Cat machines fill the gap for Finlands largest bridge

With a growing population and demand for housing around Helsinki, Finland, the country is preparing the ground for its biggest ever bridge project. Known as the Kruunuvuori Bridge, it will be Finland's longest and tallest bridge constructed in a steel and concrete composite design.

With a working life of 200 years, the bridge will connect the city of Helsinki across 1200 metres of land and water to a group of islands to the south called Laajasalo. Rising up to 35 meters in height and using 6300 tonnes of steel, the bridge will have two tram tracks and lanes for bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

Earthmover's correspondent Peter Haddock recently visited both sides of the project to find out how contractors Tieluiskaz and VJ Maa-aines OY were supporting its construction. 

The project involves a range of earthworks tasks, from opening up previously contaminated land for additional housing to preparing areas for new tramlines and road infrastructure, using a range of Caterpillar equipment.

This included the first new Cat 315 GC machine purchased in Finland by Riku Yliniemi, MD of Tieluiskaz, a long-term Caterpillar user. Peter caught up with Riku on the Laajasalo island side of the project. Here the machine, joined by a surveyor, was uncovering and mapping the underground infrastructure following the demolition of huge gas and oil storage facilities that previously occupied the site.

Like most excavators in Finland, the Cat 315 GC was fitted with a tiltrotator. This particular unit was the R5 from Rototilt, which in turn was supported by X-site 3D machine control from local provider Novatron.

Talking about the combination, Riku said: "70% of our fleet is Caterpillar machines, and for this project, we were only able to use stage IV or Stage V compliant units as the Government has mandated this for such projects. When we looked at replacing older Cat 312 and 314 machines, the most cost effective option for us was the Cat 315 GC.

"We also wanted to move quickly as fuel prices are going up, so we were the first to order this unit in Finland. Of course, we also wanted a machine that was capable of using a tiltrotator and GPS machine control, as this is a must for the jobs we do now.

"This is why we went up to the 315 size class as it can use the larger R5 Rototilt unit and has the hydraulic power needed to operate it efficiently. We also use it with a standard bucket configuration for some general tasks like moving heavy rocks, for example.

"One of the reasons we buy Caterpillar is that our drivers really like the machines, and this one is a big hit with our driver. It has a bigger cab and more glass, but it also features a compact radius design. For this particular job, this is not needed, but we will be using it for other projects in more confined spaces, so it will be a good edition to the fleet."

With apartment block construction in full swing, the Tieluiskaz team were challenged to meet tight deadlines on this part of the project. A Cat 325F kitted out with an Engcon tiltrotator was tasked with the role of ripping up an old road. Again this unit was operating with 3D machine control as the entire site uses a full 3D model. But one machine that didn't need technology was a Cat 330F with a Grapple bucket that was being used to move rocks to form both sea defences and raised building pads.  

Elsewhere on the island, another team was involved with the creation of the brand new Laajasalontie boulevard, which will become what is known as a park street. This will incorporate tramlines, pedestrian footpaths, bikeways and two lanes of traffic on either side. 

Here the Tieluiskaz team had to manage existing traffic flows whilst building the new project. This involved the use of a next-generation Cat M314 wheeled excavator with another R5 tiltrotator and machine control configuration. The M314 was tasked with installing new utility infrastructure and was supported by a Dynapac roller.

Launched in March 2020, the M314 is powered by the Stage V compliant Cat C4.4 engine, which offers up to 5% fuel savings from the F series and a larger tank to extend refuelling intervals.

Riku: "We are definitely seeing a big improvement in the fuel used by both the Cat 315 GC and the M314. And for this job, in particular, the speed of travel from one section to the next is great. Our driver can go up to 34km/h in the M314. It also has a new cab which he is very happy with. This is important to me as drivers are very hard to come by, and this is why we invest in the best equipment, so they feel comfortable and safe as there are very few people needed around the machine with 3D."

The use of technology and focus on reducing carbon emissions is very big in Finland. These are also areas that Riku and his team spend a lot of time and money on, as the local Caterpillar dealer, Avesco Oy's Tuomas Kallionpää explained: 

"The Tieluiskaz team uses both our ProductLink and VisionLink solutions as well as our Cat app to monitor the performance of their machines. They have a full-service contract with us, and we have worked closely with them for many years. 

