Editor’s Note: For 2024, AsphaltPro Magazine allows experts in the industry to share how to expand your operations to the next phase of business. Are you ready to take the plunge and increase your recycling efforts? Let’s turn to some professionals who have equipment, services, software and tenure to help you expand to mix design, production, hauling and more. This month’s installment from Sripath Technologies takes a look at methods of increased recycle content with mini case studies of the company’s additive products.

A primer on how high-RAP mixes are made and used

When an asphalt pavement reaches the end of its life, it is milled off the roadway and crushed to create reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). Over time, mountains of RAP can accumulate—depending on the depth milled, just one lane-mile of pavement can generate several hundred tons.

For decades, RAP was considered a burden—waste material to be used on shoulders or stored in ever-growing piles. It was not until the 1970s that our industry began to realize its incredible potential for reuse and recycling. The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) reported in 2021, over 95% of RAP generated in the United States is reincorporated into new pavement. And it’s not hard to see why. The use of RAP presents a trifecta victory for business through cost-savings, sustainability and road performance.

Contractors champion recycling as it helps them save on raw materials like virgin asphalt binder, typically the greatest expense in mix production. Reuse also benefits the environment, as it keeps old pavement out of landfills and reduces demand for carbon-intensive virgin materials, thereby cutting greenhouse emissions. And many transportation agencies now recognize that high-RAP roadways made with proper ingredients and mix design can yield equivalent performance to virgin-material pavement. Given its growing popularity, understanding the fundamental steps involved in RAP recycling is important for anyone in the asphalt industry.

Best Practices for Mobile Asphalt Crushing

Sourcing and Preparing RAP

The first step is to source and prepare your RAP, which can come from anywhere there was once asphalt pavement, including waste material from production facilities. Many transportation authorities are indifferent to RAP sourcing, as long as final aggregate and mix characteristics meet their specifications. However, some agencies are more restrictive, allowing only RAP that can be traced back to a specific project.

RAP particle size varies significantly, ranging from fine to coarse particles. Variability must be addressed, as an improper ratio of small to large particles can lead to poor gradation. Too many large pieces will not pack together properly, leaving excessive space between particles. Too many small particles will make the mix overly dense and therefore susceptible to cracking. Thus, it is important to classify RAP into different size fractions, allowing contractors to produce high-performance mixes that incorporate RAP from many sources.

The key stages of RAP preparation are:

• Screening: Mechanically screen RAP to separate large pieces and remove extraneous materials
• Crushing: Break apart large pieces with a crushing machine. Avoid pulverizing particles that are already small, as it will create dust.
• Fractionation: Separate and sort the crushed RAP into multiple size groups. Although this practice is not done in all asphalt recycling operations, it allows for a more flexible mix design and the use of higher RAP content.
• Homogenization: Once sorted into piles of different sizes, turn over each pile several times to make a more homogenous feed stock for plant operations.

Step Up Hot-Mix Production with Your Facility’s Own Crushing Plant

Sampling and Mix Design

To design a high-performance mix, it’s important to properly characterize the RAP aggregate and binder. Start by sampling the crushed and homogenized RAP stock, making sure to retrieve several representative samples. Extract aggregates from the RAP sample using an ignition oven or solvent. Determine the size analysis of these aggregates. It is important to have an optimal balance of fine and coarse particles. Next, extract and determine characteristics of the aged binder, as its properties will affect the final mix.

Crucial for the success of high-RAP mixes is a carefully engineered and balanced mix design. Fortunately, designing a high-RAP mix is similar in many ways to designing a traditional mix, aside from a few key steps. First, you must account for binder content in the RAP when determining how much virgin bitumen to add. Without factoring this into your calculations, the mix will likely be too rich in binder content. Second, most mixes with more than 25% RAP content, will require an asphalt rejuvenator or recycling agent. Many recycling agents are available, and choosing the right one will make a substantial impact on the pavement’s performance and lifespan. It will also affect your manufacturing and paving efficiency.

An ideal rejuvenator should:

• Soften the aged RAP binder,
• Restore the functional properties of the aged binder,
• Deliver excellent roadway performance and durability,
• Help improve compactability of stiff RAP mixes.

Designing a high-RAP mix requires a careful balance between cracking and rutting resistance. Several methods exist to evaluate cracking, including the Disc-shaped Compact Tension (DCT) test, Semi-Circular Bend Test (SCB), IDEAL-CT, Texas Overlay, and I-FIT test. Some commonly used methods to evaluate rutting performance include: Hamburg Wheel Tracking (HWT) and Asphalt Pavement Analyzer (APA) rutting test. Contractors nationwide have used Balanced Mix Design protocols to reap the benefits of recycling while maintaining excellent road performance.

VDOT Demo Rejuvenates High-RAP

RAP In Action

One recent case study comes from the Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC), which organized a high-RAP demonstration trial in Ashburn, Virginia. Around 6,000 kg of PG64-22 binder dosed with ReLIXER®, an asphalt rejuvenator manufactured and marketed by Sripath®, was mixed with 40% RAP and fresh aggregates to produce about 2,000 metric tons of high-RAP mix. This mix was used to pave a 40 mm wearing course on an approximately 8 lane-km stretch of roadway in Ashburn, Virginia. As shown below, binder extracted from the high-RAP mix showed characteristics comparable to binder from the low-RAP control.

Another success story comes from the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority, which manages a 475 km network of highways across Illinois, subject to high traffic and extreme weather conditions. Close to 5,000 tons of a 40% ABR mix was produced to lay down 8 lane-km of wear, base, and shoulder courses on US Interstates I-88 and I-294. ReLIXER® additions at 2.0% and 3.6% of total bitumen content were evaluated. For comparison, a “softer” bitumen mix was also evaluated. As shown in the table, the properly designed and rejuvenated high-RAP mixes surpassed all local specifications for low temperature cracking, rutting and air voids.

Recycled asphalt has made a long journey from being a waste material to becoming a cornerstone of our national sustainable infrastructure, demonstrating our industry’s dedication to environmental sustainability. The journey has only just begun. With an increase in recycling and reuse of reclaimed asphalt, the industry is poised to take advantage of the trifecta that RAP offers; a positive impact on sustainability, improved roadway performance and durability, and the benefits of cost-savings.

Matt Johnson is the president and CEO of Russell Standard, a company that provides asphalt materials, road preservation treatments and industrial asphalt solutions for the Mid-Atlantic region. Since taking the helm in 2004, he’s made it his mission to strengthen the company’s well-earned reputation for quality, partnership and innovation. His work these days focuses on getting the company back to its roots with innovation in the asphalt and paving materials departments, gearing these materials toward preventive maintenance.

“Many contractors in [Delaware] were driving to Maryland, Pennsylvania or New Jersey to pick up material. [Russell Standard’s lease of operations] will dramatically cut down on transportation costs by having a location in the state they can get the same material from. And the DOT was already having materials delivered from there. So, it’s really the local contractors that will benefit.”—Matt Johnson

See, Johnson is no outsider. He’s spent most of his life around or working in the business. Now, as CEO, he’s using his talents to refocus the company. This is a story about family, business, and the desire to establish one’s legacy after three generations of success in the paving industry.

