This cover story, featured in the May 2017 issue of Hard Hat News, explains how PKF-Mark IIII took a break from traditional pile driving methods to rent two RTG Pile Driving Rigs from Equipment Corporation of America for its PA Turnpike/I-95 Interchange Project in Bucks County, Pa. The switch paid off.

2. 4 • May 2017 HARD HAT NEWS
An RTG RM 20 Pile Driving Rig h am m ers bat-
tered piles in th e sh adows of a Pen n sylvania
Tu rn pike bridge abu tm en t on a n arrow strip of
lan d between an em bankm en t an d a roadway on
a warm October m orn in g in 2016. Upon drivin g
an H-pile to refu sal, the opera tor deftly execu tes
a 180-degree tu rn with in a confin ed space an d
crawls a sh ort distan ce to retrieve th e n ext H-pile.
A worker from PKF-Mark III h ooks it u p; th e rig
lu res an d secu res it, an d then travels back to th e
work site. Th e m ech an ical process repeats itself
over and over, indicatin g th at seriou s produ ctivity
is afoot.
Th e RM 20, preceded by th e RG 19 T on th e PA
Tu rn pike/ I-95 In terch an ge Project, represen ts
the willin gn ess of a forward-th in kin g con tractor to
break with tradition to in stall bridge fou n dation s.
PKF h istorically relied on a crane-su spended pile
h am m er. Its decision to ren t pile driving rigs from
Equ ipm ent Corporation of Am erica (ECA) is pay-
in g off with dou bled produ ctivity, redu ced labor,
in crea sed safety, an d cost-savin gs.
Con n ect in g t h e m issin g lin k
In terstate 95 from Main e to Florida was com plet-
ed in 1969 with n o conn ection to the Pen n sylvan ia
Tu rn pike. Sin ce th at tim e, m otorists have been
forced to n avigate crowded back roads to tran sfer
between h igh ways. Th e PA Tu rn pike/ I-95 Inter -
ch an ge Project — join tly owned by th e Penn sylva-
n ia Tu rn pike Com m ission , Pen nsylvan ia Depart-
men t of Tran sportation (Pen n DOT), an d Federal
High way Adm in istration (FHWA) — will create th e
missin g lin k.
Newtown , PA-based PKF h as been plowin g
throu gh Section D10 sin ce bein g awarded th e
$142.9-m illion con tract in Au gu st 2014. Th e firm
is working aggressively to fin ish constru ction by
October 2017. Th e con tractor’s scope in clu des re-
con stru cting an d widen ing 2.5 m iles of th e Tu rn -
pike in Bu cks Cou nty; bu ildin g piers for th e 14-
span I-95 flyover ram p; replacin g th ree m ain lin e
bridges; con stru ctin g a fou r -span bridge; an d re-
pairin g two bridges.
Th is project h as special m ean in g to PKF as a lo-
cal contractor, accordin g to Vice Presiden t Larry
Keou gh . “It’s on e of th ose sign atu re jobs we’ve
been focu sed on for m an y years, h e says. “To h ave
the privilege to be th e first on e ou t of th e gate is
pretty im pressive.”
Pilin g Su perin ten den t Sabrin a Villan ti sits in a
job trailer rattlin g off details on bridges as if sh e
keeps a set of plan s in h er head. “All of ou r pilin g
is in the m ain five bridges on th is con tract,” sh e
explains over th e m u ffled pou n ding of th e RM 20
ju st ou tside.
Th is con tract con sists of several fou n dation el-
em en ts, in clu din g 60,000 lin ear feet of H-piles,
rou gh ly 31,000-squ are-feet of soil nail wall earth
su pport, 16,000-squ are-feet of steel sh eet pile
earth su pport, an d 6,000 lin ear feet of drilled
sh afts.
Aban don in g t h e t radit ion al m et h od
PKF ha s relied on a cran e-su spen ded vibrato-
ry h am m er with leaders sin ce bein g fou n ded in
1969. Breakin g with tradition on a m egaproject
by switch in g to a pile drivin g rig m igh t seem risky,
bu t PKF plann ed it carefu lly.
Keou gh clearly recalls th e even ts leadin g u p
to th e decision . Th e sch edu le dicta ted that PKF
wou ld n eed to ru n th ree pile drivin g operation s
con cu rrently. At th e tim e, it was ru n n ing two
crawler cran es with vibratory h am m ers an d th e
RG 19 T with a vibratory h a m mer. PKF con sidered
ren tin g a third cran e an d even pu rch ased a sec-
on d h am m er.
