Rig Speed, Ease Expands Vapor Intrusion Market

Focused on vapor intrusion, H&P MOBILE GEOCHEMISTRY is one of few companies in their region of California to offer a one-stop-shop for completing vapor probe installation, soil gas sampling, and analyses.

“We’ve been specializing in vapor intrusion since inception 30 years ago,” Eric Corson, field services manager, said.

The majority of their work involves shallow drilling to around 30 feet. So when they sought to upgrade their drilling rig, they focused on their need to complete work indoors and at remote locations, not on the power of a bigger machine.

“The 6011DT hit all our needs while providing more power than the equipment we’d used in the past,” Corson said.

They had previously relied on an older, truck mounted machine. The small footprint, off-road ability, and direct push capabilities of the 6011DT were big selling points.

“Previous field work was limited by our ability to access the site, so the tracks on the 6011DT were appealing. It’s much more versatile coming from a truck-mounted machine,” Corson said. “We also have a lot of EPA emission regulations for truck-mounted equipment, and with the 6011DT we didn’t have to worry about that.”

The biggest surprise since receiving the rig has been how simple it’s been to operate.

“It only took a couple of trips to get used to running the rig. It’s fairly easy to operate and very quick,” Corson said. “It saves a ton of time compared to what we were used to using.”

They appreciate the LED display providing cues to understand how to operate the rig and correct errors, enabling troubleshooting while in the field. And while their current focus is on shallow direct push projects, they value the opportunity to add tooling and expand the use of the 6011DT in the future.

On a recent project they completed continuous core samples and then installed permanent vapor probes for future sampling events to 25 feet at 30 locations.

“The drilling was definitely easier, even in condensed clay where its typically hard to manage soils. We adjusted to those conditions quickly,” Corson said. “The 6011DT took a day off what we typically need for this type of job.”

By exceeding their production expectations, the 6011DT positions them to take on larger projects and in remote areas.

“With the older, slower equipment we limited ourselves on linear feet per day. The 6011DT opens us up to bid bigger jobs,” Corson said. “The accessibility also opens more opportunity to bid on jobs.”

Now capable of completing more feet in less time, accessing confined spaces, and operating the rig with ease, the company project pricing can be more competitive.

“When bidding jobs and estimating times, we feel we can be more aggressive,” Corson said. “Thanks to the rig's speed and ease, we won’t need buffer time we typically included in scheduling.”

Considering Geoprobe^® the standard in direct push equipment, they appreciate the quality of the 6011DT as well as the tooling used on their projects.

“The quality is excellent, and when you order tooling, you know it’s going to work and be available when you need it,” Corson said. “The ability to interchange tooling components easily is really nice as well.”