equipmentworld.com | January 2015
速
SMARTER, FASTER AND SERIOUSLY MORE FUEL EFFICIENT: OUR
2015
INNOVATIONS WINNERS
PUSH. BACK. PRESENTING THE ALL-NEW 1050K. BEHIND EVERY GREAT INNOVATION STANDS A CUSTOMER WHO’S HAD ENOUGH.
We call it the 1050K. You’ll call it a welcome choice. Because it’s our frst production-class dozer designed alongside operators like you. And it’s packed with long overdue features. Like a hydrostatic power train that delivers the muscle you need and responsive control the way you want it. And rugged components that stand up to the most demanding job sites. All supported around the clock by your local dealer who is standing by with a robust service and parts program dedicated exclusively to the production-class market. Because it’s time we all pushed back.
JohnDeere.com/PushBack
Wirtgen Group Products stand for the world’s leading road building and mineral technologies. Every single one of the four strong brands in the group – Wirtgen, Vögele, Hamm and Kleemann – have been influencing the development of machines and applications all over the world. Our passion is our motivation to continuously perfect our range of products with the customer as the focus of all our activities.
WIRTGEN AMERICA . 6030 Dana Way . Antioch, TN 37013 Tel.: (615) 501-0600 . www.wirtgenamerica.com ROAD AND MINERAL TECHNOLOGIES
PASSION HAS A NAME.
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“I DON’T THINK THERE’S ANYTHING ANY BETTER.”
John Anderson, owner – John Anderson Construction Co. Warren, PA
Scan the code or go online to see why John runs Doosan.
DoosanEquipment.com/John 1.877.745.7814 Doosan and the Doosan logo are registered trademarks of Doosan Corp. in the United States and various other countries around the world. ©2015 Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment America. All rights reserved. | 159A-0
Vol. 27 Number 1 |
table of contents | January 2015
Cover Story
INNOVATIONS
21
EQUIPMENT WORLD EDITORS LOOKED AT NEW PRODUCTS LAUNCHED DURING 2014, AND SELECTED THOSE WE THOUGHT WOULD BE GAME-CHANGERS FOR THE INDUSTRY.
17
40
Equipment Marketplace
Doosan’s articulated dump trucks, Deere’s G-Series excavator and more
21 KOMATSU’S INTELLIGENT EXCAVATOR 26 FORD F-150 ALUMINUM BODY 33 PLANETARY POWER’S HYGEN HYBRID GENERATOR
Features Road Science
States must take initiative in implementing new environmental review
49 Bridge Inventory Assessing the nation’s structurally deficient bridges
52 Highway Contractor Old concrete paving technologies are resurfacing
EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 7
table of contents | continued
Departments 11 On Record
Contractor of the Year finalists
13 Reporter Cashman installing camera-based fatigue monitoring
system; Volvo de-tiering kits; WisDOT testing reflective orange lane paint
37 In Court Fatal collision on a construction site in Georgia leads to sovereign immunity ruling
55 Quick Data Backhoes 61 Contractor of the Year finalist
®
equipmentworld.com facebook.com/EquipmentWorld twitter.com/Equipment_World Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Executive Editor: Tom Jackson Managing Editor: Amy Materson Online Managing Editor: Wayne Grayson Executive Trucks Editor: Jack Roberts Spec Guide Editor: Richard Ries Editorial Intern: Brittany Johnson editorial@equipmentworld.com Art Director: Tony Brock Advertising Production Manager: Linda Hapner production@equipmentworld.com VP of Sales, Construction Media: Joe Donald sales@randallreillyconstruction.com
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65 Safety Watch Workers must be vigilant in the presence of mul-
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Editorial Awards:
tiple moving machines
Robert F. Boger Award for Special Reports, 2006, 2007, 2008 Construction Writers Association Jesse H. Neal Award, Best Subject-Related Series of Articles, 2006 American Business Media Editorial Excellence Special Section Gold Award, 2006 Midwest-South Region, American Society of Business Publication Editors Editorial Excellence News Analysis Gold Award, 2006 Midwest-South Region, American Society of Business Publication Editors Editorial Excellence News Section Silver Award, 2005 Midwest-South Region, American Society of Business Publication Editors
For subscription information/inquiries, please email equipmentworld@halldata.com. Equipment World (ISSN 1057-7262) is published monthly by Randall-Reilly Publishing Company, LLC, 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E., Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. Periodicals Postage-Paid at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: SEND ALL UAA TO CFS (SEE DMM 507.1.5.2). Non-postal and military facilities: send address corrections to Equipment World, P.O. Box 2187, Skokie, IL 60076-9921 or email at equipmentworld@halldata.com. Rates for non-qualified subscriptions (pre-paid US currency only): US & possessions, $48 1–year, $84 2–year; Canada/Mexico, $78 1–year, $147 2–year; Foreign, $86 1–year, $154 2–year. Single copies are available for $6 US, $9 Canada/Mexico and $12 foreign. The advertiser and/ or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold Randall-Reilly Publishing Company, LLC harmless from and against any loss, expenses or other liability resulting from any claims or suits for libel violations of right of privacy or publicity, plagiarisms, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or suits that July arise out of publication of such advertisement. Copyright ©2013 Randall-Reilly Publishing Company, LLC All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Equipment World is a trademark of Randall-Reilly Publishing Company, LLC Randall-Reilly Publishing Company, LLC neither endorses nor makes any representation or guarantee regarding the quality of goods and services advertised herein.
8
January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
Robert F. Boger Award for Feature Articles, 2005 Construction Writers Association Robert F. Boger Award, 2002 Sept. 11th Feature Articles
The KOHLER Diesel KDI is a Tier 4 final with common-rail fuel injection and no DPF. So you skip the DPF maintenance costs, get savings at the pump, and laugh all the way to the bank. 速
KohlerEngines.com/KDI
Text INFO to 205-289-3715 or visit www.eqwinfo.com
on record | by Marcia Gruver Doyle
Introducing our 2015 Contractor of the Year finalists
W
e’ve been choosing 12 finalists for our Contractor of the Year program for 15 years and it doesn’t get any easier to make the final cut. Adding the cherry on top of this year’s decisionmaking was receiving double the
MGruver@randallreilly.com
amount of entries for this program, sponsored by Caterpillar. Here are the 2015 finalists and a sampling of the reference comments that caught the attention of our editors:
Andrew Brown Andrew Brown General Engineering Paso Robles, California “He’s first class and competitive; he’s probably tripled in size since we started using them. We had a job where it turned out the excavation part was much more challenging than anyone anticipated. Andrew jumped in the excavator and handled it all himself and really pleased the customer with the end result.” Bradley Grubaugh Bradley Excavating Colorado Springs, Colorado “Bradley knows his name is everything and he will do whatever it takes to make sure that when he’s done he’s got a good reference.” Dan Corrigan C3 Environmental Specialties Schertz, Texas “It’s striking how incredibly cross trained everybody is; estimators know how everything goes in the field and the knowledge in the field blows everyone away. They have diversified, reinvested and stayed on the cutting edge.” David Spurr David Spurr Excavating Paso Robles, California “There’s not one person who can talk bad about Dave Spurr and his company and what they do and they way they go about their business. I think he stands for what the this award means.” Alan & Tyson Feller Feller Enterprises St. George, Utah “He’s the most honest person I’ve met. Even if it’s to his disadvantage, he’ll tell you the truth. If you could sum it up in one word it would be integrity.” Lawrence Merle Genesee Construction Service Dansville, New York “Larry has one of the smoothest run companies ever. He’s demanding and thorough and about as classy as you can get.”
Timothy Humerick Humerick Environmental Construction Service College Grove, Tennessee “When you work with them you feel like you are working as part of a team to get a job done, which is rewarding. And they’ve got a heck of a business.” Jeff Pettiecord J Pettiecord Incorporated Des Moines, Iowa “Pettiecord is the top of the line; they are one of the most professional, easy to work with, outstanding firms that we’ve ever worked with. They always do the right thing; they make the right decision for the right reasons, even if it costs them a little more money.” Sean McDowell McDowell Construction Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin “If he tells me he’ll be ready on Tuesday at 7 a.m., I can promise you he’ll be ready. I don’t have to double check what he tells me, ever. Sean is definitely hands on from point A to point B.” Andrew Allen R. J. Allen Incorporated Garden Grove, California “They are by far the best in Southern California. They have the most equipment, the newest equipment and the best operators. Everything about their crews is a 10.” Jason Ciavarro Supreme Metro South Plainfield, New Jersey “His employees love staying engaged in this business, and they watch out for it like it’s their own. And he’s always looking to improve; he’s not happy until he’s exhausted every avenue to grow his business.” Joseph, Scott & Ryan Delgado TCW Construction Lincoln, Nebraska “Joe is one of the most ethical contractors I’ve met. He’ll go the extra mile to make the owner happy. If something is in a gray area, he takes care of them. He’s at the top of my list as far as ethics.” EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 11
EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE When it comes to uptime, there is no compromise. That’s where Takeuchi equipment excels. These machines are built to deliver the performance, durability, easy service and operator comfort you need to get the job done faster. See what more than five decades of quality and innovation can do for you. Check out our new hydraulic excavators at takeuchi-us.com takeuchi-us.com.
©2014 Takeuchi Manufacturing. Contact your dealer for current warranty and financing program details.
