Equipment World November 2019

equipmentworld.com | November 2019

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HEAVY TRUCKS ELECTRIFIED DRIVETRAINS HIT THE ROAD

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Dealer of the YEAR

Carolina Cat refines processes for streamlined efficiency and service

B O B C A T. C O M / A T T A C H M E N T S

You have the knowledge and strength to accomplish virtually anything. With Bobcat ® equipment, you also have the right tool for the job. Do more jobs and do them faster with the unbeatable selection of Bobcat attachments.

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Bobcat ®, the Bobcat logo and the colors of the Bobcat machine are registered trademarks of Bobcat Company in the United States and various other countries. ©2019 Bobcat Company. All rights reserved. | 1400

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Cover Story

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Vol. 31 Number 11 |

table of contents | November 2019

20

MACHINE MATTERS:

HEAVY-TRUCK MARKET SETTLES DOWN Equipment 17

Marketplace

Bobcat’s largest excavator, Cat rotary mixer, Manitou lifts, Komatsu PC200011, Ditch Witch JT24, Genie scissors

61 Technology

66 Excavator Attachments

Bobcat unveils iPhone/iPad remote control for skids, CTLs

Crush concrete, break rocks, mulch and even float with these excavator add-ons

EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019

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table of contents | continued

Features 30 2019 Bridge Inventory

States struggle to keep up with deteriorating bridges

38 Big Iron Dealer of the Year

Carolina Cat takes a hard look at process to gain customer-service speed, ease

55 Contractor of the Year Finalist Don Logan, Logan Excavating, Rock Spring, Georgia

®

equipmentworld.com facebook.com/EquipmentWorld twitter.com/Equipment_World Editorial Director: Marcia Gruver Doyle Executive Editor: Tom Jackson Online Editor: Wayne Grayson Senior Editor: Don McLoud Contributing Writer: Richard Ries editorial@equipmentworld.com Media Sales Geoffrey Love: gdlove@randallreilly.com Pete Austin: paustin@randallreilly.com Drew Ingram: drewingram@randallreilly.com Patsy Adams: padams@randallreilly.com Jordan Arsenault: jordanarsenault@randallreilly.com Art Director: Tony Brock Advertising Production Manager: Leah Boyd production@equipmentworld.com

Departments 9 On Record

Big little equipment

11 Reporter Bobcat CEO: ‘We’re reinventing ourselves’ with innovative products 2020 48 ConExpo ConExpo-Con/Agg 2020 announces Tech Experience, transportation logistics

51 Maintenance You do PMs, yet still have failures. Maybe it’s time for a biopsy.

Chairman Emeritus: Mike Reilly President and CEO: Brent Reilly Chief Operations Officer: Shane Elmore Chief Financial Officer: Kim Fieldbinder Senior Vice President, Sales: Scott Miller Senior Vice President, Audience: Linda Longton Senior Vice President, Audience Data: Prescott Shibles Vice President, Digital Services: Nick Reid Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault Vice President, Business Analyst: Joe Donald Director of Media Sales: Seth Becker Vice President, Strategic Accounts: Michael Newman For change of address and other subscription inquiries, please contact: equipmentworld@halldata.com Editorial Awards:

Report 58 Product Continental Tire unveils Gen 3 construction tires, reintroduces General Tire lines

Azbee Award of Excellence, Special Section National Gold Award, 2019 American Society of Business Publication Editors

By Side 59 Side OTR retreads: saving you money or not?

Jesse H. Neal Award, Best Single Issue of a Tabloid/Newspaper/Magazine, 2019, American Business Media

62 Quick Data

Jesse H. Neal Award finalist, Best Subject-Related Package, 2019, American Business Media

Compact track loaders

63 Safety Watch Cut-off saw sparks fire

Report 65 Regulatory What contractors need to know about new aerial lift standards Word 74 Final California: It’s time to wake up and smell the diesel For subscription information/inquiries, please email equipmentworld@omeda.com. Equipment World (ISSN 1057-7262) is published monthly by Randall-Reilly, 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 2029, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403 or email at equipmentworld@ omeda.com. Customer service: 1-800-517-4979. 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, 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 arise out of publication of such advertisement.

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Best Editorial Series, 2018, Construction Media Alliance Eddie award for B-to-B Series of Articles, 2016 Highways 2.0, Folio: magazine Editorial Excellence, Original Research, Silver Award, 2016 American Society of Business Publication Editors Jesse H. Neal Award, Better Roads, 2011 American Business Media 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

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on record | by Marcia Doyle MarciaDoyle@randallreilly.com

Big little equipment

I

t’s not surprising that we’re hearing tales of compact equipment sales in some geographical areas growing 40 percent per year from 2015 to 2018.

The construction industry has seemingly gone gaga over these versatile, maneuverable machines. From a sheer numbers standpoint, you could even say they’ve taken over.

Three compact machines – for this part of the discussion we’re limiting it to compact track loaders, compact excavators and skid steers – now make up 66 percent of the top 13 types of new machines financed this year through August 31, 2019.

This is according to data from EDA, a Randall-Reilly firm that tracks financed machine buys.

When we looked at the top buyers of these three machines from 2014 to 2018, all of the top user segments have seen double-digit growth – and in the case of heavy construction, tripledigit growth – in the number of new and used units financed. (See chart.)

Since 2014, the number of new machines financed – again, we’re talking about CTLs, compact excavators and skid steers – has risen by 9 percentage points.

You could dismiss this all because: 1) it’s partly a reflection of what has been a booming construction economy, and 2) these machines cost less than larger units and so more of them are sold.

But contractors wouldn’t buy, rent or lease them if they didn’t do the job. And now another compact machine is starting to make

itself known: the compact utility loader.

It’s nothing new; this machine has been around in this country in various forms since the mid-90s and is also known as a mini skid steer, mini track loader, compact tool carrier and stand-on skid steer. (Note to industry: please decide on a name for this machine. It’s in an identity crisis.)

Between 2016 and 2018, the number of financed new CULs grew well over 15 percent each year and are on track to grow almost 16 percent this year over 2018. In terms of numbers financed, however, they are still in the minor leagues compared with their powerhouse cousins – 4,400 new CULs in 2018, compared to 32,200-plus new CTLs, for example.

The capabilities of these machines are on a steep trajectory, however. At this fall’s ICUEE show, Ditch Witch intro’d the SK3000, representing an increase of 1,100 pounds in operating capacity over parent Toro’s Dingo TXL 2000, which had wowed crowds at The Rental Show just a year and a half ago with its 2,000-pound capacity.

And we’re hearing rumors of others stepping into the higher capacity contest.

All of this is gaining contractor attention.

When we posted a recent video on the Ditch Witch SK3000, one contractor commented: “This is what contractors have been asking for.

Rip off the cab but leave all of the power.”

That’s a good description of the whole compact machine category: taking off what’s not needed but leaving the power to get the job done. EQW

EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 9

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reporter

| staff report

Bobcat CEO: ‘We’re reinventing ourselves’ with innovative products Briefs

Bobcat’s new T76 compact track loader

W

compact equipment industry.” hen Scott Park took the Along with traditional competitors, reins of Doosan Bobcat in Bobcat also faces outside disruptive 2013, the company was still forces, as customers clamor for product recovering from the 2008 economic and service innovations. Inspired by tech downturn. Much of his focus then was companies like Google, Amazon, Uber on building the company’s financial and Airbnb, such innovations address structure to be more resilient during a issues like equipment sharing sluggish economy or sudden and online equipment purdrop in demand. chases with next-day delivery.

With much of that work Some autonomous-car compadone and the company enjoynies are turning their focus to ing wild growth in compactthe construction industry.

The equipment and rental marshortage of equipment operakets, Park is looking at how tors and diesel technicians also the company might not only drives incentives for OEMs and maintain revenues, but grow – Scott Park disruptors to come up with a transform, even. breakthrough product.

“The world is changing “Going forward you’re going to see around us. Because our market position a lot more products, a lot more attachas a global leader in compact equipments and a lot more technology comment can’t be taken for granted, we ing from Bobcat, but it’s going to come needed to do something to ensure that we have growth and sustainability mov- quick,” Park says. “We’re changing our culture, and we’re stepping boldly into ing forward,” Park said during a recent new categories, and we’re going to inpress event. “We needed to change, novate, and we’re going to change the and we needed to redefine what is the

Saying it is responding to market conditions, Deere & Company placed 163 employees in the Quad Cities area on indefinite layoff, including 113 workers at the company’s Davenport, Iowa plant, which manufactures construction and forestry equipment. The QuadCity Times reports that Deere will put 50 workers at the company’s Harvester Works on indefinite layoff as of October 28; the Davenport Works employees will be placed on indefinite layoff November 18.

Hyundai Construction Equipment has agreed to pay $47 million in civil fines for allegedly violating U.S. emissions standards on heavy construction equipment. The company prepurchased engines between 2012 and 2015 “that met outdated emissions standards and then illegally imported, marketed and sold heavy-construction equipment with these engines installed, in violation of the Clean Air Act,” according to the U.S. Justice Department.

(Continued on page 14)

EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 11

YOU’LL NEVER HEAR THEM SAY “NEVER” WHEN FACED WITH TAKING ON THE TOUGHEST TERRAIN, MANEUVERING THE STEEPEST GRADES, AND HAULING THE HEAVIEST PAYLOADS. BECAUSE THEY KNOW WE’RE ALL COUNTING ON THEM TO BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE WE DEPEND ON. THEY ARE AMERICA’S HARD-WORKING TRUCK DRIVERS. AND TO EACH AND EVERY ONE WE SAY THANK YOU. FOR YOUR COMMITMENT. DEDICATION. AND OF COURSE, YOUR DRIVE.

From the proud manufacturer of The Driver’s Truck.™

The World’s Best®

ISO 9001:2000 © 2019 Kenworth Truck Company. A PACCAR company.

reporter |

continued

way work is done. …

“We’re reinventing ourselves.”

Park says the company’s redefined stance toward new products and the necessity of beating disruptors to the punch require it to reshape its approach to innovation. “We’re pursing partnerships in Silicon Valley; we’re taking ownership positions; we’re connecting machines; we’re utilizing ‘big data’; we’re servicing our customers in different ways. Our innovation will help meet the needs of increasingly sophisticated

customers, but we’re also going to lead those customers into sophistication.”

Park says the company plans to continue expanding its manufacturing footprint while being open to more acquisitions, be it in software, machines or attachments.

“We need to get comfortable with change,” he says, “and I feel like over the last few years, we have built a culture of change.”

–Wayne Grayson

Contractor fined $509,071 for trench violations, loses license

A

Michigan-based excavation company has agreed to close business operations and pay a $509,071 penalty for not protecting workers from trench collapse, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The company’s owner also had to surrender his contractor’s license.

OSHA says the agreement was reached after its inspectors on three separate occasions between September and October 2017 reported that Kamphuis Pipeline had “repeatedly exposed employees to trench cavein hazards while workers installed water metering pits and lines” for municipalities in North Dakota. They also reported multiple other violations, including struck-by hazards, workers with no hard hats, falling-object and electrical hazards, workers near traf-

fic with no safety vests, two portable generators sitting in water running water pumps and a trench box sinking from flowing water.

Along with paying the penalties, Kamphuis must “voluntarily terminate all operations and dissolve the company’s corporate status in South Dakota.” The company’s owner and founder, Daniel J. Kamphuis, agreed to surrender his North Dakota contractor’s license, OSHA said.

“Both he and the company also agreed not to have any ownership or managerial interest in any construction business conducting trenching and excavation activities within the U.S. in the future,” according to OSHA. “They may engage in such activities in other capacities but must notify OSHA and take appropriate training if they intend to resume such work.” EQW –Don McLoud

Briefs (continued) Morbark owner Stellex Capital Management has entered an agreement to sell Morbark to Alamo Group for $352 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter, upon which Morbark will become part of Alamo’s Industrial Division.

Wacker Neuson announced it has sold its concrete power trowel business to Husqvarna. The move is designed to help Wacker Neuson “focus on core products and thus streamline its product portfolio,” the company says.

