Arc sinking is a form of trenchless technique for quickly and safely creating a passage along or under existing underground infrastructure, such as cables and pipelines. Brouwer Boogzinkeren masters this technique like no other and thanks to the software of MyCumulus is the sinker profile immediately available digitally.

The arc sinking technique is based on pre-bent steel rods that are pressed into the soil under a certain radius using a hydraulic machine. “The big advantage of this technique is that we quickly reach a great depth, where there are no other cables or pipes,” says René Brouwer of Brouwer Boogzinkeren. “It is also a relatively fast technique that ensures unimpeded passage of traffic, undisturbed verges, revetments and quay walls. Arc sinking can be done in almost any type of soil and under all circumstances.”

THREE TEAMS
Brouwer Boogzinkeren is a company with three teams 'in the field', who make sinkers all over the country as casing pipes for fiber optics, gas, electricity, water, etc. "Traditionally, bow sinkers were made to cross watercourses, but we now also pass roads and railways," says Brouwer. “On the basis of the distance to be bridged, we put together the arch set and determine the radius of the rods. We then spray water or a bentonite mixture under great pressure through the head of the rod, which is each time extended with pre-bent segments of 3 metres. This creates a neat corridor (arc) between the entry and exit points. Once we have arrived at the exit point, a PE pipe is attached to the rod and we retract the arc set, leaving behind a casing pipe in the shape of an arc.”

WORKFLOW
Brouwer Boogzinkeren uses equipment from marXact for the digital measurement of the arc sinker. “We use MyCumulus to register that data. It is the most user-friendly software for us,” says Brouwer. “It is important for our guys in the field that they can share their data quickly and adequately. Almost everything is already predefined in MyCumulus, so that only a limited number of data need to be entered in the field, the rest is done automatically. We have set up the entire workflow in the software in forms, which are immediately saved in the 'cloud' after completion. Since half a year there is also a connection with Pythagoras, which retrieves all data from MyCumulus, so that a digital sinker profile is immediately available. Even before our guys are 'home' again, the full report has already been sent from the office to the customer. That just works great.”

This article was originally published in GWW Magazine