Roads & Infrastructure April 2023

A WAY WITH WASTE

Used coffee cups are being transformed into an asphalt additive as p art of a ground-breaking project

THE BIGGER PICTURE

A behind the scenes look into delivering the infrastructure needs of Australia’s most liveable city

CLOSING THE LOOP

We ask leading decision makers what the industry can be doing better to support a net zero future

COVER STORY

14 A way with waste

State Asphalts NSW have developed a new method for sustainable road construction.

INDUSTRY STORY

18 Reshaping communities

Sustainability Manager Fiona Bowie from Level Crossing Removal Project talks about the Bell to Moreland project journey.

ROADS REVIEW

21 This month, we asked the industry’s decision-makers, ‘What improvements could be made across the sector to support progress towards a net-zero emission future?’

SUSTAINABILITY

22 From plastic to pavement

Problematic plastics are being transformed into asphalt additive. See how Close the Loop is doing it.

25 Making an impact

Citywide’s Civil Infrastructure Division spans more than simply road and asphalt.

28 Flex for good

Four product experts shed light on the innovative SAMIfalt Crumbflex bitumen binder.

35 Maximising risk mitigation

InEight discusses challenges, improvements and solutions associated with risk management processes.

39 Beyond certainty

A look ahead to the NTRO – International Technical Conference in October.

42 A call for digital unity

Select Plant Australia’s Daniel Kelly talks technology solutions to better serve the civil construction industry.

SHOWCASE 45-65

A comprehensive resource featuring contractors for specific sectors of road construction works across Australia.

INSIDE CONSTRUCTION

66 A peek Inside Construction Expo  Roads & Infrastructure provides a sneakpeek into the Inside Construction Expo.

MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT

68 Boost efficiency

Analysing the performance of the new Komatsu D85EXi-18 dozer.

70 Quality, as standard Astec Industries’ RP-170ex rubber tyred paver is the key to Centre Line Paving’s efficient work.

73 Three decades in the industry

Position Partner’s field technicians look back on unique challenges over the years.

76 The best way forward

Flocon Engineering’s forward-moving aggregate spreader and it’s capabilities on site.

79 The electric future

The SY19E excavator is the latest addition to SANY’s environmentally sustainable series.

82 Family resilience

Matthews Brothers Engineering reflects on 100 years of expertise in the construction industry.

85 New heights

What JCB’s foray into electric scissor lifts means for its Australian customers.

88 Not a step backwards

The Road Ant is a preferred option when it comes to forward moving aggregate spreaders.

90 Soil stabilisation strategised

The FAE MTH multi-function head for tractors goes to work in Italy.

92 Remote control

An in-depth look at Wirtgen’s WR 240 stabiliser.

NATIONAL PRECAST SECTION

94 The beauty of Aboriginal design in infrastructure

The Barwon Heads Road Upgrade features a design that originates from Wadawurrung Country.

AFPA SECTION

96 AfPA’s International Women’s Day and WOMENG Events

AfPA hosts their 2023 International Women’s Day and WOMENG Events in Sydney and Melbourne to acknowledge women in the industry.

CONTRACTS & TENDERS

98 Contracts in brief Roads & Infrastructure provides an update on some of the contracts and tenders recently awarded or put to market across the Australian infrastructure sector.

REGULARS

4 Editor’s letter

6 News

We shed a light on sustainable products, processes and more in the April edition of Roads & Infrastructure Magazine.

NO LONGER AN UNWELCOME SURPLUS

THE AUSTRALIAN BUREAU of Statistics’ latest data for the Waste Account, Australia, Experimental Estimates states that Australia generates 76 million tonnes of waste a year.

The construction industry is the second largest contributor, generating 12.7 million tonnes. Our industry is also responsible for the largest spend on waste-related services at $2 billion, an increase of 35 per cent since 2016-17.

With these statistics set to only increase, the importance placed on the industry to establish suitable infrastructure and innovations to establish a circular economy for recycling and reuse is significant.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, far from it.

While immediate action is required if the nation is to achieve its 80 per cent waste recovery rate target by 2030 set by the Federal Government, many companies across our sector have already taken a proactive approach. As we learn in the April edition of Roads & Infrastructure Magazine

State Asphalts NSW’s methodology to developing alternative uses for end-of-life waste products has helped to forge new partnerships between private industry, universities and government.

The company has produced an innovative additive for asphalt that has been manufactured by incorporating recycled paper and plastic waste. State Asphalts NSW’s recycling efforts has created a path for the wider development of waste polyethylene and polypropylene for bitumen modification.

Also in this edition, civil infrastructure and environmental service provider Citywide grants Roads & Infrastructure a peek into the company’s current and future works. Citywide has delivered charging infrastructure for electric vehicles across New South Wales and Victoria as part of its commitment to delivering sustainable cities. The company is currently involved in the construction of active transport in Melbourne, where the State Government is embracing low-emission forms of transport.

We also learn from industry decision makers what improvements could be made across the sector to support progress towards a net-zero emission future.

Happy reading!

Tom O’Keane Roads & Infrastructure Magazine

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TBM VIDA BREAKS THROUGH AT WEST GATE TUNNEL

Tunnel Boring Machine Vida has broken through on the West Gate Tunnel Project, completing a 2.8 kilometre journey and marking the completion of excavation on the first of two tunnels. This milestone was reached after 7000 hours of tunnelling and marks a significant step in the project, with TBM Bella to complete a four-kilometre journey in just a few months. Bella and Vida are currently the two biggest TBMs operating in Australia, and this breakthrough is the largest to ever occur in the southern hemisphere. The completion of TBM Vida’s journey means that crews can now continue with the next step, including building road deck and installing electrical, lighting and safety systems to prepare the tunnel for completion in 2025. Once completed, the West Gate Tunnel project will act as an

alternative to the West Gate Bridge and will remove more than 9000 trucks from surrounding residential streets. Journeys will be safer and more reliable with travel times between Melbourne’s west and

the city slashed by up to 20 minutes. There will also be 14 kilometres of new and upgraded walking and cycling paths, and close to nine hectares of new parks and wetlands.

SHUTDOWN TO BOOST CONSTRUCTION ON NEW BAYSWATER STATION

A shutdown of the Midland and Airport lines in Western Australia will facilitate essential works on the new Bayswater Station and support the connection of the new METRONET Morley-Ellenbrook Line.

connectivity with the Midland Line, Forrestfield-Airport Link and MorleyEllenbrook Line connections providing a new level of public transport service to Perth’s north-eastern suburbs.

The shutdown between 31 March and

26 April will enable crews to complete works on the new station, while also realigning the Midland Line, facilitating the connection of the new Morley-Ellenbrook Line and completing construction of the Leake Street underpass. The works will also see the removal of the Bayswater Bridge.

Around 18 metres of new track and other rail systems will also be installed during the shutdown, allowing the Midland and Airport Lines to begin running on the new and higher Bayswater rail bridge from 26 April.

The shutdown comes on the back of several recent milestones on the project, including installation of precast concrete planks for the new elevated southern platform and the concrete slab for the station concourse, which will allow structural steel works to begin. Laying of the first new tracks at the station have also begun.

Tunnel Boring Machine Vida is one of two of the biggest TBMs in Australia. Image courtesy of the Victorian Government.

The new Bayswater Station will improve connectivity for locals around Perth’s north-eastern suburbs. Image courtesy of METRONET.

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MOTOR GRADER JOB SITE AUTOMATION

Downer has announced the sale of its Australian Transport Projects business to Gamuda, the Australian subsidiary of Gamuda Berhad.

The $212 million sale will see Downer’s business, people and capabilities transferred to Gamuda, including around 1000 staff and a forecast work in hand of approximately $2 billion across Australia.

The Australian Transport Projects business is responsible for delivering major construction services to mainly government, including design and construction of roads, rail, signalling, station works, bridges and more. Gamuda Berhad is an engineering and construction company listed in Malaysia.

Establishing Downer Infrastructure within the Gamuda umbrella of companies is expected to support a wider variety of project delivery for

enhancing the alignment of its portfolio and Downer’s commitment to realise value for shareholders.

DOWNER SELLS TRANSPORT PROJECTS BUSINESS TO GAMUDA $1.5B CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON PERTH CITY DEAL

Construction has begun on the causeway pedestrian and cyclist bridges project as a part of the Perth City Deal.

The $100 million project will feature two cable-stayed bridges, providing a 6-metre-wide shared path linking Victoria Park foreshore at McCallum Park with Heirisson Island and Perth’s CBD at Point Fraser.

Delivered by the Causeway Link Alliance (comprising Civmec Construction and Engineering Pty Ltd, Seymour Whyte Constructions Pty Ltd, WSP Australia Pty Ltd and Main Roads), the project will provide improvements to safety, connectivity and amenity for commuters, as well as tourists.

The existing causeway shared path is used by more than 3000 people every day and is no longer fit for purpose. With path user numbers predicted

to rise, the dedicated pedestrian and cycling infrastructure will improve safety by separating path users from broader traffic. The new bridges will offer alternative transport options with greater connectivity, as well as further enhancing the natural environment and public amenity.

The project site holds strong cultural significance to First Nations peoples,

and in consultation with the project’s Matagarup Elders Group, interpretive architectural and landscape design has been incorporated to showcase Whadjuk Noongar culture and heritage.

The causeway pedestrian and cyclist bridges project is funded by the Federal and Western Australian governments, providing $50 million each, and is expected to be complete in late 2024.

customers in Australia. Downer said the sale of the Australian Transport Projects business is part of its ongoing focus on

Downer’s $212 million sale to Gamuda will see the transferring of business, people and capabilities.

Concept image of the new causeway pedestrian and cyclist bridges. Image courtesy of Main Roads Western Australia.

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VICTORIA’S FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC BUS DEPOT POWERING AHEAD

Victoria’s first all-electric bus depot will be powered up in the coming weeks, marking a major milestone in the state’s push towards a cleaner and more sustainable bus fleet.

The depot is currently being converted into the base for the expanding fleet of electric buses, which forms part of the Victorian Government’s $20 million, Zero Emissions Bus (ZEB) Trial.

The trial will inform the transition of around 4000 diesel buses in the state’s

The electric bus bodies in the trial will be built at Volgren’s Dandenong South manufacturing facility in Victoria, supporting local jobs and injecting money into the local economy.

Ventura is moving to a cleaner, greener fleet as part of the trial, with 12 new zero emission buses going into service from the newly converted Ivanhoe depot in March.

The new zero emission buses will operate on nine northern suburbs routes including to La Trobe University, Gowrie Station, and Northland Shopping Centre.

By early 2024, the depot will be home to 27 battery electric buses, transporting up to 10,000 people each week and covering more than 1.2 million kilometres annually in and around the northern suburbs.

has committed to transforming the rail corridor from Lavender Bay to Waverton into a new public space, if re-elected.

The Lavender Bay high line project would start with a 300-square-metre expansion of Wendy’s Secret Garden, followed by a strategic business case to canvas options for converting the 3.3-kilometre-long disused rail corridor

along the Milsons Point foreshore. The creation of a linear park and walking trail linking other public spaces in North Sydney is said to deliver the community’s vision.

Transport for NSW and North Sydney Council will work together to facilitate the use of the Land by Council for community use as public open space and active transport connections. The pursuit

of the high line is expected to assist in building on the legacy of Wendy Whiteley and the Secret Garden volunteers to expand public space from railway land.

The Lavender Bay Rail Corridor Delivery Group will include representatives from Council, TAHE (Transport Asset Holding Entity), Sydney Trains, Transport for NSW and the Sydney Harbour High Line Association.

The Lavender Bay high line project would transform the disused rail corridor along the Milsons Point foreshore. Image courtesy of the NSW Government.

Victorian public transport buses are moving towards more environmentally conscious operations.

STABLING WORKS NOW COMPLETE AT WAURN PONDS

Major construction is now complete on the Waurn Ponds stabling facility in Victoria which will provide increased train storage for Victoria’s busiest regional rail line.

Stabling facilities allow trains to begin service on time each day. While the trains are in the facility they are cleaned internally and prepared for the next day.

Stabling at Waurn Ponds will support planned improvements for the Geelong Line.

These include the South Geelong to Waurn Ponds Duplication, Geelong Fast Rail and the completed Waurn Ponds Station upgrade. The Geelong Line is the fastest growing and busiest line on the regional rail network.

The Waurn Ponds stabling facility will include six train stabling tracks,

connections to the main train line, signalling and communication systems, CCTV and lighting, as well as asphalt footpaths and sealed roadways. As part of the major construction works, the project team installed more than 1.65 kilometres of track, 2700 sleepers, 25 kilometres of signalling cabling and combined services routes and a fourkilometre pressure sewer system. The facility is being delivered by Downer as part of the contract

for the Geelong and Warrnambool line upgrades. The stabling facility will begin operating later this year after commissioning.

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Stabling works at Waurn Ponds to hold and park trains awaiting duties. Image courtesy of the Victorian Government.

A WAY WITH WASTE

STATE ASPHALTS NSW HAS PARTNERED WITH GOVERNMENT AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO DEVELOP A METHOD FOR SUSTAINABLE ROAD CONSTRUCTION.

According to The Junk Map, Australia produces approximately 76 million tonnes of waste annually.

The construction industry is responsible for producing 12.7 million tonnes of waste per year, with construction and demolition now the largest source of waste nationally.

Company’s such as State Asphalt NSW have recognised the need for action to increase the sustainability of construction materials for the roads sector. Especially when it comes to domestic reprocessing.

Australia is heavily dependent on exports for waste processing. In 2018 alone, 4.5 million tonnes of waste were exported overseas, costing $2.8 billion.

At this current pace, Australia will need to increase waste reprocessing by up to 400 per cent to achieve the national recycling target of 80 per cent by the year 2030.

Factors such as the COAG waste ban, a regulation on the exports of waste streams such as glass and plastic, as well as impacts on global trade and exports caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have placed a greater demand on localised reprocessing facilities and organisations.

Between 2015 and 2019, State Asphalts NSW opened a discussion around developing adequate infrastructure to transform mixed plastic and paper waste to modifiers used in asphalt.

THE IDEA

State Asphalts has more than 20 years’ experience in asphalt manufacturing. As such, the company is well versed in the evolving landscape of asphalt production.

James Ng, State Asphalts NSW Project Manager, says the need for asphalt additives – that increase the durability, resistance and performance of asphalt surfaces – has placed a strain on availability.

“At a supply chain level, a lot of our additives and a lot of our specialty materials that go into asphalt are generally imported,” Ng says. “Australia doesn’t have the speciality chemical and materials complex enough to deliver certain additives.”

Ng says State Asphalt NSW has experienced the pros and cons of importing internationally first-hand, an enduring challenge during a period of supply chain disruptions.

“Previously we’ve been caught in a pretty big bind, because some of these materials are quite niche, such as a particular construction material,” he says.

“We’ve needed materials within a week’s time frame, but without having that local supply we’ve had to look to countries in Europe and Asia.”

“That acted as a catalyst for us to ask ourselves ‘is there an opportunity to use a local material’ and if we did, could that

maybe be a waste material?”

Coincidentally, the first dialogue around the potential for using local waste streams occurred at a waste industry event prior to COVID-19.

State Asphalts NSW Director John Kypreos ran into a Closed Loop Environmental Solutions (Closed Loop) contact, where a conversation started around the collection of coffee cups.

“Rob Pascoe had a coffee cup in his hand and he said ‘would you find a way to put this back into roads’. I put two and two together. I picked up the phone and rang

State Asphalts NSW’s newest asphalt modifier contains used coffee cups.

the next day,” Kypreos says.

“From there we touched base, and the rest is history.”

Closed Loop had begun a proprietary collection of used coffee cups, objects that may seem commonplace, but contain a valuable source of waste polymer-coated paper board. The collection formed part of the company’s ‘Simply Cups’ initiative, as Ng recalls.

“The risk with any proprietary collection is that you often have an abundance of supply before you are able to generate demand,” Ng says. “But there was a collection solution, it was a pretty clean material stream, Closed Loop just needed offtake partners to design products to use the material.”

“We thought ‘hang on a second, what about asphalt’?”

State Asphalt NSW viewed asphalt as a composite material that could host a number of ingredients. Ng looked to the examples of RAP (Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement), RCG (Recycled Crushed Glass), and Crumb Rubber (Recycled End-of-Life Tyres); materials with a strong track record of improving asphalt sustainability.

Kypreos says the opportunity was one that State Asphalts NSW wasn’t going to pass up.

“The ambition for the overall project is to give us a circular economy project that brings us on par with our opposition, while also moving towards a net zero carbon initiative,” he says.

This marked the birth of State Asphalts NSW’s PAK-PAVE Roads Initiative, a concept to engineer road construction products from packaging waste.

The Penrith PAK-PAVE Roads uses PAK-

THE CONCEPT

State Asphalts NSW identified key partners for research and development on the project, which was supported through a CRC-P (Cooperative Research Centres Program) grant from the Federal Government.

The project attracted “significant contributions” from Closed Loop, the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Primaplas and Asphaltech.

State Asphalts NSW, along with the other partners, initially set out to develop sufficient infrastructure and technology to convert both paper and plastic wastes into asphalt additives.

As part of the project, UNSW collaborated to evaluate and test the materials and develop a process through its laboratories and equipment.

State Asphalts NSW and Asphaltech will use the material as part of its production, while Closed Loop and Primaplas will provide

a source of materials to manufacture the asphalt additive.