FIND OUT WHAT OTHERS KNOW. VISIT TAKEUCHI-US.COM TO FIND THE DEALER NEAREST YOU. Text INFO to 205-289-3715 or visit www.eqwinfo.com
reporter | by Equipment World staff
Cat dealer Cashman Equipment installing camera-based system that monitors an operator’s fatigue
L
as Vegas-based Caterpillar dealer Cashman Equipment has now made available a fatigue monitoring system for heavy equipment operators. Initially rolled out in 2013 on Caterpillar mining trucks as part of the Cat MineStar System mine management functions, the Seeing Machines Driver Safety System is currently installed on 4,000 mining trucks worldwide, and working on 20 mine sites in the United States. However, the system has potential for other applications, and could be expanded for use on heavy equipment. Designed to work with mining trucks because the problem of driver fatigue is so prevalent, DSS works by measuring operator eye and eyelid behavior for fatigue symptoms, and issues alerts in the event of a “micro-sleep,” which is a period of light sleep typically lasting up to 30 seconds. “With this system in place, we have seen an average 80 percent reduction in fatigue and distraction events,” says Russ Armbrust, vice president for business development, Seeing Machines Limited. The system is camera-based, and therefore does
not require the driver to wear any special equipment, which could be either uncomfortable or distracting. Cashman’s general manager for equipment solutions, David R. Griffin, says the dealership has received positive feedback on their customers who are using DSS. Although Griffin did not share the cost of the system, he says comparing the total cost of machine ownership with the value DSS brings to the site makes purchasing the system a smart decision. “Upfront purchase price, installation cost and on-going monitoring costs are relatively insignificant and easily justified,” Griffin says. Griffin notes the technology promotes safety across equipment types and in a range of applications. “DSS can be installed on any heavy equipment where there is a desire to continuously monitor and manage operator fatigue and distraction,” he says. “And, DSS can be installed on mobile equipment in non-production mining applications such as water trucks, light vehicles used in the sector and more.” – Amy Materson EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 13
reporter | continued Volvo launches first T4i de-tiering kit allowing resale of certain articulated haulers, wheel loaders to lesser-regulated countries
Interchange projects in Norman amount to Oklahoma DOT’s largest awarded contract
V
olvo Construction Equipment has launched its first conversion kit that will allow customers to resell their Tier 4 Interim machines to others outside of highlyregulated countries. First announced in 2013, the “detiering” kits protect the company’s Tier 4 engines from the detrimental effects of high sulfur fuels up to 10,000 parts per million (ppm). Volvo will release a series of these de-tiering kits from now through the end of 2015. This first kit is for the company’s A25-A40 articulated haulers with D11, D13 and D16 engines, as well as the L150-L250 wheel loaders with the D13 engine. The kit eliminates the need for regeneration and installation involves an exchange of hardware and a software update. The conversion is permanent. Kits for the EC340-E480 excavators, also with the D13 engine, will be launched early next year. The company says it will be launching kits for machines with medium-duty engines throughout next year. – Wayne Grayson
T
he reconstruction of two interchanges on Interstate 35 in Norman has generated the single largest construction contract ever awarded by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation – to Sherwood Construction Company of Tulsa with a $71 million base bid. The contract calls for the reconstruction of the northern half of the I-35 interchange at State Highway 9 East as well as the reconstruction of the Lindsey Street Bridge as a single point urban interchange. A project reconstructing the southern half of the interchange began in 2013 and is nearly complete. The new Lindsey Street interchange will feature longer on and off-ramps at I-35, a wider bridge and a single array of traffic signals on top of the bridge. Work is scheduled to start early next year and both projects are expected to be completed halfway through 2017. – Wayne Grayson
Wisconsin DOT first in U.S. to test reflective orange lane paint for making work zones more visible to drivers
T
he Wisconsin Department of Transportation will be the first DOT in the United States to test a reflective orange paint in an attempt to make construction work zones more visible to drivers passing by. WisDOT has applied the paint to three sections of pavement on Interstate 94, to the east and west of construction on an interchange to the Milwaukee Zoo. The orange paint replaces the traditional white and 14 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
yellow lane and edge markings. WisDOT said many drivers had difficulty seeing the traditional lane markings last winter due to salt residue on the roadway. WisDOT received permission from the Federal Highway Administration to test the paint, which has been used to denote work zones in Europe, Canada and New Zealand, but never before in the United States. – Wayne Grayson
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WORKS ANYWHERE. SAVES EVERYWHERE. The new H340AJ boom lift brings together powerful performance with the benefits of hybrid efficiency, letting you get the job done inside or out. Equipped with four independent electric-drive motors and a Tier 4 Final diesel-powered generator for recharging, it uses less fuel and reduces noise while tackling the toughest job site terrain. Learn more at www.jlg.com/en/H340AJ-5
marketplace | by Amy Materson | AMaterson@randallreilly.com
R’S O T EDI ICK P
LOWER COST PER TON Boost efficiency when transporting material with Doosan’s 365-net-horsepower DA30-5 and 490-net-horsepower DA40-5 articulated dump trucks, which feature fuel-efficient Scania DC9 and DC13 engines, respectively. The 51,588-pound DA30-5 has a 61,729-pound payload rating with a 23.3-cubic-yard heaped capacity, 9-foot, 10-inch loading height and a maximum speed of 36 mph. The 71,107-pound DA40-5 has a payload rating of 88,185 pounds, a 34-cubic-yard heaped capacity, a 10-foot, 8-inch loading height and maximum speed of 33 mph. Configured with a high-pressure common-rail fuel delivery system, cooled exhaust gas recirculation, selective catalyst reduction and
a diesel oxidation catalyst, the 28- and 40-metric-ton weight class trucks use diesel exhaust fluid injected into the exhaust system to transform NOx into water and nitrogen. The trucks have a new mass airflow sensor and exhaust brake that work together to reduce emissions. The mass airflow sensor improves airflow management and optimizes fuel delivery, while the exhaust brake maintains consistency in engine temperatures at lower engine speeds, reducing harmful emission levels. Fuel efficiency testing for the trucks has been recorded at an average of just 4.49 gallons per hour for the DA40-5, and 3.96 gallons per hour for the DA30-5. The DA40-5 also has a new bolt-on rear differential, and improved gear ratios that deliver reduced axle speed, longer component life and lower fuel consumption. Vibration has also been reduced.
LONG-LIFE DPF
John Deere has expanded the company’s G-Series with the 300G LC excavator, which delivers 19 percent more horsepower and 17 percent more swing torque than its predecessor, the 290G LC. The 30-ton machine, designed for contractors in the underground, roadbuilding, energy, commercial building and pipeline industries, has a 223-horsepower Tier 4 Final PowerTech PVS 6.8-liter engine and features a DPF that can go up to 15,000 hours before ash removal. New features include a larger hood for improved engine access, a nine-pin diagnostic connector in the cab to reduce testing time for technicians, single-side ground level fluid filter service and sensor mounting brackets welded to the boom, arm, dogbone, counterweight and mainframe for immediate installation of grade reference systems. A programmable thumb attachment is available, allowing operators to program oil flow for thumb attachments with the monitor. EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 17
marketplace | continued
TIGHT TURN RADIUS
Handle a wide range of concrete slumps as well as dry materials with the MP550: Material Placer from Guntert and Zimmerman, which the company will launch at World of Concrete. Featuring four wheels with high-flotation tires, the four-wheeldrive MP550 has dual axle steering and a 12-foot inside turning radius for ease of movement around the jobsite. The concrete hopper design reduces dump box height, and the 5.5-cubic-yard hopper’s front lip is just 23 inches off the ground, for receiving a wide range of trucks, and a unique front flop gate eliminates loss while dumping. A 35-foot-long swing conveyor pivots 170 degrees and is designed with a hinge point near the tail pulley to allow for clearing barrier walls and obstructions while minimizing material discharge height. The MP550 has readily accessible components for easy cleaning and maintenance, and features such as an easily upgradeable Tier 4 interim engine, tire-over-track design, extended service intervals and an Eco-Mode that reduces fuel consumption by up to 35 percent all work to lower operating costs.
CONVENIENT DESIGN
Handle a range of parking lot, road, utility pipe and street projects with the Dynapac CA1300 and CA1500 single-drum soil rollers from Atlas Copco. With cross-mounted engines and hydraulic pumps in line with the engine, operators can reach all components for service and maintenance. Placing the engines perpendicular to the frame also improves weight distribution and reduces the footprint of the units. The CA1300 is powered by a Tier 4 Final, 75-horsepower Kubota diesel engine while the CA1500 has a Tier 4 Interim, 100-horsepower Cummins diesel engine. Both rollers have top-mounted cool air intakes with side vents that combine with the ejector exhaust outlet, minimizing engine noise and preventing dust from being sucked into the engine compartment. The CA1300 features a static linear load of 73 pounds per linear inch, and a 54-inch drum. The CA1500 has 112 PLI and a 66-inch drum. Both units have the ABC system, which prevents operators from overcompacting the soil, as an option.
See us at World of Concrete booth N2601
18 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com Alturnamats_EW0115_PG018.indd 1
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THE EARTH IS YOUR CANVAS
TOPCON EXCAVATOR CONTROL SYSTEMS The enhanced productivity of 3-D control is a well-known fact. But what’s often overlooked is the beauty of its precision. Get the confidence to tackle any job with ease, and the most demanding ones with a smile. topconpositioning.com
Text INFO to 205-289-3715 or visit www.eqwinfo.com
innovations | by Equipment World staff
2015
INNOVATIONS Award Winners O
ur 2015 Innovation award winners include an excavator that goes into semiautomatic mode every time you get close to the target surface, a pickup truck body that was the talk of 2014 and a generator with massive capabilities to give power to remote – even Third World – job sites and communities. Go with us into the design process as we examine how these standout products were created.
Komatsu PC210LCi-10’s Intelligent Machine Control takes aim at over-excavation
W
e’re used to numbers – some of them in the double digits – when manufacturers talk about fuel efficiency gains in new equipment. But when Komatsu America introduced its PC210LCi-10 in late 2014, it talked about a huge number, and this time it didn’t involve fuel ef-
ficiency, but rather construction time. Komatsu says the semi-automatic Intelligent Machine Control on its PC210LCi-10 excavator will help make over-excavation a thing of the past. And, compared with using a standard PC210LC-10 excavator, the company says in field tests the “intelligent” EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 21
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innovations | continued excavator showed up to a 63-percent reduction in construction time. The machine is semi-automatically limited from digging beyond the target surface, as defined by project files downloaded either through a thumb drive inserted into the bottom of the in-cab control box or remotely through project partner Topcon’s Sitelink 3D Enterprise program. Previewed at ConExpo in March, the excavator became available in North America last month, the culmination of a project that’s obviously got those involved buzzing. “This is no longer machine guidance, but machine control,” says Peter Robson, Komatsu’s director of intelligent machine controls.
What does semi-automatic mean? Komatsu wants to make clear the machine control takes over only when an operator nears the target surface as defined by downloaded project files. “When the bucket reaches the target design surface, the automation limits it from going below grade, even allowing semi-automatic tracing of the target design surface,” says Jason Anetsberger, Komatsu America project marketing manager, intelligent machine controls. In all other areas, operators are in complete control, and they can opt for manual controls at any time. “The fundamental design challenge was how to smartly add automation to increase the efficiency of the machine without limiting the productivity of an experienced operator,” Anetsberger explains. “Productivity gains depend on the operator, who still controls the speed of the operation. This will raise an operator’s efficiencies, whatever his experience.” The company also wants to differentiate this system from what it calls “conventional guidance systems” now available for excavators. “With conventional guidance, the grade quality depends on the skill of the operator,” Robson says. “When you talk to customers, one of the biggest problems they had with these systems is speed. The operator is always constantly monitoring the indicate-only system to see if he’s on grade. With Intelligent Machine Control, the operator can focus on moving materials efficiently – and with plus/minus 42-millimeter accuracy – without worrying about meeting the target.” “This actually empowers the operator,” Anetsberger adds. 23 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
“He’s not relying on people outside of the machine to tell him whether he’s on grade, and he has less tunnel vision than if he was constantly looking at a machine guidance monitor.”
How it’s done The excavator’s Intelligent Machine Control system – modeled in part after Komatsu’s intelligent dozer line introduced last year and developed concurrently with the dozer controls – offers real-time bucket edge positioning in relation to the machine and job surface. The system has several components, all factory installed: • Stroke sensing hydraulic cylinders on the boom, arm and bucket. Each of these cylinders has a built-in stroke sensor, providing real-time bucket position data sent to the in-cab control box. Monitoring displacement of the cylinders, the sensors track where the cutting edge of the bucket is relative to the body of the machine. • An Inertial Measurement Unit, located inside the machine, which detects machine orientation. • Working from project files, a 12.1-inch tablet-like touch screen display control box inside the cab shows side and aerial views of the machine, and uses a facing angle compass, a light bar and audio guidance. • Two GNSS antennas, positioned on easily-accessed handrails behind the cab. A GNSS receiver is located inside the machine. The only obvious clues an intelligent machine is different from the standard PC210LC-10 are the antennas and in-cab control box. All other components are internal. These components give the excavator these semi-automatic capabilities when near the target surface: • Auto grade assist, in which the boom adjusts the bucket
innovations | continued height automatically when the operator moves the arm, allowing him to trace the target surface and minimize digging too deep. • Auto stop control, which stops the machine during boom or bucket operation when the bucket edge reaches the target surface, also limiting over-excavating. • Minimum distance control, which controls the bucket by automatically selecting the point on the bucket closest to the target surface regardless of machine position. Even if the machine is inclined while working, the facing angle compass ensures the machine is facing perpendicular to the target surface.
• Machine and office can send messages to each other. • Machine functions can be remotely troubleshooted.
ROI in 18 months While not disclosing the exact number, Robson says there’s a “significant premium” for the Intelligent Machine Control system, but says Komatsu expects users to get an ROI in 18 months. As with the dozer, where the initial D6li-23 model opened the way for several intelligent dozers, the excavator intelligent controls are scaleable, and will most likely appear in larger excavators in the next 12 to 18 months.