A new law will take effect in one year in Pennsylvania that requires all employers in the construction industry to verify their new employees’ Social Security numbers through the free E-Verify federal database to ensure they are authorized to work in the United States.

Multiquip has established a new headquarters in Cypress, California, and opened a new manufacturing and production center in Fullerton, California, to produce its studio, custom and specialty generators.

For more on each of these stories go to equipmentworld.com.

14 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

B O B C A T. C O M / T O U G H C O N S T R U C T I O N

Everything we put into Bobcat® equipment is designed to make more of whatever you bring to the job. Whether it’s strength, versatility, speed or agility, it’s built around you.

Bobcat is a Doosan company. Doosan is a global leader in construction equipment, power and water solutions, engines, and engineering, proudly serving customers and communities for more than a century.

Bobcat ®, the Bobcat logo and the colors of the Bobcat machine are registered trademarks of Bobcat Company in the United States and various other countries. ©2019 Bobcat Company. All rights reserved. | 1368

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marketplace

| by Don McLoud |

DonMcLoud@randallreilly.com

Bobcat goes large with new E145 Bobcat’s 14-ton E145 marks the company’s largest excavator yet. The 12-inch tail-swing, long carriage class excavator is designed for maneuverability, lifting capacity and heavy digging.

The E145 features a dual-flange track roller system that extends the undercarriage structure closer to the track’s edge. That added

stability and a new integrated counterweight increase lift-over-side capacity. The E145 can be equipped with an optional dozer blade.

The excavator will be offered with a full range of Bobcat buckets and a breaker for demolition. The 115-horsepower turbocharged Perkins engine requires no diesel particulate filter.

R’S EDITO K PIC

More power for reclamation, soil stabilization

Caterpillar’s new RM400 Rotary Mixer gets a 19 percent boost in power over the RM300, which it will replace next year, with a 417-horsepower Tier 4 final Cat C9.3 engine. Cat also improved the cab, which can slide right and left for side views of the tire edges and cut lines. Cat provides standard front and rear cameras and optional side-mounted cameras. Cameras can also be mounted in front and behind the rotor chamber.

The 51,809-pound RM400 has a cutting width of 8 feet and is designed for full-depth reclamation and soil stabilization.

Meeting new aerial lift standards

Manitou is introducing four models of telescopic boom aerial work platforms to North America this year that will meet new ANSI standards scheduled to take effect December 10 in the United States. The four models of telescopic jibs – TJ 65, TJ 65+, TJ 80 and TJ 85+ – are all equipped for rough terrain, feature 360-degree rotating turrets and a platform height range of 65 feet to 85 feet. Platform capacities range from 500 to 900 pounds, with the plus models having higher capacity. The models feature four steering modes: two wheel drive, four wheel drive and crab.

EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 17

marketplace

| continued

Push-button indoor/outdoor operation

Added stability for drilling

Ditch Witch’s new 24,000-pound thrust/pullback JT24 horizontal directional drill fills the gap between its JT20 and JT25 and is aimed at the busy fiber-optic installation market, along with gas and water. The drill’s larger footprint is designed to provide 20 percent more stability than previous models. The 101-horsepower Cummins diesel is both Tier 4 and European Stage 5 compliant. A new hydraulic platform increases drilling efficiency and conserves horsepower for downhole operation. An 83-decibel noise level helps operations in noise-sensitive areas.

In preparation for new standards for aerial lifts that take effect in December, Genie has unveiled the new 46-foot GS-4655 scissor lift. For ANSI compliance, the operator can push a button for the lift to operate at either indoor or outdoor height. The lift features an AC electric-drive system instead of a hydraulic-drive motor.

The GS-4655 has a platform capacity of 770 pounds, is 55 inches wide and is designed for heavy- and light-duty construction, as well as for narrow-aisle warehouse tasks, electrical installation and facilities maintenance.

Faster truck-loading Komatsu’s new PC2000-11 excavator is designed to load 70- to 200-ton rigid-frame dump trucks faster than its predecessor, boosting productivity up to 12 percent. To achieve the performance increase, Komatsu gave the new hydraulic excavator a 9 percent increase in power over the PC2000-8, for a total of 1,046 net horsepower, and added a new engine-pump control. The hydraulic system automatically adjusts flow to operating conditions. In heavy-lift mode, the boom attains 10 percent more lifting force. EQW

These product introductions are just a few of the many featured regularly on equipmentworld.com.

18 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

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machine matters

| by Richard Ries

HEAVYTRUCK MARKET SETTLES DOWN A

fter the huge backlogs and massive sales numbers in recent years, the truck market has returned to calmer days. But calm isn’t stagnant, as ongoing changes to technology and market conditions clearly demonstrate.

A return to normalcy Perhaps the best news for those seeking to invest in new trucks is that the lead time has normalized.

Part of the reason is that dealerships are better at working within the system, says Kurt Swihart at Kenworth. “Orders have tapered off somewhat from last year, but the backlog is still very strong.

To better manage demand, many dealerships purchased stock build slots in advance that can be easily converted to custom orders.”

The demand for custom orders is an integral part of the vocational truck industry, so even though the market has settled down, there’s still variability in lead times. “As has always been true, customers’ truck 20 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

Volvo VHD Series trucks are available with the Volvo D11 or D13 engine. The D11 provides up to 425 horsepower and 1,550 pound-feet of torque, while the D13 tops out at 500 horsepower and can provide XE, Eco-Torque and Dual-Torque ratings to tailor torque output to conditions. Three Volvo I-Shift transmission are available: standard with intelligent electronics, severe duty with upgraded hardware and software, and I-Shift with crawler gears for improved steep-grade launch and low-speed maneuverability.

Two engines are offered for the Kenworth T880. The PACCAR MX-13 provides up to 510 horsepower and 1,850 pound-feet of torque for heavy-duty applications and moving heavy payloads even on steep grades. The PACCAR MX-11 is suited for weight-sensitive applications and environments and provides up to 430 horsepower and 1,650 pound-feet of torque.

EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019

21

machine matters

specifications and additional body modifications affect wait times,” says Roy Horton with Mack Trucks.

We’re seeing what statisticians call the regression to the mean. Things above or below the mean (average) eventually turn around and head back toward the mean, and truck sales are doing exactly that. But these statistical curves rarely stop at the mean; they rarely even pause on their way past. So where’s the truck market heading?

“The market is slowing quite a lot,” says Magnus Koeck with Volvo Trucks North America. “It’s clear 2020 is going to be much slower.”

Koeck says vocational sales tend to be less volatile than over-the-road unit sales.

Electrification Truck manufacturers are making several electrification moves, some of which may reach the 22 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

| continued

Engine options for the Mack Granite Series are the MP7, with up to 405 horsepower and 1,560 pound-feet of torque, and the MP8, with up to 505 horsepower and 1,860 pound-feet of torque. In addition to the popular mDRIVE HD automated manual, Granite trucks can be spec’ed with Eaton-Fuller manual or Allison RDS Series automatic transmissions.

vocational segment.

Daimler Trucks North America offers two Freightliner electric trucks, the eCascadia and the eM2.

The eCascadia is a Class 8 tractor designed for local and regional distribution and drayage, which means it could work well for equipment transport. Both the eCascadia and the Class 6 eM2 are planned for series production in late 2021.

Both trucks are part of Daimler Trucks’ global electrified truck initiative, which is aided by the Electric

Vehicle Council. The council brings together 38 Freightliner customers to identify and address potential hurdles to large-scale deployment of commercial battery electric vehicles.

Mack debuted the LR BEV (battery electric vehicle) with a refuse packer body in May at WasteExpo 2019.

The integrated electric powertrain consists of two 130-kilowatt motors producing a combined 496 peak horsepower and 4,051 pound-feet of torque available from 0 rpm. Power is sent through a two-speed Mack Powershift transmission. This demo model will begin real-world testing with the New York City Department of Sanitation in 2020. No word on when the LR BEV platform will find its way into other applications.

Volvo committed to electric trucks and has demonstration units in operation in California with plans to commercialize them in 2020. But while much is being made in the

machine matters

industry about electric vehicles, Koeck declines to call the change a disruptor. “It is, after all, just another drive system.” An analogy could be the switch from mechanical to hydraulic actuation of construction equipment. Yes, hydraulics opened up new possibilities for control and efficiency, but in the end, the tracks still turned, the blades still went up and down. Koeck says the real challenge with electric vehicles will be the demand they put on the electrical grid.

Accelerating technology Long gone are the days when changing electronic controls required flashing the EPROMs. Nor is there any need to plug in a laptop in most cases. Nearly everything can now be done wirelessly.

One example is Mack’s new remote programming package, which uses the Mack Over The Air feature to implement remote software 24 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

| continued

International introduced a new configuration of its all-wheel-drive HV Series trucks at ICUEE. Key features are a setback front axle and high-visibility hood.

The package is well suited for utility contractors and others who work in tight quarters on unimproved terrain where maneuverability, visibility and all-wheeldrive traction are essential.

updates and the setting of vehicle parameters, such as maximum speed and power modes. Previously, customers could make just two parameter updates per year as part of their uptime contract subscription. The new Mack Parameter Plus package enables customers to make up to 50 parameter updates per 12-month period on all 2018 and newer Mack vehicles.

Kenworth trucks come standard with TruckTech+, which provides remote diagnostics and service management. Truck location and

the presence of fault codes are sent. But TruckTech+ also suggests potential causes for those codes and provides guidance to the fleet manager in a sort of triage treatment: stop immediately, get to the next dealership, or complete the run and head to service afterward.

“This information can be extremely valuable in maximizing uptime,” says Swihart.

Not all advances are run by electrons. Hard parts are getting better, too.

Mack Trucks now offers mDRIVE HD 13- and 14-speed automated manual transmissions (AMT) in TerraPro concrete pumpers, marking the first time an AMT has been available in a cabover concrete pumper. The mDRIVE HD has a split-shaft PTO design.

Instead of taking power from a transmission- or engine-mounted PTO, split-shaft PTOs receive output directly from the transmission,

OKADA. ON THE JOB. DOING THE JOB. Carriers prefer demolition attachments made by Okada America. Okada’s demolition attachments expand the versatility of the excavator, mini-excavator, loader/ backhoe, skid-steer and track loader carriers.

Okada has a wide variety of attachments. Breakers.

Demolition Shears. Crushers. Pulverizers. Processors.

Grapples. Compactors. Screening Buckets. These attachments are precision-engineered, productive and dependable. Okada. On the job. Doing the job.

Call 1-800-270-0600 for the name of the Okada America, Inc. Distributor nearest you.

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machine matters

supplying higher torque for large auxiliary equipment, including concrete pumps. In TerraPro concrete pumpers, the mDRIVE HD will be paired with the 11-liter Mack MP7 engine with higher horsepower and torque ratings than equivalent models with conventional automatic transmissions. That includes the MP7’s top rating of 425 horsepower and 1,560 pound-feet of torque.

The mDRIVE HD for the TerraPro concrete pumper model is available as a 13-speed direct drive or overdrive, as well as a 14-speed direct drive.

As is true for many models now, the Kenworth T680 combines technological advancements in both electronics and hardware. Updated collision mitigation enhances automatic emergency braking performance when the truck senses a potential collision. A fuel efficiency package includes updated predictive cruise control, a new 26 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

| continued

Freightliner has developed two electric trucks. The Freightliner eCascadia (shown) offers 730 peak horsepower, a 250-mile range, useable capacity of 550 kilowatthours and an 80 percent recharge in 90 minutes. The eM2 106 provides 480 peak horsepower, a 230-mile range, useable capacity of 325 kWh and an 80 percent recharge in 60 minutes.

450-horsepower, 1,650-pound-feet MX 13 engine, PACCAR 12-speed automated transmission and PACCAR 40,000-pound rear axle.

Autonomy?

Truck OEMs are working hard on self-driving technology. Daimler, for example, began testing automated trucks on public roads earlier this year. This follows extensive testing on a closed test loop. The on-road testing takes place in southwest Virginia, near the headquarters for Torc Robotics. Torc became part of

the Daimler group and is described by the parent company as “a leader in automated driving technology.”

