The Anchor and Micropile Installation School (AMPIS) recently held its first Canadian seminar.
The program, hosted and organized by the Association of Drilled Shaft Contractors International Association of Foundation Drilling (ADSC IAFD), is designed specifically for employees that have limited experience working with earth and rock anchors, or other types of soil retention construction.
“The main takeaway from AMPIS 2017 was to arm the students with knowledge of methods and applications that they may not have been familiar with due to geographic regions they are employed in or different methods of anchor drilling that companies may not use or be exposed to in their respective markets,” said Jeff Calow from Equipment Sales & Service (ESS) who served as an instructor for the program.
Ideal location
For the first Canadian seminar, held in late September, organizers turned to the Sir Sandford Flemming College Frost Campus in Lindsay, Ont.
The campus is home to the Resource Drilling program, which is one of the largest of its kind.
“It was the perfect venue to host AMPIS 2017, mainly due the fact that Sir Sandford Fleming is one of the premier educational facilities for construction drilling in Canada,” Calow said.
“That coupled with the test grounds that we were able to set our gear up on, and a nice variety of ground conditions with 10 to 15 ft. of overburden followed by rock, made the venue perfect.”
AMPIS topics covered
Throughout the six-day course, the program covered project planning and safety; grout plants, setup, mixing, cleaning and maintenance; drilling systems including single, duplex, down the hole and augers; anchor and micropile drilling; hydraulic systems and troubleshooting; anchor and micropile set-up for testing; reading and recording test results; and soils and jobsite math.
Students were able to learn course material using a variety of equipment and drills, including a Soilmec SM9 Single head, down the hole drill with under reamer; a TEI HEM560 Drifter mounted on Komatsu PC228 installing Titan 40 Hollow bar; a Klemm KR-709 single head duplex; a Casagrande C7 Double Head; and a Comacchio MC28 Double Head with Carousel.
Equipment from ESS was also on site to assist with the program.
“ESS is a member of both the local ADSC Eastern Canadian Chapter, as well as the international chapter,” Calow said.
“As a supplier for leaders in foundation technology we felt it was important to support the AMPIS event by supplying our equipment for the participants to learn on, as the likelihood of them coming across this type of equipment in the field is quite likely.”