Touch controls Why we like this product The 7-inch standard display in most excavators wouldn’t convey all the information operators needed with the IntelKomatsu’s claim of up to a 63-percent reduction in conligent Machine System, so Komatsu opted for a 12.1-inchstruction time will make many contractors pause. While high screen that uses a touch screen interface instead of a the company readily admits Intelligent Machine Control isn’t for all applications, it contends its near elimination of multi-step menu. (Note: the machine still uses the excavaover-excavation makes sense on high production or precitor’s function display monitor for regular functions.) sion jobs. Whether, as Komatsu says, it truly opens the door The angle and magnification of the 3D display can be to autonomous machines on construction jobsites will be changed, allowing operators to select the optimum view intriguing to watch. for their jobs. Users can switch between a “rough” overall – Marcia Gruver Doyle | MGruver@randallreilly.com view and a magnified “fine” grading view that highlights the bucket position. The display can be moved out of the way when not in use. Located in the upper right hand corner of the screen, the arrow of the facing angle compass shows the orientation of the bucket edge relative to the target surface. “This compass allows us to square the machine to the slope, basically giving the bucket an accurate cutting edge perpendicular to the slope,” Anetsberger says. “While this seems easy, it can be quite difficult, especially when you consider the machine is sitting on an uneven surface.” In a narrow column on the left side of the screen, a conventional colored light bar shows the bucket edge position relative to the target surface; when the buttons are green, you’re close to grade. Operators can also opt to use a sound function, which audibly warns them when the bucket reaches programmed distances from the target surface. If you opt for manual controls, the Auto mode can be turned off by pushing the upper right corner switch, putting the display in indicate-only mode. If owners opt to use Topcon’s Sitelink 3D Enterprise system, machine and office can be connected in several ways: • Project files can be directly downloaded from a contractor’s office to the machine. The 12.1-inch touch screen display can be positioned out of the way when not in use. • Progress information and as-built data can be sent back to the office. 24 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
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innovations | continued
2015 Ford F-150’s head-turning aluminum body improves fuel economy, acceleration performance and payload capacity
I
nnovation is the result of conquering a difficult quest using imagination fueled by passion and experience. The 2015 F-150 is a rolling example full of innovation, and its aluminum body is just one example of why it’s deserving of one of Equipment World’s 2015 Innovation awards. Twenty-some years ago a young automotive body structures engineer by the name of Bruno Barthelemy was part of a team at Ford tasked with building an aluminum-intensive vehicle (AIV) using the Mercury Sable as the test platform. It was an experiment to reduce the weight of vehicles, thus improving fuel economy and setting the stage to meet ever-increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. They built a test fleet of 100 Mercury Sable AIVs and put them out in the world to see how they’d fare.
26 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
The AIV Sables did what was expected, but Ford deemed the cost of making mass-produced, aluminumbodied, four-cylinder cars for the U.S. market outweighed the benefits at the time. But the challenge of meeting ever-increasing CAFE standards remained as did the challenges of finding ways to make vehicles that met those standards. “Our [team’s] job is to find innovative ways to design parts to reduce the weight and total cost of the part while maintaining or surpassing the strength requirements of the body structure,” said Dr. Barthelemy in 2006, by then Ford’s global chief engineer, Body Structures. They were also “looking for the perfect application” according to Barthelemy where a stronger, lighter-weight aluminum body could be used so the benefits outweighed the costs to the consumer. That opportunity came in 2008 when Ford Truck
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innovations | continued needed to start work on the next generation F-150. It was also the same time higher CAFE benchmarks for light-duty trucks was put into play. “The big question for Ford Truck,” Barthelemy told us during an interview earlier this year, “was what direction do we go with the next generation F-150: Do we use hybrid electric or diesel or traditional gasoline? A smaller engine or a smaller pickup?” The Body Structures team ultimately focused on creating a new truck using an aluminum body because the lighter weight not only helped improve fuel economy, it also improved acceleration performance and payload capacity – two important aspects for F-150 buyers. Bodywise, Ford was totally ready: The Body Structures team had decades of experience manufacturing limited-
production, high-end luxury cars and SUVs under the Jaguar and Land Rover nameplates here and abroad. “From an investment standpoint, when you create a new vehicle, you also have to create a new assembly plant,” says Barthelemy – a point played out later by Ford reportedly investing more $900 million on re-tooling the Dearborn F-150 plant and related stamping and on-site aluminum support operations. “But from a technology standpoint the engineering team was very confident in our ability to build the new truck,” says Barthelemy who was also the supervisor on the mid90’s Super Duty body re-design. Doubts as to an aluminum body F-150 being the right move circulated inside Ford’s upper management and key investors.
Ford tested prototypes of the aluminum body at Barrick Mining in Elko, Nevada, where mine surveyors can easily put up to 300 miles a day just driving the mine site.
EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 29
innovations | continued So the engineering teams got creative and did something unheard of: Barthelemy had them hand-build six X-0s (prototypes built before any developmental engineering plans were drafted or ok’d) using 2008 F-150s as the platform to prove to management aluminum is better than steel – and that this truck was, indeed, the perfect vehicle for the application. Then they brought Ford’s decision makers to their secret testing ground to drive the aluminum-bodied F-150s. “When we realized the aluminum F-150 gained 750 pounds of additional payload capacity, and when we proved from a durability standpoint with the first wave X-0 prototypes that this truck surpassed the 2008 model, everyone on our Body Structures team was smiling,” recalls Barthelemy. But he says the biggest smiles came when key management drove the X-0 F-150s the first time in early 2010: “They were dumbfounded by the performance and quality of the job aluminum could do,” says Barthelemy. “They said, ‘Oh, gosh. Unbelievable. This is a level of quality we’ve never seen in a truck.” That was all it took to have the next-generation F-150 aluminum body green-lighted. Manufacturing innovations followed, including using four different types of aluminum and new manufacturing processes to vary the thickness and strength of body support structures according to location inside the truck.
Members of Ford’s F-150 structural engineering team show off an aluminum body panel to the press. 30 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
The end result is a 2015 F-150 aluminum body that weighs 45 percent less than the equivalent steel body and stronger in all aspects. Recycling scrap, the biggest cost concern from the beginning, was addressed and conquered as well: Ford’s innovative, state-of-the-art, in-house recycling program recoups the cost of almost 90 percent of the 310 pounds of aluminum scrap generated building each truck. Meanwhile, Ford Truck’s powertrain team designed innovative, smaller, lighter, more powerful pickup engines we know today as the EcoBoost V-6s to take advantage of the lighter-weight body. Roll all of those innovations into one and you have the 2015 F-150 leading the way for a new generation of lighter, faster, more efficient pickups industry wide.
Why we like this product We like Ford’s 2015 F-150 because it’s a trend-setter that literally embodies the newest technology in the manufacturing and design of pickups. It moves the utility and economy bar higher, as it does comfort and performance. Lighter and stronger, the aluminum-bodied 2015 F-150 offers a configuration to fit any construction/contracting business owner’s needs in cab, bed and drivetrain configurations. Winners all. – Bruce W. Smith | BSmith@randallreilly.com
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innovations | continued
Pairing a diesel engine with lithium-ion batteries on the Hygen hybrid generator solves a whole lot of problems for a whole lot of people
Where diesel is hard to get, this hybrid generator can keep the lights on and the work going.
M
ining asteroids in space may not seem like something that would produce benefits for poor people in the Third World or construction contractors here on earth. But an idea that started in the private space exploration sector has now evolved into a new product that stands to benefit both – Planetary Power’s HyGen hybrid diesel-electric generator. It was Planetary Power’s first mission that identified the need to create power and electricity in outer space – one of the applications being asteroid mining. Planetary Power took this need and began development of a direct solar powered engine called SUNsparq. In developing the hybrid system (energy production and storage) used in SUNsparq, the engineers quickly real-
ized that a similar system could be engineered using a diesel engine, high efficiency alternator, and energy storage. This developed into HyGen as a faster-to-market alternative while the next generation solar-powered engine for SUNsparq is developed.
Diesel power, battery storage If you understand how a Chevy Volt works, you have the basic concept of the HyGen – an internal combustion engine combined with a battery. Like the Volt, it can produce electrical power directly off the engine, or when loads are lighter, out of the batteries without the engine running. HyGen is a serial hybrid; this means the power production is “decoupled” from the load, reducing the stress on the engine. EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 33
innovations | continued “Pairing a generation solution with energy storage gives you a lot of flexibility,” says Randy Hart, Planetary Power’s hybrid product manager. “The most reliable and robust system out there is a diesel generator. But it’s old technology and the way that it is currently applied, the engine must be running to provide power, and the fuel efficiency varies significantly depending upon the load. The lifespan of those diesel engines is measured in hours of runtime and is relatively short when under continuous duty.
Numerous advantages Planetary Power found that pairing energy storage and a smart control system with a high-efficiency diesel generator produces a wide range of advantages compared to a diesel-only generator: 1. The engine does not have to be running the entire time you need power. 2. When the engine is running, it is at its most efficient rpm, which extends engine life. 3. Total fuel consumption to meet load drops in some cases over 80 percent. 4. Engine noise is greatly reduced. 5. The quality of the electricity is improved to the level needed for some of today’s electronics thanks to the buffer of the batteries and the inverter between the engine and the output. The HyGen system produces 60 kW of peak, 30 kW of surge output and 20 kW of continuous power. A three-cylinder Perkins 403 F/D series engine turns the generator which sends the electricity into lithiumion battery modules that have an estimated life of 10 years. Depending on the load, the HyGen can run up to 20 hours on battery power alone, and multiple units can be networked together to meet high demand applications.
34 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
Plug and play energy Planetary Power has also designed the HyGen to plug and play with other energy producing technologies such as solar or wind systems. “HyGen can make the most of renewable energy sources regardless of whether or not the sun is shining or the wind is blowing,” Hart says. HyGen’s primary market at present is the global telecom companies, who need highly efficient, reliable power to produce electricity for remote cell phone towers. But the range of future applications is tremendous: remote fishing villages in Alaska, construction contractors and military personnel operating in roadless environments, or scientific research stations located at the ends of the earth – anywhere that delivery of diesel is expensive and dangerous. Hart says he also sees regular construction contractors finding benefits to running the HyGen, especially when powering jobsite trailers. In his previous work with equipment rental companies, Hart says he found that contractors often greatly over-specified their trailer generators resulting in a lot of wasted fuel, extra maintenance and noise.
Why we like this product Some 1.4 billion people in the world live without electricity. Many others can only access it intermittently. Getting lights and refrigeration is the first priority in the undeveloped world and the HyGen is perfect for that. But even better outcomes will start to emerge when these Third World citizens plug their first circular saw or concrete mixer into their local HyGen outlet, or wire up a small factory to manufacture a profitable product from local resources. That’s going to change the world and all for the good. http://www.planetarypower.com/hygen/ – Tom Jackson | TJackson@randallreilly.com
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in court | by Brian Morrow
State GDOT prevails on suit involving fatal collision based on sovereign immunity
I
n a recent case involving a suit against a state Department of Transportation arising out of a fatal collision between a passenger vehicle and a dump truck on I-95 – GDOT v. Jarvie (Nov. 16, 2014) – the Georgia Court of Appeals held the GDOT was not liable based on the doctrine of sovereign immunity. The doctrine of sovereign immunity is a legal doctrine that derived from English law, which assumed “the King can do no wrong.” Under this doctrine, the sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution. Enacted in 1946, the Federal Tort Claims Act, waived the federal government’s immunity to certain actions. In response, many states enacted similar statutes that waived a state’s sovereign immunity under certain prescribed conditions. In general, the State Tort Claims Acts either provide a general waiver of immunity with certain exceptions, or immunity subject to limited waivers that apply to certain types of claims. In GDOT v. Jarvie, in 2007, the Georgia GDOT awarded a contract to Plant Improvement Company dba Seaboard Construction to act as the general contractor for a road-widening project on I-95. The project involved installing large quantities of aggregate rock to construct the road bed. Seaboard submitted a written request for permission from the GDOT to stockpile aggregate material in the highway median. The GDOT gave
Seaboard permission to construct a stockpile area subject to certain conditions, including that Seaboard submit a traffic control plan for GDOT approval. Ultimately, the GDOT approved Seaboard’s request to stockpile material in the median. In April 2009, Jarvie was a passenger in a passenger vehicle traveling in the left lane on I-95 when the vehicle collided with a dump truck entering the highway from the median at the material storage area. The dump truck was driven by an operator working for Flo Jo, a subcontractor to Seaboard. The plain-
tiffs sued the dump truck operator, Flo Jo, Seaboard and GDOT for causing Jarvie’s death. The plaintiffs alleged the GDOT negligently designed, constructed, and maintained the construction vehicle access and egress to the median. Plaintiffs’ complaint alleged the stockpile area lacked certain safety features, such as acceleration or deceleration
lanes for construction vehicles, dust control measures, proper warning signs, adequate field monitoring and appropriate operating hours. GDOT moved to dismiss plaintiffs’ complaint on the basis of sovereign immunity. The trial court denied GDOT’s motion. GDOT appealed. The Georgia Court of Appeals reviewed the law of sovereign immunity. In Georgia, sovereign immunity has constitutional status, and may only be waived by an act of the General Assembly or by the Constitution itself. In Jarvie, the plaintiffs sought a waiver of sovereign immunity based on an act of the General Assembly, i.e., the Georgia Tort Claims Act (GTCA). The plaintiffs argued the GDOT was liable because they negligently allowed Seaboard to design, install and use a dangerous stockpile area in the interstate median. However, the GTCA’s waiver of immunity does not include torts committed by independent contractors. Therefore, the court found the GDOT is not subject to suit for the conduct of its contractors, such as negligently designing the stockpile area’s traffic plan or negligently driving the truck that caused Jarvie’s death. In Jarvie, the GDOT’s role amounted to approving Seaboard’s request to stockpile the material in the median and monitoring compliance with the conditions of approval. EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 37
in court | continued With respect to approving the stockpile area and traffic plan, plaintiffs’ claim was based on the stockpile area, as opposed to the project design. The plaintiffs’ expert witness, a former GDOT project engineer, reviewed the project and stated he had no criticisms of the overall project design. Instead, his criticisms focused on the stockpile plan. Seaboard was responsible for the design and construction of the stockpile area. The stockpile location was proposed by Seaboard after the design process to save time and to “help coordinate the heavy rail movements which will be required to receive this amount of [road construction] material.” Therefore, the GDOT’s role was limited to reviewing and approving the stockpile location and traffic plan, which was designed and proposed by Seaboard. As a result, and pursuant to the GTCA, the court found the GDOT was immune from liability based on its decision to
The Jarvie matter shows that approve Seaboard’s stockpile plan. under the doctrine of sovereign imThe plaintiffs further argued the munity, governmental entities in the GDOT’s on-site monitoring of the United States are immune from suit, construction operations, including just as the king was immune in meat least one instance of penalizing dieval Europe, unless some excepSeaboard for crossing the median in an unapproved location, amounted to tion applies. Although the federal government and states have enacted inspection of state property not covTort Claims Acts, these statutes only ered by the exception of the GTCA allow suit under certain prescribed relating to inspection powers. Howcircumstances and timeframes. As a ever, the court found the GDOT’s result, any suit involving work for conduct amounted to oversight of a governmental entity, especially construction activities for purposes involving claims of serious bodily of administering the contract, and injury or death, needs to be carefuldid not amount to an inspection of ly examined to determine whether state property for regulatory complithe doctrine of sovereign immunity ance or safety hazards, as set forth in might apply. the GTCA. As a result, the Court of Appeals found Brian Morrow is a partner in Newmeyer & Dillion LLP, a law firm the with offices in Newport Beach and Walnut Creek, California, and GDOT Las Vegas. Mr. Morrow possesses B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil was not engineering, is a licensed California Civil Engineer and attorney, liable for and specializes in the field of construction law, including road, transportation and heavy construction. He can be contacted at Jarvie’s brian.morrow@ndlf.com. death.
