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MEDIA 2019

INGENUITY // OPPORTUNITY

MPC Kinetic pays tribute to Pilbara with new truck

17 December 2019

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Last week crews hit the road to unveil MPC Kinetic’s new OreSight Mineral Logging truck with the help of the Nullagine community and our client, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG). 

It follows the company’s inaugural Paint your Pilbara art competition which asked students to submit an art piece that reflects how they see their backyard – the Pilbara!  

The special visit gave Shianne of Nullagine Primary School the chance to see her artwork on the logging truck after being crowned one of MPC Kinetic’s “Paint your Pilbara” art competition winners.

With more than 60 entries, Shianne’s artwork stood out among a vote from MPC Kinetic staff and crew, winning her a $500 art prize pack, and her school a $500 prize, to be used for any equipment the school may need.

Shianne’s artwork titled “People Working Together” represents the land in which she belongs and lives.

MPC Kinetic takes out National Earth Award 

27 November 2019

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The Wentworth to Broken Hill Pipeline Project (W2BH) has taken out top honours
at the Civil Contractor Federation’s National Earth Awards.

W2BH, which earlier this year won the Federation’s NSW State Earth Award, went head to head with three other finalists from Victoria, Northern Territory and South Australia for the National Award.

The 270km water lifeline for Broken Hill was successfully delivered on time and budget by joint venture partners MPC Kinetic and John Holland with client WaterNSW.

A panel of judges commended the W2BH delivery team for their innovative construction methods; focus on industry best safety standards; their record-breaking production rates and exceeding all social performance targets on local content, employment and Aboriginal engagement and training.

Congratulations to all the MPC Kinetic project team members who helped
deliver W2BH!

MPC Kinetic Project Manager takes out APGA honours

22 October 2019

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MPC Kinetic’s Brendan McGuckin last week received the Australian Pipeline and Gas Association’s (APGA) 2019 Young Achievement Award in Adelaide.

The APGA acknowledged Brendan for his innovation, communication and leadership he demonstrated as Project Manager for the Tanami Natural Gas Pipeline Project.

Chief Operations Officer of Construction, Tony O’Sullivan congratulated Brendan on the well-deserved win.

“Brendan, or ‘Benny’ as he is known around here, has been a great asset to our team since joining us seven years ago as a Quantity Surveyor,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“He’s a real success story, working his way up the ranks to lead one of the most challenging projects of 2018, in the middle of the Tanami Desert and in some of the harshest and challenging conditions we’ve ever faced as a business.

MPC Kinetic helps turn Wandoan Pink

20 October 2019

MPC Kinetic partnered Shell QGC to join Wandoan’s Pink Up Your Town campaign, aimed at raising awareness and funds for the McGrath Foundation.

Much of the town turned pink for the cause and so did MPC Kinetic's project team. 

Kitted out in pink PPE, all of the ladies working on the project took time out of their schedules to support the event, donating prizes and assisting the Wandoan Community Commerce & Industry Assoc set up the market stores.

The event was a great success, raising much needed funds to assist the McGrath Foundation continue to place breast care nurses in regional communities, such as Wandoan, as well as the rest of Australia.

MPK's support for this event was prominent and well received with many positive comments and emails being received from the Wandoan community. 

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Team effort results in global recognition 

8 August 2019

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A collaborative effort by our Field Team, IS&T and Quality, has earnt MPC Kinetic praise on a global scale, following the development and implementation of a sophisticated electronic weld data system.

MPC Kinetic took out Shell’s Global Quality Recognition Award for Q2 in 2019 for the system, which provides a more efficient way of capturing weld quality reports
in real-time to improve productivity and reduce waste.

With crews carrying out more than 40,000 welds over the past two years across Shell QGC’s CSG fields in the Surat Basin, the solution eliminates the need for the manual transfer of data, which previously required staff having to travel long distances to site offices.

The innovation was developed by field crews and supported by the company’s IS&T and Quality teams, who engineered the system to fully comply with strict quality controls.

MPC Kinetic Project Manager Bruce Bryen congratulated the teams involved in the successful implementation of the system, and said the award win had not only earned the team due recognition, but had also put MPK on the global stage.

MPC Kinetic's drought-proofing effort recognised with Project of the Year win

17 June 2019

The team behind the delivery of a 270km water lifeline that drought-proofed the city of Broken Hill, was recognised by industry at this year’s New South Wales Civil Construction Federation (CCF) Earth Awards.

The Joint Venture team of MPC Kinetic and John Holland took out Project of the Year at last Friday’s awards in Sydney, and the project will now move on to CCF’s National Awards to be held in Canberra in November.

The 12-month project, which was delivered ahead of schedule and under budget, entailed construction of a 270km steel water pipeline from the River Murray at Wentworth to the iconic city of Broken Hill, as well as four large-scale pump stations and a 720 megalitre bulk water storage.

MPC Kinetic CEO John Smith welcomed the award win and said the positive industry recognition for the massive effort by the MPC Kinetic and John Holland team onthe ground, was only surpassed by the immense social and economic benefits the secure and sustainable water supply would bring to the people of Broken Hill.

