Electric cable pulling based on pure hydropower

The company specializes in laying cables and pipes, installation of electrical and fiber optic cables and directional drilling. Van de Beek Kabels en Leidingen from Neerijnen has been realizing projects where cables and pipes have to be laid or pulled since 1977. The family business values quality and innovates constantly. "All in the interest of our clients, who like to see their projects run smoothly and be completed on time," explains Arie van de Beek. Van de Beek has been successfully doing business with HMS Machines of Gouda for more than 25 years. The latest 'feat' of HMS Machines bears the name 'WATUCAB'. It is no coincidence that we are the first to find this machine, which propels electric cable through pipes using water power, at Van de Beek. "We are always looking for innovative solutions and like to work with the very latest resources. With us, WATUCAB complements the traditional way of pulling cables and blowing fiberglass in a beautiful way."

Not pulling but pushing

"The big advantage of the WATUCAB is that the cable is pushed through the tube, so to speak, propelled by water power. That puts hardly any strain on the cable itself, unlike pulling on the cable with a winch," Arie explains. "With WATUCAB, we also reduce environmental pollution. A good example: you normally do a cable route of 2 kilometers in phases, depending on the length of cable you are processing. For that, the length that's on the reel does have to be dug open and drilled at once, when you're working with a winch in a trench. 

With WATUCAB, the cable is laid entirely in casing. On the section of the route between any drillings, casing is now also installed. If necessary, the trench required for this can be closed daily. This provides a huge reduction in environmental nuisance."

Another big advantage is that the cable hardly experiences any friction from the tube, because there is a film of water between the cable and the tube wall. "So there is much less pulling on the cable and the cable experiences virtually no friction. So the forces on the cable are significantly less than with the traditional method. This keeps the cable optimally protected and you avoid potential damage to the cable that needs to be repaired or perhaps replaced. You understand that this makes the power company very happy. A repair in the form of splices is costly and every splice is a potential weak link in the power grid."

How long do you want the cable to be?

WATUCAB maakt het mogelijk om langere kabels aan te brengen dan traditioneel het geval is. Arie: “De totale lengte van de kabel die op de haspel past is nu de beperkende factor geworden. De waterpomp levert namelijk een continue druk, die gerelateerd is aan wat de buis kan hebben. Je kunt kabel blijven invoeren, tot lengtes van circa 2 kilometer.” Een ander bijkomend voordeel is dat met het gebruik van WATUCAB er minder operators nodig zijn. “In deze tijd van ‘handjes tekort’ is dat een zeer welkome bijkomstigheid”, schetst Arie. “Tel je alle factoren bij elkaar op, dan is het pure winst onder aan de streep. Langere kabels in één keer, minder lasverbindingen, minder kans op kabelschade en dan ook nog eens kunnen beschikken over waardevolle data die de computer van de WATUCAB genereert. Onze verwachtingen van deze nieuwe machine zijn hoog.”

Cross-border testing

Van de Beek conducts tests on its own initiative on the equipment used there. "We built a test route with several bores, running a medium-voltage cable through a jacket pipe. There are extreme bends in the route, which you will almost never encounter in practice. There is a transparent piece of pipe in this route, which provides a view of the propulsion process. Our engineering department collaborated with Willem Griffioen of Plumett, the parent company of HMS Machines. Together the test track was designed and the tests were done. We already have a job in store for the WATUCAB and our client is coming to see for himself how well this method works."    

Total Cost of Ownership decreases

"We have been working as in good partnership with Van de Beek Kabels en Leidingen for more than 25 years," says Friso Talsma of HMS Machines. "We are more or less 'court supplier' in Neerijnen and work intensively together to take the market for installing cables and pipes to a higher level. On the one hand to provide maximum relief to clients, and on the other hand to respond to the increasingly stringent requirements imposed on the work. Less disruption is one such requirement that will only get tougher. Less damage to the cables is good for the economic interest and providing continuity for BV Nederland."

Op de vraag of werken met WATUCAB de kostprijs opdrijft, antwoordt Friso: “In tegendeel. Kijk je onder aan de streep, dan zul je zien dat door alle voordelen die dit nieuwe systeem biedt, de TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) daalt. Je kunt deze werkwijze niet vergelijken met het traditioneel trekken van kabels. Naast de totaal andere methodiek, loopt WATUCAB ook nog eens voorop als het gaat om het genereren van waardevolle data. De machine logt veel data en je kunt in ‘realtime’ zien hoe de kabel eraan toe is. De reden om WATUCAB als eerste bij Van de Beek te introduceren, is niet alleen vanwege onze goede relatie, maar zeker ook de testcapaciteit in Neerijnen.” Arie vult aan: “We hebben de techniek in huis om buizen op de centimeter nauwkeurig in te meten. Daarvoor gebruiken we een gyro die we door het tracé trekken en de ligging centimeter nauwkeuring logt. De tracédata voeren we vervolgens in de computer van de WATUCAB, die aan de hand daarvan berekent hoeveel water er nodig is.” Friso: “De datadump van WATUCAB is 100% compatible met de Jet Planner software. De uitkomst is geen schatting meer, maar accurate ‘as built’ gegevens.” Daar voegt Arie aan toe: “Dit is tot nu toe de meest intelligente en gecontroleerde manier van kabels installeren die we ooit gezien hebben. We reduceren hiermee ook de afstemmingsmomenten, je installeert de kabel namelijk in één keer.”

WATUCAB contributes to the customer promise

In conclusion, Arie says, "Van de Beek Kabels en Leidingen is not at all about increasing our market share. What we do care about is keeping our promises to customers. We are not volume driven, but quality driven. This allows us to anchor our existing position in the market even more firmly. WATUCAB helps us do that."