Matt Johnson is the fourth generation of the family to lead Russell Standard. Back when he was just five years old, he was riding along with his father, Jim, to attend to business. As a teen, he helped maintain the grounds around the plants and worked on the paving crews into college. “Growing up as a kid, it was always cool to be around the equipment and that continued until I was in college,” he said. “Once I was old enough to be in the field, I started working on the road crews. It was so cool to finally work with all the equipment, see the material go down, and know I was helping to build something lasting.”

Lessons in Life, and Business 

Founded in 1929, Russell Standard has remained a family-owned business dedicated to quality and advancing the asphalt materials space. Building on the company’s nearly 100-year legacy, Johnson represents the 4th generation of his family to lead the business.

His great-grandfather, Niles Russell, established the Tri-State Culvert Company in Pittsburgh just before the Great Depression. The company sold drainage products, trucks and construction equipment. Later, Russell would expand into coal trucking, a retail coal business and a successful topsoil supply operation.

During World War II years, Russell Standard became a major supplier of liquid asphalt for the road construction industry. Over the years, the company would expand its footprint with hot-mix asphalt (HMA) plants throughout Pennsylvania. Russell also directed the expansion into the company’s first emulsion plant in Mercer, Pennsylvania, in the early 1970s.

This is when Russell’s son, Ed Russell, continued a steady focus on paving and materials.

Next, Matt Johnson’s father, Jim Johnson, expanded the paving operations while adding a second emulsion plant in Chambersburg and a facility in Akron, Ohio. He also put his stamp on things by repositioning the firm as the go-to contractor for paving.

Matt Johnson has been in the business since he began riding along with his dad when he was five years old. As a teen, he helped maintain the grounds around the plants. Late in high school and into college, he worked on the paving crews. Russell Standard is in his blood.

The aerial view of the Seaford facility in Delaware showcases best practices for piping jacketing (among other best practices) for environmental sustainability.

“Growing up as a kid, it was always cool to be around the equipment and that continued until I was in college,” he said. “Once I was old enough to be in the field, I started working on the road crews. It was so cool to finally work with all the equipment, see the material go down, and know I was helping to build something lasting.”

His experience has helped him to never lose sight of where he’s come from. The hours in the truck and office working with his father have made a strong impact on who he is now.

“I learned a lot about family philosophies, the history of why things were done, and why we still do things,” he said. He spoke with pride of how the family business has built a reputation for treating its people well and being fair with customers. “We’ve always done both of those for generations. The people part of the business has always been important because, without those people, we really don’t have a business.”

Lehman-Roberts Company Paves our Future

In addition to the big-picture learning, there was plenty to learn about managing the day-to-day.

“It really gave me a good understanding of how we do things,” Johnson said. “What’s important on jobs, being well organized, and having everything you need on hand when you need it so crews aren’t waiting. The equipment is there when they need it. So we’re efficient moving from job to job. And what we do is so seasonal, you have to be ready to go to minimize any disruption.”

But one lesson stands out the most:

“It’s a difficult, demanding job,” he said. “That’s one thing I think about all the time. I think that was a huge benefit of growing up in the field was getting an appreciation for how hard the job is.”

Matt Johnson is the fourth generation of the family to lead Russell Standard. Back when he was just five years old, he was riding along with his father, Jim, to attend to business. As a teen, he helped maintain the grounds around the plants and worked on the paving crews into college. “Growing up as a kid, it was always cool to be around the equipment and that continued until I was in college,” he said. “Once I was old enough to be in the field, I started working on the road crews. It was so cool to finally work with all the equipment, see the material go down, and know I was helping to build something lasting.”

A Renewed Emphasis on Materials

Since taking over the top post in 2004, Johnson added plants in Greensboro and Black Mountain, North Carolina; Baltimore, Maryland; and Reading, Pennsylvania. Today, his work is focused on getting the company back to its roots as a leading innovator of asphalt and paving materials geared toward preventive maintenance.

“I really like businesses where you bring in raw materials and turn them into something else,” Johnson said. “We’ve always had a manufacturing focus—we made materials and placed them. And that’s where I focus the business now—we’re mostly a materials business although we still do some contracting on projects that call for our own products.”

Safety Culture in the Workplace: How Generational Differences Present Challenges, Opportunities

The company’s commitment to innovation is evident in its founding of The Lab in 2017 to support both the material science and contracting sides of the business. Then in early 2020, Russell Standard made a significant investment in a new, state-of-the-art facility. It’s a nationally certified, AASHTO-accredited laboratory and is equipped and accredited for testing involving performance graded (PG) asphalt binders, asphalt emulsions and asphalt cutbacks. This is where the company focuses on research and development and custom blended solutions for customers.

“Our world-class lab is constantly working to ensure our material is meeting or beating specifications and operates with a near-obsessive drive to solve our customers’ biggest problems and innovate new solutions along the way.”

Johnson continued: “The Lab is a strength of ours. We’re always trying to innovate new or enhance existing products that focus on pavement preservation. And we’re extremely excited about two we’re getting ready to roll out to the market.”

• The first is a high-performance solution focused on the top-down preservation of longitudinal joints.
• Soon after, the company will be introducing an improved micro surfacing product to resist cracking.

Each is designed to give state and local agencies cost-effective and sustainably focused options for extending the life of their road networks. And will reinforce Russell Standard’s unique ability to manufacture material, lay material and test its performance to inform future innovations.

Matt Johnson said Russell Standard team members are always trying to innovate new or enhance existing products that focus on pavement preservation. “And we’re extremely excited about two we’re getting ready to roll out to the market.” The first is a high-performance solution focused on the top-down preservation of long joints; the second is a micro surfacing product focused on resisting cracking.

Expanding Opportunity

While managing production and innovation, Johnson also keeps an eye out for opportunities to expand. He recently found one in Delaware.

ICP Group’s facility in Seaford was the only asphalt and emulsion terminal in the state. After hearing the facility was for sale, Johnson and his team jumped in to negotiate its purchase. After lengthy discussions, ICP ultimately sold it back to its previous owner.

Recognizing its value to the region, Johnson’s team stayed on the offensive. In April, the company finalized a lease to take over operations at the facility from the previous owner. This move will bring Russell Standard’s proven dedication and laser-focused commitment to the Delaware Department of Transportation, counties and contractors throughout the state.

“It was a good growth opportunity to add an entire state that we had been servicing from our plant in Baltimore,” Johnson said. “This really allowed us to open up the entire state instead of just the fringes.”

Delaware now becomes the fifth state served by Russell Standard.

Matt Johnson is the fourth generation of the family to lead Russell Standard. Back when he was just five years old, he was riding along with his father, Jim, to attend to business. As a teen, he helped maintain the grounds around the plants and worked on the paving crews into college. “Growing up as a kid, it was always cool to be around the equipment and that continued until I was in college,” he said. “Once I was old enough to be in the field, I started working on the road crews. It was so cool to finally work with all the equipment, see the material go down, and know I was helping to build something lasting.”

