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ISCP member, Kevin McMullen, President-Wisconsin Concrete Pavement Association (WCPA-an affiliated chapter of ACPA), has reported on the first contractor in Wisconsin (WI), USA to go stringless. The concrete industry, WI Department of Transportation (WisDOT), and the cities across WI have been waiting to see which construction company would be the first to utilize 3D stringless or automated machine control in a slipform placement process. This technology can be utilized in many different areas of the construction industry.
Parisi Construction of Verona, WI is the first contractor in Wisconsin to invest in the equipment that will allow placement of curb and gutter, sidewalk, and concrete barriers. The company’s new “GOMACO GT3600” equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) and laser vertical control augmentation debuted on April 28, 2015 on a subdivision project on Madison, WI’s southwest side. According to Jeff Parisi, President and Owner, it was time for the replacement of their curb and gutter machine, so, as the staff members were working on the order they requested the additional piece of equipment. They were confident that they would recoup the cost of the equipment by going stringless, knowing that they had the subdivision project, as well as future 2015 site development projects.
The benefits of going to this technology and equipment include:
- Time and cost savings of survey staking and setting paving pins and string line
- Additional mobility and freedom of movement without the string lines present
- Ability to do tight radiuses and curves in any roadway, parking lot or island design
The equipment includes the GPS base station and three lasers. The GPSantennas on the GT3600 are used to track the machines movement, and calculate its position and heading. The lasers augment the GPS and provide the required vertical accuracy. In addition, a GPS rover is utilized to check alignment and grade. On this project in Madison, the company’s staff accommodated the request of the city engineering staff to put up a short run of traditional stringline so that they had a perspective on the accuracy of placement. In that area, the rover showed that they were within .3 cm (1/100th of a foot) of the proposed line and grade. Once completed to the end of the stringline, the staff was comfortable in proceeding with stringless.
For Kevin McMullen’s full article, please click here.
For more information and high-resolution photos, please contact:
Kevin McMullen, President-Wisconsin Concrete Pavement Association:
Phone: 608.240.1020 | E‐mail: kmcmullen@wisconcrete.org[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]