Hauling equipment safely means more than just load-and-go.

The accident: A tractor-trailer hauling construction machines rear-ended a pickup truck with two men inside. The tractor-trailer ended up on top of the pickup before going off the road. Both of the pickup truck’s occupants were ejected. The driver received only minor injuries; however, the passenger was killed.

The bottom line: Hauling construction equipment adds weight, reduces handling ability and increases momentum on inclines. The tractor-trailer’s driver did not allow for adequate stopping distance between his truck and the vehicle traveling in front of him.

Tie it down well. Safe machine transport is as important as safe machine operation, and keeping the machine in place is the first step. According to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, most manufacturers provide tie-down and lifting points, but assume no liability for product transport. Some manufacturers also provide recommended loading procedures, but it’s critical to remember that all machines are not loaded in the same way. As a general rule of thumb, keep the following guidelines in mind:

• Know the correct loading/unloading procedures for the specific machine

• Transport vehicle must be on a firm, level surface

• Block transport vehicle to prevent movement

• Ramps should be of adequate size and strength, low angle and proper height

• Ensure trailer bed and ramps are clean and clear

• Install the frame lock if equipped

• Keep others clear of the area

• Secure all attachments

• Chain and block the machine

• Check your overall transport height.

Know your stopping distance. Once you’re en route, be aware the added weight of the machine will increase your stopping distance, and that increase will vary depending on the weight and configuration of the machine you’re transporting and the grade of the road. Be aware of how long it takes you to achieve a complete stop.

Remember the equipment can loosen from its secured state. Although you’ve loaded and secured the equipment properly, always stop within the first 25 miles and recheck your tie-down points. Ensure that nothing has come loose, and make needed adjustments to chain lengths.

Increase your following distance. Once you’ve calculated your stopping distance, adjust your following distance as well. Although maintaining a safe following distance can prove a challenge in congested areas, implement your calculated following distance whenever possible. EW

Information for this Safety Watch came from an accident report, OSHA and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. It is meant for general information only.

Calling 811 before you dig is the law of the land and a good system, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t double check all your One Call locates.*

By Tom Jackson

In Texas this past June three construction workers were killed and 11 injured in the span of two days in two separate accidents when the heavy equipment with which they were working hit natural gas pipelines. Investigations indicated that One Call procedures had been followed.

By calling 811 and waiting for the utilities to mark their lines contractors are in most cases absolved from legal liability. But legal absolution doesn’t bring co-workers back from the dead.

Excavation and underground operations have never been safer thanks to efforts by government and industry to improve utility damage prevention. But while the risks are coming down, the fact remains that just one accidental utility strike can injure or kill employees or put your company out of business.

Guilt by association

Safety is the first and foremost reason contractors should double check their locates with their own equipment. But you should also be aware of what an accidental utility strike can do to your public image.

“If you hit a telephone or fiber optic line that cuts off service to a business, that company’s revenue is gone for that day. All they know is the contractor with his name on the truck is the guy who cut off their telephone service,” says Matt Manning, a locator specialist and product manager for electronics at McLaughlin. “They don’t understand that it wasn’t painted correctly.”

What the company calls “smart” transmitter technology along with improved noise reduction allows the McLaughlin Verifier G2 great accuracy in line location and depth calculations. Features include peak and null locating modes, four active frequencies, depth readout, current measurement index (CMI), passive radio search and new data storage and time stamp capability. The depth capacity has been increased to 30 feet.

Another reason contractors should own and use locating equipment is to avoid the delays and disruption caused by mismarked or undetected utilities, says John Bieberdorf, senior product manager for electronics at Ditch Witch. “Ultimately this efficiency is going to save them money. The recommended best practice is to pothole, or visually uncover utilities by hand digging or vacuum excavation. Designating the depth and an accurate centerline with your own equipment can often save hours of work. And in most cases the One Call locators are not going to give you depths,” he says.

The limitations of One Call

While the vast majority of people who work for locating companies and One Call centers are diligent and skilled professionals, there are limitations to what they do. Knowing what these limitations are and being able to supplement their work with your own locating equipment gives you and your crews a much bigger margin of safety.

The locating companies do their best to put the paint marks directly over the utility in question. But there are big fudge factors built into this.

“In reality what a locator does isn’t locating but designating, meaning they designate the approximate area within 18 to 24 inches of what they believe is the centerline of the pipe,” says Bob Ringwelski, a business development manager in Caterpillar Electronics. “In some states they are restricted by law from giving depths, and most locating companies aren’t interested in giving depths anyway because it increases their liability.”

0.5to1 Estimated percentage of a project’s total costs that SUE survey and mapping will require.

Note, too, that locating companies only mark the utilities for the facility owners who are members of the One Call. This sometimes leaves out a number of underground utilities. “Sewer laterals and abandoned utilities are the two big ones,” says Keith Sjostrom, senior project engineer for Vermeer. “It depends on who owns the line.”

Utilities owned by government agencies also pose special challenges. “If it’s a federal facility, it may not want people knowing where its communication line is,” Bieberdorf says. Many locating companies also only locate and mark utilities in public right of ways, not on private property, he says. So if you’re digging on private land, depending on local codes or regulations, you may need to hire your own locating company or do the job yourself.

Also be aware that in places where there is new construction, – an unfinished building for example – the utilities may not yet be activated or listed on the maps the utility companies provide to locating companies.

Contractor mistakes

Another way error can creep into the utility locating process is when contractors fail to do their part right.

