Property:
Compressive strength (MPa)
ALIMATS Aluminium (6005A):
280
Ekki/Azobe Timber (D70):
34
UHMWPE Plastic:
21
Piling Rig Mats
A plain-spoken look at how engineered aluminium mats spread high point loads from tracked and outrigger-mounted plant, and why stiffness, not just strength, is what actually protects the ground under a piling rig.
Piling rigs concentrate enormous point loads onto a small footprint, whether tracked or outrigger-mounted, and the ground beneath them needs the same engineering scrutiny as any other heavy plant. ALIMATS® aluminium mats spread these loads using a stiff, patented interlocking modular design rather than relying on compressive strength alone, which is the property that actually stops load punching through into soft or variable ground. This page sets out the underlying load-spread engineering; rig-specific load cases should always be checked by your temporary works engineer.
Why piling rigs need engineered ground protection
Piling rigs are heavy, often tracked, and generally working on ground that has already been identified as needing improvement, which makes the ground beneath the rig one of the first things a temporary works engineer needs to think through. Whether the rig is tracked or sits on outriggers, the load it transmits to the ground is concentrated over a relatively small footprint compared with the rig's overall weight.
The same underlying problem shows up across cranes, piling rigs, and other heavy tracked or outrigger-mounted plant: spread the load, or risk it punching through into ground that was never designed to take it. Brilliant Ideas Ltd built ALIMATS to solve this for cranes, and the engineering principles behind it, particularly the importance of material stiffness, apply just as directly wherever high point loads meet unpredictable ground. We have not published piling-rig-specific load cases, track pressures, or named piling projects, so this page focuses on the underlying load-spread engineering rather than rig-specific numbers; any given rig, mat configuration, and ground combination should still be checked and signed off by your temporary works engineer before use.
Stiffness, not just strength, is what spreads the load
It is easy to assume a mat's strength is all that matters, but strength and stiffness are two different properties, and confusing them leads to bad decisions on site. Compressive strength tells you how much force a material can take before it fails. Stiffness, measured as modulus of elasticity, tells you how much a material bends under a given load, and it is stiffness that actually determines how well a mat spreads load sideways rather than letting it travel straight down into the ground below.
We built a purpose-designed bending test rig to demonstrate this directly, using a three-point load through a steel plate to simulate a mobile crane outrigger. Under a 1 tonne test load, a UHMW-PE plastic mat rated by its manufacturer at 54 tonnes deflected 102mm, while an ALIMATS aluminium mat of a comparable size deflected just 2mm. At 2.25 tonnes the same plastic mat deflected 328mm against 3mm for ALIMATS, and at 3.5 tonnes a doubled-up plastic mat deflected 161mm against 8mm for a single-layer ALIMATS mat.
The strength hierarchy of common mat materials, from highest to lowest compressive strength, runs steel, aluminium, nylon, polyethylene, timber. But the stiffness hierarchy, which is the property that actually matters for load spread, runs steel, aluminium, timber, nylon, polyethylene. Plastic mats sit near the bottom of that stiffness table despite their compressive strength, which is why a manufacturer-rated SWL figure for a plastic mat can be misleading if it was generated on a rigid test rig rather than genuinely compressible ground. This distinction between strength and stiffness is discussed in the industry design guide *Construction Ground Condition for Plant*, published October 2014.
