About Allman Contracts Ltd.

Diversification

Playing pitch maintenance and seasonal bog work to supplement the plant hire and quarry interests of Allman Contracts is all very well and goo, but clearly there was a need for further diversification. Never having worked as a main contractor for a public road-building project before, an opportunity presented itself with the local realignment project. 

Involving the construction of 3.5 kilometres of single lane carriageway on the N69 just outside Listowel town in North Kerry, one kilometre of the route is an on-line section and merely requires minor realignment and overlay. Advancing south, the route leaves the existing roadway behind for a 2.5 kilometre off-line section that bypasses a number of notorious bends and dangerous junctions with poor sight lines. 

Along the route a number of structures are required, including three bridges that are being constructed by Allman Contracts involving 10- and 11- metre spans over streams. The scene of innumerable accidents over the years, some of which have been fatal, the project has been welcomed and is seen as a long awaited solution to a long standing problem. 

Tim continued, "This is our first job on a public road, even though we carried out significant access roads and drainage works for Tralee IT two years ago. It makes a real difference to have Mid Cork Tarmacadam as a joint venture partner in a case like this, as we do not have the equipment or experience to perform the surfacing work involved.

"Because of this it suited both Mid Cork Tarmacadam and us to form a joint venture to carry out this project. Both sides bring different capabilities and since we already had good working relationships with out joint venture partners we knew what to expect while working together."

An inspirational model of two local companies pooling their equipment and experience to secure a project in their own area - amid stiff competition from larger players - the approach taken has proved to be a winner for the client. 

Operations started in early spring of this year (2012) and all the principal earthworks - moving over 55,000 cubic metres - have been completed. 

This may not seem like much of an achievement, until the weather conditions are taken into consideration. The majority of construction projects in the area were severely hampered by prolonged and significant rainfall. Even when windows of opportunity to work did come along, the state of the ground prevented the deployment of typical muck shifting machinery, which would have been used by larger companies if they had won the contract. 

But the conditions did not particularly hamper Allman Contracts, who deployed a fleet of their tracked dumpers and 21-tonne excavators to strip the topsoil. Allman use tracked dumpers extensively on their playing pitch construction projects.

Tim said, "We run a mix of Morooka and Yanmer tracked dumpers. The Morooka machines were on the fleet first and we went on to the Yanmar in more recent times, when upgrading to larger 14-tonne machines. 

"Yanmar is much higher class machine featuring automatic track tensioners, which make a massive difference to rubber track wear over the longer term, as maintaining the right tension is crucial."

On the road realignment site, the Yanmars provided an impressive load capacity, while maintaining a light footprint. 

They succeeded in removing topsoil to central stockpiles without rutting the ground. This ensured the stripped ground remained sealed and allowed mass excavations to begin much earlier in the programme than if large articulated dump trucks had been used initially.

However, the role of the tracked dumpers was to be far greater than topsoil stripping. They stayed on site during the main excavations, as the route crossed many areas of poor ground conditions. Such locations required excavations down to firm ground and back filling with rock fill. The Yanmar duo was clearly in their element. 

Smaller Morooka tracked dumpers also found a role on the site, thanks to the customisation work previously undertaken by Allman. For example, during drainage works the standard tipping body of a Morooka was interchanged with an in-house stoning card.

Tim continued, "We developed a stoning cart for use with the tracked dumpers on our pitch development wok. The amount of drainage necessary in a typical playing pitch easily justifies having a machine like this. When it came to working on drainage on the road project, it made a fast and effective means of getting the job done. It's just a case of disconnecting hoses, pulling a pin, and need to convert back to a normal dumper, which means we can make the best use of the machines at all times.

"We also do a lot of sand spreading as part of playing pitch maintenance, which led us to build an attachment for the dumpers. It accurately spreads the sand over the pitch surface and since we fit the dumper with virtually smooth tracks, it doesn't damage the delicate surface when turning".

In line with Allman's philosophy of running in-house plant in all possible situations, the compaction requirements on the N69 site were fulfilled by their Ingersoll Rand SD100D single-drum vibratory compactor. This 10-tonne machine was sufficient to achieve the desired level of compaction on fill areas and where rock fill was imported.

