Samantha Nock, Acting Manager, Natural Environment and Parks at Wellington Shire Council, says the council recently took over management of the engineered landfill at Kilmany after several years of it being outsourced.
With a view to improve efficiency and reduce emissions, the council took this opportunity to seek an upgrade to the site’s mid-sized landfill compactor.
“The compactor previously used on the site was quite a bit older and did not run that efficiently,” Samantha says. “This meant higher fuel usage and higher costs – burning more fuel can also put a greater strain on parts of the engine, creating higher maintenance costs.”
After extensive research, the council chose the BOMAG BC 573 RB-5 – a brand-new 28-tonne landfill compactor – which it took delivery of last November.
According to John Glossat, Tutt Bryant Equipment’s National Business Development Manager for BOMAG, Wellington Shire’s BC 573 RB-5 – complete with the latest Mercedes/MTU Stage 5/Tier 4 final engine – is the very first of its kind to reach Australia’s east coast.
“They wanted to be on the forefront with their emission reduction, and they’ve invested that little bit of extra money to be a step ahead,” John says.
The biggest advantage of the new Mercedes/MTU engine is the upgraded exhaust after-treatment system. John says it’s the first BOMAG machine to be fitted with a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) which, together with the diesel particulate filter (DPF) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR), reduces emissions dramatically.
Samantha says that for Wellington Shire Council, this new engine was a major factor in choosing the BOMAG.
“The Mercedes/MTU Stage V/Tier 4 final engine, with its exhaust treatment, achieves near complete removal of particulates and harmful gases, which aligns well with the council plan and sustainability strategy,” she says.
Samantha says the Wellington Shire team was also impressed by BOMAG’s unique wheel and articulating frame setup, which is designed to maintain continuous contact with the ground and optimise load distribution.
“As opposed to a more traditional drum setup, the BOMAG was appealing because it provides a higher level of oscillation, which is important when managing undulating loads on the tipping face,” Samantha says.
John says that the articulation and oscillation offered by BOMAG’s compactors is one of their biggest selling points.
“Landfills are not even, so without this level of flexibility, you can imagine the kind of stress you’d get on the frame,” he says.
The wheels themselves are fitted with BOMAG’s specially designed compressor teeth combined with adjustable scrapers and wire cutters, which John says ensures wheels are kept clean and performing at their peak.
Another important feature of the BC 573 RB-5 is BOMAG TELEMATIC – the company’s remote monitoring, tracking, and diagnostics system.
“All new BOMAG compactors are fitted with this technology as standard,” John says. “It means every machine is always just a mouse click away. For large regional councils such as Wellington, I think it’s especially important to be able to access their machines remotely.”
John says this also enables Tutt Bryant to monitor remotely for faults, which allows quick troubleshooting as problems occur, or service teams to be deployed with the right tools and parts.
“It costs time and money for a council to send somebody out to a site to check up on a machine, so remote access makes things much easier,” John says.
“It also provides a daily overview of the machine’s workload, time spent idling, how much fuel was burned.
“This makes it easy for councils to measure what the machine is achieving, and that they’re getting the right results for their capital outlay – and for the local ratepayer.”
For Wellington Shire Council, BOMAG TELEMATIC offers a range of benefits – both in efficiency of operations, and in operator training.
“This is an important feature to ensure we’re keeping track of metrics related to the business case that was approved by council,” Samantha says.
“The information also allows us to review the usage of different operators, which can be used to help train less experienced staff on how to operate more efficiently.”
This combination of features alone made BOMAG’s BC 573 RB-5 an appealing proposition, but Samantha says the Wellington Shire Council team was equally impressed by Tutt Bryant’s customer service.
“What immediately stood out with Tutt Bryant was their communication and desire to understand our operation,” she says.
“After our initial inquiry about purchasing a compactor, Terry Polios from Tutt Bryant came out on site to review the type of landfill we were running and the type of waste we were accepting.”
Samantha says Tutt Bryant’s commitment to finding the right solution based on this detailed, data-driven review gave council confidence to make the best choice – not only for now, but for the challenges ahead.
“Although Kilmany is a relatively small landfill, it was good to know the people we were dealing with cared enough to take the time to discuss our requirements in detail,” Samantha says. “From there, selecting the BOMAG was a relatively easy decision.”
For more information, visit: www.tuttbryant.com.au
