METHOD STATEMENT

The purpose of the current section is to describe the key principles, methods and resources for
completing the scope of the Contract.

Focus has been placed on demonstrating understanding of the aim of the Contract and how to
deploy the relevant expertise, how to plan and ensure quality of work undertaken. The document
has been deliberately kept short as it complements other elements of the submission such as the list
of key personnel, equipment, materials and others.

PERSONNEL AND SITE ORGANIZATION

Personnel and equipment

As outlined above the general approach of the Contractor is to deploy an internationally-experienced

team (please refer to CV-s attached) but to also form a local team that would comprise of two gangs of
two plumbers (senior and junior one), group supervisor and an administrative expert.

The following equipment with qualified operators will be rented locally:

- 2 excavators, one with capability to excavate 3 m deep, 1m3 bucket; second one – a smaller
one
- 1 three-axle dump truck for transporting of waste material, backfill material, etc.
- 1 van (to be equipped with plumbing equipment)

Contract-specific equipment such as tracing equipment, ICT equipment for programming data loggers,
etc. will be provided from the head office in Bulgaria.

Depot

Raicommerce Construction has already made a preliminary arrangement with a local company in
Mikolaev – Zlata Yug. Their depot, as located on the schematic below, will be used as a main Contract
Depot. It is conveniently located closer than 10 km from the Project Area with major roads making the
time to travel an estimated 10-15 minutes. The depot includes the following key facilities:
- Store for materials
- Administrative office
- Workshop where preliminary welding and other installation works can be done prior to
bringing the equipment to the field
- Depot for temporary storage of waste excavation and surface material

Location of the depot and distance from project area:

SEQUENCE FOR CONTRACT IMPLEMENTATION

The plan is to fully stick to the schedule as per Section VII.4 of Part 2. – Specifications of the tender
documents.

More specifically, the following stages and key elements are envisaged in the schedule:

Month 1: Thorough field investigation and data collection including geodetic survey of all existing
chambers and field conditions, review of traffic conditions, operational discussions with Vodokanal
(particularly with regards to shut-off procedures and preparation for follow-up zero-pressure tests,
etc.). Set-up of the Project Office in Mykolayiv.

Month 2: Commencement of Design Work in coordination with Engineer and Vodokanal. Discussions
with providers of materials.

Month 3. Completion of Design Work. Submission of designs for coordination and approval in
municipal authorities in Mykolayiv. Order of materials.

Month 4. Approved Design documents by relevant authorities. Delivery of materials in store. Delivery
of dataloggers and telemetry equipment. Purchase of local SIM cards. Excavation and transport
equipment to be available and ready.

Months 5 – 8: Completion of DMA chambers in West Zone (including testing).

Months 6 – 9: Completion of DMAs in Southeast Zone.

Months 7 – 10: Completion of DMAs

Appendix 1 contains the project plan in more detail (chamber by chamber). Time-wise, it fully sticks
to the schedule indicated by the Employer in the bid package.

Note: Each DMA chamber will be constructed within the following indicative weekly sequence:

- Monday: thorough excavation (incl. demolition of existing chamber), fencing, signaling, etc.
Preparation of materials in store.
- Tuesday: Shut-off day – all installation works to be completed within 8-10 hours, so with
another 1-2 hours a total duration of 12 hours for the interruption not to be exceeded
- Wednesday-Friday: construction of concrete chamber, support elements, backfill,
reinstatement

The overall idea for such a weekly schedule is that no interruptions of supply shall take place on
Mondays and Fridays (to avoid risk of interrupted supply in the beginning of the weekend and to also
ensure that reservoirs are properly filled up again in the beginning of the working week).

METHOD FOR EXCAVATION AND TRENCH SECURING

In the last 15 years Raicommerce Construction has been the prime contractor for both capital and
emergency-maintenance (repairs) works in the capital city of Sofia. The expertise, operations
procedures, quality controls, and, where needed, specific equipment, will be deployed in Mykolayiv
for the needs of the project.
More specifically, the following methods of work will be applied in the area of excavation and trench
securing:

- Preliminary tracing of pipes and other underground assets

- Coordination with other utilities to properly locate assets such as cables, gas lines, etc.
- Preliminary cutting of all asphalt and concrete surfaces to avoid unnecessary damages on
wider surfaces
- Excavation with a conventional excavator (standard size or a mini-excavator) and, where
needed, additional excavation by hand
- Trench securing modules providing secure conditions in trenches up to 3m deep (please refer
to pictures below)
- Signaling fences for all excavation works – metal fences (please refer to pictures below)
- Backfilling: compacting the backfill fraction at 30cm layers, if needed – 20 cm ones
- Temporary closure of traffic to be constrained, where possible, to one lane (considered
possible based on the site visits in August)

