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Keller has been nominated in three categories at The Federation of Piling Specialists Awards 2021.

Keller's work at Blackfriars (top) the Anti-Kink Hose Spring fitted on a rig (bottom left) and Early Career Award nominee Luke Deamer

The company has been named as a finalist for the Safety Innovation, Technology and Early Careers awards.

"I am proud to say that this is a great achievement by our Keller team, I'd like to thank those involved for all their efforts," said Bob Thompson, managing director.

"Keller people take pride in working collaboratively to provide safe, innovative cost saving solutions to our client's geotechnical challenges; these awards reflect the continuous improvement culture we have at Keller".

The Safety Innovation entry is the development of an anti-kink concrete hose for piling rigs.

It is based on an idea from Keller site supervisor Aaron Middleton who devised a simple solution to a common problem on site - how to prevent the kinking of concrete hoses, which causes wear and leaves them vulnerable to potentially dangerous blowouts.

Expertise

It is based on a Slinky - a precompressed helical spring toy invented in the early 1940s.

Keller approached their hose supplier, Premier Pipeline, in early 2019 and asked them to use their expertise to develop the idea.

The result - the Anti Kink Hose Spring - is now being used on sites in the UK and solves the problem of kinking in concrete hoses and extends their working life, reducing the chances of them degrading to the point where a blowout could occur.

In the technology category, Keller has been recognised for its work on the Thames Tideway project at Blackfriars.

Keller's Double Special jet grout technology enabled the construction of a deep grout curtain and canopy above the tunnel boring machine crown. This decoupled the shaft from the tunnel construction allowing the TBM to progress through the Blackfriars shaft area without requiring the shaft to be excavated first.

This solution prevented a potential one-year delay to the project by doing away with the need to construct a diaphragm wall shaft prior to excavation.

Keller's Luke Deamer has been nominated for the Early Careers Award.

Luke joined Keller in 2018 as Doctoral Practitioner in Sustainability. with a brief to improve sustainability in the business.

Three years on, he is a leading light in Keller's and the geotechnical industry's attempt to come to grips with this hugely important issue and play its part in the UK's pledge to be carbon neutral by 2050.

As part of his postgraduate research for his PhD with the University of Surrey, Luke has compiled more than 300 sustainability best practices from multiple Keller business units. He has also used his knowledge to help shape how FPS members should approach the subject.

The FPS nomination follow on from Keller being shortlisted in five categories in the Ground Engineering Awards being held in November.

The FPS awards ceremony is on Friday October 15 at the Hilton Tower Bridge Hotel in London. It is being hosted by comedienne and mental health champion Ruby Wax, alongside FPS Chair Steve Hadley.

Published on
1 Oct 2021

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Keller Group plc published this content on 01 October 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 01 October 2021 13:31:02 UTC.