CoGen Plant

Driving Piles Inside A CoGen Plant

Forklift mounted MKT hammer
Occasonially a job comes along that requires piles to be driven at the site with limited headroom. The job discussed here was done a few years ago by George W. Rogers at a NYC Housing Authority power plant in Brooklyn, NY.

The job had limited storage space. No crane was to be used and the only power equipment on the job was a 13,000 lb. capacity fork lift truck set up with a fork mounted MKT 9B3 hammer. The piles were 8 5/8" OD by .250" wall, about 40' long. Jack Dougherty worked with Bob MacKenna of Rogers on the piling lengths delivery method and necessary attachments to the pile.

Piles placed through cored holes in concrete floor

It was determined that the first section of pile would be placed in an augured hole two feet deep. This allows a twelve (12) foot section to be used with just enough head room for the 8'4" hammer. The second and third sections were ten (10) feet long and the last section was eight (8) foot long.

Bundled piles being handled with forklift
We fabricated the pipe with a Rock Cross point on the bottom of the first section. The S-1800 splice was machined out on one side so it could easily be slipped onto the pipe and a weld was made around the splicer. The second and third sections had a splicer installed and the last section was plain end.

The piles were bundled and strapped in three ton lifts to allow the pipe to be handled with the fork lift and be easily transported into the building.

This job went smoothly because of a little preplanning.