How we helped staff at a Cairns Power Station save hours of time

The Problem

A hydroelectric power station located inland of Cairns is home to two 33 MW electricity generators, with the capacity to produce a reliable clean energy supply for Queensland.

The maintenance crew at the power station were traditionally using monkey wrenches and manual handling to regularly open and close the two 600mm Gate Valves at the top weir of the gorge.

This process routinely took two staff the best part of a day to complete, and the manual handling aspect put staff at risk of potential musculoskeletal injuries.

The power station needed to find a better solution to help its maintenance crew perform this task more efficiently and with less safety risk.

Our Solution

Upon request from Stanwell’s maintenance management team, Kye Callaghan and Roy White, both from Cadia Group, visited the Barron Gorge site to complete a demo of our Hurco Spin Doctor HH200 Valve Actuator.

The Hurco Spin Doctor HH200 is a convenient, easy-to-operate, and completely portable tool for opening and closing hydrants and valves while conducting testing and flushing operations.

This convenient battery-operated valve tool is powered by a long-life Milwaukee motor, providing up to 270 Nm (200 lb. ft) of torque to remove manual handling stress and prevent fatigue. Designed to operate valves at a safe, constant speed, it delivers better efficiency and safety to maintenance teams.

The Result

With the use of the HH200, we were able to open and close the two 600mmm valves twice each in less than 30 minutes. This has cut labour time by several hours and has also considerably reduced the amount of manual handling required in this routine task.

For information on how Jaybro can help make your worksite more efficient, get in touch with our team.