Projects

Wicket Gates – a ‘dam’ Great Project

  • Category:

    Power Generation
  • Date:

    27 March, 2023
  • Tag:

    Fabricating, Hydro Power, Machining, Manufacturing, Power Generation, Welding, Wicket Gates

The Wicket Gate project was a great one for IMM. Sit down and let us tell you about how we cleaned, machined, welded, blasted, painted and inspected this project to a successful completion!

The Need

  • IMM’s customer demonstrated a need for a complete overhaul for reconditioning and extending the life expectancy of their Wicket Gates.  IMM competed in an open tender process and was selected as winning bid, due to price, location and experience.
  • IMM was able to come up with a plan to minimize the amount of space the Wicket Gates took up on the shop floor by designing stands for them to sit on. These stands would ensure that the gates were held properly and would help prevent damage.
  • Each stand would hold four gates, allowing more room on the shop floor to maximize work-flow and  organization.

Adapt & Succeed

Large projects in the resource industry face similarly daunting challenges as they become increasingly complex and technologically demanding. In this competitive industry, schedules and budgets are tight and safety is crucial.

One of the challenges in this particular project was counterbalancing the wicket gates. IMM had concerns with mild bending of the shaft during this process but with careful assessment of this process we were able to create a solution for that would create little to no flexing of the shaft. We were able to solve this unique issue in a timely manner, which did not put us at risk of becoming late on the job.

Wicket Gate- Defined

The wicket gate in hydroelectric dams is used to control the amount of water flowing from the pen-stock (essentially an intake tunnel) through the turbine. Essentially the more open the gate is the faster the turbine will spin and thus more electricity is being generated. It also means a fully closed wicket gate can be used to shut down turbines for maintenance.

Why IMM?

No matter what type or size of business you lead, chances are you will rely on the expertise of a vendor, partner, consultant or other kind of third party in some capacity to help steer your ship. IMM highly values their clients and we are constantly striving towards “Partnering for Success”. What this means to us is that we want to create partnerships and encourage cooperation in an effort to strengthen the economic growth. For this project in particular, our shop was just a short one hour flight away from site, which made site visits a breeze and communication flowing. IMM’s desire to work with vendors on their projects, whether they are large or small is respected in the industry. With 61 years in the industry, IMM has highly knowledgeable staff with some employees celebrating well over thirty years in the business. That number alone, is an impressive one.

High Five to IMM!

I would like to thank you for your warm welcoming at your IMM factory in Saskatoon. The visit was interesting and the quality of the work impressive.

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