Roads & Infrastructure February 2021

FEBRUARY 2021

& INFRASTRUCTURE

INSURING SAFETY The importance of specially designed machine insurance

Official media partners of

TONKIN GAP An update of the Tonkin Highway transformation ROADS REVIEW Industry experts discuss COVID safety

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FEBRUARY 2021 CONTENTS

& INFRASTRUCTURE COVER STORY

14 S pecialist construction equipment insurance

PROJECT REPORT: 17 Tonkin Gap Project

AfPA

20 2020 AfPA Awards 23 AfPA Member Profile

ISCA

25 N SW light rail projects, a sustainable solution

NATIONAL PRECAST 27 Precast on the Westconnex

ROADS REVIEW 28 Roads review

SAFETY

30 Picton Road safety upgrades

ASPHALT IN ACTION

32 Bonding agent, SAMIBond 007

HDAdvantage, the customer portal.

TECHNOLOGY AND EQUIPMENT

44 G leason Cranes announces new distributorship

36 Digital construction as usual

INFRASTRUCTURE IN FOCUS

34 Creating a Seismic shift with Dynapac

46 Innovative formwork: Dincel 275

38 H DAdvantage: Leveraging machine data 40 C ontrolled cutting with the Roadtec RX-600ex 42 The move to digital twin concepts

ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY

48 On the path to sustainability with TSA 50 Paving the way for crumb rubber

REGULARS 04 Editor’s note 06 News

Barriers from Ingal Civil on Picton Road.

TSA is backing a crumb rubber asphalt demonstration project in Tasmania.

roadsonline.com.au

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& INFRASTRUCTURE PUBLISHER Christine Clancy christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au MANAGING EDITOR Melanie Stark melanie.stark@primecreative.com.au EDITOR Lauren Jones lauren.jones@primecreative.com.au

FORGING AHEAD EVEN THE TUMULTUOUS YEAR THAT WAS 2020 couldn’t keep the infrastructure construction industry down.

As one of the key industries designated to help the country recover from the economic impacts of COVID-19, 2021 is shaping up to be a busy year.

The Parkes Bypass in New South Wales, the North East Link in Victoria, the Coomera Connector in Queensland and the Mitchell Freeway extension in Western Australia are just a small snippet of projects due to begin construction in 2021.

This year we can also expect to see an expanded 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan, to respond to COVID-19 and acknowledge changes to the way Australians use critical infrastructure.

From these major works to municipal projects, infrastructure construction will continue to build our essential transportation links.

Like in 2020, safety and health will continue to be industry priorities, to ensure that as we live and work in a period of COVID normal, we can continue to deliver the highest quality projects while keeping workers and communities safe.

In reflection of this, theme for the February issue of Roads & Infrastructure magazine is ‘safety practices and equipment.’

Our cover story looks at the importance of specialised and tailored construction equipment insurance on civil works projects.

In this edition, industry experts gather their thoughts on how COVID-19 safety expectations will affect projects this year. Steve Verity, Principal Advisor at the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia says having a COVID Safe Plan in line with regulatory requirements is an essential step to ensure the health and safety of employees is maintained.

We also put safety front of mind and find out about the safety barriers Ingal Civil supplied to Transport for NSW’s Picton Road Safety Improvements program.

It’s clear 2021 is going to be filled with opportunity for infrastructure works across the country and we’re looking forward to covering some of these exciting projects and developments.

DESIGN PRODUCTION MANAGER Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au ART DIRECTOR Blake Storey DESIGN Kerry Pert, Madeline McCarty BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Brad Marshall brad.marshall@primecreative.com.au CLIENT SUCCESS MANAGER Justine Nardone justine.nardone@primecreative.com.au

HEAD OFFICE Prime Creative Pty Ltd 11-15 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 Australia p: +61 3 9690 8766 f: +61 3 9682 0044 enquiries@primecreative.com.au www.roadsonline.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS +61 3 9690 8766 subscriptions@primecreative.com.au Roads & Infrastructure Australia is available by subscription from the publisher. The rights of refusal are reserved by the publisher.

ARTICLES All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

COPYRIGHT

Roads & Infrastructure Australia is owned and published by Prime Creative Media. All material in Roads & Infrastructure Australia is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without the written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in Roads & Infrastructure Australia are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated.

Lauren Jones Editor, Roads & Infrastructure Magazine

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ROADS FEBRUARY 2021

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NEWS

Twin Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) set to work on the Cross River Rail project have been named after two groundbreaking Queensland women. The names come in honour of each woman’s contribution to the state. The first TBM to launch will be named ‘Else’ after trailblazing engineer Else Shepherd AM, while the second will be known as ‘Merle’ in honour of pioneering feminist Merle Thornton AM. Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey said

these two women have forged ahead, led the way and helped create a better future for this state. Professor Shepherd was the one of the first two women to graduate with an electrical engineering degree in Queensland. Thornton, a feminist activist, is best known for her iconic protest at the Regatta Hotel in 1965 when she and a friend chained themselves to a bar rail to challenge women’s exclusion from public bars in Queensland.

Credit: Both images University of Queensland Australia.

CROSS RIVER RAIL TBMS GIVEN NAMES OF ICONIC QUEENSLAND WOMEN

Left Else Shepherd AM, right Merle Thornton AM.

Major upgrades to four of Melbourne’s busiest suburban routes will begin with local contractors in 2021. The four intersections to be upgraded are; Childs Road in Mill Park, Fitzsimons Lane in Eltham and Templestowe, Hallam North Road and Heatherton Road in Endeavour Hills, and Lathams Road in Seaford and Carrum Downs.

Early works will start on these projects in January and each project will be completed by local contractors. Local

contractors Ace Infrastructure (Childs Road), BMD Construction (Fitzsimons Lane), Symal Infrastructure (Hallam North and Heatherton Road) and Winslow Infrastructure (Lathams Road) will deliver the projects, with a host of other upgrades in Melbourne and regional Victoria to follow. In a new partnership approach to road building contracts the State Government has established a panel of 20 prequalified contractors to deliver projects in the $3 billion pipeline.

Crews will build four intersection upgrades as part of a new partnership approach.

Credit: Leroy Evans on Unsplash.

LOCALS TO BEGIN $3B ROAD UPGRADES IN VIC UNDER NEW PARTNERSHIP MODEL

The new bridge will be built upstream from the site of the old one.

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ROADS FEBRUARY 2021

Impression image by Seymour Whyte.

MAJOR BUILDER AWARDED $148M NELLIGEN BRIDGE REPLACEMENT CONTRACT Works will soon be underway on the $148 million Nelligen Bridge Replacement after the construction contract award. Seymour Whyte Constructions will undertake the project which will involve building a 349 metre bridge, up to seven metres above the Clyde River. Site establishment and major construction is expected to start on the project early this year. Works will include the bridge and abutment construction, building a shared user path, intersection upgrades, demolishing the existing bridge and surrounding landscaping works. The new bridge will feature wider lanes and shoulders and safety barriers between the road and footpath.

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NEWS

Concept image of the Gateway flyover along Qantas Drive, courtesy of Transport for NSW.

JOINT VENTURE TO PROVIDE CIVIL DESIGN FOR THE $2.6B SYDNEY GATEWAY

The Sydney Gateway will be a toll free route.

The civil engineering design contract for the $2.6 billion Sydney Gateway Motorway project has been awarded to a Joint Venture. Arcadis and AECOM will undertake the design work alongside the construction Joint Venture comprising John Holland and Seymour Whyte. BG&E has been engaged by the construction team, the John Holland Seymour White Joint Venture, to provide the detailed design for the 19 bridges included in the project. About half of the bridges have complex designs requiring new

and innovative design. BG&E’s team will also undertake design services for the structural temporary works, as well as durability for the entire project. Sydney Gateway will be a new above ground, toll-free route connecting St Peters interchange on the WestConnex to Sydney Airport, through Port Botany and beyond.

Sustainable transport solutions will be part of the design. A new pedestrian path will also be constructed alongside the road, to link Alexandra Canal and the domestic airport terminals.

ENVIRONMENT MINISTER GIVES COFFS HARBOUR BYPASS APPROVAL Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley has assessed and approved the Coffs Harbour Bypass under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. This announcement brings the project a step closer to construction.

Both the NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces and the Federal Environment Minister have given the project the green light.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said

the 14 kilometre bypass, which received official planning approval, is one of the 15 major projects that the Federal Government committed to fast-tracking in June this year.

Noise treatments and utility relocation began in December of 2020.

Construction of the bypass is expected to support 12,000 jobs over the life of the project. Two thousand of these are expected to be local jobs for people in the Coffs Harbour community.

The bypass is expected to take about five years to build.

Federal Environment Minister, Sussan Ley.

The Victorian Government has opened the Expressions of Interest for the Initial and Early Works package on the first stage of the Suburban Rail Loop. Minister for Suburban Rail Loop Jacinta Allan today announced that interested parties are being sought to deliver the first phase of construction. Works will see roads and power supplies upgraded, new substations built, utility relocation, ground improvements and the preparation of sites for Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM). So far, after registering for pre-qualification, some of the largest Australian contractors have shown interest in this stage of

works. Overall this first stage is expected to create 800 jobs, before the creation of around 20,000 jobs during major construction of the project. The $2.2 billion invested in the budget for this year is allocated to begin the procurement process, purchase land and facilitate construction of six new underground stations. Stage One will connect the suburbs of Cheltenham and Box Hill through a 26 kilometre long twin tunnel underground rail route. When complete the Suburban Rail Loop will connect every major train line on the Melbourne metro network and link to Melbourne Airport.

Credit: Suburban Rail Loop.

EOI’S OPEN FOR EARLY WORKS ON $2.2B SUBURBAN RAIL LOOP

Some of Australia’s largest contractors have shown interest in the first stage. roadsonline.com.au

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NEWS

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT RELEASED FOR COONABARABRAN BYPASS Plans to build an eight-kilometre Newell Highway bypass at Coonabarabran to improve freight efficiency are now a step

closer. The environmental assessment and concept designs have been released for the project. Freight industry representatives and

The Coonabarbran Bypass would divert 700 trucks from the town centre each day.

residents in the area are now invited to have their say in the Review of Environmental Factors (REF). NSW Nationals Upper House MP, Sam Farraway said the proposed bypass would divert about 700 trucks a day from the centre of town, delivering safer and more efficient journeys for motorists continuing along the bypass. The REF will outline methods Transport for NSW are planning to mitigate and manage environmental impacts of the upgrade.

This year will see the beginning of six level crossing removals across Melbourne, along with the continuation of a portfolio of others. Four level crossings in Preston, to the north, will begin and two level crossings in the west at Deer Park will commence. Two contracts worth a total of nearly $800 million have been awarded to alliances to undertake the construction works. The state government has awarded the $564 million construction contract for the removal of four level crossings

in Preston to an alliance of John Holland Group, Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), Metro Trains Melbourne and the Level Crossing Removal Project. At Deer Park the state government has awarded a $234 million contract for the project that will see a road underpass built at Robinsons Road and an overpass built at Fitzgerald Road. The contract has been granted to an alliance of Fulton Hogan, Metro Trains Melbourne and the Level Crossing Removal Project.

Credit: Nao Takabayashi on Unsplash.

MAJOR CONTRACTS WORTH NEARLY $800M AWARDED TO REMOVE SIX LEVEL CROSSINGS

Contracts have been awarded for Deer Park and Preston.

STATION UPGRADE CONTRACT AWARDED FOR SOUTHWEST SYDNEY METRO LINE A contract to upgrade three stations along the Bankstown Line in Sydney’s South West has been awarded to a joint venture.

New South Wales based companies

Credit: Sydney Metro

Local companies make up the joint venture chosen for the works.

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ROADS FEBRUARY 2021

Haslin Constructions and Stephen Edwards Constructions comprise the joint venture selected to take on the works.

Construction will include improving

Marrickville, Canterbury and Lakemba stations to metro rail standards.

The existing platforms will be re-levelled to provide access to the new metro trains and eliminate the step into train carriages.

Canterbury station will be home to two new lifts and a family accessible toilet.

Each station will then receive upgrades such as improved lighting, tiling and paving, enhancements to security fencing and improvements to interchanges for bike parking, taxi spaces and kiss and ride parking. The stations will also be prepared for the installation of platform screen doors. Contracts for further upgrades will be awarded throughout this year.

