MOBA PAVE-IR Scan & BPO Asphalt - Road Construction in Germany

09.06.2015 - Kitzingen. Germany, Autobahn 7 between Würzburg and Kitzingen. Roadway renewal on one of the most important north south connections in Germany. A job for professionals. Here, two partners demonstrate their first joint pilot project for the road construction industry: MOBA – Mobile Automation and Volz Consulting, supplier of a software system for construction process optimization. They focus on using the most modern technologies.

Stefan Volz: “The critical points in asphalt road construction, are uncoordinated processes. With the Just-In-Time principle it is possible to connect the paving work with the logistics and the asphalt production on a real-time basis.”

Already, at 7 o'clock in the morning, the first articulated trucks arrive with their asphalt material. Laying the bonding layer is the first task. Later, the overcoat layer is laid. Road construction work depend on two factors: high quality material and ideal temperature. For quality control, MOBA’s PAVE-IR Scan comes into play.

Marcus Watermann: “We arranged the core components of PAVE-IR to measure the surface temperature with a scanner along the whole pave width during the installation.”

A PAVE-IR Scan lets us analyze the process. The site manager and foreman see, at a glance, where the problems are and where they can optimize the process? This information is very useful during the ongoing construction work. It can be used to make quality improvements in real-time. However, the biggest potential of the system is the medium and long term use of the information.

Marcus Watermann: “The idea behind this construction site project is that with systems like "PAVE-IR" or "BPO-Asphalt" we now have tools that allow us to handle things that we could not handle before.”

“Temperature has always been an important factor for us. But up to now, the temperature has only been measured manually. For us, it is most important that the scanner visualizes a picture of the whole surface. The system has been very well accepted among our employees. They can see directly what is in the inflow and what is in the outflow. These are areas where we couldn’t get such a good insight before. So “BPO-Asphalt” is really helpful.”

Successful road construction depends on an integrated process chain. The aim is a long-lasting surface. For this, all steps must be coordinated with each other. For a better solution, MOBA cooperates with a new partner: Volz Consulting, developer of a software system for construction process optimization.

“With MOBA, we want to build up a strategic partnership. In the future, we will link up "BPO-Asphalt" with "PAVE-IR".

With “BPO-Asphalt” construction, building sites can be planned with the Just-in-Time principle. The software links asphalt mixing plants with truck-transport and the construction site. Thus, processes can be planned, routed on a real-time basis and also be analyzed afterwards, as well as documented. Now, however, MOBA and Volz Consulting go one step further.

Stefan Volz “After we integrated "PAVE-IR" and the thermo-bodies in "BPO-Asphalt” with MOBA, our next step will be to integrate exhaustive compaction control. The users get an integrated documentation tool which sums up all processes of the mixing arrangement from transport to installation.”

The result of cooperation between MOBA and Volz Consulting has already proved itself on the construction site. In future, developments will continue even further. Soon, the system will be able to collect and control even more data and machines. This has huge potential for all parties involved.