Transforming road infra

Mr. Jasmeet Singh
Head Corporate Communications and External Relations,
JCB India Limited

Dimitrov Krishnan,
VP & HEAD
volvo india

Sharwan Agnihotri,
Head - Marketing & Business Development,
Hyundai Construction Equipment India Pvt. Ltd

Abhijit Gupta,
Brand Leader,
CASE India

Amit Bansal,
sales director building construction projects,
Caterpillar India.

An overview on how construction equipment is transforming roads and highways of India

The budget 2018-19 gave a good push to the highway sector by allocating 71,000 crore. In addition, Bharatmala a flagship programme is to build an intensive highway network which ultimately augments a ray of hope to the construction equipment (CE) segment. Without construction equipment development of road and highways is incomplete. Today with the advanced road developing technologies the roads and highways segment in India has seen transformation and growth. To understand more this article will describe about the state-of-the-art construction equipment that are set to transform the roads and highway in India.

Transforming road and highways in India
“Roads and Highways sector has been the key growth driver in the revival of the Indian Construction Equipment (ICE) industry which went through a four year downturn from 2012-15,” states Jasmeet Singh, Head - Corporate Communications and External Relations, JCB India Ltd. It was in 2016 that ICE industry revived to earlier levels of growth and in 2017 that it surpassed the previous best of 2011, primarily driven by the implementation of large scale roads and highways project. With government's continuing thrust on this sector by way of significant budget allocation for building world class road network, in rural and urban India both, and by announcing various big ticket projects such as Bharatmala etc, we are hopeful of seeing a strong growth trajectory in this sector in 2018 as well.”

Additionally, announcement of large scale infrastructure projects in sectors such as roads, railways, metro rail, mining, irrigation, power and urban development have ensured continual progress in the ICE industry.

With the rise of autonomous vehicles and other advances in power and technology, the capabilities of tomorrow's roads will be quite different to today's believes Dimitrov Krishnan, Vice President and Head of Volvo CE India. However he adds, “The fundamental structure of roads is unlikely to change much. Given that, it is also unlikely there will be any dramatic change in the processes or equipment used for road building, at least not in the coming 10-20 years. What we are seeing is that road building contractors being pressurised to increase productivity both in the size of the roads they build and the speed with which they complete them. At Volvo CE we are pleased to be introducing advances in our own technology for road building machines. Our company is widely regarded as one of the leading innovators in the field of construction equipment and we aim to maintain this position into the future. “
There is a very high level of Infrastructure deficit in our country and this offers immense opportunity for infra development. Naturally this would require appropriate Construction machinery that meets the job requirements, work standards, safety norms and productivity scale.

Caterpillar has wide range of equipment starting from excavators, graders, BHLs, wheel loaders, skid steers, track type tractors etc to support all types of construction activities in the country. All these equipment are available in various sizes/ranges and optimum equipment selection can be made basis quantum of work and project timeline. “To top this up Caterpillar has a very strong and widespread dealer network to support all across the country, informs Amit Bansal, Sales Director-Building Construction Products, Caterpillar India.

While describing how construction equipment is transforming the roads and highway Bansal says, “In the current scenario infrastructure projects are becoming larger and more complex and regulatory compliances in relation to safety and quality are increasing, timelines for completion of such projects are being reduced. Time constraints result in longer working hours and increase in fatigue of the work force, which in turn, makes it more challenging to maintain a safe working environment and productivity. Caterpillar construction products address these issues as they are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies meant to increase machine efficiency and are ideal for big and complex infrastructure projects in India.”

Abhijit Gupta, Brand Leader and Managing Director, CASE India informs, the construction industry has witnessed significant technological advancements in the use of construction equipment. Industry has been investing heavily in technology adaptation and providing state-of-the-art machinery. This enable engineers, structural architects, workers etc, to work collaboratively and reducing or avoiding any errors thereby improving productivity, shorten the duration of projects and ultimately increase profit. It is changing every aspect of the business, including how projects are implemented from the start to the end, helps in last minute changes, job correspondence and ensure the project stays within budget.

