What many people may not know is that the drillers and engineers of Boart Longyear have been involved in some exciting historical drilling projects in a variety of other applications, too. Drilling equipment for moon exploration is one such example (read Drilling Beyond Earth); but closer to home, the company has assisted with projects to explore and define foundation and structural integrity below the earth or even under bodies of water.

In the late 1920s, members of the Longyear team were contracted to test drill the route of a proposed vehicular tunnel under the East River to connect Manhattan to Brooklyn in New York, USA. The tunnel was intended to reduce transportation congestion due to the slow and unreliable ferry service that existed at the time. The Longyear company provided preliminary boring samples used to determine what was beneath the surface of the river. Characterizing the samples’ type of rock and its hardness allowed geologists and engineers to determine what equipment should be used for tunneling, how long it should take, and at what cost. Although the initial tunnel project didn’t receive support and funding, it laid the groundwork for a later project—the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel—which was started in 1940 and opened in May of 1950.

A similar challenge of traversing a wide body of water required assistance from the Longyear team in 1929. Joseph B. Strauss, a visionary engineer, was tasked with his team to design the proposed Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, USA. As chief engineer, Strauss requested the services of Longyear to investigate the rock formations beneath the San Francisco Bay where the bridge would be constructed. Longyear started boring in the Bay in November 1929 along the sites of the proposed piers and anchorages. [i]

Due to the turbulent waters of the channel, the drillers had to be creative as to how they would retrieve the core samples beneath the tumultuous surface. Strauss was big on safety, requiring bridge workers use safety lines, work over safety nets, and even wear some of the first hard hats. The Longyear crew constructed a platform over the water supported by a boom—an A-frame—and guy-wires anchored to the shore. The platform allowed the team to suspend their drilling equipment securely on top and safely above the bay. Despite the problems of deep water, ocean traffic, storms, and tidal movement, the team was able to finish the work on schedule with complete core sample recovery.

The geological samples and subsequent data supplied to Strauss proved that the rock formations could bear the weight of the foundations and enable the huge bridge structure to be built. The information was provided in a full report to the board of engineers in February 1930 and the bridge was determined to be “feasible economically and structurally.”

This great news meant Strauss and his design team could move on to the next phases of engineering and constructing the Golden Gate Bridge. In gratitude for Longyear’s contribution, Strauss wrote, “The work done by your company, having been entirely satisfactory, and the relations between us and your drillers having been cordial and pleasant, I am glad to make immediate payment of the balance due.” [ii]  

Payments received by the company totaled close to $15,000 for the boring contract. It wasn’t for another three years (January 1933) that construction began and a groundbreaking ceremony for the bridge was held. The Golden Gate Bridge was completed in May 1937 at a total cost of $35,500,000.

Click below images to view larger.

From left to right

Images 1 and 2: “Engineers Speed Plans for Golden Gate Bridge” - A Pacific Street and Road Builder article from March 1930 stating “test borings reveal solid rock foundations and showing a photo of boring operations at the Lime Point side of the bridge in Marin County, California.

Image 3: “Borings Started for Gate Span” – Photos shows in the Vallejo California Chronicle, Sebastopol California Times, and Cresent City Triplicate newspapers on November 29, 1930. The article shows a photo of Longyear’s diamond-tipped drills used for bore sampling the rock at the San Francisco end of the bridge, next to Fort Point.

Image 4: “Getting Down to Bedrock” – A San Francisco Examiner article, dated February 14, 1930, picturing engineers, including Strauss, inspecting boring samples from the Golden Gate Bridge project.

A truck-mounted LS600 sonic rig taking core samples near a dam site.

Shortly after the Golden Gate boring project, the Longyear company became involved with drilling projects for the construction of hydro dams around the country. In the 1930s, Longyear drillers did test borings for several of the twenty planned dams under the jurisdiction of the Tennessee Valley Authority. These dams were part of a comprehensive plan for the reclamation and development of the Tennessee River—covering an area of more than forty thousand square miles and over seven states.[iii]

Later twentieth-century construction-type projects for Longyear drillers included boring for core samples for the Missouri River Project, and the first foundation test borings for the Fort Peck Dam in Montana—the project’s first major hydro dam.

Today, Boart Longyear continues to assist with construction and rehabilitation projects around the world using even more advanced technologies and equipment. The company regularly uses sonic drilling technologies which are ideal for avoiding many of the challenges experienced with conventional drilling methods.