The Ditch Witch 950R/T pipe and cable locator system transmits via direct connection, induction clamp, or induced broadcast signals. In the passive mode the receiver detects 31-kHz cable TV and 50/60-Hz power lines as well as re-radiated radio frequencies. Put it in beacon mode to detect signals from optional beacons to detect non-metallic service lines.

“There are complaints on both sides, but the biggest miscommunication happens when contractors don’t go to the jobsite prior to calling in the ticket,” says Manning. “Someone in the office calls in the ticket, but they don’t know what the jobsite looks like. When you are at the jobsite you can make sure you have the right address, that you’re telling them to locate on the right side of the road and you know the nearest intersection. Afterwards, you can make sure they paint the right area. If you’re working in someone’s backyard, you can make sure the locator knows this. They may assume you’re only working in the right of way.”

Contractors should also understand that locating is an art, not a science – or at best an inexact science. “That’s why they have up to a 2-foot tolerance on either side of the line,” says Bieberdorf.

3.5 million  Number of miles of buried utilities in the United States.

That’s not to say that the utility and pipeline industries aren’t trying to make this science more exact. Over the past two decades a new engineering process called Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) has been developed that prescribes the steps to be taken for reducing the risk on the site and depicting the level of service the contractor has asked for. On projects with a lot of underground complexity or uncertainties you can get firms that perform SUE to go over your site with an array of high tech locating devices and techniques. This will give you a much more detailed and accurate picture of the utilities and obstacles underground than any one locating device or technique.

Contractors can also help their case by establishing clear communications with the locating company. Locating companies are required to respond to 811 requests within 48 hours of the call, but if you don’t intend to start digging on a site right way, let the One Call service know so they can better prioritize their schedules.

When locates don’t match

What do you do if:

• your own locating equipment detects underground lines other than where the paint marks indicate, or

• you pothole or hand dig to expose a utility and fail to find it, or

• find it where it wasn’t marked?

Shown here in the Standard Cart Configuration, the GSSI UtilityScan GPR system is compatible with five antennas and offers depth penetration from 10 inches to 18 feet. It sports 20-inch front and 24-inch back removable wheels and an integrated survey wheel encoder. The 8.4-inch color display features 800x600 resolution and 64K colors for clear visibility in sunlight. A Rugged Cart System is also available for harsher applications.

First you call the One Call or locate company. The law doesn’t say you have to call the locate company, Bieberdorf says. “But if they’ve mislocated, they’ll want to know it. It’s their business to be as accurate as they can be,” he says.

Don’t just assume you’ve done a better job than the locate company. There could be a lot of explanations. It might be that there are several utility lines buried in a common trench and you – or the locating company – have only located one of them. It could be that you or the locating company has mistakenly identified an abandoned utility, and the live utility is still somewhere on the site.

Despite the pressure to get the job going, when presented with conflicting information you have an obligation to your crews and customers to get these questions answered before proceeding.

Selecting the right equipment

There are two basic types of locating devices – electromagnetic and ground penetrating radar. Electromagnetic locating uses a two piece system: a box-like transmitter which puts out the signal and a hand-held receiver that you wand over the estimated location to pinpoint where the signal is coming from underground. There are three ways to induce the signal:

1. Direct connection. The most accurate method is to make a direct metal-to-metal connection to the utility line with the transmitter. You first ground the transmitter with a stake pushed into the earth and then clip a wire from the transmitter to any exposed metal on the above-ground portion of the utility line. With direct connection you can use lower frequencies and power settings, which reduce the chance that the signal will bleed over to an adjacent utility or bounce off fence posts or other obstacles and lead your transmitter astray.

$4.62    Amount of money saved through productivity and safety enhancements for every $1 invested in SUE services.

2. Induction clamping. If you can’t get a direct metal-to-metal connection you can use what’s called an induction clamp, a device that wraps around the above-ground termination point of the utility and puts out a higher power, higher frequency signal you then follow above ground with your receiver. But because you’re using more power and a higher frequency the chance of bleed over is increased.

3. Passive induction. If the utility in question does not offer access for a direct connection or induction clamp, and then try passive locating, or “dropping the box.” In this method you put the transmitter on the ground above the utility line. It blasts a high power, high frequency signal into the earth that should in most cases get picked up by the buried utility. But since this method uses the most power and highest frequencies, it is the most susceptible to bleed over. Another way to passively locate objects is to tune your receiver to a naturally occurring frequency, such as the 60-Hertz (Hz) pulses electrical lines put out, and follow the utility that way. In such cases you don’t need a transmitter at all. There are also a lot of steel gas lines underground that use 120-Hz cathodic protection that can be traced passively.

“A higher frequency can get you to the point where everything lights up,” Bieberdorf says. “It can be hard to pinpoint one specific cable. Every cable in the area gets the signal. As you get into lower frequencies, that’s where you start narrowing down to find one cable as opposed to multiple cables in a congested area.”

Professional utility locating personnel carry with them an arsenal of electromagnetic, or EM locating devices. For contractors, multiple devices might prove impractical. So what’s the solution?

Schonstedt TraceMaster II offers several options. The top of the line model has four active frequencies, two passive frequencies and an optional sonde or cathodic frequency with a radio link to change frequencies from the receiver. The screen shows directional arrows, signal strength and depth readouts plus continuity or good connection indications. It has a practical operating depth of 10 to 15 feet and can locate utilities up to 20 feet underground. Lower cost versions offer a combination of features including four manual frequencies, single frequencies, passive frequencies only and no radio link.