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road science | by Tom Kuennen
E
ven as the green movement expands its war against fossil fuels, it’s losing ground in its ability to use federal legislation to strangle new highways and capacity improvements in the cradle. Since 2005, serious reforms in federal surface transportation legislation like today’s MAP-21 and its predecessor, SAFETEA-LU, have allowed states to shorten the time it takes for bridge, road and capacity improvements to go from conception to completion. But the reforms haven’t been widely implemented. SAFETEA-LU specifically initiated a new environmental review that would allow state agencies to assume the U.S. DOT’s environmental review responsibilities and, significantly, liabilities under the controlling National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
40 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
But with only two states – California and Texas – taking full advantage of the environmental review delegation of authority, it’s clear more can be done. “There’s not been a wholesale reduction in the environmental review process,” says Nick Goldstein, vice president, Environmental & Regulatory Affairs, American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). “We think there’s a long way to go in project delivery. “California was one of the five states that had the option under SAFETEA-LU, and the only one that went ahead with it,” Goldstein tells Equipment World. “MAP-21 opens it up to every state. Texas looked to California for its own application, and we have hope that more states will take advantage of that process. With California and Texas being
Photo Credit: Tom Kuennen
STATES MUST TAKE THE INITIATIVE IN ENVIRONMENTAL STREAMLINING
on opposite ends of the spectrum, if it works in both places – which we’re assuming it will – maybe other states will decide it can work for them.” But there’s a catch: the state assumes the liability for lawsuits that the federal government was accepting under the existing process. “States waive their sovereign immunity, and that’s been a barrier,” Goldstein says.
Delivery of highway construction projects has been enhanced by environmental streamlining provisions of MAP-21 and its predecessor, SAFETEA-LU.
Categorical exclusions Categorical exclusions are the easiest route to environmental streamlining, but only if the project fits. MAP-21 expanded the definitions of types of projects that can be considered CEs. For example, the emergency categorical exclusion was used recently to speed reconstruction on an I-5 bridge project in Washington State. On May 23, 2013, a portion
of the I-5 bridge collapsed into the Skagit River near Mount Vernon after being struck by an oversize load. Crews installed two temporary spans and the bridge was reopened June 19, less than four weeks later. Work immediately began on a permanent span, which was moved into place Sept 14, 2013, and the bridge reopened to highway-speed traffic the next day. “[The categorical exclusion]
was very helpful there; instead of waiting months to get in to repair a bridge, they were able to get in within weeks,” Goldstein says. “Emergency situations represent a new class of categorical exclusions created by MAP-21. It enables the state to go in and fix an emergency situation without triggering a more burdensome environmental impact statement.” “The streamlining provisions EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 41
ROAD SCIENCE | continued
Photo Credit: Tom Kuennen
Capacity improvements in environmentally sensitive areas are subject to stringent environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, which has been used to delay such improvements.
in MAP-21 are among the most important – and potentially most impactful – in the new law,” said a October 2013 report of a joint committee of the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials, Associated General Contractors and ARTBA. “There is potential for significant improvements in transportation project delivery if all parties use these provisions to their maximum effect.”
Texas Takes Control The initial two-year MAP-21 expired Sept. 30, but was extended six months through May 2015, with some stop-gap funding added to supplement the ongoing Highway Trust Fund deficit. ARTBA president and CEO Pete Ruane has cited two points that would enhance environmental streamlining under MAP-21: a focus 42 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
on flexibility, and creation of an information clearinghouse. “The process should allow states to assume certain parts of the review process, while leaving others to the federal government, depending on what is in the best interest of advancing the project,” Ruane said in November. He added there should be a centralized information clearinghouse created to allow states to see what works, and what does not. Under MAP-21 reforms, Texas will assume federal responsibility for environmental reviews, rather than provide information to federal agencies on a case-by-case basis, which will telescope the amount of time involved in review and approval. “Streamlining opportunities, even small ones, can have far-reaching benefits to TxDOT,” said Carlos
Swonke, director, Environmental Affairs Division, Texas DOT, at a House subcommittee hearing in September. In 2013, TxDOT projects went through 1,796 environmental approvals. Of the TxDOT environmental approvals, 98 percent were categorical exclusions used for minor, routine projects, such as repaving or a bridge replacement, TxDOT is also making use of the categorical exclusion for projects within operational right-of-way, using it on 627 project approvals. “It has been a time saver and a money saver,” Swonke said. For example, the environmental approval for widening a four-lane highway to six lanes in Houston took three years and $100,000, even though no additional right-of-way was needed and there was no public opposition.
ROAD SCIENCE | continued
Photo Credit: CMI/Terex Corp.
Use of environmental and social justice complaints against urban expressways began as interstates penetrated cities in the 1960s and early 1970s.
“Today that project could be approved with a categorical exclusion in a fraction of that time and at a fraction of that cost,” Swonke said.
44 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
Photo Credit: Tom Kuennen
The road ahead Even as today’s roadbuilders benefit from MAP-21, lawmakers inside the Beltway are looking ahead to reauthorization, and improving environmental streamlining is in the mix. “The environmental review and permitting processes are major components of project delivery,” said House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit chairman Tom Petri (R-Wis.) at a hearing in September. “[MAP-21 reforms] maintained our strong environmental protections while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the process,” Petri said. The complexity of the issue,
Megaprojects like the new Bay Bridge in San Francisco Bay underwent exhaustive environmental impact reviews.
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ROAD SCIENCE | continued
Photo Credit: Fluor
The expedited I-15 CORE project interchange under construction in suburban Salt Lake City.
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told Congress. In addition to expediting environmental review, Utah employs innovative contracting methods to deliver contracts in record time, such as the recent I-15 reconstruction project in Utah County completed in an unprecedented 35 months, making it the fastest billion-dollar project ever built in the United States. That project moved forward in 2008, when FHWA gave final clearance of the project’s exhaustive environmental review, allowing the state to begin right-ofway acquisition, design
Provo River Constructors constructed or restored 63 bridges in Utah’s I-15 CORE project
Photo Credit: Fluor
however, merits continued examination of the process. “We want to consider how the process is working well and what ways it can work better.” Utah DOT continues to expedite projects in the permitting process, said Carlos M. Braceras, P.E., executive director, Utah DOT, at the hearing. “As part of our effort to speed project delivery, UDOT secured delegation of categorical exclusion projects, streamlining the process to as little as 10 days for simple projects, and up to six months for complex projects,” Braceras
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ROAD SCIENCE | continued and construction. Provo River Constructors (PRC), a Fluor Corporation-led joint venture, designed and reconstructed the 24-mile-long stretch of I-15 south of Salt Lake City. The design phase of the $1.1 billion project laid out an ambitious agenda for such a short time period: More than 200 lanemiles of general purpose lanes; 42.5 lane-miles of new express lanes; seven new interchanges; four modified interchanges; ramp modifications; new auxiliary lanes; and new concrete pavement along the entire corridor (except the last twomile transition on the south end) that will last 40 years. In addition, 63 bridges along the corridor were restored or replaced. Famously, PRC also used Accelerated Bridge Construction techniques to expedite the schedule. Under ABC, four bridges were con-
structed on the side of I-15. These bridges are as heavy as 3.8 million tons, and as long as a football field, including end zones. With the use of a remote-controlled, selfpropelled modular transporter, the bridges were be moved into place overnight, allowing for full freeway closure without impacting the safety or travel times of motorists using the interstate.
Expediting tollway construction Toll authorities have also weighed in on the future of environmental streamlining in highway legislation. Michael Kraman, acting CEO, Transportation Corridor Agencies, Irvine, California, which is responsible for a network of congestionreducing toll highways in Orange County, gave Congress several recommendations for future legislation, including these:
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• Allow projects in states with stringent environmental review laws, such as California, to meet federal environmental review requirements through compliance with state laws. While this provision was in the House bill in 2009, it was relegated to a study in MAP21. • Require that all federal agencies responsible for funding, permitting or approving a project collaborate on, use and adopt a single National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document for that project. • Impose limitations on scope of resource agency review. Legislation could limit resource agency comments to issues within the jurisdiction and expertise of the resource agency, and could require resource agencies to accept the evaluation of the Federal Highway Administration on traffic, engineering and cost issues instead of disputing them. • Speed up deadlines for the NEPA review process and add requirements to render timely decisions including technical studies, environmental impact statements and permits. • Combat bogus challenges and delaying tactics. Environmental opponents want to be able to indefinitely stall projects subject to NEPA reviews and federal permits. NEPA should be amended to require challengers to prove an agency did not use the best available information and science; require that opponents exhaust their administrative remedies; and require new rules for standing and impose a 180day statute of limitations.
bridge inventory | by Tina Grady Barbaccia
2014
Bridge INVENTORY Funding remains the No. 1 impediment to improving structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges, but time restrictions and a greater need for preventive maintenance are also problematic.
E
ach year we survey state and local transportation officials on how many structurally deficient (SD) and functionally obsolete (FO) bridges are in their systems. Late last year, they gave us the tally: Nearly 21 percent of bridges now are considered both SD and FO. Believe it or not, this is good news, because the percentage of SD/FO bridges has dropped incrementally in the past five years from a high of 23 percent in 2010.