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NEWS

AUSTRALIAN TUNNELLING PROJECT WINS PROJECT OF THE YEAR AT INTERNATIONAL AWARDS The joint venture on an Australian major project has won the Major Project of the Year category at the ITA Tunnelling Awards 2020. John Holland, CBP and Ghella took on the tunnelling and station excavation works, as a joint venture, for the Sydney Metro City and South West project and have been awarded Major Project of the Year. The international ITA Tunnelling and Underground Space Awards has been running since 2015 and rewards the most ground-breaking innovation and outstanding projects in tunnelling and

underground space use. To qualify for Major Project of the Year, the total project cost had to be in excess of 500 million euro. Sydney Metro City and Southwest is Australia’s first project to have five tunnel boring machine’s simultaneously building tunnels under Sydney and the Sydney Harbour. Sydney Metro and its Joint Venture contractors were up against the Jinjiazhuang Spiral tunnel project of Yanqing to Chongli expressway in China and Ryfast – Construction of the world’s longest sub-sea road tunnel in Norway.

Sydney Metro won Major project of the Year at the 2020 ITA Tunnelling Awards.

REPORT SHOWS CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY GENDER PAY GAP HAS WIDENED

The construction industry was found to have a gender pay gap of 26.1 per cent.

Results from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WEGA) 2019-20 report show the construction industry now rated to have the second highest pay gap. Behind the Financial and Insurance Service industry which was found to have a gender pay gap of 27.5 per cent, the construction industry was found to have a gender pay gap of 26.1 per cent. The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC)

said this was an increase of 0.1 per cent since 2019 and on average equates to a difference of $36,361 in total renumeration between males and females. The gender pay gap measures the difference between the average earnings of women and men, expressed by a percentage of men’s earnings. This is collected as an average across organisations, industries and the workforce as a whole.

MAJOR CONTRACTORS COMPETE TO BUILD NEW $576M BRIDGEWATER BRIDGE

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ROADS FEBRUARY 2021

Granton and a three metre wide shared path for pedestrians and cyclists. The Tasmanian Government’s Buy Local policy will come into play for the assessment

and selection of the successful tenderer.

Construction is expected to start in 2022 with the new bridge open to traffic by the end of 2024.

The final design and construct contract is expected to be awarded by the end of this year.

Credit: Spencer Chow on Unsplash.

Two of the countries major contractors have been shortlisted to take part in a competitive Early Contractor Involvement process for Hobart’s new Bridgewater Bridge.

This process will see contractors McConnell Dowell Constructors (Australia) and CPB Contractors develop design and construction methods for the $576 million project. The contractors will now work with the Tasmanian Department of State Growth to refine their tenders for design and construction. Following this process the preferred contractor will be selected. The design and construct contract is expected to be awarded by the end of 2021.

Part of the design will include grade separated interchanges at Bridgewater and

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ENSURING PROJECT

DELIVERY

Rokon is a civil contractor with a diverse infrastructure building skill set.

CIVIL CONTRACTOR ROKON PRIDES ITSELF ON THE PROMPT DELIVERY OF PROJECTS. AS ONE OF THE LARGEST CIVIL CONTRACTORS IN VICTORIA, ROKON HAS A SUBSTANTIAL AND VARIED FLEET OF CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY WHICH INSURANCE BROKER PNO INSURANCE AND INSURER UAA WORK TOGETHER TO TAILOR SPECIALISED POLICIES.

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n the September quarter of 2020 the Australian Bureau of Statistics found 1.175 million people were employed in construction in Australia. A large number of these employees are civil engineers or on-site workers. These civil engineering companies transform green and brownfields environments into the towns and infrastructure that facilitate the country’s growth.

Rokon has a diverse infrastructure building skill set, contracting to major developers in the state, including Frasers, Lendlease, Stockland, AVID, Goodman and Dexus. Rokon transforms farmland into lots for residential builders or large industrial sites. The company also perform bulk earthworks for subdivisions or construction and constructs wetlands and waterways.

Company directors Jim Thomas and Steve Traicevski have built the business over 20 years from its beginning with two employees, to a team in excess of 200 people.

Some of the company’s current projects

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ROADS FEBRUARY 2021

include the Amber, Aurora, Bloomdale and Windermere estates in the outer metropolitan Melbourne suburbs as well as the Burwood Brickworks project.

To produce the civil infrastructure and major construction elements for these projects, Rokon own a comprehensive fleet of machinery.

Jim Thomas, Rokon Director, advises the business owns excavators from five to 90 tonne, bulldozers from D6 size to D8, large open bowl twin powered scrapers, graders, compactors, rock crushing equipment, loaders, articulated dump trucks, trucks and trailers, and water carts.

“This equipment works on producing bulk earthworks, drainage construction, pavement construction, electrical and Telstra installations for large subdivisions within Victoria. The rock crushing equipment also allows us to produce our own crushed rock for projects,” he says.

This fleet of plant and machinery spans across the Victorian metropolitan area to ensure the most efficient machinery can be used on each project.

UAA specially designs insurance cover for mobile plant and equipment.

COVER STORY

The upkeep and insurance of these machines is integral to Rokon’s works, ensuring every machine is utilised effectively for the many projects across Victoria.

Rokon works with PNOinsurance, who are a specialist insurance broker in the construction industry to tailor an insurance program with a key focus on the mobile plant and equipment coverage provided from Underwriting Agencies of Australia (UAA).

UAA specially designs insurance cover for mobile plant and equipment. The team has extensive experience in the construction sector dating back over 30 years and understand the unique challenges presented by civil construction such as the importance of an extensive repair network and heavy costs of downtime.

“Dealing with an insurer that understands the value of the equipment we own, and the urgency of replacement machinery has helped us to save time and money on either damaged or stolen equipment. This is key to our ongoing success,” Thomas says.

Through PNO, UAA and Rokon are able to work together to contribute to the

safe and continuous operation of Rokon’s equipment.

“Most important to our business is that the machinery keeps on working, so if we have damage that requires timely repairs, we can immediately hire a replacement machine to continue the work.”

PNO works directly with both the client and insurer to tailor cover for each business. Over three decades PNO and its staff have worked to become experts in their fields, anticipating the demands of the construction, transport and professional service industries.

The deep industry knowledge of the PNO team helps address the exposures of Rokon, and other construction clients, from not only a plant and equipment perspective but also additional areas of risk such as public liability, contract works, management liability and cyber insurance.

“Working with John Percey and the team at PNO is great as we get an understanding of potential ‘holes’ in our cover. We also get advice on how we can potentially save money by not over insuring,” Thomas says.

Through the combination of specialist insurance from UAA and the expertise of PNO brokers, Rokon is able to adequately

cover exposures across its fleet of civil machinery, to keep projects running smoothly.

At Rokon, Thomas says specialised insurance from UAA helped immensely when the company experienced a costly event. In this instance, Rokon were covered and only had to provide the excess for major repairs.

“From UAA we also get an extra 15 per cent buffer on equipment value that ensures our machinery is valued at market rate.”

One of Rokon’s founding values is its commitment to delivery. Successful projects completed on time are integral to the company and the strong partnerships it has with its clients.

“We believe that working with people that understand our business minimises delay and disruption to our projects.

This is a key factor in enabling us to successfully deliver for our clients” Thomas says.

The quick assessment of machinery, and the value provided through PNO and UAA, assists Rokon to deliver successful, safe and quality projects across Victoria, as the business continues to grow.

roadsonline.com.au

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PROJECT REPORT

TONKIN GAP

Bridge infill works on the Tonkin Gap project.

THE TRANSFORMATION OF TONKIN HIGHWAY WILL IMPROVE THE WAY PEOPLE AND FREIGHT MOVE AROUND PERTH. ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE DISCOVERS WHAT THE UPGRADE IS GOING TO INVOLVE.

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ight and heavy rigid trucks make up just over three percent of the nearly 2.3 million motor vehicles registered in Western Australia according to the 2020 Motor Vehicle Census.

Tonkin Highway is a major service route for these vehicles running from Oakford in the south to Muchea in the north. It connects to several of Perth’s major industrial areas with links to the CBD. Main Roads notes the route is one of the most heavily trafficked, heavy vehicle routes in the metropolitan area as the road connects to other existing and future strategic freight routes.

In the past two years, Main Roads has been planning for the Tonkin Gap Project and Associated Works.

This project will facilitate the transformation of the Tonkin Highway with new lanes, interchanges and bridges built alongside a shared path between Collier Road and Dunreath Drive.

Main Roads Senior Project Director, Rob Arnott says congestion issues combined with the inadequacy of current cycling and pedestrian connections are having a negative impact on local amenity.

“Furthermore, the high proportion of merge, diverge and weave movements exacerbated by congestion has led to a disproportionately high incidence of vehicle crashes and major safety concerns,” he says.

Upon completion, the project will provide a minimum of three lanes along the 4.2 kilometre section between Collier Road and Dunreath Drive. It will link the previous NorthLink WA and Gateway WA initiatives.

There will be a total of seven bridge structures on the project.

roadsonline.com.au

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Construction will make way for future investments to upgrade intersections and extend Tonkin Highway to the south.

Enabling works for the Morley-Ellenbrook Line rail project are also included in the contract.

EARLY WORKS AND CONSTRUCTION The contract for the Tonkin Gap Project and Associated Works was awarded to the Tonkin Gap Alliance in June 2020.

This group is made up of BMD, Georgiou Group, WA Limestone, BG&E and GHD, who will work closely with Main Roads and the Public Transport Authority to deliver the works.

An alliance model was chosen by Main Roads because it enables the organisation to consult with industry and develop innovative and cost-effective approaches that provide flexibility in delivery and improve industry capability.

“Our alliance model lets us identify, allocate and manage risks and use a blend of delivery methods to optimise Main Roads, Local Government and industry resources,” Arnott says.

Early works began in 2020. Crews were installing temporary road barriers and constructing the site compound on the north and south of Redcliffe Bridge.

“This is in preparation for the upgrade of the existing Redcliffe Bridge and a new western bridge, which we expect to take approximately 18 months to complete,” he says.

Bridge works are expected to get underway early this year and the alliance is currently delivering and compacting around 40,000 cubic metres of fill material for construction.

“The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) has given approval to start piling works for the bridge piers for the Swan River Bridge in early 2021,” Arnott says.

“Earthworks will continue on land to build the casting yard on the southwest corner of Redcliffe Bridge, and we will start constructing the bridges at Guildford Road beginning with the footings to build the abutments on the south side of Guildford Road.”

The project will build a total of seven new road bridge structures, one over the Swan River, two at Dunstone Road, two at Guildford Road and two at Railway Parade.

Crews will also improve the Tonkin Highway off-ramps at Great Eastern 18

ROADS FEBRUARY 2021

Highway, and build a shared path and underpasses alongside the highway. The Stanton Road Bridge will be lifted, and a new pedestrian bridge will be constructed to replace the existing bridge at Victoria Street.

Enabling works for the MorleyEllenbrook Line includes building wo dive structures for the rail line; two rail bridges over the Morley Drive interchange; a new Broun Avenue bridge to carry a bus interchange and traffic lanes; rail formation and drainage works in the Tonkin Highway median and a slip-form barrier along the highway to allow for the new rail corridor.

“Pier protection and deflection wall works at bridges started in November 2020 and will continue for all bridges with piers along the median of Tonkin Highway. Construction of the southern

dive structure for the Morley-Ellenbrook Line just north of Guildford Road will start in early 2021,” he says.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS The Tonkin Gap Project has a number of social objectives for the project including to employ greater than 10 per cent of females and a minimum of 10 per cent new employees with less than five years’ experience.

Aboriginal persons will make up a minimum of five per cent of the workforce.

There is also a requirement for a minimum of five full-time graduate jobs and a minimum of six per cent of the construction workforce undertaking traineeships or apprenticeships.

Bound by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia’s (ISCA)

An employment objective on the project means at least 10 per cent of the workforce will be women.

PROJECT REPORT

V2.0 Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) rating framework for design and construction, the Tonkin Gap project will work to drive sustainable outcomes.

“We are designing, constructing and operating the Tonkin Gap Project to optimise environmental, social and economic outcomes for the long term,” Arnott says.

The IS rating tool has been developed in conjunction with industry to ensure sustainable practices feature in every aspect of infrastructure design, construction and operation.

