Increasing driver and operator safety and supporting vehicle weight certainty for subcontractors is being made easier by Loadscan’s laser scanning technology.
One of southeast Queensland’s largest construction projects, the $200 million Pimpama Home Focus Centre shopping complex requires 470,000 cubic metres of earthworks.
While delivering multiple projects throughout Queensland in the past 35 years, Principal Civil Contractor Coops Drainage and Civil has begun working on the Pimpama Home Focus Centre.
A common issue encountered during earthworks transportation is incorrect calculation. This has the potential to cause disputes between contractors and results in safety concerns for transporters.
To minimise risk associated with discrepancies on large projects, Coops turned to Loadscan, using its Load Volume Scanner to accurately report on quantities and volumetric measures of transported material.
Coops recognised the importance of delivering accurate material quantities to improve safety. With nearly half a million cubic metres of earthworks at the Pimpama project, the Load Volume Scanner provided piece of mind for both Coops and the contracted trucking company.
The technology enables Coops to use laser scanning technology to monitor each truck on site and deliver accurate quantities of material with a visual 3D load profile.
Milos Krivokapic, Project Engineer at Coops, says the previous form of measurement Coops was using could result in inaccuracies.
“We used typical measurements for trucks and trailers, supported by cross checking with a GPS measurement and calibrating the size of the bucket used for loading,” Mr. Krivokapic says.
Mr. Krivokapic said this led to human error when changing machine operators as different capacities were loaded into the bucket, creating uncertainty around load weights for truck drivers and excavator operators.
The Loadscan Load Volume Scanner system uses laser scanning technology combined with Loadscan software so contractors can view a 3D colour profile of every load.
Combined with the Overview reporting software created by Loadscan, the technology allows Coops to retrieve, view, sort and edit measurement records. It can also create summary reports which can be generated in Microsoft Excel. This eliminates handwritten recordings and the need for gate or tallymen to monitor loads.
“Key measurements we are gaining from the Load Volume Scanner are daily summary reports and even particular load reports, in case the truck driver did not record a load. As the app is very user friendly, it allows cross checking and filtration of required information,” Mr. Krivokapic says.
“We gain accurate loading volumes on a daily basis, which are easily converted to Excel format for continuous monitoring and statistics. It avoids confusion and later disputes due to inaccurate readings.”
Overloaded trucks pose risks such as elongated stopping times, increased chance of rollovers and increased likelihood of tyre blowouts. Coops says the Load Volume Scanner has enabled the company to improve client relationships knowing both parties will be kept safe and on budget.
In addition, he says Coops driver feedback was positive as they were pleased with the simple instructions on the LED message board. He says that the drivers said failure could only occur if the instructions weren’t followed.
“This easy Loadscan process takes a maximum of 30 seconds including trucks stopping and recording volume reading on the reporting board,” Mr. Krivokapic says.
Related stories:
- Loadscan’s load volume scanner simplifies resource consent conditions
- Loadscan releases new conveyor scanning technology
- Loadscan tech helping civil construction firms improve accuracy on material loads