But funding still remains the biggest hurdle to improving this number even further. W. Kyle Stollings, director of the maintenance division for the West Virginia Department of Transportation, says insufficient funding certainly will have a “tremendous impact on getting structures rehabilitated or replaced” but, states also need to “get away from the ‘worst first’ mentality and focus more on system preservation.” Adam Matteo, P.E., assistant state bridge engineer for the Virginia De-
partment of Transportation, agrees. He notes that insufficient funding will restrict important work in the coming year – that “our desire to keep ahead to the upcoming influx of structures that will require replacement or major rehabilitation is greatly affected by lack of funds and personnel.” That being said, Matteo points, “[We] need to change the emphasis of replacing structures with the goal of keeping the good structures good through performing preventive and
Methodology: The Randall-Reilly Bridge Inventory has been conducted since 1979. Bridge engineers from every state and Washington, D.C., are sent a survey with both qualitative and quantitative questions. The Federal Highway Administration, in consultation with the states, has assigned a sufficiency rating, or
SR, to each bridge 20 feet or more that is inventoried. The qualitative data are gathered through a questionnaire about major issues concerning bridge conditions and maintenance. The data was collected through October 2014. EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 49
bridge inventory | continued restorative maintenance.” When asked in the survey if any aspect of his department could
be changed to improve bridges, Matteo mentioned creating a dedicated fund used to repair and
What causes the most damage to bridges? (A)ge (C)orrosion (T)raffic (O)ther
Alabama Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Delaware District of Columbia Florida Hawaii Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Minnesota Missouri Montana Nebraska New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Texas Utah Virginia Washington West Virginia
A A C T O A C T C T C O A O C C C A C A A O C C A C C C C O C
Data compiled by Linda Hapner
50 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
T C A A C A C A C T T C
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How the states stack up: A look at the top five T O A C
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T O A C
A
C A A C A T A O C O
replace structures. In addition to keeping bridges in good condition it would also have a secondary goal of slowly bringing the structures in poor condition up to good condition. That pesky, perennial problem of funding remains the greatest challenge to lowering Virginia’s rate of structurally deficient (SD) and functionally obsolete (FO) bridges in the coming year, but regardless of this roadblock, Matteo says the state still expects to lower its number of SD/FO bridges.
T T A T
O A
T
T T O
O A
T T T
A A A
Source: Randall-Reilly 2014 Bridge Inventory
1. District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.): 57 percent combined SD/FO bridges Don Cooney, infrastructure project management administrator for the District’s agency, says “All but one of our structurally deficient bridges is in the department’s six-year plan for rehabilitation or construction. Several are under construction. Only lack of funding would affect the program. Insufficient funding will delay implementing design and construction of bridge projects.” On self-ranking scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the poorest), Cooney gives D.C. a 3.5. Why? “Several rehabilitation projects have been completed and 18 new bridges have been added to the inventory.” Washington, D.C., has 209 total bridges, 120 of which are rated both SD/FO. 2. Rhode Island: 51 percent combined SD/FO bridges Rhode Island reports having 757 total bridges, and 387 are combined SD/FO. Fifty-one percent (310 out of 612) of its total number of interstate and state bridges are also combined SD/ FO. Fifty-three percent of its total
combined city/county/township bridges (77 out of 145) meet the SD/FO classification. David Fish, P.E., managing engineer of bridge design for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (DOT), says he doesn’t expect to lower the number of SD/FO bridges in the coming year. Last year, Rhode Island also ranked at 51 percent of its total bridges being considered SD/ FO. In a self-rating for how well a state’s bridges rank, on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the poorest, Fish gave Rhode Island a 2 “[because] Rhode Island currently has the second-lowest bridge ranking in the United States.” How is Rhode Island able to work toward improving its bridges? Funding is the biggest challenge in lowering the SD/FO rate, Fish says. Insufficient funding in the coming year “would prevent us from implementing more of the preservation contracts that are needed to help
reduce the rate of SD bridges in the state.” Fish says if he could change any aspect of his department to improve bridges in the state, he would “implement more bridge preservation programs and implement programmatic agreements with regulatory agencies to expedite the design process.”
3. Pennsylvania: 38 percent combined SD/FO bridges More than 8,600 of Pennsylvania’s 22,623 bridges are considered SD/FO, a drop of 1 percent from last year. The state has 16,125 total combined interstate and state bridges, 34 percent of which are considered SD/FO. At a local level, 49 percent of Pennsylvania’s 6,498 total city/county/ township bridges are classified as SD/FO this year. Pennsylvania is taking advantage of the public-private partnership (P3) tool that former Republican Gov. Tom Corbett Jr. signed into law in 2012 to start an initia-
A Five-Year Look at America’s Bridges Type of Bridge 2010 2011 2012
tive to help improve the state’s bridges. With the P3 approach, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) says it will able to replace hundreds of these bridges more quickly, save money, and minimize the impact on the traveling public. In October, PennDot chose Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners to build 558 bridges under its Rapid Bridge Replacement Project.The team must begin construction in summer 2015 and complete the replacements within 36 months, according to PennDOT. The state retains ownership of the bridges, but the team is responsible for maintaining each bridge for 25 years after its replacement. At the time, PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch said this initiative helps Pennsylvania “take a big step to cutting further into its backlog of structurally deficient bridges.” To preserve bridge safety, PennDOT said it is also in the
2013
2014
Interstate and state bridges
Total surveyed *SD/FO Percentage
291,034 61,149 21.0%
City/county bridges Total surveyed 309,479 *SD/FO 78,471 Percentage 25.4% Total overall bridges surveyed Total 600,513 *SD/FO 139,620 Percentage 23.3%
292,085 59,250 20.3%
292,273 58,851 20.1%
300,260 58,106 19.4%
300,001 55,235 18.4%
310,006 77,566 25%
309,881 76,806 24.8%
309,178 73,094 23.6%
308,093 69,150 22.4%
602,091 136,816 22.7%
602,154 135,657 22.5%
609,438 131,200 21.5%
608,094 124,385 20.5%
*SD/FO = structurally deficient/functionally obsolete *Note Mississippi & Nevada did not respond - 2013 figures used
Source: Randall-Reilly 2014 Bridge Inventory and previous year reports ** Note California & Ohio did not report functionally obsolete
EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 51
bridge inventory | continued
How deficient and obsolete bridges break out in 2014
States and the District of Columbia have provided separate counts for the latest numbers on the breakdown of their structurally deficient (SD) and functionally obsolete (FO) bridges.
State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California*** Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi * Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada * New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio*** Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming TOTAL
Total Bridges
Interstate & State Bridges
5,753 822 4,849 7,332 12,363 3,437 2,951 856 209 6,370 6,671 771 1,322 8,320 5,879 4,124 5,441 9,000 7,887 2,094 2,922 3,585 4,463 3,900 5,727 10,371 2,939 3,521 1,077 1,512 2,426 2,970 8,339 17,413 1,133 10,874 7,663 2,718 16,125 612 8,418 1,797 8,307 34,892 1,888 1,089 19,414 3,294 6,989 5,217 1,955 300,001
Total FO
%
921 16% 71 9% 368 8% 724 10% *** *** 429 12% 886 30% 112 13% 108 52% 665 10% 718 11% 243 32% 205 16% 999 12% 499 8% 268 6% 585 11% 1,789 20% 1,321 17% 243 12% 419 14% 1,007 28% 720 16% 234 6% 751 13% 908 9% 301 10% 66 2% 145 13% 196 13% 328 14% 179 6% 2,429 29% 2,930 17% 27 2% *** *** 541 7% 623 23% 2,772 17% 171 28% 772 9% 95 5% 840 10% 3,487 10% 163 9% 198 18% 3,028 16% 890 27% 1,371 20% 383 7% 136 7% 37,264 12.4%
Total SD
%
109 2% 78 9% 108 2% 305 4% 298 2% 216 6% 207 7% 56 7% 12 6% 64 1% 124 2% 47 6% 50 4% 588 7% 343 6% 105 3% 77 1% 571 6% 786 10% 277 13% 82 3% 290 8% 265 6% 83 2% 221 4% 1,058 10% 117 4% 190 5% 16 1% 117 8% 226 9% 171 6% 779 9% 2,087 12% 35 3% 353 3% 468 6% 82 3% 2,661 17% 139 23% 829 10% 68 4% 226 3% 193 1% 23 1% 65 6% 1,279 7% 141 4% 902 13% 174 3% 210 11% 17,971 6.0%
Total SD/FO
City/County/Township Bridges
%
1,030 18% 149 18% 476 10% 1,029 14% 298 2% 645 19% 1,093 37% 168 20% 120 57% 729 11% 842 13% 290 38% 255 19% 1,587 19% 842 14% 373 9% 662 12% 2,360 26% 2,107 27% 520 25% 501 17% 1,297 36% 985 22% 317 8% 972 17% 1,966 19% 418 14% 256 7% 161 15% 313 21% 554 23% 350 12% 3,208 38% 5,017 29% 62 5% 353 3% 1,009 13% 705 26% 5,433 34% 310 51% 1,601 19% 163 9% 1,066 13% 3,680 11% 186 10% 263 24% 4,307 22% 1,031 31% 2,273 33% 557 11% 346 18% 55,235 18.4%
Total Bridges
10,153 148 2,833 5,316 12,288 4,773 1,251 11 0 5,091 8,004 392 2,372 18,281 13,057 20,139 19,536 5,022 4,934 231 2,321 1,577 6,514 9,900 10,837 13,977 2,016 11,552 725 1,001 4,182 747 9,058 858 3,144 17,156 15,445 4,034 6,498 145 878 3,953 11,464 18,126 1,058 1,627 1,647 4,033 111 8,833 844 308,093
Total FO
%
1,052 10% 23 16% 219 8% 796 15% *** *** 398 8% 240 19% 5 45% 0 n/a 911 18% 851 11% 99 25% 144 6% 926 5% 1,433 11% 811 4% 1,099 6% 1,217 24% 425 9% 11 5% 512 22% 383 24% 558 9% 315 3% 452 4% 1,666 12% 281 14% 899 8% 23 3% 194 19% 802 19% 129 17% 1,846 20% 170 20% 200 6% *** *** 689 4% 507 13% 908 14% 44 30% 137 16% 112 3% 1,304 11% 4,091 23% 77 7% 371 23% 335 20% 671 17% 39 35% 360 4% 127 15% 28,862 9.4%
* Note Mississippi & Nevada did not respond - 2013 figures used *** Note California & Ohio did not report functionally obsolete bridges
52 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
Total SD
%
1,211 12% 20 14% 87 3% 479 9% 1,171 10% 306 6% 168 13% 1 9% 0 n/a 149 3% 763 10% 39 10% 258 11% 1,631 9% 1,512 12% 4,873 24% 2,313 12% 572 11% 1,041 21% 74 32% 225 10% 157 10% 1,026 16% 1,023 10% 1,997 18% 2,200 16% 115 6% 2,173 19% 17 2% 190 19% 332 8% 78 10% 1,169 13% 70 8% 554 18% 1,607 9% 3,478 23% 286 7% 2,272 35% 33 23% 184 21% 1,090 28% 713 6% 832 5% 60 6% 128 8% 174 11% 204 5% 38 34% 1,020 12% 175 21% 40,288 13.1%
Total SD/FO
%
2,263 22% 43 29% 306 11% 1,275 24% 1,171 10% 704 15% 408 33% 6 55% 0 n/a 1,060 21% 1,614 20% 138 35% 402 17% 2,557 14% 2,945 23% 5,684 28% 3,412 17% 1,789 36% 1,466 30% 85 37% 737 32% 540 34% 1,584 24% 1,338 14% 2,449 23% 3,866 28% 396 20% 3,072 27% 40 6% 384 38% 1,134 27% 207 28% 3,015 33% 240 28% 754 24% 1,607 9% 4,167 27% 793 20% 3,180 49% 77 53% 321 37% 1,202 30% 2,017 18% 4,923 27% 137 13% 499 31% 509 31% 875 22% 77 69% 1,380 16% 302 36% 69,150 22.4%
Combined Total All Bridges
Total Bridges 15,906 970 7,682 12,648 24,651 8,210 4,202 867 209 11,461 14,675 1,163 3,694 26,601 18,936 24,263 24,977 14,022 12,821 2,325 5,243 5,162 10,977 13,800 16,564 24,348 4,955 15,073 1,802 2,513 6,608 3,717 17,397 18,271 4,277 28,030 23,108 6,752 22,623 757 9,296 5,750 19,771 53,018 2,946 2,716 21,061 7,327 7,100 14,050 2,799 608,094
Total FO
1,973 94 587 1,520 *** 827 1,126 117 108 1,576 1,569 342 349 1,925 1,932 1,079 1,684 3,006 1,746 254 931 1,390 1,278 549 1,203 2,574 582 965 168 390 1,130 308 4,275 3,100 227 *** 1,230 1,130 3,680 215 909 207 2,144 7,578 240 569 3,363 1,561 1,410 743 263 66,126
% 12% 10% 8% 12% *** 10% 27% 13% 52% 14% 11% 29% 9% 7% 10% 4% 7% 21% 14% 11% 18% 27% 12% 4% 7% 11% 12% 6% 9% 16% 17% 8% 25% 17% 5% *** 5% 17% 16% 28% 10% 4% 11% 14% 8% 21% 16% 21% 20% 5% 9% 10.9%
Total SD
1,320 98 195 784 1,469 522 375 57 12 213 887 86 308 2,219 1,855 4,978 2,390 1,143 1,827 351 307 447 1,291 1,106 2,218 3,258 232 2,363 33 307 558 249 1,948 2,157 589 1,960 3,946 368 4,933 172 1,013 1,158 939 1,025 83 193 1,453 345 940 1,194 385 58,259
%
Total SD/FO
%
8% 3,293 21% 10% 192 20% 3% 782 10% 6% 2,304 18% 6% 1,469 6% 6% 1,349 16% 9% 1,501 36% 7% 174 20% 6% 120 57% 2% 1,789 16% 6% 2,456 17% 7% 428 37% 8% 657 18% 8% 4,144 16% 10% 3,787 20% 21% 6,057 25% 10% 4,074 16% 8% 4,149 30% 14% 3,573 28% 15% 605 26% 6% 1,238 24% 9% 1,837 36% 12% 2,569 23% 8% 1,655 12% 13% 3,421 21% 13% 5,832 24% 5% 814 16% 16% 3,328 22% 2% 201 11% 12% 697 28% 8% 1,688 26% 7% 557 15% 11% 6,223 36% 12% 5,257 29% 14% 816 19% 7% 1,960 7% 17% 5,176 22% 5% 1,498 22% 22% 8,613 38% 23% 387 51% 11% 1,922 21% 20% 1,365 24% 5% 3,083 16% 2% 8,603 16% 3% 323 11% 7% 762 28% 7% 4,816 23% 5% 1,906 26% 13% 2,350 33% 8% 1,937 14% 14% 648 23% 9.6% 124,385 20.5%
Fracture Critical
process of adding new weight restrictions or lowering existing weight restrictions on nearly 1,000 bridges throughout the state.