Uptime is absolutely essential for them, especially on high profile jobs like this. So we monitor the equipment on an ongoing basis and work with them to schedule preventative maintenance to keep machines operational.

Every year we also go through a training programme with the drivers and the wider team to look at ways of improving efficiency and reducing idle times. This has been very impactful as we are continuously able to reduce cost, whether that is in maintenance, less fuel burn or training the drivers on how to use the various functions of the machines.

Riku himself and the fleet managers are now big users of our Cat App as they can see all of their Cat equipment wherever they are working. This means they can order parts, see where machines are at any given time, see fuel usage and understand how healthy a machine is. We have also set up some customised notifications with the team which alert them through the app, like low fuel levels and machine critical faults."

Whilst Riku and his team were busy on Laajasalo, over the water in Helsinki city, I met with VJ Maa-aines OY owner, Ville Sainio, who was introduced to the plant sector at the age of five when he got his first lawnmower. Years later, he has grown his own business to work across numerous sectors, including key infrastructure works. In 2014 he was also the first business in Finland to adopt 3D machine control from Leica Geosystems onto wheeled excavators.

And it is 3D design and earthworks modelling that links both VJ Maa-aines OY and Tieluiskaz together, as both businesses are working on the same project, feeding and receiving data from local software solution provider Infrakit.

Infrakit is a whole-site solution that helps major project owners get a real-time understanding of what is happening across numerous different activities and locations. It is a cloud-based solution that takes in data from OEMs and technology providers, like Novatron and Leica Geosystems, in this case, to create a complete picture of the job site.

 With data about the project in one place, all a site manager needs is a connected device to access information in real-time. With machines sharing information into the model like as-built data through solutions like Conx from Leica Geosystems, you can compare what is happening on site at any time against the programme and plan. 

It also manages any changes to the 3D working model sending the relevant updates to the machines. Speaking to Jan van den Brandt of Infrakit at its recent UK launch, he explained how it works.

"It's one solution for all. Whether you're the main client, the Tier 1 contractor, the earthworks contractor, another subcontractor or the site manager, all you need is a login, and you have 'One Version of the Truth' at any time. 

"It's all about saving time at every point in the project, setting up Infrakit at the start of the project and managing the huge data streams to give valuable real-time data to the people that matter. This allows for informed decisions to be made in a timely fashion, reducing programme times and errors."

 Now using the latest MC1 machine control from Leica Geosystems, Ville and his team had the very daunting task of reconfiguring the road and tramway infrastructure on the other side of the bridge. 

This work was being carried out in the heart of Helsinki, where old and new buildings meet and existing infrastructure creates critical no-dig zones. 

Fortunately for Ville, Helsinki is a city that has mapped not just its above ground infrastructure but its below ground infrastructure as well.

Known as the Helsinki 3D+ project, the €1 million initiative was launched by the City of Helsinki in 2017. Now complete, it has created a 3D twin that all contractors use to ensure Helsinki can be one of the best and smartest cities in the World.

This data has been used to model the new infrastructure and create the 3D models needed to excavate around and avoid the existing utilities. And it really helps to avoid other weather related problems as Ville explained: 

"3D is now a must have solution for these types of projects, and fortunately, we have got a lot of experience in using it with our drivers regularly trained on any updates by our local Leica team. This winter, we had to excavate areas packed with utilities under half a metre of snow at temperatures of -25 degrees.

"You may think this is impossible, but the 3D machine control is just like looking through the ground. When you add in the co-pilot system that helps to control our Rototilt tiltrotator, you can not only dig through. You can get the exact angle you need to avoid the utilities without moving the machine.

"With the M314F we have been using on this project, this is made even easier thanks to the VA boom configuration. We can even create our own exclusion zones and offsets to get the job done quickly and safely, without staff having to climb in and out of trenches."   

What is clear with this project is that 3D modelling and technology is the core driver of everything on site, and every excavator I saw doing core work on this project had both 3D machine control and a tiltrotator. 

It is the norm in Finland, and without this technology, contractors would not win the work. Equally, all of the excavator drivers in Finland see machine control as an everyday tool that helps them do each job. 

Finland also has its own skills shortage issues, and leaders like Riku and Ville are very focused on supporting staff with the right equipment and training. I believe it is only a matter of time before we see a much greater level of adoption of this approach in the UK.