Bedourie State School, Oval Irrigation System

Project Responsibilities

Ago Vires were engaged to provide a ‘turn key’ automatic irrigation system to water the Bedourie State School playing field. This meant that Ago Vires were required to:

• Scope the project, identifying water supply volume and power supply available on site,
• Design the system to ensure enough storage was available and power supply was sufficient to irrigate the oval accordingly,
• Procurement, fabrication, logistics required to bring the project together,
• Installation of the project as a combined electrical, plumbing and irrigation contractor,
• Ensure fail safes were put in place to protect the system,
• Commission the system and provide a 12 month callback guarantee

Challenges

While Ago Vires are used to working in remote locations, it was the first time our business had worked in the Diamantina Shire. Initially we didn’t know how the community would accept our personnel because we didn’t know anybody, but after the first few days everybody was incredibly welcoming. We just needed to find the right person to talk to to find out information that was missing during the initial planning but this cannot be helped sometimes.

Once we locked in our accommodation; had a game plan for the construction, then it was just up to our great personnel to bring the project to life. Always with the aim of completing the work during a holiday period so to ensure there were no possible concerns with construction affecting the children’s education.

Solutions Provided

Ago Vires were able to provide a remote ‘turn key’ service that included:

• Project management
• Electrical, plumbing & irrigation design
• Fixed ‘lump sum’ quote
• Turn key project construction (during school holidays)
• Flexible construction team
• Backup service in case anything happens

Our companies focus was providing such a perfect solution for such a remote location. Usually contractors that visit to perform work in these regions don’t really understand the community and what it means to provide a ‘promise’. They normally turn up for work but they don’t really care after they leave. Well, this was the last thing on our mind when we took on this project and we are extremely proud to say that we’ve stood by our commitment and assisted Bedourie State School through their project implementation.

Lessons Learnt

It is sometimes difficult to foresee challenges when a project of its kind hasn’t been completed in the location for which you intend it to be undertaken. With this in mind:

• we mitigated the risk of water inlet valve corrosion/failure and implemented a dry run protection system for the pump.
• we preset the irrigation shutoff valves to ensure overpressure of the system was reduced by synchronising solenoid systems,
• we came across underground services that were not known and fixed them as it happened,
• we needed to be aware of the sand drift that can occur within a 6 hour period in the desert,
• we established a logistics network to mitigate time lag in requiring additional components on short notice,
• we made sure that we supported the local community.

Additional Project Information

The project was part of a grant application that required a quick turnaround to avoid acquittal problems; this meant that Ago Vires had to fast track the construction process and ensure a timely and professional ‘turn-key’ approach. It required strategic involvement from the customer, our suppliers and our entire construction team to bring this project together. We are thrilled to be able to provide services to the communities we enjoy working with. Thankyou Bedourie State School!!

If you would like to consult Ago Vires for your project please call our team on 07 4655 3037