2011 Fall Newsletter

Page 1

Guntert & Zimmerman

Construction Profiles

Fall 2011


EquipmentPaving Stringless Update

When Stringless is Friendly A contractor finds that his stringless concrete paving system is easy to use. With just a few days of training, Hawkins

the stringless technology improves paving

Construction Co. is up and running with

production. “Trucks can cycle through the site

stringless concrete paving technology.

faster, because there’s no stringline,” he says.

“We’ve had minimal training with it,” says Ron Mockelman, Paving Equipment Manager

Although only two robotic total stations are

for Hawkins, based in Omaha, Nebraska.

required to control the four-track G&Z paver,

“We pretty much just dove into it. A lot of

Hawkins has chosen to pave with four total

companies would have bought more training

stations. With three total stations used for

than we did, so I think we’re doing pretty well

actual 3D machine control, Hawkins is able

and it’s only going to get better.”

to leap frog the total stations allowing for zero downtime. A technician back-sights each of

This year Hawkins started running stringless on

the three robotic total stations to three known

two Interstate highway paving projects – with

control points. That fixes the location of the

a total contract value of $78 million USD –

total station relative to the digital terrain model

located on I-80 between Omaha and Lincoln,

that is contained in the computer on-board the

Nebraska. We visited Hawkins in mid-July,

paver. The fourth total station stays behind

when the company had completed paving

the paver, to check the pavement surface as-

more than half of one I-80 project: a 6-mile,

built, and to do any diagnostics that might be

60-foot-wide stretch of 13-inch-thick concrete

needed for ride quality.

pavement – all with no stringline. The robotic total stations can then read the Hawkins elected to buy the NoLine: Stringless

location of the paver by seeing two prisms

Preparation Kit from Guntert & Zimmerman.

mounted on masts above the paver. The

The contractor now owns two G&Z pavers,

prisms have a precise spatial relation to the

an S850 and the new S600 concrete paver,

conforming pan of the concrete paver. Then

and both are fitted with the NoLine kit. “We

the total stations relay that location information,

invested a substantial sum for the set-ups

by radio waves, to the computer on-board

for two pavers, four robotic total stations, an

the paver. The computer compares the actual

on-board computer/monitor and a stringless

location of the paver to the design location in

trimmer,” says Todd Allen, a Hawkins

the model, and makes adjustments in northing,

superintendent. The robotic total stations and

easting and elevation of the paver.

on-board computer are manufactured by Leica Geosystems, and come ready to “plug-and-

When we visited the I-80 project, the Guntert

play” for the G&Z pavers.

& Zimmerman S850 was paving 24 feet wide to form two driving lanes. Dowel baskets for

“We decided to make the switch to stringless

concrete joints were set at 16.5-foot intervals.

to improve our speed and efficiency, and

A second 24-foot pass, adjacent to the first,

to shrink our labor costs,” Allen said. And

would follow to form a third driving lane and a

that’s not to mention the human error that

12-foot tied concrete shoulder. On the opposite

occurs when a truck hits a stringline or

side of the driving lanes, Hawkins would then

somebody breaks the string. What’s more,

pave a 12-foot shoulder separately. The new

we get improved access to the site and more

pavement widened the old one from two

choices in how we pave.” Mockelman says

driving lanes to three and a concrete shoulder.



“Our smoothness results with the stringless

simply add or remove inserts to change paving

Both Allen and Mockelman said G&Z’s NoLine

system are better than we have averaged

widths. The tractor frame and the paving

stringless system using Leica equipment

with a stringline,” says Allen. “But we’re just

kit telescope in and out together to change

is easy to use and friendly to learn. “We’re

scratching the surface of what we can do.

widths.

cross-training three or four different guys on

Mockelman said Hawkins has put up actual

the crew,” said Allen. “And we find that with

profilograph readings as low as 2 inches of

The fast width change is an idea that Hawkins’

absolutely no computer experience they can

deviation per mile from a one-tenth (of a foot)

Terry Kirsch and Mockelman had, and

set the system up and they’re competent to

blanking band.

Guntert followed up. “Guntert designed it

run it within a week to a week and a half.

and engineered it for us and got us what we The Nebraska Department of Transportation

wanted,” says Mockelman. “We could take this

Getting the stringless system ready to pave

awards incentive payments for extra-smooth

24-foot paver and drop 4 feet out real quickly

in the morning takes about 45 minutes,

pavements. For 0 to 4 inches of deviation the

and pave a 20-foot ramp without having to

Mockelman says. “In the morning we attach the

contractor gets 106 percent of pay; for 4 to 8

disconnect the paving kit.”

computer monitor and the three radios to the

inches the incentive payment is 104 percent and for 8 to 12 inches it’s 102 percent of pay.

paver,” he says. “There are five connections. “They’re very reliable pavers,” Allen says. “We

There’s a power connection, and the two slope

hardly ever have anything go wrong with them.

sensors are tied into one connection, plus the

“Both of our Guntert & Zimmerman pavers

And the support we get from Guntert is top-

three radios. Then you put your machine in 3D

are fantastic machines, for ride quality and

notch.”

mode, turn the monitor on, pull up the project

maneuverability,” says Allen. “They’re like having a Cadillac instead of a Chevy.”

file to the screen, and the paver is ready.” Mockelman agrees. “Guntert’s service has been excellent,” he says. “From my experience

“Then we back-sight the robotic total stations

“We like the different steering modes on both of

it’s probably the best service in the concrete

to three known control points,” Mockelman

our G&Z Pavers,” Allen says. “You can crab-

paving industry.”

