SPECIAL REPORT : TECHNOLOGY |
JESSICA LOMBARDO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF deepagopi2011/AdobeStock
TECHNOLOGY to Improve Paving Results
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& Profits
Viewing data throughout the paving process can help asphalt contractors build better roads more efficiently
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utomatic controls for construction machinery have emerged over the last decade with the goal of helping contractors do their jobs more efficiently. Using technology to better manage equipment usage has been an eye-opening experience for the industry as they adapt to getting more work done even faster with the help of these new processes.
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ASPHALT CONTRACTOR JUNE/JULY 2021
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3D paving control is one technology that hasn't exactly gained the momentum in the industry that it should have. 3D paving allows the system to directly reference the design rather than a surface or stringline of the surface. This minimizes asphalt usage, reduces waste and overruns, and helps projects finish on time and under budget; all things contractors are trying to do on every job. Without 3D paving controls, contractors are relying on paint markings or stringlines to reference grade and elevation and manually changing the screed to match. "A lot of the old school contractors will still go out and spray paint on a
road to be paved a depth and a cross slope and then the operator looks at these spray painted instructions on a road and reacts to that on their asphalt paver," Davin Laubhan, paving product manager at Trimble says. "That's very difficult to do and that opens up a lot of room for error." There are also 2D technologies out there contractors are using that can reference any existing surface using sonic sensors or averaging beams that are put on the side of an asphalt paver. All of these methods have had their place in the past, but do not give contractors the complete picture which can lead to the best results. "Through a 3D model, we are dynamically able to adjust that asphalt
www.ForConstructionPros.com/Asphalt
5/25/21 9:04 AM
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