“The first thing we ask the contractor is what utilities they want to find. Then you can hone in on specifics,” Bieberdorf says. “Are you crossing power lines, communication lines, gas lines? There are specific locators that can fine tune your ability to find those more precisely,” he says. “If you’re a general contractor who wants to find everything, then I’d recommend a multi-frequency locator that has depth estimate capability.”

“You want to make sure the locator has multiple frequencies and passive and inductive capabilities,” Manning says. Unless you’re working for a specific utility, you will not have access to power transformers or telephone and cable TV pedestals. Without this access, direct metal-to-metal connections are not possible, forcing you to rely on passive or inductive methods.

It’s also a good idea to look for a locating device that’s rugged enough to withstand being tossed around in the bed of a truck, and to make sure you have a local dealer capable of service and repair.

Prices for EM locators range from around $1,000 for a single frequency/single-purpose locator, to around $7,000 to $8,000 for top-of-the-line models. But you’ll find versatile multi-frequency, multi-function models in the $3,000 to $4,000 range, as well.

Manning cautions that going cheap may cost you money in the long run. He cites the case of a boring contractor he’d worked with who failed to find a critical utility using a $1,000 locator. “They had no problem finding the gas line and the power line, but they dug all afternoon and couldn’t locate the telephone line,” he says.

22   Number of state highway agencies that support the use of SUE

his crew standing around idle the frustrated contractor popped open the telephone pedestal to attempt a direct connect and got into trouble for that. “Had the contractor used a better locator, a $3,000 model instead of a $1,000 model, he wouldn’t have been getting those false readings and he would not have wasted a whole day,” Manning says. As it turned out, Manning located the telephone line within 30 minutes of arriving, using the proper locator.

Ground penetrating radar

The biggest limitation to EM locating is that you have to have metal – either a metal pipe, metal wires or a tracer wire in the pipe or trench – to accept the signal put out by the transmitter unit. So with EM you’re never going to detect concrete culvert pipes, PVC pipe, clay-tile or wood sewer lines. Many of the early fiber-optic lines were buried without a tracer wire, rendering them invisible to EM locating, as well.

The Vermeer Interragator EZ GPR system can survey underground utilities at speeds of up to 5 mph using a 400 MHz antenna. It’s powered by 10.8-volt lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that give you 1.5 to 2 hours of service depending on conditions. The unit is sealed against inclement weather and weighs just 10 pounds for easy portability. You can choose from five selectable depth settings, and a survey wheel provides horizontal position of data.

The solution for detecting non-metallic utilities is ground penetrating radar. GPR also has the ability to find a lot of underground anomalies that can wreak havoc on an excavation project, things like boulders, buried tree stumps, trolley tracks, old foundations, rebar and underground construction rubble.

GPR works by transmitting an electromagnetic pulse into the ground and then receiving the reflected energy and noting any subtle dissimilarity in the properties of the soil. On a GPR screen backfill in a trench gives a different reading than the undisturbed soil, concrete is different than soil, and so on. The typical unit is pushed around the jobsite, much like a lawn mower, creating a gridwork of perpendicular lines. “By understanding how to interpret these geophysical anomalies, we can with a high degree of confidence conclude the existence of linear objects and other anomalous structures as long as the soils cooperate,” says Mark Wallbom, CEO of UIT. (See photo page 38.)

30   Percentage of locates done by utility locating professionals that may be inaccurate

The above-ground detective work done before you commence a GPR scan is similar to the observations done before conducting an EM sweep of an area. “To properly calibrate the GPR system, the first thing you find is a known target, such as a nearby culvert. You could also pop a manhole cover and find the utility in it,” Sjostrom says. “Then you run down the centerline of your proposed excavation or bore path, do two passes on either side of the borepath and then run the device perpendicular to the borepath to create a grid.”

The one limitation to GPR is soil type. “As you start adding more fines, whether it’s clay or silt, the effectiveness of GPR is going to worsen,” Sjostrom says. “And with wet clay soil GPR won’t work at all.” A place like Florida, with its sandy soil, is ideal, he says. Sjostrom estimates that about one third of the county has soils suitable for effective GPR use.

GPR units also cost considerably more than EM devices. “For utility contractors there are at least a half dozen models in the $18,000 to $25,000 range that will give you a number of choices,” Sjostrom says. “What separates them from one another is the ease of use, size and software friendliness. The physics is pretty much the same,” he says.

38  Percentage of reported utility strikes that were caused by failure to notify the One Call center

At those prices not every contractor is going to carry a GPR unit around in the back of his truck. But in areas where the soils are favorable, locating companies use them frequently. And there are cities such as San Antonio, Texas, that require the use of GPR after years of utility strikes convinced city officials to force contractors to use more caution, Sjostrom says. You can also hire geophysical or advanced locating firms to do a GPR sweep of a site if you’re concerned about abandoned utilities or running into troublesome objects underground. EW

Editor’s note; This article is not intended as a substitute for utility locating training, but rather as an overview of the issues and equipment used in utility locating. If you’d like to further your training in this field, see the resources section on page 41. You may also want to seek some familiarization training from the manufacturer of whatever device you buy.

WHAT IS SUE?

Twenty years ago underground utility locating was a hit and miss affair, with no rules, regulations or best practices. But in 2002 the American Society of Civil Engineers created Standard 38-02 to create formal quality standards for underground investigations. In a nutshell SUE describes four quality levels which aggregate as quality levels increase. For example quality level B includes all activities included in quality level C and quality level D. The levels include:

• D: is the lowest level of investigation and only involves reading existing records.

• C: involves a visual survey of above-ground facilities and correlates this with existing utility records.

