Tunnel construction in Switzerland
Because of cost considerations, tunnel building is usually carried out round the clock, 360 days a year. We were able to make a decisive contribution to the building of a tunnel in Switzerland, which continued to be built, despite one of the suppliers having gone bankrupt.
Initial situation
Material extracted from a tunnel drift is sifted, sorted and prepared. Suitable material for the manufacture of shotcrete is used to do this, which stabilises the tunnel shell right after the explosion. This material is stored temporarily for days in silos and flat bunkers. The working order is simple: discharge problems in the silo or bunker mean disruption in the manufacture of the shotcrete. As a result, it is not possible to stablize the tunnel and therefore there can be no tunnel drift.
Challenge
Citing cost considerations, the silo builder involved in the project rejected large parts of our service package, which were really essential. A short while later serious problems appeared in the silo discharge. Meanwhile, the silo builder went bankrupt and there was disruption in the development of the order between the silo system operator and the silo builder. Our air cannons were fitted incorrectly; nozzles, as important key players, forgotten. For this reason, the air cannons did not show any effect.
Our solution
At the request of the silo system operator, our specialists got to the building site promptly and worked out a solution concept on site for rebuilding and optimization. After a contract had been signed by the silo builder's bankruptcy lawyer, we gave a guarantee of effectiveness for our solution.
After only four weeks, the huge delivery volume was ready for shipping. VSR directed the rebuilding on site and the extension of the air cannon system, which worked immediately when put into operation: the material discharge went through without a problem. All the remaining silos were also changed over within a short time.
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