Daimler’s test trucks are operating at SAE J 3016-2018 Level 4: High Driving Automation. It’s one step below Level 5: Full Driving Automation, which is the highest level.

Test trucks have a specially trained safety driver in the vehicle and an engineer overseeing operations.

Such automation is not the type required to work with ISO 15143-3, which is what allows trucks to navigate a construction worksite and communicate with other equipment there. Certainly some technology and probably some hardware will cross over from the SAE system for use on public roads to the ISO system for worksites, but the focus is on developing the SAE version. In fact, none of our sources offered information on their development of trucks compliant with ISO 15143-3.

Trucks designed to use the SAE

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machine matters

system will be targeted toward drayage and pickup-and-delivery markets. They may also work with concrete mixers, dump trucks going back and forth to asphalt batch plants and similar applications. But automated vocational trucks at home on the highway amid commuter traffic as well as at the construction site amid excavators and dozers would seem to be a distant vision.

Koeck says that while electrification won’t be a disruptor, autonomy may be. “Not needing drivers will have a profound effect on cost structure, although possibly not so much for vocational markets.” He says many of the elements needed for autonomous operation are in place, such as lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control. “The real keys will be legislation and public perception.”

28 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

| continued

The Class 6 (25,590-pound GVWR) Isuzu FTR low-cab-forward truck can be configured for a number of vocational applications. The inline 5.2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine is rated at 215 horsepower and 520 pound-feet of torque. The engine is mated to an Allison 2550 RDS six-speed automatic transmission with PTO capability.

Ongoing challenges Perhaps the biggest challenge is managing human resources. “Many across the trucking industry are having trouble attracting and retaining the right people to fill open opportunities,” says Horton. “That’s true whether the jobs are behind the wheel or in the service shop.”

Or in the cab of equipment.

Koeck says that one key in fleet management is to stay informed by closely monitoring the market.

Changes occur quickly and fre-

quently. Watch the big institutions and agencies. The search string “heavy truck sales forecast” will bring up dozens of resources. These entities’ forecasts, both micro and macro, tend to be accurate. Timing the purchase of trucks to market shifts can give access to aggressive pricing, purchase incentives, higher offers for trade-ins, wait times measured in weeks instead of months and a host of other advantages.

Not every aspect of fleet management is getting increasingly difficult.

The fundamentals still work well.

Buy the right truck, spec’ed and built the right way. Follow maintenance schedules. Get the greatest value from telematics. And through it all, work with your dealer. A dealership’s success is contingent on their customers’ success; the dealership should be eager, willing and able to help you get the most from your trucks. EQW

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bridge inventory

| by Don McLoud |

2019 BRIDGE INVENTORY: DonMcLoud@randallreilly.com

States struggle to keep up with deteriorating bridges Seven of the nine bridges on Route 6/10 interchange in Providence, Rhode Island, are rated in poor condition, leading the state to undertake its largest design-build project in state history this year. The project is part of the RhodeWorks program, designed to repair and replace deteriorated bridges in Rhode Island, which has the highest overall bridge poor rating in the country.

Credit: Rhode Island DOT

W

ith few exceptions, states are losing the battle with aging bridges in need of repair or replacement.

Even states with low percentages of bridges rated poor are finding it difficult to keep up with bridge and road systems that in many cases are 50 years old or older.

Utah, which ranks fourth for the lowest percentage of poor bridges, programs a bridge for repair or replacement in the year after it drops to a poor rating, completing the project within four or five years.

The Utah Department of Transportation notes, though, that the number of bridges falling from good to fair and from fair to poor ratings continues to increase.

“The greatest challenge is completing enough projects in a given year to replace, rehabilitate and 30 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

preserve enough bridges to stay ahead of the deterioration trends of an aging inventory,” says the UDOT’s survey for this year’s Equipment World Better Roads Bridge Inventory.

Most of the 41 responding state transportation agencies to the survey indicated that funding was a main challenge in keeping up with bridge repairs, even routine maintenance.

“Many problems could be mitigated or avoided if we had the resources and funding to perform timely maintenance work when issues were first discovered,” says the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development.

The Washington State Department of Transportation says the average age of its bridge network is 50 years and reducing its bridge rating of 4.45 percent poor will require more money than currently planned.

“We have developed a forecast of

bridge preservation needs for the next 10 years,” WSDOT says. “We are only funded at 40 percent of the projected needs.”

Raising gas taxes Several states have increased gas taxes this year to address their aging roads and bridges.

Ohio was one of them. It boosted its gas tax by 10.5 cents and diesel tax by 19 cents per gallon. That increase makes the state’s department of transportation confident of being able to continue to improve its bridges, of which about 60 percent are rated good and 5 percent rated poor.

“The condition of bridges is improving every year,” the Ohio DOT says. The “increase in gas tax will make more money available to spend on the bridges.”

Illinois doubled its gas tax, from 19 cents to 38 cents a gallon. The hike is part of a $45 billion plan over the

next six years for improvements to roads, bridges, railways, universities, early childhood centers and other state facilities.

Alabama enacted a 10-cent increase to be incrementally implemented over three years. It took effect September 1 with a 6-cent hike. The state has bridge ratings of 42 percent good, 54 percent fair and 4 percent poor.

“We currently have a low percentage of bridges in poor condition,” ALDOT says, “but our aging inventory has a large percentage of fair bridges that are close to becoming poor.”

And Arkansas’ gas tax rose 3 cents to 28 cents and diesel tax 6 cents to 29 cents per gallon October 1. The state also added a levy of 1.6 percent on the average wholesale price of gas and 2.9 percent on the average wholesale price of diesel.

But previous gas-tax increases in some states still leave a large funding gap.

In 2017, Oregon boosted its gas tax 10 cents a gallon to be phased in incrementally until 2024 to raise a total of $5.3 billion. The state has a 5 percent poor rating and a mounting number of bridges in the fair category, at 66 percent. “At some point, there will be more bridges moving from fair to poor than we have the capacity to deal with through the Major Bridge Maintenance program,” the agency says.

California’s 12-cent gas-tax increase in 2017 – and preserved in 2018 after a failed recall effort – has helped the state tackle its funding gaps, but it will not be enough, Caltrans says.

“Our infrastructure is aging, and funding has historically been insufficient to keep up with the growing demands,” the agency says. “Recent funding efforts will alleviate some of the shortfall, but preservation and rehabilitation needs will continue to increase.”

Finding other revenue Some states have increased funding without raising gas taxes.

In Missouri, the legislature allocated

$50 million this year for bridge repairs.

It then added another $300 million in bonds. The bond money was contingent upon the state winning a federal INFRA (Infrastructure for Rebuilding America) grant, which it did. That $81.2 million grant will go toward upgrades to Interstate 70, including replacing the 60-year-old Rocheport Bridge over the Missouri River before it reaches the poor category.

But the needs continue to mount in a state where nearly 9 percent of its bridges are rated poor. “With the age of our inventory and the large number of poor condition bridges, adequate funding to significantly reduce the number of poor condition bridges will be our biggest challenge,” says MoDOT. In New Mexico, the median age of its bridge inventory is 50 years, reports the state’s DOT. The state, which has 5.1 percent of its bridges rated poor, has seen revenue increases from expanded oil and gas extraction. That added revenue has boosted bridge and road funding.

“However,” the agency says, “this same growth has resulted in significant transportation infrastructure demands throughout this area.”

Kentucky has set out to replace or repair 1,000 bridges over the next six years through its Bridging Kentucky program. The state has bridge ratings of 34 percent good, 59 percent fair and 7 percent poor. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to fund about $700 million in work through what it calls “data-driven investment,” which focuses on the most pressing needs instead of expanding or widening the state’s road network.

Mother Nature strikes Along with challenges meeting the everyday bridge demands, this year marked a setback for several states due to natural disasters, especially in the Midwest. Record flooding that began in spring has persisted off and on since then, leaving the region along the Mississippi, Missouri and Arkansas rivers with overall

Bridge condition ratings The Federal Highway Administration asks states to rate bridges that are 20 feet or longer as “Good,” “Fair” or “Poor.” The ratings are based on a scale of 0 to 9 as follows: GOOD 9: Excellent 8: Very good – No problems noted 7: Good – Some minor problems FAIR 6: Satisfactory – Structural elements show some minor deterioration.

5: Fair – All primary structural elements are sound but may have minor section loss, cracking, spalling or scour. May include minor erosion on bridge piers.

POOR 4: Poor – Advanced corrosion, deterioration, cracking or chipping.

Also significant erosion of concrete bridge condition piers.

3: Serious – Loss of section, deterioration, spalling or scour have seriously affected primary structural components. Local failures are possible. Fatigue cracks in steel or shear cracks in concrete may be present.

2: Critical – Advanced deterioration of primary structural elements.

Fatigue cracks in steel or shear cracks in concrete may be present or scour may have removed substructure support. Unless closely monitored, it may be necessary to close the bridge until corrective action is taken.

1: Imminent Failure – Major deterioration or section loss present in critical structural components, or obvious loss present in critical structural components, or obvious vertical or horizontal movement affecting structural stability. Bridge is closed to traffic, but corrective action may be sufficient to put the bridge back in light service.

0: Failed condition – Bridge is out of service and beyond corrective action.

EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 31

bridge inventory

| continued

Credit: Washington State DOT

damages potentially in the billions of dollars.

“Widespread flood events in March of 2019 damaged or destroyed many bridges and miles of roadway and increased programming needs,” says Nebraska DOT. The agency reports that 27 state bridges were damaged by flooding, and 200 miles of pavement require repairs.

Mayors from 20 towns and cities along the Mississippi River Corridor called on Congress in March to provide $7.85 billion for the area through a revolving loan program.

“We’re not going to solve our problems with grants,” said Davenport, Iowa, Mayor Frank Klipsch. He adds that the country’s largest infrastructure grant program, which allocates $7.1 billion in grants for local and regional projects, comes up short.

“The entire award history of the BUILD program would not even meet one-fourth of the investment needed to bring the nation’s inland waterway system up to a state of good repair, let alone all surface transportation needs of roads, rail, transit and ports,” Klipsch says.

The South Fork Newaukum River Bridge near Onalaska, Washington, had deteriorated to the point of being functionally obsolete.

Built in 1930, the historic pony truss bridge was replaced this year by a new two-lane concrete bridge (construction shown above). The old bridge was removed and is being given away.

HOW THE STATES STACK UP TOP 5 STATES (lowest percent Poor Condition bridges)

Total bridges

1 Arizona 2 Nevada 2 Texas 3 Utah 4 Vermont BOTTOM 5 STATES

7,838

91

1.2%

2,017

27

1.3%

54,375

770

1.4%

3,005

54

1.8%

2,774

67

2.4%

(highest percent Poor Condition bridges)

1 2 3 4 5

Total bridges

Number Poor %Poor

Number Poor %Poor

Rhode Island

780

180

23.1%

West Virginia*

7,269

1,444

19.9%

Iowa

24,008

4,569

19%

South Dakota

5,690

973

17.1%

Pennsylvania

22,844

3,496

15.3%

*As reported by 2018 FHWA National Bridge Inventory

32 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

Pleas for help The mayors’ call joins a rising chorus across the nation for help from Washington, D.C. With a national infrastructure package dead this year, some are pushing for Congress to at least reauthorize funding before the September 30, 2020, expiration of the FAST Act, which provides funds to states for repairing and maintaining bridges and roads.

On October 7, a group of 150 organizations – including those from the construction industry, manufacturers, engineers, farm groups and road industry associations – sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer pleading for quick action.

“Passing a robust, long-term, on-time surface transportation bill is necessary to meet current infrastructure needs and begin to mitigate our nation’s infrastructure deficit,” reads the letter from the Infrastructure Working Group. “Passing the legislation ahead of the deadline,

NATIONAL SNAPSHOT, BRIDGE CONDITIONS GOOD

45.5% 7.5%

FAIR

POOR

47%

the letter adds, will “avoid costly delays that slow construction schedules and make important projects more costly and more difficult to complete.”