Sonic drilling offers quality control in conjunction with the production and installation of geotechnical construction elements. The sonic method can actually eliminate the need for circulation-type drilling allowing the driller to work safely in situations that involve sensitive structures, vulnerable site conditions, difficult geology, or have restrictive conditions. Sonic drilling also provides measurements and samples to evaluate actual conditions across a given site during the progress of exploration and construction.

A few examples of Boart Longyear’s sonic drilling assistance with tunnel, bridge, and hydro dam projects in the twenty-first century include: [iv]

• Casing installation for the Boston Central Artery / Tunnel Project CO9A4, Massachusetts, USA. As part of the process of installing three jacked tunnels under the 13 railroad tracks at South Station in Boston, specialized sonic drilling was used to install casing through some of the most difficult combinations of historical fill materials—steel rails, brick tanks, woodpiles, granite seawalls, reinforced concrete slabs, track ballast rock, clay, stratified sands, till and weathered bedrock.

• Installation of a grout curtain at Clearwater Dam in Missouri, USA. The project required a drilling method with the ability to penetrate and sample both the body of the dam and its foundation without the use of air or water circulation. Sonic drilling was used to investigate a deep sinkhole and affected a remedial plan involving drilling 15-degree battered grout holes through embankment fill to construct a grout curtain.

• Sonic drilling comparison for a tunnel design pilot study on the Combined Sewer Overflow Control program, Anacostia River Project in Washington DC. Sonic drilling was used to perform continuous soil coring with approximately 100% core recovery and careful installation of multiple piezometers.

• Micro-pile installation testing near the Holland Tunnel in New Jersey, USA. Sonic drilling was compared with conventional drilling to advance micro-piles through silty sand overburden, overlying till, and schist. Not only was the sonic drilling 33% quicker for installation of the micro-piles, waste was also eliminated to nearly the volume of the sonic core, which minimized disposal costs. 

Bridges, tunnels, dams, and even buildings are all safer because of the work done to investigate, test, and secure the foundations. Although considered a small contribution to these engineering marvels, Boart Longyear employees are proud of the heritage the company has earned and its involvement in each part of history.

For more information on Boart Longyear’s construction drilling capabilities, including sampling core, anchoring, micro-piling, jet grouting, and ground freezing, visit the overburden and construction tooling section.

[i] https://www.goldengate.org/bridge/history-research/bridge-construction/joseph-strauss/

[ii] Edmund J Longyear, and Walter R Eastman. 1984. “The Mesabi and Beyond”; Pg 181

[iii] Edmund J Longyear, and Walter R Eastman. 1984. “The Mesabi and Beyond”; Pg 192

[iv] George R Burnhart, Boart Longyear Technical paper. 2006. “Sonic Drilling Offers Quality Control and Non-Destructive Advantage to Geotechnical and Construction Drilling on Sensitive Infrastructure Sites.”

Golden Gate Bridge Photos from historical records, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District and found here https://www.goldengate.org/exhibits/engineering-the-design/

Golden Gate Bridge Photo courtesy of Umer Sayyam

The COVID-19 outbreak and how it affects everyone’s health and safety is of huge concern for Boart Longyear. Being in an industry that already has many risks due the nature of drilling and manufacturing, employees have learned that fostering a safety culture means that no matter what they do, they always need to take time to make safety part of their daily activities*.

As everyone grapples with the changes and the unfortunate consequences we are seeing and are personally affected by, it is good to take a deep breathe and re-evaluate what you are doing to keep yourself and your loved ones safe and healthy.

The web is full of helpful information on what to look for, how to act, how to respond, and how to give assistance. In regard to the drilling industry, we recently came across this well written article published online by National Driller magazine.

In the article, author Brock Yordy asks, “How do we prepare for abnormal operating conditions?” and responds with, “We start by creating a procedure that minimizes the hazard and prepares our crews to be safe. Next, we implement that procedure by training our people. Finally, we review our procedures and continue to improve as new information arises.” 

Mr. Yordy goes on to compliment the drilling community as we all pull together to provide each other information and figure out the best ways to tackle this crisis. With his research, he interviewed Jeff Williams, former National Ground Water Association (NGWA) president. Mr. Williams and other industry experts have created a guideline for operating procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. We highly recommend you read this interview and review the findings and procedures set forth.

