TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Erroll Castle is accustomed to wearing many hats.
Operating under the business name Castle Design &
Inspection Services, he offers engineering, inspection
and testing services. He also works in foundation construction
and is a partner at C & E Piling Ltd.
Castle first started in construction in 2007. Recognizing
a shortage of trades people in Saskatchewan at the time, he
bought a trackhoe and started chasing the work. Soon afterwards
Castle noticed an increasing demand for foundation
construction services, particularly in the oil patch where
screw piles were being used to anchor guywires.
“But a lot of those screw piles were un-engineered,” said
Castle. Recognizing a potential niche where he might be
able to provide added value, he sought training on screw pile
design, engineering and installation from Piertech Systems
in St. Louis, Mo. This training and certification process
helped Castle add screw pile design and installation to his
scope of practice.
According to Castle, “Any and all screw piles should be
designed and checked by an engineer. There’s a lot of math
that goes into it if you want it done right.”
Whether he is working on foundations for cantilevered
docks, irrigation platforms or finding a way to support a
new building façade on a century old foundation, Castle
has a certain can-do attitude. “So much of our piling is
creative solutions.”
His creative problem-solving abilities were put to use
recently on a project commissioned by Water Surveys
Canada, the federal agency that monitors Canada’s waterways
through hydrometric monitoring. Measuring and
recording hydrometric data is important to ensure that
established water sharing agreements between Canada
and the U.S. regarding rivers that cross the national border
– such as the Red River in Manitoba or the Souris River in
Saskatchewan – are being observed.
There are similar water sharing agreements in place
between the federal government and the oil companies in
Fort McMurray, Alta. These agreements allow for a certain
portion of the Athabasca River’s water to be used by oil companies
for their processing needs, while also specifying that
a significant portion must remain unused and thereby preserved
for nature.
SO MUCH OF PILING IS
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
One of which was needed on a recent
project for Water Surveys Canada
By Bilal Rana
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ERROL CASTLE
PILING CANADA 25