As part of a project to replace a deteriorated
wharf at the Little Dover small-craft harbour in
Guysborough County, N.S., Alva Construction was
required to install 272 fender piles. This work was
undertaken upon completion of construction of a new hybrid
cribwork and timber pile fishing wharf with a cast-in-place
concrete deck, as one of the final components of the overall
project. (Earlier work on this project is described in the ar-ticle
“Precision Positioning,” published in the Q2 2017 issue
of Piling Canada.)
Alva Construction, based in Antigonish, N.S., was in
“uncharted territory” with the fender piling work, says Reg
Tramble, the company’s engineering manager.
“Most of our wharf projects don’t have fender piles,” he
said. “This was the first fender pile application that we had
worked on in over 20 years.”
For that reason, Tramble decided to explore options for
the installation, looking for the best possible equipment
and processes to efficiently complete the work. Through his
research, Tramble talked to Gilbert Products in Roberval,
Que., and learned of the Grizzly MultiGrip™, a side-grip vibra-tory
pile driver. This tool comes in two sizes – the MG-60 and
the MG-90 – and promised to deliver the power and speed
Alva needed.
Choosing a vibratory hammer for the job
Tramble spoke with Alex Gravel, sales and marketing direc-tor
for Gilbert Products. Tramble described his company’s
needs related to the wharf project specifically and other proj-ects
generally. Gravel recommended the Grizzly MultiGrip
excavator-mounted vibratory hammer for several reasons.
First, the tool can drive sheet piles, H-beams and timber
or steel tubular piles with its standard configuration, making
it versatile on a work site and for a variety of projects. This
feature meant that Alva would be able to use the tool on mul-tiple
projects going forward, an important consideration in
Tramble’s purchase decision.
Its side grip has a three-point arm system – for which
Gilbert has a patent pending – designed to optimize energy
transfer from the vibrator to the pile. This power optimiza-tion
is intended to reduce the time needed for driving. The
increase in efficiency this feature is designed to enable was
another selling point for Alva. The side grip’s capacity to drive
long piles and to position them easily – thanks to its rotating
360-degree system and tilting range of 40 degrees – was the
major reason, says Tramble, for his choice to purchase it.
Quick-Change technology allows an operator to remove
and replace the MultiGrip’s side jaws for a different applica-tion
in less than five minutes. Gravel says this “innovation is
HIGH
PRODUCTIVITY
PILE DRIVING
New equipment helps Alva
Construction drastically
cut time to complete
project component
By Kim Biggar
58 Q1 2018 www.pilingcanada.ca
/www.pilingcanada.ca
