from Schramm Inc. in January 2015 West Chester, Pennsylvania Read WWJ's coverage of the Chilean mine rescue in its December 2010 issue. The award-winning article "Lending a Hand" by Senior Editor Mike Price details how the water well industry played a vital role and can be found in the NGWA Archives at www.NGWA.org. Search "Lending a Hand" to find the full article NGWA members can download for free. RULES OF CONTAINMENT REMINDER In the June 2015 article "Is Your Equipment Secure?" infor- mation on the rules of containment was needed: All tiedowns need to be certified by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This information can be found at www.fmcsa.dot.gov. Fred McAninch The Rig Doctors Indianapolis, Indiana AT THE MOVIES The drilling industry goes Hollywood as The 33 recounts the amazing 2010 rescue of the Chilean miners. By Thad Plumley and Wayne Beatty Antonio Banderas as Mario Sepúlveda looking for a way out of a collapsed mine in The 33. Photo by Douglas Kirkland. 26 January 2016 WWJ waterwelljournal.com A ndrews & Foster, a family-owned water well drilling company in Athens, Texas, reminds its employees to be aware of others on the road when they're securing their equipment and tools. Because proper load securement isn't just the law—it makes the roads safer for everyone. "Everybody in our company knows what we mean when we say it," says Dustin Kinder, general manager for Andrews & Foster. "We don't want to be put in a position where we didn't do everything we could to prevent other drivers from getting hurt. But it's not just other drivers who could be harmed if equipment isn't tied down correctly. An improperly secured load is dangerous for your driver, too. "When you hit those brakes and feel yourself coming forward in the seat belt, your load is doing the same thing; it's coming forward," says Jim Wright, safety director for National Exploration, Wells and Pumps in Shawnee, Kansas. "So when you're carrying things like drill pipe, casing, or anything that can slide easily when you hit the brakes, it can come through the cab of the truck and kill the driver." Even without injuries, mistakes are costly. Roadside viola- tions often result in tickets and fines for the driver and the company. Worse yet, if a piece of equipment comes loose during transport or falls off the truck, it could damage the equipment or cause costly property damage. It's everyone's responsibility to make sure loads are prop- erly secured. Here's what you need to know to keep everyone safe and in compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) cargo securement rules. What compliance officers look for When you go through a weigh scale or you get pulled over, officers are looking for the: • Number of tiedowns needed • Type of tiedowns used and their ratings IS YOUR EQUIPMENT SECURE? How to know the number of tiedowns you need. By Jennifer Strawn TIEDOWNS continues on page 28 Twitter @WaterWellJournl WWJ June 2015 27 (COVER STORY) The groundwater industry, with the world watching, reached out and helped rescue 33 Chilean miners. NGWA.org Water Well Journal December 2010 21/ By Mike Price T he stakes were high. Around the world, as people watched for months, the lives of 33 men hung in the balance. At the center of it all were members of the groundwater industry, playing key roles in the rescue effort. It wasn't the first time this industry has offered its expertise. Some might recall the nine trapped coal miners who were rescued after 78 hours eight years ago in Somerset, Pennsylvania. So it was 33 miners working in the San Jose mine in Copiapo, Chile, who became trapped 2297 feet underground when the mine collapsed on August 5. Hours after a wall in the gold and cop- per mine collapsed, Chile's government realized the mine's owners were ill- equipped to handle the rescue and re- quested the state-owned Codelco mining company take the lead. Codelco turned to Geotec Boyles Bros. S.A., a U.S.-Chilean company based in Santiago, Chile, to oversee the "Plan B" escape shaft, one of three drilling efforts taking place simultane- ously racing to reach the miners. James Stefanic, Geotec mine site operations manager, didn't hesitate in assembling "a top-of-the-line team" of drillers who were skilled at using the key equipment. This included 40-year-old Jeff Hart, operations manager for Layne Chris- tensen Co., a Mission Woods, Kansas- based firm. Hart was drilling water wells for the U.S. Army's forward oper- ating bases in Afghanistan when he an- swered the call to fly to Chile. Stefanic was reported as saying Hart was called "simply because he's the best" at drilling larger holes with wide- diameter drill bits. Joining Hart was Matt Staffel, an- other one of Layne Christensen's best drill operators, along with Doug Reeves and Jorge Herrera, Spanish-speaking employees from the firm's U.S. opera- tion. It was the first time Layne Chris- tensen was involved in a rescue effort of this magnitude. Part of the team were engineers from two Pennsylvania companies— Schramm Inc. of West Chester, which manufactures the T130XD drill, and Center Rock Inc. of Berlin, which man- ufactures the LP (low-profile) drilling tool. Mike Price is the associate editor of Water Well Journal. He can be reached at mprice@ngwa.org. Jeff Hart operated the Schramm T130XD drilling rig that led to the rescue of 33 Chilean miners. RESCUE/continues on page 22 %$$$# "#" Meets Buy America Act requirements. WITH EXCLUSIVE TEST-CAP TECHNOLOGY! SECURE SYSTEM Installing Geothermal HeatPump Systems is Now Faster and More Secure EarthLoops ™ Secure System starts with two industry favorites: Centennial Plastics' NSF/ANSI 358-1 certified Cenfuse Geothermal HDPE pipe, and Bullet ™ U-Bend fitting. Now, we offer an exclusive test-cap system with one-step air testing to make installation faster and more secure – all at no added cost! Our new test-cap system sets the gold standard of factory-sealing! , Built-in pressure valve lets you check loop pressure with a tire gauge and add air during field pressure tests. , By cutting installation time, the new Test-Cap System helps reduce labor costs! , EarthLoops ™ are factory-pressurized and sealed with our new Test-Cap System to assure the loops you install are free from leaks and contaminants. , Using Exclusive Patent Pending Technology. !# ™ "# $#"# #" 09-2013 WWJ February 2016 7 Twitter @WaterWellJournl

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