The world's first diesel-electric hybrid bulldozer will carry a price tag that is about $100,000 more, or 20% higher, than a comparable non-hybrid machine. But will pay for itself in about two-and-a-half years, Caterpillar Inc. managers said June 23 at the company's training facility in Edwards, Ill. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton Hybrid dozer comes with a 20% price premium. Related Links: LeTourneau's Electric Legacy Haunts Las Vegas Mega-Show VIDEO: Big Electric Cat � Bulldozer Buzz at CONEXPO The D7E, which begins production in October, will come with a manufacturer-recommended list price of $600,000, said David E. Nicoll, product execution manager.
One week after New York City announced it would shepherd a national database of tower cranes to improve jobsite safety, a crane-rental executive in Pennsylvania has built the world’s first Internet site for tracking crane repairs, inspections and other critical details. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton / ENR Bardonaro wants spotlight on safety. The site is the industry’s first voluntary effort to make crane tracking more transparent in the wake of major accidents last year. “I wanted to get something out there that answers these cries for tracking cranes,” says Frank Bardonaro, president of Bensalem, Pa.-based AmQuip. He has spent about
One week after New York City announced it would shepherd a national database of tower cranes to improve jobsite safety, a crane-rental executive in Pennsylvania has built the world�s first Internet site for tracking crane repairs, inspections and other critical details. Related Links: Three Cities Plan Tower Crane Tracking Cranefacts.com The site is the industry’s first voluntary effort to make crane tracking more transparent in the wake of major accidents last year. “I wanted to get something out there that answers these cries for tracking cranes,” says Frank Bardonaro, president of Bensalem, Pa.-based AmQuip. He has spent about $40,000 and
While bankrupt General Motors is discontinuing its line of medium-duty trucks, the clock is ticking for others to clean up tailpipes in January. The clean-air regulation has Warrenville, Ill.-based Navistar International Corp. asking a U.S. appeals court in Washington, D.C., to review a February ruling by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA action provided guidance to diesel-truck makers on how to certify engines using selective-catalytic reduction. Navistar alleges EPA in 2001 did not deem SCR permissible due to the use of liquid urea, of which distribution and handling was questionable. Other producers argue urea is proven. Navistar is the
Aviad Shapira, civil engineering professor, textbook author and former project engineer for his family’s concrete construction business, is not afraid to climb hundreds of feet up a rickety ladder to get a bird’s-eye view of the world. “I climb tower cranes whenever I get the chance,” he says. “Too many of us researchers are detached from the subject.” Photo: Aviad Shapira Shapira is helping builders plan for tower-crane risks. The high-level view has afforded Shapira a unique perspective. The teacher at The Technion-Israel Institute of Tech- nology, Haifa, says many crane accidents can be attributed to what he calls a
A vehicle invasion is coming from Turkey that may take the U.S. business community by storm. Starting next month, Ford Motor Co. will be importing and selling its Transit Connect small van in the U.S. and Canada. The Turkish van’s flexible design allows it to be configured for a variety of businesses, and it is aimed at those in urban areas that need maneuverability in tight spaces. On May 28, ENR took one for a test drive in New York City and found that it does deliver the goods promised. Slide Show Photo: William G. Krizan / ENR Small van
It looks like some exotic piece of machinery for exo-planetary exploration, but in reality it is a futuristic concept cooked up by Volvo Construction Equipment of what an automated road paver in the third decade of this century might look like. Photo: Volvo Constructions Asphalt mix is delivered in insulated pods that are prepositioned ahead. Related Links: Monster Machines Doing Heavy Duty in California General Motors Tests Diesel-Like Powerplant To Meet Future Fuel Economy, Carbon Cuts The Swedish construction equipment builder unveiled a model of its “Fenix” asphalt paver in late April at the Intermat equipment show in Paris. Volvo
Exactly one day after President Obama announced a new plan to clean up gas-guzzlers and carbon emissions in the transportation sector, General Motors on May 20 said it is working to combine the advantages of gasoline and clean-diesel technology to meet those goals. Photo: General Motors Gas engine is 15% more effiicent. Related Links: Monster Machines Doing Heavy Duty in California Volvo's Fenix Asphalt Paver Concept Is a Vision Of Automated Processes and Sustainability Tested so far on midsize cars and in the lab, GM says that homogeneous-charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines produce 15% greater fuel economy and equally less
Construction pros are no strangers to heavy equipment, but two new machines working on the eastern span of the $5.5-billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge make most ordinary tools look like children’s toys. Slide Show Photo: American Bridge/Fluor Enterprises Inc. Joint Venture The muscular Left Coast Lifter can now begn to erect steel on the New Bay Bridge. Related Links: Volvo's Fenix Asphalt Paver Concept Is a Vision Of Automated Processes and Sustainability General Motors Tests Diesel-Like Powerplant To Meet Future Fuel Economy, Carbon Cuts Mike Flowers, project director for American Bridge/Fluor Enterprises Inc. joint venture, says he knew very early
Inside a darkened classroom in Mokena, Ill., a student lowers a face shield and braces a MIG torch above a small podium. The class hears the sounds of electric arcs hissing, while they size up the incoming weld as part of a contest to see who has the best “golden arm.” Photo: Tudor Van Hampton / ENR A pipefitter apprentice at Local 597 performs MIG welding in the virtual world. In a few seconds, the exercise is over, yet no sparks, heat or fumes—no real welding—actually happened here. It was all performed in a simulated world, a Guitar Hero for
RSS
