The redevelopment of the Kerb Unit mould and manufacturing

Infrastructure Products Australia team show how to semi-automat and improve the speed to market with their recently launched Semi-automated kerb unit mould.

This Kerb Unit is an Industry Game Changer

Designed and produced specifically for the Queensland Department of Main Roads (TMR), our latest kerb unit is another example of Infrastructure Products Australia’s focus on innovation, delivering improvements in safety, cost efficiencies and streamlining project delivery.

Key take-aways

Improving safety through automation

The engineered system allowed our team to be safely behind barriers while they rotate the mould to drop the cured products onto pallets.

Maximising selling opportunity

We’ll continue to invest in our capacity to meet the ongoing market demand

Innovation and reducuction in Carbon Foot Print

Through a performance based approach, by using modern innovative fibre reinforcement materials, we have reduced the amount of Steel Reinforcing by up to 50%

The problem with traditional Kerb Units

The process of pouring kerb units onsite takes time and is wasteful. It can present risks to health and safety, not to mention consumes many materials to create the formwork. For many project managers and engineers, there isn’t enough project time to produce these units onsite. Hence, the benefit of using precast kerb units.

Our TMR-approved kerb unit is produced using a semi-automated system that allows for the creation of multiple kerb units per day in a safe and efficient manner. Designed and assembled internally, IPA’s machine produces one-piece precast kerb units to our strict consistency standards.

This is a standard part for TMR and complements the Aus Pits range of Stormwater Pits.

As Technical Director, Chris Hopkins explains:

“The automation process allows us to produce Kerb Units without inducing stripping stress into the product allowing us to shorten our lead-times and increase capacity utilisation of our moulds, hence giving us a superior offer to the market. We’ll be continually improving the design and operation, and once our workflow becomes streamlined, we’ll look towards implementing further machines across Australia to produce other local kerb units.”

“We currently provide state-specific kerb units in NSW and Victoria, we will continue to monitor the performance of these offers to understand what benefits can be achieved by automating some or all of the manufacturing processes.”

The new automated process also delivers flexibility, accommodating a variety of kerb unit sizes.
Contact our Business Development Managers:

Felice Jackson
fjackson@cubis-systems.com.au
Trevor Schaefer
tschaefer@cubis-systems.com.au

Or call us on: 1800 065 356

This is yet another success story in Infrastructure Products Australia’s commitment to our ‘Ideas Engineered’ ethos.

The project works took place in Queensland and were managed from Victoria. The close collaboration between our Victorian and Queensland teams ensured a smooth relay of information between managers, engineers, labourers and external parties and was the primary factor of the success of this project.

“We delivered an exact match to the design shown within the road authorities standard drawings ….. to achieve every detail in one precast unit, I am amazed with the team’s accomplishment. The final result is worthy of being classed as precast art!”

“I feel a sense of accomplishment in delivering our first in-house, semi-automated system. The project tested my current knowledge in the field and provided the challenge to learn and grow further. I really think we pushed the envelope on this one and I am grateful to have been selected for this project. I’m looking forward to our next challenge”.

“The most exciting outcome of a project like this is that there’s always opportunity to continually look for ways to improve the design and it’s operation in order to create a safer working environment and delivering larger quantities of units to our customers”.