CASE India offers the most advanced technological products which are suited to the basic Indian requirements of high fuel efficiency and productivity. The company emphasises on continuous product development to improve equipment's performance, operator comfort, boost productivity and increase fuel-efficiency.

Sharwan Agnihotri, Head - Marketing & Business Develop­ment, Hyundai Construction Equipment India Pvt. Ltd informs, “Road is the major driving force behind the robust growth of CE industry in past 2 years, Excavator industry in India grew by around 45 per cent in 2016 over 2015 and the growth in 2017 has been around 22 per cent over the same period in 2016. Usage pattern data of speed of road construction and the push for concrete roads by NHAI owing to its enhanced life and low maintenance has skewed the usage pattern of excavators towards stone quarry, earthwork and lime stone quarrying. Around 20 per cent excavators are currently being used for stone and lime stone quarrying in the country, the percentage goes to more than 50 per cent if we include road and related sectors.”

He adds, “We are of the opinion that it is time for other sectors like irrigation, urban development and railways to start showing results on the ground so that the equipment segment and usage pattern is balanced which would also ease out the pressure from supply side as demand currently is skewed towards 20 tonne class creating a situation of excess inventory in other segment and shortage in this segment of excavators.”

Construction equipment for highway development
CASE Graders
For high quality roads and highways CASE India has CASE graders imported from Brazil which are used mainly for levelling and shaping a surface to very fine measurements. CASE Graders are the best available machinery in their class and are engineered to give a very long product life. Equipment uptime is one of the major factors that customers consider while deciding on the machine. CASE 845 B grader features an FPT Industrial 6.7-liter engine with dual horsepower to match the power requirements of various applications and deliver optimum fuel efficiency. The Grader is offered with an Automatic ZF Transmission. The machine has a multi Curvature Moldboard which reduces the resistance coming on the engine and hence reduces the fuel consumption. The air conditioned cabin of the Grader is spacious and provides excellent all round visibility and operator comfort.
“CASE has successfully sold over 250 units in India and we are expecting consistent growth in this year as well,” states Gupta.

Backhoe Loaders from Caterpillar India
In India, versatility of backhoe loader makes it the first machine to enter the jobsite and the last machine to leave the jobsite. It can perform operations such as site preparation, laying foundation, transferring materials, digging trench, excavating and loading materials, pipe laying, backfilling and the list goes on. In construction activities and infrastructure for small scale - backhoe loader is the main machine that does most of the required jobs. In the large scale construction and infrastructure projects, backhoe loader is a must have machine for utility jobs. Apart from just loading and excavating today's backhoe loaders are capable of multitasking through various work tools like hammer, auger, pallet forks, compactor, range of excavator buckets, ripper etc. These work tools augment the work envelope of Backhoe Loaders multifold making them truly indispensable equipment for construction work.

Cat Backhoe Loaders are a great mix of some of the best global technologies with local flavour to meet Indian customer's requirements. Cat 424B2 is engineered with some of the best in class features like load sensing and close centered hydraulics, which has got much better hydraulic efficiency, thereby ensuring minimal wastage and better fuel efficiency at optimal performance. In addition to that the components are designed keeping in mind the machine duty cycle so as to deliver better product life that exceeds customer's expectations.
The excavator style boom which has better reach over obstacles is again a great feature of Cat backhoe loaders. “Moreover, we are the only one in the industry to offer both the types of hoe operating levers which is interchangeable to ‘x' and ‘+' very easily and quickly,” claims Bansal.

“Some segments or applications demand higher productivity or performance as their job is time bound or the revenue for the job is based on the output. For that kind of applications, we have recently launched a “High Flow” variant where at operating range, higher performance is delivered. This results in higher performance at optimal fuel consumption. Last year we launched our global model 426F2 in India as well that complements our existing range of Backhoe Loaders,” he reveals.