POOR CONDITION BRIDGES: TOP AND BOTTOM STATES

The five states with the lowest percentage of bridges rated “Poor” 1. ARIZONA, 1.2 PERCENT Arizona remains in the top spot for the second year in a row, slightly reducing its number of “poor” bridges by 0.1 percent from 2018. The state has only 91 “poor” bridges, down from 103 in 2018. The state has a total bridge deck area of 61.8 million square feet, of which 1.26 percent is rated poor. The breakdown of poor bridges is split nearly evenly between interstate and state bridges and city, county and township bridges.

STATES WITH THE LARGEST NUMBER OF BRIDGES

1 2 3 4 5

Total bridges

%Poor Condition

Texas

54,375

1.4%

Ohio

27,039

5.0%

Illinois

26,799

9.0%

California

25,032

7.1%

Kansas

24,792

5.1%

2. NEVADA, 1.3 PERCENT Nevada edged slightly ahead of Texas this year after tying with the Lone Star State in our 2018 inventory. Nevada had one bridge added to the poor list from last year, for a total of 27. The Nevada DOT says it plans to lower its rate in the coming year. In our survey, the Nevada DOT notes that about half of its bridges are in the “fair” category.

Despite the low rate of poor bridges, the survey response said the state’s biggest challenge is a “lack of dedicated bridge preservation funding.”

How many bridges have been closed in your state in the past year due to deficiency, structural failure or collapse? (number of states responding)

10+

12

7 to 9

3

4 to 6

2

1 to 3

10

0 34 total responses

7 0

2

4

6

8

10

12 14

16

How many of these bridges have been or were slated for repair in your state in the past year? (number of states responding)

STATES WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF GOOD CONDITION BRIDGES

1 2 3 4 5

Credit: Nebraska DOT

This bridge on U.S. 275 in Nebraska was one of 27 bridges damaged by historic flooding this year.

10+

Total bridges

% Good Condition

7 to 9

Florida

12,175

67.15%

4 to 6

Mississippi

16,540

63.03%

1 to 3

Arizona

7,838

63.01%

Minnesota

60.91%

0

13,191

Ohio

27,039

59.91%

30 total responses

10 2 4 8 7 0

2

4

6

8

10

12 14

16

EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 33

bridge inventory

| continued like to see more bridges move out of the fair category to good. The state’s survey shows 51 percent of its bridges are rated good, with about 48 percent rated fair. The state has increased funding for bridge replacement and rehabilitation over previous levels, according to the survey.

Credit: Caltrans Safety improvements made to 23rd/29th Avenue Overcrossing Replacement Project on Interstate 880 in Oakland, California.

3. TEXAS, 1.4 PERCENT Texas had a slight rise in the number of poor bridges, from 1.34 to 1.42 percent. The Texas DOT says, overall, its “bridges are in very good condition.” But it would

4. UTAH, 1.8 PERCENT Utah maintains its fourth-place spot for the second year in a row with a 0.9 percent drop in its number of poor bridges. The Utah DOT plans to repair or replace all of its state-owned bridges that are in poor condition within the next five years. “The biggest challenge we face in reducing the number of bridges in poor condition is more bridges dropping from fair to poor condition in a given year than we are able to offset by repairing or replacing existing poor condition bridges,” the UDOT’s survey says.

The state’s ratio of good to fair bridges is about 40/60 percent. It plans to complete 19 new bridges this fiscal year and 40 next fiscal year.

5. VERMONT, 2.4 PERCENT Vermont holds its fifth-place spot again for 2019, with

Preservation techniques used (number of states) 15

Lubricate bearing devices

13

Cathodic protection

22

Wash/clean bridge deck

27

Steel beam/girder end work

33

Seal concrete deck

36

Deck overlay

39

Seal/relace leaking joints 33

Scour countermeasures 0

39 total responses

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

35

40

Rehabilitation techniques used (number of states) 33

Partial or complete deck replacement 26

Superstructure replacement

28

Strengthening

27

Widening 36 total responses

34 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2.42 percent of its bridges in poor condition, up slightly from last year’s 2.34 percent – a three-bridge increase.

One to three bridges have been closed in the state due to deficiency, structural failure or collapse, with plans for repair in the works or already completed. Most of the state’s bridges are rated as good, at 53 percent, with 45 percent rated as fair.

2. WEST VIRGINIA, 19.9 PERCENT West Virginia moved from third place to second place this year, with a 1.2 percent increase in bridges rated poor.

According to the 2018 FHWA Bridge Inventory, about one-fifth of the state’s bridges are poor. Most of its bridges fall into the “fair” category, at 53 percent. The rest, 27 percent, are rated “good.”

The five states with the highest percentage of bridges rated “Poor”

3. IOWA, 19 PERCENT Iowa’s poor bridge rating dropped about 1 percent from last year to move the state from second to third place in this year’s survey. Record flooding this year has not helped matters. But when just looking at Iowa’s 4,161 interstate and state bridges, less than 1 percent are rated poor. The biggest challenge is with its local bridges, which total 19,847. The state recently got a boost of $25.3 million from the federal government because more than 7.5 percent of its bridge deck area is rated poor. The state reports a poor bridge deck area of close to 10 percent.

The state also won a $33 million grant that will address 77 bridges under the federal Competitive Highway Bridge Program, which targets bridge repairs in rural areas.

1. RHODE ISLAND, 23.1 PERCENT Tired of coming in last place each year, the state legislature enacted the $4.9 billion RhodeWorks plan four years ago, which includes a toll on large commercial trucks that took effect in June 2018. The goal of the 10-year program is to fix more than 150 structurally deficient bridges, and repair another 500 bridges to prevent them from becoming deficient, says RIDOT. That would put the state at a poor rate of less than 10 percent. In April, the state kicked off its largest construction season in history, with 77 new and ongoing projects totaling $715.6 million, to address 177 bridges.

The state fended off a challenge in federal court this year by American Trucking Associations on the truck toll and expects the toll to fund about 10 percent of the RhodeWorks plan.

4. SOUTH DAKOTA, 17.1 PERCENT Another state battling record floods, South Dakota closed more than 10 bridges this past year because of deficiency, structural failure or collapse. “Many are also closed due

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EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 35

bridge inventory

| continued

to failure or flood events in 2019,” says the South Dakota DOT’s survey. Federal disaster aid from FEMA will address many of those bridges. State and interstate bridges, which total 1,795, are in fairly good shape, at 2.6 percent rated poor. But of the 3,895 local bridges, 24 percent are rated poor, and that rate is likely to rise. “Local bridge inventory is aging and deteriorating at a faster rate than can be replaced,” the DOT’s survey says.

5. PENNSYLVANIA, 15.3 PERCENT Pennsylvania continues to chip away at its poor rating, dropping from 18.2 percent in 2017 to 15.3 percent this year. The PennDOT’s survey notes that as of June, stateowned bridges in poor condition have dropped to 2,893, from a high of 6,034 in 2008. But the state is also losing ground to its aging bridge population. “We must preserve, repair and replace at a greater rate each year to continue our trend of having fewer bridges in poor condition,” the DOT’s survey says. The state has planned for 153 new bridges this fiscal year and another 193 for next fiscal year. But the DOT reports that more than 250 bridges move to poor condition each year. This fiscal year, 28 percent of Pennsylvania’s city, county and township bridges are rated poor. That exceeds the percentage of its bridges rated good, which is only 25 percent. “The age of our infrastructure is creating a backlog greater than our means to address,” the DOT’s survey says. EQW

The rehabilitation of the Route 72 Manahawkin Bay Bridges to and from Long Beach Island, New Jersey, was completed this spring to keep the bridges and approach roadways in good condition. The project included demolition and reconstruction of the entire superstructure of the Manahawkin Bay Bridge. The five-contract project began in February 2015.

Credit: New Jersey DOT Methodology Conducted since 1979, Equipment World’s Better Roads Bridge Inventory is an exclusive, award-winning annual survey that asks state bridge engineers to provide qualitative and quantitative details about bridge conditions.

The qualitative data are collected through our questionnaire about major issues concerning bridge conditions and maintenance. In the event a state did not respond to our survey, we used current data from FHWA’s National Bridge Inventory.

The Equipment World editorial staff would like to thank state department of transportation personnel for their continuing cooperation to provide current data, which was collected through October 2019.

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KOBELCO-USA.COM

dealer of the year | by Marcia Doyle

|

MarciaDoyle@randallreilly.com

BIG IRON DEALER OF THE YEAR Carolina Cat has showcased its technicians, such as Chris Hunter, in a series of videos this year, designed to recruit technicians and highlight how critical they are to the company.

Carolina Cat takes a hard look at process to gain customer-service speed, ease

N

ot willing to rest on its established position as the thirdoldest Caterpillar dealer, Carolina Cat has taken a deep dive into what makes customers come back.

It engaged a lean consulting company at the beginning of this year, with an eye toward customer service improvement. Processes reviewed included how jobs are quoted; ordering, staging and delivering parts; and service bay and yard layouts.

“Our continuous-improvement effort really involved our front lines,” says Ed Weisiger Jr., president and CEO of CTE, the corporate parent of Carolina Cat. “When we looked at our processes, we realized we were doing some really confusing things.

For instance, when a customer wanted a quote, we had several people involved, so there was an incredible

38 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

variation of customer experience.”

“The program is really rooted in enabling our frontline employees to make more decisions,” says Mike Tropsha, vice president, general manager - construction. Instead of solving problems in the boardroom or at the manager level, Carolina Cat went to its technicians and parts employees, who make up over half of its workforce.

“We’re not making widgets,” TropQuick Look

Carolina Cat Charlotte, North Carolina (a division of CTE, reflecting its heritage as Carolina Tractor and Equipment)

Annual revenues: $509 million Number of 804 employees: Number of Nine in western locations: North Carolina

sha says. “Repairs differ in scope and complexity, and customers have varied needs. There are, however, many lean principles that we can apply to our business to drive growth while serving the needs of our customers and employees.”

The company started using visual management boards, a lean manufacturing tactic that highlights a technician team’s progress on safety, quality, delivery/velocity and cost. Under the microscope: rework, the backlog of work orders, how quickly the work is completed and any safety issues.

It would make sense that a manager would lead the daily discussions on how the team was doing, but that’s not what happened, reports Kathy Taylor, Carolina Cat chief people officer. “The technicians took it over and now lead that discussion.

It was an interesting cultural shift;

they take full ownership of those metrics and talk about them every morning.”

“Optimizing our service functions and then sustaining and continually improving them is a major focus for us today – and will remain so in the future,” Tropsha says.

“Service is a key value driver for us and our customers.”

Talent search As with most dealers, Carolina Cat is always on the lookout for technicians.

This year the company is highlighting the importance of technicians in a series of videos. “We want to show them as the superheroes they are and speak both to our current technicians and prospective technicians about how satisfying, rewarding and family-friendly a technician career can be,” says Jason Williamson, vice president and chief marketing officer.

Although the campaign is in its early

“

The program is really rooted in enabling our frontline employees to make more decisions – Mike Tropsha, vice president, general manager – construction

”

Chavis Rios and Andre Thomaz (left to right) are members of the compact equipment technician crew assigned specifically to work on equipment in Carolina Cat’s booming rental and compact division.

stages, Carolina Cat has seen some good results in the number of applications, reports Elizabeth Bryant, marketing director. “Everything the technicians said in the videos is from the heart,” she says.

Technician retention is just as critical as recruiting. Taylor’s team studied what was working and, more important, what wasn’t. “We got a good sense of where the technician pain points were, including career progression,” she says. The company developed competency-based advancement requirements and reviewed its pay structure for technicians across all stages of their careers. Military veterans are another target, especially since they might be more flexible about relocation.

EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 39

dealer of the year | continued Rental and compact equipment Around four years ago, Carolina Cat revamped its approach to the exploding rental and compact equipment markets. The company combined the two businesses and dedicated a group of technicians to each segment.

“The rental and compact equipment businesses share similar requirements – speed, availability, and process control,” says Neil Carbaugh, vice president of rental/ compact construction equipment.

“Availability is extremely important since the rental and compact equipment customers tend to have a shorter planning horizon. If they get a job, they’re ready to go. We want to be able to say ‘yes’ on the first call.”

