The Liebherr foundation equipment performs excellently
The Liebherr foundation equipment is known for their robust steel structure which delivers unmatched strength and quality. Features like PDE, PDR and LiDAT gives us an edge over the competition, says Ghananeel Molankar, Sales Manager, Liebherr India.

In India we focus more on bored piles and driven piles technology is not accepted except for some cases like Paradip Refinery and industrial projects in Haazira. What is your take on this?
Yes, it is true that bored piles are more popular in India than driven piles except in some cases like mentioned above. Let's discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of precast reinforced concrete driven piles.

Advantages: Precast driven piles can be produced to almost any required length and cross sectional form. They have a high load bearing capacity. Also, the load bearing capacity of the soil is increased due to the compaction of the soil during impact driving. They are ready to take loads immediately after installation. Driven piles can even withstand seawater.

Disadvantages: Precast driven piles have to be manufactured in full length or in sections at a precast yard and then transported to the job site which involves transportation cost. It is seldom that the driven piles are precast on the job site. Precast driven piles require great care and attention during transportation and during set up of impact driving. Incorrect handling can cause cracks on the pile. These piles are very sensitive to bending. Vibrations and noise are generated during impacting. There is a high risk of buckling if an obstruction is encountered during impact driving. Once an obstruction is found, then it is impossible to remove the obstruction.

What is the latest foundation technology trend in metro projects in India?
We have seen a wide use of slurry/diaphragm walls in metro projects in India. Liebherr Werk Nenzing offers HS series - heavy duty cycle crawler cranes with diaphragm wall grabs. Diaphragm wall grabs are of two types - mechanically operated and hydraulically operated. We offer both based on the requirement of the client considering the job site and soil conditions. Liebherr Werk Nenzing offers ten models in HS series crawler cranes ranging from 30t to 300t capacity. These cranes are designed for heavy duty cycle applications like clamshell, dynamic soil compaction, casing oscillators, slurry/diaphragm wall grabs, trench cutters, carrier for piling and drilling rigs. The width of the grabs that we offer range from 600 mm to 1,500 mm and length of the grabs range from 3.2 m to 4.2 m. The hydraulic slurry wall grabs are equipped with a permanent measuring and control system which makes it possible to recognise any deviation of the vertical excavating direction immediately and to indicate it to the control panel of the operator. This deviation can be corrected with the help of modifying the direction of the grab. Thus, high accuracy is obtained at deeper depths also of more than 50 m. These grabs are also equipped with a deviation control system for the X axis and Y axis, as well as with a rotation control including data read out and monitoring system.

The mechanical slurry wall grabs that we offer can also be controlled verticality.

What is the scenario for the machine control technology for drilling and piling and what is Liebherr's contribution in this area?
The Liebherr foundation equipment is equipped with PDE and PDR systems. PDE is Process Data Recording system whereas PDR is Process Data Reporting system. With the help of PDE, recorded and saved data is transmitted during the working process by means of LiDAT. The analysis and graphic display of this data is carried out using process data reporting software which can be adapted to the method of application. With the help of filter functions, reports can be refined to a certain day or a chosen jobsite.

The advantage of this system is that no travelling to the machine is required, central data management and long term archiving is possible and simplified handling of the data transmission is achieved. LiDAT is a data transmission and positioning system for Liebherr machines and the other machine manufacturers. Based on state-of-the-art technology, LiDAT provides information on the location and operation of your machines, enabling their efficient management, optimal operation scheduling and remote supervision.

Some of the features are mentioned below in a nutshell:

  • Automatic recording of machine data Data
  • transmission via GPRS or via data carriers
  • Generation of reports via LiDAT web portal is possible
  • Fleet management: For the Liebherr machines and the machines of other manufacturers, work areas can be defined for the machine, restrictions of use by predefined work areas and global positioning of machines
  • Service: You can receive online notification for critical operating conditions, storing of important machine data, automatic service interval reminders, efficient service planning due to fast and direct data available of the machine. Most importantly, optimised spare parts management and fuel consumption information can also be observed with LiDAT plus

LiDAT is a standard feature of Liebherr Werk Nenzing crawler cranes.

What are the core strengths and competencies of Liebherr in the foundation equipment segment?
The Liebherr foundation equipment performs excellently in every situation due to its leading technology developed in-house. A wide range of applications can be performed with a high level of precision due to its superior control systems. The Liebherr foundation equipment is known for their robust steel structure which delivers unmatched strength and quality. Also, features like PDE, PDR and LiDAT gives us an edge over the competition.

LiDAT provides information on the location and operation of your machines, enabling their efficient management, optimal operation scheduling and remote supervision.