Utility

Main Street Public Improvement Project

Natural Gas

Overview

• Location: Indiana
• Client: Midwest investor-owned utility
• Timeline: 4 Months

Scope

• Managed gas main conflicts associated with a 32-inch full pavement section, including HMA pavement, stone base, and chemically modified subgrade
• Addressed three key conflict areas, verified with Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) data:
  • Potential conflict with full pavement section depth
  • Direct conflict due to subgrade treatment and grade cut
  • Conflict with proposed storm pipe based on SUE data
• Turnkey project execution including:
  • Minimum three site visits
  • Packet creation and system documentation
  • Coordination with the utility coordinator for additional data
  • Comprehensive deliverables: IFC documents, bill of materials, tie-in procedure, trenchless technology form, pressure test forms, permits/easements, service orders, constructability review, corrosion recommendation, environmental compliance plan, and safety checklist

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Main Replacement Program – Class 4/5 Estimates

Natural Gas

Overview

• Location: Indiana
• Client: Midwest Investor-Owned Utility
• Timeline: 6 Months

Scope

• Reviewed four years of pipeline replacement plans totaling 240 miles
• Applied Class 4 estimates to 70 miles: Class 5 estimates to 170 miles
• Incorporated a 5% annual inflation factor
• Retirement estimates assumed in-place retirement except at aerial crossings
• Estimates included design, labor, material, construction costs, safety oversight, and restoration requirements
• Risk-ranked spreadsheet provided by client guided scope prioritization
• Preliminary design identified critical crossings and restoration areas

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500kv Substation Line Terminal Upgrade

Substation Engineering

Overview

• Location: Pennsylvania
• Client: Northeastern Investor-Owned Utility
• Timeline: Approximately 12 months

Scope

• Replace 500kv breaker and associated disconnect switches
• Replace line drops and rigid bus for higher ampacity requirements
• Replace line relay panel with upgraded SEL’s for line monitoring and breaker failure

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69kV Transmission Line Extension

Transmission Line Engineering

Scope of Work

• Completed design to extend a 69kV line 15-miles to a new substation
• Designed 400 new steel direct embed poles supporting 477 ACSR and OPGW static
• Executed two new steel engineered poles on foundations for railroad crossing
• Existing distribution assets were designed to be transferred onto the new steel poles
• Completed four one-way switching structures at tie-in junctions

Deliverables

• Preliminary design, detailed design and construction package
• Drawings – plan and profile, framing drawings, bill of materials, drilling details, engineered pole loading tree drawings, foundation drawings, easement drawings, tree clearing drawings
• Studies – PLS-CADD model, monopole structure analysis, stringing, shielding protection
• Review vendor drawings for engineered poles, equipment, and drilling locations
• Construction and permitting support
• Incorporate as-built drawings post-construction

GIS Support

• Subsurface utility engineering level D utility locates were enhanced by digitizing both above-ground and below-ground infrastructure
• Developed a GIS web application that visualizes the entire 15-mile corridor
• The app integrated 2D mapping and 3D LiDAR survey data to improve cross-team collaboration, increase data transparency, and support more informed decision-making throughout the project lifecycle

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Management Programs

Construction Management

Roles and Responsibilities

• Enforce stop work authority
• Hold construction crews accountable for compliance with owner safety processes
• Oversee execution of daily job safety briefings
• Ensure adherence to all site-specific safety and environmental plans
• Investigate and report on incidents
• Ensure required permits are maintained
• Support pre-construction planning, review drawings and bill of materials to avoid delays
• Oversee schedule performance and contribute to the development of schedule recovery plans
• Monitor construction quality by verifying compliance with drawings and specifications and preparing non-conformance reports
• Facilitate the request for information process
• Coordinate material and equipment deliveries
• Manage material inventory
• Support subcontractor assignments
• Maintain organized project records such as redlines, photos, and equipment data for final turnover at project closeout

Program Highlights

• Orbital supports investor-owned utilities throughout the country with dedicated teams of construction managers and quality management professionals. With nearly 100 boots-on-the-ground resources, Orbital’s construction management teams play a critical role in the safe and successful execution of more than $750MM in construction work annually. Through robust onboarding and continuous education programs, Orbital’s teams have the capability to support a variety of projects including new build substations, substation equipment upgrades, new build overhead transmission and distribution lines, grid modernization, underground cable replacement, overhead and underground fiber builds, and communications structure erection.

