FEATURE
schedule, used 1.3 million work hours
without a single time-lost injury and
provided new technologies to bring to
future projects.
The dam stabilization project
that saved millions of lives
The Mosul Dam in Iraq straddles the
Tigris River and is the largest dam
in the country. It’s 2.3 miles long and
capable of holding back three trillion
gallons of water. Built in the 1980s and
under the control of ISIS for years, by
2015 the earth-filled embankment-type
clay-core dam had deteriorated to the
point of being declared an emergency –
a potential weapon of mass destruction.
While the war conflict with ISIS
continued only 13 kilometres away,
the Trevi Group came in under the
protection of the Coalition Forces and
the Italian Army. Under tight security
and logistical constraints, and in
some of the toughest environmental
conditions imaginable, work commenced
in 2016 to stabilize the dam
through drilling and grouting. The
team had to do this as fast as both
machines and humans could make
it happen.
The company used multipurpose
drilling rigs for specific
drilling techniques and space constraints:
two diesel crawler-mounted
Soilmec SM-16s and six electric
crawler-mounted Soilmec SM-5s,
customized with special features to
execute boreholes up to 300 metres,
using both percussion and rotary
drilling methods. For the grouting
works, Trevi Group developed the
T-Grout, a computer-automated web
application allowing remote management
of grouting activities.
With a gruelling 24/6 work schedule
through June 2018, Trevi Group
completed 967,847.8 linear feet of
grouted boreholes and five million
man-hours with no time-lost accidents;
a clear demonstration of the
company’s commitment to safety
training, even under such difficult and
dangerous circumstances.
This safety record is no surprise when
considering Soilmec’s commitment to
professional development and training
for its employees and customers.
In 2006, the Trevi Group established
the Foundations Technology Academy,
Italy’s prestigious worldwide training
school, available to maintenance
mechanics, rig operators and anyone
interested in civil engineering. Certified
trainers help operators achieve the full
potential of Soilmec equipment with
classroom, online and personalized
on-site training. In addition, after-sales
support means 24/7 expert advice and
trouble-shooting are available.
Marco Chiarabelli, Soilmec North
America corporate sales area manager,
outlines several goals for the Canadian
pile driving marketplace.
“We aim to expand our facilities to be
closer to customers. That means increasing
the fleet of rigs and inventory of
parts available locally, having seminars,
training schools for our equipment
and technology, and strengthening our
relationships with long-term customers.”
This is another example of what
has been behind Soilmec and the Trevi
Group from the beginning: thinking
ahead, laying foundations today for
tomorrow’s results, foreseeing challenges
before they arise and devising
new solutions.
That was Davide Trevisani’s vision
50 years ago and Soilmec today will continue
that vision into the future.
The company achieved its first
patent in 1983, covering the
telescopic cab, the crane-lifting
frame and pivoting counterweight
for the self-propelling drilling rig.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SOILMEC
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