Successful projects
The Bulgarian road construction company Pytengineeringstroy-T AD is successfully using BOMAP Connect for the first time worldwide to intelligently connect asphalt rollers on a major new motorway construction project. BOMAG's smart and user-friendly solution optimises the compaction process across all machines, ensuring excellent results and a highly efficient machine utilisation. Thanks to BOMAG's digital cloud service, the company was able to save 20% in time and fuel.
BOMAP Connect passed its first important test with flying colours in autumn 2020 on a new motorway construction project in Bulgaria. With BOMAP Connect, all machines on a construction site can be easily networked with each other. This allows the compaction process to be controlled and documented across all machines. The minimal equipment for Bluetooth communication and GPS positioning can be installed on the machine in just a few minutes and with BOMAP, the free app and digital assistance system that runs on all standard Android tablets, the connected machines are ready for their first compaction job in next to no time.
The Awtomagistrala A2 is a planned and partially completed motorway in Bulgaria. The final length will be 433 km. Once completed, it will connect the capital Sofia with Varna on the Black Sea coast. The gap between the existing sections from Sofia and Varna will be closed by 2024. In the tender for this prestigious highway project, the local road construction company, Pytengineeringstroy, faced strong international competition but still came out on top. The recipe for success of the up-and-coming, medium-sized Bulgarian company: consistent use of high-tech machines and state-of-the-art technologies for maximum productivity and quality in road construction.
“Continuous improvement is part of our company philosophy. That is why we are open to new digital technologies. The BOMAP App from BOMAG convinced us very quickly due to both, the results and the practical and easy handling.” Bojkdar Todorov, Directeur de Pytengineeringstroy
That's why Pytengineeringstroy opted for a complete solution from BOMAG. One BF 800 C2 track-driven paver and three pivot-steered BW 174 AP-AM rollers with Asphalt Manager were delivered to the company in June 2020. A key reason for choosing BOMAG was the complete integration of BOMAP Connect. The app from BOMAG not only records the compaction progress of an individual machine. BOMAP Connect also provides networked control and documentation of all machines and equipment involved in compaction across the entire construction site. Simple installation and an intuitive tablet application make it particularly easy to use BOMAG's new digital services.
Pytengineeringstroy was the first company in the world to test this latest BOMAP upgrade in the field. With BOMAP Connect, the data from all rollers are networked with each other in real time and made available in a cloud. Like a navigation system in a car, BOMAP Connect guides roller drivers to optimum compaction with a minimum number of passes. In BOMAP, important data for compaction such as passes, temperatures, vibration applied or the use of grit spread is displayed in Google Maps.
“It's that easy?” remarked a stunned Atanas Atanasov, responsible for process control at Pytengineeringstroy, after the machines were networked via BOMAP Connect in just a few minutes. The installation really did turn out to be as easy as connecting a smartphone to the car by Bluetooth. But how exactly does this work in BOMAP? The GPS receiver is attached to the roller roof with a magnetic base. For smart communication, all you need to do is plug a Bluetooth transmitter into the "Joblink" data interface on the BOMAG roller. Using a standard Android tablet in the universal holder, the operator starts the app, which automatically connects to the GPS and JOBLINK via Bluetooth. The machine is ready for operation within two minutes.
The major improvement and advantage is that BOMAP Connect digitally networks all the machines involved, allowing the control and documentation of a construction project's entire compaction process. Projects are created and evaluated in a web application. A new project can be created with just four mouse clicks. It's even easier when a digital model of the construction site is available. Then, a complete DXF file can be loaded directly into the system.
The roller drivers see the layout of the construction site embedded in Google Maps. All they have to do is log in to the corresponding project with their local tablet. All currently registered participants are displayed in real time and can track each other's positions. One major advantage is that no hardware needs to be installed on the machines for networking purposes. A tablet or smartphone with a data connection is perfectly adequate.
BOMAP Connect proved itself many times over in real-life conditions in Bulgaria. This can be briefly illustrated by two examples: On the second day of deployment, a driver had forgotten his company tablet. With BOMAP Connect, this was no problem because all the data is stored in the cloud. The driver simply used his personal smartphone. On the third day, a pneumatic tyred roller from a different manufacturer was deployed. It took just two minutes to integrate this machine into the network to display the passes. This was possible because BOMAP Connect is an open system that allows machines to be integrated regardless of manufacturer. Only the Joblink interface is currently not available for other manufacturers.
Pytengineeringstroy 's construction management used BOMAP like a navigation device: To start with, the required passes are defined as the target for the respective project. There were eight passes on this road construction project. The central web application transmits the target value to all tablets. The app now offers the roller driver intuitive, visual control over the required number of passes. As soon as they have been reached, the area in BOMAP appears green.
One decisive benefit of BOMAP was immediately recognised by the users: It achieves significantly more uniform compaction results. Without the smart assistance system, the roller marks are usually concentrated in the centre, while the edge areas are neglected. Pytengineeringstroy took drill cores over the entire paving width of 7.5 m for inspection purposes. The results were convincing: thanks to BOMAP, the density was consistently between 98.4% and 99.8%.
With BOMAP Connect, compaction progress can be monitored from the office and documented in easy-to-understand reports. For Pytengineeringstroy, however, documentation was of secondary importance. The company used BOMAP Connect primarily to optimise the pattern during rolling. Based on the experience in Bulgaria, reducing the number of passes by at least 20% is realistic. Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions also drop accordingly.
The experience on the construction site in Bulgaria confirms the benefits compared to conventional CCC systems: BOMAP Connect is extremely easy to use and can be implemented with very low investment costs. The app itself is available for free in the Google Play Store and runs on any standard Android tablet with a SIM card. Even third-party GPS receivers can be used as an alternative. The components can be interchanged flexibly between machines, and BOMAP Connect offers a suitable solution for increased smart compaction as a scalable service for all operational sizes.
The roller drivers on the Bulgarian pilot construction site were immediately convinced by BOMAP. Although they were a little sceptical because of their experience with previous CCC systems, nobody wanted to be without BOMAP Connect after the first day. And rightly so: For roller drivers like Ridvan Ahmedov, BOMAP Connect makes their work much simpler. Networking, in particular, makes working in a line of machines more relaxed, effective and safe. With a glance at the tablet, the roller drivers can track their colleagues' work, and BOMAP reliably informs them about all machines' rolling patterns at any time. BOMAP Connect gives roller operators full control over their work. Every roller driver agreed: in order to operate BOMAP Connect, all you need to know is how to use a smartphone.
