Engineering firm of Rotterdam municipality invests in future with hands-free probing system from A.P. van den Berg

The first of its kind and focused on the future: the Track-Truck with COSON-ST from A.P. van den Berg of Heerenveen. This ultramodern machine for hands-free probing was festively taken into use on Friday afternoon, January 18, by the Field Measurement and Laboratory Group (VLG), part of the Ingenieursbureau Rotterdam. The Netherlands is thus once again setting the stage for an innovative and progressive application of CPT technology, which of course suits the country that is the birthplace of this method for in-situ soil research. And it is certainly not for the first time that A.P. van den Berg has been the designer and builder of such innovations, nor is it for the first time that the VLG of the Engineering Office of the Municipality of Rotterdam has been the launching customer in this regard. So a festive inauguration was in order, and after the first sounding, the VLG already shows to be very enthusiastic about their new acquisition. "The system works easier, faster and also quieter compared to traditional probing systems," said one of the probing masters.

Cooperation Ingenieursbureau gemeente Rotterdam and A.P. van den Berg
A.P. van den Berg is known worldwide for its innovative nature. The company leads the market by continuously coming up with technological solutions that determine the future of probing, both for onshore and offshore probing. Investing in the future is also not unknown to the VLG of the Engineering Office of the Municipality of Rotterdam, and cooperation between the two companies has been going on for decades. In the past decade, for example, the VLG and A.P. van den Berg worked together on automating CPT systems and on cone technology for bomb detection. So it was not surprising that precisely this customer became the first user of this unique COSON-ST machine. "This modern system with technical highlights and ergonomic improvements fits perfectly with our way of thinking and working. We like to encourage innovations in the CPT world. By the way, the new vehicle also meets the latest emission requirements," said Marc van Leeuwen, Director of Project Management & Engineering at the Municipality of Rotterdam. A.P. van den Berg has great appreciation for companies such as the VLG of the Municipality of Rotterdam's Engineering Department that recognize and acknowledge the importance of innovation. "Their confidence makes it worth continuing to invest time, money and effort in development and engineering," said A.P. van den Berg.

The COSON-ST
A.P. van den Berg's vision is that the CPT booth will evolve as a work environment from a workshop to an office space. Where before CPT engineers were mainly engaged in manual technical operations to keep production going, now an engineer will only monitor the production process and be able to fill the rest of the time "on the wagon" processing data and design or other office-related work. In support of this vision, A.P. van den Berg has developed ST technology. This patented Single-Twist (ST) system enables a fully automatic probing cycle with the, also patented, hydraulically driven probing device COSON. With just the push of a button, the cycle is started and the COSON pushes the probing string, with the measuring instrument at the tip, into the ground in one continuous movement. This probing line is constructed in an ingenious way entirely automatically from a reel from separate, but interconnected ST tubes. After reaching the final depth, the pushing movement will change to a pulling movement and the probing line will be automatically dismantled again and rolled onto the reel.

This ingenious system offers great ergonomic advantages: the physical strain on the operator of the system is extremely low, safety is greatly increased because manual operations are virtually eliminated with the system in motion, and the functioning of personnel on the sounding truck becomes more effective, namely focused on the collection, reporting and processing of reliable measurement data. In addition, the COSON-ST system offers operational advantages: the system operates faster than traditional systems, the continuous motion typically allows for deeper probing, and the ST tube is designed to minimize the risk of breakage and the associated downtime and costs. Finally, the COSON-ST is fully compatible with A.P. van den Berg's digital Icone CPT system, giving the user access to the full range of measuring instruments that can be used separately or combined. The basis is a digital cone (Icone) for obtaining the standard probing parameters. Additional parameters can be obtained with the Icone click-on modules to perform seismic testing, electrical conductivity or ground magnetic field measurements or fin testing. With this COSON-ST technology, A.P. van den Berg has once again set a benchmark for the future of CPT and it is of course fantastic that the Engineering Office of the City of Rotterdam has recognized this!