• B: requires the use of geophysical techniques such as ground penetrating radar and electromagnetic devices.

• A: requires non-destructive digging to visually verify the horizontal position and vertical elevation of a utility.

The SUE standards are due for an update this year, which when finalized will be labeled ASCE Standard 38-10. For more information check out these websites:

http://www.asce.org/

http://www.so-deep.com/asce38-02.htm

Caterpillar goes underground with UIT

Equipment manufacturer Caterpillar has been pushing safety hard in the last few years and its purchase of UIT announced this summer is another big step in that direction.

UIT, which stands for Underground Imaging Technologies, is a service that Caterpillar will offer, rather than a specific product. What’s the service?

“We see ourselves as all things geophysical,” says Mark Wallbom, CEO of UIT. “We use whatever equipment is needed, not just our own, and we don’t have anything to sell above and beyond the fact that we’re experts in using geophysical means and methods to detect underground utilities and other linear features.”

That said, UIT also uses its own exclusive equipment that goes beyond most current technology in the market. Take, for instance, its multi-channel GPR system. Rather than a single antenna, UIT’s cart-based device uses 14 antennae that send out signals in a 5-foot-wide path. The cart is towed by a vehicle at speeds up to 5 miles per hour and the overlapping signals from the multiple array antennae compensate and correct for the pitch, yaw and roll the device experiences rolling across uneven ground.

“It collects vast amounts of data, that when you’re done looks like an MRI,” says Wallbom. “We’ll go down through the ground in 2-inch stacked slices and you will see features appear, brighten and disappear.”

UIT also deploys an EM-type device for detecting ferrous materials that is likewise a vehicle-towed, 5-foot-wide cart with multiple sensors. The company calls this technology Time Domain ElectroMagnetic Induction (TDEM). The TDEM system is induction based and does not require physical attachment to the utility. It can also locate features such as changes in rock and soil conductivity in underground trenches and other construction operations.

Both cart systems also synch up to either a GPS or a total station. Software combines the GPR or TDEM data with the positioning data from the GPS or total station to give you a 3-D map of the underground spaces scanned. That data can be plugged into a Caterpillar Accugrade, GPS-enabled excavator or other earthmoving machines. “Now the operator in the cab can see on his GPS screen the areas he needs to avoid and areas he can get high production without having to worry about hitting utilities,” Wallbom comments.

“We map the entire area of interest,” Wallbom says, and not only known linear features such as pipes and things of that nature, but we also find all the unknown features, some of them linear, some of them not – trolley tracks, brown fields, thing like that. What makes us different is that we are not a locating company. We do not designate known utilities with paint on the ground. Instead we provide the client with a 3D map of the subsurface tied to stationing with elevations, not just depth below current grade.”

For more information go to http://uit-systems.com.

Ridgid’s SeekTech SR-20 uses a combination of multi-direction antennas and a mapping display that shows target line direction and changes in direction as they occur, left-right guidance arrows, signal strength and a proximity number that increases as distance to the target decreases. It has four frequencies in active mode and seven sonde frequencies. In passive mode it offers broad band electric and low and high band radio frequencies.

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RESOURCES

Training videos

Locating equipment is of little use unless you know some of the science behind it, and what it can and cannot do. If you want to get better acquainted with this subject check out the series of training videos from Excavation Safety University at www.ExcavationSafetyOnline.com

ASCE Standard

Standard Guidelines for the Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/asce.cfm

Call before you dig information

http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/comm/CBYD.htm?nocache=4108

Common Ground Alliance Best Practices

Can be downloaded for free or ordered as a bound manual for minimal charge. Website is updated with new practices and information on a regular basis.

http://www.commongroundalliance.com/Template.cfm?Section=Best_Practices

By Lauren Heartsill

POWER HANDLER

Maximize excavator efficiency with Amulet’s G2 PowerClamp progressive-link hydraulic thumb, which can support beams or remove unwieldy materials, debris and rip-rap.

• Designed for excavators from 30,000 to 100,000 pounds

• Made for use with a quick coupler

• Reaches an average of 180 degrees of thumb rotation.

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DURABLE RECYCLER

PSM’s demolition bucket sorts recyclable materials in severe conditions, offering minimum trash removal costs and dump fees.

• Replaceable cast wear components protect T-1 structure bucket

• Constructed with high tensile, low-carbon steel

• One piece replaceable outer wear plate with abrasive resistant wear

strips forms triple bottom protection.

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STRONGER BUT LIGHTER

Genesis Attachments expanded its Demolition Recycler Series to use a more powerful, lighter-weight tool on a standard or high-reach machine.

• Has a crushing force of 85 to 148 tons

• Uses a regeneration valve and a large-bore cylinder

• Available in shearing, concrete cracking or concrete pulverizing configurations.

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STREET TOUGH

The Hy-Ram HR Series from Allied Construction Products uses its tougher temperament to demolish concrete structures, trench rock, building foundations, pavement and bridge decks.

• Oil and gas operation increases efficiency

• Longer piston stroke provides higher impact power

• Auto-stop system prevents blank firing.

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DOUBLE CRUSHER

Okada America’s Cut Series doubles as a primary concrete crusher, capable of demolition and structural steel processing at the same time.

• Offered in four sizes for carriers from 6.5 to 50 tons

• Hydraulic speed valve offers faster speeds and increased productivity

• 360-degree hydraulic rotation gives easy access to demolition work.

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ADDED PROTECTION

Atlas Copco’s HB heavy hydraulic breaker line offers features to protect against costly mistakes, such as improper set up.

