Customer saves over £500 per day after switching to PL3000CFA instrumentation
Kings Lynn based piling contractor G M Piling recently purchased 2 new CFA piling rigs. The rigs were supplied with pre-fitted in-built instrumentation.
In discussion with G M Piling’s Managing Director, John Earp, we suggested the instrumentation was upgraded to N D Technology’s PL3000CFA systems.
‘So why would G M Piling want to replace the in-built systems with your PL3000/CFA ?’ he asked.
Our answer was simple - ‘Because with our systems, you can pile more efficiently and this will enable you to save a considerable amount of money. What’s more, we can prove it’.
John was initially sceptical of our claim but was prepared to set up a back-to-back trial with 2 rigs at the same site. One rig used the in-built instrumentation and the other used NDT’s PL3000 instrumentation.
The trial showed conclusively that the PL3000 equipped rig allowed each pile to be constructed with less excess concrete. So much less that the savings in concrete amounted to more than £500 per day - that's over £125,000 per rig per year ! In little more than 6 weeks, this means the instrumentation would pay for itself completely and within just 5 to 6 years, the savings would equal the entire cost of the piling rig!*
But the benefits of the PL3000 system don’t end there. In addition to providing a highly effective tool to control the installation of CFA piles, the system also provides a sophisticated back-office data management solution – N D Technology’s ground breaking online application 'Datacloud'.
Datacloud allows piling managers to see at a glance the daily progress of their sites in near real time whilst mobile on a tablet or a smartphone, or in the office on a PC or smart TV. You can see, for example, the start times of the rigs, the number of piles installed, how many linear metres have been bored, the concrete consumption, the oversupply, the delay times etc.
On the strength of the on-site trial, GM Piling placed orders for PL3000/CFA systems to ensure their entire piling fleet was fitted with NDT instrumentation.
In discussion with G M Piling’s Managing Director, John Earp, we suggested the instrumentation was upgraded to N D Technology’s PL3000CFA systems.
‘So why would G M Piling want to replace the in-built systems with your PL3000/CFA ?’ he asked.
Our answer was simple - ‘Because with our systems, you can pile more efficiently and this will enable you to save a considerable amount of money. What’s more, we can prove it’.
John was initially sceptical of our claim but was prepared to set up a back-to-back trial with 2 rigs at the same site. One rig used the in-built instrumentation and the other used NDT’s PL3000 instrumentation.
The trial showed conclusively that the PL3000 equipped rig allowed each pile to be constructed with less excess concrete. So much less that the savings in concrete amounted to more than £500 per day - that's over £125,000 per rig per year ! In little more than 6 weeks, this means the instrumentation would pay for itself completely and within just 5 to 6 years, the savings would equal the entire cost of the piling rig!*
But the benefits of the PL3000 system don’t end there. In addition to providing a highly effective tool to control the installation of CFA piles, the system also provides a sophisticated back-office data management solution – N D Technology’s ground breaking online application 'Datacloud'.
Datacloud allows piling managers to see at a glance the daily progress of their sites in near real time whilst mobile on a tablet or a smartphone, or in the office on a PC or smart TV. You can see, for example, the start times of the rigs, the number of piles installed, how many linear metres have been bored, the concrete consumption, the oversupply, the delay times etc.
On the strength of the on-site trial, GM Piling placed orders for PL3000/CFA systems to ensure their entire piling fleet was fitted with NDT instrumentation.
With the latest systems now having been up and running for several months, we were delighted to receive the following feedback from John Earp (GMP MD):
“After a long and productive relationship with N D Technology, G M Piling Limited recently invested in the PL3000 system and Datacloud for its two newly purchased CFA rigs. The rigs originally operated with an alternative system, however taking into consideration our extensive experience with the NDT system, and G M Piling’s requirements, we elected to retro fit the PL3000 thereby standardising the instrumentation of our fleet of CFA rigs.
The NDT PL3000 instrumentation system and the Datacloud has become an indispensable tool for GM Piling. We can monitor and react if necessary to real time situations with actual ‘concrete’ information.
One of our largest projects recently undertaken in London was to install CFA piles in layered strata. At tender stage we calculated the total concrete volume based on our experiences from previous projects in this area with similar ground conditions, pile diameters and lengths. Our aim was to reduce this figure whilst still installing satisfactory quality piles. Given the scale of this project we needed to monitor our activities closely not only in regards to concrete volume but production levels as well. The PL3000 system and the Datacloud enabled us to do this on a daily basis throughout this contract period, so at any point during the project we would know whether we were on programme and the volume of concrete used, and therefore make real-time changes as necessary to deliver a cost efficient project.
Monitor + record + review + improve = high quality of installation in an improved cost efficient way.
With the technology now available to us, we have been able to achieve our desire to innovate and improve. We now have the tools to advance our continuing goal to save money whilst delivering a quality product.”
If you are not using PL3000/CFA systems on all your piling rigs and would like see how much our systems and expertise could benefit your company, please contact us for further information.
*A £500 per day saving on concrete used can amount to over £125,000 per rig per year. In 6 years, this equates to £750,000, equivalent to (or more than) the cost of many CFA rigs.
“After a long and productive relationship with N D Technology, G M Piling Limited recently invested in the PL3000 system and Datacloud for its two newly purchased CFA rigs. The rigs originally operated with an alternative system, however taking into consideration our extensive experience with the NDT system, and G M Piling’s requirements, we elected to retro fit the PL3000 thereby standardising the instrumentation of our fleet of CFA rigs.
The NDT PL3000 instrumentation system and the Datacloud has become an indispensable tool for GM Piling. We can monitor and react if necessary to real time situations with actual ‘concrete’ information.
One of our largest projects recently undertaken in London was to install CFA piles in layered strata. At tender stage we calculated the total concrete volume based on our experiences from previous projects in this area with similar ground conditions, pile diameters and lengths. Our aim was to reduce this figure whilst still installing satisfactory quality piles. Given the scale of this project we needed to monitor our activities closely not only in regards to concrete volume but production levels as well. The PL3000 system and the Datacloud enabled us to do this on a daily basis throughout this contract period, so at any point during the project we would know whether we were on programme and the volume of concrete used, and therefore make real-time changes as necessary to deliver a cost efficient project.
Monitor + record + review + improve = high quality of installation in an improved cost efficient way.
With the technology now available to us, we have been able to achieve our desire to innovate and improve. We now have the tools to advance our continuing goal to save money whilst delivering a quality product.”
If you are not using PL3000/CFA systems on all your piling rigs and would like see how much our systems and expertise could benefit your company, please contact us for further information.
*A £500 per day saving on concrete used can amount to over £125,000 per rig per year. In 6 years, this equates to £750,000, equivalent to (or more than) the cost of many CFA rigs.