201 112 47 630 1,029 158 167 28 22 342 35 7 126 518 413 1,101 628 328 301 120 275 329 123 127 214 948 239 1,063 46 87 571 45 1,548 85 166 1,470 461 285 1,296 59 61 142 161 815 80 129 325 327 518 197 72 18,577
4. Hawaii: 37 percent combined SD/FO bridges Hawaii has 1,163 bridges in the state, and 428 of them are classified as combined SD/FO. Breaking it down, 38 percent of its total combined interstate/state bridges are considered SD/FO, and 35 percent of its city/county/ township bridges also have this designation. Paul Santo, bridge design engineer for the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT), says he expects that Hawaii will be able to lower its rates of SD/FO bridges in the coming year. “A couple of bridges are rehabilitated, so the total number of SD/FO bridges should be less,” Santo says. Santo gives Hawaii a 3 in how its bridges should be rated, in a self-rating scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the poorest. “We have a high percentage of bridges that are deficient with insufficient funding to be effective,”’ he notes. If he could change any aspect of his department to improve his state’s bridges, Santo says it would be to “allocate more funds to improve the bridges.” HDOT received a Preservation Commendation last May for its Hawaii State Historic Bridge Inventory & Evaluation from the Historic Hawaii Foundation’s 2014 Preservation Honor Award. The effort evaluated all state and county bridges statewide built before 1968 and assessed their preservation values, according to HDOT. The agency notes that this information will be used to assist and provide guidance in HDOT’s future project development. A total of 708 bridges were identified and evaluated for eligibility into the Hawaii State Register of Historic Places or the National Register of Historic Places.
Total
%
1% 12% 1% 5% 4% 2% 4% 3% 11% 3% 0% 1% 3% 2% 2% 5% 3% 2% 2% 5% 5% 6% 1% 1% 1% 4% 5% 7% 3% 3% 9% 1% 9% 0% 4% 5% 2% 4% 6% 8% 1% 2% 1% 2% 3% 5% 2% 4% 7% 1% 3% 3.1%
5 (TIE). Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York: 36 percent combined SD/FO bridges Connecticut has 4,202 bridges and 1,501 are considered SD/FO. In terms of combined total interstate and state bridges, 37 percent of the 2,951 bridges are considered SD/FO. Thirty-three percent (408) of the total com-
Data compiled by Linda Hapner. Source: Randall-Reilly 2014 Bridge Inventory
EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 53
bridge inventory | continued bined city/county/township bridges are considered SD/FO. Connecticut has an action plan to help improve these numbers.
innovative and accelerated project development and construction techniques to complete this program.
Massachussetts: Out of this
New York’s 17,397 bridges are SD/ FO. Of its 8,339 total combined interstate and state bridges, 38 percent are classified as SD/FO. The state’s 9,058 total combined city/county/ township bridges have 33 percent considered as SD/FO. New York doesn’t expect to lower its rate or SD or FO bridges in the coming year, according to the New York State Department of Transportation’s (NYSDOT) responses to the survey. NYSDOT self-rates itself as a 3 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the poorest, in terms of condition of its state’s bridges. The agency says 67 percent of its bridges are in good condition. Funding availability will remain as
state’s total 5,162 bridges, 36 are considered combined SD/FO, including 1,297 interstate/state bridges and 540 city/county/township structures. MassDOT says the historic $3 billion Patrick-Murray Accelerated Bridge Program represents a “monumental investment in Massachusetts bridges.” The agency notes that this program will “greatly reduce the number of structurally deficient bridges in the state system, while creating thousands of construction jobs on bridge projects.” MassDOT and the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) says it will rely on the use of
New York: In the state, 6,223 of
the biggest challenge in lowering the states rate of SD/FO bridges, but other restrictions such as specs, contracts or time restrictions won’t affect how well the agency is able to replace or repair deficient bridges. NYSDOT says insufficient funding will “significantly” restrict important work in the coming year “since our aging bridge population requires continual investment in repair and maintenance.” There have been 70 bridges closed in the last five years, and this year, 18 have been closed in the state because of a deficiency, structural failure or collapse; however, some of these bridges are slated for repair. For the full state-by-state listing (and Washington, D.C.) of how the nation’s bridges fare, see the table on page 52.
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54 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
quick data | by Marcia Gruver Doyle
Backhoes
|
MGruver@randallreilly.com
A snapshot of new and used sales trends from Randall-Reilly’s Equipment Data Associates and TopBid auction price service.
Top financed new backhoe*
Auctions
Deere 310 SK, 750 units
Backhoe auction prices, 2009-Nov. 2014 $43,000
High: Apr. 2012
$
$42,000 $41,000
41,722
5-year average
$
$40,000
38,003
$39,000 $38,000
Other top selling machine: Cat 420F, 564 units
$37,000 $36,000
2009
2010
2011
2012
Top financed used backhoe*
Low: Dec. 2013
2013
Cat 420E, 345 units Oct.
July
Apr.
35,627 Jan.
July
$
Apr.
Jan.
Oct.
July
Apr.
Jan.
Oct.
July
Apr.
Jan.
Oct.
July
Apr.
Jan.
PRICE
Jan.
$31,000
Oct.
$32,000
July
$33,000
Apr.
Auction prices for the top 10 models of backhoes sold during the past five years have stayed within a narrow band, with only roughly $6,000 separating the high and low price. The average price from 2009 through November 2014 was $38,003.
$34,000
Dec.
$35,000
* Jan. 1 – Nov. 30, 2014. Source: EDA, edadata.com (Note: EDA reports are continually updated.)
2014
Top financed backhoe brands*
Trend prices for the top 10 models of backhoes sold at auction, not seasonally adjusted. Source: TopBid, topbid.com
82,500
$
OTHER TOP BIDS
Top auction price, paid for 2012 Deere 410K with 1,902 hours at a Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers International sale on Sept. 26, 2014, in Kansas City.
$82,500, 2012 Cat 420E, Feb. 6, Alex Lyon & Son in Kissimmee, Florida. $81,000, 2011 Deere 710J, Feb. 17, Ritchie Bros., Orlando.
Final bids
0
0 0 5 , $82
AVERAGE
0 17,5
$
HIGH
LOW
unit count: 231 Dec. 1, 2013-Nov. 30, 2014; prices for backhoes 5 years old and newer, U.S. sales only. Only includes bids $5,000 and above. Source: TopBid, topbid.com
81 7 , $51 New
Backhoe buying patterns*
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2
Cat, 1,411 units
3
Case, 767 units
Top three states for new backhoe buyers* 1 Texas, 582 buyers
2
California, 217 buyers
3
Pennsylvania, 130 buyers
NEW Up 8%
Used high: 2005, 2,362 units
2007
Deere, 1,477 units
New, used backhoes year-over-year change*
New low: 2010, 761 units
*Financed equipment, 2005-2013. Source: EDA, edadata.com
1
* Jan. 1 – Nov. 30, 2014, includes new financed sales only. (Note: EDA reports are continually updated.) Source: EDA, edadata.com
Used low: 2009, 1,444 units
2006
Number of units
New high: 2005, 5,104 units
2005
5,500 5,000 4,500 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500
Used
During most of 2014, Deere and Caterpillar were neck and neck in financed backhoe sales, with Deere at 38.4 percent of the market and Cat at 36.7 percent. Case had 20 percent.
USED Down 6%
*Comparison of number of backhoes financed Nov. 1, 2013 to Oct. 31, 2014, and Nov. 1, 2012 to Oct. 31, 2013. Source: EDA, edadata.com
EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 55
highway contractor | by Kerry Clines
Some old concrete pavement technologies are making a comeback and giving asphalt a run for its money
Concrete overlays are showing great promise as an alternative to total road replacement. They go down quickly compared to complete road replacement, allowing the road to be opened to traffic much quicker.
T
he technologies behind the concrete pavements used on our nation’s roads and highways have been around for a while, but new developments in equipment and admixtures have opened up the market for some of them, making them the latest trends in concrete paving. These trends include concrete overlays, roller compacted concrete and full-depth reclamation. Concrete overlays With little new construction going on because of the lack of a longterm highway funding bill, pavement preservation has become a priority for most agencies and municipalities. This is an area where concrete overlays are showing great promise. “Concrete overlays have been around for a while, but within the last seven to eight years in particular, we’ve seen a tremendous growth in 56 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
the use of the technology,” says Bill Davenport, vice-president of communications at the American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA). “The downturn in the economy has played a part in that. Agencies are required to do more with less. They don’t have the money to do everything they’d like to do or everything they need to do, so that’s where the concrete pavement overlay comes into play.”
There are several types of concrete overlays that fall into two categories, bonded or unbonded. Within these categories, overlays are placed over distressed asphalt, concrete or composite pavements. One of the most common applications is bonded concrete over asphalt. In these applications, generally, the top 2 to 5 inches of the asphalt wearing course is milled off and replaced with concrete. The thin concrete overlay
goes down quickly in comparison to complete road replacement, which allows the road to be opened to traffic much quicker. “As an industry, we’re trying to educate agencies and contractors about the benefits of concrete overlays, as well as make them aware of potential applications,” Davenport says. ACPA is working through its staff engineers, affiliated associations and the National Concrete Pavement Technology Center to provide information and technical assistance but Davenport says there’s still work to be done. One example: the questions raised during a recent ACPA concrete overlay webinar. “They underscored the point that we still need to get the information out there on how to take advantage of concrete overlay technology, where the overlays can be used and the keys to building them right,” he says. Stringless technology can play a big part in concrete overlays, making them easier to construct. A paver can use computerized electronic guidance systems and laser technology to control overlay thickness and smoothness and make adjustments as it moves along. “Stringless technology is taking hold with many contractors, as it makes the work site safer and helps improve final smoothness results when applied correctly,” Davenport says. “As we move forward, it is going to increase production and reduce some of the inconvenience to motorists.”
