THE FUTURE HAS ARRIVED

Yes, that’s right. The future is already with us, and it arrived so silently that you could be forgiven for not noticing.

In a world full of noise and alarm, and particularly in an industry such as construction where high levels of noise are commonplace and seemingly unavoidable, the arrival of heavy-duty silent machinery is indeed a breakthrough. And yet that’s what we can announce here – a virtually silent new version of that serial offender, the pile driver.

After 2 years of research and collaborative construction with a manufacturer, Anvil Foundations of Cheadle, Cheshire, has recently taken delivery of a totally new design of Top-driven Silent Piling Rig, the BKH11, which is already being deployed on new projects with dramatic results.

 And, as if sound-reduction alone wasn’t enough, the new rig also offers many other operational and environmental advantages to bring a smile to the faces of clients and contractors alike. As the MD of Anvil Foundations,  Nigel MacLean, himself very involved with the new development, is quick to point out:

‘In this business, if you’re designing a new machine from scratch, it’s as well to look at all aspects and functions. In this day and age, although noise reduction is a big factor, productivity remains all-important and improvements to operator convenience and environmental impact are also important considerations’.

Of course, news of ‘silent’ mini-piling machines has been heard before, but in truth these quieter machines simply have more mufflers and dampers fitted to lessen the impact of sound – mechanically and in themselves they are just as noisy as they ever were. However, the totally new design of the BKH11 disperses the energy from  the hammer impact in a revolutionary new way, such that you can stand right next to the new rig, whilst it operates at full tilt in the severest of conditions, and still hold a normal conversation without raising your voice.

In technical terms, the machine generates less than 75 dB of sound at 3 metres distance (that’s way below the HSE maximum regulatory level for ear protection), which compares very favourably with the 100-110dB levels typically generated by conventional rigs. That’s not bad when you consider that the new design is not a small  machine: with an overall weight of 12.5 tonnes and a hammer weight of 2 tonnes, this is no ballerina of the building site, but a tough and sturdy machine capable of packing a mighty punch. With the new technology
also come significantly reduced levels of vibration and reverberation – both important benefits to operator safety and public acceptability which cannot be delivered by conventional machines. While sound and vibration reduction make great headlines, closer examination of the BKH11’s on-site performance shows even more remarkable results. Capable of handling any topdriven pile to the client’s requirements (so mostly 4m thickwalled steel case and pre-cast concrete piles, but also timber and various H sections – the Anvil website has full details), the new tractor-based machine can fit a staggering 250+ linear metres of piles per day (some 6 times faster than conventional rigs) and its manoeuvrability means that operating on more than one site per day becomes quite feasible. Furthermore, those sites can include greenfield locations for new build; sensitive areas such as schools, hospitals and densely populated estates; industrial sites and warehouses – you name it, the new rig can move on and off site with a minimum of disruption, without any necessity to avoid evenings or other sensitive working hours.

None of these innovations has come about by accident. Anvil Foundations is a well-established, experienced company, whose MD, Nigel MacLean, has come up through the ranks of the trade and plays a very ‘hands-on’ role both within his own business and in the safety and training areas of the foundations industry as a whole. In his own words: ‘This is a tough industry operating in tough times. Many well known
company names have disappeared recently and those who survive will do so by operating more smartly and effectively in the future. The key to this is efficient performance – welltrained, safety-conscious staff, good levels of experience and reliability, and, above all, the right equipment to do the job. We designed this new machine with all the key factors in mind: power and capacity, reduced noise and vibration, improved productivity, site access and durability. It is a unique machine, the first of its size and kind in the world, and because it’s been purpose designed by us, it takes us into a whole new area of service and success’. The evolution of the new machine makes an interesting story. Although the technology of ‘silent’ pile driving is not new and smaller prototype machines already exist, its application in this case came about through  extremely close collaboration between the manufacturer and Anvil, the commissioning firm, such that the resulting equipment is different again from the originating concept. With many years of experience of underpinning and foundation work, mostly in domestic and light industrial projects, Anvil knew precisely what it wanted in terms of productivity, site access and the technicalities of pile-driving in different substrata and ground conditions. A

constant flow of ideas was established between Anvil and the manufacturer and frequent visits during the machine build ensured that the specification could be ‘tweaked’ to ensure the optimum balance between performance and safe working loads. Even at the frustratingly lengthy trialling stage, changes were made to customise the machine to Anvil’s precise operating requirements, so that everyone on the project has
valuable experience in hand which will be a vital asset when the rig reaches its full operating workload. So, what we now have as a result of this ground-breaking collaboration is the world’s largest silent top-driven piling hammer, offering unrivalled standards not just of noise and vibration reduction, but also of speed, operational versatility, ease of use and environmental awareness. Anvil Foundations has always liked being referred to as ‘ the solid foundation company’: with this major new resource and investment it will arguably be able to show those clients and competitors with less solid foundations, both literally and metaphorically, its ability to offer the market true innovation and leadership.