Professor Nasser Khalili, Head of School –Civil and Environmental Engineering UNSW Sydney, says the project aligns with the University’s motivations.

“Sustainability is important for the whole world,” Khalili says. “It’s essential if we’re to preserve this wonderful planet and pass it on to our future generations in a liveable condition.

“[This project] is providing an opportunity to solve one of the major environmental concerns to society and the public at large.”

Professor Khalili, along with Associate Professor Ailar Hajimohammadi and Dr Babak Shahbodagh-Khan are regarded as leading researchers in this field.

Using the university’s geotechnical facility, as well as the participation of PhD students, the UNSW team conducted independent research to analyse, test and commercialise the asphalt additive.

“State Asphalts NSW approached us initially. Normally it works the other way around. I believe that’s an important aspect

PAVE Fibre, an asphalt fibre additive derived from recycled coffee cups.

The University of New South Wales was one of the project’s key partners, providing valuable testing insight and research for the product.

State Asphalts NSW’s PAK-PAVE Roads patent is undergoing several trials across Sydney.

of this project, that the industry initiated the collaboration,” Khalili says.

“This particular project is very important at the moment as you can do very little with plastics. Exporting plastic used to make this waste somebody else’s problem. Now we have to deal with it, and there’re very few technologies that can convert plastic into a value-add for asphalt.”

Khalili says he’s proud of UNSW’s contributions to the project and to society.

“I’m really excited about how effective the technology can be in absorbing plastic waste and adding value to our asphalt industry,” he says.

THE MILESTONES

On the journey to producing PAK-PAVE Roads, State Asphalts NSW had to establish two manufacturing systems, one for the plastic and one for paper.

The paper recycling focused on developing the asphalt fibre additive. Without the fibre, an aggregate mix would have an open structure. This structure can only contain low amounts of bitumen.

The plastic recycling focused on the development of waste polyethylene and polypropylene to aid bitumen modification. Further evaluations were made during

development and testing, such as a fibre distribution analysis, binder testing, development of production systems and the procurement of equipment.

State Asphalt NSW operates four manufacturing facilities. The company placed an emphasis on applying proven equipment and technologies, such as separation, drying and pelletisation, rather than developing equipment from the ground up.

Ng says State Asphalts NSW’s ethos of trial and error helped to forge a path for the successful development of the product for trials in Sydney’s west.

“We’re not afraid of trying something new,” he says. “We’re happy to be innovators. We’re happy to get it wrong and try again until we get it right.”

The final manufacturing process, while intricate, is basic in premise.

Once collected, cup waste is processed and shredded to form an CLESmix. This mix is then converted into the PAK-PAVE fibre. This fibre is then combined with aggregates and bitumen to create PAK-PAVE Roads.

THE BENEFITS

The PAK-PAVE Road patent has shown unambiguous benefits when it comes to sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint of road construction.

While containing more than 50 per cent of recycled waste materials such as coffee cups, glass, RAP and steel furnace slag, PAKPAVE Roads also show improved pavement durability and crack resistance. This also includes increased resistance to skids caused by wet weather and reduced noise levels from the surface texture.

The project will also have wider benefits for the industry.

State Asphalts NSW expect the project to increase Australia’s capacity to recycle waste

streams through a value-added product.

Developing the technologies and infrastructure required for production will also create new manufacturing industries, while increasing the competitiveness of the road construction and asphalt manufacturing industries.

The project is also expected to accelerate the process for recycling plastic and polymer coated paper waste.

For Ng, one of the most exciting developments has been the increased collaboration between independent researchers, government and private enterprise.

“One of the most exciting things about the project has been getting to work with subject matter experts at great detail and finding solutions to collective challenges,” he says. “When you’ve got a problem, it’s great to be able to get the smartest people we can find into a single room to discuss it.

“To be able to solve these issues, have a plan and actually deliver it, it’s been a really rewarding experience.”

THE OUTCOME

PAK-PAVE Roads has recently undergone trials in Penrith, Sydney. This suburban road is now the first in the nation to contain recycled coffee cups as part of its construction.

The first pilot projects for PAK-PAVE Roads are set to take place in South Penrith and Erskine Park. Further trials will be conducted with LGAs over the coming months, with hopes that the PAK-PAVE Roads development will see a wider rollout in the future.

“The future’s exciting,” NG says. “We’ll continue to bring together the right regulators, technical subject experts, industry and commercial and public stakeholders together. It’s really been quite incredible.”

State Asphalts NSW’s PAK-PAVE Roads is an asphalt additive made from mixed plastic and paper waste to used in asphalt.

James Ng, State Asphalts NSW Project Manager (left).

RESHAPING COMMUNITIES

The Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) has been a cornerstone of the Victoria’s Big Build program for more than seven years. With 67 level crossings gone, 37 new and upgraded stations, and acres of community open space unlocked, the project has had a big impact on how Melburnians navigate the city.

According to LXRP Chief Executive Officer Kevin Devlin, the project has also provided the opportunity to push the envelope on sustainable, circular solutions.

“Sustainability is a key part of designing our projects,” Devlin says. “Every decision we make, from design to construction, is carefully considered. We lead the way in innovation, reusing good practices and applying the lessons we learn as we move from one project to another.”

Emblematic of this approach is the Bell to Moreland project in Melbourne’s inner north, which involved the removal of four rail crossings, construction of two new

stations at Coburg and Moreland, and delivered 2.5 kilometres of new open space, featuring pedestrian and cycling paths, active and playground equipment, dog parks, and – in a particularly Melbourne touch – bike repair stations.

Bell to Moreland also presented the perfect opportunity for the project team to deliver an ambitious urban transformation, benefiting from the sustainability knowledge accumulated on previous LXRP projects.

For the project’s Sustainability Manager Fiona Bowie, it was a chance to push the boundaries and try new things.

“It was a very large project compared to some of our previous ones, which had just been single stations,” she says. “And it came with a lot of opportunities.

“You have that divisive rail corridor through Brunswick that creates an east-west separation of the suburb, so it was a massive opportunity to connect the two sides of

the corridor, while also introducing a lot of green space that was otherwise lacking in the area.”

She says the scope of the project, along with the experience of the team, presented a lot of room to experiment with sustainable solutions.

“We had already completed a number of elevated rail projects, so we were coming in with a lot of lessons learned from previous projects,” Bowie says. “There were things we wanted to build upon, and innovations we’d started developing previously that we wanted to grow.”

“We were able to go straight in knowing who was who within the team, how we wanted to build things, and what we could do differently,” she says.

The team also factored in various sustainability targets from the start, and built towards them – rather than trying to “tick boxes” retroactively.

“You really have to implement these initiatives from day one, or it’s not going to come together,” Bowie says.

For Bell to Moreland, the results speak for themselves.

In June 2022, the project was awarded the highest ever score (98 points) by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC).

Coburg Station was given a six-star green star result by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), making it Australia’s first ever as built six-star train station.

Then, in September, the project team – the North Western Program Alliance

ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE TALKS TO LEVEL CROSSING REMOVAL PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER FIONA BOWIE ABOUT THE AWARD-WINNING BELL TO MORELAND PROJECT, AND WHAT THE PROJECT TEAM LEARNED ALONG THE JOURNEY.

Fiona Bowie, Sustainability Manager, Bell to Moreland Project.

The new Coburg Station was given a six-star green star result by the Green Building Council of Australia.

(NWPA) – was recognised at the Premier’s Sustainability Awards, collecting the Industry Leader Award in the sustainable places and destinations category.

But these achievements are not just reflective of the hundreds of solar panels and rainwater tanks installed, or native trees planted. According to Bowie, sustainability must be considered at all levels – many invisible to the average passenger passing through the precast architecture of Coburg station on their way to work.

“We’ve really refined how we go about procurement, in terms of going to that next level on sustainability,” she says. “We’ll bring new sustainable solutions to the contractors for consideration, whether its new innovations, recycled materials, or other carbon reduction methods.

“It can be hard to keep track of all the new products that are becoming available, so if we can do that legwork for them, our contractors will nearly always say yes to trying things out. It can give them a leg up on their other future projects, too.”

Bowie believes this can help generate a flow-on effect for the betterment of the industry, with each subsequent project pushing the envelope further and generating new knowledge.

“A lot of these contractors now have sustainability policies and plans in place that they didn’t have a few years ago,” she says. “Increasingly, we’re having them come to us with solutions as well, as their expertise in this area matures.”

Bowie highlights one such solution, eMesh – a 100 per cent recycled plastic fibre product for concrete reinforcement – which was introduced on the Bell to Moreland project. She says new products such as these often take some getting used to, but crews have been curious and adaptable.

“It wasn’t perfect at first, and we’re completely open about that,” Bowie says. “It comes down to the way you lay it, and that can differ between individual contractors, or even people within those teams.

“In some places it worked well, in others it didn’t. But it’s a good example of the project team persisting and experimenting.”

She says it’s easy for a new product to scare contractors off when it doesn’t behave the way they’re used to – but the LXRP project team’s persistence with eMesh has been encouraging, with the material being used on subsequent projects in Glenroy and Preston.

This positive momentum is even more

impressive when you consider that Bell to Moreland also predated the Victorian Government’s 2020 Recycled First Policy, and the ecologiQ initiative that now supports it. Bowie says the dramatic shift this policy brought about has been exciting, and has helped broaden horizons further on sustainable infrastructure.

“We’re now working a lot with ecologiQ,” she says. “They’ve been assisting with our current Keon Parade project in Reservoir, where we’re now working with about 10 ‘Recycled First’ suppliers to get as many sustainable products as possible into the project.”

On Keon Parade, LXRP has been leaning more heavily into solutions that are more tangible for the public, in the hope of generating additional circular economy awareness.

“We’ve strategically chosen to focus on urban realm areas as opposed to what’s under the ground or rail,” Bowie says. “Places where people can see and touch these products, and get that feel for what recycled materials can turn into.”

Flying the flag for the circular economy aside, Bowie says the primary goal for LXRP is to create new ways to help bring communities together – something she’s seen in how Bell to Moreland has transformed the area. Where pedestrians and cyclists once had to navigate bustling footpaths or busy traffic, the active pathways present a peaceful alternative.

“It’s such a lovely place to ride or walk now,” she says. “And it’s satisfying to see people using the space for picnics. It’s exactly what public infrastructure should do – create a place where people want to be.

“And that helps get people out of their cars and using the train station, which is ultimately an even better sustainability solution. The more we can turn public infrastructure assets into something that impacts people’s lives positively, the bigger impact we can have.

“It goes beyond just what we’re physically building on the ground – it can create waves of impact that affect how people behave.”

Bowie says the project was an opportunity to introduce new green open space to the area.

The project opened up 2.5 kilometres of open space, including active pathways and exercise equipment.

REVIEW

THIS MONTH, WE ASKED THE INDUSTRY’S DECISION-MAKERS, ‘WHAT IMPROVEMENTS COULD BE MADE ACROSS THE SECTOR TO SUPPORT PROGRESS

Critical to this will be balancing the reduction of enabled and embedded carbon while increasing the utilization of sustainable and recovered materials to achieve a circular economy. It will also require a change in our design practices, moving to a ‘vision and validate’ model, lessening our reliance on new infrastructure and increasing the take-up of more efficient transport modes. Greater collaboration is needed. Governments, policy makers, town and transport planners, industrial designers, architects and engineers need to take a long-term systems view of the sector to lessen our reliance on emission intensive practices throughout all stages of an

NORBERT

MICHEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VIC/TAS, NATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTOR – THE AUSTRALIAN FLEXIBLE PAVEMENT ASSOCIATION

To support progress the flexible pavement industry’s progress towards a net-zero emission future, several improvements and opportunities exist, starting with some ‘easy to adopt measures’ through to ‘complex and resource intensive’ solutions. Some easy to adopt measures include leveraging renewable energy sources like solar, wind and other renewable power sources. Furthermore, once this energy is generated, through adoption of measures such smart building design, use of low-carbon transport and other industrial processes, it is possible to increase our energy efficiency and conservation of this generated energy. More complex and resource intensive options being investigated include developing and deploying emerging technology such as carbon capture and storage options to remove carbon associated with the delivery of our services. From a procurement perspective, encouraging and rewarding the adoption of circular economy principles that minimise waste and promote reuse and recycling reflects a strong policy objective to improve what we are doing today, to benefit our world for tomorrow, and ultimately lead to a net-zero 2050.

BRENDAN LIVERIS, NATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER – ALEX FRASER Decarbonising infrastructure and roads undoubtedly calls for extensive R&D. However, sometimes this search for new answers can obscure the opportunities in front of us right now. As a industry we need to put our immediate efforts towards: Leveraging the circular economy. This shortens supply chains, reduces natural environment impacts, and reduces CO2 emissions, all by simple and smart product choices – like switching to sustainable and recycled alternatives, like Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) and Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs). Challenge orthodoxies. There are specifications that ostensibly limit the use of lower CO2 options. It’s time all jurisdictions examined the quality and performance of recycled and low-CO2 products available, and realistically determine whether there is any gap that could genuinely impact the performance of a pavement; in order to update specifications that clearly support infrastructure sustainability. We are not pulling conventional levers enough. Let’s optimise the opportunities before us, while also looking to the horizon.

If you or someone at your organisation is an industry leader and would like to be a part of this monthly column in 2023, please get in

MICHAEL BELL, SENIOR POLICY ADVISOR – ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA

FROM PLASTIC TO PAVEMENT

CLOSE THE LOOP IS HELPING TO TRANSFORM PROBLEMATIC SOFT PLASTICS INTO A HIGH-QUALITY ASPHALT ADDITIVE FOR COUNCILS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. S TEVE MORRISS OF CLOSE THE LOOP EXPLAINS THE IMPORTANCE AND THE STORY BEHIND THE CREATION OF ‘TONERPLAS’.

Steve Morriss’ passion for sustainability and the success of the waste sector is evident.

In 2000, Morris’s’ entrepreneurial spirit and drive to improve the “out-dated” processes and infrastructure used by the waste sector led to the foundation of Close the Loop.

As Morriss explains, the company’s foundation was driven by a desire to provide an alternative end-result for used and new print cartridges ending up in landfill.

“In 99’ the ‘a-ha’ moment came when I realised that the concept of mechanically recycling complex waste streams, with zero waste ending up in landfill, would be an attractive proposition to global print consumable brands,” he says.

“Back then – and way ahead of time – we set up a voluntary product stewardship program and the big brands supported us.”

To this day, Close the Loop has maintained favourable relationships with global print brands while expanding their capabilities into new markets, including cosmetics, soft plastics, and e-waste.

Now as part of the Close the Loop Group following their merger with O F Packaging, Close the Loop provides services to a variety of manufacturers of a range of materials. They’re helping businesses to minimise their environmental impact while

producing products to contribute to the circular economy.

This includes the development of suitable solutions for the roads and infrastructure sectors, including its TonerPlas product, an asphalt additive manufactured from recycled inputs for inclusion in road construction.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

According to the Federal Government’s National Plastic Plan summary (2021), one million tonnes of Australia’s plastic consumption is single use, with 84 per cent of plastic being sent to landfill and just 13 per cent being recycled.

The soft plastics waste stream in particular is difficult to process when it comes to recycling and reuse.

Soft plastics consist of a variety of polymer types that are laminated together in a single structure. This makes these materials difficult to recycle, especially when combined with the challenges presented by mixed and contaminated waste from kerbside collections.

As Morriss explains, previous efforts to process this waste placed an emphasis on collection, but this was just one step in a process that required more investment. He says it’s important to understand that merely collecting soft plastics is not recycling, that

designing out waste and then finding endmarkets for these materials are both key for circularity.

“If there aren’t markets for products of recycled content, then there is no use in collecting that material,” Morriss says.

“It’s challenging to extract value because the scope of specification for soft plastics goes everywhere from a LDPE plastic bag, to complex high-barrier packaging laminates and more, which is relatively easy to get value out of as long as it’s not contaminated.

“But it’s an entirely different ball game when you throw the post-consumer into the mix. Then the waste is usually contaminated. You bundle these factors together and you end up with a problematic waste stream that not many traditional recycling companies ever thought of dealing with, let alone had any interest with.”

“But we were in the right place at the right time.”

CLOSING THE LOOP

Existing infrastructure was inefficient and unsuitable to recycle this material at a council level, with landfill previously being the only viable solution to process soft plastics, mainly due to the inability to extract value from these materials.

The TonerPlas asphalt additive is a

Close the Loop has developed an asphalt additive made using problematic recycled soft plastics.

black pelletised product that is added to an asphalt plant to produce a polymer modified binder.

TonerPlas has been designed to melt into and extend the bituminous binder mastic and as Morriss explains, can improve the properties of asphalt.

“The industry has always used virgin polymer for road construction, but this method can be very expensive, and the price wasn’t within reach for the average road construction. What we did was take that knowledge and we tested extensively both with Downer and independently. And the results are fantastic,” Morriss says.

“We get less fatigue and improved resistance to deformation. And both of those characteristics add up to a more durable asphalt which also means lower maintenance costs. TonerPlas also provides more resistance from water and it’s more resistant to oil and petrol products, which are dropped from vehicles on the road.

“There’s a wide suite of benefits available for roads that contain TonerPlas.”

City Council in Melbourne. In addition to soft plastics, glass, toner and more than 4500 printer cartridges were used to construct the local road.

Morriss says Hume is close to Close the Loop’s heart, with the company situated just off the Hume Highway.