Intelligent road construction machines from JCB
“JCB India is known as a Full Range Infrastructure Equipment Partner with 50 world class products in eight product categories and over the years, we have made significant investments in ensuring our customers get technologically advanced and innovative products,” informs Singh.

Announcement and implementation of big ticket infrastructure projects has led to a favourable increase in the demand of large scale machinery, particularly in the road construction sector. To fully leverage this opportunity, JCB introduced a wide range of innovative and intelligent road construction machines such as a digitally advanced 11T Soil Compactor, 5T Wheeled Loader, 38T Tracked Excavator, and a Backhoe Loader with many world's first features.

Briefing on the technology Singh says, “The JCB 116 Soil Compactor is a first in the industry to have Compaction Monitoring System (CMS) integrated with Livelink. The CMS ensures uniform compaction by optimising the overall compaction process. Similarly, the Loader Productivity Management System (LPMS) in the JCB455ZX helps in real time monitoring of individual weight of loaded bucket, Total Accumulated Weight, Tare weight, and Number of loaded buckets.”

P5320ABG paver Volvo CE India
Volvo CE India's latest product for the road building industry is the P5320ABG paver which is manufactured at its plant in Bangalore. Innovations on the unit include load sensing hydraulics so that hydraulic output is perfectly matched to all components. An automatic hydraulic track tensioner delivers smoother operation while simultaneously reducing wear and downtime, and there are a host of other innovative features and benefits on the unit. “Volvo is the only manufacturer to offer Screed extension flexibility up to 7.5m in this class of machines for various road construction needs of customers,” says Krishnan.

Hyundai's product
Briefing on equipment that is transforming road and highways in India Agnihotri states, “Thanks to our customer driven product customisation and process improvement initiatives, we sensed the need to upgrade our 7 series machines to SMART series Modern Premium machines, Growth of Hyundai Construction Equipment India has been better than the industry. This additional growth helped us in consolidating our position as number 2 excavators supplier in the country . Our R215 L SMART excavator has been one of the top selling excavator during 2017, this product has been the favourite of customers in all segment of application, We have also received Yellow Dot award for this product in the category of best earthmoving product of the year.”

Sensing the need for concrete road making, Hyundai Construction Equipment India has introduced R140 W-9S, a 14 tonne class wheeled Excavator for concrete road application. The machine is introduced with the concept of Think Beyond the backhoe loader. The unique benefit of using a wheeled excavator in place of backhoe loader in concrete laying process at PQC stage is its 360 degree reach, higher power and bucket capacity to enhance speed, efficiency and overall cost of concrete laying.

Hyundai R140 W-9S is a 9 series excavator equipped with enhanced safety features, Hi Mate system for remotely monitoring the performance of machine and unique CAPO system for improving fuel efficiency of the machine. The machine is also equipped with enhanced operator comfort features like fully adjustable premium suspension seat, air conditioner ducting, hot and cold box and wider LCD cluster for mode selection and offers low maintenance cost as the schedule maintenance of machine is done at extended operating hours.

Offerings form Schwing Stetter
Concrete batching plants in concrete road construction:
Schwingstetter India manufacture concrete batching plants for concrete road construction and supply GOMACO pavers and XCMG graders to pave and grade these roads. Its concrete truck mixers and truck mounted concrete boom pumps also play an important role in transporting and pouring concrete.
Batching Plant: Schwing Stetter India analyses each customer's requirement and guides the customer to opt for that batching plant which would suffice his needs of concreting, from the wide range available.There are four different types of batching plants that are manufactured by Schwing Stetter India, which includes:

Wheel-Trailer /Truck mounted
The On-Wheels concept has been introduced by Schwing Stetter India, keeping in mind the easy transportability of the batching plant between sites. This design is available in the 18 m3 segment, which is also known as the ‘CP18 on Wheels' which can be a trailer or a truck-mounted batching plant.