INSTALLATION OF NEW FITTINGS AND METERS

Existing structural elements are dismantled within the project limits. Before carrying out the work on
dismantling in agreement with the MCP "Mykolaivvodokanal" to stop the supply of water at the time
of connection of the bypass channel. After installation of the bypass channel, resume water supply and
dismantle the disconnected area.
Double acting valves are used and can be installed with any flow direction.
The valve assembly must exclude the influence of flexural, compressive, tensile and twisting
forces from the connected pipelines, so supports should be installed on both sides of the valve.
The corresponding flanges on the pipeline must be installed parallel to the flanges of the latch,
without warps. It is forbidden to remove the distortions by tightening the bolts and installing
additional ones between flange gaskets.
During mounting of the valves on long straight sections of the pipeline which are exposed to
the variable temperature of the working environment or ambient air, fixed valves or axial
compensator of thermal extensions with guides preventing displacement of the pipeline about
its axis should be installed in the valves.
During installation, the bolt shutter must be partially open.
If the diameter is more than 100 mm, mount the bolt and pipe support.
When installing large diameter latches using lifts, the factory mounting lugs on the body
should be used for suspension. It is forbidden to use a flywheel, gearbox or electric drive for
suspension.
In the case of underground channelless installation, a bulk rammed base with a thickness of at
least 200 mm should be arranged under the latch, of material with a fraction size not
exceeding 10 mm without sharp angles.
After installation, the pipeline section on which the latch is installed must be tested for
strength and density. During the tests, the shutter shutter must be either fully open or fully
closed; tests with intermediate shutter positions are not recommended.
The material between the flange gaskets is selected based on the maximum operating
temperature and pressure at the location of the valve.
Installation of flowmeters - the flowmeter is installed in the pipeline gap between the two
flanges and secured with bolts. The corresponding flanges on the pipeline must be installed
parallel to the flanges of the flowmeter, without warps. It is forbidden to remove the
distortions by tightening the bolts and installing additional between flange gaskets.
The flow controller is installed on the horizontal section of the pipeline so that the entire
volume of the measuring channel of the flow meter in working conditions is filled with the
measured environment. When installing the flow meter, it is necessary to control the direction
of fluid flow and the length of straight sections of the pipeline before and after the flow meter,
according to the flow meter passport.

CONSTRUCTION OF CHAMBERS

The previous presentation of the work was replaced by a camera published by the job site,
showing a layer of scarf or soil (where the camera is located). Existing camera is dismantled.
After dismantling the excavator (if there are sections using manual communication), performs
the excavation. During excavation, slopes should be fixed with shields. After the excavation, a
reinforced frame and formwork are mounted. After installing the formwork, concrete is
poured and is aged for 29 days. After removing the formwork, the concrete is covered with
penetrating waterproofing. The cameras are made by performing a monolithic reinforced
concrete structure. Installation of staples, hatches, sealing of pipelines in the walls of the
chamber and other additional work will be described in the working project. A description of
the construction sequence, including removal and replacement of existing cameras, is
provided in Appendix 1.
Carry out the work according to DBN A.3.2-2-2009 and DSTU-N B В.2.1-28: 2013.

INSTALLATION OF DATA LOGGERS AND TRANSMISSION DEVICES

A detailed procedure for installing data

loggers and transmission devices will be
followed which includes the steps below:

- Initial set up of data logger

- Data logger configuration
- Testing of inputs and
communication
- Connection of sensors
- Installation of logger in the field – installation of mounting stand and final check of
installation

The procedure itself is attached as Appendix 2 to the current Method Statement (English Version
only).
TRANSMISSION AND STORAGE OF DATA

Appendix 3 (English Version only) provides the detailed procedure

applied by Raicommerce for transmission and storage of data. It
contains three generic components:

- Data logging
- Data transmission, and
- Data management

CONNECTING EXISTING NETWORK TO NEW ELEMENTS

When planning and executing the connections of the new elements to the existing network the
following principles will be applied:

Planning and preparation

All connections, joints and bends will be subject to detailed working design as per the project
requirements. Materials will be delivered well in advance in the depot for the project.

Preliminary excavation

As mentioned above the overall construction approach will be based on a weekly planning per
chamber. Within such an approach a thorough excavation will be done on Monday (or Tuesday if the
project team works on two chambers per week). The idea is that all existing pipes and fittings will be
opened (i.e. a full excavation will be made). The materials, including preliminary welding, will be
prepared in the depot to reduce working time on site.

On-site organization

Given the scope of work and the specific workload in the big chambers (such as Junction 3, 5 and 14)
it is planned that 2 teams of two plumbers work simultaneously on the day of installation works.

As all connections are on flanges it is considered that this approach will significantly facilitate the
installation time as compared to welding processes.

Special attention will be paid to support structures, i.e. concrete blocks, etc.

MINIMIZING THE INTERRUPTIONS OF SUPPLY

The measures to reduce the interruptions of supply include:

- Thorough preliminary coordination with Vodokanal to understand how the interruption of

supply is being planned, expected duration from valve shut-off to actual interruption of
supply at the chamber
- Availability of the materials on site early in the morning prior to shut-off
 - (as outlined above) Preliminary excavation – ideally on Mondays, when shut-off is planned
for Tuesday or even Wednesday

As a general rule installation works and, subsequently, interruptions of supply shall be planned for
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only.

SEARCHING AND LOCATING UNKNOWN BURIED PIPES

As it is clearly expected that the existing pipes are metal ones the logical
equipment to be used is metal tracing equipment such as the one on the
picture.

The process for searching and locating unknown buried pipes in summary
would include the following steps:

- Review of GIS or other map records to properly understand the

situation on paper
- Discuss with staff from Vodokanal
- Identify and connect to the closest known surface elements – street valves, hydrants, stop
valves at service pipes, other
- Locate with the metal tracing equipment

In case of difficulties, it is possible to alo use a geo radar.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

The Quality Assurance approach of the Contractor will be based on systems and processes
established by Raicommerce in their operations in Bulgaria and South East Europe. These include but
are not limited to:

- Introduction of Contractors own quality control system and processes related to construction
works (including scheduling, planning and field-force management)
- Development of a thorough project-based Quality Assurance plan in accordance with ISO
9001
- Implementation of the following quality-related mechanisms and plans:
o Material handling (including storage)
o Internal auditing of site works
o Disinfection
o Health and Safety with focus on work in trenches and, specifically, confined-spaces
work
o Quality Plan related to testing of installation works, chambers’ water tightness,
concrete works, backfill and reinstatement works, operability of data capture and
transmission