“We’ve always been in Hume and we’re a proud ‘Hume business’. We’ve been recognised by the Hume Business Awards many times over the years. And we’ve contributed back with community initiatives, including seminars, webinars and training programs and events,” he says.

“This is a classic example of a council that understands the concept of collaboration as part of our transition to circularity.”

THE FUTURE OF COUNCIL CIRCULARITY

Close the Loop has recently signed an “unprecedented” deal with the City of Greater Bendigo for a circular contract. This contract will see the council use TonerPlas as part of its local road construction, with the volume that will be used to match the

processing and use in TonerPlas.

The contract focuses on providing viable solutions for collection, processing and reuse.

“It’s game changing and it’s going to be the precedent by which all councils start to operate now,” Morriss says.

“Sometimes programs can fail – people don’t commit or follow up. That was the key to this partnership and hats off to the City of Greater Bendigo. This will be seen in the future as a watershed moment for Close the Loop and the council.

“Pardon the pun, but we’re paving the way for others to do the same.”

He adds that a collective effort by industry and government is required to maintain the momentum being made towards sustainable solutions for road construction.

“We can’t leave that up to a few passionate entrepreneurs to forge ways into established industries,” he says. “We need as a society need to get behind those products that are Australian and have recycled content. Particularly if you’re a procurement professional in any level of government, because you’ve got the control, you’ve got the power for change.”

GET IN TOUCH

Close the Loop is equipped to tailor similar programs for interested councils and government for road construction. The enthusiastic team at Close the Loop can support the development of similar ‘takeback’ programs.

“We’ve got the passion and willingness to talk to anybody in any council at any time,” Morriss says.

For more information, contact: steve@ closetheloop.com.au or visit closetheloop. com.au

TonerPlas incorporates recycled soft plastics, a material that has traditionally been difficult to treat or recycle.

TonerPlas has already been incorporated for multiple council and private industry roadworks.

MAKING AN IMPACT

CITYWIDE’S CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE DIVISION IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST ROADS AND ASPHALT AS OPERATIONS LEADER LEIGH GOULLET AND NATIONAL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER CRAIG WILLEBRAND EXPLAIN.

In 2022 Melbourne was named as Australia’s most liveable city and 10th in the world in the Global Liveability Index 2022, which evaluates the quality of life in 173 cities.

Released by the Economic Intelligence Unit, the recognition is based off a scoring system to assess the stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure of each city.

Melbourne was awarded a perfect score for infrastructure (100/100).

But what does it take to deliver and maintain Australia’s most liveable city?

Leigh Goullet is an Operations Leader at Citywide, which provides the full scope of civil infrastructure and environmental services to both government and the private sector.

Every day more than 13 million Australian’s benefit from Citywide’s services, with the company now based

across four states (Vic, NSW, QLD, TAS) and the ACT.

“We’re a very customer centric business,” Goullet says. “We can offer services for the entire project life cycle from inception, design, construction, maintenance to reconstruction and/or inception again.”

Citywide’s Civil Infrastructure Division and its Utilities and Energy Division operate across regional and metropolitan areas on the nation’s eastern seaboard, providing design, engineering, feasibility and project management services.

Both divisions’ service capabilities and expertise are also supported by other resources across the entire Citywide Group. As Goullet explains, this helps to create a “one-stop-shop” when it comes to projects that require a multidisciplinary approach.

“If we have works on an intersection for example, we have providers in-

house who can do the drainage, asphalt, concrete, whatever it may be. The client avoids having to pay a margin on margin,” he says.

“Our strong focus on project management ensures that each project is delivered to the highest level of safety and quality.”

Citywide’s solutions across Greater Melbourne also extend to traffic and event management. Goullet says the company’s price point and quality service has helped to cement its place as one of Melbourne’s primary infrastructure service providers.

“It’s a very competitive environment when there’s an open tender for events like the Australian Open or the Melbourne Cup. Our Traffic and Events team offer 24/7 operations,” he says.

Goullet is helping to manage Citywide’s City of Melbourne contract. According to Goullet, the package of works

Citywide’s Civil Infrastructure Division completes a variety of civil works across Melbourne, often in complex environments that require flexibility and versatility.

represents the largest local government infrastructure maintenance contract in Victoria.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

With its engineers and project managers, Citywide’s Civil Infrastructure Division is resourced with a range of plant and equipment, along with expertise to take on challenging works.

Following the lengthy COVID-19 lockdowns across Greater Melbourne, Citywide was tasked with delivering a large section of works focused on active transport.

Goullet says the Victorian Government pre and post COVID-19 placed a large emphasis on active transport infrastructure, to complement the city’s sustainable public transport system.

He says these works aligned with Citywide’s bluestone, concrete and asphalt capabilities, proficient in developing footpaths, laneways, crossovers, kerbs and roads.

“There’s been a big push and focus on improving pedestrian movement and increasing the accessibility of areas such as the CBD,” Goullet says.

“This focus is now around looking at networks and how they function, especially when it comes to environmentally friendly forms of transport, like pushbikes,

electric vehicles, walking and EV charging solutions.”

Citywide is also known for constructing works at Spencer Street and Flinders Street stations amongst other iconic sites, installing protective security barriers.

Goullet says the team has encountered and overcome “significant challenges” while working on the city’s historic infrastructure, some of which was constructed more than 150 years ago.

“For works on Flinders Street we had to work around monolithic structures of the old station overpass. We had to figure out how some elements were constructed before we could design and implement the protective barriers,” Goullet says. “You can never be too careful when working in and around our great city.”

Goullet says this project was emblematic of the intuitive thinking and approach of the entire Civil Infrastructure Division, which in Victoria also delivers works across LGAs including Bayside, Hobsons Bay, Hume and Whittlesea.

“Because we know the region well, major contractors or developers will also come to us for works that present unique challenges,” he says. “We work in a lot of areas where there’s high pedestrian movement, so we’re doing traffic management, while also widening a footpath, finishing structural soil, drainage improvements and more.”

When it comes to utilities and infrastructure assets, Citywide’s Ultegra

team – a subsidiary of the Group’s Utilities and Energy Division – conducts civil works such as trenching alongside live services, pipelaying, pit installations, the excavation of footings and more.

“Our Ultegra team undertakes the civil works associated with the construction of energy projects to supply critical

Linemarking is one of the many value-add service lines offered as part of Citywide’s diverse integrated civil services.

Citywide is able to deliver the entire project scope, from design, construction all the way through to reconstruction.

Recycled materials such as glass and crumb rubber are increasingly being used in asphalt products and services delivered by Citywide.

infrastructure for our clients and the general public,” explains Craig Willebrand, Ultegra’s National Project Development Manager.

“We can save our clients time and money; they don’t need to split hairs between margins as these services are inhouse. That gives us an advantage.”

COMMITMENT TO CLEAN

Citywide’s vision as an enterprise is to foster clean, healthy, safe and sustainable cities.

To assist in delivering sustainable cities, Citywide has developed its own sustainability strategy.

As part of this strategy, the Civil Infrastructure and Utilities & Energy Divisions have embraced sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies and processes as part of its project delivery.

“Our motto is to ‘Shape Liveable Cities’. Part of our core services is to do this

in a sustainable way,” Goullet says. “Sustainability matters to the community and so it matters to us.

“We have a beautiful position where we take waste from the city, process it, and turn it into valuable commodities that are then used in asphalt and street furniture items. Glass for example is used in our Citywide asphalt plant in Arden Street, North Melbourne.”

This ethos also extends to supporting the development of low emissions technology, such as electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

“We’re currently delivering public kerbside EV charging infrastructure projects in Victoria and NSW along major roads ensuring that more people have access to charging facilities,” Willebrand says.

“We’ve also recently completed the design and construction of the civil and electrical works for Zero Emission Bus projects in NSW and QLD, where

an entire bus depot is re-designed and constructed for EV charging infrastructure for the most efficient operation of the fleet.

“We’re committed to being at the forefront of renewable energy projects in addition to delivering large scale civil/ electrical projects.”

EMBRACING THE FUTURE

Goullet says he’s excited about future prospects for both Divisions, which he describes as “speciality teams with an excellent culture.”

“I’m most proud of the culture and the relationships we have with commercial clients and the local government. We couldn’t do what we do without the support of key people at all levels,” he says.

“There are some challenging projects, don’t get me wrong. But it’s exciting, it’s agile and it keeps you on your toes.”

“WE HAVE A BEAUTIFUL POSITION WHERE WE TAKE WASTE FROM THE CITY, PROCESS IT, AND TURN IT INTO VALUABLE COMMODITIES THAT ARE THEN USED IN ASPHALT AND STREET FURNITURE ITEMS. GLASS FOR EXAMPLE IS USED IN OUR CITYWIDE ASPHALT PLANT IN ARDEN STREET, NORTH MELBOURNE.”

FLEX FOR GOOD

ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SPEAKS WITH PRODUCTS EXPERTS FROM SAMI BITUMEN TECHNOLOGIES AND COLAS AUSTRALIA TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COMPANY’S INNOVATIVE SAMIFALT CRUMBFLEX BINDER.

Ever since the beginnings of the company in 1978, SAMI Bitumen Technologies has always had an interest in manufacturing and developing sustainable products for the roads and infrastructure sectors.

Back in 2021, development began on SAMI Bitumen Technologies SAMIfalt Crumbflex binder, the company’s offering for a more sustainable binder to replace imported polymers with local rubber from end-of-life tyres for road and pavement construction.

The company’s National R&D and Laboratory Manager, Kanjana Yindee, says the company’s goal is to provide more sustainable binders which comply with existing industry specification requirements.

“As part of our approach to sustainability, we created a product that would comply with existing specifications, making the transition easier for our customers when it comes to procurement,” Yindee says.

“The main objective was to increase our use of crumb rubber to align with SAMI’s sustainability goals. A special design was required in order to meet existing specifications for hybrid crumb rubber and an SBS (styrene-butadiene-styrene) polymer modified binder.

“We aimed to design SAMIfalt Crumbflex to meet A15E and A10E specifications, while also maintaining its properties during hot storage and transportation.”

The SAMIfalt range consists of a variety of polymer modified binders that have been designed to improve the fatigue resistance and performance of asphalt mixes.

Meeting a range of Austroads and State Road Authority specifications, SAMIfalt Asphalt Grade Binders have been used in a variety of projects including surfacing works at Sydney Airport, the Pacific Highway and the M2 and M5 Freeways in New South Wales.

DEVELOPING DAY AND NIGHT

Following initial development and planning in 2021, SAMI Bitumen Technologies’ research and development team began developing Crumbflex at the SAMI laboratory in Camellia, New South Wales. This facility acts as the primary location for the company’s research and development efforts nation-wide.

As Yindee recalls, the facility helped to streamline development, by allowing complementary testing in real-time.

“The lab is a fully integrated R&D facility with both binder and asphalt testing being completed side-by-side,” Yindee says. “This allowed us to rapidly test changes to the product and further assist in development.

“The production trial was undertaken at the Camellia production plant, but the process was designed to ensure that the product could be made in any SAMI facility.”

SAMI Bitumen Technologies’ SAMIfalt Crumbflex binder incorporates sustainable materials.

BENEFITS FOR BITUMEN

SAMIfalt Crumbflex helps to increase the recycling content of asphalt mixes. This is achieved by using repurposed crumbed rubber from end-of-life truck tyres and a warm mix additive, which helps reduce production and placement temperatures, which in turn lowers fume exposure and energy costs.

SAMIfalt Crumbflex also provides improved performance at higher or lower temperatures, while at the same time meeting the typical A15E specification parameters specified in New South Wales. As Stephen Bernard, SAMI’s R&D Chemist, explains.

“It enables our customers to use a product which contains recycled crumb rubber without having to change specifications,” he says. “This helps to save costly discussions around changing binders and having road agencies change specifications, making the product easier for customers to use.

“Having a recycled material in the Crumbflex can also enable our asphalt customers to offer a more sustainable asphalt products to win more tenders.”

SAMIfalt Crumbflex can also be used in conjunction with SAMIbond 007, a trackless tack coat emulsion, as well as our crumb rubber modified spray seal binders that satisfy S25E specifications.

ON TRIAL

These benefits were recently put to the test as part of a demonstration project at Port Stephens, NSW.

The trial aimed to determine if SAMIfalt Crumbflex could perform equally or better than a standard A15E binder asphalt wearing course.

Luke Murphy, Mobile Project and Technical Manager for Colas NSW, says the trials also aimed to evaluate and compare the asphalt mix performance properties of the polymer modified binder against the crumb rubber hybrid binder.

“It’s a step towards producing more sustainable asphalt products by increasing the re-use of crumbed rubber from endof-life truck tyres,” Murphy says. “It’s been demonstrated through laboratory testing to result in improved fatigue and wheel tracking performance in comparison to a typical A15E asphalt.

“Colas NSW intends to replace all standard A15E binders with the SAMIfalt Crumbflex.”

Lee Whitehead, State Manager – Colas NSW says that beyond encouraging

has also received the seal of approval from customers.

“Our customers are happy that the pavement looks homogenous, was produced at lower temperatures and still resulted in the expected level of quality,” Whitehead says. “It’s pleasing to provide working environments for people with a lower exposure to harmful fumes.”

He adds that the participation of all stakeholders in the industry is essential to develop more sustainable solutions.

“Delivering new Innovations such as SAMIfalt Crumbflex to our communities are made possible by the councils, state road authorities and various industry stakeholders who are willing to collaborate and trial new technologies with the flexible pavements industry.”

saying that future use of sustainable products relies on ongoing development and research to provide longer lasting pavements.

“We are proud to think that in the future, thousands of kilometres of roads could be paved with SAMIfalt Crumbflex, while considering all the non-renewable resources that it could save across the entire country. It’s part of our commitment towards improving the sustainability across all SAMI’s binder products,” Yindee says.

“We are currently developing biocomponent binders and low carbon bitumen emulsion. We want to play a part in the asphalt industry to help Australia achieve our goal of net zero carbon pavements.”

Extensive research and development helps to ensure the quality and sustainability of the crumb rubber product.

Beyond encouraging performance tests, the SAMIfalt Crumbflex has also received the seal of approval from customers.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

Using their background in engineering, as well as the shared experiences of friends who studied civil and structural engineering at university, CONQA Founder Daniel O’Donoghue, along with co-founders Pete Simons and Barney Chunn, identified a gaping hole in the industry.

“They were complaining about the process of quality assurance, which was built upon checklists that help to ensure that everyone on site is doing everything correctly for any given activity,” O’Donoghue says.

“Having to take paper checklists & ITPs (Inspection & Test Plans) out in the field, take photos on their phones, capture site records, capture test records – there was a

lot of manual admin involved. They would end up signing off all their QA (Quality Assurance) documentation at the end of the month, before they handed the work back to the client.

“This would be like a pilot doing the preflight checklist once they’re at the hotel after the flight.”

As O’Donoghue explains, the lack of a meaningful QA process leaves construction projects significantly at-risk.

“This was a massive problem for the construction industry. Rework is estimated to cost about 21 percent of a project’s construction value, and QA wasn’t working well to prevent it,” O’Donoghue says.

O’Donoghue, Simons and Chunn had identified the problem, but the challenge

was developing the solution.

The three co-founders had to venture into the world of software and programming, an area that O’Donoghue concedes the founders had limited experience with before starting CONQA.

“We’d seen people who had started software companies without being a software engineer themselves,” O’Donoghue says.

“Pete, Barney and I have always had a natural entrepreneurial spirit. So, we thought it was worth ‘having a crack’ at solving a big problem, in a scalable way, with a software product.”

After determination and investment, CONQA was founded in 2015 in Auckland, providing software to support managing

CONQA Co-Founders Barney Chunn, Daniel O’Donoghue and Pete Simons.

quality assurance for a range of construction projects and developments.

The company now has head offices in Australia and New Zealand, with sites in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

KEEPING IT SIMPLE

CONQA helps to centralise the QA process, by allowing workers to log information & take photos as they go. After identifying issues, staff can log and resolve problems and document the entire process.

CONQA also caters for a variety of working environments and construction roles. Precast suppliers can use the platform to collaborate on QA with remote stakeholders, while infrastructure contractors can complete QA and an ITP in real time while on-site.

“If you’re a supervisor or engineer on-site, it’s really about making the QA process happen as much as you can in the field, so you’re not doing office admin work later on,” O’Donoghue says.

“From a manager’s point of view, it’s about knowing that your team is checking each task off, meaning you don’t have to do as much chasing. By making this process easy, we find that the benefits start to stream from there.”

O’Donoghue adds that the platform was designed for the more experienced, potentially least-tech savvy contractors.

“CONQA is designed to be simple at the end level, so that anyone can use it,” he says.

“CONQA is built to be project specific, meaning you don’t need to think through a lot of detail when getting to the task at hand. It’s fast to complete, and then the information goes straight to the cloud.”

O’Donoghue says that when these contractors see how easy it is to use CONQA, they often become advocates for the platform.

“Quality is very much a cultural thing, like health and safety. It requires discipline and it often requires behavioural change,” he says.

“We’ve had customers who’ve told us that their supervisor – who’s 65 years old – has been able to pick up CONQA and use it in a matter of minutes. Being able to deliver that kind of experience is really meaningful to us.”

CONQA also provides an

implementation team as well as a support team who can offer ongoing assistance.

“We can provide a dedicated account manager, who works with the client to ensure that they’re getting the most value from the software for their projects,” O’Donoghue says.

