Skip to main content

Optimising reinstatement with a new tool

A new app is now available to optimise road reinstatement works
March 10, 2021 Read time: 1 min
A new app is available for checking air voids in reinstated road surfaces

It has been developed by regional water firm United Utilities to improve the job of laying asphalt after roads have been dug up to carry out repairs.

The app addresses the tricky task of measuring and controlling the amount of air contained within the final reinstatement.

According to United Utilities, most technical elements of highway reinstatement can be controlled by skilled operatives, except air void levels. This is an area that is almost impossible to control and measure while teams are working onsite and instead, it is usually tested retrospectively after the asphalt has been laid, through sampling and testing. But this approach is time consuming and inefficient.

The firm developed the easy-to-use app for teams to use during reinstatement. After answering a series of questions and following specific instructions, the tool calculates the air voids in the asphalt that has been laid.

Results from initial two months' usage showed teams using the app achieved 100% compliance from their work and much improved air void levels.

Related Content

  • Rebuilding the busy Frankfurt Airport in Germany
    September 12, 2017
    Handling up to 450 take-offs/day, Runway West is Frankfurt Airport’s busiest runway. Over 50% of the aircraft taking off from the airport uses Runway West, and a point worth noting is that this German airport is one of the busiest in Europe. In 2016, Frankfurt Airport handled nearly 61 million passengers, surpassed by Schiphol in Amsterdam and Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Europe’s third and second busiest airports respectively. Meanwhile London’s Heathrow remained Europe’s busiest airport
  • Rebuilding the busy Frankfurt Airport in Germany
    September 12, 2017
    Handling up to 450 take-offs/day, Runway West is Frankfurt Airport’s busiest runway. Over 50% of the aircraft taking off from the airport uses Runway West, and a point worth noting is that this German airport is one of the busiest in Europe. In 2016, Frankfurt Airport handled nearly 61 million passengers, surpassed by Schiphol in Amsterdam and Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Europe’s third and second busiest airports respectively. Meanwhile London’s Heathrow remained Europe’s busiest airport
  • Advanced asphalt plants being developed
    April 7, 2017
    The Fayat Group is developing its asphalt plant range with its Marini-Ermont product offerings - Mike Woof writes The Fayat Group is a major player in the global asphalt plant sector with its Marini and Ermont brands and is further developing both product ranges. The latest machines have been designed to cater to a wide array of customer needs, from large, fixed high-production plants to its compact super portable units, as well as from high sophistication down to more basic technology for developing mar
  • Safer highway containment continues to grow
    March 8, 2012
    A steady flow of new technology and systems is ensuring the highway barrier sector is seeing major gains in safety. Mike Woof reports A combination of technological development and tougher regulations are ensuring a constant flow of new safety barrier solutions for the highway sector. Issues such as containment and deflection are high on the technical agenda, while a wide array of technologies is being developed to meet specific needs for certain applications. Both in the US and Europe, an increased focus o