EQUIPMENT
Groundforce
57
december 2013
international
construction
The struts were installed two at a time
by Implenia, starting in mid-June, while
earthworks contractor HTP used a long-reach
Komatsu PC240LC excavator – rented from
French company ENCO – to dig out the clay.
The struts were due to be removed as
iC
went
to press.
Mr Binétruy said the struts would not be
appropriate for simple excavation jobs, but in
this case, the density of the alternative steel
frame structure would have made life difficult.
“There are two ways of seeing the time
benefits”, he says, “For the contractor it has
saved something like a week. And for us, it has
taken just 20% of the time required to install a
steel frame solution,” he said.
There are other benefits. “For safety it is
much better”, he continued, “The tower crane
operator doesn’t have to think as much as with
the steel frame. And for the client, [there is
a cost saving because] we don’t need to use
vertical support beams for a steel frame, and
don’t need reinforcement of the concrete base
slab.”
For David Williams, managing director
of VP’s Groundforce division, the Geneva
contract is another step towards his vision of
introducing hydraulic strut shoring technology
to the mainland European market, substituting
the temporary steel frame solutions that are so
prevalent there, and particularly in Germany.
Groundforce has been working on this for
three years, with a European headquarters in
Frankfurt and stock yard in Hannover already
established. Projects have been carried out in
Germany, Denmark and Italy.
“We have a number of contracts across
Europe”, said Mr Williams, “We recognised the German market
was most mature for trench shoring – the best place for us to
put our feet down.
“There are basement projects all over Europe – it’s about
finding the projects that the system will work best on. It’s not
the best for every job.”
Mr Binétruy says he can envisage the Groundforce technology
being appropriate for around half of the excavation jobs
that Implenia undertakes. That could be good news for
Groundforce, given it is the biggest contractor in Switzerland.
iC
The struts allowed sufficient space for a Komatsu
PC240LC excavator with long arm to excavate the clay
material from the site.
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