Read the full National Driller article and excerpts from Mr. Yordy’s interview with Mr. Williams here: What are Best Practices for Drillers During the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Stay safe everyone!

*The employees of Boart Longyear have long prided themselves on a robust safety culture. Embodying a core value of “Safety First” is evident in the company’s recent 2019 safety achievement with the company hitting an incredible milestone of 14.5 million consecutive man-hours worked with no Lost Time Injuries (LTI), and 18 months completely LTI-free. 

Boart Longyear’s Response to COVID-19

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak is an increasing concern for Boart Longyear.

The health and safety of our customers and employees is our top priority, and we have implemented several controls in order to manage the situation and reduce the risk of exposure.

We are actively monitoring the situation with the guidance provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Our approach will be to risk assess situations, find solutions that have the least impact to operations and to ensure the health and safety of our shared workforce within the constraints of the specific location.

We encourage you to contact your Boart Longyear representative to discuss any concerns, should you have any.

You can count on Boart Longyear to continue providing the level of service you have come to expect throughout this challenging time. We remain committed to serving you and helping you with all your drilling services, equipment, tooling, quality parts, and other drilling-related needs.

Sincerely,

Boart Longyear Team

Recommended Reading: Establishing proper drilling procedures during COVID-19

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Martin Rivet is the Director of Engineering for Drilling Services at Boart Longyear. Growing up in Haileybury, Ontario, he took an early interest in the mining industry, joining the company at age 16 as a mechanic’s assistant. He continued his education earning a degree in mechanical engineering and with his gained experience took on new positions as an engineer, an EHS professional, a product manager, and most recently, the director of the Drilling Services engineering team. Martin now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah working on global engineering projects, including the development and implementation of TruProductivity.

Our host, Jon Peterson (Geo Jon for fun), works for the Products division as a Customer Service Representative. Jon graduated from the University of Utah in 2015 with his Bachelors of Science in Geology. He’s worked for Boart Longyear for the last two and a half years and interned as a geologist with an exploration company for about six months prior to coming to work for Boart Longyear. Jon has been married for a year and a half and in his free time enjoys trail running, hiking, working on his yard, spending time with family, and playing with his black lab Dexter. 

We would love to hear your questions and comments below. Thanks for listening and if you liked this episode, share it on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. 

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Born and raised in Colac, Victoria, Australia, Lyn had an older brother and a younger sister, and always wanted to be different thanks to growing up with “middle child syndrome”. What once started as a desire to be a graphic designer and work in fashion design gradually changed to drilling. We sat down with Lyn Ferrari to find out more about her path to becoming a driller, her current experiences, and what it’s like to be the only driller in Australia working for Boart Longyear.

Boart Longyear: “When did you first decide you wanted to become a driller?”

Lyn Ferrari: “My Pop had a cattle farm in Beeac (just outside Colac) where he ran Murray Grey Cattle. When I was 14, my Pop taught me how to break the cattle in and I started showing them at local cattle shows where I won a few ‘Best in Show’. This led me to work for TeMania Angus, which led me up to Gyranda Station near Cracow in Queensland.

Gyranda specialized in Santa Gertrudis and just by chance, some Boart Longyear employees were drilling out on the station. The station employed a number of Jillaroo’s (female stockmen) and the Boart Longyear guys jokingly referred to the station as McLeod’s Daughters (which is a reference to a 90’s Australian TV drama about a farmer and his three daughters located on an outback property). The Boart Longyear guys challenged me to come out and give drilling a go – so I did! Eleven years later, I am still with Boart Longyear and still drilling!”

Boart Longyear: “What’s your most interesting experience drilling?”

Lyn Ferrari: “It’s amazing to me to think that you are drilling down sometimes hundreds of meters into the earth and pulling out core samples with fossils embedded in the core samples that are millions of years old. One of my most interesting experiences was as an offsider where I was sure we had struck gold, to the point where I noted down on the geo’s sheet ‘We found gold!’ only to find out later from my Driller that it was actually ‘fool’s gold’ otherwise known as Pyrite. I was very disappointed that day.”

Boart Longyear: “What’s the worst thing that has happened to you drilling?”

Lyn Ferrari: “One extremely cold (below zero) morning at Cracow, we were standing around the diesel salamander heaters trying to keep warm. I had bangs hanging down from under my hat when one of the Drillers said he noticed a burning smell. All of the sudden, we realized it was my hair smouldering. It took me a while to live that one down!”

