Marcum adds that the addition of systems that control the impact spacing have also helped improve job quality by maintaining consistency. "These speed control systems operate like the cruise control on a car," he says. You can operate manually or you can set the machine to operate automatically.  This leads to better job quality because if we can control the spacing at which the drum hits the mat, we'll have a consistent product beneath the machine.

Contractors are now able to match the amplitude and frequency of the roller and adapting it to the material beneath the drum," he says. "The industry has gone from one default setting to up to eight different selections that can be made, so you can compact with a fewer number of passes without overcompaction. Hitting it hard enough to compact without overcompacting leads to efficiency."

Hood adds that where single-drum vibration used to be the norm for years, rollers are now available with vibration in both drums, which increases the effectiveness of the roller and the efficiency of the operation. "Vibrating two drums on highway class rollers typically takes twin pumps, and the more drum horsepower you have the more productive you'll be. "

 He says that what has trickled down to the commercial rollers is a shift to more vibratory rollers instead of static rollers.

"Although vibratory rollers have been around for some time it took a while for their popularity to trickle down to the smaller roller market/residential compaction market," Wenzel says.