We’re looking at getting a good start to the new season this month. One of the quick items we mention in our Asphalt Paving 101 course is that the foreman or superintendent on the paving project should keep a project notebook. Even if that’s an electronic tablet these days, it’s a place where he logs important information to help the process go as smoothly as the mat.
Consider this: On the first day of a parking lot, larger residential or highway project, you do all the labor-intensive work of setting the paver and screed just right to pave a consistent and smooth mat. As you set each component, mark in your project notebook the feed sensor position, screed height, auger height, crown, slope, angle of attack, and so forth, so you know exactly what settings to dial in when the crew arrives on day two, day three and so on.
If you need to adjust a setting during the first pass to prevent overfeeding or starving the head of material, make that notation so you have it right for tomorrow. It sounds simple, but it can save time and frustration if you have this “cheat sheet” to refer to for the real numbers, the real settings, that really work for the job at hand. This cheat sheet also comes in handy if the automation on your machine isn’t equipped (yet) with this kind of backup system.
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