“Our team can introduce clients to the core features, before layering in the different capabilities or functionality as the client becomes more familiar with CONQA.”

With CONQA, clients have achieved savings when it comes to both time and money. Customers have seen an 80 per cent reduction in defects, while supervisors have saved up to 10 hours per week on paperwork.

CONQA’S NEXT STEPS

CONQA has already been used on major construction works in New Zealand and Australia.

Close to its HQ in Melbourne, CONQA has contributed to works on the Metro Tunnel Project, Level Crossing Removal Project, works on the Footscray Hospital and several other projects for Major Road Projects Victoria, where its benefits have been evident.

A CONQA client was able to complete a $100 million housing development 10 weeks ahead of schedule. Another has been tracking QA and progress on a $300 million airport project in Australia.

CONQA has also received favourable feedback from the precast industry in

Daniel O’Donoghue, CONQA Co-Founder and CEO.

Australia and New Zealand.

Based on its growing reputation and continued success, O’Donoghue says CONQA is eyeing further expansion across Australia.

“We’re involved in quite a large profile of infrastructure jobs across Australia and New Zealand. We’re now pushing hard in the New South Wales market, where we’ve got some exciting works coming up,” he says.

WHAT NOW FOR THE INDUSTRY?

O’Donoghue believes companies such as CONQA, who are focusing on providing accessible platforms, is the best way forward for promoting digitalisation throughout the industry.

He says the notion of having simple and practical technology is the easiest way to improve project outcomes immediately.

“There’s a lot of discussion around the younger generation coming through and being dominant in the workforce and more digitally native,” he says. “I think this notion is missing a massive opportunity that exists with the current workforce, waiting for a generation to grow out of an industry will take too long in my opinion. The chance to develop technology to capture the existing workforce is there.

“I also think that across the supply chain there’s a massive opportunity to be more engaged with technology

and digitalisation. From our experiences that’s one of the most glaringly obvious opportunities – to engage the current workforce.”

O’Donoghue says he and his team at CONQA take pride in seeing first-hand the impacts and benefits from the cloudbased platform.

“We had a client who was able to take their rework rates from 10 percent of the project value, down to zero. These workers were going home on a Friday, not having to go back to the site on the weekend and instead spent more time with their families,” he says.

“Having a positive impact on businesses and the people within them is something we’re all very proud of.”

“CONQA HELPS TO CENTRALISE THE QA PROCESS, BY ALLOWING WORKERS TO LOG INFORMATION & TAKE PHOTOS AS THEY GO. AFTER IDENTIFYING ISSUES, STAFF CAN LOG AND RESOLVE PROBLEMS AND DOCUMENT THE ENTIRE PROCESS.”

CONQA is an accessible and mobile program for quality assurance.

We’re experts in connected, supported solutions across mixed fleet.

• Topcon technology for every machine

• Tokara remote management for every asset

• Position Partners support for every project

If it’s got a cutting edge, we can measure it.

LEARN MORE

MAXIMISING RISK MITIGATION

ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE MAGAZINE SITS DOWN WITH INEIGHT HEAD OF ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT – EMEA REGION, JEFF QUANTRILL, TO DISCUSS THE CHALLENGES, POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS AND AVAILABLE SOLUTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH MODERN RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESSES.

The Australian infrastructure sector’s approach to risk management has changed over the past few decades.

Developments in technology and processes have enabled the largest compilation of key data to date, each set critical to forecasting and managing risks associated with project delivery.

Improving the efficiency, accessibility and costs associated with risk mitigation has long been a goal of global construction management software provider InEight.

The company’s expertise in delivering an advanced integrated platform for the construction industry has resulted in its solutions being used in more than 60 countries worldwide.

As part of its global reach, InEight

has utilised its position in the market to take a closer look at risk mitigation in the United Kingdom, with a focus on applying integrated processes for proactive risk mitigation.

Using his knowledge in interconnected data and project management, Jeff Quantrill services the needs of clients across Europe, the Middle East and Africa as InEight’s Head of Account Management for the region.

Quantrill’s experience has opened the door to a variety of modern processes,

some of which are mostly unfamiliar concepts to Australia’s roads and infrastructure industries.

One such element is the New Engineering Contract Version 4 (NEC4).

As Quantrill explains, while the concept of an NEC contract may be unfamiliar territory for some (in Australia particularly), the concept is “crucial” for creating a collaborative and proactive approach to risk management.

He adds that a part of this approach, an Early Warning Notice (EWN), is

“THE COMPANY’S EXPERTISE IN DELIVERING AN ADVANCED INTEGRATED PLATFORM FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY HAS RESULTED IN ITS SOLUTIONS BEING USED IN MORE THAN 60 COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE.”

InEight’s risk management platform InEight Schedule uses artificial intelligence combined with machine learning to increase the accuracy of risk forecasts.

an essential cog in implementing a successful NEC4 agreement.

“Risk, by its very nature, is uncertain. That’s where the essence of the word originates,” he says.

“Like most contracts, the NEC contract includes a requirement for people to manage risks. At the beginning of the contract, both the client and the supplier will exchange their initial risk registers, which is mostly a standard practice anyway.

“The EWN is a way for either party to tell the other that they’ve found something that will likely impact the cost or the scheduling of the work. What makes it so powerful is that under this contract, there is a requirement for both parties to look at the risk, review it and work out what they’re going to do about it.

“You then mitigate the risk through a

proactive process, not a reactive one.”

OUT WITH THE SPREADSHEET

The market already provides a variety of systems and methods for collating and managing EWN documents, but Quantrill says some methods have become obsolete.

“The actual ability to manage risk has gotten better and better, however,” Quantrill says. “There are more tools now than ever before that are capable of doing so.”

Quantrill explains further that while electronic document management systems and spreadsheets help to digitise this process, there are far more effective solutions available. He says that while these methods can accurately depict data, having data without context is “useless.”

“What you can do now is take

what was a paper-based process and digitise it into your document management, so it’s a straight move from paper to digital. That’s fine, but all that effectively does is make the traceability of that paper trail a bit easier,” he says.

“You’re still not able to actually leverage any of the capabilities of this data being in a digital system, apart from making these data easier to access and track.

“What we’re able to do with InEight is give that data a home to understand what the data means. We can help to put that data in the right place. Giving data context allows you to aggregate it and turn it into meaningful pieces of information.”

InEight Schedule, part of the InEight platform, has been developed exclusively for construction planning,

scheduling and risk analysis.

The platform helps to rationalise the risk mitigation and planning process by encouraging collaborative planning between project stakeholders.

InEight recognised that not all companies utilise the same basic principles and processes. As such, the platform has been tailored for different applications and perspectives, such as owners and contractors.

“Every organisation will have processes that do not sit naturally in just document management, or just contract management,” Quantrill says. “If you have a piece of data in one area, that data is totally reusable in another. You don’t need to rekey data.

“There are very few programs out there that have this capability, [InEight makes this happen] with over 350

internal integrations and more on the way.”

Users can benefit from as much as a 90 per cent reduction in risk analysis time, while also centralising the visibility and improving the accuracy of mitigation planning.

InEight Schedule also harnesses the latest technology in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), inspired by the work of its creator, Dr. Dan Patterson. In his words, with AI “things become just a little bit less ‘fuzzy’ in the world of project management.”

Quantrill says combining the patternlearning AI and ML with the skills and intuition of a project team can solidify project outcomes for owners and contractors alike.

“AI can look at a more actuarial function of risk management and take data over many years and say, ‘here are all the things that we know can happen.’ It can’t be an unforeseen risk if it’s happened before,” he says.

“When you’re building a schedule with InEight Schedule, you can view your project library, which is a history

factors, which could potentially turn into a really big issue on the next project.

“It’s a way of reducing that risk. And of course, if you reduce risk, you reduce uncertainty, which means you’re more likely to be on time and on budget.”

Quantrill says finding the balance between the use of AI and ML while retaining the right amount of human

“AI CAN LOOK AT A MORE ACTUARIAL FUNCTION OF RISK MANAGEMENT AND TAKE DATA OVER MANY YEARS AND SAY, ‘HERE ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW CAN HAPPEN.’ IT CAN’T BE AN UNFORESEEN RISK IF IT’S HAPPENED BEFORE.”

of all the projects you’ve done in the past, which have been recorded on the platform.

“InEight Schedule can then outline a project plan depending on that particular piece of work, scaled accordingly. It can suggest not only the activities, but also the potential times that each activity will take based off that previous history.”

Using AI and ML, InEight Schedule can also highlight potential risks associated with the project by analysing works of a similar nature that have been completed previously.

“The platform will proactively highlight these risks so that you can make a conscious decision as to which risks apply,” Quantrill says.

“It’s important because if a small mistake is made on a job, a human isn’t going to remember that two years

input will be the key to further improving risk mitigation practices.

“AI and human intelligence and human capability need to work together and collaborate for a better world,” he says.

“AI is good at detecting and taking advantage of its knowledge that it’s learned. But humans, at the moment, and probably for a good while yet, are very good at pattern recognition, and incredibly good at contextualising risk.”

As the Australian infrastructure sector’s approach to risk management evolves throughout the coming years, developments in technology and processes will help to better forecast and manage risks associated with project delivery.

InEight is dedicated to this evolution, continuously working to identify areas of improvement, and potential upgrades for its InEight Schedule platform.

InEight Schedule uses data previously recorded to predict the associated cost, time required for completion and risk associated with similar projects.

InEight Head of Account Management – EMEA Region, Jeff Quantrill.

BEYOND CERTAINTY

When the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) transitioned into the multimodal National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO) in late 2022, it did so to adapt to an evolving and increasingly interconnected transport industry.

In becoming the NTRO, ARRB expanded its road-focused research operations to encompass rail, ports, and airports. According to Juliette Fox, NTRO Client Engagement Specialist, it was a natural fit given the overlapping research occurring between these modes, and the way they integrate into the lives of the Australians using them.

She says the change also reflected the trajectory of the industry in Australia.

“All the departments that share ownership of the NTRO have gone in this direction,” she says. “For example, VicRoads becoming the Department of Transport and Planning in Victoria.

“The transport industry has become less about individual networks, and much more about the movement of people.”

‘Movement of people’, Fox says, encapsulates the overlap between the many modes of transport available across the country – as well as the patterns of behaviour of the people using them, both today, and into the future.

She says this will be reflected in the range of topics presented at the newly rebooted 2023 NTRO – International Technical Conference in October.

“We’d been doing a similar conference for years as ARRB,” Fox says. “And it used to be this fantastic amalgamation of international visitors, local researchers, and experts coming together to present their conference papers.

“For pavement engineers back in the day, it was something really special.”

Fox says ARRB had put a pause on these conferences in recent years – partially for global health reasons, and partially due to the changing nature of the transport industry.

“But with the transition to NTRO, and the way the organisation is now engaging

sub-themes: Asset Assurance, New and Emerging Materials, Agile Transport Futures, Drivers of Innovation, Next Generation Researchers, and Technology and Data.

Fox says the NTRO team is once again excited to highlight the technical expertise of the transport industry, both in Australia and overseas.

“A lot of conferences will stick to more high-level material, but we’re targeting people in the industry who want to further their knowledge and research,” she says. “That’s the reason it’s specifically called a ‘technical’ conference. It’s about the current

THE NTRO – INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE IN OCTOBER WILL DIVE DEEP INTO THE LATEST INNOVATIONS IN TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY FROM AROUND THE WORLD, AND EXPLORE HOW AUSTRALIA’S ROADS, RAILS, PORTS, AND AIRPORTS CAN PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE.

“A LOT OF CONFERENCES WILL STICK TO MORE HIGH-LEVEL MATERIAL, BUT WE’RE TARGETING PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY WHO WANT TO FURTHER THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH.”

Juliette Fox, NTRO Client Engagement Specialist.

The range

of

topics

covered will aim to highlight the technical expertise of the transport industry

research, where we’re at now, and crucially –where we’re going in the future.

“That’s why this year we’ve gone with the Transport – Beyond Certainty theme.”

Fox attributes this phrase to NTRO board member Neil Scales OBE, the DirectorGeneral for the Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland.

“Neil says it all the time in regard to building infrastructure, and thinking about how to prepare for what will change in the future – the beyond,” Fox says.

“You can build a road and assume everything’s going to be fine forever, but there are so many unknowns – for instance,

rail travel, as well as potential petroleum shortages could all present significant challenges for Australia’s transport networks in the coming decades.

“That’s what ‘beyond certainty’ is about,” she says. “We already have an idea what the next 30 years will look like – but what comes after that? We want to see what the next generation of forward-thinking research will bring to the infrastructure sector, and we want to be doing that now.

“That way, we can start collaborating and researching these ideas now, and by the time we really need to address the issues of the

future, we’re already in front. We’re not just waiting for something to happen.”

FINGER ON THE GLOBAL PULSE

NTRO’s International Technical Conference is set to take place at the NTRO headquarters in Port Melbourne, where attendees will be able to see the facility’s research in action.

Fox says the conference will cap off a busy few months for the NTRO team, which will have just touched down following an extensive tour of duty overseas.

“NTRO will be holding a Global Transport Collaboration (GTC) event in Europe, which also lines up with the PIARC World Congress in Prague in October,” she says.

“We’re going over there to see what transport innovations they’re using, and then part of our conference will be reporting on that. We want to get a fresh understanding of what the world is doing, and what we can bring back to Australia.

“October will be very busy for NTRO, but we’ve deliberately paired these events together that way. In transport, as with any industry, the latest information and knowledge is only relevant for so long. You never know when you’ll see the next big breakthrough.”

The 2023 NTRO – International Technical Conference will run in Melbourne from 25-27 October 2023.

You can find out more and register to attend at: www.ntroconference.com.au

“YOU CAN BUILD A ROAD AND ASSUME EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE FINE FOREVER, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY UNKNOWNS –FOR INSTANCE, IN AUSTRALIA WE’VE SEEN ALL THESE FLOODING EVENTS IN THE PAST FEW YEARS.”

The new conference will reflect the transition from ARRB to the multi-modal NTRO.

The conference will be held at NTRO Head Office in Port Melbourne.

A CALL FOR DIGITAL UNITY

SELECT PLANT AUSTRALIA’S DANIEL KELLY TALKS TO ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE ABOUT HOW TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS COULD EVOLVE TO BETTER SERVE THE DATA NEEDS OF THE CIVIL CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.

With Australia’s major infrastructure pipelines staring down the doublebarrel of skilled labour shortages and supply chain disruptions, the construction industry is turning to rapidly evolving technology solutions to optimise efficiency and productivity.

Telematics and fleet management technology are empowering users with the data to make better and more informed decisions, whether it’s for a small ownerdriver operation, or a logistics business managing a fleet of hundreds.

Daniel Kelly, Logistics Project Manager for Select Plant Australia, has a front-row seat of how technology is reshaping the way infrastructure projects are managed.  Kelly is currently overseeing the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package (WTP) portfolio of projects for Select, which is part of a consortium between Gamuda Australia and Laing O’Rourke.

“I manage all the logistics activities across a number of sites with my team, whether that’s traffic approvals, onboarding of heavy

vehicles or construction plant, ensuring they meet the projects minimum requirements, and all of the CoR (Chain of Responsibility) duties that sit within that,” Kelly says.

A big part of managing city-spanning projects of this scale involves monitoring and tracking the hundreds of truckloads of material coming and going across these sites each day.

“The WTP projects are split across six sites,” Kelly says. “We have a precast yard in Eastern Creek, three sites at Clyde, including where we launch the road headers, and an excavation site at Rosehill where we bring the precast materials in and launch the Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs).

“Clyde will also have the maintenance service facility where all the trains in the future will be maintained, as well as sites at Parramatta and Westmead, where we are excavating the station boxes for the future metro line.”

Keeping track of the vehicles moving through these sites is crucial, not only for ensuring projects are sticking to schedule and budget, but also for the safety of

contractors and the wider community.

This is all driven by the smooth collection and exchange of data – assuming that everyone is on the same page. But technology has a tendency to leave stragglers behind.

“It’s constantly evolving. As a result, it’s become harder and harder for us to do what we need to do,” Kelly says. “Which has encouraged us to explore what systems and processes are out there to help.”

Teletrac Navman’s fleet management technology is one example of a solution Kelly’s team turned to.

“We trialled the Teletrac Navman solution on the Sydney Metro City & Southwest Central Station project, which made our lives significantly easier,” Kelly says.

“It involved putting an in-cab device into ten vehicles, and building a number of forms that we would normally do on pen and paper into the system. Then, we trained the supply chain to use them – from the main contractors sitting in the office to the drivers on the ground.”

This provided Kelly’s team with a complete

at Clyde.

line of sight at any given time – where the trucks were, who was driving them, and what they were carrying.

“With the forms we were building into that system, we could start to produce electronic dockets, waste records, spoil records, as well as ensure we were managing our Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) requirements,” he says. “This lets us create a database of information that was also tied to geofences, or to particular fleets.”

This not only reduced the labour resources that would otherwise be needed to capture data the old analogue way, but also drastically improved data integrity.

“The old pen and paper system is open to error,” Kelly says. “Lots of things can go wrong. Forms can go missing or get wet – we probably only captured 30 per cent of the information we needed. Whereas with a digital system, we’re closer to 90 or 100 per cent.”

Though only implemented briefly towards

the end of the Central Station project, the success of the Teletrac Navman trial led Kelly and his team to mandate the use of the system on the WTP project for highrisk deliveries.

