St-Pierre breaks new ground, demolishing a structure with a Cat 315 excavator 260 foot up in the air using Cat Command® technology. In the construction field, we generally talk about the technology on board our machines. These include Grade for automating levelling, Payload for measuring loads, and Link for locating equipment and tracking its use to simplify fleet management and maintenance. However, sometimes our customers face a challenge that makes them want something different. This was the case with the demolition project at the port of Trois-Rivières, undertaken by our long-time partner Excavation St-Pierre, in partnership with Pomerleau.
Never Done Before 
The challenge: Demolish 260-foot-high grain silos in a port, in a tight space, while at the same time other work goes on around them. A long-reach excavator wasn’t up to the task, and putting a machine with an operator at the top to do the job involved its share of challenges and risks, so the team at St-Pierre had to get creative to find a solution. Inspiration came from the world of mining!
The arsenal of technologies at Cat is extensive, and at Toromont Cat we have several specialists in high-tech products, especially in the mining division, where risks and challenges are commonplace and where, for many years, equipment has been operated remotely or programmed to operate in autonomous mode.
Cat MineStar®
The MineStar suite includes multiple technologies that can be combined to help improve productivity, precision, safety and asset management. Command, one of these technologies, allows you to remotely control a machine or automate the operations of an entire fleet. In more unstable underground environments, there is always the risk of collapse, and the ability to operate equipment remotely makes the difference between the ability to extract the ore or not.
Despite the fact the classic scenario for using Command is underground, the issues and risks of Excavation St-Pierre’s project were relatively similar, even though their worksite was 260 feet above ground. With its reputation for innovation, St-Pierre recognized this technology’s potential.
Finding a volunteer to operate an excavator, which would be carried by crane to the top of a silo to demolish it, was not an option. Obviously, this is above all a safety issue, but it’s also a challenge in terms of time management and productivity, given the machine’s multiple trips up and down using the crane. With the Cat Command remote operating station parked in a secure location on the worksite, the operator remains safely on the ground, and the excavator only returns to the ground to refuel, to change attachments, or at the end of a work shift.
How Does It Work?
We’re a long way from the wired remote control of a child’s toy. The Command system uses a group of cameras mounted on the machine, along with a data transmission system compatible with various types of networks. The cameras provide a 360° view around the machine, as the operator sits in front of TV screens and an exact replica of the controls found in the excavator cab. When the operator moves the controls, the system transmits the information to the machine as if it were coming from the controls in the cab.
“It takes some getting used to because you don’t feel the machine moving like you’re used to, but the controls do the same thing as in the cab. I look at the screens instead of looking out the window.”— Sébastien, operator at Excavation St-Pierre
Since the Command system is connected directly to the machine’s electronics, there is no delay and no change in the way the machine is operated. As data is transmitted wirelessly via the network chosen by the customer, the operator’s workstation can be anywhere from a few metres to hundreds of kilometres away from the machine. Toromont’s technical team offers a range of solutions for setting up a network to meet the specific needs of each project.
A Team Effort 
Being pioneers also means having to adapt, rethink, educate and transpose knowledge... Parts and service representative, Camille Garant, teamed up with mining technology specialist Stephan Pelchat, and together with Toromont Cat’s team of technicians, they incorporated Command technology into St-Pierre’s Cat 315 excavator, and helped their team learn to use the new tool to get the job done. The project was not without its obstacles, but teamwork and solid communication between all parties helped make sure they always found solutions and find a new way of using Command that works well. Another great success for St-Pierre!
The part of the demolition project requiring the remotely operated excavator is now finished. The team at Excavation St-Pierre is satisfied with their choice, and is already thinking of reusing the excavator fitted with the Command system on other projects. As for Toromont Cat, we are very grateful for the trust that Excavation St-Pierre placed in us for this project and over the past 50 years. We are indeed fortunate to be serving the fourth generation at St-Pierre! We look forward to the next challenge they choose to take on, and will be there to support them.
Command can be installed on many different types of machines. To learn more, talk to your sales representative or checkout the brochure.
