Heavy Hitters

It’s no secret that the heavy equipment used at landfills works in some of the toughest, dirtiest conditions any machine might encounter. Some types of waste are especially difficult—from construction and demolition building materials that can cut tires to plastic film that can wrap around moving parts. Weather contributes to the constantly changing environment, putting added demands on the equipment by requiring it to work in conditions ranging from snow and frost to rain and mud to wind and dust. Machines must be properly equipped and configured to operate effectively in fluctuating conditions. 

Wheel loaders, landfill compactors, material handlers, articulated haulers, and dozers are the mainstays of the trash heap. Their productivity depends on specific features that allow them to “dig in” and technology that improves their efficiency. At a landfill, though, it all starts from the ground up.  

Sink Your Teeth Into This 

Compaction is key to maximizing efficiency at a landfill. Configuration of a machine plays an important role in this.  

The correct tires, tracks, and teeth are paramount to productivity and machine uptime, insists Martin Mattsson, director of key accounts, Volvo Construction Equipment. He says wheel loaders in waste and recycling should use solid tires instead of the foam-filled pneumatic or standard pneumatic tires used at transfer stations and MRFs.  

Volvo partnered with Terra Compactor Wheel Corp., a leading manufacturer of landfill compaction wheels, cleats, rolling wire guards, and machine parts, to create a purpose-built machine called the LC450H landfill compactor. Mattsson says, “The wheels on this machine are specifically built to handle the challenges of waste applications.” 

Although wheel loader waste handlers are typically equipped with solid rubber tires, John Deere waste handler crawlers can be configured with a variety of options, according to Matt Goedert, solutions marketing manager. He explains why: “Narrower shoes can increase ground pressure for added compaction. Wider shoes allow the dozer to float on top of the trash and provide better stability. Trapezoidal-hole or open-center shoes allow trash that may have built up in the chain pockets to be extruded through the face of the shoe to prevent trash packing and associated over-tightening of the tracks. Recessed sprocket segments provide even more capacity to clean out the chain pocket increasing the life of the undercarriage.” Sizing track shoes is always a balance between compaction and flotation.  

Travis Schwark, product application specialist at Caterpillar, believes that wheels and tips are crucial to the productivity of a landfill compactor. “First, a wheel must be built to last, which means a heavy-duty wrapper with hard facing the edges of the wheels.”  

Tip layout is crucial to ensure the compactor gets adequate traction and compaction, Schwark continues. If tips are placed too close together, refuse or soil can pack between them, leading to loss of traction and compaction. Also, if there are too many tips, the machine will “float” rather than sink and smash trash. If there are not enough tips, the machine will lose traction and tip wear will be extensive.  

Teeth on a landfill compactor wheel/drum are the most important aspect in achieving the highest rates of compaction, says Chad Phares, vice president of Humdinger Equipment, Ltd. As such, they need to be clear of dirt, waste, and debris to do their job properly. Ground pressure is not as important as the number of teeth strikes per linear foot achieved by a compactor. Teeth strikes with a clean tooth do the cutting, shredding, and compacting required to achieve the highest levels of compaction. Tana landfill compactors provide the highest number of teeth strikes per foot at 17.5 strikes per foot, indicating their ability to compact at the highest possible rates. 

Caron Compactor Company, a manufacturer of compaction wheels and teeth, designs wheels with Patented Pin-On teeth with two distinct shapes: the wedge-shaped “Traction” assembly for maximum traction and compaction and the “Contour,” which minimizes side slippage for lateral stability and increased demolition. The ability to replace Pin-On teeth in the field reduces the price of replacement wheels by 50%, according to Caron. 

To break down the trash into smaller particles, Caron supplies 50 teeth per wheel vs. 40 teeth per wheel as is typical on OEM 120K-lb. class compactors, says Mark Henley, southern region sales representative. “The extra 10 teeth per wheel provide over 400,000 penetrations per day,” he points out. The extra teeth result in fewer passes for better compaction; that means fuel savings and less wear and tear of the equipment. 

Caron Solid Waste track shoes with higher grouser height and thicker base plates make an extreme service trackpad for longer wear life, with the capability of being re-grousered more times because the base plate has 40% more material than conventional shoes. Made of cast steel, the shoes reduce shoe plugging, a common problem in sludge or wet clay applications. 

For landfill crawler-dozers, the Caron Double Semi-U or Caron Semi-U trash blades force trash away from the center of the machine, directly in the path of the tracks, including the split grouser for increased demolition and densities. This eliminates windrowing of trash on the outer edge of the blade and enables compaction with fewer passes.  

New Technology 

There hasn’t been a lot of new technology in landfill equipment over the years. However, Tana has included ProTrack telemetric software, the Carlson GPS Software, and a state-of-the-art control system on their landfill compactors. With a touchscreen control monitor and joystick operation, the control system is easy to learn—especially for younger operators who grew up playing video games. This reduces training time. 

“Two of the primary technologies that help a landfill compactor increase efficiency and productivity [are] on-board telemetric systems and GPS systems measuring real-time compaction,” Phares states. On-board telemetric systems provide real-time information that can significantly improve the up-time performance of the machine. Monitoring can avoid potential breakdowns. When failures occur, the telemetric systems enable most problems to be diagnosed without seeing the machine, reducing downtime. 

