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How to train your paving crew
Training key to preparing operators of asphalt pavers and compactors.
Compactors offer another set of techniques operators need to learn. Ingersoll Rand's Peter Fleming says to start training by introducing the concepts behind the machines, then move to put those concepts into practice. Workers should understand the purpose of compaction and the importance of achieving density at the right material temperature. He says it's important to teach students the difference between frequency and amplitude of the vibration and how the incorrect rolling speed can ruin the mat laid be the paver. "After they have that down, show them how to steer in a straight line and how to stop the roller at an angle and in such a position as to be ready to reverse without turning the drums when stationary on the asphalt, and then move on to practice the variety of rolling patterns that may be applied." Fleming says, "The best way to teach all that is to let the workers get in the seat and operate the rollers."
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By Allan Heydorn
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He says lutes weigh less than asphalt rakes, which resemble a steel garden rake. Rakes are open with the tines spaced wide apart. Used more so in Europe, asphalt rakes are used less often in the U.S. and most often seen when work is being done with heavier base material. Fleming says it's important to be careful with rakes because by their design they more easily collect and pull the larger stones through, leaving the fines behind. This can result in segregation and other mat problems. The rake may turned over with the tines pointing up and used as a lute.
Fleming says that once workers understand the tools themselves they need to be taught how to handle them correctly. "When using a shovel to move hot mix asphalt, for example, keep the back straight and use your legs," Fleming says. "This not only protects the back but also reduces fatigue during a long day."
He says contractors should show laborers the technique of how to place the hand holding the shovel against their knee, then use the knee - as opposed to the back or arms - to push off into the pile of hot mix. "Do this rather than arching the back," he says. "Remind them to keep their legs spread apart, with one foot forward and one foot behind to provide leverage."
"One of the main things they need to develop is an eye for levels. This is essential in laborers as one of their primary efforts will be to level off the mat or square it up," Fleming says. "Teach them how to turn the shovel over to use the blade as a lute to spread and shape the material they have just placed or to cast material over the fresh mat to correct any blemishes created by the paver"
Laborers also need to learn how to "bump" or "lute" a joint. Fleming says laborers should work from the cold side of the mat if it is safe to do so, facing the hot or just-placed mat. The hot side is generally overlapped 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches onto the cold mat. 'Bumping' the mat is to use the lute to push the hot mix back at an angle until you can see the joint ready for the compactor to compress the bumped material into the joint to increase the joint density.
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