Mobile Crane and Piling Platforms

- A guide to good practice

Date: 11.09.13
By: Jonothan Mack BEng (Hons)
Regional Temporary Works Coordinator

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 Course Contents

• 1.0) Summary of BS5975?

• 2.0) The Design Brief

• 3.0) Procedural Checks and Inspections

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1.0) Summary of BS5975

1.1) What does it say with regards to ground conditions

1.2) Key procedural controls to comply with the code?

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1.1) What Does it Say about Ground Conditions?

a) The maximum allowable bearing pressure for any soil or rock should be selected to
provide adequate safety against ultimate failure and limit the settlement to an
acceptable value.

b) It is essential that variations in the ground underlying and adjacent to a load be

assessed. This includes any cases of variable strata, or when any doubt exists

c) When a site investigation is undertaken for the permanent design, it is desirable

that any additional data likely to be needed for temporary works should also be
obtained.

d) In cases where the filling material is variable in consistency and unable to receive
and transmit loads uniformly, a minimum depth of 0.5 m of the fill should be
removed and replaced by well compacted and stabilized granular material of known
bearing capacity.

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1.2) Key Procedural Requirements?

a) Preparation of an adequate design brief.

b) The Lifting Plan Checklist.

c) Inspection of the works and permit to load.

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2.0) The Design Brief

2.1) Establishing ground conditions

2.2) Appropriate Ground Investigation and Test Results

2.3) Establishing near by hazards

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2.1) Establish Ground Conditions

To accurately determine the ground conditions it is critical to know

the differences between

Cohesive Soils & Non-Cohesive Soils

Only when the soil type is established can an appropriate

investigation be chosen to ensure

The correct tests for & The correct information is

the soil type are sent to the designer for
undertaken calculation of the bearing
capacity.

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NON - COHESIVE SOILS

No interparticle bonding.

Friction determines shear

strength.

Internal Friction angle (φ), is

the measurement of the shear
strength of soils due to friction.

COHESIVE SOILS

Cohesion between particles give

the soil strength.

This is the Cementation between

sand grains Electrostatic attraction
between clay particles

Cohesion (C), is a measure of the

forces that cement particles of soils

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2.2) Ground Investigation and Test Results

What types of ground investigation should be used to determine the

Internal angle of shear (φ ) for a non cohesive material and the
cohesion (C) of a cohesive material?

The correct test for the identified soil type can be chosen from a
number of

Field tests or Laboratory tests

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 Field Tests – a) Shear Vane Test

A vane test is carried out in clays up to stiff in consistency to determine its

cohesion, and can be operated in an exploratory borehole, or to a limited depth by
direct penetration using purpose-designed equipment.

The vane equipment comprises four blades arranged in a cruciform on the end of
rods, which are extended from the ground surface to the test level. The vane is
pushed into undisturbed soil, and the rods are rotated by hand cranking via a worm
and pinion gear.

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 Field Tests – b) Dynamic Probe Test

Dynamic probing employs a system of rods with a conical hardwearing point,

the rods being driven by a drop hammer. It is possible to use dynamic probing
to check rapidly and cheaply soil characteristics around large sites thereby
allowing the interpolation of data between boreholes.
The dynamic probe is a relatively portable and reliable ground investigation tool
which is used to generate a vertical profile of soil to establish an empirical SPT-N
value at different depths. It is therefore suited to non-cohesive soils (sands &
gravels etc).

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 2.3) Establishing Near by Hazards

Any hazards within the ground that may cause the crane to become
unstable should be considered if

a) They are supporting the ground beneath the crane

b) Are close enough to be affected by the crane or

c) Which may disturb the established ground conditions

These hazards if present are to be included within the “Design Brief” to be

sent to the designer. It is therefore important to be aware of

How load is transferred What can be affected by

through the ground beneath & the transfer of these loads
an outrigger plate through the from a crane through the
soil. ground?

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 Load from an outrigger plate or base may be assumed to spread down
through the ground at a slope of 1:1 (45 degrees) in both directions.

45 degrees

This means that the load from an outrigger or spreader can be transferred to

• Underground services • Nearby foundations

• Underground drains • Manholes or tanks

• Slopes or excavations • Ground works

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These examples show some failures due to the placement of the crane outriggers over
hazards or close to hazards. So what hazards may have been the cause?

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 So by ensuring that a designer is issued

a) The location of the lift

b) The maximum load or pressure to be placed on the ground

c) Whether the soils are cohesive or non cohesive

d) The possible nearby hazards

e) The results of ground investigations at the location of the lift/load

A suitable design brief will have been provided to the

Temporary Works Designer.

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3.0) Check Lists and Inspections

3.1) Lifting Plan Check List

3.2) Inspection form / Permit to Load

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3.1) Lifting Plan Check List

A check list should be used to ensure that the lifting plan is compliant with
the information issued within the design brief. Items that are often missed
and should be included are as follows :-

Item Reason

To ensure outriggers sit on

The position of any lifts
drawn to scale on plan
including dimensions.
The type and size of crane
being provided
the designed platform. To
ensure they are not placed
closer to hazards.
A different crane could place
higher loads on the ground than
allowed for in the design.
Outriggers spacing can be
different placing them off the
platform or nearer hazards.

The max radius, height and Changes in these will alter

weight of the lift the max. load placed on
the ground by the crane.

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3.2) Inspection form / Permit to Load
An inspection should be undertaken to ensure that the constructed
platform is compliant with the design.

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Questions?

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Influence of Load and Foundation Size on Soils

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4.0) Piling and Piling Rigs

4.1) BRE R470

4.2) FPS Rig Schedule and Working

Platform certificate

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4.1) BRE R470

The BRE process considers the various loading conditions under two class
headings.

• CASE 1 LOADING

These loading conditions may apply when the rig or crane operator is
unlikely to be able to aid recovery from an imminent platform failure.
Operations in which this type of loading condition applies could include:

Standing

Travelling

Handling in crane mode e.g. lifting a precast concrete

pile into the leader, handling casings and reinforcement
cages

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• CASE 2 LOADING

These loading conditions may apply when the rig or crane operator
can control the load safely, for example by releasing the line load,
or by reducing power, to aid recovery from an imminent platform
failure.

Operations in which this type of loading condition applies

could include:

Installing casing

Drilling

Extracting an auger

Extracting casing

Rig travelling or slewing with a fixed mast which has a

foot or fixed load (e.g. pile held in the leader) close to the
platform surface

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4.2) FPS Rig Schedule

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4.2) Working Platform
Certificate

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HSE Enforcement

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Questions?

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