“The process is evidence based and we will provide the full assessment to ISCA at the end of each phase to be independently verified by a third party,” he says.

When the assessment has been received, the project will gain a certification and rating which is benchmarked against other major infrastructure projects in Australia.

Specific project goals and targets are still being developed to ensure sustainability is a key cornerstone for the project.

“Sustainability initiatives will include using recycled asphalt and crushed recycled concrete. We will be monitoring our achievement as the project progresses,” he says.

As the Tonkin Gap is being constructed in a constrained brownfields environment vegetation clearing is necessary. The team is dedicated to minimising the extent of clearing and are exploring opportunities to enhance the local area.

“Where an area of ground is disturbed and not finished with a sealed surface, such as asphalt, we will undertake revegetation works. This will include a variety of native vegetation species, including trees,” Arnott says.

An environmental assessment, including a detailed flora and vegetation assessment of the Swan River and the surrounding land set in the alignment of the Tonkin Highway found potential Black Cockatoo nesting trees in the area but none with suitable hollows.

“We would prefer not to have any impact on nesting cockatoos. We will be looking for all potential solutions to avoid this. Where we do need to remove such a tree, our environment team will inspect the trees prior to check if any cockatoos are nesting and relocate if necessary,” he says.

LOOKING AHEAD Enabling works for the future MorleyEllenbrook Rail Line will make up a significant portion of the construction works.

Rail enabling works began in November 2020 with the first concrete pour for pier protection walls celebrated as a key milestone for the project.

The Tonkin Gap Alliance aim to complete all the railway enabling works within the will modify the Tonkin Highway median including the replacement of the existing Broun Avenue flyover with a combined traffic and bus bridge as part of the proposed Morley Station by 2022 to enable hand-over of the rail corridor to the contractor responsible for construction of the railway and stations.

The Project Director says the team would also construct underpass and dive structures at each end of the project, concrete traffic barriers to separate the rail corridor from the highway, as well as other preparatory civil works within the rail corridor created by these works.

Once the associated works are completed this will make room for the construction of the future 21 kilometre rail line, which will in part run alongside the

Tonkin Highway.

The Tonkin Gap Project will bring the highway up to freeway standard, featuring improved interchanges and fewer conflict points.

Less congestion is expected because of the upgrades along with additional lanes to reduce driver frustration.

Construction of the shared path on the eastern side of the highway will better connect communities with safe pedestrian and cycling facilities along the route.

Noise barrier installation will reduce noise impacts from the highway on adjacent residential areas. The Tonkin Gap project and Associated Works is expected to be completed in full by late 2023.

At beginning of construction, Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said major infrastructure projects such as the METRONET Morley-Ellenbrook Line and the Tonkin Gap project were vital to the State’s COVID-19 recovery, while creating better transport options and improving road congestion for commuters and the surrounding communities.

“The start of these works signal the beginning of the next infrastructure transformation in the north eastern suburbs...” he said.

The Tonkin Gap project is expected to be complete in 2023.

roadsonline.com.au

19

THE BEST OF

2020

TO END WHAT CEO CARLOS RIAL DESCRIBED AS AN UNPRECEDENTED YEAR, AFPA HELD ITS YEARLY NATIONAL INDUSTRY AWARDS CELEBRATION ONLINE. WE RECAP SOME OF THE ASSOCIATION’S BEST PEOPLE AND PROJECTS IN 2020.

T

he AfPA 2020 Awards was the sixth anniversary of the Association’s National Awards night.

The first three awards of the night celebrated the people within the association.

The award for Flexible Pavement Field Worker of the year kick started the night. Nominees displayed high quality workmanship, commitment to safety, strong customer service awareness, role model attributes and a teamwork initiative.

New South Wales’ Liz Peihopa from Fulton Hogan and South Australia’s Rodney Mildred from Boral took out this national award.

The next award, for the 2020 Graduate or Cadet of the year saw candidates with less than three years’ experience in the flexible pavements industry. These people demonstrated leadership potential, an affinity for participation and consistently push to progress positive outcomes, going further than their expected role.

From South Australia and New South Wales respectively, Maddison Armitt from Downer and Anthony Daskalopoulos from State Asphalt Services won this award for 2020.

The final people focused award covered the AfPA National Emerging Leader. This award celebrates a person under the age of 35 with less than 10 years’ experience who demonstrates outstanding leadership, contribution to the flexible pavements industry, commitment to operational improvement and industry achievements.

The first winner of this award, Noriko Wood from Fulton Hogan in Victoria, is a passionate engineering professional committed to developing effective, evidence-based solutions to global challenges such as climate change mitigation and adaption.

The second winner, Alex Irvine from Puma Energy Bitumen in Queensland, had previously worked in mining and construction before moving into a technical role to support operations, sales and logistics.

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ROADS FEBRUARY 2021

Rodney Mildred, winner of the Flexible Pavement Field Worker of the year award.

Kicking off the project related awards was the award for Outstanding National Project less than $10 million. Nominated projects included Airport upgrades and resurfacing, re-sheeting of the Sydney Harbour tunnel and pavement rehabilitation at the Berrimah Freight Terminal.

Downer won this category for the Berrimah Freight Terminal Pavement Rehabilitation in the Northern Territory. These works were completed ahead of program and a record 1,170 tonnes of asphalt was paved in a shift.

Nominees for the Outstanding Project greater than $10 million included, airport upgrades, major road upgrades, spray sealing and construction of a brand-new motorway.

This winners were the Boral team, on the Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes M1 upgrade in Queensland. Crews used 190,000 tonnes of asphalt with 15 per cent Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) in the structural layers and facilitated the first use of EME2 in the Queensland Main Roads region.

The award for Innovation in Design, Process or Product, came next. A hybrid binder, innovative asphalt designs, a road research program and an artificial intelligence program comprised the nominations.

Main Roads Western Australia and ARRB

Maddison Armitt, winner of the 2020 Graduate or Cadet award.

were awarded this accolade for their Western Australia Road Research and Innovation Program (WARRIP). WARRIP continually provides innovative and cost-effective opportunities for Main Roads WA, by finding emerging technologies and practises to improve civil works.

The final award of the night was the National Safety Initiative Award. AfPA chose two winners for this award; UQ, RoadTek, WHSQ, BCC & AfPA for Respirable Crystalline Silica Project and QLD TMR for the Airborne Particulates Taskforce.

The Respirable Crystalline Silica Project supported the upgrading of regulatory requirements to improve the safety of workers across the Australian asphalt industry from Respirable Crystalline Silica.

The TMR Airborne Particulates Taskforce was established to take hold of an opportunity to improve management of airborne particulates in the civil construction and maintenance industry.

While an unprecedented year brought many challenges, significant developments were achieved across the industry.

With an exciting year ahead, AfPA is reminding members to keep an eye out for nominees for next year’s National awards.

The fail-safe method for eliminating air voids in permanent formwork Designed to withstand the high pressures generated from the use of vibrators and high slump concrete, Dincel 275 ensures the elimination of air voids when the following is adopted:

1. High Slump Concrete

A minimum of 180mm concrete slump at the point of discharge, with a maximum aggregate size of 10mm, is required to ensure adequate flow through the formwork.

2. Use of Vibrators

A 25mm pocket vibrator with flexible shaft should be used. The vibrator should be lowered at regular intervals across the wall’s length, and moved up from the bottom of each pour/lift until clear of the concrete.

Perforations within internal ring eliminates segregation by controlling and directing concrete flow.

Internal ring resists concrete pour pressures allowing for high slump concrete (>240mm) or single lifts/pours up to 4.5m.

Non-hygroscopic formwork material maximises concrete flow.

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AUSTRALIAN FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT ASSOCIATION

AfPA 2021 International Flexible Pavement Symposium

REGISTRATIONS OPENING SOON

AfPA 2021

International Flexible Pavements Symposium

Roads going full circle Online Event 03rd - 06th August 2021

https://www.afpa.asn.au/

AfPA MEMBER PROFILE:

STEPHEN GIRAUD PROJECT MANAGER, DOVAL CONSTRUCTIONS HOW LONG HAVE YOU OR YOUR COMPANY BEEN AN AfPA MEMBER AND WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME ONE? I joined AfPA three years ago as an affiliate member having developed a passion for flexible pavement design and construction during my time at Dykman Consulting.

Doval Constructions became a member in 2019 after becoming aware of the obvious advantages that membership to the AfPA provides to a contractor whose core business involves the construction of roads.

HOW DID YOU START YOUR CAREER IN THE ROAD CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY? I began working in the civil industry as a labourer for Doval Constructions during school holidays while still at school. I saw how hands-on the engineers and managers were which confirmed my decision to study to become a civil engineer. Doval made it possible for me to work on site while studying thereby providing a foundation of valuable experience and industry exposure from the onset of my career.

constantly developing new skills and learning from those with whom I work. I am fortunate to work with a company that promotes individual career development through opportunity, accountability, and support.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT IN THE INDUSTRY? I have been privileged to achieve status as both a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ) and a Registered Professional Engineer of Professionals Australia (RPEng). I have been fortunate enough to have been provided an opportunity at an early age to work in a project management position and have since successfully completed three projects.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT ROLE AND WHAT DOES IT INVOLVE? I currently work for Doval Constructions as a Project Manager. My primary role is to lead my construction management team in delivering civil infrastructure projects. Doval’s business model is built on flexibility and accountability which in turn provides me with the opportunity to manage all aspects of a project. This includes HSEQ, program, human resources, procurement and financial management.

WHAT IS A RECENT CHANGE YOU HAVE SEEN IN THE INDUSTRY AND HOW ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THAT? The importance of using recycled materials and sustainable work operations is becoming increasingly prioritised. There is a strong drive within both the public and private sector to better manage waste and keep sustainability at the forefront of operations.

This continuing change is facilitated by the continual development and revision of specifications to accommodate new types of sustainable technologies and work practices. In addition to this, traffic management has become less prescriptive and more open to innovation that while still ensuring the safety of all also prioritises minimising the impacts of road construction projects on road users and the general public.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR CURRENT ROLE? No two days are the same. I love the challenges that come with managing road and civil infrastructure projects. I am

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS MOST INTERESTING ABOUT THE ROAD CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY? How much it has changed in such a short period of time. My father has been in the

Stephen Giraud, Project Manager at Doval Constructions.

civil construction industry for most of his life and his experience in the industry at my age contrasts significantly with what we see today. I am excited to see how different things are 40 years from now.

HOW HAS BEING A MEMBER OF AfPA BENEFITED YOU IN THE INDUSTRY? AfPA provides a platform for networking and peer collaboration. It is a valuable resource for those within the industry providing expertise, guidance, and support. AfPA also offers the education and training required for us within the industry to keep abreast with the latest developments in specifications, technology, and practice.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE FUTURE? My focus for the future is to progress into a senior management position within Doval. I would like to use my experience and exposure at a project level to manage the development of Doval as an organisation. roadsonline.com.au

23

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Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia

TRANSPORT FOR NSW ON TRACK FOR LIGHT RAIL

SUSTAINABILITY

THROUGH SYDNEY’S CBD AND SOUTH EAST LIGHT RAIL, NEWCASTLE LIGHT RAIL ON AND PARRAMATTA LIGHT RAIL IN SYDNEY’S CENTRAL RIVER CITY, TRANSPORT FOR NSW AND THE NSW GOVERNMENT ARE DEVELOPING SAFE, INTEGRATED, AND SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SYSTEMS FOR CUSTOMERS.

T

hree game-changing light rail projects are pioneering innovative sustainability solutions, and delivering more public transport capacity and reliable services for New South Wales (NSW).

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is focused on maximising the social, economic and environmental benefits through investment into major infrastructure projects.

TfNSW Environment and Sustainability Policy (2020) outlines nine focus areas, which inform the organisation’s approach to sustainability across all projects; leadership, environmental protection, energy and carbon, resilience, sustainable procurement, whole of life, social, awareness and communication.

By working with contractors, TfNSW achieves jobs growth and economic development of disadvantaged and diverse NSW communities and businesses.

SYDNEY CBD AND SOUTH EAST LIGHT RAIL Sydney’s CBD and South East Light Rail project, which comprises the new L2 Randwick (opened December 2019) and L3 Kingsford (opened April 2020) light rail lines, is leading the way as a major sustainable transport solution for the city.

