The Summerhill Waste Management Centre (SWMC) has available air space in excess of 14,000,000 m³, an approved tonnage limit of 364,000 tonnes per annum and no time limit on existing development consent.  SWMC will be able to operate until all available air space is exhausted.

Located in Wallsend, west of Newcastle, New South Wales, Summerhill Landfill has operated since 1996. The 264-hectare site, located on the site of an old colliery, receives around 190,000 tonnes of waste of which 60,000 tonnes per annum of general solid waste is from Commercial & Industrial (C&I) sources. In 2011, the City of Newcastle endorsed a Development Application for the Stage Two Development of the Summerhill Landfill Waste Management site. This application extends the life of the current landfill operations well into the future. In order to improve compaction rates and extend the life of the landfill, Brad Wood, Operations Manager at Summerhill, began looking to use machine guidance technology onsite. During his market research, Brad came across the specialist Carlson range of landfill machine guidance products, a competitive tender for the Supply and Installation of a GPS Based Landfill Management System was advertised in November 2013 and awarded to Position Partners in March 2014

In July 2014, Position Partners installed Carlson Landfill Grade Software onto a Dozer and Compactor as well as installing Carlson Fleet Manager Office into the site office.

Implementing the technology

According to Brad, the initial installation and commissioning, managed by Position Partners, was simple and straightforward.

“Because the site had been checked prior to our investment, the set up was simple, and our machines were working in next to no time,” he said.

“Position Partners were on hand to provide my team with all of the training we then needed to be able to get to work with the new software,” Brad added.

The benefits of using Carlson

Experience on landfill sites around the world has shown the benefits of implementing Carlson Landfill Grade and Fleet Manager Office are vast. In the case of Summerhill Landfill, Carlson products have saved time and costs, and improved production levels.

“The benefits of using Carlson were visible from the start; I would definitely recommend Carlson products to all landfill sites across Australia,” said Brad.

 “For the guys out in the field, Carlson Grade has proven to be an important tool that helps them to understand what they need to achieve by the end of the day.

“Through the in-cab screens the guys can see when they have reached grade and can then progress to the next section of garbage; this improves our compaction rate and really does save a lot of time” he said. 

Given the lack of additional landfill space within the region, maximising the existing landfill space through high compaction rates is vital to the longevity of the Summerhill site.

“Using Carlson will without doubt prolong the life of Summerhill Landfill, meaning we will be able to compact more waste in the same space,” said Brad.

“By using Carlson you know that you are fully compacted at the end of each day, which means we are maximising airspace and prolonging the life of the landfill.”  

Cost reductions also play an important role in the implementation of this technology. Carlson Grade enables workers and office staff to see when the machine has hit grade.

“The screen in-cab provides real time data which highlights when a machine has reached maximum compaction.

“In the past, a compactor may have continued to make passes over an area to ensure maximum compaction was reached, but with Carlson Landfill Grade this information is provided in real time, meaning fewer passes,” Brad said.

“Reducing the number of passes required to reach grade has also resulted in a significant reduction in fuel consumption, which is proving a highly effective cost saving measure.

“We would have to re-visit the cost-benefit analysis before we could put a monetary figure on the savings from using Carlson – but there are definite savings to our bottom line,” he said.

“In addition, I would say that this system gives us a better trafficable surface; we now get improved preparation and a more even consistent finish to the compacted garbage, allowing us to apply an even rate of cover.”

“In the office, I use Carlson Fleet Manager to monitor what is going out in the field; it is a brilliant tool to check site progress and make sure that the machines are on grade, the cut fills are on track – so this is a really good tool.”

However, Brad did say he faced some challenges in getting to grips with the new system.

 “From my perspective, with no survey background, I found learning to understand this software was a fairly challenging process, and required me to put the time aside to learn it,” he said.

“Position Partners were always on hand to provide training to help guide me through the new landfill system, and within no time at all I was up to speed” Brad added. 

Teething Issues

After the initial set up Brad experienced some teething issues with Fleet Manager Office software.

“We had a few teething issues when we first started to use the new technology, as you would with any new technology,” he said.

“However, Wayne was on hand to help troubleshoot and resolve any issues.

“They were resolved quickly and didn’t impact on our production.”

Recommendations
 
Certainly the challenges in implementing and learning the Carlson Landfill system haven’t deterred Brad from recommending Carlson products to other sites.

“Since installing Carlson Machine control, I have received several calls from other landfill sites who are keen to see how we are progressing with the new technology” Brad said

“Given our experiences, I would recommend Carlson Landfill Grade and Fleet Manager Office products he said. 