As effective as Teletrac Navman’s solution is, Kelly says having to mandate its use is not an ideal scenario – and something that could be avoided if all fleet management and telematics platforms were bound to a common standard.

“Every client wants something slightly different – and players in the market such as Teletrac Navman are doing their best to respond to that,” he says. “But there’s such an array of different systems and processes out there.”

Kelly says technology companies need to adapt to prioritise user experience. This, he says, would require a standardised API (application programming interface) across all providers whereby critical data could be pushed and pulled to and from a common platform.

“There needs to be a way to use one platform that tells me all the data I need, but then my carrier or subcontractor can use whatever system they want,” Kelly says. “If every system met the same standard, and information could be fed into the same database, that would give me a holistic overview from a single dashboard – without me having to mandate this or that system.

“That’s where we need to get to as an industry – but we’re a long way off.”

It’s an idea that Teletrac Navman’s Application Specialist James French endorses – though he agrees that there are challenges involved.

“We’ve decided recently that we’ll pull third-party data, provided it’s in AEMP format, which is what a lot of the large equipment manufacturers use,” French says. “And we’ll output AEMP at the request of

others, meaning data from our telematics can be used in third-party software packages.”

French says a shift to the newer AEMP 2.0 telematics standard is causing issues, however.

“AEMP 2.0 will give you a lot of information, but you lose some of the compliance regulations,” he says. “This means there can be more device-specific data, and pushing that data can be a bit more awkward.”

French adds that a company’s competitors can often be fairly guarded with their data, something he says is often not in the best interests of customers.

“If we were to ask one of our competitors for an AEMP 2.0 feed and they said no, it would only be to the detriment of their customer,” he says. “That could prevent their customer from working on a specific project that’s using Teletrac Navman’s platform. We have no interest in that data ourselves.”

French says all manufacturers, at some point in time, are going to have to get comfortable exchanging data with third parties for the benefit of their customers.

“If a contractor is running 100 trucks and paying for an existing telematics system, then a job requires a certain data format that theirs won’t output – they’re not about to go and put a second display and run two separate systems. That just wouldn’t make sense.

“If we have a customer that’s three quarters of the way through their contract with us, and we can’t output AEMP 2.0 data for a job they’re working on, then we’re at risk of losing them.

“So, for us, that would be something we’d want to fix pretty quickly.”

Parramatta metro station site.

Rosehill service facility where tunnel boring machines will be launched to Sydney Olympic Park, and relaunched to Westmead.

Temporary access shaft

Sept 2023

Melbourne’s leading construction and major infrastructure event

EXHIBITION SPACE NOW ON SALE

Inside Construction Expo will deliver

Targeted messaging in over 19 industry-leading publications that reach more than 80,000 decision makers across multiple sectors

Digital communications to 28,000+ engaged readers

Premium networking opportunity with industry leaders at the Foundation Awards gala dinner

insideconstructionexpo.com.au

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

& INFRASTRUCTURE

2023 CONTRACTORS CAPABILITY SHOWCASE

Roads & Infrastructure, in partnership with the Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AfPA) has proudly brought back the Contractor Capabilities Showcase. Beyond this page lies a valuable resource for asset managers, road owners, governments and more to easily find contractors for projects of any size and scale. Last year’s showcase provided a resource of more than 250 contractors. This year the showcase is even bigger.

EVENTS – INSIDE CONSTRUCTION EXPO

A PEEK INSIDE CONSTRUCTION EXPO

ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDES A SNEAK-PEEK INTO THIS YEAR’S INSIDE CONSTRUCTION EXPO.

As Australia continues its transition towards a more circular economy, industry leaders from the construction sector have been voicing the need for the increased use of recycled material in major infrastructure projects.

According to Show Director Lauren Winterbottom, the circular economy will be an area of focus for the event, which is slated for 20-21 September 2023 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“We are specifically looking to showcase companies that manufacture solutions for the construction industry out of recycled products,” she says. “We know this is a component of many major contract tenders now, and one that will only grow.”

Winterbottom says this push for sustainability in construction is central to the event’s ‘Engineering the Future’ theme – one that will revolve around a showcase for the achievements and opportunities presented by Victoria’s Big Build.

“Victoria’s Big Build program is ploughing ahead with speed,” Winterbottom says. “Inside Construction Expo will provide a platform to explore these projects, and a forum to connect equipment companies with the contractors who have won tenders to work on these major infrastructure projects.”

One such project, the construction of the Mordialloc Freeway in Melbourne’s south east, is often held up as an example of how the Recycled First Policy can be implemented effectively.

According to Victoria’s Big Build, the project was responsible for recycling 570 tonnes of plastic waste into noise walls; laid 75 tonnes of 100 per cent recycled plastic draining pipes; used more than 321 tonnes of sustainable roadbase and asphalt – including more than 202 million bottles worth of recycled glass; and diverted 97 per cent of its construction waste from landfill.

Elsewhere, groups are working tirelessly to boost the uptake of end-of-life tyre-derived

crumb rubber in road construction.

Winterbottom hopes Inside Construction Expo can help play a part in showcasing the benefits of this push for circularity in construction, and keep the wheel of demand turning for recycled products.

“It’s important to us that the event is contributing to the future growth of the industry,” she says. “And it’s clear that in order for that to be the case, we need to ensure that companies providing these environmentally friendly solutions have a seat at the table.”

BACK ON SITE

In 2022 the construction industry faced its share of challenges – many of which could last through 2023 and beyond. Skilled labour shortages and supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 have forced the sector to adapt and evolve to keep pace with a booming national infrastructure pipeline.

Winterbottom says there is no better time for a new in-person event such as Inside Construction Expo, not only to provide a forum for discussion around these challenges, but to celebrate those who have overcome them.

“The past two and a half years have shown us that people value in-person events more than ever,” she says. “While virtual events helped to fill the void, they just can’t compare to a face-to-face networking opportunity.

“Inside Construction Expo will provide a forum to address some of the big challenges facing the construction and infrastructure industry, and to help ensure that the future of the sector is strong.”

The two-day event will feature more than 100 speakers across four streams, an awards gala, and more than 15,000 square metres of exhibition space, including a large construction equipment showcase – one Winterbottom hopes will turn some heads.

“We want to do everything we can to help connect our exhibitors with their target customers,” she says. “We’re always thrilled when exhibitors tell us they’ve sold a piece of equipment or signed a new supply contract as a result of their participation in an expo. It reinforces that we’re bringing value back to the industry, and helping it to grow.”

For more information, visit: www.insideconstructionexpo.com.au

The event will showcase Victoria’s Big Build program, its achievements, and the opportunities it offers the industry.

BOOST EFFICIENCY

ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE

HEARS FROM GLENN BUSUTTIL, CORANGAMITE TEAM LEADER WASTE, ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SHIRE’S NEWEST KOMATSU D85EXI-18 DOZER.

In September 2019, the Shire of Corangamite took delivery of a Komatsu D85EXi-18 dozer fitted with intelligent Machine Control (iMC) to work on its landfill operation at Naroghid, the Corangamite Regional Landfill.

The council is using the new technology to carry out landfill cell construction and waste management efficiently at a lower cost.

It is also taking the opportunity to introduce new technology to its own workers and operators, giving them added skills and expertise they can use in their careers.

The landfill operation is on a 39 hectare

site, and handles around 32,000 tonnes of waste to landfill material a year, not only for Corangamite residents, but also for the adjacent shires of Warrnambool and Colac Otway and Southern Grampians.

During the drier summer months, the dozer is being used for construction of the waste cells and leachate ponds.

Year-round, it is used for pushing and spreading waste material, covering it each day with 300 millimetres of daily cover material, then capping the waste with materials, including clay and topsoil once each cell is filled.

Glenn Busuttil, Corangamite’s Team Leader Waste at the Corangamite Regional Landfill,

explains the Komatsu iMC dozer has proved to be very successful in both applications.

“When we construct new cells, we work to strict design requirements for their shape, things like 3:1 batters, batter heights, and how high the rubbish can go,” he says.

Over the past eight years, Corangamite has brought in contractors and surveyors to carry out this cell construction work. It’s now able to work by transferring the designs to the iMC dozer’s onboard system, with the dozer then working in with the scrapers and excavators that are also used for the cell construction.

The iMC dozer was also used to place a capping layer consisting of 1.5 metres of

The Shire of Corangamite has been using a Komatsu D85EXi-18 dozer fitted with intelligent Machine Control (iMC) to work on its landfill operation at Naroghid, the Corangamite Regional Landfill, and is seeing outstanding results.

waste cell.

“Doing these jobs this time, once we had the design, we had a surveyor working with us, helping to calibrate the machine, and checking all the as-builts it was generating as we went.

“It was a much faster job with this technology. What was previously a 10-week job on constructing the cell, we completed in around six weeks.,” Busuttil says, showing a 40 per cent productivity improvement.

Busuttil explained the dozer’s iMC technology and how it makes dayto-day landfill operations faster and more efficient.

“Each day, we spread out the waste we’ve received, then cover it with 300 millimetres of soil. The technology’s able to help with that and make sure that it’s more accurate.

“One issue with waste is that, due to its nature, you can’t put in pegs and stringlines, so typically we’ve had to put in a windrow of clay each day to give us a rough level to work off. Having the iMC machine do this makes it all much faster and more accurate.

“In addition, the dozer can also take the levels of waste that we’re putting down, using the RLs to give us the as-builts. Each month, we give these to the surveyors, and because we know the volumes of waste we’re receiving, we can work out

our compaction rates over the site, how much waste we can get into a certain area,” he says.

The iMC dozer offers potential safety advantages, says Busuttil. At present, Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and auditing requirements mean that a surveyor has to walk over the waste, and work around the machines doing cell construction.

Busuttil says that while the primary goal has been to work more efficiently, save money and carry out this work faster, the council’s ambition has also been for its own operators and workers be able to do the job themselves, rather than being contracted work.

“All our operators are local people, and they’ve not had the opportunity to work with this technology before, we’ve never had it on our machines at the landfill previously.

“This opportunity to train our own local people, our own council employees is really exciting. And they absolutely love it; now they feel they can operate equipment on a range of sites and to a high level in the future,” he says.

Corangamite’s D85EXi-18 iMC dozer replaces another Komatsu D85 it had for 13 years, which had worked around 15,000 hours.

“We decided on another Komatsu because we’d always had good service and performance with the other one, plus we wanted the inbuilt GPS.

“The technology is absolutely proving itself for this application. And once we bring in our own base station, which we’re planning to do, that will take us to a whole new level.”

Busuttil says the efficiency of the new technology is helping save time and money.

“Applying this technology lets us deliver more efficient waste management for our ratepayers and adjacent councils, it is a better use of resources, and it’s saving money.

“We don’t want to have to do things twice because it wasn’t right the first time; that’s wasting money.

“Now our operators know how far to go with waste spreading and compaction, with the earthworks design, because they can get it right the first time, every time. That’s a big saving for us.”

“WE DECIDED ON ANOTHER KOMATSU BECAUSE WE’D ALWAYS HAD GOOD SERVICE AND PERFORMANCE WITH THE OTHER ONE, PLUS WE WANTED THE INBUILT GPS.”

The dozer’s iMC technology is making the day-to-day landfill operations faster and more efficient for Corangamite Shire.

QUALITY, AS STANDARD

ASTEC INDUSTRIES’ RP-170EX RUBBER TYRED PAVER HAS GIVEN CENTRE LINE PAVING THE KEY TO UNLOCKING A HIGHER VOLUME OF WORKS ACROSS SYDNEY. ASTEC’S JORGE BOIL AND CENTRE LINE PAVING OWNER DAVID GARDNER EXPLAIN WHAT SETS THE RP-170EX APART FROM THE REST.

2022 was a significant year for Centre Line Paving. The team celebrated the company’s 25th anniversary, a wellearned milestone for the third-generation local paving company based in Penrith, Western Sydney.

The year also marked the beginning of what owner David Gardner considers to be an excellent professional partnership between Centre Line Paving and Astec Industries.

As Gardner recalls, the desire to upgrade from an older piece of machinery led to the company’s purchase of its first-ever Astec machine.

“I’d developed a plan to replace our frontline machinery every few years,” he says. “Reliability was probably the biggest

thing for us when we were first looking for a new paver.”

He says that commitment to reliability has helped the company make its mark in the New South Wales road construction industry.

Working on commercial, residential and council projects, the company predominantly utilises its own paving and roller fleet, while also occasionally hiring machinery.

Centre Line Paving has been responsible for the completion of a range of projects across metropolitan Sydney, including mill and fill, deep-lifting, footpaths and commercial and residential car parks.

Now, with Astec’s Roadtec RP-170ex rubber tyred asphalt paver, the company has access to a machine capable of undertaking not only residential works, but highway works as well.

CLASS ALL ROUND

One of three rubber tyred pavers in Astec’s RP range, the RP-170ex’s innovative design replaces conventional tracks with high flotation sand rib drive tyres.

Jorge Boil, Astec Business Line Manager –Infrastructure, says the design change increases the traction, manoeuvrability and rideability of the paver.

“Operators can achieve greater traction by partly filling the flotation tyres with water which increases the contact area on the ground. And that’s very useful where the ground is covered in loose material,” he says.

“With these tyres the machine also has a great turning cycle, which is ideal for industrial applications.”

Adding further to the increased rideability

Thanks to its rubber tyres, the RP-170ex paver can achieve greater traction and control for the operator.

to maintain visibility while completing passes. Seats on the operating platform are also adjustable and have their own suspension.

“The operator can jump between the two seats on the operating platform. That gives a lot of extra vision to the edge and the front of the paver,” Boil says.

Gardner says the RP-170ex’s hydraulic swing system is a far cry from other machinery he’s used previously.

“The older paver in our fleet had the hydraulic swing, but this system is much simpler to operate. The other machine had quite a lot of mechanisms involved in that swing,” he says. “With the RP-170ex, all you have to do is press a button and both platforms swing out.”

Visibility is also enhanced by Astec’s fume extraction system which helps maintain a clear view to both augers and the front of the machine. As part of the system, two fans redirect potentially hazardous fumes through the front engine hood.

Fitted with a powerful Cummins Tier III QSB6.7 – 174 horsepower engine, the RP-170ex boasts a paving speed of 91 metres per hour.

And with a front hopper capacity of 11.5 tonnes and maximum paving width of 6.7 metres, the RP-170ex is suitable for both residential and highway paving jobs.

Boil believes this versatility, as well as the after-sales support offered by Astec, were defining factors in Centre Line Paving’s decision to go with the RP-170ex.

“Our Roadtec pavers are built to last,” Boil says. “There are examples of units 15 years or older still running as front-line pavers. Plus all our equipment comes with outstanding after-

impressed, especially with the RP-170ex.”

The RP-170ex has also been designed with maintenance in mind. Ease of access to essential components can take the stress out of repairs, as Boil explains.

“We have a push-button electric over hydraulic lift for the engine hood. Once the operator lifts that, they have easy access to all the pumps, motor and engine. It’s very friendly when it comes to serviceability,” he says.

“And our local warehouse is stocked with an ample supply of major components such as motors and pumps, so spare parts are on hand and reasonably priced.”

KEEPING OPTIONS OPEN

Each paver in the RP range – including the

or dual grade control and slope control, or via manual control.

The S-8, EZIV-8 and Eagle 8 screeds all come in varying width options, as do the pavers themselves. Astec also offers a hydraulic screed boost package that pressurises the screed lift cylinders when the paver is in neutral. This feature supports an adjustable time for pressure release when the attachment is in a forward motion.

“The CarlsonEZIV-8 screed is renowned for quality, and it’s become the preferred screed in the marketplace. That could be due to its front-mounted screed extensions or because it’s a vibration-only screed,” Boil says. “But operators love the EZIV.”

Gardner says Centre Line Paving has benefitted from the flexibility provided by Astec’s screed range.

“The ease of maintaining a consistent depth and making adjustments to the screed has been great,” he says.

ASTEC IN MIND

Gardner says both the level of service and support Astec has provided, and the performance of the RP-170ex, have been “really impressive”.

“We could definitely be going back to Astec,” he says. “We’re looking at buying a smaller machine not too far down the track.”

“And if we were to replace the RP-170ex in a few years, it’d be with a similar sized unit.”

According to Gardner, Centre Line Paving has an “exciting” pipeline of projects coming up in 2023.

“One of our first jobs with the new paver was a section at Boundary Road,” he says.

Centre Line Paving will use its RP-170ex paver for works across Western Sydney.

The RP-170ex rubber tyred paver features a hydraulic swing system as part of the operator platform.

30 YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY

SOME OF POSITION PARTNERS’ MOST EXPERIENCED FIELD TECHNICIANS AND INSTALLERS LOOK BACK ON UNIQUE AND CHALLENGING YEARS IN THE MACHINE GUIDANCE TECHNOLOGY FITTING, FOR THE EARTHMOVING AND MINING PLANT INDUSTRIES.

With more than 30 years in the industry, Position Partners has forged a reputation for getting the most challenging machines up and running.

Gary Campbell, General Manager for the company’s Integrated Solutions Group, says that Position Partners have held the ability to offer integrated machine systems for years.

“We’ve been integrating machine control to most of the leading brands for decades,” Campbell says.

“We can plugin to the machine’s on-board system, integrate with the valve control, use the built-in switches, so that for an operator the system feels like it’s part of the machine, not an add-on.”

