I-40 Installation Highlights Albuquerque Asphalt's PM Operations: CEG

Photo courtesy of Albuquerque Asphalt

Albuquerque's asphalt equipment awaits a day of work.

Heavy asphalt paving on highways is a risky game of people, equipment, traffic, schedules and materials. It requires the best skills to be smart, organized and determined.

It also doesn't hurt to have a certain attitude, a little luck – and a lot of commitment – to the work itself and to the team around you.

After spending time with the Albuquerque Asphalt team as they completed a deep milling and fill project on I-40 in Albuquerque, it is evident that the company has these attributes in abundance.

The project included a deep mill across two lanes of the highway and two lifts of fresh asphalt – all dismantled overnight and the road reopened to the public at 5 a.m. each morning.

For Albuquerque Asphalt – a team of more than 200 employees spread across asphalt, earthworks, concrete, crushing and production teams – it is an extremely conscious use of people and resources to ensure optimal asphalt quality while working efficiently enough to make the business profitable. This includes carrying out preventive maintenance (PM) activities in a timely and efficient manner.

Supported by Four Rivers EquipmentAlbuquerque Asphalt has restructured its PM work to move away from larger service trucks that require drivers to have a CDL and HAZMAT endorsement because those drivers are becoming increasingly difficult to find and those who do have an endorsement don't always Have the mechanic's mindset Do PM work.

The solution: a two-person team paired with a truck transporting a multi-tank of oil [MTO] 690 followers of Thunder Creek Gear.

Night paving leads to daytime PM

In addition to the practical convenience of nighttime paving – especially in New Mexico, where the combination of hot asphalt and high daytime temperatures can be brutal – Albuquerque presents a unique logistical challenge when it comes to traffic: There are only a limited number of bridges that can handle the Rio crossing Grande River. Minimizing traffic disruptions is critical.

Albuquerque Asphalt carefully plans each milling/paving day to ensure that the day's work can be milled and covered with at least one lift of asphalt, making it drivable by 5 a.m

Photo courtesy of Albuquerque Asphalt

With the deep milling machine on this project, each section works on a three-day cycle: Day 1: Mill one section and lift one; Day 2: Milling a section and paving a lifting section; Day 3: Build the final lift over the last two days' work. All equipment is lined up in the interstate median during the day and comes back to life after dark to repeat the cycle.

The company has been at the forefront of numerous industry trends that have enabled larger road construction companies to streamline their operations. It owns its own asphalt plant and controls the production, quality and access to asphalt.

Quality testing is also carried out in an in-house laboratory. And it has long been a leader in recycling crushed and ground material, including using it as road base and adding a certain percentage of ground material to the hot mix.

With growth came more devices and tighter controls on uptime. And a changing attitude towards carrying out PM work. The previous method required larger lubrication vehicles that required CDL and HAZMAT certified drivers.

As the fleet grew, it became increasingly difficult to find these drivers, and when they did find them, they weren't always interested in doing PM work.

“You can find CDL/HAZMAT operators, but you have to find CDL/HAZMAT operators who are willing to do this type of work,” said Jacky Spencer, vice president of operations for Albuquerque Asphalt. “We have hired younger people with more mechanical backgrounds and a good work ethic and are training them for this specific job.”

It was this challenge that led Four Rivers Equipment to introduce Albuquerque Asphalt to the MTO 690 trailers. The company now owns three.

“For the last few years, you couldn’t find anyone,” said Robert Wood, president and partner of Albuquerque Asphalt. “So if you limit yourself to CDL-powered service trucks, that limits your employee pool. My manager said, 'We can't find CDL drivers,' and they were available, and we thought it was a good idea.”

“Now we have three of these units, and we have not purchased any additional service vehicles.”

Thunder Creek, two man PM crew, key to success

Spencer and Joseph Otero, a superintendent at the company, drove much of this new PM approach. It revolves around the MTO 690 and a two-person crew pulling up on the centerline (or wherever the equipment might be located) and methodically moving from machine to machine to perform PM work.

One drives, the other lubricates. One fills in diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) while the other blows out the air filter. One makes a tour of the machine to identify any problems while the other tops up fluids. And then we move on to the next machine.

The Thunder Creek MTO 690, with its ability to handle critical operating fluids combined with up to 690 gallons, is the heart of this operation. Towed behind one of the company's pickups or service trucks, the trailers easily navigate any job site and allow each team member to get close to the equipment they are working on.

“If you take a large lube cart and choose this configuration, it's still a lot easier to get into [safety] “I like that they're not constantly climbing up and down the side of the truck.” That's a big deal for me. Everything is really accessible.”

Photo courtesy of Albuquerque Asphalt

The standout feature: Because each fluid compartment holds less than 119 gallons (maximum 115 gallons), the trailer does not require a HAZMAT designation – and when paired with the right truck, no CDL is required either. Albuquerque Asphalt equips each of its trailers with a combination of diesel, motor oil, hydraulic fluid, DEF, a lubrication system and an oil recovery system – allowing each team to perform all essential PM work on site. The on-board air compressor helps with numerous tasks, including blowing out filters.

“The nice thing about the Thunder Creeks is that when you do an oil change, we have a container where you suck up the oil and put it in the tank instead of putting it in buckets – that makes everything more efficient,” Otero said. “Grease, refuel, change oil. At the end of the day we regroup and throw everything away. It rolls, rolls, rolls – it’s all productive.”

The two-person team gives the company flexibility in staffing and helps ensure PM work is completed on time every day – and there are no staff shortages when a driver is unavailable. If one of the crew members calls, they can be replaced by any team member. This also helped avoid unnecessary downtime on weekends.

“We have reduced costs as far as hours go,” Otero said. “Instead of working 60 to 70 hours, you get these bad boys involved and distribute the work evenly…everything gets done across the board and that doesn't slow us down.”

Four Rivers has helped Albuquerque Asphalt every step of the way – as a fleet consultant for equipment and as a fleet management consultant for PM.

“Four Rivers is always looking for a way to improve our business,” Spencer said. “When they have new products, they don’t force them on us, they make us aware of them. A large part of our current success is due to Four Rivers. They always answer the phone. You are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week because that is what we do. Having someone like Four Rivers is great.

For Spencer, the new PM approach and the flexibility of Thunder Creek trailers are critical to the company's success in road construction.

“They made all the difference for us,” he said. “Equipment maintenance is a hectic task. Everything needs to be checked. Full tank. Checked oil level.”

“At Thunder Creeks,” Otero said, “everything is taken care of, everyone is happy and we don’t have to worry about a thing.”

Eric Swan is the area sales manager for Thunder Creek Equipment.