Pioneering the use of Topcon millimetre GPS technology on a slipform kerbing machine has really paid off for Sydney-based Statewide Kerbing in terms of significantly increased productivity, improved site safety, labour savings and accuracy to within 2-3 mm.

Statewide Kerbing specialises in offering slipform paving and kerbing services throughout NSW. The company has 25 employees and operates a fleet of six slipform pavers, including four Power Curbers, one Miller M1000 and an Arrow 750XL.

With more than 40 years of industry experience, company co-owner Brian Scattergood has seen dramatic changes in the use of technology in recent years. And he attributes the company’s adoption of new technology to his son and business partner, Warren. 

“I am more traditional I suppose and I find it harder to get my head around the technology than my son does,” Brian Scattergood said.

“From encouraging me to purchase our first slipform paver in 2000, through to adopting machine control technology this year, Warren continues to push the latest techniques to improve efficiency and productivity.

“Our business has grown and won more work as a result.”

Choosing the right solution

Statewide Kerbing’s latest technology recruit is a Topcon mmGPS machine control system fitted to a Power Curber 5700C.

Having seen a live demonstration of this system configuration in Queensland, hosted by Power Curber’s Oceania distributor, Aran Australia, the Scattergoods decided to purchase a Topcon-fitted machine.  

“This is our first venture into machine control and so far I am very impressed with its performance and accuracy,” Brian Scattergood said.

“I went out on site to see it in action and was amazed to see it produce 2-3mm accuracy on chicanes. They were shaped to perfection and it was like watching a CAD design come to life – I couldn’t have hoped for better,” he said.

The Topcon-fitted Power Curber is currently on its first job for civil contractor TRN, completing subdivision work at Oran Park in Sydney’s south west.

“Like any new technology, it was daunting to begin with,” said Warren Scattergood.

“But we have had excellent training and support from Position Partners, Topcon’s Australian distributors, and I am sure we will get faster and more efficient using it as time goes on.

“Our client TRN has also been very helpful, offering to give us a hand if we need it ­– as they have a lot of experience with Topcon systems, which they have fitted to many of their own machines,” he said.

“In fact, TRN originally suggested the idea of machine control to us and have been very supportive of our move into this technology.”  

Eliminating stringlines

Using the Topcon system eliminates the need to set out stringlines, as the machine automatically runs to the design loaded into a control box, mounted next to the control panel. This alone will save Statewide Kerbing huge amounts of time and labour.

“You don’t get paid for setting out, managing and packing up stringlines,” Warren Scattergood said.

“With this stringless system from Topcon, if we’re aiming to complete 500 m in a day we get to pour concrete two and a half hours earlier, because we don’t need to spend three hours setting out pegs in the morning.

“And instead of having more guys out the front of the machine setting out pegs, we now need more behind it doing the finishing, because the machine can pour out concrete that much faster,” he said.

In addition to saving time, stringless technology enables the crew to keep working if they are running ahead of schedule.

“Without this system, we would be limited by the stringlines we’d set out in the morning,” Brian Scattergood said.

“If you’re getting good concrete service and you complete the section you’d pegged out for the day, you’d traditionally stop there. With this new setup, we can keep going and make the most of those good days to stay ahead of schedule.”

Employee health and safety is also high on the company’s priorities.

“Staking pegs in the ground over a long period of time can result in repetitive strain injuries (RSIs),” he said.

“By eliminating stringlines with machine control, we can help to keep our employees safe and free from injury.”

Staying ahead of the game

Machine control is becoming increasingly commonplace on construction sites for machines such as dozers, graders and excavators.

However, for slipform paving, take-up of the technology is still in its infancy.

Most machine control systems for slipform and asphalt pavers require a complex total station setup to achieve the tight tolerances; in contrast, Topcon is the only company in the world to offer a mmGPS solution.

“Topcon’s mmGPS system delivers unprecedented accuracy without the need to complete resections every day like a total station setup requires,” said Gary Campbell, Position Partners’ NSW Field Services Supervisor.

The Topcon system uses a high precision, Lazer Zone™ transmitter in addition to GPS positioning to achieve millimetre accuracy for paving applications.

“It takes just a few minutes at the start of the day to setup the laser and you can begin pouring concrete straight away, without any further adjustments required,” Campbell said.

“By adding a millimetre GPS rover such as the Topcon HiPer V to the setup, all the set-out and levels can be checked days in advance across areas that are being prepared for the paver.

“As soon as the machine has completed one section, it can move straight onto the next without delay.”