GPS technology has been around a long time in construction. A GPS designed to measure compaction results on a real-time basis is now available. “The most important aspect of landfilling is to achieve the highest compactor rate possible,” Phares points out.  The GPS shows the operator which areas have reached optimal compaction and the areas that still need to have additional compaction. This saves time, fuel, and operating costs. 

GPS Technology 

Technology can help landfill managers improve compaction density. “Machine designs are at the point where it is difficult to achieve more compaction density,” Schwark observes, adding the caveat that Cat’s technology can improve landfill density from 6% to 18%, which ultimately extends landfill life. 

Cat offers two versions of Cat Compact for landfill compactors: Onboard Pass Mapping (SBAS accuracy) and Elevation-Based Mapping (RTK accuracy). “Onboard pass mapping allows the operator to see in real-time which areas of the working face have been compacted, as well as how many passes have been completed,” Schwark explains. Sections of the working face on the Cat Compact screen will turn different colors to indicate how many passes have been completed. Elevation-based mapping works the same way. 

Similarly, Cat dozers can be equipped with Cat Grade GPS technology. It allows an operator to manage the cut and fill of the working face and ensures they are meeting slope requirements permitted by the state.  

Landfill managers can closely manage the key performance metrics of a landfill: slope, densities, tonnage. Not only can operators complete their work faster, but they can also use the technology to improve their performance. 

Another advantage of both GPS systems is their connection to back-office software suite for reports on the landfill densities and landfill life. “Where Caterpillar differentiates with the back-office suite is that all products on the landfill can tie into it, not only the machines on the working face,” Schwark explains.   

Telematics Technology 

The ability to monitor maintenance needs can reduce unplanned downtime by preventing minor issues from becoming major problems. Volvo’s CareTrack telematics system is standard on most equipment. ActiveCare Direct, a 24/7 monitoring service, uses CareTrack data and takes telematics to the next level by distilling alerts into the most urgent items a fleet manager needs to know, providing actionable information. 

Software focusing on productivity is growing in usage and functionality. “Most equipment produced since 2007 is equipped with some level of remote monitoring, which allows owners and operators to track fluid levels, temperatures, pressures, and more,” Mattsson says, adding that the Volvo Assist packages include features like onboard weighing, operator coaching, tire pressure monitoring, site maps, and GPS. “Load Assist is especially effective for landfill use because of on-board weighing, which can eliminate time spent guessing, reweighing, and waiting. The tire pressure monitoring system is also a big help in landfill applications because tire condition is critical. The map function is a recent update we added that allows operators to monitor site traffic in real-time, which means they can adjust driving behaviors according to current conditions.” 

Furthermore, Volvo’s ActiveCare Direct provides reports on how each machine is used, helping teams identify trends on machine usage and opportunities to reduce idle time, hot turbo shutdowns, high-speed shifts, misuse of work modes, overloading, and other costly behaviors.  

Similarly, John Deere’s telematics system, JDLink, gives employees insight into the machine even without being at the landfill. Managers and dealers can remotely see fuel levels, operating temps, load levels, geographical location, and usage hours from a computer or smartphone. The system also provides alerts and diagnostic codes when the machine needs attention. Goedert says JDLink is now included on all John Deere Waste Handler machines for the life of the machine. 

One of the systems that helps measure compaction and volumes is John Deere’s SmartGradeTM mastless 3D grade control system. It aids in measuring elevations, repairing slopes, crowning haul roads, developing new cells, and placing cover material. “Not having masts or exposed cables greatly increases uptime and helps control expenses related to broken cables and equipment failure,” Goedert says. 

A new feature included with any SmartGrade machine is SmartGrade Remote Support, which enables customers and dealers to remotely view and control the grade control display for quick troubleshooting and operator training. It also allows customers to transfer files to and from the machine remotely, which eliminates the need to visit each machine to transfer files with a memory stick. 

New Designs and Products 

Drones are becoming more commonplace in landfills for surveying purposes, Cat’s Schwark observes. “Cat GPS technology can handle the typical surveying with weekly and monthly compaction densities, but drones are great for understanding how much more material you have in the borrow pit for daily cover material.” Another benefit of drones is understanding how much the landfill cell has settled, which could lead to additional trash intake at the landfill. 

A deep understanding of the landfill environment is critical to designing a solution that solid waste customers can depend on. “There are some common requirements that every waste handler machine going into this environment must have,” Goedert says.  

One of the biggest challenges customers face is keeping the machines running cool. Features like service doors with improved sealing prevent airborne debris from being sucked into the internals of the machine, Goedert explains. Large doors also provide unobstructed service access to the cooling system and reduce the time needed to clean the coolers. Other cooling package features on dozers like a square-wave radiator fin design with wider spacing can help prevent plugging and further aid in the cleanout. “These features coupled with the fully automatic proportional reversing fan and reinforced, perforated front grille keep the machines running cool in the most demanding situations.” 

To get to the top of the heap in the landfill industry, heavy equipment must incorporate the latest technology along with specially designed features.