“We’re focused on growing the materials business where we can,” Johnson said. “So anything adjacent to us is attractive. Since Delaware is an adjacent state, it’s an easy place to tuck into what we’re already doing. Any time we can find something like that, we’d certainly be interested in it.

Until this point, most contractors in Delaware had been sourcing material out of state. This move establishes a local option for materials and emulsions that will greatly save on transportation costs for everyone involved.

“Many contractors in that state were driving to Maryland, Pennsylvania or New Jersey to pick up material,” Johnson said. “It will dramatically cut down on transportation costs by having a location in the state they can get the same material from. And the DOT was already having materials delivered from there. So, it’s really the local contractors that will benefit.”

The aerial view of the Seaford facility in Delaware showcases best practices for piping jacketing (among other best practices) for environmental sustainability.

Smart Moves with Lasting Benefits

“Our crews know what it takes to perform successful, long-lasting treatments to strengthen communities and make them proud,” Johnson said. “From start to finish, our work and the way we do business all comes back to our mission—to be the most respected partner in the region by serving our team and customers like family.”

And with state and local governments focused on expenditures, Johnson knows they also keep a close eye on sustainability. By adding the plant in Seaford to the mix, “This will cut down on the freight,” Johnson said. “And it will cut down on the number of trucks on the road. There’s a lot of benefit overall.”

Luck Companies Celebrates 100 Years

When you couple this locally sourced material with the material innovations from The Lab, Russell Standard is making it easier for agencies to cut expenses while making their roads last longer and meeting sustainability initiatives. And that’s good for everyone.

“Good roads are safe roads,” Johnson said. “And the better that a state or local government maintains its infrastructure, it’s better for everybody. It’s safer for the public. It helps facilitate commerce. Everything gets into a truck at some point. Whether it comes in by ship or by rail, it ends up in a truck to get delivered. So, the better the roads are, the better the economy is.”

And that’s a fitting way to leave your mark.

During World War II years, Russell Standard became a major supplier of liquid asphalt for the road construction industry. Over the years, the company would expand its footprint with hot-mix asphalt (HMA) plants throughout Pennsylvania. Russell also directed the expansion into the company’s first emulsion plant in Mercer, Pennsylvania, in the early 1970s.

This is when Russell’s son, Ed Russell, continued a steady focus on paving and materials.

Next, Matt Johnson’s father, Jim Johnson, expanded the paving operations while adding a second emulsion plant in Chambersburg and a facility in Akron, Ohio. He also put his stamp on things by repositioning the firm as the go-to contractor for paving.

Matt Johnson has been in the business since he began riding along with his dad when he was five years old. As a teen, he helped maintain the grounds around the plants. Late in high school and into college, he worked on the paving crews. Russell Standard is in his blood.

The aerial view of the Seaford facility in Delaware showcases best practices for piping jacketing (among other best practices) for environmental sustainability.

“Growing up as a kid, it was always cool to be around the equipment and that continued until I was in college,” he said. “Once I was old enough to be in the field, I started working on the road crews. It was so cool to finally work with all the equipment, see the material go down, and know I was helping to build something lasting.”

His experience has helped him to never lose sight of where he’s come from. The hours in the truck and office working with his father have made a strong impact on who he is now.

“I learned a lot about family philosophies, the history of why things were done, and why we still do things,” he said. He spoke with pride of how the family business has built a reputation for treating its people well and being fair with customers. “We’ve always done both of those for generations. The people part of the business has always been important because, without those people, we really don’t have a business.”

Lehman-Roberts Company Paves our Future

In addition to the big-picture learning, there was plenty to learn about managing the day-to-day.

“It really gave me a good understanding of how we do things,” Johnson said. “What’s important on jobs, being well organized, and having everything you need on hand when you need it so crews aren’t waiting. The equipment is there when they need it. So we’re efficient moving from job to job. And what we do is so seasonal, you have to be ready to go to minimize any disruption.”

But one lesson stands out the most:

“It’s a difficult, demanding job,” he said. “That’s one thing I think about all the time. I think that was a huge benefit of growing up in the field was getting an appreciation for how hard the job is.”

Matt Johnson is the fourth generation of the family to lead Russell Standard. Back when he was just five years old, he was riding along with his father, Jim, to attend to business. As a teen, he helped maintain the grounds around the plants and worked on the paving crews into college. “Growing up as a kid, it was always cool to be around the equipment and that continued until I was in college,” he said. “Once I was old enough to be in the field, I started working on the road crews. It was so cool to finally work with all the equipment, see the material go down, and know I was helping to build something lasting.”

A Renewed Emphasis on Materials

Since taking over the top post in 2004, Johnson added plants in Greensboro and Black Mountain, North Carolina; Baltimore, Maryland; and Reading, Pennsylvania. Today, his work is focused on getting the company back to its roots as a leading innovator of asphalt and paving materials geared toward preventive maintenance.

“I really like businesses where you bring in raw materials and turn them into something else,” Johnson said. “We’ve always had a manufacturing focus—we made materials and placed them. And that’s where I focus the business now—we’re mostly a materials business although we still do some contracting on projects that call for our own products.”

Safety Culture in the Workplace: How Generational Differences Present Challenges, Opportunities

The company’s commitment to innovation is evident in its founding of The Lab in 2017 to support both the material science and contracting sides of the business. Then in early 2020, Russell Standard made a significant investment in a new, state-of-the-art facility. It’s a nationally certified, AASHTO-accredited laboratory and is equipped and accredited for testing involving performance graded (PG) asphalt binders, asphalt emulsions and asphalt cutbacks. This is where the company focuses on research and development and custom blended solutions for customers.

“Our world-class lab is constantly working to ensure our material is meeting or beating specifications and operates with a near-obsessive drive to solve our customers’ biggest problems and innovate new solutions along the way.”

Johnson continued: “The Lab is a strength of ours. We’re always trying to innovate new or enhance existing products that focus on pavement preservation. And we’re extremely excited about two we’re getting ready to roll out to the market.”

• The first is a high-performance solution focused on the top-down preservation of longitudinal joints.
• Soon after, the company will be introducing an improved micro surfacing product to resist cracking.

Each is designed to give state and local agencies cost-effective and sustainably focused options for extending the life of their road networks. And will reinforce Russell Standard’s unique ability to manufacture material, lay material and test its performance to inform future innovations.

Matt Johnson said Russell Standard team members are always trying to innovate new or enhance existing products that focus on pavement preservation. “And we’re extremely excited about two we’re getting ready to roll out to the market.” The first is a high-performance solution focused on the top-down preservation of long joints; the second is a micro surfacing product focused on resisting cracking.

Expanding Opportunity

While managing production and innovation, Johnson also keeps an eye out for opportunities to expand. He recently found one in Delaware.

ICP Group’s facility in Seaford was the only asphalt and emulsion terminal in the state. After hearing the facility was for sale, Johnson and his team jumped in to negotiate its purchase. After lengthy discussions, ICP ultimately sold it back to its previous owner.

