Storm PipePost-Installation Inspection

Douglas Holdener, P.E.

Florida Region Engineer

Rinker Materials Concrete Pipe Division

Storm PipePost-Installation Inspection

Are You Inspecting or Neglecting?

Storm PipePost-Installation Inspection

Douglas Holdener, P.E.

Florida Region Engineer

Rinker Materials Concrete Pipe Division

Who currently requires newly installed storm pipes to be inspected?

Engineering Standards Manual, City of Orlando, 4th Edition, March 9, 2009, http://www.cityoforlando.net/public_works/esd/records/files/ESM.pdf.

Section 430-4.8, Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction, Florida Department of Transportation, January 2013, http://www.dot.state.fl.us/specificationsoffice/Implemented/SpecBooks/2013/2013BK.shtm.

FDOT SSRBC Section 430

Article VI, Design Standards and Improvement Requirements, Land Development Code, St. Johns County, Florida, September 4, 2012, http://www.co.st-johns.fl.us/LongRangePlanning/LandDevCode.aspx.

Standard Development Notes, Brevard County Public Works Engineering, October 2012, http://www.brevardcounty.us/PublicWorks/Engineering.

How are you inspecting?(video, profilers, mandrels, lamps?)

Crack Measurement

8% Deflection

Is it less important to inspect private systems versus public systems?

http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/clerk/briefs/2010/2201-2400/10-2336_Rep.pdf

Florida Supreme Court Docket Search, SC10-2292 and SC10-2336, http://jweb.flcourts.org/pls/docket/ds_docket_search%20.

Development: Gateway Shoppes & Marketplace Commons, US 41 near Old 41, Naples, Florida.

Photo: Pavement collape, storm pipe installation failure, August 2007.

What do you gain by not inspecting?

What is risked?

What is the value of inspection?

60-inch Flexible Storm Pipe Deformation and Replacement with RCP, Terminal 10, Port Canaveral, Oct 2010

Flexible Storm Pipe Replaced with RCP, Terminal 10, Port Canaveral, Oct 2010

Do all contractors install all the pipe properly and per the specification?

Is the soil embedment specified always right for the pipe type used?

If it looks like a concern today,how will it look tomorrow?

Storm PipePost-Installation Inspection

• Imminent failure / structurally significant issues less common

• Many issues not significant

• Most issues repairable

• FDOT / AASHTO guidelines

• Wouldn’t you rather know upfront?

Contractor Perspectives

• Quality contractors in favor of final inspection

• Want reasonable, timely resolutions

• Define functional vs. cosmetic concerns

• Expected to execute based on EORs’ specifications

• Expect justified designs, not material substitutions

Where it’s heading

• Video inspection reviews– CEIs and / or Engineer of Record– Even city and private projects

• Verify performance with engineer’s design• Contractors challenging design• Defining functional vs. cosmetic issues• Material-specific designs and specifications

– Geotechnical

• Pre-Construction Meetings– Better communication

I’m Sparing My Client the Expense of Pipe Inspection.

Post Installation Inspection Prices

• $1.00 to $1.50 per linear foot

• Dewatering and Some Cleaning/Jetting

• Contractor has trench dewatered already

• ~ 1 to 2% of total cost

Costs of Real Settlements / Replacements

• $3,300,000 (11,000 ft. pipe, 36 – 60 inch)

• $325,000 (400 ft. 60-inch pipe)

• $47,500 (120 ft. 48-inch pipe)