Easier on the Body
Brown, 55, said, “The automotive business can be a little hard
on the body,” and it’s one of the reasons he opted to make the
switch to piling rig operator, “It’s a little easier on me.”
Brown also enjoys the comradery among pile driving
crews as well as the satisfaction of seeing a job successfully
completed. He also welcomes the variety that comes with
pile driving work.
“Every job is different and you’re in a different location
quite often,” Brown said.
Brown spent nearly six years with Copps Services, working
primarily on projects for the oil and gas industry in Alberta
and Saskatchewan, but doing some civil construction work
as well. One of these jobs involved erecting apartment build-ings
in New York City.
“The New York project was very interesting to me,” Brown
said. “We were building these massive high rises right on the
East River in Brooklyn. All the piles had to go in so deep, right
down to bedrock, and it was different style of piling for me
as far as how much capacity you had to put down to make
that happen.”
In 2018, Brown did some contract work for South
Carolina-based Pile Drivers Inc., installing timber piles for
housing projects in and around the Charleston area of South
Carolina before joining Force-Copps Piling Inc. (a new firm
established with the merger of Copps Services and Force Pile
& Foundations) last October.
Brown has also been involved in training pile driving
crews and he believes one of the strongest attributes a piling
rig operator can have is keeping an open mind.
“It’s impossible to know everything. You’re always going to
learn something every day and you shouldn’t think you know
it all,” he said. “You have to be open to new ideas, especially
with the safety aspect of it.
“That’s a big piece of equipment and you’re hoisting some
pretty heavy loads,” Brown said. “The biggest thing is what
goes on around you. You have to be looking out for the guys
on the ground and always watching for obstructions or
obstacles, so that you’re not damaging equipment or putting
people at risk. You have to be very mindful of that.”
Brown says he’s optimistic about the future of the piling
industry and is encouraged that hydraulic hammers are
taking the place of diesel hammers on many job sites
these days.
“Diesel hammers are going away because of the environ-mental
impact they have,” he said. “I think that’s a move in
the right direction.”
PERSONNEL – IN THE RIG
“It’s impossible to know
everything. You’re
always going to learn
something every day
and you shouldn’t think
you know it all.”
– Rory Brown, piling rig operator
58 Q1 2019 www.pilingcanada.ca
/www.pilingcanada.ca
/www.piledrivingsolutions.com