Recognizing its value to the region, Johnson’s team stayed on the offensive. In April, the company finalized a lease to take over operations at the facility from the previous owner. This move will bring Russell Standard’s proven dedication and laser-focused commitment to the Delaware Department of Transportation, counties and contractors throughout the state.

“It was a good growth opportunity to add an entire state that we had been servicing from our plant in Baltimore,” Johnson said. “This really allowed us to open up the entire state instead of just the fringes.”

Delaware now becomes the fifth state served by Russell Standard.

Matt Johnson is the fourth generation of the family to lead Russell Standard. Back when he was just five years old, he was riding along with his father, Jim, to attend to business. As a teen, he helped maintain the grounds around the plants and worked on the paving crews into college. “Growing up as a kid, it was always cool to be around the equipment and that continued until I was in college,” he said. “Once I was old enough to be in the field, I started working on the road crews. It was so cool to finally work with all the equipment, see the material go down, and know I was helping to build something lasting.”

“We’re focused on growing the materials business where we can,” Johnson said. “So anything adjacent to us is attractive. Since Delaware is an adjacent state, it’s an easy place to tuck into what we’re already doing. Any time we can find something like that, we’d certainly be interested in it.

Until this point, most contractors in Delaware had been sourcing material out of state. This move establishes a local option for materials and emulsions that will greatly save on transportation costs for everyone involved.

“Many contractors in that state were driving to Maryland, Pennsylvania or New Jersey to pick up material,” Johnson said. “It will dramatically cut down on transportation costs by having a location in the state they can get the same material from. And the DOT was already having materials delivered from there. So, it’s really the local contractors that will benefit.”

The aerial view of the Seaford facility in Delaware showcases best practices for piping jacketing (among other best practices) for environmental sustainability.

Smart Moves with Lasting Benefits

“Our crews know what it takes to perform successful, long-lasting treatments to strengthen communities and make them proud,” Johnson said. “From start to finish, our work and the way we do business all comes back to our mission—to be the most respected partner in the region by serving our team and customers like family.”

And with state and local governments focused on expenditures, Johnson knows they also keep a close eye on sustainability. By adding the plant in Seaford to the mix, “This will cut down on the freight,” Johnson said. “And it will cut down on the number of trucks on the road. There’s a lot of benefit overall.”

Luck Companies Celebrates 100 Years

When you couple this locally sourced material with the material innovations from The Lab, Russell Standard is making it easier for agencies to cut expenses while making their roads last longer and meeting sustainability initiatives. And that’s good for everyone.

“Good roads are safe roads,” Johnson said. “And the better that a state or local government maintains its infrastructure, it’s better for everybody. It’s safer for the public. It helps facilitate commerce. Everything gets into a truck at some point. Whether it comes in by ship or by rail, it ends up in a truck to get delivered. So, the better the roads are, the better the economy is.”

And that’s a fitting way to leave your mark.

Mobile asphalt crushing offers a range of benefits, from enhanced efficiency and flexibility to environmental benefits and lower costs. However, to harness these benefits, a crushing operation must operate efficiently or they risk wasting money on operating costs and limiting their production.

That’s why World of Asphalt 2024 brought together a panel of crushing contractors from around the country to discuss optimal crushing and screening setups, preventive maintenance processes, and common asphalt crushing problems.

Maintain it Before it Breaks

How to Set Up Your Mobile Crushing Site

When it comes to determining the setup of your mobile crushing operation, you must first know what you will be crushing, and what size you’ll be crushing it into. And, it largely comes down to reducing wear while maximizing production. “Your wear cost is very important,” said Ron Garofalo, president of DAG On-Site Crushing. “It’s not always about your production rate, it’s about your wear cost.”

For example, Allen Kurre of Kurre Contracting said, there’s no reason to run asphalt millings through the crusher. “It just causes unnecessary wear.” Eric Bruno, president at Midwest Crushing & Recycling, estimates 70% of asphalt millings won’t need to be crushed, so when he’s handling millings, he adds a scalper to screen out that material ahead of the crusher. “Scalpers are easy to set up, easy to move, and that 70% of material pays for the scalper real quick if you’re looking at large quantities.”

Garofalo provided another example that increases production and reduces wear by removing the screen deck and crushing 2-inch minus material when applicable. “It’s a very usable material for fill, because when I say 2-inch minus off an impact, there will be a lot of 1 ½ inch in there, a lot of ¾ inch in there,” he said.

Quick Tip: “With an impact crusher, you’re going to get very usable, symmetrical, compactable material,” Garofalo said. “With the jaw crusher, you might set it for 3 inches, but any material that can fit through the slot at the bottom is ‘done’ even if it’s 3×5 inches, so you’ll still need a secondary crusher when you’re running through a jaw.”

He uses a jaw crusher when crushing rock or as a primary crusher on large jobs. For example, they recently crushed 20,000 tons of concrete with rebar. “We ran it through the jaw, got the steel out with the magnet, and used our RM90 like a George Foreman grill,” Garofalo said. “We set it and forget it, because it’s getting fed 6-inch material all day from the jaw in front of it.”

Garofalo said using such a setup increased their production from 700 tons per day to 1,400 tons per day.

DJ Cavaliere of Cavaliere Industries has his own solution to maximize production. “We only make ¾-inch minus,” he said. “For years, we gave our customers whatever they wanted. Now, we’ve trained them that ¾-inch is all we do, so they bid their jobs knowing this. We aren’t going to change the screen deck or have a separate pile just because you want 200 tons of 1 ¼-inch.”

Cavaliere said this decision has been key to their business. “We do 25,000-30,000 tons on a yard the size of a postage stamp, where our waste bins hold 800 yards of material,” he said. “We probably have 500 yards of material on each end—finished and unfinished. What comes in goes right out.”

Bruno also makes only one product, ⅝-inch. They’ve configured a way to do so with a one-person operation. “I use my top screen as my finish deck and I don’t mess with my mids belt,” he said. “It looks funky, but it works.”

The operator feeds the scalper to size it, the finished product goes straight into the stacker and scale while the chunks go to the crusher. “I’ve got no material hitting the ground, it’s all hitting my stacker and my scale, so it’s making me money as fast as it can be processed,” Bruno said. “I’ve trained my customers that if that material hits the ground, it’s theirs to move. If I have to get a wheel loader out there, that’s going to increase their price.”

Garofalo has a different approach. “We’re a custom crushing company, so we crush what the people want,” he said. “We change our screens and we get paid to change our screens. It’s not for free. You have to get paid for what you do.”

Quick Tip: Garofalo told the audience to keep fines from getting into the crusher. “There’s less wear on an impact crusher crushing concrete all day than crushing fines.” He recommends taking care to minimize dirt and other fines when loading the crusher. For example, when striping slabs of concrete, the operator should avoid taking any dirt with the slab.

Peckham Quarries the Surface, Crushes Underground

Start with Good Material

One lesson every crushing operation must learn is ‘Garbage in, garbage out,’ Garofalo said. “We’re running impact crushers, not incinerators,” Bruno added.

He stresses the importance of looking at the piles your customers are asking you to crush. “If it’s going to be dirty, I’m going to have to budget this much more per hour because I’m going to have to clean, we need separation time, etc.” Bruno said. “We aren’t choosing what people bring us, but we charge accordingly based on what they bring us,” Cavaliere added.