The importation of rock fill was also fulfilled in-house, as Allman's Renault 450 Premera Lander double drive tractor unit with a Schmitz half-pipe trailer ferried material from their nearby quarry. This road project resulted in a dramatic increase in activity at the in-house quarry and the proximity of the quarry to the site presented a distinct advantage.

At the quarry, Allman run a fleet of what could be considered classic machinery, which are a real tribute to their maintenance and reconditioning regime. Taking pride of place aloft the pile of extracted rock on crusher feeding duties is one of the most respected excavators in their fleet. The 1990 Cat 215D has clocked up over 30,000 hours and was reconditioned a couple of years ago. 

Capable of feeding the Tesab crusher with ease, the production train continues through discharge to a Powerscreen Warrior 1400 three-way split screener. Final stockpiling and loading are the task of a Volvo L150E wheel loader. Another veteran excavator can also be seen still earning its keep closer to the face, as a long serving Cat 225 works on oversize reduction.

As Tim explained, "We run three Cat 215s and this D model was definitely worth the expense of our recent upgrade, which was largely cosmetic. It has never required any form of welding or repairs to its boom and the engine and pumps are still totally original, which is something not all machines of this age and hours can claim. 

"We bought these machines new originally and they have never let us down. The investment we make in keeping them working is minimal against the costs of new plant, which would not do the job any better than machines like these."

Mechanically Minded

This level of mechanical sympathy and in-house development of new attachments and machines is one of the chief characteristics of the Allman Contracts operation and is encountered, with varying levels, in practically every machine on the fleet. An extreme example of this attitude is evident in their largest excavator, which started life as a used Samsung SE450 purchased for intensive muck-shifting applications.

Rebuilt for the road project, the objective was not only to make the old girl more reliable, but also far simpler than it had originally left the factory in South Korea. Yes it has benefited from a full respray, but lift the engine cover and there is a shock in store.

The original Cummins M112 engine was removed due to its poor state of repair, coupled with the presence of a complex electric fuel injection system. This was replaced by Allman with a DAF engine from a New Holland forage harvester. The replacement engine featured a simple fuel injection system and is viewed as a far more efficient engine package. 

The success of the reconditioning effort is not surprising given the level of Allman's experience and the comprehensive nature of their workshop, which is typical of those involved with peat harvesting. 

However, finding the time and people to carry out such comprehensive works is clearly a management challenge. Since much of Allman's work is seasonal - particularly playing pitches and peat harvesting - peaks and troughs exist in their workload. Unlike most companies involved in these sectors, which take on seasonal staff, Allman Contracts adopt an alternative approach. The long serving operators on their books have attained a strong mechanical understanding over the years and such seasonal workshop duties provide the opportunity for continuous employment throughout the year. 

The success of their efforts is confirmed by the rebuilt Samsung SE450 providing good service on bulk earthworks on the N69 project, loading the company's Volvo A25 articulated dump truck.

Another machine to pass through the workshop recently was a Komatsu D65PX-12 dozer, which worked in tandem with a more recent dash 15 model on fill placement on the road project. Even though Allman has been loyal to Cat dozers in the past and continues to operate a pair of veteran units in the form of a D$ and D6, the Komatsu machines have won favour in all recent purchases. 

Held in high esteem based on their exceptional pushing power and overall reliability, the Komatsu dozers have maintained a role in the road project and are currently utilising their Topcon GPS systems to full effect on the placement of road base materials. Already long-running users of more basic machine guidance systems, the benefits of such technology is fully appreciated by Allman on pitch construction projects.

As Tim explained, "We've added the GPS systems to coincide with this project, but have been using the more standard automatic lasers since 2002 on our dozers and would just be lost without it. It makes our work so much more efficient and accurate first time and easily justifies the costs involved. Despite which proves they are really made for work in harsh conditions."

Fitting GPS systems to their dozers is not the only modification performed, as their blades employ large steel outer wings that give greater capacity when performing precise finishing works on their pitch developments.

Even though the road realignment project may not be significant from a national perspective, and fades into insignificance when contrasted with Irish motorway projects of past years, it is typical of the present scale of Irish road projects. Perhaps more importantly, it provides a benchmark for relatively small companies to hold their own against far larger enterprises desperate for business that will now compete for such local projects.