The growth in these two areas prompted Carolina Cat to establish one of its rental facilities across the street from its corporate headquarters in Charlotte. “It’s become a kind of test lab for us as we become more retail friendly,” Carbaugh says.

Now many aspects of the company’s approach to compact equipment resemble the car buying experience, down to price tags on the equipment.

“We recognize that these buyers needed a machine yesterday,” Carbaugh says. “We want to be able to have a customer we’ve never met walk through the door and two hours later walk out with a financed machine on his or her trailer. Everything they need – demo, quoting, financing – is right in this building.”

Carolina Cat knows that most of its rental store traffic in the Charlotte location goes through the service area instead of the front door.

“We train all of our techs to greet everyone who pulls up within 30 seconds,” Carbaugh says. “We have an awesome team here, and the technicians understand the value of customer experience. We tell them 40 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

Chad Love, technology services manager, in Carolina Cat’s glassed-in Fleet Management Center, also dubbed the “fishbowl.”

Teeing up the 4th generation

Ed Weisiger Jr. and Amanda Weisiger Cornelson

C

arolina Cat and the Weisiger family have been together from the beginning. In 1926, L. M. Weisiger began to offer Caterpillar equipment to North Carolina contractors and bought Carolina Tractor in 1930. His son, Edward Weisiger Sr., continued the company, handing over the reins to son Edward Weisiger Jr. in 1991.

And now Weisiger Jr.’s daughter, Amanda Weisiger Cornelson, 30, is beginning to learn the company after spending several years as cofounder and CEO of an ecommerce site, as well as being a CTE board member. When Equipment World talked to her this summer, she was dispatching field technicians in the field service department.

Cornelson appreciates her legacy. “My grandfather still comes in and goes through the shop and asks people questions that he already knows the answers to,” she says. “He’s on top of it.”

“The number one thing I learned from my grandfather was persistence,” Weisiger Jr. says. “And my father is an incredible people person. I look at him and just want to bottle it. If we can be persistent with a people-first attitude, what a great combination.”

Carolina Cat values: • Get the details right. • Do the right thing. • Do what we say.

• Bring a positive attitude. • Improve, always.

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dealer of the year | continued to never assume that someone’s been greeted. We’ve had customers tell us that they had three technicians ask if they could help them as they walk in.”

Technology Carolina Cat is seeing customers adopt technology at a faster clip.

“We’ve tripled the number of connected machines in the past two years, with more than 7,500 connected machines now,” says Jason Ritchey, director of digital construction. “And our Cat rental fleet is 100 percent connected.”

Telematics is key to fulfilling preventive maintenance agreements, what Caterpillar and dealers now call “Customer Value Agreements,” or CVAs. Within Carolina Cat’s glassed-in Fleet Management Center, dubbed the “fishbowl,” employees on one side of the room focus on getting customers connected and data flowing, Ritchey says. The other side of the room deals with monitoring machine health. “We’re watching our customers’ machines out in the field,” he says. “If a fault code comes through, we’ll work

directly with the customer to identify what’s going on.”

For example, one dozer showed an intermittent engine overheating problem. “It wasn’t consistent, but we were watching it,” Ritchey says. When an oil sample was pulled, Carolina Cat realized the engine was failing. Caught in time using Condition Monitoring, the customer made a simple engine repair, avoiding costly downtime and

Part of the retail experience: Compact equipment outside of The Rental Store with price tags.

Carolina Cat’s Rental Store, located across the street from its Charlotte headquarters, has become a “kind of test lab for us as we become more retail friendly,” says Neil Carbaugh, vice president of rental/compact construction equipment.

42 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

an engine replacement.

Another side of technology is GPS machine control. “In the past two years, we’ve sold several hundred machines with factory-integrated GPS,” Ritchey says.

Carolina Cat can take customers from an initial GPS inquiry to field deployment, all in-house. “And as soon as we took this on, our customers said ‘more,’” Ritchey relates. “Seven out of

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dealer of the year | continued 10 of our dozers now go out the door with GPS technology.”

What seems to resonate with contractors are the productivity gains they get with GPS – and the fact that their competitors are benefitting from those gains. “From the first time they try 3D machine control, they immediately see the value of it,” Ritchey says. “We don’t get too many demonstration machines back in the yard.”

The dealer’s technological capabilities were on full display during its Demo Days event in June, attended by more than 400 people. Carolina Cat showcased 50 machines, including Cat’s Next Generation excavators, compact excavators, dozers and graders on a 20-acre site. One enthusiastic attendee, Cody Gilbert with Earnhardt Grading whose Instagram handle is @officialdirtgang, chronicled the event with drone and GoPro and posted a video that has almost 25,000 views: http://bit.ly/officialdirtgang.

Changing customers “We recognize our customers are on a continuum,” Weisiger says. “Some want a fast, transactional self-service; others value a high-touch relationship experience, and we need to deliver to both of them.”

Ten years ago, customers came to their dealer sales rep looking for machine specs, Tropsha says. Now customers research those specs ahead of time. “Today the emphasis is on offering solutions rather than selling products. We’re asking what’s on their customers’ minds, what problems they’re trying to solve, how they compete. It’s kind of a mind shift, bringing value to customers beyond just buying equipment.”

And Carolina Cat knows it can’t rest just on being a multigenerational business partner. “The reliance on relationships is shifting, which is actually good because it’s putting healthy pressure on all dealers and manufacturers to add true value,” Tropsha says.

These efforts are being noticed. Brian McManus, owner and president of Charlotte-based Hoopaugh Grading, 44 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

Fulfilling customer orders are, left to right, Rob Pollak, warehouse associate; Shane Bost, reman core coordinator; and Jay Vasquez, warehouse associate. told Equipment World he didn’t have a specific customer support example “because every action conducted by them supports our company. There is never an issue that is not handled with the big picture in mind.”

Alan Goodman, vice president at Preferred Construction Supply, a division of Wayne Brothers in Davidson, North Carolina, agrees. “It’s no one person. It’s the overall company itself that is stellar. If we are looking at renting or buying a piece of equipment, Mitch [Christenbury, territory sales representative] doesn’t try to About Dealer of the Year Now in its second year, Equipment World’s Big Iron Dealer of the Year is open to dealers of all sizes and recognizes these companies for excellence in meeting customer needs, employing technology and addressing parts and service requirements. Nominations for the 2020 contest will open next April.

sell us anything, he helps us buy. He helps us land in a spot that whatever it is, we know it will be a good piece to add to our fleet. If I don’t know where to go, he’ll bring a subject matter expert in. With rentals, we call over there, and it just happens.

They’ve got what you need essentially all the time.”

“Customers are rethinking the role of the machine,” Tropsha says. “It’s trending toward usership and outcomes over equipment ownership.

Customers are now more than ever aware of costs, safety and production, and fleet management is evolving as a science. Customer size does not necessarily dictate success anymore. You can be a small, nimble, cost-aware customer and be extremely successful in this business.”

“We’re becoming an organization that’s more comfortable with change,” sums up Weisiger. “Our customers are being driven to do things on budget and on time at a faster pace. We want to be the trusted partner in their success.” EQW

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COMPACT MACHINES OFFER BIG OPPORTUNITIES HOW CORRECT MACHINE SELECTION HELPS CONTROL COSTS

F

or contractors of all sizes, cost control reigns supreme in ways to boost the bottom line.

While there are measures to be taken at every step on the job, the most effective cost cuts can be made at the outset – with machine selection.

And when you need a machine that can handle heavy loads but also accommodate small spaces,

When equipped with high-flow hydraulics, the Kubota SSV75 skid steer loader becomes the most versatile piece of equipment in your fleet. From buckets to pallet forks to snow blades, there’s nothing the SSV75 isn’t ready to handle.

With a 1,950-pound rated operating capacity, the Kubota SSV65 skid steer loader is an economical solution for rugged jobsites.

A unique slide-up front-entry door rises overhead, and can be opened regardless of the loader position. The SSV65’s nearly 8-inch ground clearance ground clearance ensures traveling over obstacles with ease.

you’re choosing between two top-notch machines – a skid steer and a compact track loader. At first glance, it may seem as if you just need to evaluate your application – do you have a hard surface that accommodates wheels, or softer surfaces that requires a costlier tracked machine? In reality, there are a number of factors to be considered.

Dig deeper

For cost-conscious contractors, selecting the correct machine for your fleet entails looking beyond wheels and tracks. Initially, the out-of-pocket investment for a wheeled machine is usually lower than that of a tracked machine of comparable size; however, future needs could mean a bigger initial investment would make more sense in the long run.

How do you prepare for the future when you can’t necessarily see what’s on the horizon? An excellent way to set yourself up for success is to include a highflow option, such as with Kubota’s SSV Series skid steer line, or the SVL95-2 compact track loader. With high-flow hydraulics, your machine will match the flow requirements of any hydraulic attachment, no matter what attachment you might purchase down the road.

And with respect to attachments, they are true multipliers in the workforce. Assessing your needs and purchasing the correct mix of attachments can effectively mitigate the need for other dedicated equipment, which keeps operating costs down.

The Kubota SVL95 compact track loader has over 40 inches of reach for the most heavy-duty of lifting and loading chores, combined with the versatility to tackle plowing, slow-blowing, drilling or trenching.

Form and function

Finding the right equipment to boost productivity for your jobsites is yet another way to add to the bottom line. Looking for a machine that excels at lift and carry applications? Generally, vertical lift equipment performs better at these tasks. Need equipment for digging and pushing? Radial lift machines have traditionally been the go-to choice.

However, as machine technology has advanced, manufacturers such as Kubota have equipped their vertical lift machines with a vertical linkage design that tucks in the rear and sides of the unit when retracted, allowing the unit to push and dig more like a radial machine. The modern lift design enables the operator to enjoy the advantages of a vertical linkage design, but with the strength needed to endure the stresses of heavy digging.

Design improvements such as a lower profile integrated linkage system will improve the front to rear weight ratio, which delivers not only first-rate loader performance, but also boosts operator visibility throughout the loader lift and lower cycle.

An exceptionally high hinge-pin height of 128 inches on the Kubota SSV75 skid steer loader ensures easier dumping into trucks, and simplifies all lifting and dumping tasks.

Another design feature to look for is the location of the loader’s hinge pivot points. For example, Kubota places the pivot points in precise spots on the main loader chassis to deliver performance characteristics of a radial lift while retaining the benefits of the vertical linkage. Combined with large bucket pivot pins in the front bucket coupler and loader arms that evenly distribute the load and ensure long life in severe duty applications, the modern design allows for more opportunity to put profit to the bottom line.

Making the margin

Though budget is always a factor when adding to the fleet, bear in mind future applications, the range of high-flow attachments, and functionality of design in modern machines. Thinking ahead will not only positively impact your productivity and efficiency today, it will boost your profit margin in the days, weeks, and months to come.

For more information, visit KubotaUSA.com

ConExpo-Con/Agg preview

| by Marcia Doyle |

MarciaDoyle@randallreilly.com

ConExpo-Con/Agg 2020 announces Tech Experience, transportation logistics

L

ast time, it featured a 3D-printed compact excavator. This time, the ConExpo-Con/Agg Tech Experience emphasis will be on smart cities.

The goal for the 2020 show is to give contractors a vision of how technology “will impact their current work, how the expectations and demands of customers will change and

48 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

how the current state of infrastructure may change,” says Al Cevero, vice president construction, mining and utility for show sponsor Association of Equipment Manufacturers.

The Tech Experience will include: • Different city grids and how a city responds to heat, wind and storms.

• Connectivity in the city, including 5G, sensors, telematics and IOT, and • Impacts of construction. The

jobsite of the future within the city and how equipment will communicate.

In addition to displays, the Tech Experience will include Tech Talks on artificial intelligence, future structures, smart cities and creating the highway of the future. Located in the Silver Lot, the Tech Experience will also have an ancillary location at the Festival Grounds.

Two campuses, one show In addition to 2,800 exhibitors, 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space and 150 educational sessions, add … two campuses.

