{"id":427587,"date":"2020-11-05T12:14:02","date_gmt":"2020-11-05T12:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=427587"},"modified":"2020-11-05T12:14:02","modified_gmt":"2020-11-05T12:14:02","slug":"watch-robot-cuts-risks-for-hs2-tunnellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/civils\/hs2\/watch-robot-cuts-risks-for-hs2-tunnellers-05-11-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch: robot cuts risks for HS2 tunnellers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>HS2 is set to deploy a robot arm to automate two risky tasks during tunnelling work on the rail megaproject.<\/p>\n<p>The robot, dubbed Krokodyl, has been developed by main works contractor Align, a joint venture between Bouygues, Sir Robert McAlpine and VolkerFitzpatrick. It will be deployed on a pair of 2,000-tonne tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will excavate HS2\u2019s 10-mile Chiltern tunnels.<\/p>\n<p>Krokodyl\u2019s job will be to remove wooden spacers that separate stacked tunnel segments as they are fed through to the front of the TBM. It will also insert dowels used to link segments together. Both tasks are usually done by hand, bringing inherent risks of working directly with concrete segments weighing up to eight tonnes each.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/xruGsFPV4Gw\" width=\"760\" height=\"428\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>HS2 says that by automating spacer removal and dowel positioning, the robot \u201cremoves the need for people to work in this potentially hazardous area\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Seven segments need to be moved into place and connected together to complete each tunnel ring. In all, 112,000 are due to be installed to complete the 9.1 metre-diameter tunnels. The two 170 metre-long TBMs are expected to take three years of non-stop work to delve through the chalk and flint below the Chilterns.<\/p>\n<p>Align underground construction director Didier Jacques said safety is a priority throughout HS2\u2019s supply chain: \u201cA lot of work has been undertaken by all concerned that has enabled us to develop and introduce this robot, thereby reducing the risk to our personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cWe are very proud of these innovations, which we would be happy to share with tunnelling teams working on other projects across the world, to help reduce the likelihood of accidents and injuries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Robots are increasingly being deployed to reduce risks to construction workers. Last year,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/tech\/sisk-trials-robotic-lifting-device-400-home-wembley-job-29-08-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sisk began trials of a robot designed to assist human bricklayers<\/a> by removing the manual strain of lifting blocks. A robotic dog for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/tech\/robodog-to-fetch-data-on-large-or-dangerous-sites-26-10-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">gathering survey data on dangerous sites<\/a> could be available in the UK in 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HS2 is set to deploy a robot arm to automate two risky tasks during tunnelling work on the rail megaproject. The robot, dubbed Krokodyl, has been developed by main works contractor Align, a joint venture between Bouygues, Sir Robert McAlpine and VolkerFitzpatrick. It will be deployed on a pair of 2,000-tonne tunnel boring machines (TBMs) &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84992,"featured_media":427597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[530,549,39314,542,579,38309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-427587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bouygues","category-civils","category-hs2","category-sir-robert-mcalpine","category-tech","category-volkerwessels","issue-6-november-2020"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.7 (Yoast SEO v26.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Watch: robot cuts risks for HS2 tunnellers | Construction News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"HS2 is set to deploy a robot arm to automate two risky tasks during tunnelling work on the rail megaproject. 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