Aran Australia’s Shane Dunstan sees mmGPS technology as the future for the industry.

“In the United States and Canada this technology is used a lot more than it is in our region,” he said.

“Power Curber and Topcon first worked together on an integrated solution in Canada, as a result, Aran has been working closely with Topcon’s Australian distributors, Position Partners, to deliver the same technology to our mutual customers.”

Warren Scattergood believes Statewide Kerrbing is setting a new standard for slipform paving with the Topcon-fitted Power Curber.

“Now that the technology has been proved to us, it’s time to prove its capabilities to our clients,” he said.

“We are now looking forward to using it on major projects and barrier walls, where we think we’ll also see significant time savings and cost benefits.

“On some of our recent barrier wall jobs it has been challenging to complete the work as the tight spaces left little room for stringlines.

“I’m very much looking forward to the next job being stringless!” he said.

First company in Australia to provide specialist commercial asset solutions using the Ascending Technologies Falcon 8

Omniscan, a newly established asset inspection, analysis and reporting company, has chosen the Ascending Technologies Falcon 8 Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) from Position Partners to provide drone specialist services in Australia.

The innovative company, based in Brighton, Victoria, offers a variety of services using drone technology including structural analysis, thermal imaging, multispectral imaging, 3D modelling and surveying with the analysis carried out by qualified engineers.

“We provide a one-stop shop for customers who require survey work; providing not only the survey flight operated by CASA certified pilots, but also accurate analysis and timely reporting by our team of qualified engineers. ” said Gabriel Cohen, the founder of Omniscan.

“We’re really excited about introducing the Falcon 8 for asset inspection and surveying projects in Australia.” Mr Cohen  
 
Choosing the right solution

Because it was critical that Omniscan select the right UAS for the job, Ryan Kent, Business Development Manager at Position Partners, guided the company through the options available.

“At Position Partners, we offer a range of UAS technology options for a variety of applications,” Mr Kent said.

“We worked closely with Omniscan to fully understand the company’s needs so we could recommend the most suitable UAS to suit their operations and their clients’ requirements.

Omniscan opted for the Falcon 8, a high-tech micro UAS which is ideal for detailed inspection work and aerial surveying, as well as being safe, reliable, portable and easy to use.

“The Falcon 8 is a great size; we can transport it fully assembled so when we arrive on site, we just open the box, insert the battery, and start work,” said Mr Cohen.

In order to maximise the range of applications for its Falcon 8, Omniscan can provide services using additional payload options: a near-infrared camera, a Sony A7R 36 megapixel camera and a FLIR thermal camera.

Benefits of using UAS

UAS offers a number of significant advantages in asset inspection and survey work compared with traditional methods.

Traditional survey and inspection work generally involves a field survey crew moving between survey points using a standard GPS device. In some surveying and asset inspection situations, accessing locations that need to be surveyed can prove challenging, for example in potentially hazardous conditions, or in difficult terrain.

The use of the latest UAS technology allows Omniscan to put safety first by replacing manual inspections with its detailed aerial inspections.

“Using UAS for surveying work ultimately saves the client thousands of dollars in man hours and can safely inspect assets that might otherwise pose a safety risk to manually inspect” said Mr Cohen.

UAS technology also provides higher quality and quantity of data.

For example, when using UAS technology for surveying, the flight can be reviewed and extra information abstracted without having to return to site. In addition, if the site is surveyed regularly, a historical database can be complied, allowing visual changes to be readily compared.

Workflow improvements

The AscTec Falcon 8 comes with a fully integrated software solution, which enables aerial images to be tagged, and flight data to be georeferenced during the flight.

The Falcon 8 also streamlines the workflow, enabling the pilot to plan the mission before take-off, define the survey zone, ground resolution and photo overlap, and the number of waypoint and positions to include.

It even provides the ability to export the flight data while still in the field.

 “Using the Falcon 8 for our asset maintenance and inspection work means we can provide real time data to our clients and show them clearly and quickly which areas need to be attended to immediately,” Mr Cohen said.

The Falcon 8 flight system sends all flight data to a mobile ground station in real time, so that all visual and acoustic signals are available during the flight.

Local support and service from Position Partners

Learning and adapting to this new UAS technology was not a challenge for Omniscan.

“The level of support and service we have received from Position Partners has been excellent; they are always on hand to help if we have any issues, which is an important feature for a new business such as ours,” said Mr Cohen.

The company’s CASA-certified pilot was provided with training specific to the Falcon 8 by Position Partners to familiarise him with its operations.