Dirt Simple Paving – From String Lines to Complete 3D Machine Control Solution

Author: Richard Davies

Worldwide, the number of journeys taken by air has increased exponentially over the past 70 years. According to Flight 24, in a single day over 230,000 commercial flights flying across the sky. A recent study byE. Mazareanu估计在预定航班上行驶的乘客人数在2020年超过47.2亿；它比2004年高约137％。

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) in particular is fast becoming a significant hub for air travel, with both Abu Dhabi and Dubai International Airports competing for a growing connections market. The level of infrastructure needed to support this scale of operation is substantial. It is vital that it is constructed to the highest standards and that any downtime is limited when maintenance is required.

Al Nisr, a construction company based in the UAE, is a world leader in the construction of airfields and supporting infrastructure. The company is experiencing rapid growth and believes that investing in technology is vital when competing for complex contracts, particularly those that involve the paving of runways or aprons. The company has previously been involved with major UAE projects at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Al Maktoum International Airport, Sharjah International Airport, Al Bateen Executive Airport, Al Fujairah International Airport, and many military airbases across the UAE.

From traditional string line method to complete 3D paving solution

When paving infrastructure as important as runways and airfield aprons, Al Nisr aims to lay a runway to a tolerance of 5 millimetres, meaning 5 mm or less variation in the thickness, the height of the surface. Traditionally, they had utilised string line methodology to achieve this accuracy in their paving work, using manually laid out strings staked into the ground to guide the thickness and level of the asphalt being laid. This string line methodology can impact the level of accuracy and productivity, as highlighted by Al Nisr’s general manager, Eng., Orwa Alward Zaidan:

“We were using string lines – this limited the number of trucks that could come and drop materials. Sometimes people can hit the string lines, and this causes problems. Concrete is laid at night, and the survey of the site is carried out in the morning, so if the string is hit in the evening, it delays the project until the next morning. String is also sometimes not accurate and can experience sag – this can have a negative impact on the accuracy of the surface. With string, we could originally only pave 300m lengths at a time.”

凭借几个重要的项目，例如阿布扎比的阿提哈德航空公司（Atihad Airways）经营的新机场和军事机场，Al NISR投资了Leica iCON Pave Concretemachine control system fromLeica Geosystems, part ofbob体育报道，提高其工作效率和准确性。该公司已经意识到Leica Geosystems易于使用的解决方案，因为他们的一位工程师在英国使用了该系统，并且对性能印象深刻，并理解它代表了3D沥青铺路的完整解决方案。此外，AL NISR先前还使用了Leica Geosystems的各种调查解决方案，包括Leica TS9和TPS1200bob apple,连同Leica Viva GS14GNSS smart antennas. They were always happy with the usability and reliability of this survey equipment, so it made sense to invest in Leica Geosystems’ machine control solutions.

Achieving high-accuracy with stringless paving

机器控制系统可节省各种重型建筑应用的时间和成本，并用于铺路应用中，以避免依赖弦线，使操作员和承包商的工作更容易，同时降低成本。无绳混凝土铺路还增加了成品表面的一致性和质量。

The Leica iCON pave concrete system purchased by Al Nisr consists of the rugged, shock and waterproofLeica MCP80control panel,Leica iCR80orTS16bob apple总站，两个Leica MPR122360°棱镜进行指导，所有这些都支持Leica MC1software, the all-in-one software platform for machine control. When using the system, the operators from Al Nir found the graphical interface intuitive and uncluttered, allowing them to focus on the job at hand and complete work quickly with the desired precision.Leica Conxis a cloud-based solution and web interface allowing customers to visualise and validate localised reference models, survey data and constructed data, with powerful analysis tools for monitoring and reporting site productivity. Al Nisr found this feature particularly helpful, as it allowed their chief surveyor to accurately visualise progress on site from the comfort of his office.

Before paving work began, a survey was completed using Leica GS14 GNSS smart antenna and total station solutions from Leica Geosystems.Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3Dsoftware was used to make a model of the site, before converting into an XML file and then simply uploading it directly to the pavers.Leica iCONstruct Field Simulatorwas used to ensure everything was correct before work began. Once sections of paving were completed, as-built checks were carried out again using Leica Geosystems GNSS equipment, along withLeica NA2automatic levels.

Thanks to the easy integration and interoperability of the various software and hardware solutions the Hexagon portfolio offers, Al Nisr was able to move from traditional workflows toward a more connected, digitised construction site.

On-going on-site support and training from Leica Geosystems

该系统的安装得到了Leica Geosystems及其本地分销合作伙伴GECO Engineering的专用机器控制人员的本地支持。AL NISR员工需要培训 - Leica Geosystems的工作人员参观了该项目，并与工程师和所有参与该项目的其他人员坐在一起，以确保他们对系统感到满意。项目期间还提供了持续的支持。

该系统使用Gomaco GHP2800和GP2400摊铺机铺设跑道和围裙，为Al NISR提供了各种好处，效率是主要的。最初，摊铺机的每晚线性300米，但现在每晚可以执行900 m线性或每晚近2000立方米。此外，借助这项技术，测量师的作用现在更加容易，更安全。办公室中开发的铺路图案和模型可以直接上传到摊铺机上，而无需敲打任何销钉线。得益于CONX提供的可见性的提高，所有利益相关者现在都可以看待该项目，并充满信心地说，它的完成速度将比以前快得多。

The benefits of using machine control are clear to chief surveyor, Arshad Mahmood:

“一切都很好，我们真的很喜欢系统！在阿联酋，该系统可以帮助我们领导市场 - 我们现在可以研究一个项目，并说它可以在短时间内完成。我想说的是，我们的生产力是使用常规系统的生产率的三倍。”

Overperforming expected deadlines with machine control

Initial calculations suggested that the Abu Dhabi airfield project could take up to 12 months, yet utilising machine control from Leica Geosystems, it took six months. With large infrastructure projects such as airfields, contractors want to complete well within deadline as this allows them to avoid significant financial punishments, and move onto other jobs.

Al Nisr利用Hexagon的重型建筑产品组合的bob综bob体育报道;合app下载大型产品和品牌，很荣幸能成为阿拉伯联合酋长国机场机器控制的先驱。该方法提高了公司的业绩，提高了声誉，并帮助企业赢得更多的工作。