How do They do That? Sink a 45-foot Steel Piling in the Ground in Minutes

Watching a Mobil Ram Shoring Rig sink a 45-foot steel piling in the soil was something to watch. There was no drilling. No excavating. No Hydraulic hammering. No hydraulic pressing. None of that. At first glance, the machine was just an unimpressive looking piece of equipment, but when the operator began to raise the leader from horizontal to vertical, those of us watching took notice. We decided to take the job foreman up on his invitation to “stick around and be amazed.” These still images and the video does not do justice to the process: The vibration around the piling was something to feel. It was like a food massage on steroids. After the machine stopped our feet and legs still felt the effect of the vibration.

Still Images

Making my way around the southeast side of the staging area toward the Children’s Hospital, I noticed a Mobil Ram Shoring Rig. The setup crew were working on the rig and was quite certain that the crew would have the $1.5 million piece of equipment in operation very soon. My suspicions were confirmed upon checking with a couple of workers who were attached to the rig. After having been around the expensive equipment on this project, I knew that these machines did not sit idle for very long.

After returning to grade, I made my way up to the southeast section of the yard to check out the steel that had been stacked where the prototype building   The PROTOTYPE That Served a Purpose had stood prior to being razed during the first couple of weeks in March.

The jaws on the telescopic leader mast are bone-crushing enormous. The chain hanging from the head will be threaded through a hole in the piling for safety purposes. This image is a bit out of focus in that I was making a hasty retreat to get out of the way.

Notice how the jaws are clamped on the top edge of the piling. The chain is threaded through the hole just below the jaws.

Setting the piling on the spot. Notice the dimensions of the steel piling: 24 X 14.6 X 45 feet. The total depth of the pit will be approximately 20 feet.

The piling is a foot in the ground.  According to the specs on this piece of equipment, “[t]he vibratory drivers/extractors provide up to 157 tons driving force with high frequency/variable moment features that allow for pile installation and removal with minimal disturbance to surrounding soils and structures.” Another way of saying it: The earth shakes, the earth vibrates, and those who are near where the shaken is going on, they are feelin’ a whole lot of shaking goin’ on.

A who’s who in the frame: The operator (in the cab), a backup operator, a mechanic, a foreman, and two labors. Out of site is the forklift operator who is responsible for getting the steep piling lined up with the jaws of the telescopic leader mast. Yes, Mable, this is a dirty job.

At this point, the piling is approximately 35 feet down in the ground.

The piling is nearly set. Dirt must be extracted from around the piling to sink it down to the colored line. The jaws must be kept out of the soil.

~ The process to Sink the First Piling took a total of 13 minutes ~

Thursday, May 2, 1019

By 3 PM the following day, all of the piling on the north side had been sunk defining the north boundary of the pit.

The Video

This fun video demonstrates how a Mobil Shoring Rig skinks a 45-foot steel piling in a matter of minutes after the crew sets the piling at its entry point.