Council and shire road maintenance crews are cutting the amount of travel time required for road maintenance on their unsealed road networks by using an Australian-made product called PolyCom Stabilising Aid.
The use of PolyCom cuts travel time to and from jobs by reducing the number of times an unsealed road needs to be graded per year, usually from four times down to one, and in some cases, even less.
Often there is also a vastly reduced need to cart new material for re-sheeting, as PolyCom allows for materials to be recovered from table drains and re-mixed back into the pavement.
The result is a stronger, water resistant road that resists potholing and corrugation far more than re-sheeting, or traditional grade, water and roll methods.
PolyCom enables the retention of the dry strength of the material when the material becomes damp or wet.
When a road is treated with PolyCom there is no pick-up onto vehicle tyres, which in turn lets the road stay as it is, and stops potholes and rutting from occurring.
PolyCom reduces the penetration of water into the pavement and maintains shape and strength, thus allowing the water to run off.
Of course, good practise methods are required in terms of shape and drainage, but that is a given and no different from normal road maintenance.
With PolyCom, a road will last four to six times longer without a maintenance grade.
Using PolyCom improves the utilisation of machinery and crews, allowing more work to be completed in other areas of the shire.
This also enables works crews to get more done in the same time without repeating work on the same sections.
PolyCom allows road makers to re-use the materials they already have, meaning gravel can be used elsewhere or for new road construction.
Improving productivity is not necessarily about working harder, but about using tools like PolyCom to work smarter.
Factoring PolyCom Stabilising Aid into the council’s road maintenance schedule is a win-win for the council and the workers, with the added benefit for ratepayers of stronger, safer roads that generate less dust.
Find out how to increase efficiency with PolyCom at www.roadmaker.com.au.
*Copy supplied by Polycom