The Las Vegas Convention Center is expanding, and the former Gold Lot is being transformed into a 600,000-square-foot exhibit hall that won’t be ready for next year’s show. That means several former Gold Lot exhibitors – including Caterpillar, Volvo, Liebherr and LBX – will be in the 1.5 millionsquare-foot Festival Grounds, located on the Las Vegas strip beside Circus Circus, about a mile from the convention center.

There will be two main ways to get to the Festival Grounds: taking a mini shuttle from the convention center or using the free monorail pass included with

the show badge to go to the SLS hotel stop and walking a short distance.

“We’ll include more buses to get you to and from the show and additional options to get you around the show,” says Dana Wuesthoff, AEM vice president of exhibitions and event services and ConExpo-Con/Agg show director. “We’ve been very strategic about where we put our transportation; it’s really quite robust.

We’re making sure that someone doesn’t have to walk halfway across the show to get a direct shuttle to the other area.”

To get a heads-up on what you’ll want to see, go to the online show planner at directory. conexpoconagg.com. And starting in January, you can plan your visit using the show app. Just search for “ConExpo-Con/Agg” in your app store.

Education As with previous shows, the 150 education sessions will be grouped into tracks, including aggregates, asphalt, concrete, cranes (also rigging and aerial lifts) and earthmoving and site development.

Educational sessions cost $69 for a single-session pass, $195 for a day pass and $395 for a full conference pass. EQW ConExpo-Con/Agg at a glance When: March 10-14, 2020 Where: Las Vegas Convention Center Conexpoconagg.com Registration: $149 through Jan. 17; $196 from Jan. 18-Mar. 9; $249 at the show..

EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 49

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maintenance

| by Justin Smith

You do PMs, yet still have failures.

Maybe it’s time for a biopsy

H

ave you ever wondered why your equipment keeps breaking down and why your emergency rate is so high? You may be thinking you have good preventive maintenance systems for your technicians to follow, but in reality, many fall short. So let’s take a deeper dive into what constitutes a good working PM. First, examine your fleet’s history. What are the most

It’s also important to document the methods you expect your technicians to use. You want to ensure those are spelled out in detail so technicians can identify what is in spec and what is not.

See the illustration on this page on the difference between a simple checklist and a detailed step-by-step process.

These details may seem elementary because you are confident that the technicians are well-trained. But what if they came from a company that had lower expectations on how well their equipment was serviced?

To achieve a higher quality PM and reduce downtime, you have to list the items, defects and potential failures that would take something out of spec after the regular PM is performed. If it will fail before the next PM, it needs to be replaced, repaired or serviced.

An example of two types of checklists, bare bones on the right, and fully detailed – which is what you want – on the left.

frequent failure modes? What can you do in your PM practices to prevent them?

If equipment failure history is unavailable, then speaking with your technicians and following the equipment manuals are your best bet. This will give you the service intervals for each PM. But you need to go beyond just putting these intervals on a check list.

Hours, miles or calendar Let’s say you’ve taken the manuals from the piece of equipment and created well-documented PMs. Next, determine the best interval for your PM. For some equipment, the more common hourly or mileage-based intervals make sense, but other machines will require intervals based on calendar time or even fuel burn.

For example, a piggy-back forklift would need to be calendar-based. If you serviced this one by hours, it might not see a 1,000-hour PM for over a year, but filters and oil need to be replaced more than once a year. This forklift may only operate for 20 to 30 minutes at each stop, but during that time, it is running wide open and then loaded back on the truck until the next stop. You may not put as many miles or hours on the vehicle, but the wear and tear makes it a good candidate for a calendar-based PM, which would also be true for a EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 51

maintenance

| continued spare piece of equipment that sits in the yard. These may only get used a couple of times a year, but they still need to be serviced regularly.

Look for the optimal point, when preventive maintenance costs intersect breakdown costs, to achieve the lowest maintenance costs.

52 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

Evaluate the essential Next, you will want to evaluate your PMs to see how well the new ones are working. Is your equipment lasting longer in the field? Are you having fewer breakdowns or fewer replacement parts when it comes in for the next service?

You have to put measures in place. You also want to avoid unnecessary PMs. But there is a sweet spot, as illustrated by the chart on this page.

Next, look at PM intervals; do you need to extend or reduce the amount of time before the next PM? OEM maintenance schedules are not designed to be one-size-fits-all.

Some machines may run nonstop each day; others may only operate a few hours. Obviously, the non-

level. Then check to see if the machine is performing with no breakdowns or loss of productivity.

When the machine comes back to the shop for the extended PM, give it a thorough inspection. Make sure that nothing went beyond its desired working limits or created an unsafe operating condition.

Look at your oil sample again. Is the oil still good?

Are there any foreign metals or other particulates? If not, and your inspections turned out positive, congratulations. You have now increased the amount of time between services, ultimately freeing up valuable time for your technicians and saving your company money.

stop machine will require more frequent servicing.

Another factor to consider is the climate. Applications, material and site conditions also make a difference.

Monitor the results closely on any machine with a modified PM schedule. First look at the past few oil samples. If sample results show little contamination or degradation, increase the time span for the next service

Inspect what you expect Finally, you want to inspect what you expect. It is good practice to inspect at least 5 percent of all of your PMs. You’re not trying to catch someone doing something wrong, but to ensure they are performing them correctly. EQW Justin Smith is director of operations for TBR Strategies, a maintenance and reliability consulting company in Raleigh, North Carolina. He can be reached at: jsmith@tbr-strategies.com

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| by Marcia Doyle |

MarciaDoyle@randallreilly.com

Family excavating company does ‘a little bit of all of it’

Don Logan, Logan Excavating City, State: Rock Spring, Georgia Year Started: 1995 Number of 13 employees:

D

on Logan knew what he wanted to do right out of high school, and it had nothing to do with going to college as his father wished.

“My father was in home building, and I liked being on his equipment,” Don recalls. So after graduation in 1995, he started doing a number of jobs, including residential site work, footings and basements.

Don credits working with a local contractor in nearby Chattanooga with giving his firm the vital leg-up to do larger jobs. He started performing subdivision site development work and began to do commercial utility and subgrade work.

That gave him access to other contractors on projects. “After that, I started getting bid invitations from multiple commercial contractors,” he says.

Annual revenue: $3 million to $5 million

Complicated but profitable Logan Excavating eventually landed a job “that pretty much carried us through the recession,” Don says.

What was supposed to be a typical project turned into something else when the owners found they had to dispose of soil laced with lead and arsenic. This meant that testers on site had to sample each cubic yard excavated – basically each bucketful – after which Don’s crews would put the soil in designated areas and wait for test results.

In the meantime, the material was put on plastic and then covered with plastic at the end of each day.

If the tests came back positive, the material had to be transported to a landfill about an hour away.

“It was a complicated, drawn-out process,” Logan says. And it turns out, a profitable one, giving the company experience in dealing with

Markets served: Commercial site grading, subdivision sitework

special wastes and the certifications to handle other jobs. “It’s been a good avenue for us,” he says.

Production fleet Logan Excavating’s fleet includes excavators, dozers, loaders and single-drum compactors. He uses his 23-ton and 30-ton excavators for truck loading, clearing and larger pipe work. Three dozers – a Cat D3, D5 and D6 – work on production to finish grading jobs.

Logan calls his track loader a “very versatile machine. I don’t ever intend to be without one,” he says. “We use them for any grading application; they’re easy to move. When you’ve got 30 to 40 loads of dirt to move, it’s easier to load that up than to bring in a 50,000-pound excavator.”

EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 55

contractor of the year finalist | He sees a generational shift in machine preferences. “I like using a backhoe over a mini excavator, but the younger generation likes the mini-ex better,” Logan says. “I just like the versatility of a backhoe.”

Logan used to regularly rent a smooth-drum compactor but ended up buying a smooth drum with a sheepsfoot shell kit to replace those rentals. “That way, we can put the shell kit on it and have two padfoot rollers when we need it. And it can be taken off when we’re putting stone down.”

Logan Excavating’s main rental items are hammers for his compact

equipment. “It’s a high-maintenance item, and I’ve always preferred to let the rental people maintain them,” Logan says. If a larger hammer is needed, he’ll rent the machine with the hammer. “I don’t even have my larger excavators plumbed for a hammer,” he says.

Production machines are purchased new. “If you’re going to put more than 1,000 hours on a machine a year, you’re better off buying new,” he says. “The cheapest way is a straight-out purchase, so I don’t use RPOs.” GPS-equipped machines have changed the game, Logan adds.

“Before, if you had it and your competitors didn’t, you could price a job to take

Logan Excavating believes in purchasing all its production machines. “If you’re going to put more than 1,000 hours on a machine a year, you’re better off buying new,” says Don Logan.

56 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

continued three days, do it in two and make money. Now that gap has closed, and you have to have it.”

Above and beyond “Don and his team always do A-plus work no matter the size of the job,” says Todd Queen with Queen Construction. During 2018’s wet summer, for example, “Logan Excavating went above and beyond all summer to work long hours and weekends to make up for the wet times to make sure we made our deadlines.”

This willingness to do what it takes served Logan well when working with the producers of the movie “42,” about Jackie Robinson’s journey to becoming the first African-American player in Major League Baseball. Parts of the movie were filmed in nearby Chattanooga, and Logan Excavating was called

From left, Don Logan Jr., wife Angela, father Don Logan Sr. and nephew Blake Blevins. on to create a tunnel and do other work at a former baseball stadium that would stand in for 1940’s Ebbets Field.

The production crew was filming a scene that required a bus to approach a building when they found out a ramp was too steep.

They called Logan in the afternoon.

Could he be there by 7 p.m. and get the work done by 7 a.m. the following day? Logan gave them a price he thought would disinterest them, but they accepted it. So he and his crews did the work.

He chuckles, and says, “Then they ended up cutting the scene.”

“We all do a little bit of all of it.”

“I don’t ask my people to do anything I won’t do myself,” Logan says. “I don’t have true laborers and operators because we all do a little bit of all of it.”

He also doesn’t have much turn-

over. “I don’t know if I’ve ever hired anyone off the street,” he says. “I’m really picky about my equipment, and if someone doesn’t take care of it, they’re not going to run it.”

Logan Excavating is a family affair. Don’s wife, Angela, heads the office, and his nephew Blake Blevins serves several roles, including estimating, preconstruction and project management. And his father, Don Logan Sr., with his background in home construction, does anything that needs doing.

There’s a photograph in the Logan Excavating office of Blevins on his uncle’s backhoe as a young kid. “I guess I was just born into it,” Blevins says. While he was in college earning a civil engineering and surveying degree, his work with the company continued, with Logan sending him job plans to estimate.

“I would be bored with going to the same location and doing the

same thing every day,” Blevins says.

“We’re usually the first ones on a jobsite. Being able to go from there to a finished product is something I enjoy.”

“Don has built the company up from a very small firm to what it is today,” says Mike Coward with MCH Kenworth. “He managed to do well in down times because he’s in such high demand.”

“There are no gotchas with Logan Excavating’s bid proposals,” adds client Karl Bealke with Griffco Design/Build. “They don’t mess around when they get on a site.

When we give them a schedule, they exceed it.”

“We had a challenging site with a lot of private utilities running through it that were never marked,” Bealke adds. “Don jumped right on a line repair – they were on it in a matter of hours. They’re rock stars.” EQW EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 57

product report

| by Tom Jackson |

TomJackson@randallreilly.com

Continental Tire unveils Gen 3 construction tires, reintroduces General Tire lines

C

ontinental Tire has introduced its new Generation 3 line of tires designed for the rigors of construction environments and on/off-road and mixed-use applications.

The new tires, unveiled recently at an event in Uvalde, Texas, share a common design and technology, including an aggressive on/off road tread for improved mileage and traction; new rubber compounds; a self-cleaning tread with nodes in the bottom of the tread grooves to help eject stones; a four-ply/full-width steel-belt package; beefed-up sidewall protection; and an imbedded tire pressure monitoring sensor, or TPMS. In addition to making a more robust tire, the tread design, belt package and sidewall protection make it possible to retread these tires up to three times. Continental makes its own retread packages to match the original tread design and rubber compounding of these tires, and says, with a good casing, they can be retreaded up to three times.