• Power Adapt system shuts down the hydraulic breaker when oil pressure exceeds the max

• Improved box system for better stability and resistance

• Dual retaining bar gives better protection against wear and tear.

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NO EXTRAS NEEDED

The Lemac Concrete Crusher requires no extra hydraulics to crush concrete or to remove and cut rebar.

• Includes replaceable teeth and rebar cutters for easy and affordable maintenance

• Attaches in the same place as previously mounted bucket

• Main pivot features heat-treated pin, bearings, seals and o-rings.

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MIDSIZE BUT MIGHTY

The Bobcat HB880 hydraulic breaker offers a powerful performance in a midsize package.

• Provides 1,310 blows per minute at a hydraulic rate of 17.2 gallons per minute

• Automatic pressure regulator ensures maximum performance

• Matches hydraulic capacity of the carrier to the breaker.

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ONSITE RECYCLER

The EZ Grout Hog Crusher recycles materials such as brick, stone, asphalt and stone on the jobsite.

• Easily attaches to any skid steer loader or forklift

• Replaceable carbide bullets, hardened breaker/cleaner and check plates

• Recycles up to 10 tons per hour.

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INTERCHANGABLE SHARING

The Kenco Demolition Grapple, which interchanges with buckets and other attachments, can be shared by all excavator brands.

• Available for 20,000- to 140,000-pound machines

• Replaceable front and rear tine pads

• Manufactured from abrasive resistant alloy steels.

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ROCK CRUSHER

FAE’s STC/SSL rock crusher attachment is designed for high-flow hydraulic skid steers.

• Crush and grind up to 6-inch diameter rock, stone and asphalt

• Double carbide teeth provide longer wear

• Attachment has a working width of 63 inches.

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COST SAVER

Rotobec’s Power Attachments offer versatility in various material-handling applications, such as demolition.

• Positioned or dangle rotations minimize the excavator’s movement

• Rotations reduce fuel consumption and maintenance costs

• Attachments use multiple jaw configurations.

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QUIET POWER

Surestrike hammers efficiently demolish heavy concrete.

• Concrete is quietly broken with up to 75,000 foot pounds of single blow impact energy

• Will mount to any excavator or loader

• Have high production rates.

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GOOD VIBRATIONS

Construction Attachments’ CAL16000 hammer’s fully cushioned vibration damping system on the upper/lower power cell reduces friction on wear pads and protects from vibration damage.

• Fully cushioned vibration damping system on upper/lower power reduces pad friction

• Internal control valve system provides 10 to 15 percent more efficiency than other breaker valves, says the company

• Redesigned case ensures snug main body fit.

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READY-TO-USE

The JCB Hammermasters are supplied ready-to-use, with hoses, moil and chisel, and many can be fitted to other manufacturer’s machines as well.

• Features an auto-stop function to ensure idle blows do not damage the breaker

• Housing incorporates a heavy-duty claw

• Autogrease system is fitted to the breaker housing.

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EFFICIENT CRUSHER

Perform crushing applications in tight spaces or hilly areas with MB’s excavator-mounted crusher buckets.

• Buckets are efficient to transport and install

• Recycles onsite materials, reducing disposal trips

• Produces fill material for a range of jobs.

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Under this agreement, Elgin Sweeper will share its background in surface cleaning with the EPA to better understand the maintenance needs of three types of porous pavement.

“The partnership with the EPA furthers Elgin Sweeper’s commitment as the leader in environmentally efficient street sweepers to develop, formulate, and distribute environmental solutions and implementation technologies that reduce air pollution and storm water pollution in cities and communities across the United States,” said Brian Giles, sweeper product manager at Elgin Sweeper, in a prepared statement.

The National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1995 from several former Office of Research and Development (ORD) organizations.

The NRMRL focuses on environmental problem solving. Recognized as a national leader in scientific and engineering expertise and capability, NRMRL’s research directly supports national priorities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, manage chemical risks, clean up hazardous waste sites, and protect America’s water.

For more information on the types and sources of air and water pollution that ultimately involve streets, sewers and other areas of public concern, please visit www.pollutioninfoportal.com.

For more information from the EPA, go to www.epa.gov/oaintrnt/stormwater.

By Amy Materson

JAWBREAKER

Crush up to 750 tons per hour with the Powerscreen Pegson XA750 mobile jaw crusher from Terex. Fitted with a hydraulically driven pan feeder and live pre-screening unit, the Pegson XA750 removes fines and sizes prior to crushing while avoiding packing and unnecessary manganese wear. A 55-by-32-inch unrestricted feed opening delivers a consistent feed to the jaw crusher and prevents bridging. A hydraulic closed side setting adjustment system controls product sizing at the touch of a button.

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EASY LIFTING

Reach heights of 45 feet with Caterpillar’s TH514 telehandler, which offers an 11,000-pound load capacity and 30-foot 3-inch forward reach. The TH514 features a 101-horsepower turbocharged engine, and a limited slip differential is fitted in the front axle. All three boom functions operate simultaneously, and load sensing hydraulics deliver smooth control for difficult sites. A new cab promotes visibility and features a single lever joystick with roller switches for easy operation. Readily accessible service points and ground level components simplify maintenance.

