QSBW 4.0 – Future roadconstruction in Germany

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QSBW 4.0 - Future roadconstruction in Germany

QSBW 4.0 means Quality Roadconstruction Baden-Württemberg and is the most advanced and most digitalized working plan we have in Germany. Published in 2018, we had a lot of pilot projects running this year. The goal is to have as much as possible digitized and documented in order to achieve visible quality for long lasting and perfectly built roads.

Jobstory QSBW 4.0

We as MOBA where also part of most of these pilots by connecting our Thermal Profiling System Pave-IR with BPO Asphalt from Volz Consulting GmbH. BPO Asphalt is a digital Jobsite planning tool and supports the foreman by sending him live information from the mixing plant, the trucks, the paver all the way to the rollers. The Dynapac Paver SD2550CS was also equipped with MOBA Levelling technology – our Big Ski, working on the left and the right side made sure that our customer reached an absolute smooth road.
Our Pave-IR System scans the complete road width of more than 10 meters and delivers the temperature profile. Connected to BPO Asphalt and to our MOBA Cloud, the customer was able to see live data within the BPO System and also live data within our documentation software PaveProjectManager – our tool which helps to load and edit the data from the Pave-IR System and create a Quality Report. This is how a jobsite should look like in future. Open interfaces are one of the keys to connected systems of different parties.

Why are these digital systems important?

The visibility of many things which where invisible over more than hundred years is one of the key arguments for digitalization. Process optimization by saving time, documenting quality and using paving quality tools helps to improve on every single workflow all around the jobsite.

The reason behind Thermal Profiling

Researchers found out that a correlation between surface temperature and the density exists in asphalt paving which is called Thermal Segregation. Thermal Segregation appears when you have cold spots in your pavement. Thermal Segregation supports Material Segregation which is the main reason for road cracks.
Pave-IR scans the asphalt surface behind the machine and creates a thermal profile which is displayed and stored on our operand. Important values like job distance, machine speed, position, single temperature sensors and ambient conditions are also shown in the system. All these values help to understand the jobsite and as well as asphalt paving in general. During and after the jobsite, different truck loads, paver stops, machine problems, material flow and thus quality is visible and improvable.

Going Digital with Construction Processes

by Frank SchneeBlog, Road ConstructionPosted on Comments are Disabled

Going Digital with Construction Processes

Construction processes are now more efficient and modern than ever. However, many problems still exist for project managers such as delays, cost increases, insufficient coordination between different subsections and parties involved, or fluctuations in quality. In addition to these “traditional” problems, there are other requirements are seeing a higher impact during recent years: sustainability, environmental aspects, energy efficiency, and lifecycles.   

To overcome all these challenges, it’s very important to use all available tools to further improve efficiency and achieve consistently high-quality results. And there are indeed modern tools help to overcome various obstacles and achieve better results than ever.
But what does this look like in the construction world? To start, it includes the use of digital advices and programs in both the office and the machinery itself. More and more construction machines are equipped with state-of-the-art control systems that precisely control the construction process. Going digital also offers great potential for fleet management, predictive maintenance, and optimization of the organization of business and project processes and the data analysis.

MOBA’s 3D excavator systems, Xsite Pro

Another example of going digital is Building Information Modeling, or BIM, which is a method of planning, execution, and management for building construction, no matter if houses, roads or other buildings are present. It is based on 3D models and offers information and tools for an efficient working process for all parties such as architects, engineers, and construction companies. If machines are equipped with the corresponding control systems, for example MOBA’s 3D excavator systems, the data model can be transferred directly to the machine in real time.
Using BIM offers many advantages, for example better data quality, as all data is based on a joint base, which gets synchronized continually. This data can then be used and shared by all the teams involved on a project, greatly improving the project work flow.

MOBA’s 3D asphalt pavers systems

The key advantage by using a digital solution, is the whole working process can save time and money as the planning and implementation is made more efficient and centralized. And who wouldn’t like a well-organized project?
For many companies, it can be hard to consider digital solutions because there isn’t enough information, or a lack of expertise. That’s why it’s important to partner with a company that knows and understands both the construction process and how to adequately implement digital solutions. Don’t let manual processes be the norm, it’s time to go digital.

„And the winner is… Pave-TM“ – our Thickness Measurement System has won the bauma Innovation Price 2019

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„And the winner is… Pave-TM“ – our Thickness Measurement System has won the bauma Innovation Price 2019

What could be more on point for the Innovation Center section of our MOBA community than a first price in category „components“ of the „bauma Innovation price 2019“?

The „bauma 2019“ will always be special for MOBA as well as for me and my whole team around the product Pave-TM. What started with a simple trial in year 2015 is now a released product and makes it’s way into the global markets. Last year it was time to apply for the bauma innovation price. After adding a new sensor to the system, we achieved more stable and accurate measurements over the hot asphalt. We are still the only ones, having a system for continuously thickness measurement during the paving process for pavers and this is exactly what the jury understood and acknowledged.
Decision makers from „Verband deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e.V. (VDMA)“, „Hauptverband der Deutschen Bauindustrie e.V. (HDB)“, „Zentralverband des deutschen Baugewerbes e.V. (ZDB) and Bundesverband Baustoffe – Steine und Erden e.V. (BBS)“ were voting five winners for five categories: Machine, components, construction methods, research & science and design. More than 160 companies applied for the prices.

In January, we were informed, that we made our way up to the top three in our category. Now we had to create a film which shows the benefits and the purpose of Pave-TM.