There are three new models in the Generation 3 lineup: the Conti HSC 3, Conti HAC 3 and Conti HDC 3. The “H” stands for heavy-duty, “S” is steer axle, “A” is all position, and “D” is drive. (The number 3 denotes Generation 3.)

Upcoming products Continental also used the Uvalde event to announce the return of the General Tire brand to the North American market in 2020. The General Tire product is bias ply, rather than radial belted. Bias ply is a lower cost, entry-level technology but desirable for skid steers, telehandlers and equipment that doesn’t see a lot of travel time.

The ContiConnect Yard Reader

58 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

The Continental HDC 3 Generation 3 drive tire for construction trucks is one of three tire designs featuring new compounding, four-ply/full-width steel belts, enhanced stone ejection and beefed-up sidewalls.

Additional radial tire products to come: earthmover and wheel loader radial tires, including E3/L3, L5 and L5S sizes, and skid steer and backhoe tires.

TPMS and technology Continental makes its own tire pressure monitoring system and mounts it to the inner liner of all its tires.

Unlike valve-mounted TPMS, which is exposed to potential damage and uses algorithms to calculate values, the Continental sensors are physically protected inside the tire and read temperature and air pressure directly.

Data from the sensors can be read by the ContiConnect Yard Reader, which collects within a 65-foot radius, making it ideal for monitoring and managing the tire health of trucks that return to home base every day.

For trucks on the road, the ContiPressureCheck in-cab display gives drivers information they need to monitor temperatures and air pressure. EQW Continental’s TPMS sensors mount inside the tire, protected against potential damage.

side by side | machine matters

| tomjackson@randallreilly.com |byby | ChrisHill@randallreilly.com Tom Jackson Richard Ries

OTR retreads: saving you money or not?

Titan International. “If their acquisition costs are low, they’re not going to care that much about retreading.”

As the cost of tires rises, retreading starts to make more sense, he says.

Pencil out the costs, take care of the casing and tread, and tire retreading can be a cost-efficient tool in your maintenance programs.

F

or highway trucks, tire retreading is a guaranteed money saver.

Truck fleet managers carefully monitor tiretread depth and integrity to ensure a healthy casing that can be profitably retreaded.

But what about off-road and earthmover tires? By some estimates, half to three-quarters of them are run to destruction – making them ineligible for retreading.

Are heavy equipment operators just that careless, is the environment too brutal, or do the economics of retreading not make sense for the off-road environment?

Maybe sometimes Retreading is not as popular in the OTR world, says Chris Rhoades,

manager of engineering and training for BKT Tires. “There are a limited number of companies that do OTR retreading,” Rhoades says.

“In some situations, a retread will cost out if you have a competent retreader in your area and the casing is in good enough shape.”

Ray McElroy, manager of technical services at BKT, says you have to factor in all the costs involved.

That includes shipping what can be a very large tire to and from retreaders and the value of that last 32nd or so of rubber you leave on the tire to be retreaded. “You have to look at it with a sophisticated model, not just the acquisition cost,” he says.

There’s also the price of new tires to consider, says Johni Francis, global OTR product manager for

On the plus side Nonetheless, retreading OTR tires remains a money saving process, says Tom Clauer, senior manager of commercial and OTR product planning at Yokohama Tire. A tire that has been maintained and properly repaired through its lifecycle can pay dividends when it comes to replacement or retreading the casing, he says.

Justin Brock, marketing manager, construction and Tweel, Michelin North America, agrees. In addition to reducing operating costs, reusing the casing helps the environment, he says. He recommends using a qualified retreading professional with in-depth knowledge of the techniques specific to your tire type.

To ensure your OTR tires survive long enough for retread, coach operators to avoid tire-abusing maneuvers and site conditions. They should also monitor and maintain tire air pressure and inspect tires regularly for cuts and other damage. Small cuts and chipping can be repaired, allowing you to get the maximum life out of the tread and a retreadable casing.

Conclusion: Find a good retreader, closely analyze the lifecycle costs, and if it pencils out, take advantage of the opportunity. Remember that tires, after labor and fuel, are your next biggest operating cost. EQW EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 59

technology

| by Wayne Grayson |

WayneGrayson@randallreilly.com

Bobcat unveils drone-like iPhone/iPad remote control for skid steers, CTLs

B

obcat is bringing the same easy touchscreen-friendly remote operation that drones benefit from to its skid-steer and compact track loaders. Dubbed MaxControl, the new platform allows operators to open an app on their iPhone or iPad and take control of a nearby compact loader within seconds.

Bobcat says the new remotecontrol system can be equipped on new loaders and retrofitted on all M2-Series loaders and later that are equipped with Selectable Joystick Control. MaxControl allows operators to command machine functions and operate attachments from up to 300 feet away, Bobcat says. At launch, the app will be available only on Apple’s iOS devices, though a future Android version is possible.

If you want to control the machines with something a bit more tactile, the system can also be controlled

with iOS-compatible game controllers. During a media event in Denver, Bobcat demonstrated MaxControl with a Steel Series Nimbus controller connected to an iPhone. Users quickly switched between the controller and the phone’s touchscreen while operating a machine. Bobcat said it is working on extending MaxControl to Xbox Controllers as well.

The system is meant to function as “an extra set of hands when help is limited, allowing quick two-person jobs to be handled by a single operator and enabling operators to avoid repeated trips in and out of the cab,” the company says. Operators can even employ multiple machines for a given task, switching control between them within the MaxControl app.

The only equipment required to enable MaxControl on a machine is a component box and a single wiring harness. MaxControl can be fitted to loaders dating back to

2004, meaning there are around 250,000 loaders in the field that can be equipped with the system.

And this isn’t some pipe-dream feature that will amount to vapor ware. Bobcat MaxControl remote operation is coming to iPhones and iPads this fall, the company says.

In addition to remote operation, Bobcat has plans to launch two other levels of MaxControl in coming years: object avoidance and programmed navigation. Object avoidance will allow operators to go into the Bobcat MaxControl app and identify obstacles or areas of the jobsite on a map that they want their machines to avoid.

Programmed navigation will allow customers to order their machine to carry out predefined tasks with the push of a button.

Though MaxControl’s launch will be limited, Bobcat says interested customers can contact their local dealers for more information. EQW EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 61

| by Marcia Doyle |

quick data

MarciaDoyle@randallreilly.com

Compact track loaders

A snapshot of new and used sales trends from Randall-Reilly’s EDA equipment financing data and TopBid auction price service.

$

82,500

67,500

for a 2018 Cat 289D, Alex Lyon & Son Auctioneers, Feb. 8 in Kissimmee, Florida

630 $27,

HIGH

AVERAGE

LOW

00 $5 , 5

New machines*

0 0 5 , $8 2

Brand

Cat

24%

Bobcat

29%

24%

Cat

27%

Kubota

21%

Deere

13%

Deere

15%

Kubota

10%

Takeuchi

5%

Takeuchi

7%

Case

4%

Case

5%

New Holland

3%

New Holland

4%

Others

4%

Others

5%

New

Compact track loader new, used financed sales trends, 2009-2018*

UNITS

2010

Used

New high: 2018, 32,215 units

New low: 2009, 3,602 units

2009

2011

1,915

Georgia

1,537

Used State

# of buyers

Texas

1,601

Missouri

829

Minnesota

542

Other top selling new machine: Bobcat T595, 2,663 units

Top financed used machine*

Used high: 2018, 10,484 units

Cat 259D, 732 units

2012

2013

2014

2015

*Financed equipment, 2009-2018, number of units sold by sale or lease. Source: EDA, edadata.com

62 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

3,637

Florida

Kubota SVL75-2, 3,205 units

*In terms of number of new and used financed units sold Sept. 1, 2018 to Aug. 31, 2019. Source: EDA, edadata.com (Note: EDA reports are continually updated.)

Used low: 2009, 4,104 units

# of buyers

Texas

% of financed total

Bobcat

55,000 50,000 45,000 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0

State

Top financed new CTL*

Used machines* % of financed total

*Comparison of number of CTLs financed Sept. 1, 2018 to Aug. 31, 2019, and Sept. 1, 2017 to Aug. 31, 2018.

Source: EDA, edadata.com

New

Brand market share for new, used financed CTLs* Brand

USED: UP 13%

Top three states for CTL buyers*

Final bids unit count: 1,084 Oct. 1, 2018 – Sept. 30, 2019; prices for compact track loaders 5 years old and newer, U.S. sales only.

Only includes bids $5,000 and above. Source: TopBid, topbid.com

NEW: UP 8%

Top auction price paid for a 2017 ASV RT120F with 657 hours at a J. M. Wood Auction sale March 19 in Montgomery, Alabama

$

OTHER TOP BID:

Year-over-year change*

2016

2017

2018

*In terms of number of new and used financed units sold Sept. 1, 2018 to Aug. 31, 2019. Source: EDA, edadata.com (Note: EDA reports are continually updated.)

| by Tom Jackson |

TJackson@randallreilly.com

Cut-off saw sparks fire

W

here there’s a spark or heat, there is always the chance of a fire. And just because you can’t see or smell flammable materials does not mean they are not present.

On the site where the accident happened, junk, automobile parts and small bits of debris were scattered over an old farmstead. The foreman of the cleanup crew had instructed his people to load all the scrap metal on a trailer to be taken to a recycling center.

Faced with the prospect of picking up many dozens of small pieces of metal, the victim decided to make a container. He found a sealed 55-gallon steel drum and borrowed a cutoff saw with a metal blade to cut the drum open and put the small pieces of scrap in it.

What the victim didn’t know or bother to check was that the drum contained almost 2 gallons of diesel Date of safety talk: Attending:

fuel. The foreman had discovered the fuel a day earlier and put it aside with instructions for his crews not to touch it. But the victim was not at the site that day, and no one told him about the hazard on the day of the incident.

When the victim began sawing through the drum, either sparks from the blade or the heat generated from metal-on-metal cutting ignited the fuel inside the drum and caused it to explode.

The flash fire engulfed the victim, setting his clothes on fire. Coworkers rushed to his aid and managed to extinguish the flames but not before the victim suffered third-degree burns over 30 percent of his body.

How this accident could have been prevented: • Drums, containers or hollow structures that have previously contained toxic or flammable substances must be filled with water and/or thoroughly cleaned, venLeader:

Illustration by Don Lomax

safety watch

tilated and tested before welding or cutting on them is permitted.

• Conduct crew safety meetings and walkaround safety inspections at the beginning of each job and at least weekly thereafter. Workers who miss the initial safety briefing should be brought up to speed before working on the site.

• Avoid hot work on any drums known to have contained flammable or toxic substances. Liquids do not have to be present to pose a hazard; gas or diesel fumes are enough to create an explosion.

• Drums or other containers of flammable or toxic materials should be labeled as such, and chemical or safety data posted at the jobsite.

• Train workers to identify and safely handle flammable or toxic materials and residues.

For more information see: http:// bit.ly/DrumCut

_____________________ EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 63

alerta de seguridad

| por Tom Jackson |

TJackson@randallreilly.com

Sierra circular origina incendio

Cómo pudo haberse prevenido este accidente: • Barriles, contenedores o cualquier otra estructura Fecha de la charla de seguridad: Asistentes: 64 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

Illustration por Don Lomax

A

hí donde haya una chispa o calor, existe siempre la posibilidad de un incendio. Y solo porque no pueda ver u oler materiales inflamables, eso no significa que no estén presentes.

En el área de trabajo donde ocurrió este accidente había chatarra, partes de automóviles y restos desperdigados en una vieja granja. El jefe de la cuadrilla de limpieza había instruido a su gente a que cargue todos los restos metálicos en un remolque para transportarlos a un centro de reciclaje.

Viendo que tendría que levantar varias docenas de pequeños trozos de metal, la víctima decidió crear un contenedor. Encontró un barril de acero de 55 galones y se prestó una sierra circular con una hoja de metal para destapar el barril y colocar dentro las piezas pequeñas.

Lo que la víctima no sabía, o no se molestó en averiguar, fue que el barril contenía casi dos galones de combustible diésel. El jefe de la cuadrilla había descubierto el combustible un día antes y lo puso a un lado con instrucciones a su cuadrilla de que nadie lo tocara.