EXPERIENCED FIELD TECHNICIANS

Roberto Cecchele in Position Partners’ Perth team says that when he joined the company 15 years ago he felt that it was his job to keep the promises the Position Partners’ salesman were making.

“A member of the sales team used to make some interesting promises and I felt it was my job to deliver on them,” Cecchele says.

“I soon learnt that for a non-standard machine that we’d never done before, I could

automotive mechanic and the time he’s spent living and working in remote aboriginal communities has stood him in good stead for this work.

“When you’re working out in the bush with very limited tools, you need to think out of the box and make something happen,” he says.

Jay Fletcher, Leading Hand for Brisbane’s Field Install team, agrees that outside the box thinking is critical.

“You also need a high level of tenacity and

keep going and get it done anyway.”

Fletcher says he is familiar with having to think on his feet after completed machine installs all over the world.

“I remember a job in Sumatra, Indonesia for a Dayco grader, a machine we’d never fitted before. I was told we had everything, all the hoses and parts we needed, but until I lay eyes on the machine myself, I’m always sceptical,” he says.

“As it turned out I was right to be. We didn’t have what we needed and trying to

Gary Campbell, General Manager – Integrated Solutions Group.

Position Partners’ Roberto Cecchele.

Jay Fletcher, Leading Hand – Brisbane’s Field Install Team.

Position Partners’ Jeff Bratton.

Position Partners’ field technicians have experience in tailoring systems for a variety of machinery classes and sizes.

get the parts and having to make up fittings on the island with the language barrier was very challenging. But tenacity, outside the box thinking and perseverance got the job done.”

With skills aside, Cecchele says that when it comes to getting machines up and running, it’s good to have a trade qualification behind you along with teamwork, to see a successful outcome.

“A background in mechanics, electronics, or really any trade that demonstrates you can take a concept or design and build something from it, is key,” Cecchele says. “I’ve had an architect join our team before and do extremely well, you just need the ability to understand how things work and be open to learning.”

“It’s like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. Everyone brings different parts and together you make the whole. You have some of the pieces to get started, then another person can help fill in some gaps and so on until everything fits together.”

NON-STANDARD MACHINES

Some form of factory-fitted machine guidance systems are now standard on projects. These kits are now standard on the most popular machine types by manufacturers including Caterpillar, Komatsu and John Deere.

Gary Campbell says he’s fitted a wide variety of machines.

“There’s a big list of machines we’ve

done over time: skid steers with multiple attachments; trimmers; trenchers; concrete and asphalt pavers; kerbing machines; profilers; scrapers; terrain levellers; texturing machines, the list goes on,” he says.

“Put it this way: if it’s got a cutting edge and it moves dirt, we can measure it.”

Roberto Cecchele adds that his most unique setup to date was for a three-wheel motorbike and a tow-behind scoop that was used to accurately shape bunkers on a golf course.

“The system we fitted was worth more than the machinery combined, but it was a prestige golf course, and they wanted their bunkers to be built with precision,” he says. A huge advantage of aftermarket technology such as Topcon is the ability to swap components between machines.

“Even compared with other aftermarket systems, Topcon is unique in its ability to build a solution and swap things in and out or across different machines,” Campbell says.

“Factory-fit options are limited to the machine they are installed on, whereas Topcon can be put on any machine with a cutting edge and also swapped between

machines to make a customer’s money go further.”

Roberto Cecchele says the flexibility of Topcon components also enables Position Partners to perfectly match a solution to the customer’s application.

“You can start with a 2D system, where you put sensors on the machine, such as a grader, that tell you where the blade is,” he says.

“From there, you can add slope control on one or both sides, or laser control to give you elevation. Then you could put on a sonic sensor for surface elevation, or a slope sensor depending on the job you are doing.”

“You can build further on a 2D system and make it 3D, by adding GPS, total station positioning, or Topcon’s unique Millimetre GPS that uses both GPS and an ultraprecise laser transmitter. I don’t think any other supplier can match the flexibility and compatibility with all machines that Topcon has,” he says.

A CATALOGUE OF FIRSTS

Jeff Bratton has been with Position Partners for more than 20 years. He says the team automated machines decades before the

“WE PIONEERED BUILDING LASER TRACTORS BACK IN THE EARLY 90S FOR USE ON HOUSE PADS AND SPORTING FIELDS – NOW IT’S BECOME ITS OWN MINI-INDUSTRY WITH SEVERAL OPTIONS AND SUPPLIERS ON THE MARKET.”

OEMs started introducing systems, and that the late 1990s to early 2000s was a period of significant innovation and firsts for the company.

Bratton recalls some elevating scrapers that the team automated back in the early days of GPS.

Another first was an 825 compactor for AbiGroup, again in the early 2000s.

After doing research in Australia and with manufacturers around the world, the team realised it had never been attempted before.

“It was very successful and nowadays it’s quite common for us to fit machine systems to compactors, but back then it was a first not just in Australia, but in the world,” Bratton says.

The late 90s also saw the team’s first automated drott, or track loader.

In the same decade, Bratton says Position Partners was the first to automate road headers for controlling floors on the M5 East tunnel project in Sydney.

“That involved designing a whole hydraulics system, getting it fitted and getting it to work,” he says.

“Those machines are also unique in the way they work, so we had to control the hydraulic flow to get fine corrections on the cutting edge. That required a lot of head scratching, but we got it running well.”

“I believe that’s one of the few times a road header has been automated anywhere in the world.”

In the early 2000s Position Partners automated the first D11R dozers to accurately measure the level of coal on a rail loader. Bratton says customers were having challenges with high grade coal getting mixed

overseas,” he says.

On a 992 push-blade dozer that was controlling ash on a power plant, Bratton and the Sydney team were called in as the customer was experiencing fortnightly truck roll overs due to the ash not being smooth and consistent.

“We designed an entire hydraulic system including pumps, tanks and valves to interface to the machine,” he says.

“After the install, the truck rollovers stopped completely, so it had a dramatic safety impact for the customer. It was a first for us in terms of the machine and the application it was being used for.”

A lot of the technology Position Partners was offering was unique at the time but has since become commonplace, Bratton adds.

“We pioneered building laser tractors back in the early 90s for use on house pads and sporting fields – now it’s become its own mini-industry with several options and suppliers on the market,” he says.

“Another example would be automated, laser-controlled trenchers, which we started doing in the 90s and they’ve now become factory-installed options by the manufacturers.”

Bratton says Topcon’s flexible componentry matched with experience in the industry by the Position Partners team, means the

Position Partners’ team in the field is capable of installing and fitting unique machine guidance technologies.

THE BEST WAY FORWARD

FLOCON ENGINEERING’S FORWARD-MOVING AGGREGATE SPREADER WAS DEVELOPED OUT OF NECESSITY. NOW THE MACHINE HAS BECOME ONE OF THE PREMIER OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THE MARKET, ACCORDING TO DIRECTOR RORY KNIGHT.

As Rory Knight recalls, 2017 was a year that had a lasting effect on the road construction, maintenance and rehabilitation industries.

“We were a bit shocked to be honest and surprised in the direction that the Victorian Government took. But we understood the safety aspect of the decision,” he says.

In 2017 the Victorian Government announced VicRoads Standard 408 clause 408.11, which required companies to design and manufacture forward-moving aggregate spreading machines, effectively outlawing conventional reversing aggregate spreading machinery.

From the announcement, companies

had five years to prepare. Luckily Flocon Engineering already had decades of experience, as well as the support of Australian manufacturers and partners to develop a suitable machine.

As the Director and a third-generation employee of Flocon Engineering, Knight’s know-how allowed the company to tackle the challenge head on.

“We just had to move with the times and meet the demand,” he says. “We already had knowledge in designing and manufacturing machinery like our aggregate emulsion sealing units, so our approach was to keep it simple.”

“We didn’t want to overcomplicate it.”

This philosophy guided the initial development of the forward-moving spreader, with the first prototype finished in October 2019.

“As soon as the first prototype was completed, we went out for testing straight away,” Knight says.

Flocon Engineering supplied the prototype to a long-term customer, who put the machine through its paces.

Knight says the performance of the machine through these trials were “very positive”.

“The biggest surprise for us was that after the first prototype was built and tested, the first load was actually spread perfectly

Flocon Engineering’s forward-moving aggregate spreader.

capable of towing and has a legal payload of 10 tonnes with the current model.

When fitted with an aggregate spreader to the truck, the machine’s maximum spreading width is 2700 millimetres. This can be increased to 4900 millimetres when spreading with a self-propelled chipping spreader. And for full width spreads, two split hydraulic augers can be installed, to support the spread of material.

KEEPING IN CONTROL

Simplicity and technology were two of the biggest focus areas for Flocon Engineering,

complete control that operators can have just from the cabin. There’s no need for the operator to remove themselves from the vehicle when it’s in operation, or even on the jobsite to check settings manually,” Knight says.

The automatic control system also enables the user to influence the feed of material to the spreader box.

Knight says feedback from customers has centred around the simplicity and ease of use provided by the unit.

When it comes to quality, components

This hasn’t stopped Flocon Engineering from further developing the machine however, as Knight explains.

which is why the company includes an ‘automatic control system’ as standard.

The automatic control system is similar to the unit deployed in Flocon Engineering’s other machinery, which provides insights into the hydraulic pressures, mechanical faults, temperatures and more.

Knight says the system in the forwardmoving spreader performs a similar function, except with further parameters.

“The system can be set up with parameters already set, so the user can just adjust the spread ratio within millimetre

designed and manufactured by Flocon Engineering are “thoroughly” checked. Therefore, ensuring the machine follows the VicRoads standard, as well as best practice available in the marketplace.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

Despite having an international presence in nations such as New Zealand, China and the United Kingdom, Knight says the forward-moving aggregate spreader is best suited and predominantly used in the Australian market.

“We’re waiting to get in a new demo unit and we’re pretty close to getting that on the road. We’ve got quite a few customers waiting to do some trials on that,” he says.

“We also have more developments for the forward-moving aggregate spreader in the works, but we’re keeping those under wraps for the moment.”

The machine also comes with support from the company’s qualified service and spare parts representatives.

“We’ve already got some on the road and we’ve got plenty more to build, which is great,” Knight says.

The forward-moving aggregate spreader’s internal system allows the operator to adjust the parameters and spreading width of the material.

The first prototype of the forward-moving aggregate spreader was finished in 2019.

“THE SYSTEM CAN BE SET UP WITH PARAMETERS ALREADY SET, SO THE USER CAN JUST ADJUST THE SPREAD RATIO WITHIN MILLIMETRE INCREMENTS.”

THE ELECTRIC FUTURE

THE SY19E IS SANY’S NEW AND ADVANCED ELECTRIC POWERED MACHINE BEING INTRODUCED TO AUSTRALIA FOR ALL DEMANDS AND CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS, MAKING IT THE LATEST ADDITION TO THE ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE SERIES.

With the rise of ecofriendly machinery across the construction precinct, construction machinery manufacturers including SANY, have established solutions to adopt and further support a greener future. SANY’s new and advanced eco-friendly SY19E excavator is a part of the step towards sustainability and its coming to Australia.

SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION

With the rise of eco-friendly machinery across the construction precinct, construction machinery manufacturers including SANY, have established solutions to adopt and further benefit a greener future.

I n recent years, the move for a sustainable future has scaled to new heights, with the desire to help the environment continuously grow each day. For that reason, SANY has been

standing by its commitment to improve the environment.

This determination to provide an environmentally friendly and sustainable product helped to drive both the design and production of the SANY SY19E, which will officially be the newest edition of SANY electric powered mini excavators. The combination of electric energy and the mini compact size will make this excavator a new construction partner on all projects.

General Manager of SANY Australia, Nitin Khanna says the new machine represents the future of sustainable construction equipment.

“It’s efficient engine and compact design make it a suitable option for construction projects of all shapes

and sizes,” Khanna says.

“This new excavator delivers the next level of performance, and we are counting down the days until we can get shipments to our valuable customers in Australia.”

INNOVATIVE POWER

The electric powered SY19E is designed with an innovated battery pack that can be easily charged for usage. The single battery charge is enough to last throughout the day with more than six hours of continuous usage available, with additional options for rapid recharge if required.

The battery pack is charged using a standard 220-volt household socket, a 380-volt three-phase current or a rapid

“IT’S EFFICIENT ENGINE AND COMPACT DESIGN MAKE IT A SUITABLE OPTION FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.”

An electric powered tomorrow has come today.

SANY’s SY19E offers enhanced performance and high power with zero-emissions.

charging station for passenger vehicles. With new and advanced technology, this excavator has also been fitted with a high-resolution seven-inch touchscreen display.

Compared with previous SANY mini excavators, the SY19E highly effective battery consumes around 30 per cent less energy than the SY16C and reduces

maintenance costs by over 80 per cent. General Manager of YELLO Equipment Andy Hopcroft was first to confirm the new edition to the YELLO Equipment range.

“YELLO Equipment eagerly welcome this addition to the fleet and look forward to the successes that lie ahead with this piece of machinery. The

enhanced capabilities that this machine will bring to the fleet is phenomenal, and we can’t wait to get our hands on it,” he says.

The excavator can be used for an array of construction applications, significantly night-time construction, thanks to zero noise pollution and exhaust fumes. The operator can have peace of mind knowing the machine can work effortlessly through the day and night for all requirements.

The no-fuel system means the SY19E can be used in sensitive environments and can ensure no leaks. The compatibility of this machine has been designed to enable the usage of indoor and outdoor construction, with a transport of 3624 millimetres in length and 1350 millimetres in width.

All new SANY SY19E excavators are expected to enter Australia in the near future.

“THE EXCAVATOR CAN BE USED FOR AN ARRAY OF CONSTRUCTION APPLICATIONS, SIGNIFICANTLY NIGHT-TIME CONSTRUCTION, THANKS TO ZERO NOISE POLLUTION AND EXHAUST FUMES.”

The new SANY mini excavator impresses with advanced technology.

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FAMILY RESILIENCE

MATTHEWS BROTHERS

Since 1921, Matthews Brothers Engineering (MBE) has specialised in road making equipment and machinery – designed and manufactured locally for Australian businesses.

From its Altona North headquarters in Melbourne’s west, the family business supplies a range of bitumen sprayers and trailers, aggregate spreaders, melting tanks, and more.

According to Sales and Operations Manager Sally Rolfe, MBE owes the longevity of the business to its family values.

“Matthews Brothers Engineering is a third-generation family business,” Rolfe says. “It’s been family owned and operated for 102 years.”

She says the business began a transition into a new era in 2019 when Paul Matthews stepped into the Managing Director role following the passing of brothers Noel and Ray Matthews – son and nephew of original co-founders Roy and Vic Matthews respectively.

Richard Bailey had come on board a few years earlier as an understudy to Ray –formerly MBE’s Chief Engineer – prior to Ray’s passing.

Bailey then took on a dual General Manager and Design Manager role when Paul Matthews became Managing Director, which Bailey says triggered a big reshuffle in how the business worked.

“Paul traditionally ran the shop floor –he’s very hands on, a real technical guru,” Bailey says.

With Rolfe since coming on board to help manage operations, MBE is now powering ahead as efficiently as ever before, with its Altona North headquarters constantly abuzz with activity.

“We run the business out of here, we’ve got design teams here, and then there’s the actual shop floor where we manufacture everything,” Bailey says. “We also do service and maintenance here, and any general upkeep of our sprayers.”

MBE also runs a second site down the road in Williamstown, where the tanks themselves are manufactured and water tested, before

being fitted onto vehicles in Altona North.

“A couple of years ago, we invested quite a bit in new equipment for the Williamstown site,” Bailey says. “We built two brand new tank rotators – for a total of three – to increase our production capacity.

“We had been looking into the business to find where our bottlenecks were. Because we originally had just a single rotator, we could have a million orders and a million staff and still only be able to manufacture one tank at a time.

“And since making the decision to address this, the business has gone from strength to strength.”

LOCAL SUPPORT

This dedication to local manufacturing has been at the core of MBE’s values from

the start.

“We take pride in what we produce,” Bailey says. “We will go out of the way to support our product because we believe in it, and we want it to be the market leader.”

Rolfe adds that the business always endeavours to support other Australian businesses wherever possible.

“We’re very proud of our Australian-made registration, and the fact that we build our products to meet Australian standards, and for Australian conditions,” she says.

“We’re a unique country. Our customers are out there building roads in the middle of outback Australia, so we have to supply something that can operate in extreme conditions.”

MBE’s dog trailer bitumen tankers are the latest example of a product engineered not

ENGINEERING’S AUSTRALIAN-MADE ROAD CONSTRUCTION SOLUTIONS ARE BUILT ON MORE THAN 100 YEARS OF EXPERTISE, PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS.

Rolfe says MBE prioritises family values and local manufacturing.

just for the specific needs of local customers, but also for an evolving road industry.

These trailers offer additional payload capacity for bitumen sprayers – especially helpful for work in regional and remote areas.

“The most basic model is essentially just a big bitumen tank with its own heating system – so it can independently get the product up to temperature,” Bailey says.

From here, the range scales gradually up until you reach MBE’s premium dog trailer – what Rolfe calls “the king of bitumen tankers”.

“This has a big engine on the front that drives a system of paddle agitators as well as the burner system,” she says.

Combined with its own dedicated pump system, these features make MBE’s premium dog trailer suitable for managing bitumen blends containing crumb rubber, which Bailey says are becoming increasingly popular due to its sustainability benefits.

