METHOD STATEMENT FOR

UNDER GROUND CABLE WORKS

CONTENTS

Page
1 Purpose 2
2 Scope of Works 2
3 Reference documents 2

4 Method of Installations 3
4.1 Site Survey 3
4.2 Trial pit Excavation and findings 3
4.3 Horizontal Directional Drilling 3
4.4 Trench excavation 4
4.5 Sand bedding 4
4.6 Cable pulling 4
4.7 Cable Jointing and Termination 5
4.8 Backfilling and Reinstatement 5
4.9 Installation of Route / Joint Markers 6
4.10 Testing and Commissioning 6

5 Equipment and Tools 8

6 Safety and Risk Management 8

1 PURPOSE

Purpose of this method statement is to outline the sequences and methods of

works intended to be used for the excavation of trench for laying underground 33
kV power& FO.

The Contractor has the right to adapt the methods of execution as contained in this
document from time to time and modify as necessary according to specific site
conditions.

Method Statements For Under Ground Cables

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 METHOD STATEMENT FOR
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2 SCOPE OF WORKS

The scope of works comprises Manual site survey, Trail pit excavation, Trenching,
Cable pulling, Cable jointing, Cable termination, Backfilling, Installation of
Protection tiles, Installation of Warning tape, Reinstatement, Installation of route
markers / Joint markers, Cable testing, Horizontal Directional Drilling / Open-cut for
Road Crossings, and Site clearance.

3 REFERENCES

The method statement shall be read in conjunction with the following documents:

(a) ADWEA Specifications

(b) Approved cable route drawings
(c) Existing underground installations
(d) Any other directions issued by the local civil authorities at the site

4 METHOD STATEMENT

4.1 SURVEY

4.1.1 Obtain route approval as required, prior to start of work.

4.1.2 Conduct Site survey, establish cable route, and demarcate the trench at
Site.

4.2 TRIAL PITS (EXPLORATORY EXCAVATION)

4.2.1 Obtain work permit/NOC from various authorities & "As Built" drawings
showing all existing services.

4.2.2 Set up site, marked areas to be explored at 100 meters interval or as may
be required and also near the existing identified services, and fix with
warning tape / safety cones.

4.2.4 Intimate Etisalat/ Defense/ the concerned departments prior to exposing

their related services

4.2.5 Start manual digging using pick-axe without sharp edges and hand
shovel.

4.2.6 Look in for any warning signs / warning tape / cable tiles that might prop
up during excavation and take necessary precautions while digging.

4.2.7 Expose existing known buried service. Record details of existing services.

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4.2.8 Protect the services as per specified recommendations.

4.3 Road Crossing

As per the requirement of clause no.2.7 of ADWEA standards S – CIVIL-

CAB , at crossing points of highways & roads the contractor shall provide
separate ducts for each cable circuit plus one spare circuit in the required
position. The duct shall consists of PVC pipes with minimum internal
diameter of 200 mm & a wall thickness of 5 mm.

a) CROSSING FOR FUTURE ROADS:

This shall be done either by HDD method or open cut duct concrete bank
as per approved procedures.

b) DIRECTIONAL DRILLING (HDD works):

Road crossing by Directional drilling (HDD) shall be done as per method

statement of approved vendor. And nos of ducts shall be as per
requirements.
Bentonite filling in the pipes shall be done as required in the specification.

4.4 TRENCH EXCAVATION

4.4.1 Set out and mark the exact line of cable route as per approved drawings
and the obtain NOC/ Permission to Work.

4.4.2 Excavation is carried out using a mechanical excavator. In areas where

usage of excavator is unsafe / not possible, the trench is made through
manual digging.

As per requirement of clause no.4.2.2 of ADWEA standards S-

CAB_INST-UG, where sand dunes or any other obstruction exist in the
proposed cable routes, they shall be cleared to the normal ground level.

4.4.3 A designated Charge hand will be assigned to each machine. The

operator will take the directions from the Charge hand or his Construction
Supervisor / Project Engineer.

4.4.4 Minimum depth & width of excavated trench and placement of power
cable, 100mm dia UPVC pipe and FO cable, sand filling, protection tiles,
warning tape etc. shall be generally as drawing No. A3376 CF 7660 S
2550 A (Drawings is attached herewith)

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4.4.5 Safety cones will be provided with warning tape along the top edge of the
trench. Any existing services, which are uncovered as a result of
excavation, will be protected with temporary measures, if required.

4.4.6 All excavated loose material at the top level of the trench will be removed
from the edge of excavation.

4.4.7 Bottom of excavation / trench shall be trimmed off and free from sharp
objects i.e. stones etc prior to sand bedding.

4.5 SAND BEDDING

4.5.1 A minimum of 150 mm sand bedding on trench be provided for cable

cushions.

4.6 CABLE PULLING & LAYING

4.6.1 Ensure that areas / trench to be pulled / laid with cables are inspected
and approved.

4.6.2 Drums shall be placed on a pair of stand and shaft to provide smooth
rolling while pulling.
4.6.3 The direction of rotation of Cable drum for moving of cable drum or laying
of cable will be strictly as per the arrows marked on the cable drums.

4.6.4 Set Winch properly and securely fix to the required distance.

4.6.5 In order to prevent cable damage during pulling operation, cable rollers
shall be placed at maximum 2 mtrs intervals as per requirement of clause
no.4.2.4 of ADWEA standards S-CAB-INST-UG, The distance between
the rollers shall be maintained and well fixed. Appropriate corner rollers
will be provided as required.

4.6.6 Special observance and care will be taken when pulling in areas with
corners, through road crossings and through existing ducts.

4.6.7 Check cable ducts for debris and sharp edges and clean the ducts if
necessary.

4.6.8 Cables to be applied with sealant or pulling compound for smooth and
easy pulling when entering cable ducts if necessary.