Pero la víctima no estaba en el área de trabajo ese día y nadie le advirtió del riesgo en el día del incidente.

Cuando la víctima empezó a cortar el barril, ya sea las chispas de la sierra o el calor generado por los cortes de metal a metal, prendieron fuego al combustible al interior del barril haciendo que explote. El fuego repentino envolvió a la víctima, prendiendo fuego a sus ropas. Sus compañeros de trabajo corrieron en su ayuda y lograron extinguir las llamas, pero no sin que antes la víctima sufriera quemaduras de tercer grado en el 30 por ciento de su cuerpo.

vacía que haya contenido sustancias tóxicas o inflamables deben llenarse con agua y/o ser totalmente limpiadas, ventiladas y sometidas a prueba antes de que se permita cortarlas o soldarlas.

• Lleve a cabo reuniones de seguridad con la cuadrilla, e inspecciones de seguridad en recorridos a pie al inicio de cada trabajo y, después de eso, vuelva a hacerlas por lo menos, una vez por semana. Los trabajadores que se pierdan la charla de seguridad inicial, deben ponerse rápidamente al día antes de empezar a trabajar en el área.

• Evite trabajos que generen calor en cualquier barril del cual se sepa que anteriormente contuvo sustancias inflamables o tóxicas. Los líquidos no tienen que estar presentes para constituir un riesgo, los vapores de gasolina o diésel son suficientes para provocar una explosión.

• Los barriles u otros contenedores de materiales inflamables o tóxicos deberían ser etiquetados como tales y la información química o de seguridad debería ser puesta a la vista en el área de trabajo.

• Capacite a los trabajadores a identificar y manipular materiales y residuos inflamables o tóxicos.

Para más información visite: http://bit.ly/DrumCut EQW

Líder:

regulatory report

| by Don McLoud |

DonMcLoud@randallreilly.com

What contractors need to know about new aerial lift standards

W

hen attending aerial lift industry conferences, Rick Smith regularly stops attendees to ask if they’re ready for the new ANSI standards for aerial work platforms.

“I’m shocked at the number of folks who have heard nothing about it,” says Smith, JLG senior director of global product training.

Despite that lack of knowledge, new standards by the American National Standards Institute that impact all who manufacture, sell, rent, operate, repair or ride an aerial work platform – now called Mobile Elevating Work Platforms, or MEWPs – are set to go into effect December 10.

If you’re a contractor who uses telescopic-boom, articulated-boom or scissor-lift MEWPs, you will soon face a multitude of changes in how the machines are operated and who can operate them. The standards exclude truck-mounted booms and telehandlers. Here’s a brief rundown of what you need to do to be ready:

Get trained If your employees operate aerial work platforms, they must be trained to the new standards. That includes those who have been trained before the standards were published December 10, 2018.

Supervisors of operators must also be trained.

For operators, the training includes a classroom or online and a hands-on component. Supervisors of anyone operating an aerial lift must undergo the same classroom or online training as the operator,

IPAF members offer online training for the new ANSI standards for aerial lifts. but they are not required to undergo the hands-on component.

The training covers such topics as selecting the proper aerial lift, potential hazards and ways to protect against those hazards.

Operators also need to know that all platform occupants must be instructed in basic safety, and at least one of them must be taught how to operate the controls in an emergency. “It’s a detailed, not quick, discussion that has to take place before they can go up in the air,” Genie senior trainer Scott Owyen says.

Make a safe-use program The new ANSI standards call on contractors using aerial work platforms to develop a comprehensive safeuse program and incorporate that program into everyday safety procedures. The program must be documented and all personnel trained on it before operations can begin.

The program must include a daily site risk assessment to identify hazards, implement hazard controls, alert all those affected on the

jobsite about the hazards, among other issues.

The standards also call for a written rescue plan that consists of three components: self-rescue, assisted rescue and technical rescue.

“The bottom line is,” Owyen says, “if you’re going to send them up, you must have several methods of ensuring that they are able to come back down safely.”

Resources available The above information is just a quick look at what contractors need to do to comply with the new ANSI standards. To learn more about the standards and find training, here are some websites you can check out: • International Powered Access Federation: http://bit.ly/IPAFtrain • Genie: http://bit.ly/GenieANSI • Skyjack: https://www.skyjack. com/training • JLG: www.jlg.com/en/training (train the trainer courses) • To purchase a copy of the new ANSI A92.20 standards: http://bit. ly/MEWPsANSI EQW EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 65

Excavator attachments | by Don McLoud |

Cut concrete with 360-degree rotation

Epiroc’s drum cutters are designed for rock or concrete wall and surface profiling, trenching, frozen-soil excavation, softrock excavation, demolition and dredging. They are compatible with carriers from 0.6 tons to 125 tons. The drum cutters can be equipped with dust-suppression equipment to meet silica regulations. The cutters can rotate 360 degrees without having to be disconnected from the excavator. They also are also designed to be quiet and deliver low vibration. Thirty models are available, including auger-drive, axial and transverse drum cutters.

66 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

DonMcLoud@randallreilly.com

Patchwork maneuverability

Minnich Manufacturing A3/A6 machine-mounted drills can be mounted to an excavator, backhoe or skid-steer loader for full-depth repair work. The carrier transports the pneumatic drills to reduce operator fatigue. The attachment comes with up to six drills. A side-shift function allows the operator to drill a second set of holes without having to reposition the excavator. An optional dust-collection system is available for meeting silica regulations. The drills have a max depth of 18 inches and minimum cutout width of 4 feet.

sponsored by:

Crush concrete, cut rebar

Geith’s Concrete Crushers use the excavator’s hydraulic forces for a variety of demolition jobs, including cutting through rebar. The shear blades on the attachment are replaceable. The crushers are compatible with direct-mount or Quick Hitch coupler systems. They feature high-strength, abrasion-resistant steel and wear-resistant alloy pivot bearings and pins. The Concrete Crushers come in three models, for excavators of 23 to 30 tons, 30 to 38 tons and 38 to 53 tons. The models range in weight from 2,460 to 4,872 pounds.

Cylinderless clamshell

Kinshofer’s C40HPX clamshell bucket is designed for loading bulk materials with 18- to 25-ton excavators and for 20- to 40-ton rehandling excavators. The bucket’s simultaneous opening and closing are governed by the HPXdrive, designed with hydraulic pistons to deliver full, constant closing force. An integrated non-return valve retains loads. The HPXdrive is also designed to reduce maintenance, as its interior components operate in a “self-contained oil bath.” That means no grease points to deal with. Its cylinderless design also means no protruding parts.

FOR ALL THOSE HARD TO REACH PLACES.

CHOOSE EQUIPMENT YOU CAN TRUST. EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 67

Excavator attachments | continued Jump stumps while mulching

Fecon’s deck mulcher attachments come in cutting widths of 62, 74 and 86 inches. The two-sided blades can be flipped over to double their lives. The attachment is equipped with a “stump jumper� that prevents bolt shearing when traversing stumps. Designed for fast mulching of smaller materials, the mulchers can be used for such tasks as right-of-way clearing and maintenance projects, forest clearing and site preparation. Operators can change the blade direction by reversing the fittings. Hydraulicflow requirements are 17 to 41 gallons per minute.

Larger chisel for added strength The HDB series of hydraulic breakers from Hyundai Construction Equipment Americas consists of 15 different models able to fit a range of excavator sizes and handle a variety of applications.

The company increased the chisel diameter for added strength and durability.

Four chisel options are available. The HDB breakers also feature a large-diameter tie bolt for performance and durability.

Hoses connecting the inlet/outlet ports use a new adapter type designed to avoid bolt breakage and oil leakage. An autogreasing feature protects moving parts from wear.

68 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

Want to float your excavator?

Remu’s Big Float amphibious excavator is available in three pontoon undercarriage sizes and can be mounted with most widely known excavator brands, the company says. The track system is similar to the chain system used on standard excavators. It operates on dry land; in swamps for dredging and digging; in shallow water for removing water vegetation and clearing waterways; and in open water with additional pontoons and anchoring legs. The undercarriage can be hydraulically adjusted for steady positions while operating and for easier transport.

DURABLE. DOWN & DIRTY. Sullair compressors are built to spend days on end doing the dirty work — from the smallest projects to the biggest jobs and everything in between.

Learn more at Sullair.com

© 2019 Sullair, LLC. All rights reserved.

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10:492019 AM 69 EquipmentWorld.com | 8/5/19 November

Excavator attachments | continued

Precise loading and material handling Doosan hydraulic thumbs for crawler and wheeled excavators allow operators to quickly and easily pick and place material for demolition work. The thumb edges keep objects secure for precise loading and material handling. A heavy-duty cylinder is designed for demanding applications. Thumbs can quickly be installed on the excavator dipper, while a load-holding valve helps prevent spillage. Doosan hydraulic thumbs are approved for use with DX140LC-5 through DX300LC-5 crawler excavators, and DX140W-5 through DX210W-5 wheeled excavators.

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Bobcat’s nitrogen breakers are designed for demolition jobs and attach to the company’s compact excavators, compact track loaders and skid steers. Bobcat designed its six breakers with few internal parts, a single lower bushing and easily accessible grease ports. The valve design lessens hydraulic-pressure fluctuation to reduce stress on the carrying equipment. A loader X-Change mounting frame allows the nitrogen breakers to be transitioned from a compact loader to a compact excavator. The breakers range in size from 81 to 996 foot-pounds. EQW

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EquipmentWorld.com | November 2019 73

final word | by Tom Jackson

TJackson@randallreilly.com

California: It’s time to wake up and smell the diesel

I

n October, Pacific Gas & Electric, California’s massive, investor-owned utility monopoly, shut off electrical power to almost three-quarters of a million customers, citing wildfire dangers from its dilapidated high power transmission lines.

When I first heard about this, I figured it would happen in the remote north around Mt. Shasta and Humboldt County. But no.

Power was cut off in Oakland, San Francisco, Palo Alto and San Jose, some of the most expensive real estate in the country. Schools and universities canceled classes. Businesses closed shop. Bars opened only by virtue of candlelight, and the beer got warm. About 2.5 million people were affected.

PG&E had no choice. Last year, its poorly maintained power lines sparked the Camp Fire conflagration that killed 85 people, destroyed 14,000 homes and caused $10 billion in damage. Pretty quickly now California is going to need a solution other than turning off the lights. Rather than curse the darkness, city planners would do well to fire up a diesel genset.

At the beginning of the 20th century, it made sense to generate electrical power in a handful of massive coal (and later nuclear) power plants and then pump it hundreds of miles over transmission lines. Today that system, with its top-down/command-andcontrol infrastructure, is as antiquated as the steam engine.

What California needs are microgrids with multiple, complementary and interconnected power sources. Rolls-Royce just recently announced the commissioning of one such system, a Microgrid Validation Center at its MTU

74 November 2019 | EquipmentWorld.com

Plant 1 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. According to its press release, the microgrid consists of photovoltaic panels with 500 kilowattpeak power, gas and diesel gensets, and a new MTU battery container with 2-megawatt storage capacity and a waste heat recovery system. The MTU system cuts factory CO2 output by several hundred tons a year.

The industry term for this is “distributed power,” and it’s nothing new. Microgrids and diesel generators have been popping up all over the Third World where big power plants are too expensive and complex for the native population to finance or build. And wherever diesel-powered microgrids are planted, the people, with their first access to electrical power, are flourishing.

Diesel generators are efficient, small scale, locally owned and managed, environmentally beneficial and less prone to terrorist disruptions and other disasters – like forest fires.

PG&E’s antiquated system – with its army of attendants and maintenance costs – is too big and too expensive to maintain over vast distances.

Microgrids will never completely replace conventional power plants. Big cities will always need large centralized sources of electricity. But the era of running transmission lines through millions of acres of forested land is over. Fifty years from now, hydrogen, nuclear, and maybe a more benign source of power we’ve never heard of, will be viable. In the interim, diesel, solar and battery combos are our best options to supplement the legacy systems in remote areas and provide safe, dependable power.

And the time to transition is now, before the fire next time. EQW

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