Maintenance

A new tool offers the chance to speed repairs to utilities, reducing disturbance to drivers and pedestrians alike in busy urban areas. The conventional way to break into an existing cast iron main has been to expose it from the surface in a pit and then hit it hard with something until it breaks. However, this is no longer considered either safe or efficient. Instead, Utility Innovation Solutions (UIS) has delivered a more effective tool, the Click Stick.

Poor road conditions present a major hazard to drivers in the Australian state of Victoria. Research by Australian motoring club, RACV, of data from VicRoads shows that 1,452km of the regional road network, around 7.4% of the system, is in a distressed state. The RACV is urging Victoria’s State Government to boost its road repair budget for 2017 to US$229 million (A$300 million) and begin tackling the problem. In all $916 million will be required to address the state’s road repair problem as long as work st

Caterpillar says that for 2017 it has further refined its F-Series wheeled excavators – from the M314F to the M322F - and wheeled material handlers MH3022 and MH3024. The M314F and M316F wheeled excavators are fitted with the Cat C4.4 ACERT engine while the M318F, M320F, and M322F use the C7.1 ACERT engine. New for these machines is a system that adjusts engine speed to match speed demands during travels. The system provides the exact level of power required for varying road situations, resulting in redu

A contractor in the US state of California is using skid steer loaders from Volvo CE to help in its line painting operations. The machines are being used to carry out major road marking projects in Southern California. The first machine bought by the firm has been used on the I-5 highway. Driving along the centre double line, the skid steer loader is used to remove the reflective pavement markers from the asphalt and pop them into the 1.5m bucket. To boost performance, contractor Payco's industrial team

From GSSI comes the sophisticated LineTrac GPR system, an accessory to the UtilityScan systems employing either the DF or HS antennas. The LineTrac allows users to detect AC power and induced RF energy present in buried utilities. By combining GPR data with a radio detection sensor, GSSI’s LineTrac accessory is capable of detecting low amplitude AC signals. LineTrac employs a three-axis 50/60 Hz magnetometer that is used to locate powered and non-powered utilities with accurate, dependable and repeat