Perfect Hire supplied manpower for Freyssinet Australia’s cathodic protection contract at the Botany BLB1 facility.

Cathodic protection is a future-proofing exercise for mostly large, long, steel- or steel-containing structures to prevent them from corrosive destruction.

The hired workers need to meet the following requirements:

Reliable, physically strong, experienced demo guys;

Shorter stature if possible;

MSIC preferred;

Flexible with start times;

Pass a Cat 3 Medical;

As per our agreement, Freyssinet could hire workers directly at the end of 6 months.

Finally, 6 shorter-statured demo guys were chosen who began to work, in Perfect’s full rail-spec Personal Protective Equipment, and had all their tickets and ID. Additionally, within the day-to-day grind of the year-long job, there were several shutdown periods that needed a ramped-up workforce. So we would recruit up to 25 guys for two weeks straight of 12-hour days.

The scope of work for this project involved:

Cathodic protection;

Repairs many of the concrete elements;

Building and installation of complete catch deck, hence the need for shorter-statured demo guys who were physically strong for chasing and jackhammering overhead for most of the shift;

Works were at the mercy of the tides because the catch deck had a set height;

Using of electric jackhammers and chasers whilst working on wet scaff above the swell of the ocean, a massive mobile compressor was unveiled along with a fleet of pneumatic tools and, a whole rack of wet/drysuits;

Chasing and hammering those beams, headstocks, bridges, and catwalks to fall into pieces of concrete;

Loading out and hauling away old, million MPA old, million MPA concrete fell in pieces.

The cathodic protection project on the BLB1 wharf at Port Botany was completed. With good upkeep and management, NSW Ports should get another fifty years out of it. .