It addresses Sydney’s growing population, its associated traffic congestion and provides an environmentally focused mode of transport, using 10 times less energy than a car (per passenger kilometre), and was the catalyst for central Sydney’s pedestrianisation.

Using regenerative braking HESOP technology, the trams on the network recover more than 99 per cent of the energy usually lost during braking. The recovered energy is reused to power other trams on the same line, or injected back into the power network.

The project achieved an “Excellent” Design Rating from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA), and the highest possible score in ISCA’s innovation category, with Australian first innovations including the Alstom HESOP system and the geothermal cooling system for High Cross Park substation.

Newcastle’s new light rail network (opened February 2019) was the first light rail program in Australasia to achieve an ‘Excellent’ rating for both Design and As Built ISCA ratings.

Industry-leading sustainability initiatives on the project include: an Australian-first design ensuring no overhead wires and an on-board energy-storage system reducing energy and material use. Solar panels also provide the light rail depot with power for operation.

Other design features benefiting the Newcastle community include the restoration of the historic Cottage Creek Bridge, reuse of sandstone blocks from the former 1872 Honeysuckle Station, and reuse of a remnant pier from the old AA Company Bridge for pedestrian seating.

PARRAMATTA LIGHT RAIL The Parramatta Light Rail project currently under construction (expected to open in 2023) is one of the NSW Government’s latest major infrastructure projects.

By 2026, around 28,000 people will use Parramatta Light Rail daily.

The project’s public Sustainability Strategy and targets for construction set to achieve exceptional sustainability outcomes: • 5 per cent of the overall project workforce from disadvantaged, disabled, and underrepresented groups • 1.5 per cent of the total estimated contract value spent supporting Indigenous

It’s estimated 130,000 people will live within walking distance of the Parramatta Light Rail stops.

participation • 2 0 per cent of all trades positions to be apprentices • 8 per cent of the overall workforce aged under 25 upon engagement on the project • 20 per cent of the total labour force made up of trainees • 2 per cent of the workforce to be women in non-traditional roles The project has an equally strong focus on environmental sustainability, pledging a 15 per cent reduction in overall water use and at least a 15 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The new light rail network is expected to take the equivalent of 25,000 cars off the road by 2041, and see more than 3,500 trees planted in Parramatta’s streets that are most susceptible to heat.

With NSW’s population growing, transport capacity needs to grow and flex, while ensuring focus on sustainability initiatives is at the forefront of TfNSW projects.

These three light rail projects will play a key role in enabling the state’s sustainable transport future by contributing to better sustainability practices, energy efficiency, and reducing the state’s carbon footprint. roadsonline.com.au

25

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PRECAST

PUMP-WELLS FOR THE WESTCONNEX MAJOR PRECAST CONCRETE MANUFACTURER HUMES HAS BEEN ENGAGED ON THE WESTCONNEX MOTORWAY IN SYDNEY TO PROVIDE PRECAST PUMP-WELL UNITS AS A DRAINAGE SOLUTION.

C

urrently under-construction the Westconnex motorway is paving a 33 kilometre stretch of trafficlight free road network across the Sydney metropolitan area.

At the project’s Southern edge - in the suburb of Kingsgrove - the initial design included an insitu surface drainage solution, which was later rejected due to a concerning tolerance between the insitu pits and the precast pipe infrastructure.

As the primary supplier of pipes for the project, National Precast’s Master Precaster, Humes supplied a modified variant of their tightly specified precast Dn3600 pumpwell as an alternative.

By engaging Humes to supply this precast solution, the civil contractor CPB were able to ensure a successful outcome in line with the project’s deadlines and forecasted budget.

The set of five modified Dn3600 pump-well units, supplied by Humes, include custom-cast blockouts and a design that made for efficient transport and installation. Due to the size of each precast element, Humes negotiated an after-hours escort and installation of the pump-well units.

Precast concrete allowed for a reduced congestion of trades on site as the parts could be delivered after hours and an efficient installation that took less than one hour from unloading the delivery trucks.

Like many civil applications of precast concrete, Humes supplied the elements in an affordable, uniform and cost-effective off-form finish. Off-form precast elements provide benefits such as tolerance control,

Hume’s large precast pits for pump-wells on the Westconnex project.

finish consistency and structural reliability.

Humes’ ability to supply an innovative yet cost effective solution for the Kingsgrove Westconnex project will service the new road network for many generations to come.

The durability of precast concrete is an additional reason why it is commonly used in watertight civil projects such as the Westconnex motorway. The pump-well unit supplied was rated with a minimum 100year design lifespan.

A precast concrete solution also solved challenges presented such as onsite waste, delays due to weather, worker safety

and issues with design tolerances.

Engaging one of National Precast’s ‘Master Precasters’ has ensured that the drainage works at Kingsgrove Westconnex were a quick and successful installation.

Project: Westconnex Project Location: Kingsgrove, NSW Master Precaster: Humes Client: NSW & Australian Governments Builder: CPB Contractors

roadsonline.com.au

27

ROADS REVIEW FOR THE FIRST ROADS REVIEW COLUMN OF 2021 ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE ASKS ROAD CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY LEADERS: ‘HOW DO YOU ANTICIPATE COVID NORMAL SAFETY EXPECTATIONS WILL AFFECT PROJECTS IN 2021?’

SARAH BACHMANN, NATIONAL PRECAST CONCRETE ASSOCIATION AUSTRALIA, CEO

MICHAEL CALTABIANO, AUSTRALIAN ROAD RESEARCH BOARD (ARRB), CEO

As we move towards 2021 and the effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine remains uncertain, it is imperative for the construction industry to ensure low contact, socially distanced work environments. Precast concrete construction provides an excellent solution to these new and challenging workplace safety concerns. As precast concrete is manufactured off-site in factory-controlled environments, there is a reduced congestion of trades, waste removal and materials’ deliveries on construction sites, better ensuring social distancing. Most importantly, the factories of National Precast’s Master Precasters engage the highest degree of Workplace Health and Safety standards, ensuring socially distanced workstations and many with automated practices.

An increased uptake of precast concrete in the building and civil sectors is both a reliable and scalable solution for a safer COVID-19 future.

Undoubtedly there will be impacts felt across the sector as we move through the COVID pandemic. The development of projects has many components, all of which will have a different impact from the pandemic. Project inception, design, tendering, construction and maintenance all face challenges. These challenges all coalesce around three things- communication, coordination and connectivity. There is a much higher set of skills required to deliver high quality end-to-end project delivery with a suite of new tools available to support professional engineers undertake these tasks.

Building teams of people that can seamlessly undertake the tasks at hand remains a challenge. Engineering leadership and excellence in communication are part of the pathway through the next 12 months and cannot be assumed or undervalued as part of the building in successful strategies for the delivery of infrastructure projects in 2021.

If you or someone at your organisation is an industry leader and would like to be a part of this monthly column in 2021 please get in touch with Editor, Lauren Jones: lauren.jones@primecreative.com.au

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ROADS FEBRUARY 2021

ROADS REVIEW

ROMILLY MADEW, INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA, CEO

CHRIS MELHAM, CIVIL CONTRACTORS FEDERATION AUSTRALIA, CEO

In 2021, the safety and wellbeing of project teams and our communities will continue to be paramount as we look to deliver on Australia’s historic investment pipeline. To support our economic recovery, we need to ensure the infrastructure sector has the necessary capacity and capability to deliver the projects we need. Infrastructure Australia has been tasked by the Australian Government with delivering annual analytical assessments of infrastructure market capacity, due for release mid year 2021. Through the 2021 Infrastructure Priority List, we have sought to give visibility over the investment pipeline.

Through this new project, we will be providing visibility over the industry’s ability deliver on it.

Throughout 2020, the civil construction industry has demonstrated its ability to be flexible and innovative in its approach to meeting changing safety requirements brought about by the Coronavirus. In 2021 we will adopt a similar ‘business as usual’ approach, which prioritises meeting safety requirements and continuing to deliver civil construction projects right around the country. We look forward to achieving this by building upon the strong working relationship we have established with governments, which has resulted in all key stakeholders working more closely together on the procurement and delivery of major civil construction projects.

BRANDON HITCH, CRANE INDUSTRY COUNICL OF AUSTRALIA (CICA), CEO

STEVE VERITY, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC WORKS ENGINEERING AUSTRALASIA (IPWEA), PRINCIPAL ADVISOR

The crane industry already operates with a high degree of safety accountability. There are numerous pre-existing safety protocols in place to make lifting safe every day, so COVID normal safety requirements are only another ‘dimension’ to a solid foundation of safety culture. This puts our industry in a very sound place to adapt to ‘COVID normal’. COVID poses is a new hazard but one that I am confident our industry is equipped to handle well, with social distancing, good hygiene practices and face masks if necessary. As with assessing all site hazards, communicating well with all parties involved in working on the ground, is key to mitigating risks.

While the Australian Government is investing $110 billion over 10 years from 2020-21 in transport infrastructure alone it is incumbent on asset custodians and contractors to be responsive to what will likely be a continuum of changing circumstances. Some projects may be deferred, some may have restricted operations, while others may be accelerated.

Risk management therefore becomes ever more critical during these times and having a COVID Safe Plan in line with regulatory requirements is an essential step to ensure the health and safety of employees is maintained at an acceptable level during all phases of the construction and maintenance process.

roadsonline.com.au

29

ROAD SAFETY IN SOUTH

WEST SYDNEY

CARRYING 20,000 VEHICLES EACH DAY THE PICTON ROAD HIGHWAY IS A MAJOR ROUTE CONNECTING SOUTH WEST SYDNEY AND THE SOUTH COAST. TO IMPROVE SAFETY ALONG THE ROUTE, PARTICULARLY FOR HEAD ON CRASHES, EZY-GUARD BARRIERS FROM INGAL CIVIL WERE INSTALLED.

B

etween 2020 and 2022 the Picton Road highway will receive $6.9 million worth of safety improvements as part of the Safer Roads Program.

The program will aim to prioritise funding for road safety infrastructure projects across regional NSW through to 2022.

Picton Road is the main connecting highway between south west Sydney and Woolongong in the Illawarra region of New South Wales.

Running at a length of 37 kilometres, the road was identified as a priority initiative by Infrastructure Australia in 2019.

It carries over 20,000 vehicles each day and Infrastructure Australia states around 22 per cent of these are heavy vehicles.

Since 2010 Federal and State funding for safety improvements on the road have totalled more than $60 million. These works have so far reduced the number of crashes by almost 25 per cent and have also reduced the number of head on crashes by nearly 80 per cent.

Stage One of the Picton Road safety improvements used 1.7 kilometres of median barriers.

30

ROADS FEBRUARY 2021

Picton Road sees over 20,000 vehicles each day.

These significant improvements have come about as a result of installing median safety barriers, building acceleration lanes from rest areas, shoulder and centre lane widening and audio tactile line marking.

In 2020, a new section of median barrier

was installed to join up with a previous barrier installation on the route, to the east of this section.

In the five years to 30 June 2019 four crashes were reported in the area resulting in one fatality, one serious injury and one moderate injury.

Median barriers at this location will look to improve safety by providing a barrier in-between the opposing traffic lanes, consequently reducing the risk of head on crashes.

Two models of Ezy-Guard barriers, EzyGuard High Containment (HC) and Ezy-Guard 4, and the Quad Guard M10 crash cushion from Ingal Civil were selected to be used on this project, to increase safety.

A Transport for new South Wales spokesperson said median and roadside barriers were one of several safety solutions included in the improvements aimed at reducing the incidence and severity of runoff-road and head-on type crashes for the project length.

SAFETY

Median barriers will aim to improve safety but providing a barrier in between opposing traffic lanes.

“This work aims to deliver sustainable and long-term reductions in road trauma by targeting a variety of road safety issues,” they said.

The Ezy-Guard 4 barrier and Quad Guard crash cushion have been successfully tested to the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level Three standard.

Ezy-Guard HC has been tested to MASH Test Level Four which involves a 1100 Kilogram car and 2270 kilogram pick-up

truck each travelling at 100 kilometres per hour impacting at 25 degrees, in addition to a 10,000 kilogram truck travelling at 90 kilometres per hour impacting at 15 degrees.

“Ezy-Guard was selected as it is a Transport for NSW-approved safety barrier and meets the project objectives,” the Transport for NSW spokesperson said.

“A key reason for choosing guardrail over a concrete median was that it is easier to install and doesn’t require the installation

of drainage, saving time and money while delivering a significant safety improvement.”