Compact plants
The compact plants in 30 m3 category is designed as such that the customer move it from one place to another. So, for this purpose, we have designed the compact plant CP 30 in a containerised format. Even a customer can ship it out of the country easily in a 40 ft container. So, it reduces the tremendous cost on transportation. Besides, the customer can re-erect the plant in a quick fashion. The compact plants are design houses which includes the Model CP30 (30 m3 productivity rate) and CP45 (45 m3 productivity rate). These plants are available in star, compartment and in-line Silo configurations.

Mobile plants
Mobile plants are for those customers who would like to move the plant from project to project quickly. A lot of cost is involved in the construction of foundation and other infrastructure. Mobile plants keeps such cost in the minimum and is ideally suited for road construction. The Mobile plants are known for their easy assembly and erection at the site like the M1, M1.25, M2.25, M2.5, M3 RS, M21Z and M30Z. Wherever construction sites have to be supplied for any length of time with larger quantities of high-quality concrete, mobile mixing plants from Schwing Stetter India are ideal. It does not matter whether they are used for the construction of traffic routes, dams, landfills or airports, the M series plants have been designed to handle the task. They can be quickly moved, transported on low-bed semitrailers and quickly set up again, thanks to the fully installed, pre-assembled compact units.

Horizontal plants
Horizontal plants are for customers who would like to stay in a particular location for a long period of time like dam construction, for ready-mix. Schwing Stetter horizontal concrete mixing plants H1J, H1.25N, H2N, H3N, H4N, H5 and H6 incorporate the experience of over 84 years in mixing plant technology.

Mixer technology
The objective of any concrete production is a homogenous mix of concrete, in the absence of which a series of problems will be faced by the end users of concrete. There are two mixer technologies which help achieve this homogeneity, which are Pan mixer, Twin - Shaft Mixer.

The turbo pan mixer used by Schwing Stetter India is famous for the mixing quality thanks to its gearbox driven arms while the Twin-shaft mixer is preferred wherever vast quantities of concrete are to be produced.
It is also important to understand that all these plants are operated using control systems which range from Semi-Automatic (MCI35) to Fully Automatic (MCI550). The state of the art technology of the batching plants and their reliable quality has helped Schwing Stetter India earn its place as the Leader in the Ready Mix Concrete equipment Industry.

Technological advancement in road construction equipment
Technology is playing an important role in road construction now than ever. Most project managers today use devices that capture data from equipment to manage and evaluate performance. “These smart devices have the ability to sense, communicate, and transmit valuable data to any place; at any time and helps project managers reduce wastage,” informs Bansal.

Caterpillar offers CAT 360 DEGREE ADVANTAGE, an umbrella name to represent a wide range of advantages, expertise, tech enabled equipment and dealer support. This enables customers to reduce operating cost and risk by enhanced uptime of the machines.

Caterpillar recently launched a series of next gen hydraulic excavators with industry's highest level of standard factory-equipped technology with increased operating efficiency, lower fuel and maintenance costs, and improve operator comfort compared to previous models. The new excavators offer unique combinations of purpose-built features designed to match customers' productivity and cost targets.

Technological advancement is the need of the hour and is happening in every sector.Telematics is in huge demand these days. It provides real-time access to machines and results in enhancing the performance and efficiency of the machine. “This Asset Monitoring System gives the freedom of machine monitoring and remote diagnostics alerts at the click of a button on a mobile or desktop computer. In fact there are some states which have made it mandatory to have the telematics in the construction equipment,” reveals Gupta.

Compaction meter: Where on screen operator can check amplitude, frequency and ICV (intelligence compaction value) which is related to density of soil compacted. This ICV value will be different for difference surface. Once desired density is achieved, there will be green signal on screen so that operator can stop compaction and avoid over compaction. Hence there will be saving of fuel, time and can avoid damage of surface.

