Looking at today’s noise and vibration issues in the European construction industry, the Pile Pusher Pro might very well be the most clear-cut solution there is, because this piling rig pushes traditional pile foundations directly into the soil with exceptional ease. This way of working keeps noise-related inconvenience to a minimum and involves no harmful vibrations in the ground. What makes this foundation machine so effective?
Bertus Jaarsma, project manager and engineering specialist at A.P. Van Den Berg, dedicates himself to the development and market positioning of the Pile Pusher Pro. “The basic principle of the Pile Pusher Pro is as simple as it is effective. A foundation pile is placed in a clamping mechanism and subsequently pushed into the soil by hydraulic cylinders using the machine’s own weight.”
Heavy and robust
“It’s rather odd that the pushing pile method has been embraced so widely in China while it is still virtually unknown in the Netherlands. The Pile Pusher Pro is a foundation machine that is able to push precast concrete pile foundations into the ground without the extreme noise and vibration you get with traditional pile driving. To make this happen, this pile machine uses its own huge weight as a counterweight. It therefore goes without saying that this machine has a heavy-duty and robust design. Keeping the weight down was not one of the design priorities. The weight alone is already an interesting part of the whole concept,” says Bertus.
It can be that simple
“I have personally been closely involved in designing the Pile Pusher Pro in its current form. From the first time I saw the pushing pile method in action at Chinese colleagues to the development and application of new measuring and safety systems that meet requirements for European market. This pile machine is operated hydraulically with the corresponding manual valves. The hydraulic pressure is generated by an electric motor that is linked to a hydraulic pump. “The power that the machine needs can come from either the power grid or a generator. The measuring system we have added lets the client record the press-in force and depth for each pile individually.”
This benefits the client greatly, giving them data based on which they can calculate the exact load-bearing capacity of each pile. That’s how simple it can be,” Bertus explains.
Easy to use
Does the Pile Pusher Pro come with any challenges? “No, this pile machine is very simple. It is robust and easy to use. The chance of making mistakes is virtually zero. Once you know which lever to operate, everything else basically takes care of itself. And if there is a problem, the operators can easily solve it themselves.”