The team poured 60 yards and had to stop to address the power source. “A very simple problem quickly became apparent,” Pyle said. “We had improperly sized the control valve to the upsized motor to handle the larger drum. This restriction in the smaller valve was causing the loader to overheat. A larger prototype valve we had in the works re- duced the back pressure and restriction, alleviating the overheating that was happening.” After Pyle figured out a solution for the power source issues, Stark and his team had to configure the dispersing of the material. This process presented its own set of issues. “We tried placing the Telebelt chute right in front of the tube to move the material forward,” Stark said. “When it was right up against the tube like that, it ended up spraying the guys like crazy. We moved it ahead and found that the ideal spacing was about 6 feet ahead of the drum. This allowed the majority to be placed onto the bottom and the excess fed up onto the sides. Not only did this work better, but our guys were a lot happier because they didn’t go home looking like a sidewalk.” Once everything was dialed in and set to the perfect speed, distance and power, the Realm Construction team was on a roll. They poured 400- 450 linear feet of concrete a day for the next three days, with virtually no roadblocks or issues. Despite the delays near the beginning of the project, they completed the project more than a week ahead of schedule. Saving Time & Physical Effort By implementing the Curb Roller method instead of one of the tra- ditional hand-pouring options, the crews finished early and spared themselves the physical fatigue that would have resulted from doing work on their hands and knees. If the crews had done the whole project by hand, there would have been an increased potential for neck, knee, and back injuries along the way. Since concrete work is already a physically taxing job, Curb Roller Manufacturing specifically designs products to get workers off their hands and knees into a more comfortable concrete pulling position. Running the Curb Roller drum involved two workers pulling and guid- ing the drum, a few guiding the concrete to the correct place, and a few finishing the concrete with channel mops. While the drum is designed to bring the “cream and fat” to the surface and push aggregate down, it still required a final hand screed to seal the concrete. By completing the project in essentially three pours, the team was not only able to save time and physical labor, they also created a higher-quality product. With a traditional method and many sections of concrete pours, dowels would have been required in each bay to tie them back to one another. While incorporating dowels creates a sturdy project, it’s certainly not as uniform or smooth as the three-pour approach with the Curb Roller. “If they’d done this by hand, the quality and consistency goes way down,” Daulton said. “Since they did it in three large pours, it created a monolithic, uniform product.”
Savings Upon Savings With a traditional method, the process could have cost roughly $60,000 in labor. On a 15-day project with a 10-man crew costing roughly $400/ day per worker, the cost is significant. With the same calculations on the Curb Roller six-day custom drum method, the labor cost equates to roughly $24,000 — a 40 percent savings in cost and more than 720 hours of saved man-power. While there were additional costs throughout the project — purchas- ing the custom drum, renting the Telebelt, etc. — Stark says they still ended up under budget on the project. “Everyone involved came out on top,” Stark said. “MoDOT got a higher-quality product in less time and with less traffic disruption. We saved time and money on the overall project, making it a more profit- able venture. And Curb Roller had the opportunity to test the limits of their drums.” Quite the Sight On a stand-out project such as this, it’s no surprise that everyone in- volved was curious about the process. Workers, supervisors and even those driving by were spotted taking photos or video of the impres- sive setup. All of the contractors, manufacturers, and MoDOT people involved kept a close eye on the project and were impressed with the equipment throughout. “This was a real partnership, and we were more than pleased with the end result,” Daulton said. “We’ve worked with Realm Construction in the past, so I trusted their judgement when Russ said he had a new idea. We got a better final product, and they were able to decrease their cost and share some of that with us.” The MoDOT maintenance team perhaps benefits most from the final product, since it makes their cleanup efforts a much simpler job. The team uses a skid steer to clear the ditch after every significant rainfall, and best of all it doesn’t require any lane closure or traffic disruption. The project showcased everyone’s ingenuity; it highlighted MoDOT’s judgement, the contractor’s ability to think outside the box, and the manufacturer’s high-quality product. All parties agree, this project was a win-win-win. About Curb Roller Manufacturing Curb Roller Manufacturing has been the world leader in shaped con- crete roller screeds for more than 10 years. With high-quality products for everyday concrete work, Curb Roller’s ergonomic machines not only make it easy to shape standard curb, gutter, and sidewalks, but also flume, v-gutter, swale, and other unique shapes. Their flagship product, the award-winning CRM4000 Curb Roller, opened the door for additional products like the Hydra-Screed and the battery-powered Batt Screed and corded Eel Screed. For more information: Curb Roller Manufacturing, 112 South Main St., Fairview, Kan., 66425; 785-467- 3132; info@curbroller.com; www.curbroller.com; or on Facebook.
29
January 2021
csengineermag.com
Made with FlippingBook Annual report