Gupta adds, “With technology coming into the picture there would be improvement in the quality of work and the cost savings and profitability would be more. Realising the importance of technological upgradation and innovation, construction equipment companies are increasingly taking action and the results are fast and efficient equipment.”
Briefing on how technological advancement in construction equipment segment is changing the scenario Krishnan says, “We have an advanced and coordinated research and development program that has built up over the years and is demonstrated in the industry-leading productivity and fuel efficiency levels we deliver. This superior productivity and fuel efficiency is helping drive advancement in the road building industry.”

He adds, “Into the future it's difficult to say exactly how new technology will change the industry but in broad terms Volvo's pursuit of electrically-driven vehicles could be a game changer. Recently, our company unveiled the world's first fully-electric compact excavator, the EX2, which is equipped with electric drive systems and electromechanical linear actuators.”

Similarly our work on autonomous machines has also produced very positive results and could have serious ramifications for the road building industry, believes Krishnan. In 2016, Volvo CE India introduced the HX1, a concept loader that laid out its vision for the future. With so many duty cycle operations in road building it stands to reason that some form of autonomous operations could benefit this field in future.

JCB India introduced the JCB Backhoe Loader with 30 new innovative features, including 15 industry firsts, and five world's first including an AMT which is an Automated Manual Transmission called Easy Shift. Apart from this, this world class machine comes with as an SOS switch, economy and power mode, guide me home, and smart app machine diagnostics.

JCB also provides the complete range of Tracked Excavators ranging from 3T to 38T - all designed to meet the varied needs of the customer. Latest from JCB India in the excavator segment is the all new 38T Tracked Excavator with two variants - the JCB 380LC Xtra and the JCB 380LC Quarry Master (QM). This is JCB India's largest ‘Made in India' excavator.

JCB also introduced multiple mobile applications which ensure all the relevant information is just a click away for users. Applications such as JCB Livelink, Smart Diagnostic, Parts E-sell and Digital product manuals will re-define how customers interact with manufacturers. They are all aimed at improving the overall customer experience by providing all the important information in real time.

The ambitious target of laying 30 to 40 Km national highway per day would push for digitisation of information for quick and informed decision making. This trend coupled with the ecosystem created by government under the digital India program is motivating equipment manufacturers to offer technologies so that the customers can extract required information at the time and place they need, believes Agnihotri.

On the technological advancement front he says, “The Hyundai Wheeled Excavators are fitted with unique remote management system, “Hi Mate”, which would help customers to access machine operating information , service and maintenance alerts and take corrective action without being physically present near the machine. Fleet management system of Hi-Mate would enable machine to machine communication to improve operational efficiency. This would be an app based monitoring hence customers can monitor the machine performance, operating parameters and alerts with the help of his mobile phone.”

The machine is also fitted with self-diagnostic system for ease of maintenance and safety features like Anti Restart system , Automatic engine over heat prevention and Auto warm up system. The 9 series updated CAPO (Compute Aided Power Optimisation) system ensures enhanced fuel efficiency of the machine under all type of applications.

How advanced machine-control technologies are helping roads and highways development
Advanced machine-control technologies make sure that there is timely completion of projects. Also, there is improvement in the quality of work. Technology also looks towards the optimum utilisation of equipment as per the required standards.

Volvo's Co-Pilot, for example, offers a range of intelligent machine services - including Dig Assist and Pave Assist - to help operators deliver higher quality outcomes, in less time and with less effort. These examples of automated and assist-functionalities differentiate Volvo's machines in the market.

In addition, its CareTrack telematics system allows owners to get real-time data on a variety of performance-related features for their fleet. The system generates a wide range of reports, delivering data on aspects such as fuel consumption, operational hours, geographical location and more. The reports are available via a web portal or can be received via SMS or email alerts.

The system can also be used to manage machine servicing and the replacement of parts. This allows fleet managers to reduce fuel costs, optimise machine and operator performance, as well as proactively manage service and maintenance.