| Property | ALIMATS Aluminium (6005A) | Ekki/Azobe Timber (D70) | UHMWPE Plastic |
|---|---|---|---|
Compressive strength (MPa) | 280 | 34 | 21 |
Tensile strength (MPa) | 270 | 42 | 28 |
Modulus of elasticity (MPa) | 69000 | 20000 | 1350 |
Property:
Tensile strength (MPa)
ALIMATS Aluminium (6005A):
270
Ekki/Azobe Timber (D70):
42
UHMWPE Plastic:
28
Property:
Modulus of elasticity (MPa)
ALIMATS Aluminium (6005A):
69000
Ekki/Azobe Timber (D70):
20000
UHMWPE Plastic:
1350
ALIMATS at a glance
- Material
- Certified recycled extruded aluminium, alloy 6005A
- Configuration range
- 1.34m2 to 8.07m2 in the core range
- SWL
- Up to 80 tonnes, verified with a Fellow of the IStructE
- Deflection under 1 tonne test load
- 2mm for ALIMATS vs 102mm for comparable UHMW-PE plastic
- Delivery
- 24/7 nationwide via BIL's own FORS Bronze fleet
- Availability
- Hire (daily, weekly, long-term) or outright purchase
The ALIMATS system
Modular range
Modules run from the 0.58m x 0.58m Mini at 13kg up to the Extra Long module at 3480mm x 290mm and 48kg, used in the largest configurations and in powered access applications.
Built by hand
Because no module weighs more than 48kg, a configuration can be built and struck by hand, without needing separate lifting plant to place the mats themselves.
Half Loader module
Brilliant Ideas' newest innovation moves load away from the centre of a mat and spreads it across two locations, reducing pressure on the ground beneath high outrigger loads.
Powered Access Solution
The same interlocking modules build bespoke load-spread systems for MEWPs, scissor lifts, and spider cranes, and won Most Innovative New Product at the 2023 Building Innovation Awards.
Crane pads and crane mats, and where each one fits
Not every point load needs a full mat configuration. For smaller outrigger loads up to roughly 1.0m2, Brilliant Ideas recommends a certified Nylanite crane pad, such as the Nylacast Big Foot range, rather than a standard HDPE pad. For larger loads, typically exceeding 1.0m2, a crane mat configuration such as ALIMATS is the appropriate tool, and a Nylacast pad is often used alongside the mat to help optimise load transfer and protect the mat surface.
Getting this choice right at the planning stage, pad versus mat, and which ALIMATS configuration, is exactly the kind of decision your temporary works engineer should be making using the SWL data for the specific configuration and the ground conditions on site.
Built for site logistics as much as engineering
A mat system is only as useful as the logistics behind it. Brilliant Ideas delivers ALIMATS nationwide, 24 hours a day, using its own FORS Bronze fleet of vans under 3.5 tonnes, driven by its own CSCS-card-holding drivers, most of whom are CPCS certified, with fully automated proof of delivery. On one recorded order, mats booked at 2.50pm arrived on site in Grangemouth, Scotland, by 8.02am the next morning, within 18 hours of the order being placed.
ALIMATS is available to hire by the day, week, or long term, or to buy outright, and can be painted in corporate colours on request. Every mat that comes back from hire is fully inspected, cleaned, and quality-checked before it is redeployed to the next site.
Portakabin
“
The ALIMATS® system works well – we use them on 9/10 jobs. Our temporary works team look at the ground, do the calculations and there’s never a problem with specifying these mats to spread the load. They interlock and are easy to set-up without heavy plant
Proven on major UK infrastructure work
ALIMATS has been deployed across major UK infrastructure and construction programmes including HS2, Hinkley Point C, Heathrow Airport, Gatwick Airport, Euston Station, London Bridge, Manchester's Co-op Live Arena, Google's HQ at King's Cross, Grangemouth Refinery, and several major Scottish wind farm developments, alongside a residential build featured on a well-known national homebuilding TV series. Brilliant Ideas is trusted by more than 80 percent of the UK's top twenty Tier 1 contractors.
We have not published piling-specific deployment detail for these or other projects, so if piling rig ground protection was part of the scope on any named site, treat that as unconfirmed until Brilliant Ideas verifies it directly.
Frequently asked questions
Are ALIMATS suitable for use under piling rigs?
ALIMATS is a modular aluminium mat system designed to spread high point loads from cranes and other heavy plant across a wider bearing area, and the same load-spread principles apply to tracked or outrigger-mounted piling rigs. We have not published piling-rig-specific load cases or track pressure figures, so any given rig and ground combination should be checked by your temporary works engineer against the SWL data for the configuration you select, which is independently verified with a Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers.