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EDITOR’S PICK

CAPABLE CRAWLER

Perform heavy dozing and finishing operations with Komatsu’s D65-16 crawler dozer, which provides 205 horsepower at 1,950 rpm and feature an automatic transmission with torque converter lock-up that improves fuel economy. The torque converter automatically transfers engine power to the transmission for a fuel savings of up to 10 percent. The dozer also has automatic or manual gear shift modes and two selectable working modes – E, for general dozing, leveling or spreading, and P, useful when slot dozing and ripping. Choose from Komatsu’s Sigmadozer blade, which has a blade capacity of up to 7.72 cubic yards for grading productivity, or a six-way PAT blade for versatility across a range of applications. The D65-16 is available in standard, low ground pressure and wide track models, and weighs in between 43,690 and 48,940 pounds. Joystick controls with Palm Command Control System improve fine control while reducing operator fatigue, and a simple electronic throttle control dial controls engine speed. A new cab design with ROPS moves the operator’s seat 4 inches closer to the blade for better visibility, reduces shocks and vibration and limits noise to 75 decibels. Routine maintenance is simplified with daily engine checks grouped together in a convenient location, and a manually reversing fan that allows the operator to clean the radiator without leaving the cab. The standard PLUS undercarriage has a rotary bushing system for extended life.

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What’s new:

• Fuel savings of up to 10 percent

• Cab design moves operator 4 inches closer to the blade

DEEP CUTS

Husqvarna’s K760 Cut-n-Break deep power cutter includes a breaking tool that breaks the central core after cutting with twin 9-inch blades, allowing you to cut to 16 inches without overcutting. The dual blades are resistant to thermal strain and can cut at high speed. The dual intake X-Torq engine lowers emissions and fuel consumption, and a filtration system reduces maintenance. The K760 also has a vibration and sound dampening system to reduce fatigue.

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BREAK IT UP

Crush brick, demolition rubble, rock and other construction waste with JCB’s crusher buckets for tracked excavators. The buckets come in three models – the 0.59-cubic-yard CB60, the 0.78-cubic-yard CB70 and the 0.98-cubic-yard CB90. They use a fixed jaw in the base and a hinged jaw in the roof that can produce material in sizes from less than an inch to 4 ¾ inches. Two lubrication points with 30-hour greasing intervals ensure simplified maintenance.

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POWERFUL PUMPING

Perform a range of concrete and shotcrete applications with Blastcrete’s Model RD6536 skid steer pump attachment, which pumps grout materials, 3/8-inch shotcrete and 3/4-inch structural concrete mixes at a variable speed of up to 25 cubic yards per hour and requires 18 gpm at 3,000 psi. The receiving hopper features a hydraulic agitator that keeps the mix blended and prevents aggregate and sand from settling to the bottom and clogging the suction area. The pump attachment can reach a vertical distance of 50 feet and a horizontal distance of 250 feet.

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CUT CONTROL

Extend tire life and boost traction with Michelin’s X-Traction tire, designed for rigid frame dump trucks operating in rocky terrain. The X-Traction’s Cooling System shoulder design and C2 Technology casing architecture work together to reduce heat buildup at high speed. The tire also has thicker undertread rubber to resist cuts, and a tread that is 13 percent deeper than previous models, extending tire life by up to 15 percent. A tough tread that protects the casing also makes the X-Traction easier to retread.

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SNOW SHIFTER

Turn your backhoe into a snow removal system with the BX-12 box plow from The Boss, which removes large volumes of snow in a single pass. A 12-foot-wide sectioned trip edge has segmented cutting edges to allow each 8-inch cutting edge segment to trip individually, allowing the remaining edges to remain in contact with the surface. Self leveling articulating end plates reduce wear on the shoe heel and keep the scraping edge close to the ground. The BX-12 attaches to any backhoe or loader with a Quickhitch system.

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ROCK REMOVER

Quickly remove rocks and debris with Bobcat’s rock bucket, designed for Bobcat skid steers, compact track loaders, all-wheel steer loaders, Toolcats and VersaHandlers. Available in 62-, 68-, 74- and 82-inch widths. The bucket’s skeletal design ensures the operator can always see the cutting edge. The buckets feature fully gusseted tines on each side that are interconnected to boost strength, and provide a sifting capacity to help separate the material.

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MINIMIZE MAINTENANCE

Eliminate daily lubrication with Lincoln’s Quicklub system, an automatic lubrication system designed for John Deere 350D and 400D series articulating dump trucks. The system ensures all components receive predetermined amounts of grease while in use, lubricating critical wear surfaces and sealing out rock dust, dirt, sand and water. The Quicklub system meets Deere’s standards for location, mounting and protection, and can be installed on a new or used truck.

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GREEN MACHINE

Convert any gas-powered tamper to a compressed air model with Higher Innovative Solutions’ conversion kit, designed for use with any brand of tamper. Once the motor is converted from the gas engine to pneumatic power, a hose connects the tamper to an air compressor. An easy-turn valve ensures ease of use.

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By Kirk Landers

By now you’ve heard the popular points in the debate over high-speed rail: It is or isn’t economically viable, it is or isn’t a worthwhile form of transportation, it is or isn’t a political pipe dream that has no chance of becoming a reality in a country with a growing aversion to debt, taxes and thinking big.

Who is right in these debates remains to be seen. What we know for sure is that the cost of creating high-speed rail service is breathtakingly high, the pain of short-hop air travel between close-by cities is becoming more unbearable with each passing year, and most megaprojects in U.S. history have been every bit as controversial as high speed rail. At the moment, creation of high speed rail service in America – real high speed rail with travel speeds of 100 mph, give or take – seems like a dead issue, but many U.S. mega projects have seemed dead and buried at some time prior to their enactment. This one, too, might rise from the ashes at some point in the future, be it the near-term or long-term future.

