Engineered Linings, Cape Town, South Africa recently asked geosynthetica.net how prevalent was the practice of owners purchasing their own geosynthetic materials and then contracting an installer to install them, as opposed to the installer being requested to both supply and install the materials. To address this concern, Du Toit Viljoen mentioned that Peter Hardie had prepared a brief note to facility owners to indicate why they (EL) felt the single source option should be preferred. We asked if they would send us a copy of the note to publish with the aim of initiating some discussion. The note follows, with a little geosynthetica.net editing. Please send any other thoughts or comments to Geosynthetica Today.
Over the last 20 years that Engineered Linings has been in operation as a specialist lining supply and installation company, we have been through cycles where the clients and particularly the mining houses attempt to purchase their requirements of geomembrane liners directly from manufacturers and then have this material installed by an independent installation company.
The procurement department of the mine is taking on a whole lot of added responsibility by allowing a manufacturing company’s salesman to push them into selecting a liner system that will form an integral part of the operation of the mine. This liner is not only there to contain the gold bearing solution but also to act as an environmental protection system to prevent any leaking of the harmful chemicals into the environment.
The procurement department can only base their decision on price and more often than not this is where the problems start. Often the liner is simply purchased over the internet with no knowledge of what the product or the manufacturing plant looks like, what raw materials are used, what R&D had been done by the relevant parties and what quality control procedures are being followed.
Engineered Linings has a well established and extremely good track record, globally, with many clients and consultants, for providing a good quality product both supplied and installed at extremely competitive rates. The reason for this is that we will not take any chances on the material that we will be supplying and installing and subsequently guaranteeing. Prior to us accepting any material from a manufacturer, we will have at least 1 of our Directors visit the plant and complete an audit of the manufacturing facility. This will ensure to us that their MQA and MQC procedures are all in place and up to International Standard and that a quality liner will be produced. We will determine their source of raw material and the grade of raw material they will be using. We would still require all relevant testing procedures to be met according to international standards (GRI- GM13 for HDPE). We will ensure that all the correct additive packages from reputable producers are used in order to have a good quality, well manufactured liner.
A geomembrane liner can be compared with making a block of concrete: to have a good quality concrete, you need a good mix design, the correct sand cement ratio, slump, water content, aggregate size and grading as well as the correct mixing and vibrating procedures. A liner is very similar: Firstly the base resin has to be 100% correct, then there are a number of additives that are blended into the raw material all to ensure good UV resistance, good flexibility, good impact resistance, good elongation, good Environmental Stress Crack Resistance etc.
To fall into the trap and make the assumption that a geomembrane liner is simply a commodity that can be purchased over the internet is a recipe for disaster. The end user (the mine) stands to lose the most if any problems were to develop within the lined facility.
As an indication:
– From a program point of view, most West African projects that we have completed require a very tight program to fit within the weather window available. Should there be any delays with regards to the supply of the liner, who will be responsible if the project runs into the rainy season? Would the installer attempt to catch up on the program, as we have had to do in the past, by installing well over 12,000 sq meter per day?
– From a quantity point of view, who will be responsible for ensuring the correct amount of material has been purchased to cover all waste, overlaps, welded joints etc? Who will complete the panel layout, as this will determine the amount of waste that must be allowed? Who will ensure that the installer follows this layout and stays within the predetermined waste allowable? What happens if the liner runs out, who is responsible?
– What about welding rod, its MQC record, the compatibility of this with the liner and the quantities? This must be ordered from the same material that the liner is made from, who determines how much?
– The largest and most threatening problem comes from any failures of the liner system. Who will be responsible, the installer or the manufacturer? (Ed: will a liner installer provide a guarantee on his work if he has no control over the material with which he is working? Vice versa the reason why manufacturers have approved installers.)
We feel that those making purchasing decisions need to understand that expert involvement is critical in these applications for both the mining company’s long-term profit and the environment’s long-term protection. Supply and installation companies are quite qualified to be single point of responsibility partners. I know my company is. We’ve been in operation for over 20 years and have specialised in one task: the supply and installation of good quality liner to high risk facilities.
Peter Hardie
Marketing Manager
Engineered Linings