This film was released and shown as a system introduction at the „BAUMA Mediendialog“ which took place in February in the BAUMA halls in Munich. Being there for two days, I was talking to more than 30 international journalists from different branches in order to explain the idea of the Pave-TM product to them, but also telling them, what makes it so special and innovative. Afterwards, they could also vote for the top three products within the different categories and it looked like we did a good job there.
Talking to all the different journalists, I realized again how special such an innovative product is and how special it is, to be Product Manager of such a product. It’s unique, and we are doing pioneering work, creating ideas, solutions and patents, heading forward into existing and new markets. Of course, there is also a downside of working on innovative products, because you are sometimes struggling and end up in dead ends. But exactly this challenge motivates us to keep going for our vision and our targets.
The final big day was Sunday before bauma. We were invited to the prize-giving into the „Allerheiligen-Hofkirche“ in the center of Munich, a perfect location for such an event. The first category was machines and „Herrenknecht AG“ won the first price there. Second category already was components and it was an really exciting moment, when we as MOBA were announced as the winners of the first price. I was really proud, when I received the price. Ms. Ursula Heller was the moderator of the event, and she interviewed me about the product and also about innovative thinking and what it takes to be innovative as a company.
I cannot imagine a better start for the bauma 2019.

Airport Project in Morowali – Sulawesi, Indonesia

by Alexander WahlmannBlog, Road ConstructionPosted on Comments are Disabled

Airport Project in Morowali - Sulawesi, Indonesia

The Vantage Group successfully installed 2 sets of MOBA Big Sonic Skis for an Airport Project in Morowali – Sulawesi. 

The challenge was not only the logistics, but also the intense training on product handling as well as hot-to-hot paving. The runway is more than 1,900 meters long and needs to have 0.0% inclination in longitudinal direction and 1.5% in cross section. The MOBA Big Sonic Ski is the perfect choice to achieve these challenging targets.
President Joko Widodo announced that he will be the first person to land on this strategic airport, therefore, the expectations and demand for quality is extraordinarily high.

"The use of Big Sonic Ski enabled us to concentrate on the slope and cross slope sections rather than having to focus on smoothness and leveling. As usual, working with Big Sonic Ski, saves time, costs and the outcome of the asphalt layer speaks for itself."

Moritz Müller, Head of Engineering ,Vantage Commerce

It’s all about Quality – also in After Sales

by Frank SchneeBlog, Road ConstructionPosted on Comments are Disabled

It’s all about Quality – also in After Sales

Quality – that is what our whole industry aims at. And not only producing companies, but also service companies are focused on high quality as customers pay more and more attention to get high quality products and services. And of course that also counts for after sales because a successful post-sale means satisfied customers. And satisfied customers are loyal customers who also recommend a product or a company to others.

The service quality in after sales involves three main items:
  • 1. Service environment
  • 2. Service processes
  • 3. Service staff
For the first item, service environment, the location, buildings, and things like opening times are important from a customer’s view.

MOBA Headquarters

The service process means the reliability, for example to stick to appointments, and the precision of a job execution. Staff, the third item, should be competent and attentive. Whenever a company wants to improve it’s after sales quality, all three items should be checked. The second item, service processes, offers highest potential for improving service quality. In most cases these can be optimized. First, all single steps and processes have to be documented to get a detailed overview of the whole service and support processes. Quality standards have to be defined and have to be abided by.
Potential for optimization applies to the whole process: from diagnostic up to repair. Mainly customers criticize a lack of transparent processing. So a dialogue oriented diagnosis could help to involve the customer better. The handling and organization should work efficiently and trouble-free. Repair times, staff, availability of spare parts and tools for example, have to be coordinated by a resource planning system. Also the tools have to be thoroughly chosen and regularly checked.
Another important opportunity is to use innovative solutions like online diagnostics or remote support, as well as the online availability of all data, so that each staff member can always access all actual data and information.

First-class service directly on the construction site

Also the follow up offers potential optimization: For example, service staff that explains the invoice, a complaint management system, and a fast processing of reclamations.
Service marketing also has potential for professional improvement. Contacts to existing customers are often uncoordinated and flexible appointments are not possible. But that is exactly what customers wish – flexible appointments, fast handling and personal, individual contacts. This can often be improved by implementing a CRM system with a detailed customer database. Also a service hotline and thorough resource planning can improve service.
If you look at point three, service staff, it is important to offer them technical training to secure and upgrade their expertise and qualifications. But communication training is equally important to professionalize all processes and customer contacts from the first contact or appointment up to the handover.
So in the end, a perfect interaction of all three items is important to achieve a higher quality post-sales standard which is very essential in winning over customers.

3,102m of MRWs in a pile

by Sebastian SchlesiesBlog, Crane & Lifter, Road Construction, Success StoryPosted on Comments are Disabled

3,102m of MRWs in a pile

Until the end of 2016, MOBA sold 23.867 MRWs. This would make a pile, which is even higher than the highest mountain in Germany, the Zugspitze. Numbers are rising. The Moment compensating Redundant Weigh Cell thus is the most successful load limitation solution for aerial boom lifters.
MOBA offers the MRW now for more than 15 years. It has thus reached a very high process stability in production.

To find out more about the MRW, its application and reliability, don’t forget to check out the following articles:

3,102m of MRWs in a pile

June 28, 2017 No Comments

By the end of 2016, MOBA had sold 23,867 MRWs—enough to surpass the height of Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze. As the most successful load limitation solution for aerial boom lifters, the MRW has demonstrated over 15 years of proven reliability and production stability, with demand continuing to grow.

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