If you can’t view the piles, Bruno recommends contractually protecting yourself. “It’s important in your contract that you say, ‘You’re liable for that, because I can’t show up to a job five hours away from my house and be expected to know what’s in that pile.’”

Quick Tip: Although most panelists reject petromat outright, Bruno has found a way to process it efficiently. “My crusher has a cross belt on the bottom so you can run your trash in the opposite direction, so I can spit the petromat back on the ground without getting out of my excavator,” he said. “We have a lot of petromat in southern Illinois, and the ability to handle petromat sets me apart in my area.”

There are some materials Bruno simply won’t touch. For example, if they spilt liquid AC at the asphalt plant and shove it up into the millings or the plant waste. “If I roll up and find that, I’m not touching that pile because once it gets in my crusher, it’s going to build up, stop up, and I’m going to spend hours chiseling,” he said. “I’m not there to clean my crusher, I’m there to crush material.”

Part of this approach requires empowering operators to make decisions about what goes in the crusher. “I tell my guys if they see something that shouldn’t be put in the crusher, shove it to the side. That’s the customer’s to deal with.”

Quick Tip: One material source that can be particularly problematic is demolition, Garofalo said. “I’m very picky when I go to a demolition job about how they demolish the building and what they’ve left in the building,” he said. Once, he walked away from a hotel demolition where the pile had telephones in it. “Years ago, buildings were knocked down and everything went into the landfill. You don’t demolish a building anymore, you dismantle it. Everything has a place today.”

Five Recycle Pain Points You Can Resolve

How to Choose the Best Blow Bars

“Selecting the right blow bars will depend on what you’re crushing and how you’re crushing it,” Garofalo said. The goal, of course, is to get optimal wear out of each set of blow bars regardless of the material from which they’re made.

Kurre prefers high chrome hammers for crushing asphalt, estimating they get 15,000-18,000 tons out of each set. Cavaliere also prefers high chrome hammers for crushing asphalt, adding that they have high wear resistance but can be brittle. “If you get something like a sledgehammer head that ends up going through the crusher, it will crack that hammer,” he said.

Since his company has moved away from supplying multiple types of material, they primarily use hammers with a ceramic inlay. “We get the best wear and minimal breakage with those,” he said, adding that they get roughly 250 hours out of each set.

Quick Tip: With a four blow bar system with two longs and two shorts, the operator is usually only changing two blow bars at a time. “Your longs become your shorts,” Garofalo said.

Bruno also prefers ceramic hammers. “They help take the heat off that steel and it increases our wear life,” he said, estimating they can get 20,000-25,000 tons per set in Illinois, where the rock is softer, but that the hard red rock they crush in Arkansas cuts that estimate in half.

Garofalo recommends high chrome hammers for crushing asphalt, but ceramic inlay hammers for concrete. Although his company crushes both materials, Garofalo said they don’t usually switch hammers if they are switching between asphalt and concrete regularly because of the time required—especially if they’ve been crushing asphalt due to potential AC buildup.

“If you have the choice and you’re doing both products, always run concrete through the machine a little bit before you’re going to change your blow bars because it loosens everything up,” Garofalo said. “That’s just one of those little things we just do because it saves half an hour or so.”

Ultimately, he said, it comes down to time and experience. “You have to watch, keep records, count hours, and you’ll learn for yourself what your optimum wear is out of what type of blow bar.”

Quick Tip: Pretty much all the panelists prefer square mesh screens and have minimal trouble with sticking. “Moisture kills everything in the material processing industry,” Bruno said, adding that if the material is wet, it’s going to stick. “If it sticks, we just go up there and tap the screen with a hammer and we’re good to go.”

Crush for Cubical Aggregate

How to Keep Components Clean

One challenge when crushing asphalt in particular is that some of the fines will become airborne. When they hit the radiator or any other hot component, the AC will reliquify and stick to that component.

To prevent this from happening, Kurre recommends paying attention to the way the wind is blowing to minimize dust circulating to these critical components. Cavaliere recommends doing all you can to keep the dust down. “Our philosophy is to add more water to drop those dust particles to the ground,” he said. They also try to mix plant waste, which can be warm, with older millings to let it cool.

Daily maintenance is also key. Garofalo has a service truck out with every crew every day to meet the crew’s maintenance needs.

“We find keeping our [radiator] blown out every day and paying attention to the way the wind blows is usually enough,” Bruno said. “When we do have some build up, I found that spraying the radiator with a citrus spray and pressure washing it with hot water will break that stuff down and melt it right off.”

For Kurre, radiator buildup has been a significant problem. In the past, they’ve had an extra radiator on site so they can swap them out when the buildup gets too bad. “We’d have one in the machine and the other in a tub of citrus,” he said. Then, they began using miner’s moss around the outside of the machine to protect internal components. “That works really well for us. We can take it off, clean it, reuse it, throw it away when it gets too bad.”

Quick Tip: Cavaliere recommends on cold nights putting antifreeze on the inside of your belts to prevent them from freezing overnight. Garofalo added that you should always run your belts to fully clear out your machine, especially in cold weather. “If you have debris left in there and there’s a rainstorm that night and it gets cold…you’re done,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do until it gets a little warmer. Or else you’ll be tarping it and heating it with space heaters and you won’t start working until 9 a.m.”

Four Steps for Cleaning Disc Springs

How to Load the Crusher

“Crushing is the easy part, as long as the material has been prepared correctly,” Garofalo said. When it comes to crushing, slow and steady wins the race, he added. “We sometimes get calls from customers who think we aren’t loading the crusher fast enough, but I tell them as long as material is coming out of the final belt, there’s no sense putting anymore in the crusher because it’s not going to crush any faster.”

That’s because it is so important to check materials before loading them into the crusher. The way Garofalo handles this is by training operators to maximize the number of opportunities they have to check the material. “The first point is your ground man, and he’s looking all the time,” Garofalo said. “The second is the excavator operator is pushing that pile out [to see what’s in it] and scooping up that same pile each time.”

The third is by loading the back of the feeder for more time to see if anything undesirable is headed into the crusher so you can stop the feeder and remove it. “If you go to feed undesirable material into the crusher, you’re going to be inside the chamber getting it out,” Garofalo said.

Cavaliere’s approach is to use a 2-foot bucket all day long. “I don’t care if the operator has to make an extra cycle,” he said. “[If you’re loading too much at a time] you may not know you’ve put a rock in there that’s way too big and they’re not getting material through because they’re overfeeding it and jamming it.”

“I’d rather do 100 tons an hour all day long than 200 tons an hour for two hours,” Cavaliere said. “You’ve got to reduce that black belt time, and that starts with the prepping and feeding.”

Bruno uses a 3-foot bucket for a similar reason, adding that versatility and the ability to use a smaller bucket is why he opts for excavators instead of wheel loaders to feed the crusher. He’ll sometimes use a 60-inch bucket on his excavators if he’s crushing asphalt and using his screens, “but we’re still watching what we’re putting in.”

