Case Construction Equipment is launching a new line of loader-backhoes that the Racine, Wis.-based manufacturer says will boost sales as the economy rebounds. Production of the new line was informed by a strategy of its parent firm, Fiat Group, which places a high priority on client involvement early in the design phase. Photo: Courtesy of Case Construction Equipment Case used Fiat’s product-development process to create a new line of loader-backhoes that has been designed with the customer’s needs in mind. While Case says it always has used customer feedback to guide product development, this higher level of interaction was initiated
Products 09/29/2010 Fall-Arrest Anchor Post: Works on Many Roof Designs The Miller Fusion Roof-Anchor Post is a single-point fall-arrest anchor that provides a temporary or permanent anchor without piercing the roof substrate. The Fusion anchor comes in several different models that are specially designed to work on a variety of roof designs, including standing seam, membrane, metal sheathing, concrete and wood. The ring mechanism is designed to rotate with the user’s position to prevent tangles, and a built-in energy-absorption system protects the structure during a fall. Miller Fall Protection; 800-873-5242; www.millerfallprotection.com Underground Cables: Preventing Water Damage Hendrix Wire & Cable
Researchers in Northern Ireland report promising results from a demonstration project that used rods made with basalt fibers to reinforce a 22-meter-long concrete-deck section of a $1.5-million replacement bridge in County Fermanagh. The mineral material, which resists corrosion and has twice the tensile strength of steel, is not yet accredited for structural use in the U.K. In addition to testing the basalt-fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP), the project is a demonstration of compressive membrane analysis in deck design, says Susan Taylor, a senior structural-engineering lecturer at Queen’s University, Belfast, which secured a $160,000 grant from the U.K. Dept. for Transport for the
Ford Motor Co. is the only Big Three manufacturer that currently does not offer a six-cylinder engine in a full-size pickup. For next year’s F-150, however, Ford will reintroduce a V-6 as its base-level engine; to show it is really serious about V-6 power, the company will also offer a twin-turbocharged EcoBoost engine that claims to have the capability of a V-8 with the fuel economy of a V-6. Does this sound too good to be true? As with any engineering exercise, performing multiple feats becomes a balancing act. We discovered as much during a Ford-sponsored test drive this month
Products 09/22/2010 Cable and Pipe Locators: Portable The RD7000 and the RD8000 cable and pipe locators are significantly lighter than earlier Radiodetection models and offer several improvements. Large, back-lit LCDs provide clear readouts, while the power management feature lets the user to adjust the output signal to conserve power. The RD8000’s SideStep feature allows its working frequency to be adjusted to prevent interference from other equipment. Included eCAL software links the detectors to a PC for data download and recalibration, if necessary. Radiodetection; 877-247-3797; www.radiodetection.com Redesigned Crimp Tool: Easier To Use The Sta-Kon Comfort Grip Compression tool now requires 25%
Ford Motor Co. says its new 2011 F-150 pickup truck, available later this year with four new engines, is targeting best-in-class fuel economy with its basic model, popular among construction fleet owners. Ford's base pickup, the 2011 F-150 XL series, will come standard with a 3.7L V-6 gasoline engine, 6-speed automatic transmission and 12-volt electric power steering that help the truck hit up to 23 mpg. Though official testing is still in the works, Ford hopes to certify its new base V-6 engine soon at 23 mpg for highway driving, says Mark Grueber, F-150 marketing manager. Across the board, Ford
At first glance it looks like a normal construction site. Earthmoving equipment proceeding orderly toward a pesky hill slated for removal, and workers in fluorescent vests waving operators past the caution tape and barriers toward the jobsite. The only incongruity is a bright, lime-green 1959 Euclid TC-12 bulldozer rolling past an orange 1928 Wilford Model B shovel. And for every familiar CAT logo there is a Bucyrus Erie or a Cletrac, with the odd Oliver thrown in the mix. In fact, this one hill has at least two-dozen machines working on it at once, with a growing ring of spectators
At the site of the new Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science building at Virginia Polytechnic and State University, students, faculty and visitors are asking questions about green construction. However, they are not inquiring about the 45,000-sq-ft academic building that will be seeking LEED Silver; they are asking about the colorful reMOD trailer next to it. Manufactured by Williams Scotsman Inc. and being used by project manager Skanska USA Building, the construction trailer features many design choices intended to reduce its environmental footprint. Construction trailers are not an obvious candidate for sustainable design. As the trailers are temporary by
While the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration plans to revamp its outdated silica-dust standard, a voluntary partnership of asphalt-paving groups is closing in on recommended methods to cut down the amount of airborne silica dust generated by road-milling machines. Photo: Courtesy of Association of Equipment Manufacturers Members of an asphalt partnership last month evaluated different methods of reducing road crews’ exposure to airborne silica dust kicked up by milling machines on a highway resurfacing project near Shawano, Wis. A similar effort in the 1990s brought changes that cut fumes emitted by paving machines. “The goal is to determine exactly
The California Air Resources Board admitted recently that today’s off-road diesel equipment will easily meet the state’s emission goals for many years to come. However, the board is not giving up on pushing forward its regulatory agenda of monitoring and controlling the emissions of the industry’s construction fleets. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton For ENR What may console the construction industry, however, is an expected series of delays to CARB’s nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter reductions, which were scheduled to kick in this year for large fleets (over 5,000 hp), in 2013 for medium fleets (2,501 to 5,000 hp) and
RSS
