a unique feature of the tool.” It not only provides for “quick
changes” that keep a job moving; it also means that the com-pany
does not need several different types of attachments for
different pile types.
The clinching factor for Tramble was that Gilbert Products
is a Canadian manufacturer, and the only manufacturer in
Canada, says Gravel, of this type of pile driving equipment.
Tramble ultimately chose the MG-90, the larger of the two
MultiGrip tools, for installation of the fender piles and future
company needs.
Putting the new equipment to work
The Little Dover wharf construction project began in January
2017. The fender pile installation, one of the final components
of the project, was expected to take six weeks in November
and December last year. Alva Construction worked on a
second project during that period, just 500 metres away from
the wharf, replacing a bridge. The Grizzly MG-90 was used on
both projects.
On the wharf project, Alva found that its use of the MG-90
in installing the 35-foot, 300-mm-diameter timber fender
piles led to the desired outcome: a shortened schedule.
“The time for this component of the work was dramati-cally
reduced, by about 50 per cent,” said Tramble. Rather
than the allotted six weeks, the fender pile installation took
just three. While the somewhat loose material on the seabed
made it “relatively easy to drive the piles,” said Tramble, that
condition was accounted for in the project scheduling and
was not the reason for the rapid installation. The MG-90 was
useful, Tramble points out, in providing “control over the
driving to prevent driving past the design elevations in the
variable foundation material.”
The requirement for temporary falsework was eliminated,
says Tramble, as the equipment served to hold the piles in
place as they were driven.
Down the road at the bridge project, the presence of bed-rock
made the driving much more difficult. Pipe pile casings
were driven for the foundation and sheet piling for the tempo-rary
shoring. The MG-90, removed for a time from the wharf
project, efficiently handled the conditions and requirements.
Tramble anticipates using the MG-90 on numerous jobs in
the future, but looks forward, as well, to renting out the tool
when it’s not required by Alva. This likelihood has made the
investment even more worthwhile.
Gilbert Products is the only Canadian manufacturer
of this type of pile driving equipment
The Grizzly MultiGrip MG-90
PHOTOS: GILBERT PRODUCTS
GREAT CANADIAN PROJECTS
PILING CANADA 59