“You have to understand somebody’s going to throw teeth in a pile and you’re going to run it through your brand new machine and ruin $8,000 worth of hammers,” Bruno said. “You have to be cautious.”

Garofalo hit this point home with an example from a job where they were crushing 4,000 tons of asphalt millings and chunk asphalt. “You’d think there’d be no steel in it, but we came across a 988 loader tooth,” he said. Knowing if there was one there was likely to be more, that two-day job turned into a full week. “But we found every tooth! I don’t know why a mechanic would throw teeth in the asphalt pile, because he probably could have gotten a nice dollar in scrap for those, but you can’t take anything for granted when you’re loading the crusher.”

These best practices ultimately come down to the operators. “The operator is the most important part of the equation,” Garofalo said. “They have to be looking, they have to be able to hear. They can’t be operating with earbuds in so they can hear a rock caught on the belt and stop the machine.”

Kurre recommends having the same operator run the same machine every day, even in mobile operations. “You don’t want to bring your crusher to the job and have just any operator start loading it because he’s going to try to load it as fast as possible like it’s magic.”

About the Panelists

Eric Bruno is president at Midwest Crushing & Recycling. The company started crushing in 2009 and last year crushed 100,000 tons of asphalt and 120,000 tons of concrete in southern Illinois, southeast Missouri and northeast Arkansas.

DJ Cavaliere is with Cavaliere Industries, Stamford, Connecticut, which is a site contracting company started in the 1950s.

Ron Garofalo is president of DAG On-Site Crushing in New Jersey. Originally a paving company, they purchased their first crusher in 2005 to recycle their own material, but the crushing business quickly grew to serve outside customers as well.

Allen Kurre of Kurre Contracting has been crushing since 2004. They used to crush rock, but today the company focuses on concrete and asphalt, crushing around 150,000 tons per year.

Editor’s Note: For 2024, AsphaltPro Magazine allows experts in the industry to share how to expand your operations to the next phase of business. Are you ready to process your own recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) for your hot-mix asphalt (HMA) production? Let’s turn to some professionals who have equipment, services, software and tenure to help you expand to mix design, production, hauling and more. This month’s installment from Eagle Crusher takes an overarching look at the environmentally responsible task of adding recycling operations to your business.

If you don’t already have a recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) crushing plant to make your own crushed asphalt, you can take your production to the next level by adding a crusher to your operation. The benefits to your business can create a real boon for revenues and profits. Here, we outline the benefits and provide considerations to help determine if your own RAP crushing plant is right for you.

A primary consideration and a good starting point is the type of crusher that will be most beneficial to how your facility operates.

There are many benefits to adding your own RAP crushing plant to aid in the production of your hot mix. Adding a RAP crushing plant to your asphalt production facility can help:

• save on material costs by producing RAP onsite compared to having a third-party deliver RAP to your facility, paying for an outside firm to crush RAP on your own site, or utilizing only virgin material;
• improve production control and efficiency by not relying on outside vendors’ schedules;
• increase revenues by accepting asphalt tear outs and millings from others; and
• maintain control over your mix quality and mix specs with production of your own high-quality RAP based on having the right equipment for the job.

One of the benefits of having your own recycle processing operation is the ability to crush and screen material at your leisure and to your own specifications. Here a wheel loader feeds material for the E-Plant Triple Deck from Eagle Crusher.

Several factors play into the decision of whether adding your own RAP crushing plant makes sense for your business. These include:

• Market size
• Crusher location
• Crusher types and features
• Initial Investment and ROI

Market Size

Market size is important in considering whether you can realistically sell more asphalt. Are there enough commercial and residential paving companies in the area to buy the extra mix you may be able to produce? How many more contracts could you potentially be awarded by having better control and better quality of your hot-mix production? Is your market large enough that you can obtain the RAP you need to produce crushed asphalt for your own mix use? Is there enough current and future residential and commercial market growth, and therefore paving demand in the market, to help you sell more?

When setting up the RAP crusher, pay attention to the detail of skirting to mitigate dust. In these images you see the conveyor from under the UM-25 Impactor crusher. It feeds back onto the conveyor to be rescreened. All photos courtesy of Eagle Crusher

Crusher Location

You need to consider the location of your crushing plant should you decide to add a RAP crusher to your asphalt production operation. A primary consideration and a good starting point is the type of crusher that will be most beneficial to how your facility operates—such as whether your asphalt production uses stationary hot-mix plants to produce at one, on-site location or portable asphalt plants that move from site to site.

When deciding where to place the crusher in your yard, a good starting point is to consider the type of crusher that will be most beneficial to how your facility operates. Its size and configuration will help you decide where it should be located.

Other considerations are permitting and transport. Permitting rules and fees vary greatly from one locality to another and are different state-by-state, as well. Permit regulations may also differ based on whether you are opting for a stationary crusher permit or a portable crusher permit. Additionally, local environmental regulations may affect an operation’s ability to obtain a permit, depending on the specific crusher specifications for which a business is applying. Acquiring a permit can take time, so it’s important to plan ahead and start the process early.

When it comes to portable crushers leaving their first jobsite to go to another locale, crushers may be permitted for one main location, and then, depending on the state or locale, subsequent temporary permits to move the crusher to different sites may be more easily obtained or may not even be required. You will want to research all of this based on your location.

When setting up the RAP crusher, also pay attention to details like installing magnets to remove any last-minute deleterious material. In this image, you see a magnet affixed over the crusher discharge conveyor of the E-Plant. Material then falls onto the 5X16 triple-deck screen for precise sizing.

Crusher Types and Features

If you are a start-up asphalt production facility and deciding on whether your operation will use portable or stationary asphalt crushing plants, consider that portable asphalt operations are best in areas where jobs are a considerable distance apart, a market has minimal growth and small population density, and where workloads shift from one area to another due to seasonal factors.

It follows that the type of crusher you choose will match what you choose for your hot-mix production, either portable or stationary. Beyond portable and stationary crushers, choosing the perfect crusher type for RAP crushing comes down to the specific features of the available types of crushers—jaws, cones and impact crushers. Impact crushers are typically the best choice for RAP crushing to achieve the highest quality end-product and the necessary production capacity to keep high-quality hot mix flowing.

Impact crushers use a simpler design comprised of a rotor and two bearings that spin to launch the RAP against a curtain or apron. The simplicity of an impactor like the Eagle Crusher three-bar, solid-steel, sculptured rotor works to explode the RAP with the force of the blow bars and launching it into the primary curtain at the proper angle, then smashing it again with the secondary curtain liners to prepare it for its final reduction, creating a very consistent mix to be sent on to the drum as a more structurally sound cubical product.

Eagle Crusher’s RapidDeploy™

Jaw and cone crushers on the other hand utilize compression to crush, which can be advantageous when crushing hard rock from quarries. Asphalt crushing isn’t about crushing the rock, but instead about separating the asphalt bonds. When RAP is compressed, it can more easily fracture, exposing white rock and requiring more liquid asphalt to restore the full coating.