Bansal says Caterpillar has moved away from offering standalone equipment or machinery to our customers by offering end to end solutions by integrating technologies. Some of these construction technologies from Caterpillar include:

• LINK, a solution that captures vital performance and product health data and makes that data available on the web to guide decision-making. Cat LINK hardware and software connect jobsites to the office and provide customers with machine-critical operating information.
• Grade and Compact, two productivity solutions that help operators move material faster, more accurately and with fewer passes. Offering guidance for depth, slope and horizontal distance to grade, the Cat Grade with 2D system helps operators reach desired grade quickly and accurately. Using the system's E-fence feature enables the machine to work safely under structures or near traffic by preventing any part of the excavator from moving outside operator-defined set points. The standard 2D system can be upgraded to Cat Grade with Advanced 2D or Cat Grade with 3D. Standard Grade Assist automates boom, stick and bucket movements, so operators stay on grade simply and effortlessly with single-lever digging.
• PAYLOAD, an on-board system for trucks and loading tools that drives higher efficiency, shorter cycle times and lower cost per ton. Cat Payload delivers precise load targets and increased loading efficiency with on-the-go weighing and real-time payload estimates without swinging to prevent truck over/under-loading
• CAT Connect, a technology that makes smart use of technology and services to enhance the operational efficiency of the machine being used. Using the data from the technology-equipped Cat assets, this program provides our customers a range of benefits - from cuttings costs to enhancing operational efficiency to improving safety of people and equipment to reducing risks

Opportunities out of Bharatmala project
Infra development has always been a priority for the government. Earlier approach of the government was to ensure all the sanctions are in place before making any reform and this somehow used to crack deals. The present government has a tendency to start projects and then review them in mid-way to proceed further which helps in speedy development of the project. The budget recognises the role of infrastructure sector as the growth driver of the economy.

In the budget 2018, the government has recognised several road projects along the international inland territorial borders of India under the ambitious Bharat Mala project. This, in addition to the work being executed by the Border Roads Organization, will help build road infrastructure in these areas at a rapid pace. “Several tenders are in the process of getting formalised and will be taken up by capable contractors. Where there is business, we participate, we will be eyeing these tenders closely and at the right opportunity we will be more than willing to contribute by supplying our world class equipment to the selected contractors /organisations for these projects,” says Gupta.

Bharatmala is a very ambitious project of the government which will significantly boost the highway infrastructure. The complete range of road building machinery will be utilised in this project and construction equipment industry will be benefitted a lot by this project. “We can expect to see use of high end machinery in terms of Technology and productivity in this project. Caterpillar is well positioned to provide optimum solutions for all construction needs related to this project,” says Bansal.

In the next five years, the Narendra Modi government plans to invest Rs7 lakh crore ($108 billion) to build 83,677 kilo metres of roads—a huge boost for India's infrastructure The Indian government's plans to increase road construction from its current level of about 23 km a day to an eventual 40 km a day have made road pavers, particularly sensor pavers, increasingly important for projects around the country. “We see a host of opportunities for the road building sector and remain one of the industry's key players,” states Krishnan.

Construction of 83,667 kilometres of highways under government's umbrella highway development project - the Bharatmala will provide a significant opportunity to the ICE industry. “At JCB, we are fully geared up with the world class range of intelligent and innovative machines to meet the demand,” avers Singh.

Today, JCB India has the widest range of products required for constructing a world class road starting from the compact range such as mini excavator, skid steer loader to mid-range machines such as backhoe loaders, telehandlers, super loaders to larger excavators, compactors and wheel loaders. All these products have been designed and engineered to cater to the changing needs and increasing demand across different segments.

“As told earlier, excavators are the primary machines required for excavation of soil for road making, Bharatmala being a road network around the land borders of India, would certainly help us in our business growth. Hyundai Construction Equip­ment India with its 31 Dealers and 200 outlets spread across the country would ensure timely delivery and after sales support to the machines supplied to customers working for this project and by doing so, we would be doing our bit in building a new India,” Agnihotri concludes.

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