Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog

Just a quick blog to warn about the dangers of storing piling casings upright, something which is done at BPS as space is tight, and I am sure is often the case elsewhere too.

When excavating down to the pile to construct pile caps, the reinforcement cage was clearly damaged on two adjacent piles, as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2. After a brief investigation, it was concluded that the damage was probably caused by screwing a casing into the ground as indicated in Figure 3.

Figure 1. Damaged reinforcement cage 1.

Figure 2. Damaged reinforcement cage 2.

Figure 3. Assessed cause of damage.

What is going to happen now?

• Mitchellsons to break down the pile to sound steel and concrete which could be deep, attach couplers and extension bars and add additional shear reinforcing rings if required;
• Mitchellsons to then build the pile back up.

Impacts to Bauer (Piling Contractor)

• Repair and re‐work charges to be expected from Mitchellsons;
• Could cost Bauer up to £10,000 or £15,000 on this pile! There could be other piles where this has happened, not all are excavated yet.

Preventative Action

• Avoid screwing casings into the platform for storage as much as possible;
• If possible lay casings on the platform;
• If needed to store casings vertically, before screwing the casing ask the setting out engineer if the location is free of previously completed piles;
• The engineer will specifically locate clear areas and mark them out, or place casings into new pile locations to start to form the next pile.