In an industry inured to overly enthusiastic hype about modest steps forward, do we risk overlooking the more subtle yet remarkable innovation underway?
The theme of constant change and innovation is a favourite of marketing professionals worldwide, because all successful organisations constantly move forward in their own way. However, there are plant, machinery and vehicle segments where engineering achievements have long since plateaued.
I have been told bluntly by piling professionals that piling machinery has not experienced substantial changed for at least a decade, and that the few product updates that do occur year-on-year are incremental ones.
As we head to Bauma 2016, the major announcements that have been made present a mixed bag of tricks. For some manufacturers, it is bigger, better and more productive — solid progress — but there are also flashes of genius, and this year it is worth singling out JCB. The British manufacturer is launching its ‘Hydradig’ — a wheeled excavator with a low-slung engine that achieves the Holy Grail of allowing a near panoramic view from the cab above, along with a centre of gravity that allows a one-tonne payload to be swung a full 360 degrees without the need to deploy the outrigging. JCB trumpets its ingenuity; here it might just be justified.
Potentially disruptive technology is also present throughout this month’s issue of the magazine. First, the emergence of drones, which threaten to restyle the very nature of quarry and construction operations by analysing the movement of the machines from above, before digesting the data to re-imagine the site from a third-person perspective — like a game of chess.
Though not here yet, the PMV Roundtable on vehicle telematics envisages a future in which drivers are monitored for everything from their driving behaviour to the blinking of their eyes and the beating of their hearts in order to catch drivers lapsing into a state of fatigue and posing a risk to others — a telematic Minority Report.
In the Peak Performance section of the magazine, we see further tantalising glimpses of the future of construction in the so-called ‘zipper’ truck, which uses a tapering body and rollers to lay down segmented, concrete tunnel rings (like an over-ground TBM), in a fraction of the time required for traditional construction.
Equally exciting and surprising is a prototype tyre, of all things. The perfectly spherical orbs developed by Goodyear (and 3D-printed with a tread that mirrors the patterns of a brain coral) entertain a world where maglev vehicles float above their tyres and drive sideways as easily as forwards. Now, more than ever, it is certainly an exciting time to be watching the industry.
Editor’s comment: Turning to face the change
In an industry inured to overly enthusiastic hype about modest steps forward, do we risk overlooking the more subtle yet remarkable innovation underway?
The theme of constant change and innovation is a favourite of marketing professionals worldwide, because all successful organisations constantly move forward in their own way. However, there are plant, machinery and vehicle segments where engineering achievements have long since plateaued.
I have been told bluntly by piling professionals that piling machinery has not experienced substantial changed for at least a decade, and that the few product updates that do occur year-on-year are incremental ones.
As we head to Bauma 2016, the major announcements that have been made present a mixed bag of tricks. For some manufacturers, it is bigger, better and more productive — solid progress — but there are also flashes of genius, and this year it is worth singling out JCB. The British manufacturer is launching its ‘Hydradig’ — a wheeled excavator with a low-slung engine that achieves the Holy Grail of allowing a near panoramic view from the cab above, along with a centre of gravity that allows a one-tonne payload to be swung a full 360 degrees without the need to deploy the outrigging. JCB trumpets its ingenuity; here it might just be justified.
Potentially disruptive technology is also present throughout this month’s issue of the magazine. First, the emergence of drones, which threaten to restyle the very nature of quarry and construction operations by analysing the movement of the machines from above, before digesting the data to re-imagine the site from a third-person perspective — like a game of chess.
Though not here yet, the PMV Roundtable on vehicle telematics envisages a future in which drivers are monitored for everything from their driving behaviour to the blinking of their eyes and the beating of their hearts in order to catch drivers lapsing into a state of fatigue and posing a risk to others — a telematic Minority Report.
In the Peak Performance section of the magazine, we see further tantalising glimpses of the future of construction in the so-called ‘zipper’ truck, which uses a tapering body and rollers to lay down segmented, concrete tunnel rings (like an over-ground TBM), in a fraction of the time required for traditional construction.
Equally exciting and surprising is a prototype tyre, of all things. The perfectly spherical orbs developed by Goodyear (and 3D-printed with a tread that mirrors the patterns of a brain coral) entertain a world where maglev vehicles float above their tyres and drive sideways as easily as forwards. Now, more than ever, it is certainly an exciting time to be watching the industry.
Construction machinery: Digging deeper
How to ship machinery internationally
Ritchie Bros acquires Mascus machinery listings