When it comes to the installation of piles on a construction project, many people will instantly recognise the huge, tracked machine with a towering mast putting in a variety of sheet, concrete or even wooden piles. Whilst this is the case on many projects, there are alternative solutions which don’t require such a large machine, or the costly installation of an engineered piling mat for the rig to sit on.
One company that has found a niche in offering this option for the construction industry is Paul Shelley Plant Services, based in Wiltshire. Paul has been running his business for almost two decades and in that time has amassed a huge wealth of experience not only in piling works but also bulk excavation and construction works.
Confident in Kobelco excavators
Over the past few years, Paul has had many different excavators, but most recently settled with the high quality Kobelco products supplied through Avonmouth based Molson Group. “I’ve run several brands of excavators of all sizes, and until recently have had a small fleet undertaking a variety of earthmoving projects across the South of England and South Wales,” Paul commented. “When it came to getting my latest machine, I decided that it was time to reduce the fleet to a single machine and concentrate on just the piling services.”
After three years of excellent service from his Kobelco SK350LC-10 excavator, it was time for a change, and Paul knew exactly what he was going for. “The Kobelco had been an excellent machine for me. Comfortable, reliable and very good on fuel. The backup when I needed it was also excellent from the team at Molson.” He explained. “Whilst I did look around for prices, the deal from Molson was also the best around.”
The latest incarnation of the SK350LC excavator is the -11e model, which offers a range of improvements on the outgoing -10 range. With an operating weight of almost 38 tonnes, the excavator is powered by a fuel-efficient, 6-cylinder Isuzu engine kicking out 282hp. With increased torque and a better balance between pumps and engine, the -11e model has also been able to offer better fuel consumption figures. The StageV engine meets EU regulations through a simple and robust DPF and SCR system, which offers increased intervals for servicing over the previous machine.
A host of useful upgrades
The SK350LC-11e excavator has an upgraded cab interior designed to offer operators a more comfortable and convenient workstation. The premium heated seat is fully adjustable, as are the joysticks. The operator/machine interface has been upgraded with a new 10” colour monitor relaying a whole host of vital machine information. Controlled via a jog-style rotary dial, Paul is able to quickly scroll through a variety of menus to find the relevant information.
The system also allows for storage of hydraulic flow and pressures for a variety of attachments, which Paul finds extremely useful as he often swaps between his Movax SG75V piling kit and a bucket. The screen is also the home for the image from the Eagle-Eye camera system, which is standard on all large Kobelco excavators in the -11 series.
Paul has been very complimentary about the upgraded cab interior on his new machine. “I spend some long days in the cab and find it very comfortable. Everything just seems in the right place, and it’s so easy to get the seating position right, easy to set the joysticks to exactly where you want them. The joysticks also have a shorter throw on them, reducing the amount of movement you need to make.” He comments. “Kobelco has done a great job on the upgrades, especially with the back-lit switches, which are easy for me to see on darker days and nights.”
Ideal for excavator and hydraulic hammer work
The standard 6.5m boom and 3.3m stick are an ideal combination for Paul, offering a good combination of pin height and dig depth. “We need the best of both worlds for our operations.” He explains. “We need to be as high as possible for some of the longer sheet piles we handle. At around 9m, the pin height is okay, which means we can get around 8m of pile below the Movax hydraulic hammers before we have to swap to a side grip.”
We met up with Paul and Banksman Dean as they were completing a project on a huge water treatment upgrade contract for Galliford on the outskirts of Southampton. The project had seen Paul and Dean undertake the installation of a range of heavy sheet piles to allow the safe and efficient excavation for several new tanks to be constructed.
On this visit, the final cofferdam is to be installed. This was one of the smallest on site but was also in one of the most awkward locations, which allowed Paul to show off the attributes of the compact and powerful Movax hydraulic hammers. While Paul monitored the angle of the piles from the cab and also through the Movax Control System, Dean was constantly giving him directions to ensure the piles were driven in vertically.
Interchangeable heads
The Finnish-made Movax is one of the most popular piling heads available, and whilst it is designed for the installation of a range of sheet piles, Paul has also added a Movax SG-80va piling hammer to his arsenal. There will be a point where the SG-80va cannot drive a pile any further due to the friction on the pile or simply because the ground is too hard. This is where the Movax DH-25 comes in handy. Located on top of the pile, the DH-25 uses a heavy weight controlled by the Movax Control System to drop onto the pile and slowly push it down to the required depth.
A quick change from the Movax to a ditching bucket enabled Paul to scrape the centre of the new cofferdam out in readiness for the construction teams to excavate at their leisure. “Whilst we are just down for the pile installation on this part of the project, we quite often undertake much of the following excavation work,” Paul explains. “The Kobelco SK350 excavator is an ideal tool for this as it is a very competent earthmover too.”
“We’ve been very impressed with the Kobelco excavator so far,” Paul commented. “We need a machine which is reliable and on top of the job, and I believe the SK350-11 excavator is just that. Having the reassurance of Molson’s service team behind us is also great as we know that if there’s an issue, they’re just a call away, which for us, is very important as many of our contracts are very time sensitive.”
