Using a machine guidance system, such as Aptella’ Carlson LandfillGrade, can help landfill site operators increase the efficiency, productivity and safety of their landfill site.

“The Carlson LandfillGrade machine guidance system helps our customers improve the efficiency and safety of their landfill sites through the maximisation of vertical space, leachate management, avoidance zones for gas wells and hazardous material placement and access to better, more accurate data,” said Andrew Granger, Product Manager: Mining and Landfill Systems at Aptella.

Maximise vertical space

This solution from Aptella assists landfill site operators to maximise the void space of their landfill site through optimised compaction and increased density.

Brad Wood, Operations Manager and Oscar Gallagher, Operations Coordinator at the Summerhill Waste Management Centre (SWMC) have been using the Carlson LandfillGrade for nearly five years and two years respectively. Both have found that using the system to maximise landfill void space has prolonged the longevity and increased the efficiency of the SWMC.

“We’ve seen the benefits of using the Carlson System since we implemented it several years ago,” said Brad Wood, Operations Manager at Summerhill Waste Management Centre (SWMC).

Oscar Gallagher, Operations Coordinator at SWMC also notes that “the team has managed to maximise the existing landfill space through the use of the Carlson System.  The real time information, given to Machine Operators onsite, and efficiency and utilisation tools available to the Management Team allow all parties to make better informed decisions onsite and in the office,” said Gallagher.

Such efficiencies are highlighted by Wood as “optimising compaction with fewer passes, which can also help landfill site operators to reduce fuel consumption and machine wear,” said Wood.

“Using Carlson has definitely saved us in operating costs, the in-cab system means we’re not guessing when we’re at optimum compaction; the in-cab system tells us, in real-time,” said Wood.

“So, we’re not continuing to pass over an area after full compaction has been reached and we’re not wasting time, machine wear and fuel.”

Improve safety

The Carlson LandfillGrade system from Aptella increases safety on site through improved operator situation awareness and Fixed Hazard Collision Warning technology.

Improved operator situation awareness is achieved through the constant and accurate display of the machines position relative to fixed infrastructure or hazards and the Fixed Hazard Collision Warning technology provides audible and visual alarms when the machine gets too close to predefined hazards such as buildings.

“Safety is something that every site operator is interested in and you want to make your site as safe as possible,” said Wood.

“Fixed hazards, such as liner systems and gas extraction infrastructure, can be uploaded into lift plans to show our plant operators where the machine is working in relation to such hazards. If machinery comes too close, to fixed hazards, the in cabin system alerts the Operator and allows them to react accordingly,” said Gallagher.

The Carlson LandfillGrade from Aptella also aids leachate management through accurate and easy slope designs to control water run-off and minimise leachate for disposal or treatment, enables the set-up of avoidance zones for gas wells and hazardous material placement and eliminates the need for staff to gain access to machines to upload and download data with wireless data exchange.

Get the data you need

With the Carlson LandfillGrade from Aptella, landfill site operators get access to the Carlson Command control, monitoring and data management system. This system transmits data between the machines and the office.

“The data we can get from Carlson has proven to be really important for both me and my team,” said Wood.

“For the guys out in the field, they can see on the in-cab screens in real-time when they’ve reached grade and can then progress to the next section of garbage; this improves our compaction rate and it saves so much time by reducing the number of passes we need to do.”

“And from the office I can monitor what’s going on in the field, I can monitor site progress and make sure the machines are on grade and the cut fills are on track.”