Oscillation: Efficient compaction
For BAM Infra, another success factor is compaction with oscillation. Over 30 years ago, HAMM was the first in the sector to bring this technology to market maturity, and development has continued ever since. The construction managers and drivers, as well as their colleagues in the asphalt laboratory, are convinced of the benefits of HAMM oscillation. For this reason, BAM Infra has equipped all new rollers with this technology since 2014. Prior to this decision, however, the company thoroughly tested the new technology. "We compacted a variety of our standard asphalt mixes, including low-temperature asphalt, with and without oscillation. The analyses conducted by our laboratory team have demonstrated that, alongside the technology's numerous other advantages, oscillation enables us to attain the desired compaction more quickly and more efficiently," explains project manager Mark van Duuren. Thanks to the effectiveness of oscillation, the tandem rollers in Eindhoven required only three outward and return passes – the first one without oscillation directly behind the pavers, the second and third ones with both oscillation and vibration activated.
HCQ Navigator: Optimised processes
As part of the tendering process, BAM Infra was required to describe the measures that the company would take to achieve homogeneous and high-quality compaction across the entire runway. The solution is "HCQ Navigator". The company has used this HAMM system since the beginning of 2016 in road building. Two decisive advantages for them are improved compaction quality and straightforward documentation. Construction manager Jeffrey van der Putten points out: "The client was soon convinced of the HCQ Navigator as a quality management and documentation system." The basic principle: Sensors capture all essential compaction parameters, and a DGNSS receiver determines the position. Based on this data, the system immediately generates a graphic depiction on a panel PC in the cabin that enables every driver to see the areas that have already been sufficiently compacted and the areas that still require compaction. If several rollers are networked via Wi-Fi, all drivers can see the progress of compaction achieved by the entire team. This prevents over- and under-compaction, while the compaction attained is highly homogeneous as well as cost-effective, because many of the passes are no longer required.
10 rollers in a Wi-Fi group
For the assignment in Eindhoven, BAM Infra was the first construction company worldwide to operate 10 rollers with HCQ Navigator on a construction site. "However, for the project in Eindhoven, the planners at BAM Infra, being professionals, played it safe and distributed the rollers over two Wi-Fi networks. This worked out perfectly," says Mark van Haaften, a service technician at WIRTGEN Nederland. He helped to complete the assignment on site and adds: "As expected, the ten-unit system passed its baptism of fire and functioned flawlessly." A further advantage that appealed not only to BAM Infra but also to the client was that the HCQ Navigator records all of the process data. "For us, this record is a very effective form of documentation. If required, we can also easily carry out analyses of processes and results," says van der Putten, a construction manager.
