View Full January PDF Issue - Utility Contractor Online

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Changing AttachmentsAttachment offerings are changing daily. Rototilt attachmentsare gaining a lot of customer acceptance,according to Walter Reeves, Volvo Construction Equipment’sAttachment Specialist for North America. Theseallow the buckets to be tilted left and right and also rotated360 degrees all from the cab of the excavator.“The key to attachment usage is to make sure that theexcavator can change out these attachments quickly, viaa quick-coupler, and have the ability to adjust flow andpressures as required without the need of a technicianto perform these adjustments,” says Reeves. “Quickcoupleradaptor plates can easily be fitted to many differentitems and be installed on your excavator, like acrane jib or pile drives.”Hydraulic tilting ditching buckets are becoming morepopular as more manufacturers supply factory mountedoptional auxiliary hydraulic kits. When ditching with afixed bucket the excavator normally has to be parallel tothe ditch. This means that when working along the road,you are at max tail swing and can some times causetraffic issues. Hydraulic buckets allow you to work morealong the ditch. You can change the angle of the bucketas you move the arm in and out keeping the desiredslope to the ditch.CLIMBING I THE TECH TREEENew Technology Is Charged with Being Clean and Efficient22 Utility Contractor | January 2009Compiled by UC StaffAs time ticks by, technologycontinues to progress.The once elusive Tier4 engine standards are justaround the corner, causingengine OEMs and machinemanufacturers alike to retooltheir machines to makethem more efficient.Before delving into the evidenceof improvements, let’slook at the facts. Emissionregulations — called Tierstandards — were createdby the Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) morethan a decade ago for bothoff- and on-highway dieselengines; each sector hassimilar standards and deadlines.For the constructionindustry, off-highway dieselengine Tiers are coming toa head as the final and moststringent set of regulations(called Tier 4) are alreadyhere for small diesel engines.The 25- to 74-hp engines hitInterim Tier 4 in 2008 and
the Final Tier 4 standards for all horsepower ranges are fastapproaching in 2013 through 2015.“To date, the recent technologies associated with the Tier3 standards have resulted primarily in the improved fuelefficiency of excavators,” says Mitch Blake, Brand MarketingManager for Case Construction Equipment. “The Caseexcavators, for instance, have seen as much as a 20 percentincrease in fuel efficiency depending on the model, whichis directly related to Tier 3 technology. As we move to theTier 4 standards, look to see a further improvement in fuelefficiencies than is experienced today in excavators.”At this time, the primary metrics associated with productivityare fuel consumption and cycle times. All othermetrics are appendages to these pillarsof productivity. Other factors suchas weight of the material, engine workmodes and idle times are also effectivemetrics to track since they have an effecton the productivity of the machine.“Technologies surrounding more effectiveand efficient ways to power an excavatorand provide function to its operationswill be the crux of the technologies we willsee in the short- to mid-term future,” saysBlake. “During this time, the use of GPSand on-board utility locators will increase.Long-term, we will see remote and automatedoperation of excavators.”Take load-sensing hydraulic systems,like those found on Kubota excavators.Load sensing hydraulic systems aim toimprove responses to operator input, cycletimes and productivity, while reducingoperator fatigue. Load sensing systemsdeliver the power only where andwhen necessary based on the stroke ofthe lever. More power and flow directedonly when and where needed increasesspeed and productivity, all the whileconserving fuel. The auto-idle systemreduces fuel and oil consumption andreduces sound levels and emissions.While making sure that equipment is properly and efficientlyutilized, there are a few less obvious benefitsof knowing where your machines are and what they aredoing. The first is time card comparisons. With telemetricsystems like Komtrax from Komatsu, you’ll know theexact hours a piece of machinery worked — its diggingand load/carry cycle times, engine idle and machine shutdown.At times, machine operators work long, laborioushours and toward the end of the week, it can be difficultto break those hours down. If there is ever a discrepancyof hours worked, the fleet management system hastracked and logged it — revealing the hidden workingmethods of excavators.With fleet management systems likeKomatsu’s Komtrax, you can see whereyour excavator worked, when your excavatorworked, how much fuel it used andbeyond to streamline your operations —making them more efficient.January 2009 | Utility Contractor 23
Page 4: JANUARY 2009 CONTENTSJANUARY 2009 |
Page 8 and 9: GROUNDBREAKING NEWSSaying Goodbye t
Page 10 and 11: GROUNDBREAKING NEWSGoing RetroVolvo
Page 12 and 13: GROUNDBREAKING NEWSFulfilling Your
Page 14 and 15: THE RENTAL YARDHarness the PowerWha
Page 16 and 17: THE RENTAL YARDamount of applicatio
Page 18 and 19: UNEARTHED E EXCAVATORA MysteriesJap
Page 20 and 21: ental center experts guide you thro
Page 24 and 25: BLADES OF STEELE Mike Boyle, John D
Page 26 and 27: CSE: Crime SceneEquipmentThwarting
Page 28 and 29: will be back to the jobsite until M
Page 30 and 31: another day, then the compressors w
Page 33: January 2009 | Utility Contractor 3
Page 36 and 37: 36 Utility Contractor | January 200
Page 39 and 40: January 2009 | Utility Contractor 3
Page 41 and 42: INSIDE WASHINGTON“Although it is
Page 43 and 44: SAFETY MANAGEMENTand your field per
Page 46 and 47: CA NEWSew NUCA Chapter Forming in C
Page 48 and 49: CA NEWSint Contractor/Engineer Meet
Page 50: CA NEWSEW MEMBERSNTRACTORSing Const
Page 53 and 54: THE PIPELINEInterested in seeing YO
Page 55: CODE FINDER for Building and Constr

View Full January PDF Issue - Utility Contractor Online

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?