says. “Three points give you a tighter re-section

steer the paver, and you can turn it in a circle

on your total station. The total stations can

within its own length. The paver can move

Prior to paving, subcontractor Koss

calculate where they’re at on the job. Now they

sideways out of a pour, which is fantastic for

Construction milled the old asphalt from

can relay that information to the paver. We set

tight locations. The maneuverability of these

the underlying concrete pavement, said

up three total stations in the morning, and a

pavers lets us use a four-track paver where

project superintendent Kurt Gregor. Another

fourth one to run the check on the slab.”

somebody else would normally use a two-track

subcontractor, Pink Grading, broke the

paver.”

concrete and graded the dirt in preparation for

We asked Mockelman what the biggest

lime stabilization. Hawkins stabilized the earth

challenge of the project is. “Right now our big

Mockelman appreciates the ability of the

subgrade with lime, and Recycled Materials

push is to get this Greenwood project finished

Guntert & Zimmerman S850 to change paving

Co., Arvada, CO, crushed the old concrete

so that we can get to the second I-80 project

widths to increments between 20 and 26 feet

on grade. A motor grader spread the crushed

and pave the mainline on it,” he said.

without dropping the paving kit out. Instead

concrete, and Hawkins trimmed it with a

of a two-day job on other pavers it’s a two to

stringless trimmer.

three-hour job on the S850. A contractor can



Equipment Airport Paving Update

Dufferin Construction Selects G&Z Spread For Canada’s Longest Runway To build what will be the longest airport runway in Canada, Dufferin Construction Company, a division of Holcim (Canada) Inc. recently purchased a three-machine spread of concrete paving equipment from Guntert & Zimmerman. Ontario-based Dufferin Construction , which already owns two other G&Z pavers, bought an S1500 four-track Slipform Paver, a PS1200 Placer Spreader, and an TC1500 Texture Cure Machine for this project. The big project is at Calgary International Airport in Alberta, where Dufferin’s contract calls for more than 1 million square meters (1.2 million square yards) of new concrete surface. Construction has already started. Dufferin essentially will have two construction seasons – 2012 and 2013 – to complete the work, which is scheduled to wrap up by May 2014. According to project superintendent, Mike Cristinziano, the project’s challenge is to place and pave the sheer volume of aggregates and concrete required. “You need to take into consideration that our construction season up here in Calgary is not as long as in other parts of the country,” says Cristinziano. “Depending on the weather, our season runs from May or June until October, and that’s it.” It is possible that construction will run around the clock, and seven days a week, in order to finish on time, says John Zavarella, superintendent of concrete plants and equipment for Dufferin. Both he and Cristinziano say working hours will depend on how things go and how well the weather cooperates.

Project Specifications:

A new runway that is 4,300 m long by 60 m wide (14,100 ft. by 197 ft);

Apron area measuring 145,000 square meters, or 173,000 square yards;

Two taxiways, each 3,800 m long by 25 m wide (12,500 ft. by 82 ft);

Six high-speed taxiways;

Base aggregate, 1.5 million metric tons, or 1.65 million U.S. tons;

Cement-stabilized base, 200,000 cubic meters, or 262,000 cubic yards.


The concrete for runways and taxiways will be 435 mm thick, or 17.1 inches. Apron concrete

Zavarella says Dufferin crews and operators appreciate several features of the G&Z pavers and equipment:

will be 415 mm, or 16.3 inches thick. • “We have owned G&Z S1500 paver since 1995, when we built Highway 407 in Ontario,”

start of the day with ease. Handwork is minimized. •

says Zavarella. “That machine is still in use as one of our main paving units. In 2001, we

G&Z’s New TeleEndXL: Telescopic End Section allows quick width changes between 12.5 m and 10 m wide which will be frequent during the duration of this project.

added an S850 to our fleet. So our crews and

All three machines – the paver, the placer and the texture cure machine – have 90 degree steering capability. Each machine can turn the tracks 90 degrees and move directly across to

operators are well experienced in operating Guntert equipment.

The paver has split guillotine side gates that allow the paver to back onto existing slabs at the

the next slab. •

The PS1200 allows Dufferin to place dowel baskets well out in front of the paving train. And the placer spreader has a 64-inch belt that slides in and out for faster operation than one that

“When we were looking at the Calgary site, it called for paving 12.5 meters wide at the widest, and for paving at that depth we knew that the S1500 was pretty well the right machine. We have already tackled airport jobs of that width with that type of pavement and we had no issues with it.” Cristinziano says Dufferin likely will run two pavers – the S1500 and the S850 – on the Calgary airport project. The S850 will handle narrower widths and shorter stretches of pavement. “We strive to be leaders in the concrete paving business,” says Zavarella. “Our crews and operators all take pride in achieving good quality. That’s one reason we selected paving equipment from Guntert & Zimmerman.”

folds up and down. “We can place concrete a lot faster and more efficiently,” says Zavarella.


Guntert & Zimmerman Const. Div., Inc. 222 E. Fourth St. Ripon, CA 95366 U.S.A. Phone +1 209-599-0066 Fax +1 209-599-2021 Toll Free 800-733-2912 (USA / Canada) Email: gz@guntert.com Web: www.guntert.com

Construction Profiles is published by Guntert & Zimmerman to inform readers of applied construction technology utilizing Guntert & Zimmerman equipment. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the consent of Guntert & Zimmerman. Printed in U.S.A. Manufactured under one or more of the following U.S. or Foreign Patents: 4,433,936; 4,483,584; 0051885; 6,390,727; 6,390,726; 6,176,643B1; 5,135.333 and 117323 and Patents Pending. Some items shown may be optional. G&Z reserves the right to make improvements in design, material, and/or changes in specifications at any time without notice and without incurring any obligation related to such changes. Brochure No. 400P117


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