“For crumb rubber blends, it’s very important that you keep it equally distributed,” he says. “You can’t allow it to settle because it starts to separate.

“Our agitator paddles can keep it moving and at the right temperature so that it’s ready for use at any moment.”

Like all MBE products, the dog trailers can also be tailored to suit a customer’s needs – whether it’s different tank sizes, axle configurations, or something less conventional.

“We’re not just a manufacturing business – we’re an engineering business,” Bailey says. “We have our range of typical designs, but if you come to us with something completely

new, we can respond to that too.”

Rolfe says each standard design also has around 30 optional extras, so nothing ever goes out the door exactly the same.

“Our products are always evolving and improving due to our ability to customise,” she says. “Because if a bespoke feature for one client works really well and gets great feedback, it can become an option for others.”

FAMILY STRONG

MBE has also recently invested in the modernisation of other operations within the business to “bring it into the 21st century”.

“This meant updating systems, bringing in tighter internal procedures – all that sort of stuff,” Bailey says.

He says these efforts have paid off with MBE’s customer relationships.

“We’re a lot more organised with documentation – user manuals are now digitised and easily accessible, and we’re even doing instructional videos,” Bailey says.

“It’s a lot of stuff we’ve never really tapped into before, and I think that’s valuable for our customers.”

Rolfe says it’s all about using technology to streamline business operations, while maintaining that customer-focused “family business” approach that MBE has always taken pride in.

“We want to keep that relationship management side very strong, but built on a more robust, better documented, procedural foundation,” she says.

“The Matthews Brothers name has been

around for a long time, and our customers expect us to be accessible, direct, and flexible. There’s not a lot of red tape when you need to reach out to us – you’ll be talking to the people making the decisions. So, we can be very reactive and proactive to our customers’ needs.”

Bailey says MBE has also taken care to maintain a positive and family-friendly work culture.

“I have four daughters, and Sally has a son and daughter too,” he says. “We understand life goes on outside of work, and we’re very accommodating because of that.

“It’s an underlying culture that the everyday customer may not see, but I think it trickles down and helps improve the overall quality of what we produce.”

Despite these big changes, MBE has naturally not been immune to the challenges of the past few years, and the supply chain chaos that continues to plague many industries.

“For example, we’re waiting on chassis that are just doing circles out in the bay as we speak,” Bailey says. “There’s just so much stuff coming into the country at the moment.”

Bailey says that for himself and Rolfe, stepping into their respective roles was something of a baptism by fire.

“It’s been challenging – but in a fun way,” he says. “As they say – smooth seas never made for a skilled sailor.

“But navigating these challenges together gives us the confidence to say: we’ve made it through COVID, now we feel like we can take on anything that’s thrown at us.”

MBE’s premium dog trailer features a dedicated engine for driving agitator paddles and a pump system.

NEW

HEIGHTS

CEA’S GREG SEALEY TELLS ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE WHAT JCB’S FORAY INTO ELECTRIC SCISSOR LIFTS MEANS FOR ITS AUSTRALIAN CUSTOMERS.

“THE RANGE IS ALSO COMPATIBLE WITH THE JCB LIVELINK TELEMATICS SYSTEM – AN ADDED BONUS FOR ANY CUSTOMER A LREADY MANAGING A FLEET OF JCB MACHINES.”

“Australia is a big access platform market too, and we don’t see that slowing down any time soon. So, we’re taking the opportunity to reach new customers that we don’t typically sell to.”

LEVERAGING

QUALITY

According to JCB, the electric scissor range is 100 per cent electric, built with high quality componentry, and designed for operator ease-of-use, ergonomics, and safety. The range is also compatible with the JCB LiveLink

telematics system – an added bonus for any customer already managing a fleet of JCB machines.

Sealey expects the 5.71-metre S1930E compact scissor lift and the 7.91-metre S2632E scissor lift to be among the best sellers in the JCB electric scissor range.

“Those two sizes make up more than 60 per cent of this market overall, and are also the most competitive segment,” he says. “Rental businesses are our initial target, where we can focus on customers who aren’t necessarily

Sealey expects the 5.71-metre S1930E compact scissor lift to be a popular option.

aligned to a specific brand, but who are looking to work with a highly professional business – one that can offer a diverse mix of products, as well as the capacity to provide next-level service and support.

“The access platform market is very mature with a number of main players cemented in the space,” Sealey says. “So, for us the challenge is around differentiating ourselves to be able to compete with the cheaper, lower ‘spec’ product being introduced into our market.

“We can’t necessarily compete on price with those products, so we are leveraging our relationships and reputation for good service with our customers to make inroads in that way.”

Though it’s still early days for JCB electric scissors in Australia, Sealey says the early signs have been good.

“We’ve really only just entered the market, at the moment we have units out on trial for customer feedback,” he says. “But so far, our customers’ experiences have been positive, particularly with

regard to overall quality and usability.

Once the word gets out, Sealey expects that the electric scissor range will quickly settle into its place among the existing range of JCB machines –backed by dedicated sales and product

support experts, as well as CEA’s existing Australia-wide network for parts.

“JCB and CEA have been represented in the Australian market for a very long time, and we’ve always stood by the equipment we distribute,” he says.

“I believe CEA’s ever-growing presence in the market across all our brands instils a level of confidence in the machines we sell, as well as the back-up service and support we provide.”

“I BELIEVE CEA’S EVER-GROWING PRESENCE IN THE MARKET ACROSS ALL OUR BRANDS INSTILS A LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE IN THE MACHINES WE SELL, AS WELL AS THE BACK-UP SERVICE AND SUPPORT WE PROVIDE.”

CEA and JCB are targeting new industries and customer bases with the electric scissor range.

JCB’s electric scissors are supported by the established CEA network for parts and support.

DO YOU KNOW A DRIVER OF CHANGE?

WOMEN IN INDUSTRY NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN. Now is your chance to nominate an industry leader who you believe is advocating for positive change and deserves to be recognised.

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BACKWARDS NOT A STEP

SINCE ITS INTRODUCTION IN 2022, THE ROAD ANT HAS BECOME ONE OF THE PREFERRED OPTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO FORWARD MOVING AGGREGATE SPREADERS, AS ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE LEARNS FROM CREATORS QUALITY FABRICATION & ENGINEERING, AS WELL AS ITS PARTNERS AND CUSTOMERS.

VicRoads is responsible for the management of 173,533,000 metres squared of regional road networks in Victoria annually (Department of Transport Annual report 2021 -2022).

Management of these roads requires repairs and maintenance year-round in areas across the state, in varying climates and terrain.

The Victorian Department of Transport’s mandate of the use of forward-moving aggregate spreaders on its spray seal sites was introduced in July 2022 to modernise and increase the safety of these operations.

To answer the call, Quality Fabrication & Engineering (Q-FE) developed the Road Ant, a dual-control, forward-moving aggregate spreader built to comply with VicRoads Standard 408.11.

David Lockwood, QF-E Head of Sales, says an increasing number of Victorian councils are adding forwardmoving aggregate spreaders into their

specifications for local spray sealing works. “Clearly there’s now a strong case for council boards and executives to adopt the industry’s best practise and to avoid the possibility of workplace accidents as we know our Road Ant is now proven and reliable,” he says.

We have taken the guess work out of forward-moving aggregate spreaders and the difficulty of moving heavy aggregate over a truck’s wheelbase safely and securely.”

The Road Ant features both a front and rear cabin with full operation of the truck, spreader and safety controls from either end, eliminating the need to spread in ‘reverse’. The rear cabin is also dual control, enabling operation from either the leftor right-hand side for a clear view of the spread line.

The Road Ant can be used in the spray sealing off season as the machine can be used for other works, as Q-FE General Manager Glenn Hardiman explains.

“The spray sealing season lasts from about six to eight months of the year, so the Q-FE team designed the Road Ant to be functional for 365 days a year, and to have alternative practical uses, such as a conventional transporting vehicle or a paver feeder. This allows the machine to continue providing value in the off season,” he says.

“We think people are impressed by the versatility of the machine and that it can accept alternative attachments and be used for other works such as asphalting, shoulder work, and traditional spreading of crushed rock.”

To date, Q-FE have delivered 15 Road Ants with another 10 set to be delivered to spray seal contractors.

“It’s been pleasing to see that our Road Ant has been accepted by the industry; we are no longer in the research and development phase and are scaling up manufacturing to meet demand,” Hardiman says.

Three Road Ant units on site.

ABOUT TROUT

During the early stages of development, the team at QF-E set out to develop a suitable rear body that could support required components as well as optional attachments.

This development led the team to Trout River Australia, a specialised manufacturer of live bottom conveyor systems.

Rodney Wells, General Manager – Trout River, says the initial Road Ant concept stood out from the get-go.

“We’d been approached by some companies whose concept placed a chipspreading box at the front of the truck and delivering the product from a body behind the cabin,” Wells says.

“We couldn’t see a way of making that work with larger aggregate sizes. There was also the issue of potentially having too much weight on the steer axles. QF-E came along in 2019 and we felt that they had the best design that we had seen. After that, we agreed to help with their development of a prototype.”

Compatible with a variety of chassis, QFE’s Road Ant can be fitted with a Trout River asphalt-compatible unit with an automated 10-gate chip spreader. The aggregate is conveyed from the moving floor body, passing under the cabin and into the Trout River automated 10-gate chip spreader.

This spreader is capable of covering 2.5 metres as standard and 2.95 metres with an extension, while also catering for aggregate up to 20 millimetres.

This spreader is also detachable and can be hydraulically raised or lowered to allow for towing.

Trout River and QF-E have maintained what Wells refers to as a “strong partnership”, which is leading to further development of the Road Ant concept.

“QF-E will approach us, and we assist in the development of a solution based on the requirement of the end user. We can design the body length and height to suit the requirement of each truck,” Wells says.

“We’ve evolved the design over time based on industry feedback and many of our customers say the concept works really well.”

Trout River Australia also has a large range of off-the-shelf attachments that can be fitted to add versatility.

“These units may not be used for spray sealing in the winter months, so we have other attachments that can be added to the units,” Wells says.

After the announcement of the VicRoads mandate, Cranes Civil and Surfacing was one of many contractors across Victoria who had to find a viable supplier of forwardmoving aggregate spreaders.

Shane Hare, Spray Seal Manager for Cranes Civil and Surfacing says the company was able to benefit from existing relationships, having previously received machinery from the support of QF-E’s Glenn Hardiman.

The company received its first demo version of the Road Ant in 2020 and as Hare explains, the technological advances made with the model compared to existing options on the market was an immediate stand out.

“Nearly everything was electronically controlled, so all we needed to do was select throughout pre-sets on the in-built monitor. If we were spreading a seven millimetre aggregate, all we had to do was

Hare says.

“Other machines we’ve used in the past placed the onus more on the driver to maintain a constant speed and spread width. The Road Ant allows us to maintain a constant speed and make slight variable changes with the aggregate.”

Cranes Civil and Surfacing purchased its first Road Ant based off its experience with the demo model. In the previous three years the company has also adopted an additional two models.

Cranes Civil and Surfacing has used its Road Ant models as part of spray sealing contracts across regional Victoria.

Hare says he frequently receives positive feedback from operators on the performance of each unit.

“Another standout is the visibility. In conventional trucks you’d need to obviously look backwards and frequently use your mirrors, so there were always blind spots,” he says.

“The Road Ant gives you great situational awareness. There’s also a smart braking feature, which can automatically apply the brake when the Road Ant is in reverse, such as off a stack site, should someone accidentally walk behind the reversing vehicle.”

With the ongoing growth in the business, Hare believes that more units will be purchased in the future.

“We’ve got to keep moving forward,” he says. “The business has grown exponentially over the last few years, and we’ll defiantly look to purchase more Road Ant units down the track.”

Cranes Civil and Surfacing acquired its first Road Ant unit in 2020.

One of three of Cranes Civil and Surfacing’s Road Ant units.

STRATEGISED SOIL STABILISATION

THE FAE MTH HAS BEEN PUT TO WORK AS A MULTIFUNCTION HEAD FOR TRACTORS AT THE NEW BOLZANO AIRPORT IN ITALY.

The runways which planes use to take off and land are the main infrastructure at each airport. Asphalt strips are designed and built according to precise criteria, starting with stabilising the underlying soil.

On many occasions and in different parts of the world, FAE soil stabiliser heads and multi-tasks have helped build these important structures. Recently, an FAE MTH did soil stabilisation work at the new Bolzano airport Italy, a strategic facility for northern region Alto Adige for tourism and commercial traffic.

The FAE MTH multi-function head for tractors ranges from 300 to 500 horsepower, enabling milling of rock slabs, crushing of stones, milling of asphalt and ground stabilisation, with a maximum operating depth of 50 centimetres.

Recently, domestic and international charter flights began landing on the runway

again for business and tourism. Now, the need for additional work on the runway has reactivated the construction site in anticipation of the airport’s full reopening.

The company in charge of the soil stabilisation work for the runway at Bolzano airport is excavator contractor Brunner & Leiter, based in Valle Aurina, Italy.

The Project Manager for Brunner & Leiter (who has preferred to remain anonymous) at the Bolzano airport construction site explains the significant features of the work to Roads & Infrastructure Magazine

“The FAE MTH worked with a Fendt 1038 tractor, stabilising 11,000 metres squared of soil to 25 centimetres deep. The machine could have gone deeper, but the specifications told us to work at this depth. The soil wasn’t very difficult to work, but there were still some medium-sized stones, which were no match for the MTH,” he says.

He explains the process of stabilising the soil in preparation for the build.

“First, we stabilised the soil using only cement. Before we started milling, we wet the ground slightly. Then, we went over it with the MTH at 0.3 kilometres per hour. This pace means we get the best quality mixing the soil. After going over the ground with the MTH, we went over it twice with two different rollers, first a 12-tonne one and then a nine-tonne rubber roller,” he says.

“We then wet the ground again and went over it one more time with a grader, which made the surface smooth and level at all elevations, ready to be paved. At the site, they were able to work 3000 metres squared a day, considering all the necessary processes, while the MTH alone worked for about five days.”

The Project Manager says he and his team were impressed with the performance of the machine.

“We are very happy with the MTH. Brunner & Leiter has four other ‘FAEs’, and they have always worked perfectly. They are completely reliable,” he says.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

The MTH and MTH/HP is FAE’s multi-task head for 300 to 500 horsepower tractors. The gear transmission enables operation with constantly optimal levels of torque and power.

The Hardox counter blade and grill, mounted under the rear hood, provides the desired size of the processed

A FAE MTH multi-function head completing soil stabilisation works.

material. The wide opening ensures high performance, even when working at depth. One of the MTH’s most important technical features is the variable geometry chamber, a unique technology solution in the industry that allows soil penetration with the rotor alone.

The mobile rotor can be hydraulically adjusted from the tractor cabin. The chamber has a variable volume – the greater the working depth, the greater the volume of the chamber and the consistency of the grinding/mixture. Compared to a machine that plunges the frame into the ground, the variable geometry chamber reduces tractive force, which decreases fuel consumption and increases operating speed, saving time as a result.

The MTH can be fitted with a lighter G3 or R rotor. At the heart of FAE technology, these rotors grind up boulders, stones, asphalt, can homogenize soil and can consistently mix lime, cement or other binding agents spread over the stabilised area. The teeth are arranged in a unique criss-cross fashion to ensure evenly distributed force across the entire

reduced power absorption and uniformly dispersed material.

Interchangeable forged steel rotor hubs and guards made from easily replaceable components help to protect the rotor and tooth holder from wear. The rotors can be fitted with different types of teeth, depending on the application. Teeth are easily replaceable and interchangeable. Plus, an innovative technical solution allows the same asphalt shredding tooth (R/44) to be applied to both rotors.

OPTIONS

The MTH options include two special highperformance water injection systems.

The Water Spray System cools and mixes as the machine shreds the asphalt. The cooling function limits the temperature

asphalt, preventing it from overheating. Meanwhile, the mixing system makes stabilisation easier as the soil and stabilising agent are mixed with water.

In fact, at this stage, the addition of water to the mixing chamber improves binding between the stabilising agent and the soil, optimising the result of the consolidation work.

The Full Control System is a strong system with electronically adjusted nozzles, a self-priming hydraulic pump, proportional valves for adjusting water flow and a control display for settings, diagnostics and the machine’s operating status. This controls the depth, each nozzle and provides daily reporting on the project surface. The MTH also comes in a HP model for tractors up to 500 horsepower.

“WE ARE VERY HAPPY WITH THE MTH. BRUNNER & LEITER HAS FOUR OTHER FAES, AND THEY HAVE ALWAYS WORKED PERFECTLY. THEY ARE COMPLETELY RELIABLE.”

Works at the Bolzano Airport, Italy.

FAE’s MTH multi-function head, along with complementary machinery has completed more than 11,000 metres squared of stabilising works.

REMOTE CONTROL

KOPPEN CONSTRUCTION HAS BUILT ITS REPUTATION ON DELIVERING QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE IN SOME OF AUSTRALIA’S TOUGHEST CLIMATES. DIRECTOR

SCOTT KOPPEN TELLS ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE HOW A PARTNERSHIP WITH WIRTGEN GROUP HAS HELPED.

Building a career in road construction in Australia requires the ability to face a broad spectrum of challenges head on – from harsh climates and unpredictable weather, to the logistics of covering such a vast continent.