The Transport for NSW spokesperson said Stage One of the Picton Road safety improvements used 1.7 kilometres of median barriers and 650 metres of roadside barriers at strategic locations.

“The key objective of the project is to reduce the incidence and severity of run-offroad and head-on type crashes by providing widened shoulders, median and verge safety barriers, vehicle activated signs for curves as well as audio-tactile line-marking,” they said.

In late November 2020 NSW Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance announced a further $44 million is outlined in the budget for the duplication of Picton Road in the Wollongong and Wollondilly areas over the next four years.

This Picton Road upgrade was identified as a key project to meet the demand for additional freight and improved safety in the NSW Freight and Ports Plan for 2018-2023.

The business case for the next stage of improvements is due to be completed in the second half of 2021. From there concept and detailed design will begin.

BONDING AGENT

SAMIBOND 007 FOR RECENT UPGRADES AT THE SYDNEY AND SOLOMON AIRPORTS, CONTRACTORS HAVE CHOSEN SAMI BITUMEN TECHNOLOGIES’ SAMIBOND 007 TRACKLESS EMULSION FOR EFFICIENCY AND QUALITY PERFORMANCE.

SAMIbond 007 being applied at Sydney Airport.

S

ince its development in 2019, SAMI Bitumen Technologies’ SAMIbond 007 trackless cationic bitumen emulsion has now been used on a number of airports across Australia, with Sydney and Solomon Airports being the most recent.

As part of the runway/taxiway upgrades for both the Solomon Airport project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, and the Sydney International Airport in New South Wales, SAMIbond 007 was used to ensure good bonding between the base course and the asphalt overlay and to safeguard pavement’s performance in service.

Typically used in between the base course and asphalt surface layer in the pavement structure, emulsions are used as tack coats in order to improve the bonding between the base course and the asphalt wearing course, which can reflect in better pavement performance.

However, following the application

32

ROADS FEBRUARY 2021

of a tack coat emulsion, construction equipment, for example pavers, tipper trucks, material transfer machines are required to traffic the freshly sprayed tack coated surface. Tyres from this machinery can pick up the tack coat and deprive certain areas of the pavement from a bonding agent, which can result in lack of bonding with the asphalt wearing course.

To overcome this challenge SAMI Bitumen Technologies developed SAMIbond 007. Specially formulated by SAMI’s team of engineers, the trackless bitumen emulsion cures quickly in order to be trafficked earlier by the construction traffic. Also, due to its special formulation, SAMIbond resists being picked up while being trafficked.

Iulian Man, SAMI Technical Services Manager, says that providing a stable bonding element between asphalt layers is an important aspect on any project, but especially for airports which have a very

high risk profile.

“Without a bonding agent a pavement can be likely to fail prematurely due to debonding, rutting, slippage and the possibility of the aspahlat layer becoming delaminated,” he says.

SOLOMON AIRPORT PROJECT, WA The Solomon Airport project involved the use of SAMIbond 007 on the runway.

Crews performed the upgrade in July and August of 2020 and sprayed around 50,000 litres of SAMIbond 007.

For application, SAMIbond is sprayed using a calibrated sprayer at a maximum of 60 degrees to facilitate the spraying and to decrease the curing time.

“We’ve been continuously assisting the contractor with the successful application of SAMIbond on the Solomon Airport project,” Man says.

“On airport surfacing projects like this one the working windows are very tight and therefore you are pressed for time so

ASPHALT IN ACTION

the contractors had to be mindful of time constraints. The SAMIbond 007 emulsion cured in about 40 minutes and because of that, crews were able to very quickly apply the asphalt layer.”

SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PROJECT, NSW In a project that took place in two parts, across November 2020 and January 2021, the Sydney International Airport used SAMIbond 007 on sections of its main runway and one of the taxiways.

The first application on the main runway took place on the 23rd of November 2020 and the taxiway section was undertaken in late January.

At the time of writing in mid-January the first application of SAMIbond on the main runway, has been deemed successful.

“As this is a specially designed emulsion, you have to be mindful how it is handled.

It must be appropriately recirculated upon heating in order to prevent any overheating that may have a detrimental impact on the emulsion’s quality during transportation and application,” Man says.

“Though generally speaking the handling and application process is similar to any standard emulsion.”

FUTURE PERFORMANCE Before using SAMIbond on projects such as these, SAMI Bitumen undertook extensive testing to ensure the use of the emulsion improved pavement strength and performance.

The company tested SAMIbond 007 against the American National

Spraying of SAMIbond 007 at the Solomon Airport.

“BECAUSE OF INCREASING RESPONSIBILITIES, CONTRACTORS ARE BECOMING MORE AWARE OF THE BENEFITS OF USING VERY HIGH QUALITY MATERIALS TO ENSURE THE PAVEMENT PERFORMS AS EXPECTED OVER LONG TERM.” Centre for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) recommendation that a minimum bond strength of 100 psi, should be achieved as a preliminary criterion for evaluating newly constructed pavements.

Applications of the SAMIbond 007 trackless emulsion on these projects and strong laboratory testing results have generated considerable interest in its use, not just for airport projects but for a wide range of other road projects.

Specialists in stability management

“Because of increasing responsibilities, contractors are becoming more aware of the benefits of using very high quality materials to ensure the pavement performs as expected over the long term,” Man says.

He says SAMIbond 007can be supplied nationwide and based on its proven performance, the company is expecting that SAMIbond 007 will be used on many projects across the country in the future.

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HMDS8000 We offer a range of digital inclinometers that provide operators of machinery with highly visible pitch and roll measurements.

Our Elite model features configurable warning and alarm levels for pitch, roll and speed. It’s also capable of data logging these events to its internal memory.

HMGT range Our GPS trip meters are a popular choice for councils and road authorities. Easy to install and operate, they are used for marking road locations for repair, measuring sign and cone positioning for lane closures and traffic control as well as road length measurements.

1300 155 541

hmbe.com.au Hummingbird

Electronics

Electronic solutions for all vehicles

6780-200806

A SEISMIC SHIFT IN ROAD

CONSTRUCTION CEA IS OFFERING THE LATEST DYNAPAC COMPACTION INNOVATION FOR AUSTRALIAN CONTRACTORS. DYNAPAC SEISMIC WORKS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY, FUEL CONSUMPTION, NOISE AND EASE OF OPERATION BY PAIRING GROUND CONDITIONS WITH AN OPTIMAL VIBRATION FREQUENCY AUTOMATICALLY ON THE RUN.

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or its latest compaction rollers Dynapac has engineered technology which ensures the compaction force and energy generated by the roller is applied and directed into the soil in the most efficient way and at the most efficient time.

Dynapac’s Seismic rollers works to ensure the drum hits the soil when it will produce the most significant impact.

The engineering behind Dynapac Seismic means the vibration frequency is adjusted on the go in an effort to send energy into the soil at exactly the right moment, this maximises the impact force and compaction efficiency. As a result, compaction is enhanced and improvements can be seen to energy efficiency.

This idea was conceptualised by Andreas Persson, a Dynapac Calculation Engineer,

Dynapac Seismic automatically determines the optimal frequency for the roller.

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when he was watching his daughter on the trampoline.

Persson realised his daughter would jump much higher when she landed on the upswing of the trampoline.

It was this simple thought that inspired Persson to create Seismic technology for compaction rollers.

Dynapac Seismic will automatically determine the optimal frequency for the roller on any kind of material.

Throughout the job it monitors any changes to the characteristics of the material and adapts to the conditions on the go.

In an interview with Dynapac, Persson explained how the pairing of compaction frequency and dynamic characteristics of the soil can lead to more efficient compaction.

“Compaction frequency is a measure of

how many times per second the drum hits the ground, and the compaction frequency is normally pre-set by the machine manufacturer to a fixed value,” Persson says.

“From our latest research we have found the compaction frequency significantly affects the compaction result if it is tuned to the dynamic characteristic of the soil.”

He explains the dynamic characteristics essentially refers to the stiffness of the soil.

“We want to achieve a high soil stiffness because that is the same as a high loadbearing capacity and that’s what we want to achieve with our compaction,” he says.

“If we can tune the compaction frequency to the dynamic characteristics of the soil, several benefits may be achieved, such as reduced fuel consumption, less passes, less wear on your machine and so on.”

With the optimised frequency of Dynapac Seismic comes the opportunity

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

Dynapac Seismic rollers are offered by CEA in Australia.

for improved energy efficiency and in turn a reduction of fuel consumption.

Persson explains that the dynamic characteristics of the soil often change as compaction work proceeds, especially when there are weak spots in the soil.

He says this means the stiffness of the soil needs to be continually monitored and the optimum frequency re-calculated and adjusted accordingly as work progresses.

“This can be done with an improved compaction metre that always comes with the Seismic system,” Persson says.

“Besides providing the operator with information about how the compaction work proceeds, the compaction metre also has the ability to sense or feel the dynamic

characteristics of the soil. It calculates the optimum frequency and feeds this information to the machine control unit and the machine control unit adjusts the frequency accordingly several times every second.”

Benefits of Dynapac Seismic do not stop at improved compaction and efficiency, simplicity of operation and noise emissions can also be improved with the technology.

To begin, the operator does not have to adjust the compaction frequency manually throughout the works. When using the speed limiter mode on the roller, a constant working speed can be achieved alongside optimal compaction frequency, automatically.

Optimised compaction frequency can lead to more efficient compaction.

The cabin interface also provides the operator with feedback information from the compaction process, allowing them to optimise use of the machine.

Compaction results are displayed in easy-to-understand graphics that help the operator understand when optimal compaction has been achieved and save them from performing unnecessary passes or carrying out damaging over compaction of the material.

With the machine able to optimise vibration frequency in line with the dynamic characteristics of the soil, noise emission from the compaction process is also reduced to a minimum. As the soil is able to be compacted at a lower frequency, less noise is created from the drum.

The entire machine and cabin are also specifically designed to ensure operator comfort is upheld even with the varying frequencies.

“By regarding the drum and the soil as one dynamic system several benefits might be achieved from a phenomenon called the natural frequency of this drum-soil system,” Persson says.

The latest Dynapac Seismic rollers have been brought to Australia by CEA and are available across the Dynapac soil compaction range CA1500-6500 machines. roadsonline.com.au

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DIGITAL

AS USUAL

LAST YEAR SAW THE INFRASTRUCTURE INDUSTRY EMBRACE DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND EXECUTION OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE DISCOVERS HOW THESE DIGITAL CHANGES WILL CONTINUE TO BENEFIT PROJECTS, CONTRACTORS AND OWNERS FOR YEARS TO COME.

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he use of past decision making to enhance future experiences has grown exponentially with the rise of the internet and mobiles.

Some mobile applications now deliver advertising based on previous searches to tailor the user experience. This simple principal can now be, and is being, adapted and applied to enhance infrastructure construction.

When managing an infrastructure project digitally with the right software, data from one project can be used to inform executives, owners and contractors working on the next job.

For example, on a bridge construction project, a designer could refine volumes of a certain material based on the data collated on a similar previous project – saving time, material and money.

These kinds of realisations are facilitated with a common data platform that can

Chris Johnson, from InEight’s Digital Engineering and Project Delivery team.

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house large data sets digitally from the design and planning phases, to field production and into handover or operation.

Not only is this kind of tailored information helpful when beginning a new project, but common data environments also provide a collaborative space with real-time communication throughout the entire project life cycle.

Chris Johnson, from InEight’s Digital Engineering and Project Delivery team, Intelligence from previous projects can help with decision making regarding material takeoffs.

explains how common data platforms, such as InEight’s software network, can give the client and contractor visibility at every stage of a project.

“Through the design and construction process, we are seeing better coordination and communication between teams utilising InEight Model. This leads to fewer clashes and less waste of both time and resources,” Johnson says.

Common data environments are created by software, which stores data from across

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

Common data environments provide a collaborative space with real-time communication throughout a project’s life cycle.

the project into relevant data dashboards.

Each person working on the project is given various levels of access to this information to ensure even the smallest change in design or budget can be realised in real time across the team.

“It’s giving that real time data view. To make sure the project is running on time and on budget also helps risk mitigation

so that jobs aren’t running over, and coordination issues can be found and modified before construction,” Johnson says.