“We were seein g produ ctions that were leaving
th e cran e-su spen ded vibra tory ham m er in th e
du st,” Villan ti says of th e RG 19 T. “We were dou -
blin g, if n ot triplin g produ ction , based on h ow
m an y sh eets we cou ld drive in a day.”
PKF’s in terest in th e RM 20 h ad been piqu ed in
Win ter 2015 du rin g a dem on stration at ECA’s Al-
dan , PA location. Alth ou gh th ere was n o n eed on
th e PA Tu rn pike/ I-95 In terch an ge Project at th e
tim e, PKF was im pressed. ECA’s New York/ New
J ersey Regional Sa les Man a ger Bru ce Lan gan ar -
ran ged for th e con tractor to test th e RM 20 on an -
oth er project.
Th e RM 20 took center stage in Au gu st 2016.
PKF’s decision to scratch th e itch an d try ou t
ECA’s RM 20 paid off. Its ability to dou ble produ c-
tion allowed th e con tractor to elim in ate th e th ird
set u p altogeth er. Th e con tractor fu rth er capital-
ized by pu tting th e u n u sed secon d cran e to work
with a crew of carpen ters.
More p rodu ct ion , less labor
Th e RM 20 also redu ced m an power. Th e tradi-
tion al set u p requ ires a cra n e operator su pported
by a fu ll crew of pile drivers wh erea s th e RM 20
requ ires an operator an d a two-person crew.
R TG p ile
d r ivin g r igs
p a y off b ig
for PA’s
P KF -Ma r k III
PKF-Mark III Piling Superintendent Sabrina Villanti and
ECA New York/New Jersey Regional Sales Manager
Bruce Langan worked closely to keep the RTG Pile Driv-
ing Rigs operating at peak performance on the PA Turn-
pike/I-95 Interchange Project.
RTG ?
PKF drove 14 x 89 H-piles to dense bedrock at 12
to 80 feet, although 35 feet was the average. Piles
were capped with a heavy-duty steel tip for added
penetration.
b y Br ia n M. F r a ley,
F r a ley Con st r u ction Ma r k etin g
RTG 5

3. HARD HAT NEWS May 2017 • 5
Th e crew h as adapted well with th e RM 20 as the cen terpiece of th e pile drivin g
operation . PKF h as two operators — n either of wh ich are pilin g rig operators.
Th e self-su fficien cy of th e RM 20 elim in ated th e n eed for on e of ou r key fore-
m en , accordin g to Keou gh. “The RM 20 is so self-su fficien t you don ’t n eed a
key forem an ,” h e says. “You ju st n eed on e person on th e grou nd an d an oth er
feedin g th e m ach in e an d that’s you r crew.”
Th e prim ary operator boarded h is first RTG Pile Drivin g Rig in Su m m er 2015.
ECA dispatch ed Langan an d an ECA factory-train ed service tech n ician to th e
site at th e ou tset to train th e crew on th e RM 20 set th e pace for a sm ooth
tran sition .
“Given his experience with th e previou s m ach in e (RG 19T) it on ly took h im a
cou ple of days to get acclim ated,” Keou gh recalls, adding th at ECA’s su pport
was key. “He felt com fortable having a ph on e n u m ber h e cou ld call an d get all
of th e in form ation an d m ake su re h e was doin g all th e right th ings.”
Feedin g t h e Beast
Th e RM 20 gave PKF th e ability to dou ble produ ction , bu t th e on u s wa s on its
crew to m ain tain a steady su pply of piles. Keou gh an d th e crew, recognizin g th e
rig’s h yper efficien cy, du bbed th is process “feedin g th e beast.”
It requ ired both ph ysica l an d m en tal effort for PKF’s crew. While th e piles ar -
rive on site marked with drivin g depth s, th ey do n ot always m atch the su pplied
borin gs. It requ ires th e team to ch oose an d m an age piles based on h ow th e
oth ers are goin g in to avoid waste.
PKF was accu stom ed to being able to revisit driven piles before splicin g be-
cau se the h am m er with leader dan gles overh ead an d can be reposition ed. Usin g
a track-m ou n ted m ach in e like th e RTG requ ired carefu l selection of pile sizes
an d im m ediate splicing in areas where driven piles were clu stered several rows
deep. PKF rose to th e ch allen ge a s eviden ced by th e crew’s produ ction rate of
u p to 20 piles in stalled per day.
Th e RM 20’s produ ctivity dazzled PKF regardless of wh eth er th e piles were
plu m b or battered. Th e RM 20 can effectively drive battered piles becau se of its
adju stable leader, wh ich can tilt backwards 45 degrees, an d forward an d side-
ways 18.5 degrees. Th e h igh tu rn in g poin t of th e m ast provides stability in even
th e m ost extrem e in clin ation s.
