Investing in the future with hands-free CPT

Investing in the future with hands-free CPT

The first of its kind and geared at the future: our Track-Truck with COSON-ST. This state-of-the-art machine for hands-free soil investigations was officially put into use on Friday the 18^th of January by the VLG, the Engineering practice of the City of Rotterdam. Over again the Netherlands is the stage for an innovative and pioneering application of CPT technology and that suits the country that forms the cradle of this method for in situ soil investigation. And it is certainly not the first time that we are the designer and builder of such innovation, nor the first time that the VLG is the launching customer. A festive commissioning was therefore appropriate and after the first CPT, the VLG is already showing great enthusiasm about their new asset. “The system works easier, faster and even more quiet compared to traditional CPT systems,” says one of the CPT operators.

Cooperation between Rotterdam and A.P. van den Berg

Our company is known worldwide for its innovative character. We lead the market by continuously introducing technological solutions that determine the future of CPT, both for land and offshore soil investigation. Investing in the future is not unknown to the City of Rotterdam and the cooperation between our companies has been going on for decades. So it was not surprising that the VLG became the first user of this unique COSON-ST machine. “This modern system with stand-out technical features and ergonomic improvements perfectly fits our way of thinking and working. We like to encourage innovations in the CPT world. The new vehicle also meets the latest emission standards, “says Marc van Leeuwen, Director Project Management & Engineering at the City of Rotterdam. We greatly appreciate companies such as VLG that recognize and acknowledge the importance of innovation. That trust makes it worth to continue investing time, money and effort in development and engineering.

COSON-ST

At A.P. van den Berg we have the vision that the CPT cabin as working environment will develop from a workshop to an office space. Whereas before CPT operators were mainly dealing with manual operations to keep the production going, now an engineer will only monitor the production process and can fill the rest of the time “on board” with processing of the data and with design or other office-related work. To support this vision, we have developed the ST-technology. This patented Single-Twist (ST) system enables a fully-automatic CPT cycle with the also patented hydraulically driven COSON pushing system. With just one push of the button, the cycle is started in which the CPT string, with at the tip the measuring instrument, is pushed into the soil by the COSON in one continuous movement. This CPT string is built up in an inventive manner fully automatically from a reel with separate, but interconnected, ST-rods. After reaching the final depth, the downward pushing movement will change into an upward pulling movement and the CPT string will be automatically disassembled and rolled onto the reel.

This ingenious system offers great ergonomic advantages: the physical load for the system operator is extremely low, the safety is increased enormously because manual actions near the moving system are almost unnecessary and the activities of personnel on the CPT vehicle becomes more effective, namely focused on collecting, reporting and processing of reliable CPT data. In addition, the COSON-ST system offers operational advantages: the system works faster than the traditional systems, deeper CPTs are possible because of the continuous movement and the ST-rod is designed in such a way that the risk of breakage and the associated downtime and costs are limited as much as possible. Finally, the COSON-ST is fully compatible with our digital Icone CPT data acquisition system, including the Icone click-on modules for performing seismic tests, measurements of electrical conductivity or the earth’s magnetic field or vane testing. With this COSON-ST technology we have again laid down a marker with respect to the future of CPT and it is of course great that the City of Rotterdam has been the first to acknowledge this!

About A.P. van den Berg

A.P. van den Berg was founded in 1968 by ing. Arie P. van den Berg. For 50 years, the company, based in Heerenveen, has been designing, building, and supplying advanced equipment and instrumentation for onshore and offshore soil investigation, primarily based on the traditional Dutch sounding method. It also distributes foundation machines for the vibration-free and silent driving of (prefab) foundation piles. Currently, around 50 employees work together to provide customers in approximately 70 countries worldwide with their innovative solutions. Many of these customers are also leaders in their field.

About the municipality Rotterdam

The municipality of Rotterdam is an active innovator, including in physical projects and outdoor spaces. The municipality encourages companies and organizations to do the same, and puts its money where its mouth is. This results in increasingly high-quality work, and the municipality attaches great importance to the environment and occupational safety. The engineers at the Rotterdam Municipal Engineering Department are keen to push the boundaries of technology with skilled partners.

For more information about the COSON-ST