What ground bearing pressure does a piling rig produce?
This varies enormously by rig type, mast configuration, kentledge, and track or outrigger footprint, and we do not hold verified figures for specific piling rig models. Your plant supplier or temporary works engineer will have the bearing pressure data for your machine, which can then be matched against an ALIMATS configuration and the ground conditions on your site.
How do aluminium mats compare to timber or plastic mats for load spread?
Our bending test rig compared ALIMATS aluminium against a UHMW-PE plastic mat under a simulated outrigger load. At 1 tonne the plastic mat deflected 102mm against 2mm for ALIMATS, at 2.25 tonnes it deflected 328mm against 3mm, and at 3.5 tonnes a doubled-up plastic mat deflected 161mm against 8mm for a single ALIMATS mat. The reason is stiffness, not just compressive strength: aluminium sits second only to steel for stiffness while plastic sits near the bottom of that hierarchy, so a plastic mat can flex enough to let load triangulate straight through to the ground underneath it.
Can I hire ALIMATS for a short piling programme?
Yes. ALIMATS is available for single day, weekly, or long-term hire, or for outright purchase, with 24 hour nationwide delivery through our own FORS Bronze fleet and CSCS-card-holding drivers. Every mat is inspected, cleaned, and quality-checked between hires before it goes back out.
Do you also supply crane pads for outrigger loads under about 1 square metre?
Yes, for smaller outrigger loads up to roughly 1.0 square metre we recommend a certified Nylanite crane pad such as the Nylacast Big Foot range rather than standard HDPE. For larger loads, an ALIMATS configuration is the right tool, and a Nylacast pad is often used alongside it to help optimise load transfer and protect the mat surface.
Get a price on ALIMATS ground protection
Tell us the rig, the outrigger or track loads, and the ground conditions you are working with, and we will help you configure a mat layout from the core ALIMATS range. Available to hire by the day, week, or long term, or to buy outright.
Aluminium Crane Mats
A specifier's guide to aluminium crane mats, covering material properties, the patented modular interlock, module weights and independent safe working load verification, using ALIMATS® as the engineered example.
Concrete Pump Outrigger Pads
ALIMATS aluminium mats spread concentrated concrete pump outrigger loads through stiffness, not just compressive strength, and are available from 1.346m2 to 8.073m2 for hire or purchase on 24/7 nationwide delivery.
Crane Mats for Hire
ALIMATS® aluminium crane mats are available for single day, weekly or long-term hire with 24/7 UK delivery, guest quoting, and every mat inspected and cleaned before it goes back out.
Heavy-Lift Crane Mats
ALIMATS® aluminium crane mats, including the Half Loader module for the highest outrigger loads, give heavy lifts a safe working load of up to 80 tonnes under cranes up to 150 tonnes, backed by independent verification and bending test data against plastic and timber mats.
MEWP Outrigger Pads
A guide to choosing the right MEWP outrigger pad or mat, when to use a Nylacast Big Foot pad against an ALIMATS® crane mat configuration, and how the Powered Access Solution protects ground under scissor lifts and spider cranes.
Mobile Crane Outrigger Mats
ALIMATS aluminium mats spread mobile crane outrigger loads through stiffness rather than compressive strength alone, backed by purpose designed bending test data and a proven 18 hour nationwide turnaround.
Spider Crane Mats
ALIMATS Powered Access Solution is a modular aluminium mat configuration built specifically for spider cranes, mini cranes and MEWPs, so ground protection keeps working while the machine is tracking, not just standing on outriggers.
Tower Crane Base Mats: Load-Spread Principles and ALIMATS Configurations
How ALIMATS aluminium mat configurations spread concentrated tower crane base and outrigger loads, why stiffness matters more than compressive strength, and where the system is already proven on major UK infrastructure projects.