A n ew le vel of accessibilit y
Upon evalu atin g th e position ing of th e piers an d abu tm en ts, in addition to th e
topograph y, PKF recogn ized th at position in g th e cran e at street level to service
th e pile drivin g operation presen ted challen ges. Th e RM 20’s ability to m aneu -
ver on the jobsite proved essential.
“Th e RM 20 is perfect for th is project becau se you have h igh m obility in a con -
fin ed area,” explain s Sales Director North Am erica Dirk Him borg of Ram m tech -
n ik, Gm bH. “Th e rig h as th e option to be fitted with a h ydrau lically-driven m ast
foot an d back jack-u ps to facilitate liftin g an d rotation of th e u n dercarriage,
wh ich is especially h elpfu l on u neven su rfaces and con fin ed work spaces.”
It was n ot ju st th e RM 20’s con fin ed space fu n ction ality, bu t also its ability
to navigate ch allengin g terrain , es pecially m u d. While a cran e cou ld h ave been
RTG from ?
The RM 20 can effectively drive battered piles because of its adjustable lead-
er, which can tilt backwards 45 degrees, and forward and sideways 18.5 degr
ees.
PKF-Mark had historically relied on a crane-suspended pile hammer. It’s decision
to rent pile driving rigs from ECA is paying off with doubled productivity, reduced
labor, increased safety, and cost-savings.
The HRS 5 Accelerated Hydraulic Hammer delivered a higher
percentage energy transfer and greater operating speed than
a traditional diesel hammer.
RTG ?
RTG from 4
RTG 7

4. HARD HAT NEWS • 7
position ed to avoid th e m u d altogeth -
er, th e problem on PA Tu r npike/ I-95 In -
terch an ge Project was that th ere was of-
ten n owh ere to position it.
Villan ti recalled an instan ce wh ere
PKF n eeded to relocate the pile drivin g
operation to th e oth er side of a bridge
with a 13 ½ -foot clearan ce. Th e opera-
tor h ydrau lically tu cked th e RM 20’s
m ast down and crawled u n der neath.
Breaking down an d relocating a cran e
wou ld h ave been cost-proh ibitive.
HRS 5 Hydrau lic Ham m er delivers
power su rge
PKF h ad been u sing th e RG 19 T Pil-
in g Rig with a vibratory h am m er in
Su m m er 2015 before th e RM 20 with an
HRS 5 Accelerated Hydrau lic Ham m er
took u p a perm an en t position on th e
site. The RG 19 T was drivin g sh eetin g
and soldier piles for n on -load bearin g
application s, bu t tra ffic wa s sh ifted
onto n ewly con stru cted facilities in Sep-
tem ber 2016, prom pting th e n eed for a
different approach .
“This is an accelerated ham m er so
wh atever position you h ave you get a
dou ble pu sh ,” explain s Him borg. “It
gives the ram weigh t not only an u p
pu sh, bu t also a pu sh down so you
don ’t lose any en ergy. You ’re n ot relying
strictly on gravity.”
Th e HRS 5 delivers u p to 53,104-foot-
pou n ds. PKF especially appreciated th e
ability to adju st the en ergy goin g into
th e h am m er with the flick of a th u m b.
Th e HRS 5 n ot on ly delivers a h igher
percentage energy tran sfer than a tradi-
tion al diesel h am m er, it is also faster,
delivering 50 to 170 blows per m in u te.
Th e rate was so rapid that th e on -site
Penn DOT in spector h ad con cerns abou t
being able to keep track of th e pile
cou nt. Fortu n ately, th e RM 20 records
th e cou n t, wh ich alleviated th at iss u e.
Th e added power of th e RM 20 with
HRS 5 facilitated com plian ce with an
a ggres s ive Pen n DOT s pecifica tion ,
wh ich requ ires 20 blows per inch to re-
fu sal on bedrock. PKF was pen etratin g
a silty s an d su rface, u nderlain by a
tougher layer of saprolite, which varied
in depth. PKF drove 14 x 89 H-piles to
dense bedrock at 12 to 80 feet, althou gh
35 feet was th e average. Piles were
capped with a h eavy-du ty steel tip for
added pen etration.
RM 20 m akes PKF a bet t er n eigh bor
PKF was driving piles with ham m ers
and leads from 7 a.m . to 10 p.m . De-
spite its respect for local n oise ordi-
n an ces, Keou gh adm its th at som e near-
by residen ts expres sed con cern .
