Duratec wins two ACRA Awards at 2025 Ceremony so we sit down with Chris Black, Contract Manager at Duratec, as he celebrates the awards and team’s journey extending the life of Western Australia’s most critical mining infrastructure.
More than a decade with Duratec, Chris Black has seen the company transform and take on more technical challenges. As a Contract Manager, Chris was vital in the recently multiple-award-winning $76 million remediation of BHP’s Berth C&D at Finucane Island, Port Hedland; this project would become the largest of its kind and relationship defining for Duratec.
“When I first started in Port Hedland back in 2019, we were subcontracting for BHP,” recalls Chris. Through early shutdown works and close collaboration with engineering consultants over the next three years, Duratec developed a trusted relationship with BHP. “We managed to get our foot in the door enough to start doing direct works,” Chris adds. This early engagement was the stepping stone Duratec needed in being awarded the contract in December 2022, following a competitive tender process that was centred on technical insight and preparatory works.
A turning point was introducing Duratec’s in-house digital asset management consultancy, MEnD and their use of advanced spatial mapping and detailed 3D modelling during the Early Contractor Involvement phase. “We started with spatial mapping and a 3D model, which gave us a real edge in planning and risk mitigation,” reveals Chris. This digital approach enabled the team to visualise access constraints and efficiently plan the works. This proved crucial in a challenging marine environment with tidal swings and limited land access.
Chris reflects, “It was a long journey and had all sorts of interesting moments, but ultimately it was a good experience for all involved.” The project’s complexity and the expertise required were clear from the beginning: “We were working with large-scale marine plant in a marine environment that was very exposed, in the busiest industrial harbour in the southern hemisphere, right at the mouth of it,” Chris explains. Tidal swings of up to eight metres, limited land access, and the need for 15 major shutdowns demanded innovative solutions. “It was critically important that our project works did not interrupt the assets operational functioning in any way outside of planned shutdown periods. Achieving this objective was one of the projects many successes.”
Rising to the challenges, Duratec deployed a 100T Jack-Up Barge and a fleet of vessels, enabling safe access to isolated structures. “The access for the job was definitely one of the biggest technical challenges,” shares Chris. “We had rope access, many bespoke designs for hung scaffoldings over water, vessel mounted EWPs, and barge mounted cranes. Almost every scope had its own unique access challenge.”
Sixteen bespoke scaffolding systems were engineered for the project’s unique geometry, and rope access teams tackled confined and suspended positions. With the access challenge solved, the team delivered extensive steel and concrete repairs, including piles, ladders, pile wrapping, and jacket installations. In addition, they carried out maintenance on the approach jetty and demolished two derelict landings.
In October this year, the project was recognised with two Australasian Concrete Repair & Remedial Building Association (ACRA) industry awards:
- Winner – 2025 Award for Wharves | Marine Structures (Client: BHP)
- Winner – 2025 Award for Industrial | Marine Structures (Client: BHP)
Chris’s highlights were both technical and personal. “Watching people develop and grow together…the extreme hard work and determination of a large and dynamic team to overcome the many challenges and securing future work with BHP; these are key highlights and significant achievements for myself, and everyone involved.”
The project team delivered a high-integrity, future-ready asset for BHP, and cemented a strong and lasting partnership between the two companies.
