JCB excavators dig down close to home

Fleet of machines playing major role in A50 construction project just metres from the factory where they were built

A FLEET of JCB crawler and wheeled excavators is playing a major role in a road construction project just metres away from the factory where they were built.

Derbyshire-based earthmoving specialists JC Balls & Sons are working for a Carillion-Tarmac joint venture on the A50 Growth Corridor Project A, part of the National Infrastructure Plan, constructing a grade-separated junction on the A50 dual carriageway to the west of Uttoxeter.

The company is operating a mixed fleet of equipment on the project, including three 22-tonne JCB JS220 crawler excavators, a 36-tonne JS370, a wheeled JS175W and a 57C-1 compact excavator. Other machinery includes a JCB 714 articulated site dumper and a JCB VM115 soil compactor.

Bought specifically for the A50 project, one of the JS220 models has been equipped with an Engcon E226 tilt-rotator, complete with the Engcon Positioning System. This is being used in combination with a Trimble 3D machine control system, providing new levels of control and accuracy.

Jamie Chappell, an excavator operator with JC Balls & Sons, said: ‘For digging corners on batters it’s a lot easier. The machine is really comfortable and with the Engcon I can get more work done before repositioning.’

This performance boost has been echoed by JC Balls & Sons’ contracts manager, Dane Potts, who has had to revise some of the planned works on the project, to incorporate the machine’s increased productivity.

‘Around 90% of our machinery on the project is already equipped with GPS machine control and we have found that it can cut the time on site almost by half,’ he said.

‘GPS-guided machines have helped eliminate the need for ground operatives to walk along steeper batter faces to check for levels, which not only saves time but is a far safer method.

‘Tricky construction details are made easy by a simple level adjustment on the GPS controller. The combination of GPS with the Engcon tilt-rotator is working really well and I’ve certainly noticed a difference in productivity.’

The Tarmac-Carillion joint venture is working on Project A of the A50 Growth Corridor scheme near Uttoxeter, in Staffordshire. Project-managed by Amey, the scheme is creating three new roundabouts, a new bridge structure and extended slip roads to ease congestion on the busy trunk road.

The project, which is expected to be completed by November 2018, will also provide improved access to a housing development and to new employment sites to the west of Uttoxeter.