Moving innovations: new ways to handle soil, gravel, and concrete onsite are improving productivity

Concrete Construction, August, 2004 by William D. Palmer, Jr., Thomas Klemens

Don't get rid of your wheelbarrows--at least not yet. Some new equipment is taking a lot of the pain out of moving materials on the jobsite. A big part of what concrete contractors do involves material handling--excavating soil, laying base course, placing concrete, and removing old or excess concrete. Your typical jobsite has a flurry of skidsteers, pumps, buggies, and even wheelbarrows. Making handling easier is bound to increase productivity and save your workers' backs.

The greatest advance in moving concrete, of course, has been the concrete pump. Pumps can now reach horizontally as far as 184 feet and have been used to place concrete as high as 1460 feet for a floor slab on the Taipei 101 tower, the world's new tallest building. A Schwing pump delivered 30 to 40 cubic yards per hour to the tower's 101st floor through a 6-inch slick line.

Not to be outdone, Putzmeister unveiled at Bauma, the monster European construction expo, several innovations, including a high-pressure trailer-mounted concrete pump with rubber crawler tracks and an enhanced version of its control system.

Here are a few other material handling innovations that may help you on your next job.

Multifunction booms

While pump booms have gotten bigger, and booms have evolved into various configurations, one long sought-after pump innovation is a true telescoping boom. One of the earlier boom pumps, a Morgan, had telescoping sections, but the concrete flowed through slack sections of pump hose that slid up the boom as it telescoped. The problem with a telescoping boom where the concrete actually flows inside the telescopic boom section, says Bob Weatherton with The Concrete Pump Store, Claremont, Calif., is that the seal at the telescopic joint is destroyed by sand and aggregate. Recently, we heard rumors of a truly telescopic boom section manufactured by Sermac, an Italian company. "It's too early to say whether this works or not," says Weatherton.

In the meantime, though, several companies have developed innovative pumps.

Schwing S 31 EZ Pump--Getting concrete to the placement when working inside a building used to be the job of those with buggies or wheelbarrows. But this pump can reach 87 feet horizontally and, with its Z-configured articulating sections, needs only 18 feet 9 inches of vertical clearance to unfold. What Schwing calls its Auto Scissors boom has four articulated sections, the first of which also telescopes, allowing the operator to smoothly extend the boom the final 15 feet 2 inches with a single lever. The telescopic boom section is the one nearest the truck, and a folding section of slick line bridges the extending portion. This is the perfect machine for providing concrete in front of a laser screed since the telescopic action keeps the end of the hose at the same elevation--out of the pour. Once outside, the S 31 EZ has 100 feet of vertical reach. The pump kit can provide 170 cubic yards per hour.

Elliott Equipment VersiPlacer--Expanding on the idea of multifunctional, this machine combines a concrete boom pump, telescopic crane, and cherry picker-style work platform all in one. With three telescopic boom sections and an articulating jib, sections of pump hose are added as needed to accommodate the distance to placement. Other key features:

* The 20-foot placing jib both rotates and articulates, allowing access to the pump discharge around corners and through windows.

* Due to the use of a telescopic boom, the unfolding height is only 12 feet 10 inches, which allows it to easily extend to its full 82-foot reach in most indoor applications.

* The 7-ton crane can handle 600 pounds at full extension of the jib boom at 82 feet, or 2500 pounds at 60 feet.

* The narrow outriggers (18-foot spread) allow work in confined spaces.

* The work platform mounts at the end of the jib and has a maximum 75-foot working height.

* A 150-cubic-foot-per-hour Putzmeister pump is part of the package.

* Wired or wireless remote controls operate the pump, boom, and engine.

* "Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the VersiPlacer," says Elliott Equipment's president Jim Glazer, "is how well each of its features stacks up against comparable single-use machines."

Excavating

Gradall XL 4300-II--This hydraulic excavator combines the advantages of Gradall's unique tilting, telescoping boom with wheeled mobility on or off paved surfaces. The XL 4300-II is Gradall's largest wheeled excavator and includes an advanced hydraulic system that automatically provides the appropriate boom forces. The boom is the thing with Gradall, providing a low working profile, up to 220 degrees of tilting action, full operator visibility, and constant power throughout the digging cycle. This model has a lift capacity of about 5000 pounds at ground level at its maximum radius of 26 feet 2 inches. Attachments include a grading blade and a pavement removal bucket.

Small jobs

Grout Hog--When Damian Lang invented the Grout Hog in 1998, he changed the way grouted masonry walls were built. Except on the biggest jobs where a pump is needed, the Grout Hog simplifies the process of filling masonry walls, making it quicker and easier than with any other method. The Grout Hog is less than half the cost of a small trailer pump and requires less maintenance. It wasn't long before concrete contractors learned about it and adapted it for smaller concrete jobs, especially repair jobs or where concrete had to be placed in a tight space such as stair treads, piers, or small forms. The Grout Hog holds 3/4 cubic yard and can be transported with a forklift or skidsteer. It connects to the skidsteer's hydraulic power to run the auger that precisely delivers concrete with up to 1-inch aggregate. The forklift supports the weight of the concrete, so the person pouring the concrete has only to guide the delivery hose. Self-contained gasoline- or electric-powered systems are also available when the Grout Hog is positioned by crane.