InEight has seen its users reap the benefits of risk mitigation by simulating construction activities with accurate and historical data before the task is executed on site.

“One of the things I see regularly is the benefit of live updates for material takeoffs. It’s using the live data to find value on a project. This could come down to utilising your BIM model to learn that waste could be minimised on the project by using a design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA) rather than on site cut and assembly,” he says.

“This insight comes from looking at the live data as it is coming in so you can have those realisations during construction and possibly make cost and material savings along the way.”

Intelligence from previous projects can then further help with those decisions on material takeoffs as site engineering and construction managers can view trends from previous projects about material readiness or oversupply to estimate an accurate amount.

“This extra visibility gives contractors a chance to better manage the project and their data, to give a clear indication of how a project is going throughout its entire life cycle,” Johnson says.

At the handover phase, a digital asset can then enhance the valuation of a piece of infrastructure. Digital assets give a clear indication of what has been created and how much value it may return.

“ONE OF THE THINGS I SEE REGULARLY IS THE BENEFIT OF LIVE UPDATES FOR MATERIAL TAKEOFFS. IT’S USING THE LIVE DATA TO FIND VALUE ON A PROJECT. THIS COULD COME DOWN TO UTILISING YOUR BIM MODEL TO LEARN THAT WASTE COULD BE MINIMISED ON THE PROJECT BY USING A DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURING AND ASSEMBLY (DFMA) RATHER THAN ON SITE CUT AND ASSEMBLY,” “When the digital asset is handed over, that gives the owner the spatial foundation to unlock the potential for things like predictive maintenance, planning and operations, knowing where each asset is and its condition as well,” Johnson says.

“The spatial foundation they have with this information is going to lead them into options with Internet of Things capabilities, connecting sensors to assets and getting real-time data back from the asset as well.”

InEight’s modular solution allows contractors or owners to implement different management systems at any time across projects. From the basic document management modules to schedule management, estimates, contractual management systems and model management software, each solution can be implemented as needed or all at once.

Johnson says future capabilities such as the use of Internet of Things technology is the next step for digital engineering.

“In the future I see a bigger role for artificial intelligence and machine learning inside digital engineering software. This might consist of taking a database of existing projects and trying to find where things have gone wrong or right in the past and then using that as a predictive tool going forward,” he says.

“I think we are going to see a lot more utilisation of these tools in products in the future. From what we are seeing from infrastructure owners in their frameworks, they are invested into having a structured data set and creating a digital asset.”

While technology such as artificial intelligence may sound advanced, it’s increasingly being used for digital engineering. These capabilities are slowly becoming embedded as core tools for the creation of infrastructure in the digital age. roadsonline.com.au

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HDADVANTAGE:

LEVERAGING MACHINE DATA HASTINGS DEERING HAS CREATED A PLATFORM TO EXTRACT CRITICAL DATA FROM ITS MACHINERY, TO IMPROVE AVAILABILITY AND PRODUCTIVITY. ROSS MEYER, MANAGER HASTINGS DEERING, EXPLAINS HOW THIS WORKS ON ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

HDAdvantage can display information such as average daily utilisations and fuel usage.

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n 2017 the Economist published an article titled “the world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data”. The article states some of the most valuable listed firms in the world are digital giants with many free services, requiring only an exchange of data.

The smart use of data is constantly growing, and it’s becoming easier for the average person to understand and interpret.

Most of us for instance, rely on the data our phone collects to understand how long it’s going to take us to walk to a certain destination, or what the traffic looks like driving into work.

The same concept applies to machinery and the technology embedded within it. As a machine is working on a major highway project, its operating system is gathering mass amounts of data. Whether that be on fuel usage, the machine’s location, the distance its travelled and so much more the data collected simply 38

ROADS FEBRUARY 2021

An example of the HDAdvantage customer portal.

depends on the application.

In recognising the benefits this data can have for project operations and machine handling, the exclusive Cat dealer for Queensland & the Northern Territory, Hastings Deering has created a platform to measure and present machine information.

HDAdvantage is the availability and

productivity program created by Hastings Deering to maximise the reliability of Cat machines through proactive engagement.

Ross Meyer, Manager at Hastings Deering explains how HDAdvantage gathers an array of data from each machine and analyses it to identify concerns and recommend solutions to customers when

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

it comes to servicing or fault events.

“Our trained Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Condition Monitoring Analysts are assigned to HDAdvantage users, and they have expansive use of Cat monitoring systems and algorithms to analyse the data and provide definitive recommendations to the users, to keep machines available,” Meyer says.

The Hastings Deering team of analysts will proactively monitor machine health to ensure it is running at optimal performance and can remain reliable.

Information provided through HDAdvantage can be tailored to each company and machine.

“For example, some users like our monitoring analysts to get in contact only when there is an issue, but some like more regular content, updates and long-term planning. When a user has a particular project, they might want to focus on that specific site, section or a single machine and we can provide further information for that as well,” Meyer says.

“This means when running a road project, the team are informed of the reliability of each Cat machine. When you have definitive hours of work, the last thing you want is to have a machine go down for a preventable problem.”

Through HDAdvantage the trained OEM Condition Monitoring Analysts can advise maintenance crews of trends in the health machines, to try and avoid machine failure.

“If there was an issue with a machine, we would notify them. Whether it’s an immediate severe requirement or a long or short term consideration, they are advised on steps to ensure that machine is running at perfection,” Meyer says.

“In terms of a job, before the works start the team is given a full scan of the machines to make sure they are ready for work. They can also contact us to do a remote analysis to make sure they haven’t missed anything.”

Hastings Deering’s analysts can also facilitate replacement parts and machinery repairs when such work is flagged by the data and recommended.

Customers also have access to their own account dashboards online, which will present machine data such as average daily utilisations, urgent alerts, fuel usage, fuel burn, location mapping and more. This can all be presented in machine-specific dashboards or fleet overviews.

“This gives the users immediate access to machine intelligence to see fuel usage across

HDAdvantage gives users the ability to maximise the reliability of Cat machines

their machines and the location of where those machines are operating. Insights like this can be a significant help when making business decisions,” Meyer says.

As of December 2020, there are almost 3,000 users of the HDAdvantage platform as is standard on all new Construction Cat Machinery. Most of the connected machines have a cellular connection. In some remote locations, customers may need additional receivers or satellite.

HDAdvantage is also continuously evolving to provide more business solutions for its customers. Meyer says Hastings Deering is looking to work with users to expand the platform to provide productivity insights.

“For road construction, we are looking into specific machinery, like pavers and how we can optimise the way those machines perform in the field, for example; work and idle hour ratios, payloads and distribution, tonnes or cubic metres moved and cycle times” he says.

“Event codes are operator-induced, and

we also see demand in that area as safety becomes paramount on-site, for the safe operation of a machine. So, if a machine is being used in an unsafe way, the company can make the operator aware and increase training or knowledge to reduce those practices.”

Hastings Deering works closely with the users of HDAdvantage to provide further benefits from the platform.

“HDAdvantage is about providing a simple portal where users can access the information around the clock but also have a trained analyst to review the data and provide solutions. That’s the advantage of when you buy a machine from Hastings Deering,” Meyer says.

“The exciting aspect going forward is looking at how to enhance this program for segment-specific requirements and finding out what unique solutions they need from the program not just in reliability but also productivity and site compliance. That is the journey we are on now.”

HDAdvantage is continuously evolving to provide more business solutions for its customers.

roadsonline.com.au

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CUTTING THE CLOTH IN

CENTRAL WEST NSW

WITH AN INFLUX OF ROAD UPGRADE WORKS IN CENTRAL WEST NEW SOUTH WALES, ROAD MAINTENANCE BUSINESS CIVIL INDEPENDENCE INDUSTRIES DECIDED TO INVEST IN THE ROADTEC RX-600EX FROM ASTEC AUSTRALIA TO SAVE MONEY AND TIME.

Civil Independence Industries do many mill and fill projects in central west NSW.

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he NSW Infrastructure Statement for 2020-21 outlined an investment of $72.2 billion for public transport and roads over the next four years.

In the 2020 Budget the state government outlined $312 million in accelerated funding for the Fixing Local Roads Program, as well as $108 million for the Fixing Country Bridges Program.

This funding is allocated specifically to projects that will begin in the 12 months since its announcement across the state.

As funding for these projects makes its way to local projects, contractors begin bidding to undertake the works.

The key ingredient for road profiling and resurfacing projects, which will feature on many of these upgrades, are Cold Planers commonly known in Australia as profilers.

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For Civil Independence Industries, a road construction business with many projects in the Central West Region of New South Wales the technology inspired, Roadtec RX600ex Half-Lane Cold Planer from Astec Australia was seen as a quality investment.

With depots at Oakey in Queensland and Parkes in New South Wales, Civil Independence Industries provides services in asphalt laying, bitumen spray sealing, road profiling and asphalt production.

Dean Millane, Civil Independence Industries Operations Manager, says the company provides services to local and state government, civil contractors and private customers.

“A primary reason for buying this machine was after extensive research we found gaps in the market and we weren’t aware of

another machine similar to the RX600ex in the central west region of New South Wales,” Millane says.

“Prior to us purchasing the Roadtec RX600ex, a profiler of this capacity had to come from Sydney and that can be a costly expenditure to any project in getting it to us. Basing the profiler at Parkes NSW will reduce the costs related to transportation, particularly site to site float moves. In addition to this, some of our jobs were being delayed as these types of machines were not always readily available.”

Due to a large amount of mill and fill projects in the area Civil Independence Industries saw the opportunity to reduce costs for the business and also for their customers by owning the RX-6000ex.

While Civil Independence Industries have

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

not yet used it on a project of their own, the machine was first hired to a project in September 2020 and the impact to this customer in productivity was immediate.

The RX-600ex allowed works to progress quickly and precisely using the advanced Roadtec ACE digital grade and slope mill automation system accumulating in savings to the bottom line.

“The Cold Planer (profiler) has completed about 360 hours of work so far with much of that being on the Newell Highway projects to create overtaking lanes.

However, it’s equally at home in other locations and terrain having successfully completed a number of jobs on the Victorian and New South Wales border as well as the border with Queensland,” Millane says.

“On top of this, the RX600ex has also undertaken pavement milling for major roundabout works in Orange, NSW as well as various milling works for asphalt paving crews in the area.”

Civil Independence Industries have a number of upcoming works in the Central West Region which will see the asphalt paving crew and road profiling crew work simultaneously. This will be the first of many projects in 2021.

In speaking to the manager of Civil Independence Industries’ Parkes depot, Millane explains contractors have realised many benefits to the Roadtec RX-6000ex.

“One of the key benefits is the new AUTO CUT mode, allowing the RX-6000ex to selflevel all four legs and then automatically adjust the rear leg height as the rear tracks

enter the cut cumulating and creating a quality profile for a smooth end of project road surface,” he says.

“We also know that Roadtec did a lot of work to the drum design to integrate a host of Smart Innovations. The RX600ex drum has resilient features built in to enhance productivity and reduce running costs with efficient long lasting cutter teeth and adaptors. The cutting drum doesn’t seem to have much drag on the machine while cutting into deep solid asphalt, giving us an exceptionally low fuel consumption rate.”

Millane says crews are also feeding back that the machine is really stable even when cutting on soft terrain, which is crucial for safe operation.

“Crews have told us that for trimming, they are finding it really easy to achieve very fine tolerances with the machine,” he says.

“It seems the more the operators are learning on the machine the more they come to like it.”

In addition, transportation of the machine does not require a specific trailer, provided it can carry the weight which is around 27 to 29 tonnes.

“We have a local contractor that floats the machine from job to job. The truck driver says it’s very easy for him to get on and off of the truck, even though it is a large machine the controls aren’t complicated,” Millane says.

As Civil Independence Industries hires the machine to different jobs and contractors, the company makes use of the Roadtec Guardian Telematics system. This aids

them with the bottom-line benefits of eliminating false alarms and wasted trips to check the machine and thus ensuring the machine is in good mechanical condition and is being operated in accordance with the manufacturers specifications at all times.

The Guardian system keeps track of the exact location of the RX-6000ex and provides real-time machine data such as fuel consumption, fault codes, time to service intervals, machine speed and grade and slope settings.

Every time the machine is turned on at a job, Millane receives an email with a rundown of the machine’s whereabouts, work hours, time until next service and even engine and machine faults.