There are other issues with jaw and cone crushers, as well. Cone crushers have a significantly smaller feed material size range, meaning they can generally only be fed millings or material that has already been processed, like through a jaw crusher, requiring additional crushing equipment. Jaw crushers are limited on their final output size and cannot produce a cubical product, thus requiring further processing with another piece of equipment, like through a cone crusher.

Realizing that impact crushers are typically a producer’s best bet for crushing RAP, keep in mind that a properly sized and type of screen is critical to any RAP operation. Asphalt producers are typically making finer sizes than other types of aggregate and recycling production. For RAP, the screen is the determining factor for net production. If RAP can’t be screened, it probably can’t be used.

Eagle Crusher Company Displays UltraMax® 1600X-OC Portable Impactor Plant

So, let’s explore the features of both stationary and portable RAP crushers. Consider looking for stationary crushers like the Eagle Crusher MaxRap® system, which is designed to crush and screen RAP for product consistency, productivity and profitability, using its UltraMax® impactor.

MaxRap can integrate with any asphalt plant automation. It allows operators to switch from top to base material production from the control house, and most importantly, it produces highly uniform cubicle spec product with a minimum of white rock and a minimum of fines.

Actuated diverter chute work allows multi-feature deck selection, blending, and bypass while the calibration chute for sampling verifies that the mix-design spec requirement is correct. The side discharge conveyor from the crusher may be used for stockpiling or returned to another conveyor for re-circulating back to the plant screen for resizing, and with the system’s ability to screen only, all material can be conveyed to stockpile. The under-screen product conveyor to cross conveyor feeds to the drum mix feed conveyor of the asphalt plant for final processing and mixing.

A versatile and reliable portable RAP crusher should be able to provide the same precision crushing of a stationary crusher, while allowing operators to crush RAP at multiple locations. Such is the case with Eagle Crusher’s new MaxRap 25 Portable.

The savvy asphalt mix supplier can be more precise in mix production when he directs crushed and screened product into specific stockpiles or when he conveys it directly to cold feed bins for production.

Initial Investment and ROI

How do all of these considerations factor together to determine if adding a RAP crusher to your asphalt production facility makes sense financially?

First, with a crusher like Eagle Crusher’s MaxRap or MaxRap 25 Portable, one crusher replaces jaw, cone and screen multi-unit systems for a lower initial investment while maintaining high production of cubical spec product. Choosing a jaw crusher instead of an impact crusher requires additional equipment, like a cone crusher following the jaw, and in some instances, a vertical shaft impactor (VSI) to make a spec final product. This is because using a jaw crusher in a RAP circuit is for primary reduction only, then prepping RAP for a cone crusher, whereas using an impact crusher for most RAP applications requires only one crusher. Two may be necessary where very high capacity or special products are required.

Even if the cost of one impact crusher or crushing system is more than the cost of a jaw, cone and vertical shaft impactor combined, more and different pieces of equipment opens the door for more mechanical issues and more down time, versus keeping production high, and as previously discussed, the higher quality mix and the ability to have spec product high, as well. In most cases, however, the initial investment for an impact crusher versus two to three different crusher types pays for itself more quickly and improves ROI based on fuel savings and maintenance costs, among other factors.

Eagle Crusher’s RapiDeploy 1000

The service friendly design of RAP crushers like the Eagle Crusher brand can help with time and labor costs and less down time while screening. The screening process can continue while the crusher is removed from the circuit. The screen chute system folds out of the way for ease of changing the screen cloth, and screen service platforms are positioned on both sides of the screen for ease of maintenance. All of this adds up to time and labor efficiencies and a better bottom line.

Additionally, quality hot mix via crushing your own RAP with an impact crusher leads to new customer potential and repeat customers, adding to greater revenues and increased products. This is because RAP impact crushers lead to higher quality mix by separating the binding matrix, airing out the material releasing moisture, making for a drier material going into the hot mix. Drier material saves energy as it eliminates the need for more fuel in the burner.

All things considered, it is worth considering whether it’s time to add a RAP crusher to your asphalt production facility. We hope this helps get you started.

Daniel C. Friedman is the vice president of marketing at Eagle Crusher Co. Inc., Galion, Ohio.

Teleo outfitted a new Caterpillar 966XE wheel loader with Teleo Supervised Autonomy, the technology that enables remote and autonomous operations of machines from a command center, for Ajax Paving of Florida. Now Ajax will have the option of running the machine, located at its Venice facility, even if the available worker for the day is clocked in at a command center 80 miles away. Here’s how Teleo is helping the asphalt industry attract workers who can keep production up and running.

Right now, Ajax’s plant in Venice, Florida has its first command center and the Teleo-equipped loader. The locations for the second wheel loader and the other two command centers will be determined by Ajax at press time.

Readers know asphalt production is a time-sensitive business. When customers need asphalt, it’s needed right away. Ajax Paving, which operates eight asphalt manufacturing plants across the state of Florida and has paved thousands of miles of roadways, needs to ensure they have enough operators to run the machines that feed their asphalt plants with reliability. The just-in-time nature of the business is hampered, however, by an ongoing labor shortage that has made heavy equipment operator roles tough to fill. According to the Associated General Contractors of America, 91% of construction firms are having a hard time finding workers to hire.

Ajax Paving turned to Teleo for help. The Teleo-enabled heavy equipment will provide a practical solution to help alleviate Ajax Paving’s staffing challenges. The loaders are to be stationed at two of the company’s asphalt manufacturing plants, which are roughly 80 miles apart. This means that once the second wheel loader is outfitted with Teleo’s technology, a single Ajax operator will be able to work across two job sites, simultaneously, from one of three of Ajax’s command centers.

Ajax Paving is also the industry’s first company to use remote operations to load an asphalt plant.

Vinay Shet, co-founder and CEO of Teleo, explained that the technology mixes remote and autonomous operations, and is designed to let a single operator control multiple machines. “When the machine is running in autonomous mode and it can’t handle a specific task, it stops and waits for the operator to take over to control the machine remotely,” Shet explained.

Ajax Materials Corporation Manages New Plant Build

“For example, Tomahawk Construction integrated our technology into their operations and currently has a single operator in Ft. Myers, Florida, operating up to three articulated dump trucks 40 miles away in Naples, Florida.

“Ajax Paving has integrated Teleo Supervised Autonomy and will soon utilize the capabilities so that one operator can control Ajax’s two machines at once. The operator will have the ability to remotely operate one machine while the other is tramming, or autonomously hauling materials from one point to another, and the operator can switch back and forth between the machines and modes.

“Ajax will have three command centers in different locations from which the two machines can be operated. This provides for maximum operator flexibility: an operator in any of these command center locations can control any Teleo-equipped machine in their fleet.”

The Teleo-equipped Caterpillar wheel loader operates in the midst of other operations across the Ajax Paving asphalt plant in Venice, Florida.

Andy DeCraene, the executive vice president of operations at Ajax Paving, shared their vision. “We’ll be using Teleo at two of our asphalt facilities to remote-operate the loader which feeds the plant. This is going to allow us to not only staff the facility with just local folks, but we can do remote working from other places around the state.”

