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Collins Earthworks has taken delivery of the first 75t Volvo EC750E excavator to reach the UK market, after the machine was launched at Bauma 2016 earlier this year.
Grosvenor Britain & Ireland and Arup have installed a new type of ‘living wall’ in the UK for the first time, with the technology fitted to scaffolding in Mayfair, London.The 80sq m ‘Living Wall Lite’ comprises a mixture of grasses, flowers and strawberries. According to Arup, the structure has been installed on scaffolding at the St Mark’s building on North Audley Street. Grosvenor is transforming the property into retail and community space, due to be completed in 2017.Besides the potential to reduce air pollution, Arup’s ‘Cities Alive: Green Building Envelope’ report has also shown that ‘living walls’ can reduce noise pollution by up to 10 decibels. Grosvenor development director Mark Tredwell said: “This is a great initiative and is in line with our long-term ambition to improve the environmental sustainability of the buildings across our London estate, reducing emissions by 50% by 2030. As the estate continues to adapt and evolve we want to ensure that the impact on the community is positive. As well as reducing air pollution, we hope the ‘living wall’ will introduce a rich biodiversity to Mayfair and encourage people to linger in the area.” Alistair Law, Arup façade engineer and the ‘Living Wall Lite’ developer said: “Living Wall Lite has the potential to transform scaffolding and hoardings into much more than just a cover-up. By introducing plants and flowers, we can create a more attractive and healthier environment for local residents, businesses and workers on site.”The ‘living wall’, designed by Arup and manufactured by Swedish ‘living wall’ specialist Green Fortune, will be fitted with sensors to monitor its impact on noise, temperature and air pollution.Find more information on ‘living walls’ here.
German researchers are developing a virtual reality (VR) technology to help prevent accidents on construction sites.
Contractor A-one+ is resurfacing over 1.6km of the A1 at Brownieside in Northumberland using cold paving technology — a first for the UK.The company is using a bespoke Wirtgen CR 3200 machine to recycle the underlying layers of the road. The old surface material is churning up with new material within the machine, before laying it down immediately on the road behind. With the new method, 500 to 1,000t of road surface can be laid per hour — a significant increase when compared with the 100t per hour of conventional techniques.Additionally, it reduces the quarried stone used by 75%, the waste taken to landfill by 66%, and requires 70% fewer lorry trips to and from site. Steve Bishop, Highways England’s project manager, said: “This new technology is brilliant news for the thousands of drivers that use motorways and major A roads in the North East, who will benefit from smoother and safer journeys.“The road surface is designed to last for at least 10 years, meaning that we shouldn’t need to go back to carry out further repairs any time soon meaning less disruption for drivers.“This is the first machine of its type in the UK but the process is already successfully used in the USA, France and China. We are always working with our partners to trial new technologies that will help us to minimise disruption to drivers while we carry out essential road maintenance.”Work started at the beginning of August and is now finished.* More on cold paving technology in the UK and beyond here.
Kobelco Construction Machinery Europe (KCME) has introduced its new SK45SRX-6 mini excavator in Europe.The 4.5t mini excavator has been jointly launched with the latest version of the SK55SRX-6.Both machines feature the Yanmar engine, which reduces fuel consumption by 23% when used in S-mode, for normal work. Further fuel savings can be achieved through the integrated hydraulic circuitry of the three on-board hydraulic pumps, which reduces the overall engine/hydraulic workload.A decelerator button can also now be found on the operation lever as well as the dashboard. Additionally, the excavators’ on-site noise is reduced with the dust cooling system together with a front-facing air inlet and an under-slung exhausting system. Bluetooth and ports for USB can also be found in the machines.In the SK45SRX-6, the operator’s chair now reclines and features mechanical suspension, and both models feature improved operator visibility from the cab.Kobelco’s KCME product marketing manager Marcel van der Winden said: “The introduction of SK45SRX-6 fulfils KCME’s ideal of providing specialist earth moving machines within all popular classes. “As with all Kobelco Short Radius excavators, SK45SRX-6 delivers exceptional working performance while maintaining reduced operating costs. Minor updates to the SK55SRX-6 underline just how effective and efficient this machine has and always will be.”
Liebherr has sold its 90,000th truck mixer, to Transbeton, based in Laupheim.Transbeton’s managing director Reinhold Brehm personally collected the HTM 1004 ZA semitrailer, which has a nominal capacity of 10cb m. The company has been a loyal Liebherr customer for almost 50 years and has around 20 truck mixers and concrete mixing plants from the manufacturer.“I always have two semitrailers in my fleet because it increases our transportation capacity for large concrete plants,” said Brehm. “If the workload is not quite as heavy, we use tractor units to transport gravel or cement. This flexibility makes my fleet more profitable.”According to the manufacturer, the semitrailers benefit their customers through reliability, long service life and safety. Liebherr has been manufacturing truck mixers worldwide since 1967.
A platform for streamlining progress payments on construction jobs has been introduced to the UK this week at the Royal Institute of British Architects.The cloud-based platform, ProgressClaim.com, has been specifically designed for the construction industry, helping users — contractors, subcontractors, stakeholders and consultants — to work on and administer payments claims collaboratively.According to the company, the tool makes the currently difficult and out-dated process of submitting and approving progress claims easier, while reducing contract administration management costs by up to 50%, saving time and improving risk control with regards to the Security of Payments Act.First launched in Australia, ProgressClaim.com enables contractors and sub-contractors to provide details about how much work has been completed and how much is to be paid, allowing payments to be on time without potentially resulting in a dispute. Additionally, documents can be shared between organisations in real time so that users have a single view of the status of the project and are on the same page, reducing the need for spreadsheets, email trails and phone calls.Automated reminder emails can be sent to submit claims and approvals, with documentation produced and delivered instantly by email.Progressclaim.com CEO Lincoln Easton said: “Payment practices in the construction sector are problematic and time consuming. We believe our cloud-based platform helps to ease the pain. “The take-up of our easy-to-use software among tier one contractors and sub-contractors in our home market of Australia has exceeded our internal expectations since we launched a little over a year ago. Clients are increasingly being drawn to the speed, accuracy and transparency, which Progressclaim.com offers. “With the UK market exposed to a similar set of challenges, we are confident we can replicate the success we are enjoying in Australia over here, and in the process help bring the traditional payments model into the digital age.”To use the platform subcontractors pay a subscription of £30 a month, while main contractors will pay a licence fee based on the scale and complexity of the activities covered by the software.
As always at Bauma, the skyline was filled with the latest crane models – here are some of the highlights.
As always at Bauma, the skyline was filled with the latest crane models – here are some of the highlights.
As always at Bauma, the skyline was filled with the latest crane models – here are some of the highlights.
April saw trade show Bauma descend on Munich once again, and as ever the stats were mind-boggling. More than half a million visitors came from 200 different countries over the seven days, to do business with the more than 3,500 companies exhibiting their products and services. No official statistics have yet been released on how many litres of beer were consumed, or how many pairs of shoes needed new soles, but those numbers will no doubt be equally impressive.
Involving tunnelling through 33km of mountain, the Koralm railway tunnel is set to become the longest entirely within Austrian territory.
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