Introduction
Groundforce may have proved themselves a victim of their own hiring success! A customer was so impressed with the Diesko ICE 8SG Side Grip Hammer they supplied that they may invest in one themselves, for their fleet.
Piletec supplied the Side Grip Hammer to extract 9m U steel sheet piles which had been installed using a five-tonne crane-suspended vibrator during construction of a new motorway bridge.
Challenge/s
Following construction of the bridge, the piles had to be removed within the restricted headroom under the bridge. Other considerations which had to be taken into account before removing the piles included the ground conditions. It was necessary to ensure the vibrator was suitable to extract the piles and the customer’s excavator was compatible and had sufficient oil flow to operate the 8SG.
Solution
To deliver the most appropriate equipment, engineers from Piletec carried out a comprehensive assessment of the site and engaged in detailed discussions with the customer.
Piletec offer a range of products from the Dieseko group and as the customer was already familiar with equipment from this manufacturer, and factoring in the ground conditions and the capacity of the customer’s excavators, Piletec suggested using the Dieseko ICE 8SG Side Grip Hammer. Reliable, robust and powerful, it offered an effective solution to seamlessly integrate the equipment with the customer's 49-tonne Hitachi excavator.
Piletec also collaborated on the design, fabrication and fitting of an OilQuick Coupler to the 8SG piling hammer. This customisation facilitated not only compatibility but also flexibility for the customer to switch between piling and other operations during the hire period.
Once the 8SG was delivered to site and following recommendations to the customer from Piletec to also have a Hitachi service engineer attend the site to assist with any potential adjustments to the excavator’s oil flow. Piletec’s field service engineer, Micheal Machin, equipped with a flow meter, measured the oil flow from the excavator's dual flow circuit, and working with the Hitachi service engineer, adjustments were made to ensure the optimal 220 litres per minute required for the 8SG were achieved.
The subsequent installation and function testing of the equipment were efficiently carried out by Piletec’s engineer, who connected the 8SG to the OilQuick Coupler, established the necessary hose connections, and integrated the electric control cable and 8SG joystick control into the excavator's cab.
Following the successful function test, which included tilt, rotate, clamp and side arms operations, the Piletec engineer used the IQAN service and maintenance app to check the RPM and back pressure of the 8SG via Bluetooth connectivity.
With the 8SG fitted, the excavator driver commenced pile extraction. With the lower 60-tonne clamp closed on the pile, the vibrator was initiated, and within three minutes, the pile was successfully extracted by three meters. Repositioning the 8SG with the side arms connected to the pile's pan allowed for the complete extraction and lowering it to the ground under the restricted headroom of the new bridge.
During the Piletec engineer’s time on site, three further piles were successfully extracted. The customer was pleased with the result and commented that they may invest in a side grip hammer for their fleet.