Boart Longyear: “Where have you travelled to in your drilling career?”

Lyn Ferrari: “I have worked on Diamond Rigs – Underground and Surface Rigs, RC Rigs, and ‘super’ Sonic Rigs. Some of the places I have worked are Cracow – Newcrest, Lake Cowal – Barrick, Coolgardie in WA – Focus, Creswick and Horsham – CRC, Prominent Hill Surface – Oz Minerals, Olympic Dam – Underground and Surface – BHP and Whyalla – Arrium.”

Boart Longyear: “Who have you enjoyed working with at Boart Longyear? Who do you consider to be influential leaders in the workplace?”

Lyn Ferrari: “Neville ‘Hurricane’ Hodgetts and Jacko ‘Daddy’ Turnbull have been wonderful mentors and awesome bosses. In and out of work they are the ‘calm in the storm’.”

Boart Longyear: “Why do you enjoy working for Boart Longyear?”

Lyn Ferrari: “I really like the job, but I would have to say it’s the people I work with that keep me here. It doesn’t necessarily feel like work when you get to work with your mates every day. Being the only female driller working in Australia at present is also a motivation for me; it’s a privilege and I am glad I have been able to stick it out and prove I can stand the heat as much as the next fella.”

Boart Longyear: “Do you think drilling presents any unique challenges for women?”

Lyn Ferrari: “I’ve had amazing adventures working with the ‘BLY Boys’. I enjoy learning with the guys and due to the technology we employ to drill nowadays, it is more about using your brains than your brawn. There is nothing that a female should not be able to do. I go to the gym every day alongside the guys and look after my physical fitness. I feel this gives me the edge and keeps me fit and healthy to do my job. At my current job, the crew has all purchased Fit Bits and we track our steps each day on the rigs and compare our steps. It’s not unusual to come in with 20,000+ steps per day!”

Nelson Mandela, a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, inspirational leader, public servant, and philanthropist, served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 and gained international acclaim for his activism including winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

The idea of Mandela Day was inspired by Nelson Mandela at his 90th birthday celebration in London’s Hyde Park in 2008 when he said: "It is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now." The United Nations officially declared July 18th as Nelson Mandela International Day in November 2009, recognizing Mandela’s "values and his dedication to the service of humanity" and acknowledging his contribution "to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world."

Boart Longyear offices around the world were invited  to organize a service project on July 18th to celebrate the humanitarian in all of us, fight poverty, and give back to our communities. Here are some of Boart Longyear’s results from this worldwide initiative:

The Salt Lake City Operations Center (Boart Longyear’s global headquarters) organized a fundraiser, donation, and volunteer opportunity to celebrate Mandela Day. They partnered with the United Way of Salt Lake to complete a snack kit packing project.

In surrounding community schools, a large percentage of the students come from low income families. Kit packing projects benefited these students and provided them with basic items that allowed them to enter the classroom ready to learn.

In order to contribute, employees:

1. Purchased individually wrapped snacks for the snack kits.

2. Donated funds to purchase additional snacks.

3. Volunteered on July 18th to assemble snack kits and prepared them for local delivery.

The goal was to donate enough items to pack 300 snack kits – roughly the number of employees in the Salt Lake Operations Center. However, employees were able to pack over 1,400 snack kits for a local elementary school so that students could enter the classroom ready to learn. As an added touch, employees wrote notes of love and encouragement and included a note in each snack kit.

The Johannesburg, South Africa office partnered with Bethany House Trust, a child protection agency, and provided over 90 children with food on July 18th.

The Bethany House Trust provides several specialized programs for orphaned children and children at risk. The center is located across several residential properties and has been in operation since October 1999. It currently accommodates 90 children, with ages ranging from infant to 18 years old. The aim of Bethany House is to break the cycle of abuse in the child’s life and facilitate healing and re-integration into the community as a productive member of society. Following a holistic approach, the physical, educational, emotional, and spiritual needs of the child victims are met. Teenagers also participate in an independent living program to prepare them for life outside the children’s home.

The Boart Longyear team prepared and served lunch for the children at Bethany House Trust. The day was a huge success, and over 90 children were fed by employees on July 18th. The Boart Longyear team is committed to continuing their relationship with Bethany House and the children. The team considered the experience to be eye-opening and view this act of kindness as a great starting point to continually turn outward and support the local community.