Given that most heavy construction contractors regard themselves as fiscal conservatives, sentiment in this audience probably runs heavily against the high speed rail as a public investment. But if it were to happen anyway, few groups of companies and people would benefit more than the heavy construction industry, mainly because true high-speed rail will require construction of trackbeds that are much more sophisticated than those now in use in the United States.

Building track beds for high speed rail would employ a lot of paving crews, be they asphalt or concrete, and consume millions of tons of aggregate from quarries that now operate at low capacity, if at all.

Writing in the March-April 2010 issue of HMAT Magazine, the publication of the National Asphalt Pavement Association, Dr. Jerry Rose, a University of Kentucky professor of engineering with expertise in high speed rail bed construction, described how asphalt pavement is used for high speed road beds in Europe and Asia. For the United States, he suggested, a typical bed for a single set of tracks would include a 12-foot-wide, 6-inch-deep lift of dense-graded base mix with a maximum aggregate size of 1 to 1.5 inches. This would be topped by 8 to 12 inches of ballast. High stress areas and segments built over marginal sub-bases may require thicker cross sections and/or wider beds, wrote Rose.

Rose calculated that this design uses 0.42 tons of asphalt per linear foot of track. To get an idea of how much construction work and material would be involved, multiply that by, say, 200 miles (to connect Indianapolis and Columbus or Boston and New York) or 350 miles (to connect Chicago and St. Louis or Los Angeles and San Francisco), then double it, because you need two sets of tracks, one for each direction of travel.

Building track beds for high speed rail would employ a lot of paving crews, be they asphalt or concrete, and consume millions of tons of aggregate from quarries that now operate at low capacity, if at all. There are worse things that could happen to the industry in this era of prolonged economic malaise … . EW

Breckenridge, Texas

This contractor’s formula for success: Hone your people skills and have a passion for making things right

By Marcia Gruver Doyle

Darrell Shortes Jr. doesn’t mind being blunt: “I don’t care how smart you are, or how good of an equipment operator or business person, if you don’t have people skills, don’t waste your time getting into this business. You’ve got to sell yourself first, then you’ve got to sell what you can do.”

Now in his 29th year of business, Shortes has had plenty of opportunity to demonstrate this philosophy. “Darrell and I were arch enemies for years, extremely fierce competitors,” remembers Tom Crowder, Tom Crowder Construction, Eastland, Texas. “Now he’s a close friend. His company takes care of you. Darrell has one rule and everyone has to follow it: It’s got to be right.”

Shortes started Raydon Incorporated with a soon-divested partner in 1981, working as a roustabout, maintaining oil rigs. Located in a rural west Texas area about halfway between Fort Worth and Abilene, Raydon still does oil field service work, but today it only represents 15 percent of its revenues.

The firm now has several divisions, including construction services, site work, asphalt paving and repair, pipeline and utility services, in addition to selling crushed limestone, top soil, sand and reclaimed concrete. This May, Raydon added a parks and sports facility division in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, designed to take advantage of the experience the company had gained doing several school sports complexes.

“If you’ve got five kids, you better figure something out,” Shortes says with a laugh. “You’ve got to be diversified just to stay around here.”

Raydon performs primarily as a sub. Shortes likes subcontracting work, comparing it to being the second chair in a band. “I honestly think you can make more money in second chair than you can in first. The guy who thinks he’s got to be first, that’s fine. Go get that first, and I’ll take second.”

Raydon is building an 85,000-square-foot building pad for a K-12 school in Hermleigh, Texas.

Shortes has never considered changing the company name of Raydon, a combination of two family names of Shortes’ original partner. “The state paperwork was all done,” he says with a shrug. “It worked for me.” Now in addition to the home office in Breckenridge, the firm has branches in Abilene and Fort Worth. The Abilene address gives the company a leg up on work in town; 50 percent of the company’s revenues now come from Abilene jobs.

Raydon’s 132-piece fleet includes 32 pickup trucks, the majority used in the company’s construction services division, which does metal buildings, drywall and acoustical ceilings. The oil and gas crews use 1-tons equipped with polyfusion equipment.

On the heavy end, Raydon’s primary tool of choice is the motor grader, assisted by backhoes, excavators, skid steers and dozers. The company also has two end dumps, four 12-yard trucks and two belly dumps. Shortes built his fleet the cautious way: he started out with two heavy-duty pickups, then when he paid one off, he bought another. Along the way, he bought a small local construction firm that bumped up his fleet by two dozers, two graders and two loaders. “It just grew from there,” he says.

The asphalt division, which makes up about 30 percent of Raydon’s revenues, is headed by Ronnie Langford, who also is what Shortes terms the “head company motivator. He’s a pro at it.” Langford is also a fixer.

“We don’t whine and point at someone else to fix warranty work,” Shortes explains. When problems crop up, he’ll send Langford to handle the situation.

Langford recalls one job that prompted him to place a all to Shortes: “I told him, ‘This is not our fault, even the general says it’s not our fault.’ And Darrell just asked, ‘Does it make our job look bad?’ So we fixed it.”

Dick Garcia, Raydon pipeline division supervisor; Shortes; and Ronnie Langford, asphalt division supervisor.

Someone tossed out the term “Raydon Rangers” to describe the company’s employees and it’s stuck. “You know the old saying, ‘Be that guy?,’” asks Shortes. “We use it a lot. Everyone will be wore out, and we’ll say, ‘Are you going to be that guy?’”

He also rides the younger guys on his crews: “I tell ‘em I’m 52 years old and they’re all having a hard time keeping up with me even though they’re in their 20s. I say, ‘Isn’t it time y’all stepped up?’ But if you work beside them you can get away with that kind of talk all day long.”