 

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345kV Ring Bus Substation

Substation Engineering

Scope of Work

• Completed design for greenfield 345kV substation with six-position ring bus configuration
• Controlled building layout including wall elevations, vendor coordination, and drawing review

Deliverables

• Fully engineered design and construction package including civil structural, physical, and protection and control
• Transmission line loading
• Studies – ground grid, lighting, and lightning
• Review vendor drawings for equipment
• Construction support
• Incorporate as-built drawings post-construction

Project Highlights

• Orbital Engineering completed the full greenfield design, coordinating with client engineers for foundation placement and sizing, communication interfaces, and security, and guided equipment vendors to ensure all equipment integrated into the design for proper performance and compliance with governing codes and standards.

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138kV Generation Line Interconnection

Transmission Line Engineering

Overview

• Location: Indiana
• Client: Midwest investor-owned utility
• Timeline: 12 months

Scope

• Designed 138kV generation tie line to connect into existing substation in PLS-CADD.
• Designed a temporary configuration for the 138kV feeder line to maintain power while substation expansion occurred.
• The final configuration comprised of three engineered monopoles and one engineered H-Frame on foundations.
• Plan and Profile Drawings, Framing Drawings, Load Tree Drawings, Foundation Design Drawings, Stringing Charts, Staking Tables, Worklists, and Material Lists

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Odorant Replacement Project

Natural Gas

Scope of Work

• Replaced aged odorant injection system, storage tank, containment, and building at gate station
• Decommissioned and remove existing and abandoned odorant systems and associated infrastructure
• Developed and install new odorant system including shelter, piping, controls, foundations, and electrical
• Coordinated full engineering lifecycle: design, demolition, procurement support, construction oversight, and commissioning
• Executed project within defined shut-in window to maintain system reliability and operational continuity

Deliverables

• Redlined piping and instrumentation diagrams, 3D model, isometric piping drawings, construction bill of material, and valve tie-in lists
• Civil, mechanical, structural, and electrical drawings
• Demolition drawing packages with mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation and controls scopes
• Procurement packages for tank, building, odorant system, and temporary odorization
• On-site construction support, contractor coordination, and commissioning oversight
• Final documentation including updated drawings, redlines, and closeout package

Project Highlights

• The project executed a full odorant system replacement within a limited five-month shut-in window, managing the demolition of two systems in parallel with the new installation to maintain site layout. The team proactively coordinated a temporary odorization option in case of commissioning delays, provided continuous oversight from initial design through construction and as-built documentation, and supported the development of long-term record drawings and standardized site files for future reuse.

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Double Wood Mitigation Program

Double Wood Program Managment

Overview

• Location: Nationally
• Client: Multiple 
• Timeline: Annual Program

Scope

• Manage all facets of the client’s double wood program for their electric service territory in support of infrastructure improvement and joint-use projects.
• Scouting
  • Orbital team documents all double wood locations in a specified geography by identifying unknown/undocumented locations and field verifying known locations.
• Field Data Collection
  • Orbital team collects all relevant data for pole including location coordinates, pole number, configuration, attachment types and owners, constructability notes, pre-construction photos, etc.
  • Orbital conducts on-site evaluation of the need for power make-ready using handheld laser range finders to verify that making transfers will not result in NESC Violation.
• Double Wood Mitigation
  
  • Orbital team communicates transfer requests to third party attachment owners through utility’s preferred notification system (NJUNS, SPANS, etc.) and enforces contracts up to and including support of billing third party attachment owners for late transfers.
  • Orbital utilizes qualified subcontracted partner to mitigate double wood locations by transferring any remaining attachments, removing the double pole, and completing restoration (backfill, seed, concrete, etc.)
• Orbital utilizes its proprietary GIS web-based Double Wood Dashboard to manage data related to client’s double wood program.
  • Utility stakeholders are provided access to the dashboard which enables near real-time monitoring of workflow progression for individual poles with photos provided at each construction step.
  • All double wood locations are color coded in map view based on current workflow step to support prioritization/resource planning efforts. 
  • Filters, charts, and tables are available in the tool to allow for various levels of progress reporting.

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