SPECIAL FOCUS ←
The Daily Grind Around thirty years ago John Seovic founded Seovic Civil and began working in kerb and guttering in Sydney. This expanded to include slipforming of concrete pavements and barriers. Slipforming is the process of transferring wet concrete into a steel profile called a “mould” which is vibrated and then propelled forward leaving a standing structure of concrete behind. The system was developed in America in the sixties and was pioneered by John here in Australia in the seventies. Today Seovic employs around thirty people and is one of Australia's largest dedicated constructors of slipform and handplace concrete pavements. As a result of being in the concreting industry John saw the need for some sort of effective device to iron out problems on the surface of concrete pavements, which lead to the start of their diamond grinding operation. Jason Seovic Company Director and one of John’s sons is an expert on diamond grinding. He travelled to the US to be trained in the process prior to Seovic acquiring a grinder. He said of the experience: “The Australian conditions are vastly different to the states, so the last six or seven years have been a steep learning curve for me and a process of trial and error.” It is a highly specialised procedure with Seovic being only one of two companies doing diamond grinding in Australia. It is also a relatively new process. “Diamond grinding has only been around since 2009” he tells us, “and it’s taken quite a few years to be approved of by the government authorities here. So it’s only been recently that it’s been accepted as a tool for surface corrections.” A diamond grinder is a machine that’s utilised to restore deteriorated and out of specification concrete or asphalt pavement surfaces. It involves the removal of a layer of hardened concrete using diamond blades. The resultant effect of the grinding process WWW.ANCR.COM.AU
is a smooth, level pavement surface with a longitudinal texture creating desirable friction and low noise characteristics. Diamond grinding is frequently performed in conjunction with other techniques such as full depth slap replacements, joint resealing and various thin pavement overlay removals. Seovic also does airport grooving using the same machinery but on wider surfaces. This work is conducted on airport runways where transverse grooving is required for water run-off. Jason Seovic explains that the diamond grinding process has been refined by Seovic Civil to be more effective in Australia: “The ‘edge grinder’ is a device that we added to the machinery to allow us to do diamond grinding close to the edge of the pavement beside curves or barriers. A lot of diamond grinding machines are only used on highways so there is plenty of clearance for the machines to do their job. In an urban environment there are lots of obstructions like lighting poles, kerbs, gutters and fences. The size of the machine doesn’t allow the grinding process to go all the way across the pavement. We developed a device that fits on to a standard grinder which enables us to get very close to the kerb or median side allowing us to complete the whole road with the diamond grinder.” Armed with this innovation Seovic provides services for government clients such as the RMS where high quality and safety standards are demanded. They ensure that the most stringent specifications and tolerances are met and perform construction work all around Australia and overseas. For Seovic this work is all just part of the daily grind.
For more information contact Seovic Civil Engineering Pty Ltd, PO Box 375, Camden NSW 2570, phone 02 4646 1146, fax 02 4646 1591, email civil@seovic.com.au, website www.seoviccivil.com.au ANCR Special Focus
27