Nowhere is this truer than in the remote pockets of northern Queensland, where civil infrastructure business Koppen Construction has earned the trust of governments and private clients alike.

Road infrastructure is a key area of speciality for the business, with its dedicated bitumen and stabilising divisions combining to offer full endto-end solutions, from material supply to maintenance.

Director Scott Koppen says delivering timely results in some of Australia’s most isolated areas requires an extremely high degree of planning, discipline, and communication.

“We’re based in Cairns, and work in some pretty remote parts of far-north Queensland,” he says. “There are a lot of logistical problems that come with that. We’ll often be without mobile reception and have to rely on satellite phones.”

This also means finding equipment you can trust to get the job done – especially when the going gets tough.

Koppen says this is why his business has turned to machinery from Wirtgen Group time and again for more than 10 years.

“Our relationship with Wirtgen started with our first stabiliser,” he says. “Since then, we’ve added pavers, milling machines, and have recently purchased a second WR 240 stabiliser.”

Koppen says the purchase of this second stabiliser was driven predominantly by the needs of a major project that Koppen Construction is currently undertaking with the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, on the Flinders Highway near the outback town of Julia Creek in the state’s north.

This project involves the strengthening

and widening of the road in a section of floodway, using foam bitumen technology and lime stabilisation techniques to maximise flexibility, durability, and flood resilience.

The foam bitumen process involves mixing a bitumen binder with a small amount of water to create a foam, which is then blended with reclaimed material to create a flexible and rainfall-tolerant pavement. The use of lime stabilisation on the Flinders Highway project aims to further enhance volumetric stability.

“We also use one of Wirtgen and STREUMASTER’s spreader trucks to spread the quick lime for this application,” Koppen says.

Pavement stabilisation has become an area of increased focus for the Koppen

Construction business, as the process offers a range of sustainability benefits – something Koppen says is only magnified in remote areas and arid climates.

“Many of these areas have pretty limited water,” he says. “Stabilisation enables water savings, as it involves mixing the water directly into the ground – rather than having water trucks spraying it everywhere, where it evaporates or blows away in the wind.”

Koppen says alternative methods would likely necessitate trucking water into these regions at great expense.

“Water conservation is really important where we are,” he says. “On the Flinders Highway project, we’re relying on bore water – so we’re limited by what the bore can produce.”

versatile, all-rounder cold recycler and soil stabiliser, with its 2.4-metre working width and maximum 510-millimetre working depth providing flexibility for a range of applications.

For Koppen, there are several factors that set the WR 240 apart.

“I buy Wirtgen because of the overall build quality of the equipment, as well as the precision of their technology,” Koppen says. “We also do a lot of work with foam bitumen, and Wirtgen’s stabilisers have this patented foam bitumen spray bar package available, which allows us to inject the foamed-up bitumen into the gravel as we’re mixing.

“And they have the process all computerised, so it’s measured properly

a great job.”

For the Koppen Construction team, there’s also the added confidence that Wirtgen Group will be ready with backup support at the drop of a hat – especially when the pressure is on in the middle of nowhere.

“Wirtgen’s support has always been good,” Koppen says. “Often these machines are working on main roads or busy intersections. If you rip a road up and your machine breaks down, that can mean huge traffic disruption.

“I’ve been on a job in Cairns where we needed a part on a Friday afternoon, and their team sorted it out and had us back up and running on Saturday morning. You can’t complain about that.”

“WE ALSO DO A LOT OF WORK WITH FOAM BITUMEN, AND WIRTGEN’S STABILISERS HAVE THIS PATENTED FOAM BITUMEN SPRAY BAR PACKAGE AVAILABLE, WHICH ALLOWS US TO INJECT THE FOAMED-UP BITUMEN INTO THE GRAVEL AS WE’RE MIXING.”

Koppen Construction purchased a second WR 240 stabiliser after positive experiences with the first.

Koppen says Wirtgen’s backup support provides added confidence, especially when working in remote areas.

Koppen says he buys Wirtgen machinery for its build quality and the precision of the technology.

THE BEAUTY OF ABORIGINAL DESIGN IN INFRASTRUCTURE

Pleasing and meaningful aesthetics have not been neglected in a $365 million upgrade to one of Southwest Melbourne’s important thoroughfares.

The Barwon Heads Road Upgrade features coloured wall panels incorporating a design that originates from Wadawurrung Country.

Formerly known as Marshalltown, the Geelong suburb of Marshall is part of the Armstrong Creek Growth Area, a southern extension to Geelong’s urban growth boundary. It sits within the Wadawurrung area that covers 10,000 kilometres squared on the western side of Melbourne, including Geelong and Ballarat.

Consistent with the Growth Area’s intent to developing physical and social infrastructure at an early stage – so as to build communities rather than just releasing land for development – an upgrade to Barwon Heads Road is taking shape.

BETTER CONNECTED AND SAFER COMMUNITIES

The Upgrade is a Major Road Projects Victoria initiative, jointly funded by the Australian and Victorian governments. With design informed by traffic modelling and community feedback, the works include removal of the level crossing and a new bridge over the rail line at Marshall.

PROJECT: Barwon Heads Road Upgrade

LOCATION: Barwon Heads, VIC MASTER PRECASTER: The Reinforced Earth Company Australia

Once completed, the new 97-metre-long, approximately nine-metre-high bridge will better connect local communities and enhance traffic flow and predictability. It will also improve commuter safety.

ARTISTIC PRECAST PANELS

National Precast Master Precaster Reinforced Earth Company supplied 810 precast concrete wall panels in a Class 2 finish for the bridge’s approach ramps. The whole pattern is made

up of only two different liners rotated around to make four different panel patterns. The panels are a demonstration of how art can be incorporated into infrastructure and provide recognition to local Traditional Owners. Incorporating designs by the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC), the panels feature patterns that represent vertically broken boomerang flanks. A rich earthy tone to reflect soils from the region was achieved by the use of pigment in the concrete mix. The panels are one of the many structures on the project that will incorporate Wadawurrung design and art.

SUCCESS ALL ROUND

Extensive collaboration and planning between the contractor, designers, other stakeholders and The Reinforced Earth Company has all contributed to the final result. All stages of the project development were simplified and that flowed on to reducing costs.

With early works commencing in July 2021, the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. It will create more than 570 direct jobs and will generate a further 1419 indirect jobs over the course of construction.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

AFPA’S

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY AND WOMENG EVENTS

AFPA HOSTED ITS 2023 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY AND WOMENG EVENTS IN SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE ON 8 MARCH 2023 TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND ENGAGE WOMEN IN THE PAVEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.

The Australian Flexible Pavement Association’s (AfPA) National Diversity and Inclusion Committee have worked to address the barriers and challenges to attract, recruit and retain a broad workforce.

The National Diversity and Inclusion Committee was founded by AfPA to encourage diversity across the industry and encourage workplace practises, leadership, professional development and culture to prioritise inclusion.

Lise Sperling, Executive Director for AFPA NSW and ACT explained the importance of diversity and the embracing of inclusivity, in Roads & Infrastructure Magazine’s

Roads Review column in March 2022.

“AfPA’s National Diversity and Inclusion Committee is inviting discussion on the barriers on behalf of the flexible pavements industry. We are proud that our members are implementing their own policies and openly sharing their learnings as a leading employment industry of choice that embraces all,” she said.

The International Women’s Day (IWD) industry event, along with WOMENG International Women’s Day Breakfast, both held on March 8 2023, were created to acknowledge and engage women from across the flexible pavement industry, the broader building and construction

sector and beyond.

Sperling says there is no quick fix to the lack of diversity in this industry, however the industry can drive the continuous process of inclusion.

“We realised our industry was limiting its talent potential and needs to break down the barriers for all under-represented groups within the industry and encourage a more diverse and more inclusive workforce,” Sperling says.

Held in Sydney, the IWD Event saw key industry members come together to discuss #EmbraceEquity, the theme of the 2023 AfPA event.

Experts were asked questions surrounding the industry and women’s roles in construction, and what their opinions were around topics of equality, challenges women face, empowerment and solidarity.

The day began with a welcome from Lise Sperling and Kym Murphy, AfPA Diversity and Inclusion Chairperson, General Manager Roadtek, TMR. The panel included:

• Katriina Tahka | CEO, A Human Agency & A-HA!

• T hierry Madelon | CEO, COLAS

Australia Group

• C assandra Roberts | Laboratory Supervisor, Downer

• Loletta Yuen | Business Relationship Coordinator, UTS

L-R: AfPA D&I Chairperson, GM Roadtek Kym Murphy, CEO of A-HA! Katriina Tahka, CEO COLAS Australia Thierry Madelon, Downer Laboratory Supervisor Cassandra Roberts, UTS Business Relationship Coordinator Loletta Yuen and Executive Director AfPA NSW/ACT Lise Sperling.

The discussion between panellists included changes that want to be seen within the construction and pavement industry, how women can stand together in solidarity with one another against diversity, what men can do to be engaged allies and what success looks like for women in construction and pavement in the future. This followed by an in-depth discussion and Q&A with the panel.

As well as the IWD event in Sydney, AfPA hosted the WOMENG conference on the same day in Melbourne.

WOMENG (Advancing Women in Infrastructure Engineering) is a Victoriabased project specifically designed to enhance career pathways for women and young girls’ careers in infrastructure engineering.

While IWD is a global holiday that has focal points in the women’s rights movement, WOMENG is an industry specific project. WOMENG focusses on career development opportunities for women in the infrastructure sector.

Together, AfPA and WOMENG hosted a breakfast event where women in the industry and alike could come together to engage in discussions about women in infrastructure and share their insights.

Emma Pane, Area Manager Boral was the speaker for the Melbourne event.

AfPA looks forward to working with industry in rolling out the AfPA Diversity and Inclusion Roadmap.

L-R: CEO of A-HA! Katriina Tahka, AfPA Board Deputy Chair, CEO COLAS Australia Group Thierry Madelon, Downer Laboratory Supervisor Cassandra Roberts and UTS Business Relationship Coordinator Loletta Yuen.

AfPA Diversity and Inclusion Chairperson, General Manager at Roadtek, Kym Murphy, speaking at the International Women’s Day Industry Event, NSW.

Lise Sperling, Executive Director for AfPA NSW and ACT.

International Women’s Day Industry Event hosted by AfPA.

CONTRACTS IN BRIEF

ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDES AN UPDATE ON SOME OF THE CONTRACTS AND TENDERS RECENTLY AWARDED OR PUT TO MARKET ACROSS THE AUSTRALIAN INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR.

TASMANIA

PlanRadar to vendor $786M Tasmanian Bridgewater project

PlanRadar has been welcomed as the approved key software vendor for the $786 million Bridgewater Bridge Project across the Derwent River, the largest transport infrastructure project in Tasmania’s history. The new Bridgewater bridge will replace the existing 75 year old lift-span bridge and will span one kilometre. The project is expected to cut travel times for 22,000 people and improve freight routes for transport and logistics. As a part of this partnership, PlanRadar will provide capabilities for detailed inspections, managing multiple daily engineering inspections and reporting to assist in the project. PlanRadar has previously been used in civil infrastructure projects in Europe such as the Pelješac Bridge, one of the largest civil projects in Europe. The construction of the new bridge commenced in 2022 and is estimated to be completed in 2024.

QUEENSLAND

Joint venture awarded $700M pipeline contract

A joint venture consisting of BMD Constructions and McConnell Dowell has been awarded a $714 million contract to deliver the Fitzroy to Gladstone Pipeline project in Queensland. The design and construct contract, awarded by the Gladstone Area Water Board and Queensland Government, will see the JV deliver a 117-kilometre pipeline, a water treatment plant, reservoirs and pumping stations. The project will provide further water security for the area and support for the emerging hydrogen industry in the Gladstone region in Queensland, Australia. It’s also expected to secure the single source water supply risk from Awoonga Dam enabling long-term water security for urban and industrial customers in the region. The winning bid for the contract included the employment of a diverse workforce including a $10 million commitment to suppliers and businesses owned by First Nations Australians, 10,000 hours for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce participation, as well as trainees and apprentices to make up 15 per cent of the workforce hours. Major construction on the project will start later this year, with the pipeline expected to be completed in 2026.

NEW SOUTH WALES

First contract awarded for $336M

Muswellbrook Bypass

Fenech Demolition has been awarded a contract for early works on the Muswellbrook Bypass – New England Highway in New South Wales. The Muswellbrook Bypass project will include the construction of a 9.3-kilometre bypass with a single lane in each direction, a 376-metre-long

bridge across Sandy Creek Road, Sandy Creek, Main North railway line, and a southbound exit ramp as well as southern, northern and central interchanges. The Muswellbrook bypass will have significant benefits including improving safety for all road users in the town centre and reducing travel times on the New England Highway. It will also improve the connection between Newcastle and the New England Highway, M1 Motorway and the Pacific Highway. Fenech Demolition’s early works have already commenced with demolition work and general clearing underway. The company is a local second-generation, family-run and proudly Aboriginal owned business. The $336 million project is jointly funded by the Australian and NSW governments, with the Australian Government committing $268.8 million. The detailed design for main works on the project is due to start in 2023 and be completed in 2027.

Laing O’Rourke awarded contract for Sydney Metro works

Laing O’Rourke has been awarded a contract valued at $82.5 million to build a new footbridge at St Marys as part of the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project in New South Wales. The new metro rail will become the transport spine for Greater Western Sydney, connecting communities and travellers with the new Western Sydney International (NancyBird Walton) Airport and the surrounding region. The 23-kilometre railway will run from St Marys through to the new airport and the Western Sydney Aerotropolis and will provide a major economic stimulus for western Sydney, supporting more than 14,000 jobs during construction for the NSW and national economies. The new 55-metre-long concourse at St Marys Station will enable commuters to seamlessly transfer between new metro platforms and suburban trains on the T1 Western Line. It will also link to a new pedestrian plaza at the northern end of the footbridge and allow commuters to transfer from the newly expanded multi-storey carpark at Harris Street. The addition of a new plaza and entry on the northern side of the existing rail corridor will provide quick and easy access to the existing station and generally improve connectivity in St Marys. Works on the new footbridge are expected to begin this year and will be completed by the end of 2025.

The Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project is jointly funded by the Australian and NSW governments at an estimated cost of $10.5 billion, with the Australian Government contributing $5.25 billion.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

JV awarded Fitzroy River Bridge contract Georgiou Group and BMD Constructions have been named as the preferred proponent to deliver the new Fitzroy River Bridge in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Main Roads and design consultant BG&E will also be involved in the project. The Fitzroy River Bridge was hit by Tropical Cyclone Ellie in late December 2022, causing significant damage to the structure which now requires major works. These repairs are set to begin in May 2023. The Fitzroy River Bridge Replacement will include the construction of a two-lane bridge over the Fitzroy River, provision of a pedestrian pathway, bridge approaches to connect the new bridge to the existing great Northern Freeway and modification of utility services required for the construction of the works. $80 million will be provided by the WA and Federal governments to undertake emergency road recovery works. Preliminary design investigations are already underway, with site works expected to begin in May 2023. The bridge is expected to be operational by the end of 2024.

ACT

BMD Constructions awarded $172M Canberra bridge contract

BMD Constructions has been awarded a design and construction contract for works on the Molonglo River Bridge in Canberra. The $172 million contract involves the construction of a 227.5 metre-long, steel girder bridge, 1.7 kilometres of new arterial roads and five new intersections. The upgrade will also support a future light rail connection. Two new bus stops will be built and a southbound queue jump bus lane (on the northern side of the bridge) to support better access to public transport. The project also includes important active travel links with off-road shared paths and on-road cycle lanes. Detailed design will start shortly and is expected to be complete by the end of the year. Construction will then start on the bridge and road approaches, which are expected to open to traffic around the end of 2025. BMD Constructions will be joined by its design partners GHD, pitt&sherry and COWI for works on the project. This project is jointly funded by the Australian and ACT governments on a 50:50 basis.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR PORTABLE ENERGY

Built to withstand a variety of conditions the Atlas Copco range of lighting towers are robust and offer unrivalled efficiencies ensuring they are both reliable and can operate for an extensive period of time.

• Fuel efficient, ensuring longer running hours

• Specially designed directional optics offering incredible light distribution

• LED HiLight towers achieve up to 6.000 square-metres of light coverage with an average level of 20 luxes

• A life expectancy of more than 50.000 hours

• Aluminium casting, providing heavy duty protection

Small Asphalt Rollers Compact

and Smart

DYNAPACS SIXTH GENERATION SMALL ASPHALT ROLLERS - READY TO ROLL

Dynapac’s sixth generation CC1300VI and CC1400VI small asphalt rollers are designed and built to meet the construction industries ever evolving and tough conditions. The new design has resulted in a robust, comfortable and modern machine that still achieves the market leading compaction results that Dynapac is renowned for.

The new generation has a unique cross mounted engine providing exceptional access to engine and hydraulic components. This new engine concept and the slideable operators seat combine to increase visibility to drum edges and the greater worksite. High vibration frequency, offsetability of the drum, high efficiency eccentrics and options such as edge press devices and chip spreaders all improve compaction efficiency and versatility.

THE NAME’S BOND, SAMI BOND.

The most effective asset in the field is the one you never see. Deployable on any road, SAMIbond007 is as stealthy, strong and quick as the world’s best secret agent.

It’s SAMI’s new bond coat emulsion, and for you, that means fast curing, a cleaner worksite and a strong bond between layers.