Roller compacted concrete Although not a new technology, roller compacted concrete (RCC) is still new to many people. It started out as a specialty product placed by specialty contractors, but there has been growing interest in its use in different applications, including turning lanes, low-volume streets and roads, parking lots, and also in limited highway applications such as on shoulders. “Roller compacted concrete is an interesting paving material,” says
Though the technology has been around for many years, FDR is still one of the most sustainable paving products in the market place, since it preserves everything in place.
Roller compacted concrete, which is placed using asphalt-type equipment, competes well with asphalt paving on cost and speed of construction.
Wayne Adaska, P.E., director of pavements at the Portland Cement Association (PCA). “It competes well with asphalt paving on cost and speed of construction. The zero-slump concrete, which uses no forms or reinforcement, is placed with asphalt-type pavers and then
compacted to a high density using vibratory rollers.” The key to RCC’s speed of construction is that it is placed in much thicker layers than asphalt. Where asphalt is placed in multiple layers of 3/4 to 2 inches, RCC is placed in single, thicker layers of up to 9 inchEquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 57
highway contractor | continued es. Within the past five years, RCC has been embraced by many paving contractors who are getting involved because of the potential for the technology to replace asphalt, which has experienced sharp increases in cost. One of the challenges RCC has faced is that the surface looks more like asphalt than concrete. It has an open texture, so those expecting the look of conventional concrete may be disappointed. “RCC is getting much better appearance wise,” Adaska says. “The top size aggregate has been reduced from 3/4 inch to as small as 1/2 inch, which results in a tighter surface texture; however, it’s still not at the stage where it looks like conventional concrete.” To address the surface appearance, there’s an admixture available that shows great promise. The admixture is sprayed on the surface of the compacted RCC and then power troweled, resulting in a smoother, tighter surface. Last summer, the ad-
mixture was used on a project in the Chicago area. So far, Adaska says, the results have been outstanding, but it’s important to see how it holds up through the winter. Adaska believes admixtures, in general, will play a greater role in RCC in the future. For several years, the ACPA has been leading the charge on improving the workmanship and quality of RCC. In early 2011, the association formed a task force made up of experts who have been providing guidance in advancing RCC, both technically and in market development.
Full depth reclamation With preservation and rehabilitation on the minds of public agencies these days, there has been a renewed interest in full depth reclamation (FDR). Although not part of the concrete pavement family, FDR is one of the most sustainable paving products in the market place, since it preserves everything in place. This
30-year-old technology has been revolutionized in today’s market by larger, more powerful equipment. Reclaimers, or pulver mixers, have been the key component in revitalizing the market by expediting construction and making FDR economical. FDR used to be a time-consuming job. Reclaimers had to make multiple passes to break up the old road, and special equipment such as rippers and breakers were required to make the material usable. Today, reclaimers can pulverize the asphalt and granular base in just one pass, going as deep as 18 inches. Cement is then spread, and the material is remixed, water added, if necessary, compacted, and cured. The result is a strong durable base that is constructed quicker and more economically, and is much more sustainable than removing and replacing the existing road. The base is suitable for concrete or asphalt pavement surfaces.
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58 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
Maintenance of traffic An emerging focal point for the concrete pavement industry is maintenance of traffic in construction work zones. “Agencies are under tremendous pressure to start and complete projects quickly, so, increasingly, contractors are required to keep traffic moving around work zones and avoid disrupting and delaying road users to the greatest extent possible,” Davenport says. “This is an area where the national association, along with local chapters, state paving associations and contractors will work together with agencies to find additional solutions.”
For more information
More information about these technologies can be found online and in print. The National Concrete Pavement Technology Center published Guide to Concrete Overlays: Sustainable Solutions for Resurfacing and Rehabilitating Existing Pavements (3rd edition), which is available at www.cptechcenter.org/technical-library/documents/Overlays_3rd_edition.pdf. The PCA publication, Guide for Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavements, is a guide specification for the construction of exposed RCC for roadways and other applications. It provides owners/ agencies, contractors, and consultants with specification guidance aimed at setting and maintaining a consistently high standard for quality workmanship. It can be found at http://members. cement.org/EBiz55/ProductCatalog/Product.aspx?ID=1626. Another publication offered by the PCA is Guide to Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) with Cement, which can be obtained at http://members.cement.org/EBiz55/Bookstore/BookstoreResults. aspx?Value=eb234. The PCA also offers Guide to Cement Based Integrated Pavement Solutions. This guide provides a brief description on 10 specific engineering pavement applications. It is available at http://members.cement.org/EBiz55/Bookstore/BookstoreResults.aspx?Value=SR035. A collection of web- and desktop-based applications are available on the ACPA website. The apps are created to assist in the design, construction, and analysis of concrete pavements. These apps can be found at http://apps.acpa.org/apps/. The ACPA offers two web-based training programs sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration. One covers safety in concrete construction work zones and the other covers stringless paving. This year, two more modules on best practices for constructing smooth concrete pavements and best practices for stockpile management will be unveiled. The courses are offered free of charge at www.acpa.org/self-paced-online-courses/. A Wikipave website is in the process of development by the ACPA. The online resource will offer information on all things related to concrete pavement technology, including products and technologies, as well as photos, charts, graphs, etc. Once the site goes live, anyone with a web connection will be able to access the information.
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12/17/14 8:42 AM
CONGRATULATIONS to the 2014 Contractor of the Year winner and finalists IN
R
E
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W
Jeremy Hiltz Jeremy Hiltz Excavating Ashland, New Hampshire
Dwaine Doss Doss Enterprises Jane Lew, West Virginia
Kevin and Shawn Guyer Guyer Brothers Construction New Enterprise, Pennsylvania
Daniel Thiel and Steven Mueller J&S General Contracting Osceola, Wisconsin
Don Facciobene Don Facciobene Incorporated (DFI) Palm Bay, Florida
Vern Larman Larman Construction Garland, Texas
Brian Winot Northeast Site Contractors East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Brad Phillips Phillips Companies Beavercreek, Ohio
Landon Floyd Precision Pipeline Cedar City, Utah
Doug Thomas Thomas Construction Grove City, Pennsylvania
James Tollestrup James Tollestrup Construction Lethbridge, Alberta
Brian Winkler Wm. Winkler Company Newman Lake, Washington
Sponsored by:
contractor of the year | by Marcia Gruver Doyle | MGruver@randallreilly.com
“Our goal is to have something that we’ll be able to perpetuate, and if it’s a good fit for our kids, then they have that opportunity.”
In a third-generation company, Brad Phillips likes “figuring things out, and seeing the results.”
W
hen you ask Brad Phillips when he first became interested in construction, his answer is straightforward: “I can’t remember when I haven’t been.” And when you look at Brad’s background, his answer makes
perfect sense. Brad is part of the third generation that runs Phillips Companies, Beavercreek, Ohio. The company, which was started by his grandfather as a sand and gravel company in 1942, has three main divisions: aggregate production, ready-mix, and Brad’s division, excavating. “I can’t think of a time when I thought I wasn’t going into construction,” he says. “It’s what all the Beavercreek, Ohio people around me were doing and I wanted to be like Phillips Companies them. Plus, it’s fascinating; I Year started: 1942 like figuring things out, and Number of employees (division): 20 seeing the results.” Annual revenues: $16 million companywide; So Brad worked on pipe $5 million excavating division crew and around the comMarkets served: Residential, commercial, pany’s gravel pit during suminstitutional site work and roadwork, mers in college. But after excavation, sewer and water graduating from Purdue,
Brad Phillips
the construction management grad spent a couple of years working for others on construction sites in Dallas and Chicago. This gave him perspective, and allowed him to gain both lifelong mentors and an appreciation for the family business. And even though his son is studying construction management at Bowling Green University, “I still don’t want to pressure him to come into the firm,” he says. As it was with him, it needs to be a choice.
Understanding what needs attention Phillips Companies’ work concentrates in the southwest Ohio area around Dayton, with the excavation division doing a variety of work, including residential, commercial and institutional site work, road work and utility installations. “We are not the people who’re going to move EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 61
contractor of the year | continued Phillips Companies crews on Lyons Place, a senior apartment complex in Dayton, Ohio.
500,000 cubic yards of dirt and install a mile of 30-foot deep sewer,” Brad says. “But we have great people from top to bottom who are good at what they do. We are good at managing and constructing small to mid-size site projects and we understand the areas that need attention in order to produce a high quality project in a safe and timely manner.” Brad appreciates that Phillips Companies is a survivor of the Great Recession. “All of the owners took dramatic compensation cuts, we went to four-day weeks during the winter, and looked at every vendor early-pay discount,” he recounts. And while its bond62 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
ing company reviews have become much more detailed, the company benefitted from the downturn, snagging two managers, Dave Warner and Pete Marshall, from downsizing companies. Still, competition is tough, and “the guys who are still around after the past five years know what they are doing,” Brad says. “My dad and uncles – who took over from my grandfather – did a good job of structuring this business for longevity,” Brad says. “Our goal is to have something that we’ll be able to perpetuate, and if it’s a good fit for our kids, then they have that opportunity.” “They are structured profession-
ally,” says Craig Shamp with HD Supply, “and you don’t always get that in this industry. They do it the right way.” “I know there are multiple family members in the business and they still manage to function quite efficiently and effectively,” echoes Greg Thompson with the Greater Dayton Construction Group. “They should get extra points for that.” The company also has profited from joining Aileron, a non-profit designed to help small business owners, located in nearby Tipp City, Ohio, started by Iams founder Clay Mathile. “It’s helping us take the next step,” Brad says. “One of our partners told
me that tough times make you better. We’re getting repeatable systems that make sense and developing a transparency of information with our people. We want to hire good people, and let them do their job.”
Equipment operations “We are currently revisiting if owning equipment is our best option,” Brad says, but the seasonality of the construction business makes him pause. ”It’s easier to look at a paid-for piece of equipment sitting idle in your yard in January, and you haven’t had to write a check for the lease payment when you haven’t gotten any hours on it that month.” The company’s shop performs normal equipment maintenance, and a company mechanic will make field repairs and perform fluid and lube services. The company’s nine-bay garage includes a paint booth. “Our people have those skills and we like to keep our equipment looking good,” Brad says. Oil analysis is an absolute for helping the company project the life of a machine and preventing field
failures. Like many firms during the recession, the company put more age on its machines, and is in the process of replacing key machines. “Tracked excavators are the most versatile for us, it’s the type of machine we get the most hours on, so we always want to own them,” Brad says. His excavators top out at a 40-ton size machine. “We’ll do deeper sewer lines, but we’ll bench down. Our people aren’t familiar with larger machines and I want them to be comfortable, especially when we’re working deep.” Rentals come into play for smaller or more specialized machines.
Low mod rate With some general contractors requiring an experience modification rate below 1.00, Brad feels the company’s .60 EMR has given it an advantage over companies with higher EMRs. Crew members get a $25 gift card every time the company hits its no lost time accident goals each quarter. “We really push safety,” Brad says, “and we stress getting it done
Phillips Companies has a nine-bay shop, home base to the firm’s field mechanics.
right the first time, because we don’t get paid to anything twice.” This safety attitude has gotten at least one client’s attention. “In fact, I chose them for a job because I knew they’d do it safely, even though they weren’t the low bidder,” says Bob Saffin with real estate developer Miller Valentine. “The job had a very deep trench in sandy soil and I wanted somebody I could rely on.” In addition to working with the Boy Scouts (“I wasn’t a part of it when my son was growing up, and I now want to support all the great things they do”), Brad has served as local Chamber of Commerce president and is on the trustees for Clark State Community College. “The average age of the students at the college is 28. The education they receive gives them an opportunity to get out of the gate,” he says. If Brad had access to his younger self, he’d advise him to take more risks. Lessons learned? “Develop relationships with customers that value your expertise,” he says, “and be a partner, not a commodity.”