There’s a special connection with Nelson Mandela and Indonesia… and it happens to be his signature printed shirts. Known as the "Madiba Shirt," the informal garment was a way for Mandela to identify with most of his people who never wore suits, according to Yusuf Surtee, Mandela’s longtime tailor.

While the history of the shirt dates as far back to Egypt’s first dynasty, Mandela first became fond of the item when he was given batik print shirts by Indonesia’s President Suharto in 1990. The pattern is a traditional Indonesian one that’s still worn by world leaders today.

To honor Mandela’s legacy, the Boart Longyear Jakarta office dressed in traditional batik print shirts and collected clothes and donations to give to a local foundation that manages child education and aids with poverty.

The Boart Longyear Vientiane office organized a luncheon for Nelson Mandela Day to celebrate the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world and the ability to make an impact to fight poverty, promote peace, reconciliate the diversity of culture, and make the world a better place for people.

During this special occasion, the Boart Longyear Laos team donated personal funds to support the local community. The collected funds will buy educational materials for neighboring rural school communities.

In honor of Nelson Mandela Day, the Boart Longyear team at the Mississauga office sponsored a food donation to support the local Mississauga Food Bank. The Mississauga Food Bank is the central food bank in Mississauga, providing food for over 217,000 meals each month through a network of 50 agencies. Their objective is to provide adequate food from the four categories of Canada’s Food Guide – fruit and vegetables, protein, grains, and dairy products – to provide a balanced diet to food bank users for 7+ days each month. Thousands of individuals and families across Mississauga rely on the Mississauga Food Bank every day.

In order to contribute, employees:

1. Collected non-perishable food items to donate.

2. Delivered food donations to the Mississauga Food Bank

The food collection initiative was a success, and all employees enjoyed participating and contributing to local individuals in need.

With one in seven people hungry across the world, it was a humbling experience to join forces and contribute in a small way.

The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. International Women’s Day (IWD) has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. If you want to learn more about International Women’s Day and the reason for its existence, you can visit their website here. Collective action and shared ownership for driving gender parity are what makes International Women’s Day successful.

In celebration of all the women that work in the Salt Lake City Operations Center, the Social Committee made banner signs for both of the lunch rooms with colorful notepaper, markers, and pins for people to leave inspiring, kind, acknowledgments and notes. On Friday, CEO and President, Jeff Olsen and Vice President of Human Resources, Kari Plaster presented at an all-employee meeting and spoke about the importance of diversity in our workforce, important women in their lives, and acknowledged the hard work and dedication of the women in the Salt Lake City Operations Center. It was so fun to see everyone’s notes and feel all the love and appreciation.

A Morning Tea was held in the Adelaide and Forrestfield Australian offices to celebrate the women in those offices. International Women’s Day provided an opportunity for the Boart Longyear Australia business to share its Diversity Objectives for 2019. Boart Longyear Australia leadership committed to the objective of increasing female participation across its workforce.

  In Haileybury, Ontario, Canada, management presented each of the women in the office a gift to acknowledge their appreciation of everyone’s hard work and dedication. A big thank you to everyone at Boart Longyear that celebrated women on International Women’s Day!

Dan Ernst is the Product Manager for Capital Equipment Spares and has worked at Boart Longyear since 2011. He has his Bachelor's degree in Business Management and has more than 40 years of experience in supply chain, procurement, and product management.

Zac Strauss has a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering and a master’s degree in business administration. He started at the company in 2006 as a new product development engineer in diamond drilling products. He’s held other roles such as product manager for capital equipment spares and operations manager for aftermarket and fleet maintenance. He has been in his current role as product manager, capital drilling equipment since 2015.

Our host, Jon Peterson (Geo Jon for fun), works for the Products division as a Customer Service Representative. Jon graduated from the University of Utah in 2015 with his Bachelors of Science in Geology. He’s worked for Boart Longyear for the last two and a half years and interned as a geologist with an exploration company for about six months prior to coming to work for Boart Longyear. Jon has been married for a year and a half and in his free time enjoys trail running, hiking, working on his yard, spending time with family, and playing with his black lab Dexter. 

We would love to hear your questions and comments below. Thanks for listening and if you liked this episode, share it on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.