“When we bought the machine Astec Australia said, if something wasn’t working on site and no-one is present to diagnose a fault, we could just phone them, and they would put us through to a Guardian technical expert for assistance. This expert would then look at the machine via real time monitoring, remotely diagnose the problem and make adjustments to rectify the issue – most likely from the United States if outside local hours,” Millane says.

For now, he is just excited to get the machine working on one of Civil Independence Industries projects.

With the continuous support shown from Astec Australia it’s hoped the Roadtec RX600ex machine will play a big role in the upcoming significant pipeline of council and state government works.

The RX-600ex from Astec Australia is easy to transport.

roadsonline.com.au

41

INDUSTRY’S TWILIGHT

ZONE

Bentley Systems has invested over the last few years to create a wide ranging and open digital twin ecosystem.

WITH THE EMERGENCE OF STATE GOVERNMENT DIGITAL ENGINEERING FRAMEWORKS, IMPROVED PROCESSES AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR DESIGN, DELIVERY AND MANAGEMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY PERTINENT. ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SPEAKS TO BENTLEY SYSTEMS ABOUT THE MOVE TO DIGITAL TWIN CONCEPTS.

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he construction industry is currently undergoing a digital shift. While the base of the trade continues to be manual labour, aspects such as management, planning, design, communication and risk mitigation are evolving toward further digitisation.

Across the construction sector, companies are at various stages of their digital transformation journey. But one concept is widely recognised as a solution for 42

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construction companies to streamline planning, designs, reporting and evaluation of projects – the digital twin.

Digital twins are a replica of a physical entity, a visual representation of an existing or proposed asset along with the associated engineering information.

A digital twin will reflect the entirety of an asset and can be narrowed down to present the smallest of details in a project in real time, even as they change on site.

“THE INDUSTRY HAS NOW BEGUN A PARADIGM SHIFT TOWARD A MORE DIGITAL APPROACH.”

Dave Body, senior industry strategy manager – civil infrastructure (ANZ) at Bentley Systems, says, globally, the construction industry has been slow to implement digitisation and as projects grow

TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

the opportunities for improvement using new processes and technology are gaining attention.

“Projects are getting larger and more complex with shorter delivery times and this is prompting industry to look at how they deliver these projects,” he says.

“The industry has now begun a paradigm shift toward a more digital approach.

However, as we begin this transition, we are caught within the ‘twilight zone,’ whereby we haven’t quite let go of our traditional business as usual process and technologies, and we haven’t fully embraced all the new and available processes and technologies.”

In recent years the New South Wales Government has developed and released its Digital Engineering Framework and the Victorian government has created the Victorian Digital Asset Strategy. These frameworks and guidelines are helping set the standard for industry and outline steps for change towards digital management of design, construction and maintenance.

“In Australia, governments are starting to take the lead and have done an excellent job in describing why there is a need for a digital approach and what is expected from industry. However, governments have challenged industry to come up with how it will be delivered,” Body says.

Bentley Systems has taken up this challenge and has invested in this space over the last few years, to create a wide ranging and open digital twin ecosystem.

“At the moment, the industry has the core tenets of a digital twin such as survey or reality models, building information models, geotechnical information, underground utilities and so on. However, a digital twin can be distributed in many formats across a wide array of disciplines and personas.

When we get to the design phase, the problem is industry can find it difficult to federate all this information quickly and efficiently,” Body says.

“Coordination and integration of these disparate forms of information, so they are readable and accessible, is a challenge.”

Digital twins are regarded as evergreen sources of information, meaning that from conceptualisation, the technology is dynamic and will mature as more information is brought into the process.

Bentley Systems has spent years creating the iTwin ecosystem as well as a range of services, micro-services or applications that support a digital twin work flow. Companies can start to implement this technology at

Dave Body, senior industry strategy manager civil infrastructure at Bentley Systems.

any stage of their digitisation journey.

“We’ve opened up our iTwin ecosystem, so it allows users or developers to leverage this technology and create their own services, microservices or applications that meet their immediate requirements,” Body says.

“Infrastructure projects, once they are built, need to last up to 100 years or more.

We want open access to this digital twin over this period and beyond, which is why we are making the ecosystem as open as possible.”

As a business begins to implement its digital twin, Bentley has an online survey and a dedicated team to assist them in understanding their digital maturity, helping organisations plan how to implement their digital advancement.

From a construction contractors’ point of view, they can continuously work with and add content to a digital twin in a way that meets their needs. This ever changing and updated Digital Twin is a representation and portal into the single source of truth for the project.

“For asset managers, we are starting to see them create detailed reality meshes of their assets to represent a digital twin, which is geospatially and accurately located. This

is a really simple way in which owners can begin a digital twin journey by connecting the engineering information directly to the reality model, creating a digital twin.”

For both parties a major benefit to using digital twins is often seen at the handover phase of projects.

“For handover, traditionally information has been captured on projects that resides in all types of applications, spreadsheets, design plans, PDFs and so on. This takes a huge amount of time to find and validate the information before compiling it in a readable form,” Body says.

“With a digital twin you have all the information in one place; it is a single source of truth and it is accessible to all approved persons across the entire life cycle of the asset.”

Owners and contractors alike can view digital twins and pull out whatever information they need from any portion of the asset.

“There is a definite shift happening. I’ve been in the industry for a little while now, and I’ve seen industry transform from drafting board to CAD. I think this shift is of equal value to our industry if not more,” Body says. roadsonline.com.au

43

GLEASON CRANES ANNOUNCES NEW

DISTRIBUTORSHIP IN 2020 GLEASON CRANES ANNOUNCED IT HAS BEEN APPOINTED THE NATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR FOR US LEADING BRAND OF RUBBER TYRED GANTRY CRANES, TRAVELIFT.

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i-Jack Products is the manufacturer of Travelift and Translift Rubber Tyred Gantry cranes (RTG). The company specialises in solutions for industrial and intermodal applications worldwide.

Mi-Jack has machines operating on six of the seven continents and is globally recognised for designing and manufacturing innovative and productive machines. All of Mi-Jacks machines and components are manufactured to international ISO certified standards.

Mi-Jack’s Travelift RTG operates in most industrial applications including infrastructure, construction, rail, port intermodal facilities, concrete manufacturing plants and resources.

Gleason Cranes’, Chris Logan, is particularly pleased to be able to distribute this

machinery in Australia.

“Gleason Cranes is well known to the Australian market, we’ve been importing, buying and selling and supporting cranes for over 40 years and we know a winner when we see one. The Travelift product is a winner,” Logan says.

“The Australian market may not be aware, but there are already seven Travelift container handling RTGs operating locally with major businesses including ANRR, NRC and Toll North QRX. Mi-Jack Travelift is also the primary RTG provider to the North American prestress industry with the product very popular on new bridge and existing bridge reconstruction.”

Logan says Mi-Jack can customize the dimensions required to work on bridges and have the capability to pick and carry at large capacities.

“For the rail sector, they have provided rail wheels in leiu of rubber tyred when requested. The Mi-Jack Travelift RTG range offers capacities ranging from 18 tonnes to 295 tonnes and dimensions can be customised to meet specific applications.”

For major infrastructure projects, the Travelift can be tailored to suit specific dimensions and tight clearances. The spreader bars and strong backs, manufactured

by Mi-Jack, can also be customised to fit the needs for each application. Such flexibility can be crucial when operating in a tight rail or road corridor.

Logan says there are a number of design features which make the Travelift RTG popular.

Lead wheel steering, one of the key features of the machine, is a multiple steer mode system which allows the operators to There are currently seven Travelift container handling RTGs in operation in Australia.

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TECHNOLOGY & EQUIPMENT

All wheel drive and an inward facing cab are features of the Travelift.

move the crane using distinct steer modes including: 0 degree In-Line Steer, 90 degree Transverse Steer, Circle Steer, All Wheel Steer and Crab Steer at full capacity.

The inward facing cab is spacious featuring a 180 degree rotating seat which allows the operator to have direct sight towards the direction of travel or the load.

A high rise cab increases eye level height and provides better sight lines over stacked product. From the cab the operator can also view the camera package to increase visibility of potential blind spots while travelling.

Then the scale package readout in the cab will show the weights of each product lifted, to give the operator more clarity about the lift.

“The optimal engine horsepower or revs per minute (RPM) requirements needed to operate the Travelift are supplied automatically through the Power on Demand feature, which maximises efficiencies and achieves 36 per cent fuel savings and 25 per cent extended engine life,” Logan says.

For ease of operation an auxiliary hoist allows the operator to rotate a product while reducing the potential to damage the product by providing another point of control.

The dual or split trolley provides a solid four-point pick ability for unbalanced loads.

With safety at the front of mind in design,

a radio frequency remote control allows for safe operation of all standard crane functions from ground level.

All wheel drive, drive components are featured at all four corners to increase gradeability as required by rough yard conditions.

“The Travelift is a world class product,” Logan says.

“It is extremely versatile and designed to operate in numerous applications and industry sectors. It is particularly well suited

to the intermodal and container handling industry but is equally at home in prestressed concrete manufacturing and rail applications.”

Trolley and hoist synchronisation allow the operator to use the joystick to work on both trolleys and hoists in unison for ease of operation.

The Autospreader, with adjustable slides and hooking capabilities, controlled from the cab, helps to eliminate the need for ground riggers and for climb ladders to hook or unhook product being lifted.

The AutoSpreader comes in various models capable of handling double tees, hollow core, wall panels, I-Beams, and any other applications looking to maximise productivity.

By equipping the Mi-Jack Travelift rubber tyred gantry crane with a magnet package, controlled from the cab, the operator can also handle steel products without the necessary ground crew needed to hook or unhook product. C-Hooks are designed for easy handling of steel wire and steel coils.

Then for maintenance and upkeep of the machine, the ladder and platform kit mean the crew can even access the top beams and components if other means of access are unavailable.

“With the amount of infrastructure projects in the pipeline, we believe now is the ideal time to be working with Mi-Jack and the Travelift product and the team at Gleason Cranes looks forward to answering any questions and providing more information on the range,” Logan says.

The Mi-Jack Travelift operates in most industrial applications including infrastructure. roadsonline.com.au

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REINFORCING

INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION

AUSTRALIA’S OWN STRUCTURAL WALLING COMPANY DINCEL HAS CREATED A CIVIL WALLING SOLUTION, THE DINCEL 275 PERMANENT FORMWORK PROFILE. WITHOUT THE NEED FOR STEEL BAR REINFORCEMENT IN MANY APPLICATIONS, DINCEL HAS UNDERGONE A SUITE OF INDEPENDENT TESTING TO DEMONSTRATE THE PRODUCT’S SUCCESS IN CIVIL APPLICATIONS.

The concrete core from a Dincel 275 wall.

O

ver the next 10 years, the Australian Government will roll out a $110 billion land transport infrastructure pipeline.

In building many of these projects there will be significant opportunity for industry and government to work together to foster innovation.

New products that offer quality performance, are simple to use and are made from sustainable materials will get the opportunity to be demonstrated in this pipeline. Many products like this, are already created and will get the chance to become commonplace.

One such innovative product, the Dincel 275 structural walling solution, is already being used in civil construction projects.

The Dincel 275 permanent polymer formwork profiles are lightweight and use a snap lock technology at the joint. This allows for easy manoeuvrability and assembly on site.

One of the main benefits of using Dincel 275 formwork profiles is that the use of steel reinforcement is not required in certain 46

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applications and the product has been tested in accordance with AS3600-2018 (Appendix B), for concrete structures.

When filled with mass concrete, macro synthetic fibre reinforced concrete, or concrete reinforced with conventional steel bars Dincel 275 has been certified by the University of Technology Sydney as compliant with the National Construction Code for structural requirements, for the project structural engineer’s design consideration.

CONCRETE QUALITY Berkay Dincel, Director of Dincel Structural Walling says the Dincel material used is an impervious polymer, a non-hygroscopic material so concrete can easily flow through the formwork and reduce the possibility of air voids.

“The inner ring design of the Dincel 275 acts as a mechanism to handle high concrete pressure, so you can use a really high slump concrete within the profile to further reduce the likelihood of air voids,” he says.

Robert Merjane, Technical Manager at Dincel says the use of high slump concrete is one of the two most important considerations in order to significantly reduce the potential for air voids inside formwork.

