Assembly, Commissioning, Training and Paving - Gaborone Airport Project (Botswana)
13th November 2008
October and November have been significant months for the runway extension project at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, Gaborone, Botswana.
Early October saw the arrival of the Gomaco Commander III slipform paver and TC 600 Texturing and Curing machine in South Africa.
The contractor was determined to ensure that exposure to the machine was maximized across its technical staff, and the two machines were fully assembled by contractor staff (directed and supervised by the GOMACO Service Engineer) at their impressive Midrand workshop premises.
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Assembly of the TC 600 in Midrand |
On completion, the two machines were transformed into transport mode and driven on low bed transporters to Gaborone, Botswana, directly to the job site for ease of assembly and maximization of training opportunity.
In mid-October, training of the operators and maintainers continued with eight days of intensive practical and theoretical training conducted by the GOMACO Director of training. Commissioning of the system was done concurrently, which enhanced the learning process for all involved.
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Practical Training on the Commander |
The first test slab was laid by the Commander III on Saturday 25 October, under the watchful eye of project engineers, the contractor management team and the GOMACO Director of training and service engineer.
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25 Oct 08 |
It was made very clear to the entire project team that a consistent product (in this case a consistent concrete slab) was the result of consistency in Material, Delivery, Head Pressure, Vibration and Machine Speed. It is toward this goal that the contractor team continually strives.
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Side bar inserters test is successful |
Paving work has commenced on the isolation apron, an ancillary job to the runway, which is allowing the project team to fine tune all of their processes and procedures prior to the commencement of the main task at hand, being the runway extension, due to commence in early 2009.
We wish the contractor all strength and fortitude toward successful, on-time completion of this project.
Meckow Ltd and our warranty engineers are standing by to assist as and when necessary, to ensure continued machine serviceability.