Every day starts off in the dispatch room with Shortes behind the podium. He goes over the day’s jobs, passes out praise for jobs well done and talks blunt about what needs to change. The meeting also provides a daily record of who, what and where – essential when the company does everything from $200 to $800,000 jobs. “It’s the small potato jobs that get you in the field where the big potatoes grow,” explains Shortes.

Working in this area of west Texas can sometimes mean commutes of two hours, so Shortes pays his crews traveling time. When a job is a distance away, he’ll run a shuttle van back and forth from the crew’s home base.

Shortes expects his crews to be flexible – especially with each other. “Someone on a crew may be having a bad day,” he explains. “I tell the rest of the crew to just step back and cover for him, because some day he may cover for them.

“We try to bring a sense of pride and class with every service we provide,” Shortes sums up. “We don’t change order our clients to death. We try to be that sub that we’d want working for us.” EW

Raydon Incorporated

Year started: 1981

Annual volume: $12 million

Employees: 70

Types of projects: Site work, demolition, paving

How they grow: Maintaining target goals on every job; diversification

What makes them successful: Flexibility when specifications change. Being a team player. Professionalism in problem solving.

Honors: 2007 Breckinridge Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year; 2008 Abilene Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award

Safety on high

Shortes’ firm belief in diversification is prompting him to look higher, literally. Noting the exploding population of wind turbines in his area, Shortes observed exterior turbine maintenance being done by “guys on ropes,” as he puts it. To offer a safer alternative, Shortes and partner Steve Roth have formed Abilene High Lift Aerial and purchased a Steiger TTS 1000 aerial work platform with a working height of 328 feet.

The TTS 1000 platform has 110/220-volt electric and high pressure water outlets.

Delivered this summer, the TTS 1000 has the highest reach of any aerial in North America, says the company. With a 131-foot horizontal reach and a 1,102-pound platform capacity, it can withstand winds up to 35.8 mph. A Mack Granite truck provides both power and the base for the work platform, which is manufactured by Ruthmann in Germany.

Abiline High Lift Aerial provides lifting services – including an operator with a Powered Access License issued by the International Powered Access Foundation – to wind energy service companies as well as other industries with high access requirements.

“Let’s say a turbine has a seal leak,” Shortes explains. “We know how to fix that seal, but we don’t want to hang from a rope doing it. With the work platform, all of our electrical services are right there, and we can cut the maintenance time in half.”

Jimmy Cotty, executive director of the Georgia Concrete & Products Association

The Georgia Concrete & Products Association (GC&PA) has hired Jimmy Cotty to as its new executive director.Cotty assumed his role on July 20, 2010.

Prior to joining the GC&PA, Cotty spent the previous four years on the staff of the Georgia Construction Aggregate Association (GCAA).

While there, he was an integral part of the association’s efforts in legislative and regulatory oversight.

He also played a key role in the development of member service programs such as its scholarship program and its dump truck certification program.

Cotty also was successful in modernizing the association’s communications efforts allowing it to keep membership more informed on current events as well as promote products, events and services to the industry’s end users.

Prior to GCAA, Jimmy also spent two years lobbying the Georgia General Assembly for a multi-client public affairs firm.

He also spent two years serving the citizens of the 8th Congressional District of Georgia on the staff of former United States Representative Mac Collins.

Cotty is a native of Columbus, Ga., and he is a proud alumnus of Auburn University.

He currently lives in Roswell, Ga., with his wife and son, and they eagerly await the arrival of their daughter in January.

Jason Kilgore, the former owner of Kilgore Paving and Maintenance, LLC will run Harper-Kilgore, LLC post-closing with support from a strong management team across the combined operations.

Tom Hill, CEO of Summit, says that Utah is an attractive business environment and “is pleased to form our third regional platform in Salt Lake City through these acquisitions. Harper-Kilgore comprises many skilled and experienced employees and we would like to welcome them all into the Summit group of companies.”

Kilgore says the two companies complement each other well. “This marks a significant and exciting development for Harper and Kilgore,” he says in a prepared statement. ”The combined employee groups bring many skills and synergies to the new Harper-Kilgore company. We look forward to building upon our existing strengths to further improve our products and services for our customers and community.”

The current federal highway/transit investment law, SAFETEA-LU, expired nearly a year ago on Sept. 30, 2009. It has been operating under a series of short-term extensions, the latest through Dec. 31, 2010.

The federal government is the source of nearly 45 percent of all public capital investments in surface transportation.

The two organizations have developed campaign advertising to appeal to the general public with signs asking, “Sick of Aging Roads?—Tell Congress to Act!”

Similar messages have been developed for traffic congestion, transit delays and unsafe bridges.

Billboard advertisements have been running in South Dakota and South Carolina, and will also be posted in Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, Iowa and Maryland beginning during the congressional recess in August and running through September.

As part of the campaign, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) held a news conference with coalition partners in Columbia, S.C., to mark the ad campaign’s launch in that state.

The ads direct viewers to the Website www.fasterbettersafer.org, where an action kit, instructions for contacting members of Congress, educational videos and other materials about the highway/transit bill are available.

The TCC, co-chaired by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America, is comprised of 29 national construction groups and labor unions with a direct market stake in federal transportation programs.

The ATM is a nationwide effort by business, labor, transportation organizations and concerned citizens to advocate for increased federal investment in the nation’s aging and overburdened transportation system.

A respective list of members of each coalition is available at www.transportationconstructioncoalition.org and http://www.fasterbettersafer.org.