Planers at the cutting edge

“Our role is to act as a quality gatekeeper to ensure that the highest standards are adhered to in protecting the public and the industry. A prime example is our standard form of contract, which clearly stipulates the CPHA Conditions of Hire for customers nationwide,” says Wicks. “In addition to this, our members must have liability insurance in place and adhere to a Code of Ethics.”

For every machine class, there’s a CPHA Chamber. These include earthmoving, materials handling, small plant, compressors, generators, and mobile cranes. The CPHA also has a national branch network.

“As an association, we provide a single interface with government departments, SOEs and municipalities when it comes to issues such as procurement, tenders, and legislation affecting earthmoving machine licensing and legal on-road transport – permits for mobile cranes being a prime example,” says Wicks.

The latter is an especially complex issue for CPHA Crane Chamber members, as these machines share the road with other conventional and heavy-duty vehicles. Aside from general industry projects, mobile cranes are an essential component for specialised erections, including examples like the growing wind farm segment.

“We are constantly lobbying for a review of the permits. At present, mobile cranes are only allowed to travel on roads at specific times. But what happens in the case of an emergency outside these times, like a petrochemical plant explosion? One of the metros we are now in discussions with is the City of Cape Town. Their current permit only allows mobile cranes to be on the road between 08:30 and 15:00,” says Wicks.

Providing a first-class hire service clearly depends on fielding economical and efficient machines that result in the delivery of excellent service.

“Plant hire companies tend to be early adopters of technology,” Wicks explains. “The OEM products they acquire are also based on indepth research, and tried and tested experience. Fuel efficiency and lower cost maintenance are always key considerations.”

Owning or hiring depends on the business plan and project requirements. Today’s financially constrained environment may shift the balance more towards plant hire over the next few years. Plant hire, for example, lowers the barrier to entry for new SMMEs securing work in the construction sector on an ad hoc, project by project basis. The CPHA also anticipates that there will be new entrants to the plant hire market as government’s infrastructure programmes gain momentum. This was certainly the case before and after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. “Our mission as the CPHA is to promote the benefits of plant hire and to provide public and private sector clients with the assurance that our members remain committed to the highest safety, operator proficiency and machine quality standards,” Wicks concludes.

Angled cuts and the matching of two uneven surfaces are made possible by the planer housing, which can oscillate about 15 degrees

More manoeuvrable than dedicated planers and cost-effective to maintain, Bobcat planer attachments are being deployed on many road rehabilitation and maintenance projects in the country.

These durable and versatile attachments are designed for fitment on Bobcat compact track, skid-steer and all-wheel steer loaders. They are used to mate uneven pavement surfaces, clean around larger milling machines, mill around manholes, and taper edges on a road. They are also ideally suited for cutting drainage in parking lots.

Suited to arduous applications, Bobcat’s high-flow planers use the increased hydraulic horsepower of Bobcat loaders, which feature seven-pin Attachment Control Kits as standard. Standardflow planers provide contractors with a more cost-effective alternative for their periodic planning requirements.

Depending on the type of concrete, depth of use and operator experience, production rates of between 40 m²/h and 50 m²/h are possible using the various planer models. They include a 35 cm unit with a 35 cm all-purpose drum, as well as a 46 cm and 61 cm unit with or without the 46 cm and 61 cm Fast Cut Drum, respectively.

Carbide-tipped bits, mounted on a revolving drum, cut and pulverise pavement material, which – after being milled – exits the planer housing through a rear opening. It can then be immediately recycled to perfectly finish any asphalt and repair.

Comments Kevin Purcell at Bobcat Equipment: “Notably, the lowangle, high-velocity blows are undertaken in a controlled pattern to uniformly chip pavement, with depth, width and slope control easily set and maintained by operators.”