Improved safety and performance outcomes at RAF Leeming

Challenge

Breedon have road surfacing operations in GB and Ireland, delivering motorway and trunk road reconstruction, major new-build highways, airfield surfacing, and local road new-build and maintenance with national and local highways authorities, developers, and major contractors. Many of these projects are time sensitive and carry high health and safety risks. However, technologies are being developed to make improvements in both areas, in addition to material efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

Solution

Whilst resurfacing RAF Leeming over the Summer of 2024 we took the opportunity to apply and promote the wider adoption of several new technologies and processes, resulting in operational efficiencies and improved safety outcomes.

The new approaches we deployed on this project included:

• GPS setting out robot allowing for a quick and accurate process and the engineer operating from a place of safety (and avoided a sore back from bending down constantly. Setting out direct from digital design model resulted in a three to five hours saving per shift.
• Profile planning improvements by generating a full 3D points cloud model of the existing surfaces using LiDAR in four hours rather than four days by conventional surveying. This allowed for accurate GPS automated milling against the model that ensures surfacing depths are as per the design.
• The use of data technology on mobile plant allowing us to continually capture temperatures, compaction, laying records and material specification and uploading seamlessly into client asset system. This meant that no technicians were required to walk around the plant to take temperatures or samples.

Impact

These new technologies and processes have resulted in time savings and improved worker safety onsite. The accurate profile planning ensured that no extra surfacing was required, reducing CO₂ emissions from unnecessary material production and transport.

HDS data technology on pavers and rollers has been consistently used on Scottish trunk roads since 2023. In the future this could also be used in England.

Profile planning has been used in Scotland on the A9 Dalwhinnie (1,500t) Oct 2024. This could be utilised on National Highways but requires ECI.