Brad says its experience with Aileron, a non-profit with the mission of helping small businesses grow, has helped the firm “take the next step.” EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 63
safety watch | by Amy Materson | AMaterson@randallreilly.com
Paving pitfalls
With multiple moving machines on a site, workers should be on guard
The bottom line: A post-accident investigation resulted in three OSHA citations: 1) the contractor did not furnish a place of employment free from hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm; 2) the contractor failed to initiate and maintain frequent and regular inspections by a competent person; and 3) the contractor did not adequately train employees about safe operating distances around vehicles. OSHA fined the contractor, and the injured worker filed a civil suit against the company.
Wrong place, wrong time The close proximity of construction workers to moving equipment is often to blame for jobsite accidents. Whether you’re in a piece of equipment or on foot, following some basic guidelines will help to prevent avoidable accidents.
Illustration by Don Lomax
The accident: A paving contractor was working on a new parking lot for a commercial property. A skid steer operator backed into a worker shoveling asphalt from the hopper of a paver, pinning him between the skid steer and the paver and crushing his leg between the pieces of equipment. He was transported to the hospital, where his leg was amputated below the knee.
Follow backing protocols – Your firm will have established procedures in place for backing vehicles on construction sites. If you’re a pedestrian on a site, stay alert and aware, and know what signals an equipment operator uses prior to backing. Listen out for horns and alarms, and keep an eye on the spotters. Familiarize yourself with the blind spots for each piece of equipment on the site, and stay out of those areas. If you’re an equipment operator, don’t start backing until you have the go-ahead from your spotter, and then use an agreed-upon signal, such as an air horn, to alert those around you that you’re traveling in reverse.
Adhere to the ITCP – The project manager will provide the crew with an Internal Traffic Control Plan, which will create a traffic flow for equipment, vehicles and pedestrians. Designated walking zones will be provided by the ITCP, which will allow you to safely navigate the jobsite. If an area is designated as prohibited for foot traffic, do not cross barriers designed to keep pedestrians away. Use a buddy system – Pair up with a fellow crewmember. A buddy system, where coworkers are assigned to spot one another, allows you to focus on your task while another worker is on the lookout for hazardous situations, including unexpected moving equipment in your area.
Information for this Safety Watch is from an accident report, the Center for Disease Control’s NIOSH Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program and NIOSH’s Workplace Solutions: Highway Work Zone Safety. It is meant for general information only.
Date of safety talk: Attending:
Leader:
_____________________ EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 65
alerta de seguridad | por Amy Materson | AMaterson@randallreilly.com
Problemas en la pavimentación
Con múltiples maquinarias móviles en el área de trabajo, los trabajadores deberían estar en guardia El accidente: Un contratista de pavimentación estaba trabajando en un nuevo estacionamiento para una propiedad comercial. El operador de un minicargador retrocedió hacia un trabajador que usaba una pala para sacar asfalto de la tolva de una pavimentadora, aplastándolo entre ésta y el minicargador, triturándole la pierna entre las piezas del equipo. Fue llevado al hospital, donde le amputaron la pierna por debajo de la rodilla. Conclusión: Una investigación posterior al accidente resultó en tres sanciones impuestas por la OSHA: 1) el contratista no ofrecía un lugar de trabajo libre de riesgos de muerte o de daños físicos de seriedad; 2) el contratista no cumplió con establecer y mantener inspecciones frecuentes y regulares a cargo de una persona competente; 3) el contratista no capacitó adecuadamente a sus empleados acerca de las distancias de operación seguras en torno a los vehículos. La OSHA multó al contratista y el trabajador herido inició una demanda civil contra la compañía.
Illustration by Don Lomax
Familiarícese con los puntos ciegos de cada una de las maquinarias en el área de trabajo y aléjese de ellos. Si usted es un operador de maquinaria, no empiece a retroceder hasta que tenga el visto bueno de un vigilante, y luego use una señal acordada, como una corneta de aire, para alertar a aquellos en torno a usted de que está yendo en reversa.
En el lugar equivocado, a la hora equivocada Con frecuencia, la cercanía de los trabajadores de la construcción a las maquinarias móviles es la culpable de los accidentes en el área de trabajo. Ya sea que esté a pie o en una maquinaria, seguir ciertos lineamientos básicos le ayudará a prevenir accidentes.
Adhiérase al PCTI – El gerente del proyecto ofrecerá a la cuadrilla un Plan de Control de Tráfico Interno, que creará un flujo de tráfico para la maquinaria, los vehículos y los peatones. El PCTI designará las zonas para caminar, las cuales le permitirán recorrer el área de trabajo con seguridad. Si un área queda designada como prohibida para el tráfico peatonal, no cruce las barreras diseñadas a mantener lejos a los peatones.
Siga los protocolos de retroceso – Su compañía debe haber establecido procedimientos para el retroceso de vehículos en áreas de construcción. Si usted es un peatón en el área de trabajo, manténgase alerta y atento, y conozca las señales que hace un operador de maquinaria antes de ir en reversa. Escuche las cornetas y alarmas, y tenga a la vista a los vigilantes.
Apóyese en un compañero – Trabaje en pareja con un compañero de la cuadrilla. Un sistema de apoyo con un compañero, donde los colegas son designados a vigilarse uno al otro, le permite enfocarse en su tarea mientras otro trabajador está al acecho de situaciones riesgosas, incluyendo la aparición inesperada de maquinaria en su área.
La información para esta Alerta de Seguridad fue tomada del reporte de un accidente, del programa de Evaluación y Control de Víctimas Fatales del NIOSH del Centro de Control de Enfermedades, y del Workplace Solutions: Highway Work Zone Safety (Soluciones en el trabajo: Seguridad en la zona de trabajo de autopistas) del NIOSH. Tiene únicamente fines de información general.
Fecha de la charla de seguridad: Asistentes: 66 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
Líder:
_______________
pro pickup | by Bruce W. Smith
First Drive: 2015 Chevrolet Colorado
NO MISTAKEN IDENTITY
GM re-opens the door on mid-size pickups in 2015 by re-inventing the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon
A
lthough their names ring familiar to just about everyone who has a passing interest in pickups, the new Chevy Colorado and its fraternal twin, the GMC Canyon, have about as much in common with the trucks GM stopped production on in 2012 as decade-old V8s do with those found under the hoods of today’s pickups. While the original mid-size GM pickups were considered to be more or less throwaway economy pickups overshadowed by the quality and performance of the likes of Toyota and Nissan, the new Colorado and Canyon set a high standard the rivals are going to be hardpressed to reach without equally dramatic improvements. From grille to rear bumper, the new-generation GM mid-size pickups are a true reflection of the design, engineering and quality they have instilled in the full-size trucks.
FULL-SIZE DNA What I have seen after my first opportunity to drive models from both brands is GM has done a stellar job keeping the DNA of the Sierra and Silverado 1500s intact during the rebirth process of the smaller Canyon and Colorado. In years past, Chevy and GMC midsize pickups looked a lot alike. Now the new Canyons look similar to Sierra HDs, while Chevy designers took styling cues from the Camaro and applied those to the Colorado headlights and grille so the two brands now have distinctive looks. Beyond the exterior differences both smaller pickups are reflections their larger counterparts while being about four inches narrower and a foot-and-a-half shorter than comparable full-size models. They incorporate high-strength steel cab structures, easy open tailgates, steps in the rear bumpers like the fullsize pickups and the same style doors.
The interiors will be familiar to those stepping out of Sierras and Silverados, with a lot of soft textures, curves and cubbies in the design and excellent noise isolation from the outside world. The seats are comfortable, the visibility is good, controls conveniently placed and occupant safety thoroughly addressed. I was impressed with how well both Colorado and Canyons drive, too: The electrically assisted rackand-pinion power steering is nicely weighted and gives the trucks an almost sporty feel. The four-wheel disc brakes do the same.
WORK MUSCLE There’s also plenty of power available from the 305-horsepower 3.6-liter V-6 for handling lighter hauling and towing tasks. GM also offers a 200-horsepower inline-four in the base-model for those who need a commuter/delivery pickup, and will have a 2.8-liter diesel option next year. EquipmentWorld.com | January 2015 67
pro pickup | continued The Chevy Colorado Crew Cab 4x4 LT, equipped with the V-6 and 6-speed automatic, can tow 7,000 pounds with the optional trailering package (3,500 pounds without). The same model can also haul up to 1,580 pounds. The high-revving engine reminds me a lot of driving the new V6-powered Camaros, pulling strong from about 4,000 rpm to nearly 7,000 rpm. GM’s V-6 also sounds considerably more robust than either of the Nissan or Toyota V-6s in Crew Cab 4x4s I drove during the same test sessions. Colorado/Canyon fuel economy is 17 mpg city/24 mpg highway for the V-6 4x4 models, 18/26 for the 2WD versions. The I-4 is rated 20 mpg city, 27 mpg highway for a combined 22 mpg. GM says that makes the new Colorado/Canyons the most fuel-efficient engines in their class, offering 3 to 5 mpg better than their competitors. That difference will be even bigger when the four-cylinder diesel enters the mix in 2016.
68 January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com
($21,800 in GMC trim) and climb to LIMITING OPTIONS the high-$30,000s for a Chevy Z-71 As for engine and transmission options, GM makes ordering simple: A or GMC All-Terrain with options including four-wheel-drive and six-speed manual is only available leather trim. on the base model, four-cylinder, With more than 12 million mid2WD Extended Cabs. All other size pickups on the road, many of models come equipped with the those being the old Colorados and six-speed automatic. Canyons, GM’s newest truck entry Axle ratios are just as limited: appears to be well timed. Let’s 4.10s with the manual trans, 3.42s hope there’s not too much confuwith all others. sion among potential buyers in The Colorado is available in four mistaking identities between what trim levels (Base, Work Truck, LT was and what is. and Z71) in 2WD and 4WD, Extended Cab and Crew Cab configurations. Extended Cabs have the 6-foot 2-inch box while the Crew Cabs can be ordered with either a 5-foot 2-inch bed or the 6-footer. GMC offers similar trim levels and options in the Canyon. Prices start at $20,995 Upper-trim-level interiors have the same for a base model, 4-cylpremium materials and features as the inder 2WD Colorado full-size GM pickups and SUVs.
AD INDEX | Equipment World January, 2015 Advertiser
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Gregory Industries
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48
Vanair Manufacturing, Inc.
www.vanair.com
Hyundai Construction Equipment Americas, Inc. www.hceamericas.com
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Icon Industries
71
Whayne Supply Co.
www.whayne.com www.wirtgenamerica.com
4-5
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39
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Intermat Paris 2015
www.intermatconstruction.com 36
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JLG Industries, Inc.
www.jlg.com/en/h340AJ-5
World of Asphalt 2015
John Deere Construction Equipment
www.johndeere.com/pushback IFC-3
15
74
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Automatic Laser-Guided Grade Box • Finish Grade for Concrete Placement • Crown Sports Fields • Grade Building Pads
Fine Grade Made Easy www.level-best.com • 800-342-0905
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EquipmentWorld.com • January 2015
73
12/15/14 10:35 AM
EQUIPMENT INFORMATION
ZERO DOWN For one year on NO INTEREST Fabric Structures NO PAYMENTS
EQUIPMENT INFORMATION
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CR
SUBS
NOW
Only $29.95 for 12 monthly issues. Send check or money order to: Toy Farmer Publications 7496 106 Ave SE LaMoure ND 58458-9404 Credit card orders call 1-800-533-8293
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Email: info@mobilebarriers.com
www.mobilebarriers.com
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7/23/13 8:59 AM
SEE EASI-POUR AT BOOTH C5761
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Only $29.95 for 12 monthly issues.
EASI-Connect Mold Attachment Send check or money order to: Toy Farmer Publications Simple Machine Setup & Operation
7496 106 Ave SE LaMoure ND 58458-9404
For all your fine grading and pre-trimming needs.
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74
www.toytrucker.com
January 2015 • EquipmentWorld.com
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12/18/14 2:58 PM
IF YOU’RE AT A LOSS FOR WORDS, TRY THESE: THAT’S ONE FINE PIECE OF MACHINERY.
Meet the all-new Kubota SSV skid steer loader. It features a powerful, smooth-running Kubota engine, vertical lift arms, a tilt-up cab and the type of precision engineering that will leave you speechless. Get a closer look at our latest piece of finely tuned equipment by visiting booth number C5673 at World of Concrete.