“Wh en we switch ed to th e RM 20
th ere were n o com plaints even thou gh
we were closer to th e neigh borh ood,” h e
recalls. “You can stan d 30-feet away
from th at h am m er (HRS 5) an d n ot wear
ear protection wh ereas you cou ldn’t do
th at in th e tradition al setu p.”
“It’s m u ch qu ieter th an an y tradition -
al pile driver ou t th ere,” adds Lan gan.
“There is a n oise percu s sion system
bu ilt in to th e ham m er to elim inate th e
rin g I call th e ch u rch bell sou nd when
you h it steel on steel.” Th e HRS 5 con -
tains a drive cap s ystem , an easily re-
placeable plastic in sert that preven ts
steel on steel contact.
More RTG rigs, fou n dat ion work in
PKF’s fu t u re
PKF an d ECA have en joyed a 20-plu s
year relation sh ip. “We’ve bou gh t a lot of
equ ipm en t from ECA over the years,”
Keou gh says. “Th e on e th in g th at we
kn ow after u s in g the RG 19 T and th e
RM 20 is th at given th e right circu m -
stan ces there’s n o qu estion we wou ld
pu rchase those u nits in lieu of th e tra-
ditional cran e, h am m er, an d leads.”
An d th e opportu n ity is likely to in -
creas e. PKF — on ce focu sed only on
self-perform in g its fou n dation work on
its heavy/ highway con stru ction proj-
ects throu gh ou t Easter n Pen nsylvania,
New J ersey, and North ern Delaware —
will n ow provide th is work as su bcon -
tractor. Based on its su ccessfu l switch
on th e PA Tu rn pike/ I-95 In terchange
Project, th e odds look good that th e fleet
will inclu de RTG Pile Drivin g Rigs.
The RM 20 offered a level of confined space functionality and the ability to navigate chal-
lenging terrain, which would not have been possible with the traditional crane-suspended vi-
bratory hammer with leaders.
RTG from 5
E -Z Dr ill d u st collect ion syst e m
clea r s t h e a ir a h e a d of
OSH A Ta b le 1 r e q u ir em e n t s
PERRY, OK — E-Z Drill con-
tin u es to give con tractors peace
of m ind from crystallin e silica
exposu re with its du st collec-
tion system s . While exposu re
to du st is becom in g a m ajor
concern in th e con stru ction in-
du stry, E-Z Drill’s du st collec-
tion system s have m et th e new
OSHA Table 1 requ irem ents for
m ore th an 15 years.
Th e vacuu m system u ses the
sam e air com pressor as the con-
crete dowel drill to effectively col-
lect du st directly from the drilled
h oles and store it in a collector.
Cu stom ers can pu rchase the
Du st Collection System with any
n ew E-Z Drill m odel or retrofit it
onto existing u nits.
“Ou r s ys t em give u s ers
peace of m in d kn owin g th ey
a re com plyin g with th e n ew a ir
qu ality s tan da rds ,” said Rick
Wals ta d, E-Z Drill presiden t
a n d CEO. “Th is s ys tem gives
con crete con stru ction workers
a s im ple m eth od of m eetin g
Ta b le 1 requ irem en ts b y
OSHA’s dea dlin e.”
E-Z Drill designed th e system
with a du s t boot th at m ou n ts to
th e en d of th e bit gu ide, wh ere
th e bit pen etrates th e concrete.
Th is allows th e vacu u m system
to take in du st at the closest
poin t possible, m axim izin g the
a m ou n t of du st th e sys tem
captu res and redu cin g operator
expos u re. It a ls o en h a n ces
overall job site safety by pre-
ven tin g du st from blowin g to-
ward n earby traffic, poten tially
obstru cting drivers’ vision . Th e
system also preven ts du st from
blowin g in to nearby water du r-
in g bridge repairs. Each u n it
featu res eith er a 600 or 900
m illim eter filter to effectively
trap du st particles.
Th e Du st Collection System
can be u sed with all E-Z Drill
m odels, from th e sin gle to th e
five gan g m achin es, with m in i-
m a l a ddition a l a ir requ ire-
m ents – ju st 40 to 160 cfm , de-
pen din g on th e m odel.
For m ore in for m ation: E-Z
Drill, 610 Cedar St., Perry, OK
7 30 77. Ca ll 80 0-272-0121 ,
em ail sales@ezdrill.com or visit
www.ezdrill.com .
Each unit features either a 600 or 900 millimeter filter to effectively trap
dust particles.
Photo courtesy of E-Z Drill