Komatsu makes the grade for Qld council
South Burnett Regional Council says its new Komatsu GD655-5 grader is helping deliver major benefits for road maintenance…Queensland's South Burnett Regional Council says the addition of a new Komatsu grader to its fleet for the purpose of rapid-response road maintenance is already paying dividends, with resident complaints about potholes and poor surfacing declining.
The Komatsu GD655-5 is one of three Komatsu graders in a total fleet of seven for the council, which takes in nearly 8400 square kilometres around the southern catchment of the Burnett River, north-west of Brisbane.
Flying squad
The Komatsu is part of its 'flying squad' of road maintenance units, rolled out as a part of the council's $15-18 million three-year strategy to improve its unsealed roads.
Equipped with a specific sharp-toothed blade, the Komatsu grader can be deployed quickly to address unsealed road surface issues in short order, the blade restoring a smooth surface to even hard, compacted gravel with less requirement for additional soil.
South Burnett Regional Council says the new Komatsu grader's efficiency on 'patrol grading duty' allows the council to run a works program of re-sheeting its gravel roads at the same time, keeping the council's total road network in good repair.
According to South Burnett Regional Council plant and workshop co-ordinator, Lee Hoad, the GD655-5 was chosen in a competitive tender on the basis of price and known quality of factory maintenance.
"Komatsu has worked well with us to meet our downtime on-site servicing requirements – in fact it has provided exceptional service," he said, adding that most servicing coincides with council RDOs.
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RACAS approach
The council's General Manager, Infrastructure, Aaron Meehan, is well versed in the potential benefits of patrol grading, having experienced the concept at the neighboring (and significantly larger) Western Downs Regional Council.
"South Burnett Regional Council has used the RACAS (Road Asset Condition Assessment System) to determine the need to change its strategy across the use of its assets," he said.
The GPS-based RACAS can be mounted to any vehicle to capture high-resolution pictures every 15 metres and record road roughness data.
"RACAS found that most of Council's unsealed roads were in poor condition and that led to a ramping up of investment in road maintenance," Mr. Meehan said.
"Where Council would have budgeted $1.6 million annually to a road maintenance program, it has now committed to a three-year restoration program which could be almost 10 times that amount."
Mr. Meehan said four of council's seven graders were now assigned to patrol duties, with each equipped with the Sharq P300 blade as found on the new Komatsu GD655-5.
He said that while notification of all intended road works was issued at least three months in advance, patrol graders were ready to respond to areas of immediate need within a fortnight.
Mr Meehan said the new approach was ultimately delivering a better, more effective road network.
"Keeping our roads in good operational order is all about ensuring our farmers and graziers can get their livestock in and out," he said.
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