Having one operator able to control machines across multiple sites has many advantages for Ajax Paving. If an operator isn’t available on one site—due to a general staffing shortage or an operator calling out sick—another operator at a different site can step in and operate the machine.

Safety Matters

The safety aspects of operating multiple machines at once is handled through the machines’ pauses, as alluded to above. Shet explained, “Teleo’s central command center can control any type of machine and with Teleo Supervised Autonomy, one operator can safely control multiple machine types at once. It’s up to the customer and the operator’s comfort level whether they want to or need to switch between the different types of machines. If an operator knows how to operate multiple types of machines, they should have no issue doing so using Teleo’s technology. Alternatively, an operator with no experience operating heavy machines, can learn to do so from the Teleo central command center.”

Shet continued, sharing the Ajax model specifically. “At Ajax Paving, an operator can remotely switch between Teleo-enabled machines, but they are only remote operating one machine at a time. This means the operator’s full attention is on the machine and they have a complete view around the vehicle thanks to the many on-board cameras. Currently, they’re remotely operating a wheel loader and then parking the machine and switching to remotely operate another machine.”

Safety is enhanced by stacked technology that detects obstacles, as well as internal backups for shutting down if necessary.

Spot-On Performance Connects Plant, Paving Crews

“Our state-of-the-art tech stack is the same as what you’d find in self-driving cars,” Shet explained. “The perception stack detects obstacles such as people, vehicles, other construction machines, and when in autonomous mode, it will stop if something gets in its way. Further, there are multiple redundancies built into the system, so if there’s a network glitch or network loss, the vehicle comes to a safe, complete stop.

“Additionally, the onboard camera systems provide for a wide field of view when an operator is controlling a Teleo-equipped machine from the command center. They have better visibility from the command center than when they’re sitting in the machine because there are no blind spots.”

The perception system, which identifies objects around the machine using cameras, is always running and obstacles around the machine are detected when the Teleo system is on. In remote-operations mode, the operator is alerted by the visual—a big red box around the person or object—to draw the operator’s attention so they can react accordingly. If the machine is operating autonomously, the machine will stop if it detects any object without any need for oversight from the operator.

This Caterpillar 966XE wheel loader, equipped with Teleo Supervised Autonomy, pulls aggregate from the stockpile and delivers it to the appropriate cold feed bin at an Ajax Paving asphalt plant.

“Having the perception system running at all times provides the additional benefit of identifying potential hazards that can’t be easily seen by the naked eye, such as if a person or object is very far away or it is dark.”

Shet outlined the safety multi-layer concept in the Teleo technology:

• Layer one: the system always self-diagnoses, and if any subsystem is not running perfectly the machine will safely stop.
• Layer two: full visibility. The operator is fully immersed in the world around the machine and the environment in which it’s being operated.
• Layer three: the full autonomy perception stack is running at all times.

“Further, all data is recorded and provided back to foremen and other worksite leaders so they can review and observe operations and use the information to help further train their operators.”

A Woman of Asphalt: Meet Ajax’s Jessica S. Kiesel

Focus on Health

While it may seem that younger, tech-native operators—those who are more familiar with gaming and technology—would be the only ones who adapt to this new technology, that hasn’t been the case. “Even some of the older generation operators have picked it up within 20-25 minutes,” DeCraene noted.

Shet explained that the ideal candidate for remote-operating equipment is anyone. “Remote operations make the operator role more attractive and accessible. Teleo eliminates physically demanding aspects of operating heavy machinery, like harsh vibrations or sitting inside the vehicle for long periods of time, making the machines easier to operate. We expect remote operations to help Ajax attract a more diverse applicant pool to include people who are typically under-represented in this industry including women, people living with disabilities, veterans and more.”

And workers don’t have to feel anxiety over learning the system.

“We provided three weeks of training for everyone in Ajax’s organization who needed to be trained to become proficient operators, including both the veteran and younger operators,” Shet said.

Stress is, in fact, one of the factors the remote operation is alleviating for workers. The technology addresses physical wellbeing and mental health by bringing workers to a central location.

Repaving North Port in the Sunshine State

The job of a heavy equipment operator can be extremely stressful, both physically and mentally, because of heavy machine vibrations, secluded job sites and more. Ajax Paving President Vince Hafeli is an advocate for mental health in the construction industry and he quickly recognized how Teleo could help both the business and its operators.

“One of the perks of integrating Teleo’s technology is that it takes operators out of the cab, making their lives easier,” Hafeli said. “By removing the physical aspects of doing this job, the mental demand automatically decreases. It’s a welcome benefit of the technology.”

Teleo provides a solution that will help Ajax Paving broaden its hiring pool, allows operators to control machines in more than one location simultaneously, reduces maintenance costs, and provides meaningful mental health benefits that are a priority for the company. According to Hafeli, “We say that the future is riding on Ajax. Well, the future is now at Ajax!”

OMI Industries (OMI), Palatine, Illinois, has added a new series of products to its industrial asphalt mix. The latest 1300 series is designed to provide manufacturers and contractors with an improved response to strong odors associated with operations.

Over the last five years, the Ecosorb 1300 series has undergone extensive testing on asphalt cement blends. It is through research and development that OMI identified new asphalt mix odor profile trends and crafted this latest line of products to offer a broader spectrum of odor control in the asphalt and petrochemical industries.

The 1300 series distinguishes itself by incorporating plant oils to address hundreds of odor-generating compounds such as hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans. The new formulations are blended into hot mixes or distributed in the air vapor phase systems to neutralize airborne chemical compounds that cause offensive odors.

The 1300 series offers two primary use formats:

• Oil-based additive—1300A is directly added to oil-based substances. Incorporating plant oils and a scavenger to reduce sulfur containing compounds to influence odor control in both liquid and vapor phases. At 20C, it has a specific gravity of about 0.94 and a colorless to amber appearance.
• Water-based additive—1306 is tailored for use in Ecosorb vapor and atomization systems to manage airborne odors. It can be strategically applied in exhausts or through ducting where unpleasant odors are escaping. At 20C, it has a specific gravity of about 1.00 and a milky white appearance with a pH of 4.0-8.5.

To treat asphalt cement additive, oils and their derivatives with the oil-based 1300A, add 100-1,000 ppm (which is ½ to 5 gallons per 20 tons of asphalt cement) of Ecosorb additive during a transfer process such as terminal storage tank to truck or truck to hot-mix asphalt plant tank. This addition can be done via in-line dosing with the Ecosorb additive injection system or by adding the Ecosorb additive to the transfer hose before beginning the transfer.

For airborne treatment using the water-based 1306, you can use the VPS equipment. Connect the drum or tote to your Ecosorb VPS machine and set the gallon/day rate at the value directed by your Ecosorb salesperson or start at ½ of the capacity of your system. After treating for two hours, review your odor situation and adjust the set-point as needed. Alternatively, you could use the air atomization method. Dilute or set dilution of the 1306 between 25:1 and 100:1 with water. After treating for two hours, check the odor condition and adjust your dilution accordingly.

Store the product in a well-ventilated, cool area, away from direct sunlight, heat sources, strong acids and oxidizing agents at temperatures between 40-85F.