“We recommend using nothing less than 180 millimetres of concrete slump. The second consideration is then concrete vibration. With Dincel 275 you can use a 25 millimetre immersion vibrator to ensure the mix completely compacts within the profile,” Merjane says.

When placing concrete inside the Dincel

275 profile, the internal webbing provided within the profile slows down the free fall of concrete and minimises the chance of segregation.

CSIRO has also carried out tests on Dincel profiles filled with concrete, which show the patented panel snap-connection joints are waterproof under six metres of water head pressure.

“Where the Dincel polymer skin is continuous, it is evident that no water or contaminants can enter the system. However, what makes the Dincel system unique are the patented snap lock joints which have been specifically tested by CSIRO who found that under six metres of water head pressure did not penetrate the unsealed panel joint,” Merjane says.

Concrete quality from inside a Dincel 275 wall.

INFRASTRUCTURE IN FOCUS

FIRE PERFORMANCE From a fire safety perspective, Dincel Structural Walling has been subjected to a number of large scale tests.

Dincel has been issued a CodeMark Certificate of Conformity by certification body SAI Global and a product accreditation by the Building Regulations Advisory Committee (BRAC).

The CodeMark Certificate of Conformity verifies that Dincel is compliant with the 2019 – Amendment 1 Building Code of Australia (BCA) for internal and external loadbearing wall applications, including for bush fire prone areas.

The BRAC Certificate of Accreditation verifies that Dincel is compliant with the performance requirement CP2 - Spread of fire, and subsequently confirms that Dincel can be used where a non-combustible external wall is required.

“In terms of fire hazard properties, our walling system achieved a Group 1 classification, which is the best possible classification from the AS ISO 9705 full scale room test. They also test how much smoke comes from the material during a fire. In the National Construction Code they have a limiting smoke growth rate index of 100, and our product’s smoke growth rate index was 14, so 7 times less than the limit” Dincel says.

“This is also important in civil applications, where smoke can be especially dangerous in confined applications.”

Dincel formwork at the Concord Golf club water harvesting project.

SUSTAINABILITY ELEMENTS With the significantly reduced chance of air voids and water ingress, the Dincel 275 profile prevents potential corrosion issues and provides a significant asset life.

Dincel also places importance on recyclability and the environment.

“We’ve recently partnered with companies who can recycle our materials from site.

For example, if a contractor has Dincel formwork off-cuts or pieces they didn’t use, these specialist companies can recycle them for use in other applications,” Dincel says.

At the end of a Dincel wall’s service life the walls can be crushed, which will remove the formwork profile and allow for the recycling of both the concrete and the Dincel polymer profile.

So far Dincel 275 profiles have been used in a number of civil projects, such as the NSW government sponsored and local council approved Water Harvesting Project at Concord Golf Club. This project saw 5.3 metre tall Dincel 275 profiles infilled with synthetic fibre reinforced concrete in place of extensive use of standard steel reinforcement bars.

“Opting for Dincel 275 in this manner resulted in benefits such as faster and safer construction, prevention of potential corrosion issues, air void free walls, waterproof walls, enhanced wall durability with 120+ years of design life, less embodied energy and a smaller carbon footprint,” Dincel says.

With ease of installation, sustainability and performance embedded in the design of Dincel profiles, the company is looking forward to increasing the use of its product across Australia’s major infrastructure pipeline.

Dincel products can also be used for Transport for NSW projects (TfNSW). The application of the Dincel system to TfNSW projects can be considered by each project’s building professionals in the areas listed below: Civil infrastructure projects: • stormwater and service pits • acoustic barriers • culvert walls • retaining walls

Top view of a Dincel 275 formwork shell.

Building projects: • As determined by the project

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TSA’s Low Traffic Crumb Rubber Road Fund is hoped to increase local markets for recycled crumb rubber.

LOCAL COUNCILS AND TSA ON THE ROAD TO

SUSTAINABILITY

TYRE STEWARDSHIP AUSTRALIA IS WORKING WITH LOCAL COUNCILS ACROSS AUSTRALIA TO TRANSFORM THE WAY ROADS ARE BUILT. TOGETHER THEY ARE EXPLORING INNOVATIVE METHODS TO INCREASE THE USE OF CRUMB RUBBER WHILE ENHANCING PERFORMANCE AND CHAMPIONING SUSTAINABILITY.

T

yre Stewardship Australia (TSA) is leading one of the most aggressive transformations of the roads market globally. Its strategy is as simple as it is transformational: change the specifications, create potential demand, demonstrate the benefits and enable supply.

TSA Chief Executive Officer, Lina Goodman argues a strong roads market is a key component of a strong tyre resource recovery sector. Tyres service the roads industry, she adds, so finding beneficial uses for end-of-life tyres in roads infrastructure incentivises industry take-up.

Goodman says TSA’s mission is clear: to increase the use of crumb rubber exponentially across all sectors in Australia – and local councils have a critical role to play.

“With 85 per cent of roads managed by local councils and significantly more low traffic roads found nationally, local government procurement power is critical to using resources like crumb 48

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rubber - created from the millions of used tyres generated in Australia each year - to create a better performing, longer lasting Australian road network,” Goodman explains.

“Local governments can carry real influence in the circular economy, so TSA is keen to partner with as many councils across Australia as possible.”

TSA has provided almost $500,000 in funding over two years to local councils and other eligible organisations to use crumb rubber in low traffic asphalt roads across Australia.

Having already committed more than $6 million to developing new uses for endof-life tyres since TSA’s inception, the Low Traffic Crumb Rubber Road Fund (the Fund) seeks to further increase local markets for recycled Australian tyre product.

Seven projects were approved under this initiative, with councils receiving grants of between $25,000 and $85,000 for low traffic crumb rubber local roads.

The quality of the applications was so high, TSA increased the funding pool to meet the growing and quality demand of applicants.

Crumb rubber has been routinely used in spray seal roads around Australia, particularly in Victoria, for many decades.

However, this fund aims to increase crumb rubber uptake in low traffic asphalt roads and demonstrate the benefits of crumb rubber asphalt across a range of differing Australian road conditions.

In late 2019, the Victorian Department of Transport released its Light Traffic Crumb Rubber Asphalt Specification to provide a framework to facilitate more formal use of crumb rubber modified asphalt mixes in low traffic roads.

The specifications highlight a national push for local governments and road authorities to broaden the beneficial use of crumb rubber asphalt from ‘traditional uses’ in high traffic roads with higher rubber modifier content, to more diverse

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

uses in low traffic roads with lower rubber modifying content.

TSA’s fund aims to implement these new specifications, while progressing the development of low traffic road specifications in other state and territories.

“Through these local government partnerships and projects, we’re clearly demonstrating how crumb rubber improves the performance, longevity and environmental impacts of Australian roads,” Goodman says.

“We’re also striving to strengthen road supply chains and build scale economies so that crumb rubber roads are accepted as the reliable and cost competitive option.”

Goodman says councils who are accredited with TSA and are working on these projects are establishing a vital step in terms of ensuring sustainable management of used tyres, along with the opportunity to drive commercial viability of new improved tyre products to deliver better public infrastructure to their communities.

One of the fund’s projects paving the way to a more sustainable future is underway in Meander Valley, in Tasmania’s north.

More than 1240 end-of-life truck tyres will be diverted from landfill and mixed with the equivalent of 40,000 beer bottles of recycled glass to produce crumb rubber asphalt in the ground-breaking project in a partnership between Council, construction giant Fulton Hogan and TSA.

Six councils across Tasmania will take part in the demonstration project: Meander Valley, Central Highlands, Dorset, George Town, Sorell and Tasman.

TSA provided more than $85,000 through the Fund across the lifespan of the project to support additional costs relative to the installation of a conventional road.

Fulton Hogan will cover the cost of the transportation and supply of a portable blending facility, providing councils across Tasmania the opportunity to utilise crumb rubber technology in both spray-seal and asphalt applications.

Meander Valley Mayor Wayne Johnston says road surfacing treatments are typically comprised of quarried rock and petroleum-based products.

“By incorporating waste and recyclables we are reducing our reliance on finite materials and reducing waste to landfill.

It’s about taking a waste stream – in this instance, used tyres - through to an environmentally beneficial product to build infrastructure of critical value.”

Goodman adds that TSA is thrilled to see demonstration projects like this one being rolled out across Tasmania, WA, Victoria and Queensland – projects at a local level which we believe have benefits for the whole road construction sector.

“We would love to extend these projects and see greater uptake with our partners in NSW too,” she says.

Funded projects must demonstrate

TSA CEO Lina Goodman.

collaborative partnerships between industry, research bodies and end users.

Successful applicants will commit to purchasing crumb rubber-modified asphalt from a contractor sourcing from a TSAaccredited crumb rubber supplier and quantify the benefits of the installation of a crumb rubber low traffic road.

All TSA-funded infrastructure and demonstration projects require Australian generated tyre derived products to be utilised for the lifetime of the project and associated infrastructure.

To learn more about these projects email TSA at getonboard@ tyrestewardship.org.au In Tasmania six councils are taking part in a crumb rubber asphalt demonstration project.

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ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY

PLANNING

FOR THE ROAD AHEAD TYRECYCLE IS BEGINNING 2021 BY PAVING THE WAY FOR THE INCREASED USE OF CRUMB RUBBER FROM RECYCLED TYRES IN ROADS AHEAD OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT’S WASTE EXPORT BAN.

W

hile the passing of the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020 is a critical and game changing first move towards ensuring that Australia steps up to take responsibility for its waste, leading resource recovery company ResourceCo says it is also a reminder of how much more needs to be done.

The new law implements the agreement by all of Australia’s Governments to ban the export of waste plastic, paper, glass, and tyres. Starting in January 2021, and progressing through to mid-2024 when the full waste export ban comes into effect, Australia must recycle around 650,000 additional tonnes of waste plastic, paper, glass and tyres each year.

Critically the law is accompanied by commitments from the federal government and select state governments to help tackle some of the barriers to success, including investment in onshore processing and infrastructure and the development of domestic markets for repurposed material.

There is increased momentum flowing from the introduction of the Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) which recognises waste as a valuable resource and is expected to generate $600 million of recycling investment. However Jim Fairweather, CEO

Australians generate around 56 million used tyres annually.

50

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of ResourceCo and its tyre recycling division Tyrecycle, sees there is already concern that some states are taking to long to respond through their own grants programs.

“There is a sense of urgency in ensuring we create markets for our repurposed products – without those markets everything up the line falls over,” he says.

Recently, the Federal Government announced plans to strengthen the Commonwealth procurement guidelines to enable any procurement undertaken by a Commonwealth agency to consider environmental sustainability and recycled content when determining value for money.

“What we really need are bold procurement commitments by governments at all levels as a strong sign to industry that they are prepared to back our waste and resource recovery sector, in turn boosting our economy and creating jobs,” Fairweather says.

“Getting this right will be vital for success in terms of Australia’s transition to a circular economy – it’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the sector and deliver sustainable outcomes.”

Currently Tyrecycle, as a market leader in the tyre recycling industry in Australia, collects and processes approximately 20 million of end-of-life tyres per annum.

“We’ve got processing facilities in every state in Australia and are the only tyre recycling company that has long-term contracts for collection with the major tyre manufacturers and repair retailers.”

However, with Australians generating about 56 million used tyres annually.

“Given the December 2021 deadline for the ban on the export of whole-baled tyres, there’s still much to be done,” he says.

Tyrecycle has been leading the way in the production of both tyre-derived-fuel (TDF) and rubber crumb for use in road aggregates – but while Faiweather says both

ResourceCo CEO, Jim Fairweather.

recycled products are strongly embraced in overseas markets, these have yet to be widely implemented in Australia.

“We’re seeing a slow progression in the use of recycled tyres in road construction but there’s a lot of room for uplift in momentum, and TDF is not even on the radar,” he says.

“As well as strong procurement commitments, we also need policy harmonisation across states to create greater certainty for industry, which in turn creates a positive environment for investment.”

Fairweather says Australia must futureproof the resource recovery industry.

“If we are to be smart about how we use the earth’s limited resources, it’s important we take a consistent and strategic approach to developing lasting infrastructure solutions.”

The Federal Government’s reforms in recycling and waste reduction are expected to see more than 10 million tonnes of waste diverted from landfill, creating 10,000 jobs, and adding an additional $3.6 billion to the economy, with potential to generate a further $1.5 billion in economic activity over the next 20 years.

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