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“This New South Wales Government investment into regional water supply security is not only drought-proofing Broken Hill, but also underpinning this iconic city’s long-term future for generations to come,” Mr Smith said.

“It was a challenging project to deliver, given the dire water shortages being experienced in Broken Hill and short timeframe to complete it, but our Joint Venture’s close collaboration with WaterNSW saw us rally together as one team, to ensure this water lifeline came to fruition.

 

“The Joint Venture team had a critical deadline to meet, and it was efforts like our crews laying an amazing 7.3km of pipe in a single day, that ensured the project not only stayed on schedule, but was actually completed ahead of time.   
 

“It takes a very focused team to deliver a project like this, and I’m pleased to see the MPC Kinetic and John Holland people behind its successful completion have been recognised by their industry peers,” he said.

Mr Smith said MPC Kinetic was proud to play its part, in what was the New South Wales Government’s largest single investment on record, for regional water supply security.

Broken Hill drought-proofed after 270km water pipeline turned on

12 April 2019

The people of Broken Hill have a secure water supply for generations to come thanks to a drought proofing 270-kilometre water pipeline.

It follows a successful build by MPC Kinetic and Joint Venture partner John Holland, which constructed the $467 million Wentworth to Broken Hill Pipeline (W2BH) project, ahead of schedule and in an industry-record time of just ten months.

Developed by WaterNSW, the project was designed to drought-proof the iconic mining town, which for decades had been hit by crippling drought and often left struggling with critically-low water supplies.

MPC Kinetic General Superintendent, John Carolan said the project team battled some challenging conditions to ensure the critical water lifeline was delivered and capable of supplying up to 37.4ML of water every day to the residents of Broken Hill.

 

“It took more than 22,000 pipe lengths and 500 people to complete the pipeline, which also included a 720ML bulk water storage and four large-scale pump stations,”
Mr Carolan said.


“Building a project of this magnitude in industry-record time, meant mobilising Australia’s only specialised fleet of machinery from our Brisbane yards to ensure optimum productivity at all times, but most importantly, deliver it safely,” he said. 


During the Wentworth to Broken Hill project more than 150 local jobs were created, which also included tailored training programs aimed at further developing the skills and experience of the local workforce. 


Mr Carolan said the success of the project was in part, due to the strong relationships with local communities. 


“The project injected more than $50 million into the region’s economy through our use of local businesses wherever possible, and this in turn created further employment opportunities for local people.


“However, what I see as the most beneficial social outcome while delivering this pipeline, is the traineeship program provided to 18 young locals - 16 of which were local Aboriginal youth.


“This tailored program saw our trainees gain, not just on-the-job experience, but also a Certificate II in Civil Construction, which they have since used to gain career opportunities in other industries within the region,” he said.


Mr Carolan said pipeline delivery aside, none of the positive socio-economic outcomes would have come to fruition without the solid and genuine commitment made by W2BH construction partner John Holland and the WaterNSW team.

MPC Kinetic delivers in the harshest environments

27 March 2019

MPC Kinetic’s team of 700 people has delivered a 440-kilometre cross-desert gas pipeline on budget and ahead of schedule.

The $100 million+ project, located 160 kilometres west of Alice Springs, took six months to construct and is now delivering gas supplies to Newmont’s Granites Mine. 

The pipeline was developed by Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) and required a comprehensive route investigation and extensive collaboration with stakeholders, such as Traditional Owners, Landowners and Government agencies.

MPC Kinetic’s Tanami Project Manager, Brendan McGuckin said it was a huge undertaking in harsh and challenging conditions, but AGIG’s early consultation and land access approval process, ensured a seamless transition from planning
to work crews mobilising to site.

“It took more than 25,000 pipe lengths, 250 pieces of equipment and a dedicated team spread across four camps to connect the existing Amadeus Gas Pipeline to Newmont’s Granites Mine,” Mr McGuckin said.

“The project was so vast more than 8 million kilometres were clocked up across our fleet during the project.

“Our crews worked seamlessly throughout the entire project to not only bring the project in ahead of time and on budget, but importantly incident free, meaning no lost time injuries,” he said.

During the Tanami project more than 50 local jobs were created, which also included tailored training initiatives aimed at further developing the skills and experience of the local workforce.

In one instance, a young Yuendumu local who participated in the on-the-job training program, is continuing his career path with MPK and is now working on projects in South-West Queensland. 

Mr McGuckin said the success of the project was in part, due to the strong relationships that MPK and AGIG built with local communities.

“Supporting local indigenous artists and the sporting teams were just some of the ways we were able to all work together to make the project a reality.

“We care about our people and the local communities we work in, meaning where possible, we procured product and services via local businesses, injecting $27.9 million into local economies.

“For MPC Kinetic, the Tanami project has been a great initiation project into the Northern Territory and a proud achievement for our dedicated, hard-working people,” he said. 

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