international
construction
april 2015
EARTHMOVING
42
New technologies
Software enhances project
3Dmodelling saves time on landfill construction
S
ome of the latest earthmoving technology has been applied to environments beyond
conventional construction sites, includingwaste landfills.
US-based contractor Summers-Taylor is one example of this, having completed a
US$ 3million project to create a 6.8 acre (2.76 ha) landfill facility inMorristown, Tennessee.
This involved using a JohnDeere 700K andKomatsuD65PX-17 dozer, both equippedwith
Topcon 3D-MC2GPSmachine control.
The company used a 3D sitemodel, createdwith the assistance of Glenn Etienne, president
of specialist consultant Construction EngineeringSolutions to plan themost efficient delivery
of the site. To create the new 30 ft (9.14m) deep cell, Summers-Taylor needed to abide by
tolerances that were very tight.
“The Topcon systems helped us immensely in placing the clay liner andmeeting the
required compaction tests,” saidSummers-Taylor engineer GregKeene.
He added, “It would have been tough, time-consuming, andmuchmore costly to achieve
what we needed by pounding grade stakes and using traditional methods requiring an onsite
survey crew to pull grade.”
those machines throughmonitoring the time they are idle - so
customers can improve efficiency in the field.
“But the area where people really get excited is when they
see technology taken to their jobsites, with features like
payload management and grade control, where customers can
see how technology can save them between 10% and 30% in
productivity.”
Caterpillar, aswithothermanufacturers, has alsopaidattention
to how its lower emission equipment could operate if sold on
from its original area of use in the EU,NorthAmerica or Japan,
to operate in emerging markets, which have less stringent (or
no) emissions legislation.
This has led to the development of de-tiering kits.
These allow the removal of the exhaust after-
treatment systems, which are highly sensitive to
the poor quality fuesl which are often used in
lesser regulated countries.
Othermanufacturers are also engaged in their
own programme of technology improvement.
For instance, South Africa-based Bell has
added payload management to its latest
haulers.
Meanwhile,
Thierry
Deschamps,
Doosan’s vice president for product
management, said the company had
continued to upgrade the core features
of its construction machines. He said the Doosan’s focus had
switched from one of previously meeting pure demand for
volume of machines, to implementing key efficiency saving
technology.
This is being seen with its 5-series of excavators, which have
wireless CoreTMS fleet management system monitoring and
exchangingmachine performance data via satellite.
He said, “We have to listen to the voice of the customer in
havingmore andmore technology features inmachines.Weneed
to be reactive to the market, as we cannot say what is going to
happen.
“What we have seen is that cycles of product development are
getting shorter than they ever didbefore andwe are nowmoving
tomake changes for the Stage IV emissions laws that have come
in, which is a challenge.”
He added that the company is actively examining features such
as payload management and preparing for proposed Stage V
emissions legislationdue inEurope for 2019.
Maintenance
Among the most notable developments with earthmoving
engine technologyhas been the introductionof selective catalytic
reduction (SCR) systems.
This has been applied to a number of machines through
injecting exhaust system with exhaust fluid (DEF) to reduce
emissions by converting nitrogen oxides (NOx) into a mix of
nitrogen, water and a small amount of carbondioxide.
The introduction of such systems and other aftertreatment
solutions including diesel particulate filters (DPFs) - designed
>
Bell’s latest series of haulers, including its 50 tonnemodel,
have been fittedwith payloadmanagement systems.
The Perkins 1200 engine series, including
the 1206F-E70TTA featured, have been
designed forminimummaintenance.
Among earthmoving launches at Intermat in Paris thismonth
will be Liebherr’s R 946 crawler excavator.
