Conquering Road Maintenance Challenges: Scanreco Empowers Operators
Published: 15/1
Highways are the backbone of modern transportation, keeping cities connected and goods moving. But maintaining these crucial routes, especially aging concrete highways, is a challenge. Despite constant wear and tear, closing a highway for lengthy repairs isn’t a viable option. Road construction workers and machine operators face a myriad of challenges, from closing off and redirecting traffic, to working outdoors day and night regardless of weather and light conditions, and the road construction itself. It becomes extra difficult when the road is a bridge where the vibrations caused by traditional demolition machines can be intense, and where the construction naturally sways ever so little without anyone trying to break loose concrete.
Redefined hydrodemolition with precision remote control
Conjet, a manufacturer of advanced hydrodemolition robots offer demolishing machines that, instead of force and vibrations, use high-pressure water jets. A mega-pressure water jet of up to 43,500 psi (3,000 bar) is forced into the concrete by the machine, which breaks up the structure of the concrete while also binding dust and smaller debris. The robot’s work area, water-pressure depth, as well as position, width and length of the surface to be demolished is set either on the robot itself, or via the radio remote control developed in collaboration between Conjet and remote-control developer Scanreco. The platform (basically the hardware and some fundamental software and well-sufficient functional safety level) that Conjet uses is one of Scanreco’s most tested and rugged. It provides protection from dirt and water (fundamental in hydrodemolition), as well as a reliable radio link where the control won’t accidentally set another machine on the site in motion.
Intuitive controls for enhanced performance
With different operators using the machine in shifts, the ruggedness, long-term reliability, and not least design and programming of the remote control is crucial for operational effectiveness and machine maintenance, regardless of who operates it. Scanreco’s approach to design and configuration of controls that are intuitive, easy to use and to understand proved to be an excellent choice for Conjet. Tim Best, the company’s customer success manager for North America explains that “Scanreco’s ergonomic design and rugged construction with dependable components—including an almost indestructible display—help keep Conjet hydrodemolition robot operators happy and running day after day.”
In collaboration with Scanreco’s design engineers, the transmitter levers, buttons, and joysticks were programmed specifically for Conjet’s machines and for the operations at task. A feature that is appreciated on the highways.
Meeting the demands of complex road maintenance
By maneuvering the robot from the Scanreco control, operators also gain better overview of the operation, its efficiency, and the site at a whole. The steam surrounding the hydrodemolition robot is very hot as it is under such high pressure. Although the operations are perfectly controlled, people surrounding it may want to keep a safe distance. A professional remote control minimizes the need to approach the machine while in action unless necessary for very specific adjustments. With Scanreco’s remote control, operators manage the movement of the robot from one area to another and configure parameters such as water pressure and demolition depth. Whether it’s a partial removal or the full exposure and cleaning of armoring before applying new concrete, the demands of road maintenance remain constant: the job needs to be done efficiently and with minimal disruption to traffic. Hydrodemolition, combined with cutting-edge remote control technology, is helping to meet these demands, ensuring that vital infrastructure can be maintained without compromising safety or efficiency.
