Skip to main content

Efficient road paving logistics with new technology

A pilot project in Stuttgart suggests how the road construction site of the future may look in Germany. Coming requirements will mean more advanced road paving methods will be utilised.
April 6, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
Optimisation of the paving process can be achieved using the latest technology from Vögele

The local Ministry of Transport recently introduced the "Quality in Road Construction in Baden-Württemberg 4.0" (QSBW 4.0), which will be standard by 2021. The objective of QSBW 4.0 is a digitally controlled construction process that ensures paving quality and increases road surface life.

Invitations to tender based on QSBW 4.0 criteria will require technology associated with a digitally controlled and monitored job site. This comprises dynamic logistics and machine control, quality control and management, mobile networking, display options on smartphones, tablets or computers as well as the documentation of all data with access authorisation for clients.

Some solutions exist already, with one coming from Vögele in the shape of its advanced WITOS Paving Plus package. This integrated, software-based overall system for process optimisation and documentation comprises five connected modules for the parties involved, from the asphalt mixing plant and the truck driver to the construction manager.

With WITOS Paving Plus, contractors can meet requirements for pavers that will be specified in future in invitations to tender under QSBW 4.0.  

Temperature measurements are the focus of the quality control measures in QSBW 4.0. To ensure an optimum asphalt temperature, measurements are checked throughout the process. Meeting these requirements is easy with WITOS Paving Plus, since Vögele’s RoadScan temperature measurement solution can be integrated into the system. Using RoadScan, a high-precision infrared camera scans the specified area behind the screed of the paver, across a width of 10m.

In the project to rehabilitate a regional road, A Waggershauser Straßenbau was able to fulfil QSBW 4.0 by using the WITOS Paving Plus system. The QSBW 4.0 methodology was developed by the Ministry of Transport of Baden-Württemberg in collaboration with companies in the construction sector and summarised in a manual. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Efficient, accurate asphalt compaction technology
    February 14, 2012
    The efficiency of asphalt compaction performance has improved immeasurably in recent years with the development of more effective equipment. Manufacturers have honed the designs of the machines, making them easier and more comfortable to operate, improving visibility and also tackling issues such as maintenance downtime by making the equipment more reliable and quicker to service. However one of the biggest advances in compaction performance has come not from the machines, but from the control and measur
  • Electric paving becoming a reality
    July 21, 2025
    Electric asphalt paving machines are becoming a reality – Mike Woof writes
  • MOBA’s new PAVE-IR system features a high-speed temperature scanner to enhance road construction quality
    March 6, 2014
    MOBA has developed a new temperature scanner system called the PAVE-IR, designed to help operators avoid laying incorrectly heated asphalt. From mixing plant to compaction, getting the temperature of asphalt right is critical. Cold asphalt can lead to road damage, which results in additional costs of up to 46% due shorter surface lifetimes. The new MOBA PAVE-IR aims for an optimum asphalt material mix and the best possible process flow says the manufacturer.
  • Asphalt plant innovations coming to market
    April 27, 2015
    A series of new advances in asphalt plant design are now coming to market - Mike Woof writes Key innovations in asphalt plant designs from major manufacturers will offer clients reductions in running costs along with gains in quality control and output. Several of the leading manufacturers are introducing new models that will deliver efficiency gains, as well as options for greater mobility and/or versatility. Swiss-based Ammann is introducing two new mobile plants, the EcoBatch and QuickBatch models,