Early May 2021 saw us take delivery of a brand-new CPT rig, the BC100 box crawler from Eijkelkamp GeoPoint SoilSolutions. This compact, versatile rig has a total weight of only 11.5 tonnes and is ideal for off road locations as well as hardstanding sites due to the wide rubber tracks. To comply with UK and EU emissions regulations, the rig is fitted with a tier 5 diesel engine for work in low emissions areas.

This new rig, CPT 024, aptly named ‘Sonic’ successfully completed its first job on site on Friday 7th May in the West Midlands. Based on an old landfill site from the 1950s, this piece of land has been earmarked for development for housing. CPTs were required to provide a pre and post compaction profile of cone resistance. This multi day project saw Lewis complete 10 CPT locations on the landfill site and accomplish Sonic’s first ever tests!

Sonic also has been busy this week working on a three-day project in Somerset. A local council are proposing to build a state-of the-art waste and recycling centre which would encourage residents to recycle more to help tackle the climate emergency. We were asked to complete 13 CPTs around the perimeter of the proposed new buildings. Tests reached depths of between 9-12 metres through clay before reaching a layer of limestone. The current site is also home to several colonies of slow worms so we had to liaise closely with environmental teams when carrying out the tests to cause minimal impact to these local residents, which will be rehomed before building work commences. Tests were carried out along single lines to reduce tracking manoeuvres and locations moved slightly away from hedge lines and longer grass areas where the slow worms reside. CPTs were ideal for this project as they leave little impact on the environment and Sonic’s low weight and ground bearing pressure was particularly beneficial for having minimal impact on the slow worms’ habitats.  

We are confident that CPT 024, ‘Sonic’ will continue to be a much loved and valued member of the In Situ fleet and look forward to using him for many more future projects. For further information and a full rig specification, please go to our CPT Rigs page and download the datasheet.