4.6.9 Both ends of cable cut to be capped, taped and identification are
provided.

4.6.10 Perform sheath test & meggering on laid cable prior to jointing and back
filling as per specification requirement. Sheath test shall be conducted by
injecting 10 kV DC using DC HV Test kit & 5 kV Insulation Tester between

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 METHOD STATEMENT FOR
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armour and the external graphite surface of the sheath for one minute,
with all remaining phases solidly grounded and the leakage current
recorded on test Format.

4.7 JOINTING AND TERMINATION

Cable jointing shall be done as per the Joint Kit manufacturer’s
instructions / instruction manual with the approved jointer of
ADWEA/AADC in accordance with the best workmanship.

4.8 BACK FlLLING & REINSTATEMENT

Soil Thermal resistivity shall be measured as per requirement of clause

no.3a of ADWEA standards S-CAB-INST-UG along the route of cable.
Soil Thermal resistivity & temperature of backfilling material shall be
measured as per requirement of clause no.3 f of ADWEA standards S-
CAB-INST-UG.

The Backfilling material should have a maximum thermal resistivity of 120

cm2 C/W under operational conditions & shall be chemically neutral as
per requirement of clause no. 3 e of ADWEA standards S-CAB-INST-UG.

Special bedding material shall be used as per requirement of clause

no.4.2.7 of ADWEA standards S-CAB-INST-UG, where the thermal
resistivity of natural soil exceeds 120 cm2 C/W.

4.8.1 The Engineer-Consultant / Owner-Client may conduct inspections prior to

sand covering / installation of warning tapes / final back filling / installation
of cable route markers to keep the continuity & progress of the work.

4.8.2 Installed cables shall be covered with selected fine sand upto the level of
warning tape as required in ADWEA drawing no. ADWEA 01 00 07.

The protection tiles for 33 KV cable trench shall be 500 mm length, 250
mm width & concrete grade is C35 with cement type V (SRC), min
cement content 370 kg/m3, all edges to be chamfered & name to be fixed
on each protection tile as per the specification.

Protection tiles for MV & LV cables shall be 500 mm length, 200 mm width
& 60 mm thickness.

4.8.3 Balance of the excavated debris, if any, shall be level-spread to reinstate

the area to the pre-excavation condition. And if necessary extra earth
shall be disposed off.

4.8.4 Permanent reinstatement shall be done in foot paths and tiled areas.

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4.9 CABLE ROUTE MARKERS

Cable Route & Joint markers shall be installed for each power cable
circuits. Cable route markers shall be installed on straight route at
distances not exceeding 30M and at the points where the cable route
makes a turn and both side of road crossings. And joint marker shall be
installed on top of jointing to mark the location of the joint. All cable route
& joint markers shall be made of reinforced concrete and of truncated
cone type as per approved ADWEA specification.

4.10 TESTING & COMMISSIONING

a) Sheath test and insulation resistance measurement of conductors

4.10.1 Notify the concerned parties to witness the test as necessary.

4.10.2 Ensure that cable rating, type, size and cable number conforms to
specification and drawings.

4.10.3 Surroundings of the testing area shall be cordoned off and access
restricted to authorized persons only.

4.10.4 Ensure that valid & calibrated test equipments are available at the test
area.

4.10.5 HV hand gloves and HV grounding sticks shall be provided for safe
handling and draining of voltage residue.

4.10.6 Make the cable ends at both ends ready for testing by removing 500 mm
long graphite coating from the cable.

4.10.7 Shortwave communication system shall be in place prior to

commencement of testing.

4.10.8 For safety precautions, one designated representative shall guard the
cable at the non-testing end.

4.10.9 Cables shall be checked for continuity and for correct phases.

4.10.10 All tests required as per ADWEA Standards SAT-CAB-GEN & SAT-CAB-
TPR, for HV-XLPE Cables shall be done and the value shall be recorded
on test format.

4.10.11 Sheath Test shall be conducted by injecting 10 kV using HV DC test kit

between armour and the external graphite surface of the sheath for one

minute, with all remaining phases solidly grounded and the leakage

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current shall be recorded.

4.10.12 Immediately after testing of each phase, voltage residue shall be drained
by using grounding stick which is directly connected to earth ground.

4.10.13 The insulation resistance shall be measured between phase to phase and
phase to earth prior to jointing.

4.10.14 Results shall be recorded.

b) HV testing:

After completion of all straight through joints and end termination the
phasing out/identification shall be done from one end to other end and HV
test shall be conducted as per specification and results shall be recorded.

5.0 EQUIPMENT AND TOOLS

The following tools & tackles will be at use per site conditions:

 Cable Pulling Winch

 Trailer
 Cable Trolleys
 Cable Drum Stand and Shaft
 Cable Rollers
 Pulling Wire or Rope
 Pulling Eye
 Chain Block
 Shackle / Swivel
 KV Insulation (Megger) Resistance Tester
 HV Test Kit
 Multi Meter (Digital)
 HV Hand Gloves
 HV Grounding Stick
 Hand Tools
 Trucks
 Crane
 Excavator
 Water Tanker
 3.5 Ton Truck for material movement.
 Plate Compactor
 Survey Instrument
 Low Bed Trailer
 Directional Boring Machine

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6 SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT

All excavation work will be executed in accordance with the ADWEA/AADC Health
and Safety Plan and necessary precautions shall be made to ensure safety of men
and protection of environment and materials.

Special attention will be given to:

- Cordoning off the open pit excavation area.

- Making stable slope if required.
- Placement of applicable safety warning gadgets and sign boards.
- Allow only authorized personnel to have access to the site.
- Provision of first aid kit at the site.

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